Page 3 of All The Wrong Notes

That was Mr. Snootypants, Number Seven. A pause.

“There was nobody attractive or interesting enough to waste my time on. What sort of desperate person comes to these things anyway?”

“I came,” Carlos grunted. “And so did you. I thought some of the women were charming. Did you see the redhead? She’s stunning.”

Another snort. “That can’t be denied. But she was the only woman in the room worth looking at, and she seemed only to have eyes for you. Anyway, she smiled too much. She giggles.”

“She is lovely, isn’t she? And sweet, and smart, and so funny! But what about some of the others? There was the brunette with the yellow shirt…”

Elise blinked. That was her! It was flattering to be considered almost in the same zone as Janet.

“I was there to keep my promise to you. I don’t need to waste my time on people who can’t even be bothered to dress for the occasion. Here’s the car. Let’s go.”

Not so flattering. Dickhead.

Warm air rushed in as the two men opened the door and left the lobby, leaving Elise with the sight of their departing backs and a rather bad taste in her mouth.

Janet might fancy Carlos, she huffed to herself, but hopefully she would never have to set eyes on Number Seven Snootypants again in her life.

CHAPTER 2

NOT AGAIN

Early August

Elise groaned. Not him! “Janet, why didn’t you tell me he’d be here?”

In the two months since Janet and Carlos had met, they had progressed rapidly from gazing dreamily at each other over coffee to falling fast and hard in love. If stars could shine out of someone’s eyes, that was Janet, and on the few occasions when Elise had joined the couple for coffee or something, Carlos’ stars were just as shiny. Now the two were talking of moving in together. Carlos was fairly new to Toronto, and had just bought himself a rather splendid condo just north of downtown. It had, so Janet gushed, three bedrooms, and a private elevator. Elise didn’t know what Carlos did for a living, but it must pay very well.

Tonight, he was hosting a small gathering for his and Janet’s friends. There was soft music playing from some hidden speakers and a rather lavish spread of finger foods and elegant drinks. He had invited only a handful of people, but one of them was him.

Number Seven Snootypants.

If only Elise hadn’t seen that ridiculously handsome face in her dreams almost every night since she had made his very unpleasant acquaintance. Seriously! What gave such a miserable person the right to be so damned gorgeous? It was an insult.

“Who?” Janet followed Elise’s stare to where Snootypants was standing by a wall, stiffer than any statue in a museum. He looked like he had judged all of humanity and found it lacking. “Oh, that’s Will. He and Carlos are old friends. He can be a bit awkward at first.”

“Awkward?” Elise snorted. “You must remember him from the speed-dating event. He was horrible. Awkward is tripping over dust or spilling your wine. He was impossibly rude.”

Janet gave a little shrug. “He’s not so bad when you get to know him. He’s just shy.” Grasping Elise’s hand, Janet tugged her into the room. “Let me introduce you.”

Elise rolled her eyes. “Shy? His nose is so high in the air, I’m surprised he doesn’t drown when it rains.”

“Be nice!” Janet commanded. “Come.”

She began to pull at Elise’s arm, but Elise stopped her. “I’m not going back into that lion’s den without some armour. What do you know about him? Forewarned is forearmed, after all.”

Janet blinked her large green eyes as she thought. “Let’s see… he’s a bit of a mover and shaker, if you’re in those circles. He runs his family’s business, one of the big ones on Bay Street. Finance, or consulting, or something. I only remember how they’ve decorated them, not what they do. Are you googling him? Lise? Seriously? Put your phone away. Oh, alright. His name is Will Pemberton.”

Pemberton? As in Pemberton Holdings? They were big. So, how was Snootypants involved, anyway? Elise leaned against a wall and tapped out the name. A page popped up on her screen with a photograph… and quite a good one. And Snootypants’ full name.

“F. William Pemberton. EFF William? As in What-the-EFF William?” She scanned the text below the image. Oh, he was important. A miserable excuse for a human, but an important one.

“Be nice. Please,” Janet cajoled. “For Carlos’ sake, if nothing else.”

Elise finished reading. “Fine. I’ll try not to be too rude. If you’re as rich and well-connected as EFF William, I suppose you’re entitled to be a rude prick.” She cast her eyes skyward once more, ignoring Janet’s exasperated expression, and then pasted a smile on her face.

Within seconds, however, her false smile transformed into a genuine one, as their host walked through a doorway and hurried over to them. He greeted Janet with a kiss and then turned his charm to Elise.