"Oh, my gosh," she whispered, her earlier annoyance evaporating to be replaced by star-struck enthusiasm.
"The only thing is," Blake continued, producing a folded document from his coat pocket, "I'd need you to sign this before we go there. It's a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Basically, you can't say anything to anyone about tonight. Everything about this project is still under wraps."
"Oh, okay," she said, taking the one-paged agreement from him and reading it quickly. She didn't find anything amiss or untoward so she held out her hand for the pen Blake had readied for her and signed the paper.
"Also," Blake said as he took the document back from her, "don't be surprised if you're asked to dance impromptu. Knowing the director, he'd take this opportunity to suss you out. But if you're asked, I already know you'll blow them away, judging by your performance for me during our interview."
"Who's the director?" she asked, trying to keep her tone casual.
Blake told her.
"You're kidding me, right?" she asked, still trying to grasp the idea that she, Kristen McCann, would be working with two of the most recognisable stars on the planet and an Oscar-winning director.
"Nope," Blake said with a big grin, obviously delighted by her reaction.
She was still staring at Blake in excited disbelief when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and her heart skipped a beat. "Trey! Hi."
"Hi," Trey said with a small smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. He turned to Blake. "Hi. It's Blake, right?" he asked.
"Yes, it is," Blake confirmed. "If I remember correctly, you're Kris' friend whom we met at another restaurant?"
"Yes, that's right," Trey answered hesitantly, seeming to want to say something else but changed his mind. "Kris, why don't you join me at my mother's party when you're done here?" he asked, staring at her with an inscrutable expression. "We're in the restaurant's private function room."
"I'm afraid Kris and I have a party to go to right now, Trey," Blake answered for them with a pleasant smile.
Trey narrowed his eyes and looked at her quizzically. "A party?"
"Yeah. Blake offered me the job and this was, uh, unexpected. Sorry, Trey," she said weakly, her system in too much of a shock to come up with something better than that. Plus, she was conscious of the NDA she'd just signed.
"I get it," Trey said coldly after a long second. "Enjoy yourselves." Then he turned and walked away.
"I'll call you later," she called after him. But either he didn't hear, or he chose to ignore her. She wanted to repeat what she'd just said, but it would mean raising her voice and disrupting the other patrons. Besides, it would take a bit of time to explain to him why she was with Blake and not with him at his mother's party. Shit, shit, shit!
She glared at Blake. "You should have warned me about your plans for tonight," she said accusingly.
Blake gave her an apologetic smile. "Hey, please don't be mad. I was only able to pull it off right before I saw you earlier. That was why I was late. I was on the phone to them wrangling for you to be added to the guest list. I'm sorry. I would have told you sooner if I could."
Blake's phone vibrated. "It's our limo," he said.
"Limo?"
"The people who organised this party don't do things in half measures. Let's go."
She shook her head in exasperation as she stood up, her excitement of a few minutes ago totally evaporating, replaced by worry over what Trey might be thinking.
Damn it! So much for wanting to surprise him with her good news.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"You okay?" Rebecca asked Trey gently.
"Sure," he answered, trying for a smile but failing miserably.
Why should he be bothered by the fact that Kris was out with another man? Even if she was on a date with the moron, why should it matter? It wasn't like he didn't know how casual relationships work.
And casual was all that was going on between him and Kris. It might have felt something more to him in the last few days, but clearly, for Kris it was still a fling and nothing more.
His fingers tightened around the bottle of beer in his hand. The urge to smash it was so great he had to consciously force his fingers to relax.
"What's wrong, Trey?" Rebecca asked softly.
"Nothing," he lied.
"Why are you seething?" his sister pressed.
"I just saw Kris outside having dinner with another man."
"Kris? The girl who was supposed to be with you tonight?"
"Yup."
"Oh. Maybe it's a friend?"
"Well, apparently he's her new boss now. And he's taking her to a party," he said sarcastically.