Page 9 of Ace of Swords

My neck tensed. “I have work to get to.”

“I’ll see you tonight,” she said with a wink.

“Why do you think I'd show up for your party?” I asked. There was no way she overheard her father and I talking.

“Because I believe in facts, too,” she said. “And factually, you can't stay away from me.”

I itched to tell her she was wrong.

But I couldn't.

****

Iarrived at the partyexactly on time, not a minute before or after. I’d slipped into a pale-gray suit and jacket combo with a navy-blue tie. Distantly, I knew it would bring out my eyes, make me more attractive to...

To Tatiana.

I had to get her out of my head.

One hour, I decided. One hour to be seen by the boss, ooh and ahh over the appetizers, and nurse a single cocktail before I could split.

The party was packed and I calculated my odds of finding myself one-on-one with Tatiana again very low. I could do this with minimum damage or temptation if I just stuck to my plan. It was foolproof. It was not, however, Tatiana in a plunging neckline proof.

I sidled up to the bar scanning the room for a familiar face. If I could find someone from the office to stick to for the next hour, we could talk third quarter financials and I could escape merely wishing the lady of the hour congratulations rather than fucking her beautiful face.

When I graduated from college, I didn’t attend a single graduation party. Come to think of it, I could probably count the number of college parties I attended on one hand. I’d planned to graduate in three years and start working as soon as possible. And I did it, of course. But even with my limited experience, this party seemed unusually subdued for college seniors.

Looking around, I saw as many parents of grads as grads themselves. And something was missing. It was like the guest list was a random selection of the senior class rather than a close-knit group of friends. Even though my goal for the evening was avoiding her, I had to wonder where Tatiana was hiding.

“What’ll you have, sir?” the bartender asked.

“I’ll take a whiskey neat, thanks.”

As I was waiting for my drink, I struck gold: Dianne from HR walked up. I usually avoided Dianne at the office. She’s the type of colleague who lives for after work drinks and group birthday cards, but tonight I could make an exception. For me, work is work, and my personal life is just that—personal. But with temptation lurking just around the corner, I’d need to get personal with Dianne to save my professional life.

“Dianne! It’s great to see you!” I said.

By the look on her face, she was surprised by my attention, but like the good little office den mother she was, smiled warmly at me as the bartender presented my drink. “Rolland, I didn’t think you liked to... fraternize.”

“Some invitations are impossible to turn down.” I let her interpret that however she wanted.

“Look at this place,” she said, gesturing with a sweep of her hand to the elaborately decorated ballroom. “Tatiana is the jewel in her father’s crown. His devotion to that girl is amazing. He spares no expense for his princess. Have you tried the Kobe sliders the waiters are carting around? I swear I've had half a dozen.”

I led Dianne to a small cocktail table as we chatted about the staffs’ new babies and the latest happy hour menu at Little Pete’s across from the office. As Dianne was typing on her cell phone, sending me an article that I should read before our next “Safety in the Workplace” presentation, I saw her.

Tatiana.

She looked like she’d been plucked from an old film noir movie—from another time and place, where the atmosphere was heavy with sex and danger. In that ballroom with guests dressed to the nines, she stood out; a red silk robe, belted at the waist, clinging to her ass like some magnetic force.

Her hair, darker than I remembered it, cascaded down her shoulders in gentle waves. It veiled her face except for her magic little mouth, her ruby painted lips. I couldn’t take my eyes off those lips, or stop my mind from wandering back to the night when her mouth was on me.

Dianne excused herself just in time for me to adjust myself under the table. I’d also need to adjust my plan. I wouldn’t last another thirty minutes at this party now that I saw my Fun Girl. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Tatiana and the way her body moved underneath the loosely draped silk. I watched her as she made a circuit around the room, greeting groups of people—classmates, by the looks of them.

They exchanged hellos and spoke briefly. I didn’t detect the slightest bit of warmth or familiarity between any of them. No bursts of laughter, just flat conversations, as if they were talking about the weather. I couldn’t find a hint of the seductress I’d met the other night.

Maybe Tatiana’s college years were spent similarly to mine, focused on grades and building a stellar resume for graduation, but I could hardly believe it was by choice. When I started college, I’d zeroed in on a plan, and no kegger or karaoke night was going to distract me. But Tatiana, gorgeous spontaneous blowjob-in-the-garden Tatiana, she didn’t seem like the type who’d voluntarily give up her social life.

I spotted Sergio across the room. It looked like he was mixing business with pleasure, holding court over a few older men. Marcus was easy to recognize, the others took me half a second.Investors from our last meeting. As his accountant, this pleased me; he’d certainly spent a fortune on this party, so a small return on the investment made me happy. But I wondered how much of this evening was for Tatiana, and how much was for her father's business interests.

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