Those Red High Heels (13 page)

Greyson accepted the contract and started casually flipping through the pages. He stopped at the second page and looked closely at a few lines. I could tell Nick was wondering what he was thinking, because he was starting to shift his weight from side to side.

“Does Collin know about the clause in section two?” Greyson asked and looked over to Nick.

“He has a copy of the full contract. He did ask about the overage charge, but that’s very standard with any band.”

“I see. I’ve never heard of an overage. The last band I secured for a business event played for a set amount of time.” Greyson said in his business tone, which was probably the tone Brynn was always referring to.

Nick started to rub his chin, and began a bantering war with Greyson. As I stood and listened to Greyson negotiate a price, I started to feel sorry for Nick, because he didn’t stand a chance. After only a few minutes, Greyson had knocked the overage charge off the contract. What surprised me was that Nick shook hands with Greyson and seemed happy. What I had witnessed was pretty incredible.

When Nick went back to his computer to amend the contract for Brynn’s wedding, Greyson and I stepped out of his office and walked over to a table by the bar. “Greyson, that was kind of amazing,” I said with awe and only hoped one day my negotiating skills could be even close to his level.

Greyson smiled, but didn’t say anything about the contract. He was being modest. He did, however, start looking around the room. “I really like this club. It’s almost a hidden gem. If they could secure a better location, this place could really go somewhere.”

I could see Greyson’s business mind reeling away, and started to look around the club myself. It was a cool place, and it made me even more excited to hear Red Velvet play.

A few minutes later, Nick walked out with the new contract and handed it over to Greyson. They exchanged a quick handshake, and then Nick motioned for us to follow him over to the stage. Red Velvet was all set up, and gave us a wave indicating they were ready for us. They were a good-looking group of guys in their mid-twenties to early thirties. If their voices matched their looks, then this was going to be an excellent band.

Greyson and I sat down in a plush booth right in front of the band. “Would either of you care for a drink?” Nick asked and pointed to a small drink menu on our table.

I looked over at Greyson and felt the need to get this party started. I knew it was Sunday afternoon, but hey, when in Rome. “I could use a drink. Maybe a Jack and Coke?”

Greyson’s eyes perked up and looked over at me. “You remembered.” I winked over at him and let out a small laugh. “Make that two.” He said with a smirk, and set the drink menu back down on the table.

When we received our beverages and the band started their first song, I was feeling something that was hard to explain. The band was playing an opening song, one that would be played when guests were arriving and for the beginning of the cocktail hour. The song was lovely, and the warmth of the Jack spread through my veins, instantly relaxing me. As I sat and moved my foot to the beat, Greyson’s phone buzzed, interrupting my serene feeling.

He looked at me and mouthed, Nora, and slipped out of the booth heading toward the exit, I assumed so he would actually be able to hear her.

Greyson was only gone a few minutes before he returned with a very neutral expression on his face. “Everything okay?” I asked and leaned over to his side.

He just nodded and took a drink of his Jack and Coke. Another Emma-ism, as Brynn calls them, slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself. It didn’t help that I was drinking hard alcohol. “Did you tell her hello for me?” I asked playfully, which earned a small chuckle out of Greyson’s beautiful red lips. As I watched his Adam’s apple bounce up and down, I imagined what it would be like to kiss that perfectly shaven neck.

Greyson must have felt my stare because he slowly turned his head toward me and had the same expression plastered across his face. I didn’t want to be conceited, but it was hard to mistake the interest in his eyes.

“Do you want to dance?” he asked softly, holding his hand out to me.

I could feel my cheeks burn, probably tinting them crimson red, when I took his perfect hand and followed him out to the dance floor, where “Unchained Melody” flooded across the dark dance floor.

“I’m not that great of a dancer,” I said mostly to myself when I took his hand. He pulled me toward him and pressed me against his chest.

“Follow my lead, you’ll do great,” he whispered in my ear, sending warmth down my entire body.

Greyson Lyons was not just an excellent dancer; he made me feel like I knew what I was doing, which may have been a first. We effortlessly floated across the dance floor as Red Velvet did one of the best versions of “Unchained Melody” I had ever heard.

A few minutes later, the lead singer was blaring out the last note. Greyson dipped me softly, and pulled me back up to him. “Wow, you’re good,” I whispered and noticed that his blue eyes flickered quickly to my lips.

“You’re not the first to say that.”

His playfulness took me off guard and earned him a small slap on the arm. “I can’t believe you said that,” I said, laughing, but I also enjoyed seeing that side of him.

Greyson didn’t let go of my hand when he led me back to our booth, and I liked they way it felt, probably a little too much. He chuckled when he grabbed his drink and looked back at me. “You’re not too bad yourself. I think you underestimate yourself. You’re an excellent dancer.”

I thanked him and continued to watch him over the rim of my glass. He was now looking at the band, moving his body to the faster-paced song. “These guys are good.”

I could see the wheels turning in his head, and I would have bet my red high heels that he was concocting a plan to market these guys. I also couldn’t help but wonder what had happened between him and Nora during his phone conversation earlier. I could tell he didn’t want to talk about it, but I also had to ask, or I would go completely insane.

“I hope everything is okay with you and Nora. I don’t want to have caused anything between you two.”

Greyson let out a loud sigh and ran his hand through his hair. He didn’t say anything for a minute, and I thought I might have offended him, but then he looked over at me and cocked his head to the side a little. “I don’t ever talk about my relationship with Nora. The guys don’t need to hear it, they have their own problems, and to tell you the truth, Emma, I don’t have many women that are really my friends. I have business acquaintances, but friends,” he trailed off and took another sip of his drink.

“Well, I’m a really good listener. If you ever want to unload, or talk about things, you can do that with me.” I smiled over at him and really wanted it to work. Our friendship. I could tell he needed it.

Greyson took another minute before he told me what was going on. “As you might have guessed, or hell, maybe Brynn mentioned something to you, Nora and I have always been expected to marry each other. Her father is a very powerful man here in New York City, and our social circles are very compatible. She’s the only girl my father has ever approved of, and has told me in so many words that she needs to be my wife for me to take over the business. Together, we will be unstoppable.”

I closed my eyes for a minute when I heard the words I had known were true. He didn’t want to marry her; he had to. “Have you told him you don’t want to marry her?”

“I can’t do that. It would ruin everything he has worked so hard for. I do love the business, and Nora isn’t all bad. I think she loves me, so as far as that goes I should consider myself lucky.”

“Yeah, but do you love her?” I knew I’d probably gone too far, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around marrying someone, when I didn’t love them.

Greyson ran his hand through his hair again, a sign that he was uncomfortable, and I decided if he didn’t want to talk about it, I wouldn’t ask again.

“I don’t know,” he said softly, so soft I barely heard him.

The moment had shifted, because of me, and so I decided to bring it back to having fun. I jumped up and ran around to pull him out of his seat. “What are you doing?”

“We are going to dance!” I said excitedly and dragged him out to the dance floor.

“I don’t dance fast,” he said quickly and tried to retreat to the booth.

I grabbed him and wiggled my finger in his face. “Uh huh. I danced for you, now you have to for me.”

He let out a small laugh and started moving his hips around. He wasn’t too horrible, but I would say slow dancing was more his style.

We laughed and danced to the next two songs. The band was a blast and interacted with us the entire time. I knew Brynn and Collin would love these guys; they’d made an excellent choice. When Greyson and I both decided we had heard enough, we found Nick and told him the deal was set. Brynn and Collin had their band.

Nick shook our hands and walked us back to the exit. “Make sure to let me know when you two are tying the knot. We would love to be the entertainment,” he said with a wink that made me blush furiously.

Greyson shook his hand and opened the door for me to sneak through. Once we were outside, I looked over at him and started laughing. “That was awkward.”

“I didn’t know how to respond, and I’m surprised he would even say that. Most people know I’m engaged to Nora.”

When we both had slipped back into his car, Greyson looked at me with nothing but content and happiness. “I had a great time today, Emma. I’m looking forward to our meeting on Wednesday.”

“You just want to know the ending of
Stolen Ivory
,” I said playfully and grabbed my purse. When Greyson didn’t say anything, I looked over at him and saw a slight smirk on his face. “Wait, you already know the ending, don’t you?” I said loudly and swung my purse to get a little aggression out. I should have known he would have dug to find out the ending.

“You really thought I wasn’t going to find out?” he said and deflected my purse with ease, which made me squint at him.

“I guess I didn’t think about that. So, now you know.”

“I would have guessed they saved her in the end, most writers don’t kill off innocent girls who are being traded for sex slaves.”

I had to agree with him, most writers wouldn’t do that. “That’s true, but the writing is brilliant. I really enjoyed the book. I can see this becoming a blockbuster hit one day.”

We chatted the rest of the way, and when we pulled up to Brynn’s apartment, I tried to say a quick goodbye. I tried, but before I made it halfway, Greyson was walking in stride beside me. “You don’t have to walk me to my door,” I said quickly as the doorman opened the door for me.

“What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t?” he said with a wink and told me to have a good evening.

As I watched Greyson Lyons walk back to his car, I couldn’t help the attraction I felt toward him. It wasn’t purely physical, because the way we talked and bantered back and forth, was similar to a relationship you would have had for a long time. It was also something I couldn’t imagine living without, especially if it became stronger. Greyson was trouble, and I decided right then I needed to get back into the dating scene. Greyson and I would be friends, but it was time I put myself out there. I just couldn’t see myself finding anyone who would compare.

Chapter Twelve

Wednesday morning seemed to sneak up on me, and before I could even blink, Dexter, another associate that was part of
Stolen Ivory
, and I were preparing for our meeting with Lyons Media. If Lyons Media marketed
Stolen Ivory
the way they were known to, we would have a best seller on our list, and a solid foundation for my path to greatness would be set.