Either way, there’s a party just outside the door, and I’m the guest of honor. So, I take a few deep breaths, fix my dress, grab my bags with my clothes and purse, and then finally put the mask on over my eyes. It’s a small thing, but it helps, making me feel like I can hide a bit of myself from all of the strangers I’m about to meet – and the piece I decide to hide is what just happened with Cannon. Hopefully, there will be enough people that I don’t have to see or talk to him for a while.
Except, I feel a little lost without him by my side, which makes me hate him a little more for creating that dependency on him when Cannon is not the type of man that I should ever depend on.
The employee lounge is empty when I come out, other than a brown-haired man in a gold mask leaning on the arm of the sofa, wearing nothing but a pair of black slacks and a bunch of beads like Cannon had on. He jumps up when he sees me.
“Lucas?” I ask, because it’s hard to tell with the mask.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answers with a grin.
“What’s with the…” I wave my hand in his direction and it takes him several seconds of blinking at me, or at the tiny dress I’m wearing, before he responds.
“The single men are all selling beads. Whoever sells the most wins the pot. And I guess you get the money for all the beads we sell. Jake and I probably won’t sell many, but at least the Kings invited us to participate.”
“The beads look heavy,” I tell him honestly. I feel awkward, and I’m not sure what else to say.
“Ugh, they are. But the fun part is that the woman that buys them gets to feel us up. At least, I think that’s the point.”
I shake my head because of course the Savage Kings would find a way to make this a competition and a flirtatious event at the same time.
“How many beads are you wearing?”
“Twenty, I think,” he says, looking down and fingering through the necklaces.
“I’ll buy all of yours and Jake’s,” I tell him.
Lucas drops his beads and looks up at me. “You don’t have to do that. We’re trying to raise money for your campaign.”
“I know, but you two won’t have a fair chance since I’m guessing that Cannon’s ordered you to take turns keeping an eye on me.”
“That’s true,” he says with a small shrug that draws my attention to his shoulders and chest. He’s still young and has some filling out to do before he can make going shirtless in public look as good as Cannon, unfortunately.
“I want to help you,” I reply. “No reason for you to have to lug all of those around all night.”
Sitting my bag down on the sofa, I pull out my wallet from my purse, grabbing two one hundred-dollar bills. “Here,” I say when I hand him the cash. “Give one to Jake when you see him.”
“Okay, but you have to take them off,” he says with a grin when he takes the hundred from me.
“Fine,” I agree, lifting the pile of beads over his head and trying to touch him the least amount as possible. I pull five different colored ones free to put on myself to try and hide my cleavage and toss the rest in my bag.
“Cannon gave me the key to his office and said you could put your things in there,” Lucas says, taking a deep breath that raises his chest like he can breathe better without all the beads. I try not to think of how considerate that was of Cannon and just follow him to the office before it’s time for me to stop hiding and finally make my way to the front where I can hear music and voices.
Lucas is right behind me as I walk out to the dealership’s showroom that’s decorated from top to bottom in gold, green, and purple. There’s a long table of food, a little bar in the corner, and at least a hundred or more people already milling about, most of them gathered around the Harley that’s up for grabs.
“Wow,” I say in surprise since it’s a bigger turnout than I expected. And I hadn’t seen all the work the Kings had put into setting up since I came in through the employees’ back entrance.
“The Kings know how to throw a hell of a party,” Lucas replies with a chuckle.
“Yes, they do,” I agree. “Guess I better get out there.”
“Good luck,” Lucas says.
“Thanks,’ I tell him with a smile.
I figure the best place to start is with a drink since I’m going to be doing a lot of talking. Something non-alcoholic, of course, because the last thing I need is to get tipsy in this dress and fall on my face.
Going over to the bar, I ask for a Sprite from the bartender and have just taken a sip when I see a couple coming right for me. The man is tall and lean in a navy-blue suit, no tie with a white shirt underneath. The woman is dressed in a conservative, long sleeve purple dress, and is clinging to his arm like she needs his support. Neither one of them are moving very fast.
“Hi, I’m Madison Monroe, thanks for coming tonight,” I tell him, offering the woman my handshake first. I think going to the man first is rude and can look like I’m being flirty.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” the woman replies when she gently takes my hand in hers and then pulls it away before the man, who I’m guessing is her husband, does the same.
“Pleasure,” he says.
