Call It Business ( Book 3 of 'Call It' Series )

Chapter 74 | The Hot Topic

The bold colors adorned the vast dining hall with the color of blood draping from the drapes and pitch-black tables gleaming under the golden beam of the chandelier. Red roses and white candles mashed together in union and rested on every surface, making a floral warm scent spread into the room and mixed into the pleasant chatter and the footsteps of the servers against the marble flooring as they crossed through the room without giving a damn about the tiles.

With her chin positioned on her knuckles and her gaze sharpening in suspicion, Macy's eyes carefully scanned every face in the room to play the good old parlor game wink murder. Unfortunately, this time, it wasn't about guessing who the killer among the friend was, she was the sole player, trying to guess who was from the FBI, who was from security, and who was Kurt's employee.

Five minutes into her dinner, which was specifically served by an actual bodyguard she knew, she decided that the game was a little too boring and definitely less exciting than the game she played at a classic Matthias Clermont party: 'Guess the magical powers and dark secrets of the guest!' 

Mr. I-Keep-Walking-To-The-Window could easily be summoning a dangerous sea creature by looking at the pool, but no! He was just an FBI agent, who loved private conversations. Mrs. Oh-I-Just-Returned-From-London-I-Forgot-To-Adjust-My-Watch wasn't some time traveler, who was here to stop a murder. She was a security, who got her 'disguise for the party at the last minute and didn't have time to check on anything. Mrs. Gerard-I-Heard-Some-Rumors-Are-You-Okay certainly wasn't a siren with that alluring voice of hers, she just wanted her villainous husband and was immensely excited about the breakup rumors for the love of freaking gods!

Whatever.

Macy was glad about her decision.

She didn't do teams.

She thought she could try out one, but nope. The teams were officially proven to have their own schemes and betrayals. She certainly couldn't deal with some inner conflict when her exterior was surrounded by it. Please! Should she worry about Kurt or her own villain?

Even now, as she sat on the long dining table, he seemed to possess a certain danger for her mission. Because across the room, she could perfectly see him lounging on the table and surrounded by very-important-looking-people-plus-her-father. Macy suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at the rich picture, yet she admitted that there was something quite hilarious about seeing Jeff Wallace unlocking his skills on showmanship and laughing and agreeing with everything the villain said, who seemed far from appreciating it with the occasional tight line of his jaw.

Being far too used to his wicked presence in the events they ran into each other even, Macy still felt unprepared for the moment he sensed her glare on him. His jade gaze effortlessly found and landed on hers as Mr. Jeff-I-Am-A-Big-Fan kept talking on the seat in front of him.

It wasn't intentional when the corner of her lips tilted up slightly, though it hardly made it to her eyes. No. She was annoyed at him for taking advantage of the tiny loophole in Jeff Wallace's dream storyline and using it to work with the FBI behind her back. She was perfectly irritated that Mark knew about it but didn't tell her anything. She was angry that she had no idea about his next move while he seemed prepared for all of hers. She was furious that he could trap her in her spot and send an electrical bolt down her spine with just one look just as easily as how he could spot her in the crowded gathering.

A bark of a laugh pierced through the intense trance, and she almost jerked back on her seat to spot Joseph Emerson at the end of her table, putting a hand on his large chest and laughing.

Now, that was the most suspicious thing of all.

Because, for the love of gods, the man kept laughing at every joke Eloise had been telling him tonight. Macy had seen him plenty of times and never once she'd spotted him smiling! She could have shrugged and overlooked that mystery if it hadn't been for the raspy voice demanding Emerson next to her: