AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When we arrived,Karl stopped outside the museum entrance to let us out.
Once inside, I found Dennis’s description hadn’t prepared me for what awaited us. Walking through the museum’s doors was like stepping onto a Disney fairytale set.Wowwas the only description that came to mind.
I walked alongside Dennis past multiple ice sculptures, colorful bunting, and tall floral arrangements lining the entrance hall—an explosion of opulence in complete contrast to the drab exterior of the building.
Past that, waiters in white waistcoats weaved through the crowd, carrying silver platters of bubbly and hors d’oeuvres. We passed a fountain of liquid chocolate. Avoiding a stop to taste it was a supreme effort in self-control.
Dennis snatched two glasses of champagne for us as I followed him to the easels displaying the seating charts.
So far I hadn’t seen any sign of Her Craziness, Melissa.
Dennis motioned toward a doorway to the side. “Let’s check out the silent auction.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
On the way, he introduced me to his younger brother Josh and his sister Serena. In both cases he introduced me as his date.
I wanted to explain that we worked together, but thought better of it. After a quick, amiable chat, he dragged me into the other room with the auction items.
Tables stretched the length of the space, covered with expensive items for people to bid on, with proceeds going to the museum. Dennis put his name down on a week for two in Hawaii with a ridiculously high bid.
“Cindy said you don’t take vacations.”
He shrugged. “I don’t.”
I’d scoped out Hawaiian vacations—not that I could afford one, but internet browsing was free. “You know it doesn’t cost that much, don’t you?”
“It’s for a good cause.”
He intended to win this one. Apparently rich guys like him didn’t mess around when they wanted something. I couldn’t have afforded to bid on anything we had seen yet except an ugly chess set that hadn’t gotten any bids.
“Why bid on something you’re not going to use?”
“Hey, what’s with the twenty questions?”
Appropriately chastised, I kept quiet as I followed him on a complete circuit of the tables.
In the end, he only bid on the Hawaii trip.
When dinner was called, we sat at a table with his sister and some others from work. Cindy was here with her husband, a nice guy who worked as a mechanic at the local Toyota dealership, as well as my old boss, Mr. Fisher, and his wife.
Just as I took my seat, I caught a glimpse of Melissa at a table on the far side of the room. She was looking the other way.
Larry, the marketing guy with the loud mouth, hadn’t brought a date and took the seat on the other side of me before I could get Serena’s attention to sit there.
She took the chair on the other side of Larry.
I expected Larry to chat me up, and he didn’t disappoint.
“I’m glad you came,” he said. “We haven’t had much of a chance to talk.”
I’d gathered from the other girls at lunch that Larry was a player and readied myself for the come-on lines.
“Dennis has kept me pretty busy,” I said.
“Do you like dogs?”
I’d anticipated a more direct come-on. “Sure, who doesn’t? But I can’t have one in my apartment.” I caught his quick look down my dress and was thankful the tape was holding. The unease of feeling naked caused a momentary shiver.
