Dated tricks

The immaculate chandeliers hung from the ceiling, creating a golden glow together with other light fixtures. Soft jazz music played in the background, slightly swallowed by people’s chatter.

I was wearing a long, white silk slip dress and a draped scarf around my neck. I matched the dress with white stilettoes and soft makeup. I hated white. I wouldn’t wear it unless I had to, and my brother all but demanded I wear it.

I was at yet another boring charity gala. We were saving indigenous animals this time. I wasn’t even sure the money we spent at events like those even went to the poor animals. I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t.

The rich crowd had more scammers than the people who actually needed the money. They skimmed large amounts of money, and they weren’t punished for it.

I socialized with a few people before I decided to take a break. I stepped outside to get some fresh air and maybe have a cigarette. The air was chilly outside, and it calmed me. The banquet hall was suffocating with fake people and conversations.

I could have sworn my cheeks were hurting from all the smiling I had done. I would rather have been anywhere else. I took out my pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and grabbed a lighter.

Then I remembered what my brother had told me.

“No smoking,” he’d said, right before I left. And yet, I had carried a whole pack.

I groaned and put everything back in my purse. I could hold out for a few hours. I sighed and took a short walk, following the path of tall, dense cypress trees, illuminated by ground-level lights.

It looked magical, and it provided more peace than anything that was waiting for me inside. I was dreading having to go back in, but I knew I had to.

I must not have been watching my path because my heel snapped on the stone path, and I twisted my ankle. I lost my balance and fell backwards, closing my eyes to brace for the fall. I waited for it to come, but it never did.

All I felt was warm hands around my waist and my back against a muscular body. The warm scent of sandalwood and smoked cedar suddenly filled the air. I opened my eyes to look at my savior.

He had an intense, almost predatory gaze, dark brows, sharp cheekbones, and a buzzed head. He was in an all-black suit with the first few buttons of his black shirt undone.

A tattoo of a black snake peeking from just above his collarbone to behind his ear caught my eye. The snake’s head was on his throat, fangs bared, when he tilted his head back. It made him look even more intimidating.

His blue eyes were cold and icy as he lifted me to my feet.

“Thank you—” I tried to say, but he cut me off rudely.

“I have seen this trick before. How many girls do you think have used this cliché accident to try and get my attention? You’re not the first, and you certainly won’t be the last. Next time, I’ll watch you fall.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that he had been wrong, but he had already walked away. I fought the urge to throw my purse at him. That wouldn’t be classy.

I took out my phone and called my boyfriend.

“Miles, I twisted my ankle. I’m sending you my location. Please come and pick me up.”

Five minutes later, he was there. He carried me back to the banquet hall and sat me on one of the chairs there. He massaged my ankle and pulled out flat shoes for me.

“You shouldn’t walk in heels again tonight,” he said as he kissed my cheek. I blushed as he helped me to my feet. “Where did you run off to?”

“I went outside. I wanted to have a smoke.”

“You know what Jesse said. Tonight can’t go wrong.”

Instinctively, my eyes went across the room, and I made eye contact with Seth Ashford. He was still looking at me, his blue eyes still as icy and cold as they were before.

“Oh, I think it already went well,” I said to Miles while my eyes remained on Seth. We were engaging in a staring contest that was so intense that it was like a competition; the one who broke it first was the loser.

“I see,” Miles said, as he followed my gaze to Seth. “Good work. Jesse will be proud.”

“I didn’t even have to do much,” I said as I looked away from Seth and focused on Miles.

“No one can resist you, Ivy,” he said.

We changed the subject of our conversation and interacted with people until the night was almost over.

I grabbed a glass of champagne at the same time as someone else. His huge calloused hands grazed against mine, sending shockwaves throughout my body. I gasped a little and looked at Seth.

He had this thing about me that seemed to pull me in a way I didn’t like. I liked being in control, and where Seth was involved, there was no control.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” I said with a polite smile.

“We shouldn’t meet at all. I don’t like the sight of gold-diggers trying to get a big payout from seducing a billionaire. First, you fake a fall, and now you try to grab the same drink as me. Your tricks are dated.”

He was arrogant and cocky, and I would have given anything to knee him in the nuts. But I had to behave.

“Being a gold-digger would have to require someone to be desperate for money, and I’m not. Get off your high horse and touch some grass, you cocky bastard.”

I shouldn’t have called him a bastard because he liked soft women who didn’t curse and wore white. I regretted it until I saw the slight smirk he had on his face. He was enjoying my attitude.

“I know your kind. If it’s not money you want, it’s power. Stay in your place…” His voice trailed away like he was expecting me to tell him my name, but I wouldn’t. That would be too easy for him.

“I am in my place, and you don’t have anything I would want.”

I walked away and grabbed Miles, telling him we needed to leave. He stopped what he was doing and carried me out of the event, claiming I had already walked enough on my twisted ankle.

I knew Seth was watching me even without looking at him. I could already feel his eyes on me. I had piqued his interest.