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I shook my head. I understood Alexa’s loss all too well. “I said I’m sure.”
“That’s my only concern,” Charlie said after a moment. “Since it’s your goose that gets cooked here, the call is up to you.”
It never paid to show weakness or indecision. “She’s the one,” I confirmed. “And I plan to start tonight, as I said.”
“Go ahead, but keep it toned down. Mild, sweet PDA. I don’t care how handsy you are behind closed doors, but no boob grabs like the picture that they got last night. They’re not handholds, in public at least.”
“She tripped and I caught her awkwardly. That’s all.”
“It doesn’t matter what you meant; it only matters what the camera catches. Hands to yourself. Can you do that?”
I gritted my teeth, not because it was hard, but because she obviously didn’t believe me. “Of course.”
“Good. Don’t give out her name. Keep the mystery alive. Bradley will be ready to leak it when the time is right—and the fact that you knew each other a long time ago. For this now, that’s all we want. Make sure there are pictures. This will mark the beginning of your renewed relationship for the press.”
“Thanks, Charlie.”
“Have a nice evening, Mr. McAllister.”
“It’s Evan,” I reminded her. But she was gone.
CHAPTER12
Alexa
I checkedmyself before heading out to meet my new boyfriend for our first planned date. Yup, tastefully elegant, by my standards.
I didn’t count last night as a date. That had been a business meeting to negotiate terms. This time I had dressed more appropriately for dinner at a fine restaurant. With a scoop neck, the top wasn’t office conservative, but it also wasn’t anything scandalous. Not that I owned anything like that anyway.
Well, that wasn’t true. I gone out for pizza once in a tank top loose enough that with no bra it qualified as a dangerous amount of side-boob. I’d been stressed about the CPA exam the next day, and was it my fault the underwire on my one clean bra had picked that morning to start poking me? I was behind on my laundry and running late—so shoot me.
My boyfriend at the time, Ty, hadn’t learned to accept my lateness. So, when I was both late and “half-dressed” as he’d put it, he blew a gasket.
Today I wasn’t making that mistake. A dark skirt—above the knee, but not too high—and yes, freshly shaved legs. I finished my look with the best simple black heels I owned, a pair that Gwen had picked out with me. The only things flashy were the rows of fake jewels on the straps of the shoes and the fake Gucci bag I’d picked up on Canal Street.
I arrived at the Golden Oak five minutes late and went inside. I was second in line. The young girl at the hostess station showed off her abundant cleavage with more buttons undone than I would be comfortable with. She added giggles and a few bounces as she shifted side to side.
But Suzanne, according to her name tag, was wasting her display on the two guys ahead of me. They were close enough to the counter that she couldn’t see they were holding hands.
After a waiter escorted them in, I walked up. “I’m joining Mr. McAllister, or it could be under Evan.”
She grabbed a menu. “If you’ll follow me, please.”
Evan was the kind of man people noticed. That had to be why she didn’t need to consult her table chart. Yes, the billionaire got the good table regardless of when he arrived.
She wended her way to the end of the room, past a partition, and then back to a table set apart a bit from the others, near a window facing the street—an odd choice of table, in my opinion. Perhaps distance from your fellow diners was the perk of privilege.
Unlike last night, I blended in well enough that I didn’t get any of the what-are-you-doing-here looks I had at DiMaggio’s.
Evan did three things when he saw me. He checked his watch—of course he did, he rose to meet me, and he smiled.
That last one made my heart flutter. His dimple was dangerously adorable, andadorablewasn’t a word I’d ever associated with Evan before.
He held out both hands.
Not knowing if he meant for me to hug him or not, I grasped his hands rather than wrapping him in an embrace. We hadn’t discussed anything about how we’d act together.
“Allie, you look stunning tonight.”
