“Please leave,” Ali growls.
Some people look in her direction, then back at me. I give a funny and confused face, act like I’m too stupid to understand my team leader’s outburst, and then I slowly deflate onto the floor as a pile of skin. That was pretty awful. Apart from Sandra being a total tyrant, she’s been pretty faithful to me. There’s no time to ruminate over this, though. Ali is worked up.
“I’m sorry about that,” I mutter. “Sometimes she can be a real—”
“Bitch?”
I laugh. “I was going to say stickler.”
Ali leans into me, kissing so long I almost forget what just happened. “I like Bitch better,” she whispers.
“Cut her a little slack. She’s been faithful to the company for twelve years now,” I say.
“Faithful, my ass,” she says. “She’s spreading lies about you, Marc Wylan.”
Theres a sliver of doubt that hangs in her eyes now. It kills me, but I’m not going to blame Sandra any more than I already have. She’s right. This is my doing, and I need to take care of it. Eventually, things will smooth over.
Brian catches eyes with me. He resumes course.
I drop my gaze and stare at Ali’s curves. A rush of pleasure goes straight to my cock. “Speaking of faithful people and asses, I wanted to introduce you to our in-house photographer.”
As soon as I finish the speech, Brian is there, and he’s got a glazed look in his eyes. “Buddy,” he says, bringing it in for a hug.
He squeezes so tight it pushes the air out of me. Then he starts forcibly rocking me by the shoulder. “Buddy,” he repeats with a scary grin.
“Brian,” I say. “My best friend in the entire world.”
He’s staring in my eyes harder than Ali has been all night. “You know, I gotta say, I took the finest cab ride downtown the other day. But when I got there, I didn’t have enough money to pay the driver.”
This is about to blow up in my face, isn’t it? “That must’ve been really annoying,” I say.
He bends forward, laughing. It goes on far too long, rising like the crescendos in that ballet, Swan Lake. Ali starts to mimic his laughter, and I wonder if it’s out of fear for her life.
After what feels like minutes, he smacks my chest and cools off. “Well, you know, we ended up settling it down in Capitol Hill. Twenty minutes from my house.”
“Hm. After rush hour? You didn’t try Uber?”
His grin fades. “I use Lyft, and I don’t store my card on my phone,” he grunts, mouth far too close for my liking. “I walked the whole way home.”
He’s mad at me. I get that. This party, however, was not my idea. Not to mention, I had too much on my plate. I had to send him away. If this were any other time, he’d understand. He’ll get over it.
I use the last of my charm to sway the conversation. “Insane,” I say. “By the way, I love the shots. You really captured a new vibe with this one. It’s adventurous, rebellious, and it even has this mystical flair. I’m obsessed.”
Those are adjectives that come to mind when I think of the desert. In reality, his photographs look like a Levi’s metro station ad.
He can’t deny that ego boost. All artists admire their work. “You really think it’s mystical?”
I adjust my face. “Well, it’s just a little spice,” I lie. “At least, that’s what came to my mind.”
He continues as if I never spoke. “Because I totally thought it was mystical. I mean, check out that purple mountain we used for the backdrop.”
“Catch me smoking some patchouli up there,” I say.
Chuckling, he takes a step back, dancing to his own rhythm. “Vision quest, baby,” he chants.
Ali and I laugh. “He’s really funny,” she whispers in my ear. “You should promote him.”
He takes her hand, lips rounding over her knuckles for a thick kiss. Jealousy burns through my stomach. “Love this woman, by the way.”
“Ah, forgive me,” I say. “I didn’t introduce you.”
“We were interrupted by Sandra,” Ali says.
Brian rolls his eyes. “We’ve learned how to deal with that one,” he says. “Give her a glass of chardonnay, and she’s set.”
“Anyway, I’m glad you came. Everyone’s been dying to meet you,” he says.
Ali touches her clavicle. “Really? Me?”
“Of course,” Brian lies. “You’re like a celebrity around here.”
I’d really like to kiss her, to feel her ride my cock up and down. This party is a drag. Sandra is gone, and Jim is nowhere in sight. It feels like I already won. Can’t we leave?
“A celebrity. Wow, did you hear that, Marc. You have some competition.”
Move on over, Brian.
The compliments are seemingly never-ending. “You are wonderful, hot, and the fact that you’re on board with all this is fucking killer,” Brian adds.
It’s the one thing I wish he didn’t add.
“Of course I’m on board,” she says. “He was acting like this party was going to be the worst thing in the world. Other than Sandra, I’m having a blast. In fact, I think you’ll find out I’m a pretty supportive woman.”
Ali is taking to Brian’s good natured spirit, but she doesn’t realize he’s a scorpio. He can be really twisted, even while bearing a calm smile. “The original idea Marc gave was good. Don’t get me wrong. I just thought adding a little extra to it would really perfect it.”
She bounces. “Oh! What was your original idea? I want to hear it.”
I start to pull her away. “I’m getting thirsty. Are you getting thirsty?”
“I’m okay,” Ali says with a big smile.
I force a tongue against my bottom lip. If I push hard enough, I might not be able to talk again.
At this moment, the elevator door rings a bell. To my horror, I watch the doors open. Jim is sporting the look of an off-duty cop on the prowl for a local
