Page 47 of Forced Proximity

At the couch, Conner pours himself a drink from the table bottle.

Drink number four. Sigh.

I resume my position, as Justin sinks next to Conner and his other friends. A few moments later a security guard approaches with a couple of women and says something to the men. A moment later, Conner and Anthony enthusiastically nod, and Justin shrugs. The guard lifts the velvet rope and the women step forward, one burning a hole in me with her scowl.

You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m pretty good at recognizing faces, but a six-foot tall, blonde model-like woman, even in LA is hard to forget. Ivy. The receptionist from the studio. Even after swapping her blouse and pencil skirt for a barely-there silver mini-dress, I didn’t forget that steely gaze. How in the hell did she know Justin would be here tonight?

The words from Ivy’s coworker ring in my ear: ‘she’s obsessed’.

Chapter 22

Lexi

As the club music beats beneath my feet, my stomach tightens as Ivy not-so-subtly drapes herself over Justin. I cannot shake my dark feeling about her, and my gut isn’t typically wrong. Something’s off.

A tired-looking Zane approaches from my side. ‘When’s your shift over?’

‘Not soon enough.’ I check my watch. ‘Less than an hour.’

I follow Zane’s gaze to the couch, and heat prickles my skin. Ivy’s giggling and trailing her hands on Justin’s forearms. This is exactly what I shouldn’t be doing. Monitoring their interactions for his safety, fine. Monitoring because jealousy simmers inside, not fine. I’m this close to crossing a line, and I need to stop.

Earlier tonight Justin looked at me that way when he saw me in the dress. It’s not that I haven’t picked up what he’s throwing down. I have. I’m pretty sure my brewing feelings are not totally one-sided, even with him saying I’m not his type. But I’m his staff. Hired to protect. Sworn to an oath. Even if Justin feels something, I can’t act upon it. I’d lose my job. My integrity. I’d put him in danger. So yeah, the urge to rip Ivy’s face off is not good.

‘It’s gross, right?’

Zane’s words snap me from my thoughts. ‘What’s that?’

‘The way these women act. It’s like Justin could say he spat on someone’s face and they’d giggle.’ Zane digs in their purse and pulls out a lip balm. ‘I love how Justin’s all hunched over with his hands clasped like he’s praying. Pretty sure he’s hating every second of this.’

I don’t know. Sure, his eyes aren’t doing the full-on sparkly thing, but he is smiling. He might be loving it for all I know. Of course, Justin probably gets hit on constantly. But since most of our outings are work related, I don’t normally have a front seat to the action. I don’t like it.

And I hate that I don’t like it.

‘This must happen a lot, huh?’ Yep. I’m unabashedly one hundred percent digging for intel.

‘Yeah. But he rarely acts on it.’ Zane tips their head toward a different couch. ‘Want to sit down with me?’

More than just about anything. Heels suck. ‘No, I shouldn’t. This spot gives me the best vantage point.’

‘Suit yourself. I’m gonna order another drink,’ Zane says, tugging on their bag. ‘Need anything?’

I shake my head. Zane gives my arm a squeeze before they walk away. I’m so ready for this night to be over. Forty-six minutes left. Just survive the next forty-six minutes.

For the next ten minutes, I scan the room, do a soft occupancy calculation, maintain an internal live feed as to which exit paths contain the fewest amount of people, and absolutely do not let myself look at Justin and Ivy any more than what’s needed for my job. I grab my purse from the table next to me, check my blood sugar levels, pop a few pieces of a protein bar in my mouth and return to my position.

When my gaze travels back, Justin catches my eye and a dimple pops up. He says something to Ivy, who smiles, but the moment Justin crosses the room to me, her smile drops. And it’s ridiculous, but satisfaction fills me. I’m blaming my irritation on wearing a dress.

‘Having fun?’ he asks, leaning next to me against the wall.

‘Fun?’ I say, peeking at him through a side-eye. ‘It’s better than getting waxed but worse than a pedicure.’

He smiles with that soft grin that does stupid things to my insides, then inches closer until we’re shoulder to shoulder. It’s not smart that his body is touching mine. I get distracted when that happens, and distraction is a hazard.

‘You look beautiful tonight.’

The flutters reach from my scalp to toes, but I ignore them. He’s polite. A little tipsy. He’s my goddamn client. ‘Thank you.’

A few moments stretch between us, when Justin crosses his arms. ‘I’m having a problem.’