Page 6 of Irresistible Valentine

Warren was suave, polished and persistent. As they ate, he talked to Mr. Argent about his project but kept it conversational, not like he was pressuring him. Good thing since Mr. Argent was glaring at him a lot while Warren was all smiles, though most of those were for Malcolm. Were he and Mr. Argent even friends?

Warren then pivoted to talking about a party he was throwing. At least that wasn't pissing off Mr. Argent as much as the sales pitch. Warren invited him to the party. That was no surprise, but he included Malcolm too, saying, "It's tonight. I can tell you guys need it. All work and no play can make a couple's life so dull."

"Umm, what?" Malcolm said. Did he just call them a couple? Malcolm stumbled over his words as he was about to deny it.

Mr. Argent didn't. He stated coldly, "Warren, we are not together. Where did you get that idea?"

Malcolm felt kind of insulted on top of the pang of stupid disappointment. Mr. Argent dismissive tone definitely hurt and he couldn't help glaring at him a little. But Warren seemed happy. He flashed Malcolm a thousand watt smile. Leaning in too close to him, Warren purred, "You're free for the taking. That's excellent news as far as I'm concerned."

He wasn't subtle. As Warren was grinning at him like he wanted to eat him alive, Malcolm had the dumb idea that Mr. Argent might possibly get jealous. But he was more likely to be jealous because he was interested in Warren, not Malcolm.

A glance at Mr. Argent told Malcolm that he wasn't pleased. So maybe he was into Warren. He did want Malcolm there as a buffer so he wouldn't offend Warren with a blunt refusal. That had to mean Warren was important to him, maybe as more than a friend.

Warren got a text and he sighed. "Looks like I have to rush off." As he stood up, ready to leave, Warren shot Malcolm a charming smile and confirmed that his party invitation was still for both Malcolm and Mr. Argent. "I'd like to see you both there. Don't disappoint me."

Now that he was gone, Malcolm felt so uncomfortable being alone at the table with Mr. Argent. He could swear that Warren's behavior toward him, plus his assumption about them being a couple, left behind a lingering tension and he had trouble meeting Mr. Argent's eye. They were done with their food, all Malcolm could do was fiddle with his wine glass. Why couldn't they just go back to the office now?

Mr. Argent just kept sitting there though. Did he want this to be excruciating? To stretch out the uncomfortable silence until it killed Malcolm?

"I assume you're considering Warren's invitation," Mr. Argent said and he downed the last of his wine. "Unless you don't have a babysitter for Paula."

Malcolm had this sense that Mr. Argent didn't want him to go, and that made him want to go. With a slight note of defiance in his voice, he told Mr. Argent, "Mona is free in the evenings. I think I should go to this party as your buffer to keep Warren from trying to get you to invest."

With that, Malcolm might have been hinting that they should go together, but he didn't really think Mr. Argent would go for it. He expected his boss to tell him he wasn't needed. That way Malcolm wouldn't get in the way of his good time with Warren.

"Warren will probably keep at it. He's very persistent," Mr. Argent said while eyeing Malcolm in a way he couldn't decipher. Maybe he was insinuating that Warren would keep hitting on him. "But you will be off duty, of course. Free to have a good time. I'll pick you up at 10:00."

Malcolm blinked at him. What just happened? Were they actually going to this party together? Mr. Argent seemed like he was waiting for a confirmation so Malcolm nodded, but he wasn't sure what he just got himself into. Not a date, of course. But then what? They weren't friends, so they weren't going as friends, and Malcolm didn't really believe Mr. Argent needed him as a buffer at this party. He didn't know what was going on.

Chapter 5

Since Malcolm had crazy plans to go to a party with his boss, Paula was going to Mona's house for a sleepover. She was nervous about that. Malcolm would have rather had Mona come over to stay with Paula, but she was cat-sitting as well as babysitting. Once Paula heard about the cat, she was much happier to stay over at Mona's. She couldn't wait to see the kitty.

Since it was dark by the time they went over, Paula was still a little anxious. They were going up to Mona's door with all the stuff Paula wanted to bring plus takeout because Malcolm wanted to treat Mona. They knocked on the door, and Mona answered wearing a big smile and a hideous sweater with sunflowers on it. Paula was a big fan of the hideous sweater. "That's a nice sweater," Paula said and Mona beamed at her.

"You're such a little sweetheart, thank you," she said and gave Paula a hug.

It turned out Mona was cat-sitting three cats while her friend's place was being fumigated. Paula was even happier now. "This sleepover is going to be such a success," Malcolm predicted seeing Paula crouching so the three cats could sniff her and nuzzle her.

Mona's living room was comfortable but cluttered. She was always shifting things so people could sit and now there were three cats there on top of that. But Paula was happy, talking softly to the kitties while Mona took the takeout from Malcolm and insisted that he stay and eat with them. "Paula would like that. What do you say, Paula, should your uncle eat dinner with us?"

Paula looked at him very seriously. "You have to eat, Uncle Malcolm. And the kitties too."

"The kitties have their own food. I'll let you give them some treats later," Mona told her. "Now lets wash your hands."

Mona took Paula with her and Malcolm checked his phone for the hundredth time. Why? Because he was convinced that Mr. Argent was going to cancel. There was no message like that, just Candy texting and wanting to know why she wasn't invited to this mysterious party.

Malcolm hadn't told her any details and he especially didn't tell her who he was going with. He wasn't eager to share since the first thing she texted when he told her he was going to a party was, "What are you talking about? You don't know how to party." He would tell her all about it after. It's not like he would know what to tell her right now anyway. He didn't know what going to this party was all about.

Malcolm sat down to dinner with Mona and Paula, who was distracted by the cats and what they were doing. Malcolm wasn't much better. He was too nervous to eat much.

Malcolm hung around until Paula's bedtime so he could tuck her in. She was hugging Mr. Cloud and one of the cats had decided to sleep at the foot of her bed. "In the morning, I'll be here to pick you up and I'll bring breakfast," Malcolm promised and kissed her face.

Paula reached up her arms and hugged him. "You're going with Mr. A? You're gonna see him? Say hi," she said.

"I will. Good night, honey," Malcolm said.

He stayed next to her bed until she was asleep then tiptoed out. Mona told him, "Have a good time. And by that I mean get yourself laid, boy."

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