She’d selected her dress with Qasim in mind even though her chances of seeing him were slim to none.
What the heck, she thought, smiling up and around at the energetic atmosphere.
She’d always enjoyed playing the odds whether or not they were in her favor.
Brother and sister spent the first ten to fifteen minutes greeting other guests they knew but parted ways soon after. Vectra had spotted someone she knew, and Oliver had no shortage of female acquaintances ready to pull him away with them.
Vectra laughed while hugging Derionte Weeks, the head chef for Dazzles.
“What are you doing out here when there are people to be fed?” she teased.
“I’m no fool, Vec. This is a self-service party.” He grinned, looking quite pleased with himself. “The buffet is up on the VIP level.”
“Smart man.” Vectra arched a brow.
Derionte shrugged. “We’re actually testing out some dishes to see which’ll make the cut for Qasim’s charity thing coming up.”
“That’s right.” Vectra had almost forgotten the Dazzles cook staff had a standing job to work the highly anticipated event. “All that business is gonna earn you guys more than a few enemies.”
Derionte rolled his eyes. “Look who’s talkin’. The standing wine order comes from none other than Carro’s.”
“Hey, I can’t help it if your boss has a weakness for the best,” Vectra reasoned.
The music tempo changed and the two laughing friends immediately began to dance in place, syncing their moves to the upbeat nineties single.
Vectra and Derionte weren’t out of place. Most of the people in the room had broken out into dance whether they were on the dance floor or not. The single had always been one of Vectra’s favorites. She tossed her arms above her head, winding her hips as the grooves had their way with her body. She lost herself in the tune and didn’t begrudge the pair of hands that had come up to steady her waist.
Smiling and happy to greet another dance partner, Vectra turned. She barely avoided stumbling when she saw that it was Qasim who had come up behind her. The song faded into another upbeat but more mellow single. It was another favorite, but suddenly Vectra wasn’t in the mood for dancing. Her heart was beating way too fast to allow such activity.
“Sim.” Derionte greeted Qasim, who side-stepped Vectra to give the man a hug and handshake. “I was just telling Ms. Bauer here that Carro’s wine was on tap for your charity event.”
Qasim returned his hands to Vectra’s waist, deliberately smoothing them across her hips. “I hope that made Ms. Bauer happy.”
“Continued business is always good.” Vectra put on an easy expression for Derionte and tried to keep her mind off the way Qasim kept her back to his chest.
“We should set up a tasting to decide what’d go best with my menu. Are your folks out there workin’ on any new blends, Vec?” Derionte queried.
“Always.” She rested a hand against his forearm. “We should discuss it with your boss. I haven’t even told him happy birthday yet.”
“He’s up in the VIP level.” Derionte chuckled. “Says he’s gonna wait ’til a little later to make his appearance.”
Qasim and Vectra groaned playfully over their old friend’s penchant for grand entrances.
“Derry!” A petite waitress in a tuxedo-styled serving dress made her way through the crowd. “We need you in the kitchen.”
Derionte rolled his eyes. “Duty calls. Hey, y’all go on up,” he ordered, clapping Qasim’s shoulder before he followed the waitress back through the robust crowd.
Vectra dropped her easy expression and turned a scathing glare upon Qasim.
“Who’d you come here with?” He took the lead of the conversation.
Vectra stepped back, disengaging his loose hold on her hip. “Are you prepared to answer the same question?”
He frowned. “What?”
“Please. Are you really that clueless? Or are you just trying to play dumb? Because you’re pitiful at it if you are.”
Qasim blinked, understanding pooling in his gaze as if something had clicked. “You think I brought someone here with me?”
“Didn’t you?”
“No.”
“Then what the hell is going on with you?” Whatever reservations she’d had vanished as her curiosity took hold. “Why would you say you don’t want to be friends anymore? Did I say something? Do something wrong—” She grew quiet when he caught her elbow in a firm, yet remarkably gentle grasp and pulled her away from the crowd.
Vectra held on to Qasim’s arm so she wouldn’t stumble on her chic, yet outrageously high heels. Qasim didn’t stop moving until he’d found an unoccupied remote section of the terrace. The structure ran the entire rear of Dazzles and overlooked the garden dining room below.