Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 95311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
"That's me," James said, handing her his empty glass. "Time to be my charming self."
James went to the door, opening it with a flourish and a huge smile. He shook hands with the man who stood there and kissed the cheek of the man's wife. To her surprise, after a moment of small talk, James led them right over to her. "Edward, May, this is Hannah Clary. Hannah, this is Edward and May Campbell."
Hannah had just finished saying hello when EM walked out and into the hallway, a rare smile on his face as he walked up and greeted the couple like old friends. Feeling out of place, Hannah slinked away unseen and went over to the band that had just started playing their first song.
Within fifteen minutes, the enormous space of Elliott's lower floor felt cramped. Conversations rose up as glasses got filled and refilled. Hannah was engaged in conversation a time or two by random people, curious at who her connections were. She casually dropped that she was an associate of Elliott and James- choosing not to disclose their actual situation.
James kept looking over at her, as promised, to make sure no one was pestering her unnecessarily, but guests seemed to keep him unexpectedly busy.
She felt incredibly alone in the room full of people. She walked from room to room, not wanting to stay in one place too long and make herself look as out of place as she felt. As she rounded back into the study for the fifth time, she felt a hand rest, familiarly on her lower back. She turned, expecting to find James there as he was the only person who would take such liberties with her. Instead, she found EM standing there looking down at her. He was holding a small plate with a piece of each of the finger foods the servers were circulating around. Suddenly, she was hyper aware of the touch of his hand, the firm pressure that splayed half of her hips, the heat she could feel through her thin dress. She felt desire well up, unbidden and spread through her belly and down her legs until she felt unstable.
"Here," he said, placing it in her hand, "you haven't eaten anything." And then he walked away toward a group of men who had just passed around cigars.
Hannah looked down at the plate, her stomach rumbling suddenly. No one else had plates full of food and she felt awkward eating in front of people she didn't know. Then Elliott looked pointedly over his shoulder at her and she picked up a cucumber roll and put it in her mouth. He nodded and turned away.
She quietly exited the room and found herself in the second sitting room which was strangely empty. She slipped out of her shoes for a moment and finished all the food on the plate. It felt good to escape for a moment. The stress of not knowing anyone was wearing on her nerves. Growing up in a very small town where everyone knew everyone and their mother... she had never quite gotten used to being surrounded by strangers and expected to interact with them.
"Ah there she is," James said from the doorway. "I thought some millionaire out there had stolen your heart and whisked you away for a Vegas wedding."
"As if that was even a remote possibility," Hannah scoffed, picking up sweet potato roll and stuffing the whole thing in her mouth.
James came to sit across from her, lounging in the chair. His eyes were a little glassed over and she wondered how much he had had to drink. "Elliott give you that plate?"
Hannah nodded, still chewing.
"Of course he did. I told you he liked a little flesh on a woman."
"Oh, stop with that," Hannah objected, rising from her seat and slipping back into her shoes. She didn't want to have this discussion anymore. EM was not interested in her that way. She was of value to him because of how hard she had been working, not because she would be a convenient lay. And she certainly didn't want to get into an argument about it, given her somewhat irritable mood. She quickly came up with a flimsy excuse and started to the door.
"I don't want Mr. Michaels to think I am being antisocial staying in here by myself."
"Oh, gorgeous," he started, rubbing his eyes, "you are so adorably naïve."
Hannah felt her heckles rise and fought back the urge to snap at James. She wasn't used to him sounding like his brother- a little condescending and arrogant. But James seemed to notice the look on her face, despite her efforts to cover it. "Go ahead, say it. I know you're dying to." He smiled his smile that she would otherwise find charming but at the moment found it cocky and un-called for.