ANDRE was right in picking that green dress. Sizing Colleen with his eyes, as he always does whenever she was up close, he knew she was a size 8. So when he waltzed into Chanel’s store asking for a green dress for a certain redhead that could steal the attention of an entire room, the attendant knew who he was talking about.
And just as he thought, he was right. Immediately Colleen stepped into the hall, heads swung in her direction. Even Andre’s breath caught. She was just so beautiful.
Swiping a glass of champagne from the tray, he proceeded to meet the woman of the night. His night.
“I suppose a little credit should be accorded to me,” he said, handing her the champagne glass. “The whole room is looking at you, Colleen.”
She shivered nervously as she took in the pairs of eyes glancing in their direction. “You know, that kind of makes me uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable because you happen to be the most beautiful woman in here, tonight?” Andre passed her a heartening smile, collected the glass from her hand, and placed it in the tray of the party waiter. Placing a hand in the small of her back, he led her to the dance floor. “I should have the pleasure of dancing with you, at least, before we run off to do our little assignment.”
The mere gesture of him banding his arms tightly around her waist set her blood on fire. She had almost forgotten what proximity with him did to her body. And brain.
Colleen fluttered with apprehension, swallowing hard as she, instinctively, wrapped her hands around his neck.
“Good,” said Andre. “Now the other men staring at you will keep off.”
Together, eyes locked on one other, they swayed to the soft music that wafted through the room. When he was being less cocky and a gentleman, Colleen found herself falling deeper than she realized. That is not to say when Andre Lourdes was being Andre Lourdes made the situation of her falling non-existent. The only difference was that it happened twice as fast when he was showing this side of himself.
“God, I could stare at you all night and not get tired,” he said, pulling her hair behind her ear to get a better view of her face. Thank goodness she wore it down otherwise he would have dragged her into the men’s bathroom and did it himself.
Amongst other things.
Heat surged through her body and her cheeks turned red. There was no hiding that one. And honestly, Andre wasn’t even prepared to tease her about it tonight. Seeing heads swing in her direction tonight made him realize that if he kept stalling, Darren fucking James might just make a move on her. And he didn’t want anybody, man or woman, making advances towards Colleen Caddell. Anybody except for him.
Colleen cleared her throat and broke the gaze, looking at the roomful of elegantly dressed people.
“You sure know how to throw one hell of an event,” she said appreciatively, returning her gaze to Andre who still looked starry-eyed. Then, placing a stiletto-clad foot on his foot, she stepped on him, effectively drawing him out of his trance.
“I just complimented you.”
“Really?” His eyes gleamed. “What did you say?”
“And fuel that ego of yours? Hell no.”
“You in my arms is already enough fuel.”
Thank the heaven’s Tobias showed up right about the time her wobbly knees were about to give in otherwise Colleen was going to have to explain to Liz for the rest of her life how she, literally, fell for a man.
“So,” Tobias started with so much vigor. “Who are we wooing tonight?”
She chuckled, taking his look in that wine-colored tuxedo. “Looking good, Toby.”
“You think?” his eyes skewered down to his outfit, not noticing the glare Andre had cast his way.
When he looked up again, he appreciated the compliment and turned to Andre who was watching the two smile at each other in ways his brain interpreted differently.
Maybe he should stop worrying about other men like Darren James and start worrying about the one closest to her: Tobias McGrith.
“Mr. Lourdes.” He acknowledged with a nod and Andre forced a smile, deliberately implanting himself between the both of them.
“Alright. That’s enough chit-chat,” he started in that very familiar business-y tone. “Don’t forget the plan: do more listening than speaking. And when you do speak, make sure it’s enough to keep their interest. I trust Colleen will have no problem maintaining that. But you, Tobias, you might have to work on being less flirty and more professional so that you can be taken seriously.”
“Flirty?”
“Toby doesn’t come off as flirty,” Colleen intervened.
“Anyway,” he chose to ignore. “I have narrowed down three names for each of you for the night. While I’ll be out in the back observing, you, Colleen will be speaking to Mr. Jack Andrews, owner of A. A. Firm. As you may know, that is the biggest architectural firm in Michigan. It’s important to note that the man is pretty pompous so when you start a conversation with him, best believe he can keep talking all night; about himself and his firm, that is. What he wouldn’t know he is doing is giving you a lecture on how he runs the most successful firm in the state. A lecture that will come in handy when pitching about the bureaucratic administration of the project you intend to carry out. Got that?”
She shook her head in assertion. “Got it.”
“The second person is Mrs. Jennifer Edwards. She’s a widow and is especially fascinated by intelligent, beautiful women which is why ninety percent of the employees in her company are female. Now when she is not running her company, she collects art.”
“So she has like a mini museum or something?” asked Tobias.
“She has seven private museums.”
They both stared at him in awe.
“So as a sucker for art, you’d bet she would be interested in whatever you have to say. As long as you’re saying the right things.
“As for the third person, Mr. Ohio, who is already taken by your person and personality, he is interested in owning a state-of-the-art building back in his hometown in Colorado. What he means by ‘state of the art,’ is for you to find out. Note the kinds of things he likes, what he detests, and make sure to explain that even if he may be voting on your pitch, you won’t be working for him but with him.”
He went over the three subjects for Tobias, as well, and when he was done, Andre clapped his hands softly to draw them out of their muse.
“That’s Mrs. Jennifer in the black satin dress, that is Jack Andrews and as you know, Mr. Ohio. I’ll be in the back if you need any pointers. But I trust you two will be fine, right?”
Tobias and Colleen shook their heads at the same time, feeling all the excitement this little mission brought with it.
“Do not forget, these people have a shit ton of money they have no idea how to spend. Convince them you are capable of running something worth their investment and on the day, your pitch will be racking up votes like the talisman racks up dead bodies.”
???
Both Tobias and Colleen looked at him weirdly but he was quick to wave them on their way. To Andre, that was a perfectly fine metaphor.
For the rest of the evening, Colleen conversed with all her targets, paying heed to every detail they said and engendering all the pointers Andre had passed to her. By the end of the night, she was certain she had charmed all three of them, especially Jennifer Edwards who even went as far as collecting her contact and promising to be in touch. Not to sound complacent, but Colleen thought that Mr. Ohio and Jennifer Edwards were two votes in the bag already. Probably more than any other pair. And that was all thanks to Andre. They might actually have a shot at winning this thing at the pitching which was about twelve days away.
Unlike the first networking event, she saw this one out, to the last minute. By midnight, almost everyone had retired to their various residences but Colleen waited. She waited for Andre to thank him, especially for his dedication and motivation toward her and the project.
As she stood by the terrace, hanging on the balustrade, she breathed in the cool night breeze, feeling all sorts of happy hormones spike through her body. And while her mind reverenced and reflected on the good of the night, Tobias came up to her.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, showing his teeth in a broad grin. “I don’t know about you, but I feel goooood.”
Colleen laughed. “Then I feel twice as goooood.”
“You know, I was careful not to give too much of our pitch away but from the surface, I think they were loving it.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Definitely,” he affirmed. “By the time we’re done, we would have one hell of a project to pitch to the investors.”
Almost immediately, a call came in and Tobias’ excitement dropped from a hundred to an all-time low. Colleen didn’t fail to notice. Of course she thought it was a family member or something calling. Her father or mother calling her right now would do the same thing to her mood.
“Excuse me,” he said, gesturing to his ringing phone.
“Sure. Go ahead.”
Tobias moved away, completely, from the terrace, going into the closest men’s room in the area.
When he had ascertained he was inside alone, he hit the answer button.
“It’s a little odd calling by this time.”
“You’re awake, aren’t you? I say it’s perfect timing. How is it going over there?”
“Good.” He responded gruffly.
“Good?”
“Yes. Andre Lourdes seems to be enjoying himself.”
“Enjoying himself, how?”
“There’s this woman he met. Pretty redhead. I think he might be interested in her.”
There was a pause before the voice sounded again. “Colleen Caddell?”
Tobias’ eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How do you know her name?”
“That’s not for you to know.”
“How about you? How is it going on your end?”
“We found a hair on the scene of Camilla Lourdes’ death. Actually, we found it on her. I tried corrupting it but I think they might get a result out of scanning the strand.”
“You corrupted evidence? Wow. You really do hate your brother.”
“That’s right. And I paid you to get useful information-”
“Well you can’t exactly get information out of somebody that is innocent, can you?”
“But you can get him to say things that will be useful in framing him for the murder of my mother. That is what I paid you to do, Tobias McGrith. And that is what you must do!
“And one more thing,” the voice sounded just before Tobias hung up the phone. This time, it was filled with double the spite. “Andre doesn’t deserve any happiness in this world. So if the girl makes him happy, do something about that.”