Page 30 of A Malicious Menagerie
Get it together, I chide myself. I force my gaze away from her modelesque form to concentrate on not tripping over the red brick path.
As we approach a table positioned between the woods and the mountain section of the menagerie, I spot a familiar face. Sure enough, Nathan leads me that way. “Mr. Mathis,” Nathan calls when we’re closer. “I’ve brought Ms. Carmichael.”
“Ah, Anna!” my boss exclaims fondly, as if we’re old friends rather than a lowly employee and her threatening boss. “I’m so glad you could make it. You look stunning, dear. That color suits you.”
“Thank you,” I reply stiltedly, trying not to be awkward and failing miserably as he leans in to kiss my cheek. His lips are dry, and he smells likefancy old man cologne. Something with a name like “bourbon and leather.”
“Let me introduce you to some of my guests,” he continues, and I’m unceremoniously transferred from Nathan’s arm to Mathis’s. I fling a panicked look at Nathan, but he only gives me a surreptitious thumbs up before wandering away, leaving me at the mercy of Mathis and his guests.
“Here, I had my event planner seat you next to me,” Mathis tells me. Before I can fully flesh out the thought ‘why?’, he’s pulling out a chair and encouraging me to sit. As he pushes my chair in for me, I try to decide if I’m more intimidated by the number of forks at my place setting or by the number of eyes watching me curiously from around the table. “Everyone, this is Anna. She’s one of the menagerie’s caretakers and is an expert on my creatures.”
Hardly,I think, but I don’t say it aloud. “Hi,” I greet the table at large, waving tentatively.
“Well, aren’t you precious,” a deep voice intones. I turn to a handsome man wearing a smug smile across the table. His dark brown hair has a dash of gray at the temples, though he’s likely in his forties. The faintest hint of scruff accentuates his square jaw, adding just the right amount of roughness to his otherwise polished appearance. Unlike most of the men at the gala, he’s wearing an ivory tuxedo jacket, which somehow makes him look distinguished and pretentious all at once. His shark-gray eyes skim down what he can see of my body where I’m sitting at the table, his gaze lighting on my lips, shoulders, and breasts before flicking to his host. “Where’d you find this one, Mars?”
Mathis looks completely unfazed. “Anna, this is Chad.”
“Charles Smarman,” the man in question corrects, shooting me a cocksure grin full of too many perfect white teeth. “Esquire.Attorney at Smarman & Smarman Law.”
Unimpressed, I ask, “Are you the first or second Smarman of Smarman & Smarman?”
His smug smile dims one milliwatt. “My father founded the firm.”
“Mm,” I hum dismissively. “The second Smarman.”
His scowl furrows his dark brows. “Don’t you watch the news? I just gotLucas Moss acquitted.”
Now,thatrings a bell. “The actor who murdered his wife?”
His grin returns as quickly as it fled. “Not according to the court of law, he didn’t.”
Disgusted, I dismiss him, looking to the woman beside him. My eyes widen when I recognize her. “You’re Meredith Lowell.”
The beautiful blonde country star grins, revealing deep dimples. “You’ve heard of me,” she teases in her signature Southern drawl.
“Hard not to,” I reply. “Can’t go anywhere without hearing one of your songs on the radio.”
“Merry is my goddaughter,” Mathis pipes in, and of course she is.
The other two men at the table are Silicon Valley tech tycoons that I’ve never heard of but are apparently richer than Midas. Just when I begin to think that the final seat at the table will remain empty, the beautiful woman in the sari I saw on the carousel fondling my wolf floats over in a jasmine-scented cloud. She graciously accepts as one of the tech moguls jumps up to pull out her chair. “Thank you,” she says in a heavily accented but musical voice.
“Thank you for joining us, Ms. Gupta. For those of you who don’t follow Bollywood, Ms. Radha Gupta is arguably the most famous actress in India right now.”
“You flatter me, Mr. Mathis,” the beautiful actress replies, her long, dark lashes lowering demurely.
“Only the truth, only the truth,” Mathis blusters. Before he can say more, a pack of servers suddenly appears and begins to deposit the first course on tables in between pouring glasses of wine.
At first, the conversation revolves around casual subjects such as one of the tech tycoon’s latest app developments and Radha Gupta’s latest film. I take the time to carefully watch the table for which fork to use and how to eat some of the less conventional meals, like one that involves oysters and another with lobster tail still in the shell. Every bite of food is rich and decadent and expensive and… oddly disappointing. Say what you want about my tastes, but I’d take a good burger or my Nan’s homemade mac and cheese over an oily duck dish I can’t pronounce any day.
Unfortunately, my reprieve doesn’t last long. As the servers are handing out espresso after the last course, Mathis turns to me with a cheerful grin. “Anna, I was hoping that after dinner you could give some of the guests a tour? We have about an hour before the winners of the last silent auction are announced.”
While I find it odd that they’re announcing the winners of thelastsilent auction—don’t the tablets tally up results quickly enough for a same-night announcement?—this is what I’m here for, so I agree. Once the espresso is done, Mathis has me wait by the path to the aquarium while he gathers some select guests for this special tour.
Unfortunately, Chad Smarman is one of the lucky invitees. He hovers uncomfortably close while other guests trickle over, murmuring among themselves. Strangely, they’re all men, even though about half the guests appeared to be women, and a shiver of unease worms along my spine.
Once there’s a group of about ten men gathered around me, some still chatting casually together but others eyeing me speculatively in a way that has my stomach squirming, Mathis makes his way back over and gives me a quick smile. “That should be all, Anna. I trust your judgment in which exhibits to show and how to best navigate the menagerie. The other guests will be taking in the sights as well, but don’t mind them. There will be an announcement, but everyone will plan to meet in the woods section for the silent auction.”
“Got it,” I say, trying to project confidence. Still, I can feel my tour group’s eyes on my mostly naked back, and confidence is close to the bottom of the list of things I’m feeling right now.
