Dave made a sound like a snort. "He's the man who pays my wages. That makes him nice to me, too."
"Seriously, you've known him longer than I have. You were in the army together. Is he 'nice' to other people?"
"Jake's nice when he wants to be nice. When he doesn't … " He shrugged. "Come on. Quit scowling, Kim. You wouldn't be here if Jake didn't think you were capable."
She sighed. "Okay. You're right. I'm off to mingle with the rich and famous and look for bad guys."
An hour later, she'd completed her second circuit and was about to call in an all clear when she spotted Nadia heading straight for her. Kim searched for an escape route but she was trapped.
Nadia came to a halt in front of her. She looked wired, as though she'd had too much champagne or snorted something even stronger in one of the bathrooms. Jake wouldn't like that, Kim reflected cheerfully. He hardly touched alcohol and was opposed to drugs of any kind.
"He's very good," Nadia said.
"Good? What and who are we talking about here?" Kim asked, a sense of unease coiling in her belly.
"Jake, of course. He's very … well-endowed."
"What?" Kim squeaked.
"And he knows exactly what to do with it."
Definitely more information than she needed to know. Kim did not want to think about her boss's attributes. Ever. Of course, now, thanks to Nadia's ridiculous statement, that's all she was going to think about.
She glanced around to check that no one else was listening to this conversation. "Why are you telling me this, Nadia? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely fascinated." She injected as much boredom into her voice as possible, stopping barely short of a yawn. "I'm just interested to know why you're sharing."
Nadia smiled. Just the slightest tilt of her lips while her eyes remained cold; she'd obviously taken lessons from Jake. "I wanted to see if you would agree with me. I wanted to find out if you already knew how good he was."
"Why should I?" This whole conversation was surreal. She reckoned the crazy bus was leaving the station and Kim was afraid she might have hopped a ride with Nadia.
"I've seen the way he looks at you."
Nadia took a step closer, invading her personal space, and Kim poked a finger into the other woman's bony chest.
"Back off," she growled. "And no you haven't, because he doesn't. Look at me, I mean." She shook her head in confusion. "Well, he does sometimes, I suppose. I mean he looks at everybody sometimes." She waved a hand as if to encompass "everybody" and almost backhanded Nadia in the face-would Jake believe it was an accident? "What's odd about that?" She clasped her hands in front of her to keep from gesticulating further.
"Normally, it's not so noticeable," Nadia continued. "But tonight you look different, and he can't keep his eyes off you. He's possessive. Why should he be possessive if he doesn't already own you?"
The woman had always been wacky, but tonight she was a raving lunatic-probably from the drugs-and in danger of causing a scene.
Dave. She needed Dave.
Kim was about to press her cell when she spied Dave approaching Jake and waved frantically at him. Dave spoke briefly with their boss and then walked over.
"Jake would like a word, Kim," he said smoothly. "Nadia, let me get you a drink."
Kim trudged across the room toward Jake as though she'd just gotten called to the principal's office. She tried to keep her expression noncommittal but couldn't prevent her wayward gaze from straying to the front of his pants. Totally not to check out the veracity of Nadia's claims.
Jake frowned. He glanced from her to Nadia, his eyes narrowing.
As soon as Kim reached him, he slipped his arm around her waist and guided her to the door of the main room.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"Somewhere we can talk alone for a moment."
"Why?"
"Because I want to," he replied with a finality that Kim knew from experience wasn't worth questioning. She allowed him to lead her into the hall and behind one of the giant Grecian pillars.
"What was Nadia talking to you about?" Jake asked. "It looked like she was upsetting you."
"Believe me, you don't want to know."
He sighed impatiently. "Kim, if I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked."
"Are you sure you want to hear this?"
"Kim … "
The tone held a warning and Kim shrugged. "All right, just remember you asked. She told me how well-endowed you are."
He almost choked. "What?"
Shock flashed across Jake's face, and Kim only just resisted punching the air. It wasn't often you could get a real, unpremeditated reaction out of Jake.
"And she assured me that you know exactly what to do with it," she added for good measure.
Jake's eyelids shuttered, leaving his eyes midnight dark. His shock had passed, and he now had a cool look of speculation on his face.
She had a mad urge to see if she could break through that air of icy reserve and blurted, "And so, are you?" The words were out before she could think better of it.
He made a leisurely perusal of her face. "Am I what?" The words were softly spoken, but Kim's spine stiffened. There was a threat there somewhere, and she'd never been good at backing down.
She licked her lips slowly and then said quite precisely, "Are you well-endowed, Jake?"
Her question was worth the look of surprise that flickered across his face. But then the surprise was gone and a very unexpected satisfied smile settled in its place. He took her hand. For a moment, he stroked her fingers gently, and when she didn't pull away, he moved it toward him and held her palm flat against his groin. Kim gasped.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Whatever she expected, it hadn't been this. She tugged her hand, but he held it firm. Jake's face was devoid of expression, giving no clues to his thoughts. The air charged with a strange tension, and his flesh swelled and hardened beneath her fingers.
He was becoming aroused. Even with her meager experience, she could tell. She had to put a stop to this now.
She forced herself to relax, made the tension drain from her body. "Er, yes," she muttered.
"Yes? Yes, what?"
"Yes, you are definitely well-endowed, Jake. Congratulations."
He laughed softly and released her hand, which was a relief, as she was beginning to think well-endowed might be something of an understatement.
"Now, if you want proof that I do indeed 'know exactly what to do with it,' then I'm afraid we'll have to go somewhere a little more private."
Had her best friend and boss really just propositioned her? Or was she still riding that crazy bus with Nadia? Of course, if he had, it was only payback for daring to embarrass him with his girlfriend's comments. "Er, no. I'll take Nadia's word for it."
"Spoilsport." He took a step back and let his gaze wander up and down the length of her body. Kim squirmed under his scrutiny. Was he actually serious? Kim wasn't sure what to think about that prospect, but nothing good was coming to mind. "Have I told you that you look incredibly beautiful tonight?" he asked.
"Why should you have told me that? You're making me nervous here, Jake." No lie. Kim may have been out of the game for a while, but she knew a come-on when she saw one. Jake's turning all of his attention to her suddenly was not something she would ever have seen happening, and she didn't know how she felt about it. Well, she did know how she felt … Like running. In the other direction.
"What? Being told you look beautiful makes you nervous?"
The door to the ballroom opened and the music drifted through. One of the serving staff crossed the hallway with a tray and Kim waited until he had disappeared through the door into the kitchen before she answered. "Actually, it's a first. Now, hadn't you better go and see Nadia? And I need to get back to my circuit."
"Nadia is history," Jake replied coldly.
Once again, she narrowly resisted punching the air. She refused to analyze that reaction, either. "Oh, dear. Nothing I said, I hope. But don't you think it might be wise to go see what she's up to? You never know who else she might be regaling with your personal measurements, and not everyone might be as discreet as me."
"Very funny."
"It wasn't intended to be funny. The woman's a raving lunatic, and you need to be careful. Anyway, fascinating as this conversation is, I am now going to go back to circulating. Enjoy the rest of the party."
As she was about to move off, a man came through the swing doors from the kitchens. He was dressed as a waiter, but instead of serving people, he appeared to be waiting for something or someone. He also seemed vaguely familiar and not quite right in his uniform. It could be that his dark-blond hair was overly long, or that his cool gray eyes held no hint of servility. She cross-checked his features against her memory of the activists she'd studied and came up with a name.
"What is it?" Jake asked softly at her side.
"That man over there. The waiter loitering by the kitchen doors. I recognize him from Dave's files. His name's Nick Winters. I'm certain it's him."
She got her cell out of her bag and texted Dave. "Why don't you go back to the party?" she said to Jake.
"I'll wait."
"I'm a big girl. I can look after myself."