Page 77 of Game Changer
“Sorry,” Scott said. “I’m not great at talking to women.”
“It probably doesn’t come up often in your line of work.” She smiled at him, a secret little smile that almost seemed like she was making fun of him, but it was warmer than that.
“No,” he said, smiling back. “It doesn’t, unfortunately.”
Kip seemed to be taking him in. His eyes were roaming over his entire body, and he was chewing his lip. Scott tried to think of a reason to touch him. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a woman he didn’t recognize.
“Elena! You look gorgeous! How are you enjoying yourself?”
Elena embraced the woman, and they kissed each other’s cheeks.
“The party’s incredible, Jacqueline. You’ve done an amazing job,” Elena said.
“You think so? I do like the contrast of old New York glamour and our cutting-edge technology.” She turned to Scott and extended her hand. “Scott Hunter! Thank you so much for coming. Jacqueline Kane.”
Ah. The CEO of Equinox.
“Of course. Thank you for inviting me,” Scott said politely.
“I didn’t know you two knew each other,” Jacqueline said, pointing between Scott and Elena.
“We’ve just met,” Scott said.
“Lucky you! Elena has been immeasurably valuable to the company this past year. We absolutely love her. And, I’m sorry, I’m being rude. We haven’t been introduced.” She extended her hand to Kip. “I’m Jacqueline.”
“I’m, uh, Christopher. Grady.” Kip shook her hand.
“Do you also work in IT, Christopher?”
“No—I, um—No. I don’t.”
Scott wanted to jump in and say something complimentary about Kip, but he wasn’t supposed to know who he was.
“You’re with Elena?” Jacqueline asked Kip.
“No! I mean... I’m her date, yes. We’re friends. Good friends.”
“Oh! All right. How about you, Scott? Did you bring anyone special tonight?”
Scott couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at Kip before saying, “I came alone.”
Jacqueline smiled and looked at Scott and then at Elena. “Well, I’ll leave you to get acquainted. Enjoy yourselves!”
“We will. Have a good evening, Jacqueline,” Scott said politely.
“You hadn’t met Jacqueline before?” Elena asked.
“No,” Scott said. “I get invited to all sorts of things by people I don’t actually know.” He chuckled. “It felt surreal, at first, being a poor kid from Rochester and suddenly being immersed in this whole other world. Rubbing shoulders with New York royalty.”
“I can imagine,” Kip said, with a small smile.
Scott frowned, becausedidKip feel that way? It was easy for Scott to think of himself as just a guy from Rochester because that’s what hewas. But was this all surreal for Kip? It must be, at least a little.
One of the things Scott really liked about Kip was that he never seemed interested in Scott’s money or fame. Being with Kip was the only time Scott felt like... Scott.
Elena must have noticed the awkwardness between them, because she quickly dumped the entire contents of her glass into her mouth. “Oh, look. My martini’s gone. I’m going to the bar to get another one. Scott, what are you drinking?”
“Oh, um, a beer. Just a beer. Stella, I guess, if they have it.”
