Page 69 of Boss from Hell

“Well, you let a good one go, Maximus. She’s a fine girl from a solid family, but she’ll be at the party tonight so it’s not too late. I spoke to her last night and I believe you still have a chance with her.”

“Shouldn’t we be leaving now?” Max asked, sounding irritated.

“Yes,” his mother said. She inspected her husband, then Max, then shot me a cursory glance. “Let’s go.”

I hung on to Max’s arm as we left the house, glad that we were using different cars. I only relaxed when we entered Max’s car, away from his mother’s cold gaze. Max had never mentioned any of his past girlfriends, but now I had a name for one. Paige.

“Tell me about the engagement party,” I encouraged, to take my mind off obsessing about Paige. A woman who clearly had Mrs. Frost’s approval. “Who is Peter getting married to?”

Max cleared his throat. “Her name is Ella, but to be perfectly honest I’ve never met her.”

I gazed at his profile. “Why did you want to go to this party? Seems like you’re not close friends anymore?”

He shrugged. “A man can change his mind about keeping in touch with his old friends.”

“Yes, of course,” I agreed, but that didn’t sound like Max at all. He wasn’t a needy person or someone who depended on other people for his entertainment. If I was pressed to pick between an introvert and an extrovert, I would say Max was an introvert. His need for people was very minimal but hey, I’d only known him for a few months, maybe he was a social butterfly sometimes.

I wasn’t surprised that Peter’s parents lived in a house as impressive as the Frost’s home. At the front of the house, a valet took the car and Max and I followed the other guests throughthe massive home to the back garden where the party was being held.

His parents were just ahead of us, and we stood in line behind them to say hello to the hosts.

“How wonderful to see you. And you brought Max,” Peter’s mother crowed as she did the air-kissing thing on Max’s mother.

We were pulled into the circle. When my turn came to be introduced, Max draped his arm around me and introduced me as his girlfriend. He said it so naturally, even I almost believed him. After that, nothing could bring me down from the high I was on.

Peter’s fiancée, Ella, was a petite blonde, and she looked as if a strong wind could blow her away. She was quite friendly though, making me feel welcome. A waiter came by with a tray full of champagne flutes.

“I need to go to the restroom. Be back in a few,” Max said, and slipped away.

I sipped my drink, and with great detachment watched the gathering of fine feathered birds around me.

Laughter broke out behind me and I looked around to see a couple who had just walked in. The thing that stood out about them was that they were holding hands. Nobody else was doing that. They also seemed to have eyes only for each other. They also neither preened nor displayed the pretentious mannerisms of the other partygoers. I noticed their shining rings and concluded they must be newlyweds. They spoke with their heads so close they were almost touching.

Why did love come so easily to some people?

Ferocious longing and envy crept into me. Why couldn’t I find someone who looked at me the way that man was looking at his woman? I desperately wanted to be Max’s woman. I wanted Max to look at me like that.

The longing was so ferocious I had to look away.

I stared blankly at a moss-covered stone statue in the middle of a fountain. I’d long accepted that not everybody (basically me) would be lucky enough to find their soulmate so why did it bother me now? Especially when I was with Max for a weekend of excitement and passion.

Someone bumped into me and my glass was knocked out of my hand. I looked up and it was the woman I’d been watching and envying.

“Sorry. I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. I hope I haven’t ruined your lovely dress.”

“No, you haven’t. Don’t worry. No harm done,” I reassured her with a smile. I already liked her. She hadn’t given herself a pompous accent or any airs and graces.

“Thank God. I’m Dahlia and this beast here is my husband, Zane.”

I turned to look at the man and was shocked to see his face properly. He wasn’t anything like the rest of the pampered elitist guests of this party. He had a scar on one side of his face, but it was his eyes that held me spellbound.

They were the dangerous, merciless eyes of a killer. Yet, when they were turned towards Dahlia, they melted. He gazed at her as if he couldn’t get enough of her.

“I’m Lillian. Nice to meet you both,” I said.

“Yeah, same here,” Dahlia said. “It’s really nice to meet a normal person. Everyone here is so freaking snooty.”

I laughed.