Page 22 of Taken In Trade
Moretti
Vanessa downs her first glass of champagne, and I keep a close eye on her. No one else seems to be paying much attention to her, which could be due to the fact they all feel guilty about leaving her out to dry. Then again, I haven’t let any of the other families in on my suspicions of how far Grigoryan has fallen, and Vanessa has made it her mission to be as much of a pain in the ass as possible.
Not that she owes them any better. I’m of the mindset that I don’t owe these people anything, and I believe she’s on the same page with me.
She hands off her now-empty glass, grabbing another, and I excuse myself from the conversation I wasn’t listening to, beelining toward the pain-in-the-ass omega.
It’s like she wants to make my job harder than it has to be. I can’t have her drinking too much in view of an audience. At any other time, I’d let her enjoy herself, but tonight, I need her to appear like she’s taking care of herself.
Julian Chapman has barely glanced his daughter’s way, but his eyes narrow as he spots me approaching. It can’t help his mood that Grigoryan is nowhere to be seen.
I’m sure he also didn’t enjoy being blown off by his private physician.
I pluck the glass of champagne from Vanessa’s hand before she can bring it to her lips, handing it back to the waitress.
“Come now, darling. You know why that’s a bad idea,” I say, projecting my voice enough that anyone nearby will be able to hear.
“I needed that,” Vanessa hisses, trying to stretch around me to grab the glass.
I grip her wrist, gently pulling her hand away as I get close to her ear. “What you need to do is to shut up and work with me.”
Julian is furious to see me so close to his daughter, and he strides in our direction.
I check my watch, verifying that my team should be in place. It’s a bit earlier than I planned to make my announcement, but the sooner I get this over with, the faster we’ll be able to leave.
Scooping Vanessa up, I toss her over my shoulder and take off for the stairs. Someone will eventually unhook the rope to give access to the second floor, but I’m fit enough that I go right over it.
“What are you doing?” Vanessa yelps, her hands digging into my ass as she bounces around my shoulder.
Hell if I know.
Vanessa wobbles as I place her on her feet on the same balcony the O’Connors used a few weeks ago to announce the dissolution of their marriage contract with Vanessa’s family.
“Seriously, Moretti, what is happening?” she asks, swiping my hands off her hips as I attempt to steady her.
“I have an announcement to make, and I need you at my side to do it,” I tell her, wrapping my arm around her lower back and guiding her to stand in front of the railing.
“Emory, tell me what’s going on,” she says, calling me by my first name.
I like the sound of it coming from her lips, but I have to get this over with, and quickly.
I swat her ass. “All you need to do is to shut up and look pretty.” If she could fake being in love with me, that would probably help, but I’m not expecting miracles here.
Whistling, I give the signal for my team to be ready to act if anyone should take exception to my commandeering this party.
My head swivels as I scan the crowd, and Julian, Victor, and Vance stare like they’re daydreaming my demise.
Patrick O’Connor raises his glass and smiles. He and his brothers are relieved to no longer have the guilt of what will happen to Vanessa on their consciences. If nothing else, it’s nice to have at least one set of friendly faces in the crowd.
“If I may have your attention.” My voice rings through the air as I wait for the other partygoers to notice something is happening.
Vanessa squirms at my side, but I pat her hip, and she doesn’t disappoint. Her chin rises, and even if she’s terrified, you’d never be able to guess from her expression.
“I’d like to thank our gracious host for a lovely party.” I project my voice to ensure everyone downstairs can hear. “Julian, if I had a glass of champagne, I’d toast to you. Since I don’t, I’ll leave that to the rest of the Boston families.”
Patrick raises his glass and takes a drink of whatever liquor is in his tumbler.
“As you heard from this very spot, a few weeks ago, the marriage contract between the Chapmans and the O’Connors was dissolved,” I say to get back on track. “That left the issueof the penalty, which has since been cleared in full. My offer to the O’Connors was accepted, and the wire transfer cleared this afternoon.” I slide my hand down to cup Vanessa’s ass. “Many of you expected Grigoryan would announce his engagement to Vanessa tonight, but I’m afraid the rumor mill has led you astray. That was never going to occur. Our marriage was finalized three days ago.”
