"Please don't," requested Sasha quietly. "I think perhaps you'd only make things worse if you did. And I don't believe it's just me that she dislikes. Hayley would probably feel that way about any woman you dated."
Matthew shook his head. "I won't say anything tonight, but in future she needs to know that her behavior is unacceptable. She's a spoiled brat, but I'm afraid I need to take the blame for at least part of that." He glanced over at the car. "Look, I'd better get going, but is it okay if I call you in an hour or so? We didn't get to talk much tonight given the circumstances."
"Of course. And thank you for dinner. In spite of what Hayley thought, it was actually delicious," she told him with a little wink.
He laughed, then quickly bent down and gave her a long, deep kiss before she could protest. She was breathless by the time he lifted his head, and he grinned down at her mischievously.
"That," he confided in a conspiratorial tone, "probably really pissed Hayley off. But it was worth it. Talk to you in just a bit."
Sasha was still chuckling to herself when she walked inside the brightly lit house, filled with the sounds of music and laughter and the scents of what she quickly determined to be Chinese food. But any hopes she might have harbored about quietly tiptoeing through the entryway and up the stairs to her own room without being noticed ended almost immediately as Julio spotted her and waved almost fanatically.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" he demanded. "We're all dying to know how dinner out with Mr. CEO and his offspring went. So don't be thinking you're going to sneak off to your room without spilling, querida."
Sasha always had to bite her tongue when Julio attempted to speak Spanish around her. Despite his given name, he wasn't even Latino. Rather, he was a mix of Filipino, Irish, Italian, and Japanese. But he liked to throw around the few Spanish words and phrases he knew, even though his pronunciation was usually way off.
Julio, who was on the short side, a bit plump, and favored vividly colored, attention grabbing clothing, made a beeline for Sasha, clasping her around the forearm. "Please come over for a few minutes," he whispered urgently. "Chad invited his co-workers over tonight, and you know how dull they are. I've had two cups of coffee already just to keep from yawning. Anymore and I'll never sleep. So you have to save me, querida. Ten minutes is all, I promise."
Sasha gave him a look of mock severity. "I'll literally be counting those ten minutes," she warned him. "I have to get up early tomorrow you know."
Julio kissed her on the cheek. "I owe you one," he promised. "In fact, I'll even get up extra early and drive you to the studio in the morning. Just bail me out here for a bit, please?"
"Fine." Sasha sighed, and allowed her landlord/roommate to lead her into the living room where the guests were gathered.
Chad, a tall, slender African American with an impeccable fashion sense, glanced up from the conversation he'd been having with the eight or so other occupants of the room, and smiled warmly at Sasha.
"You're home early," he said by way of greeting. "Please, join us. Can I get you anything? A glass of wine? Some tea? And there's leftover food in the kitchen if you're hungry."
She shook her head as she perched on the arm of the burgundy and cream striped satin sofa. "I'm good, thanks. I just finished dinner less than an hour ago."
Chad introduced her to everyone, though Sasha had met at least two or three of the guests before. They were admittedly a quiet, reserved group, all of them fellow attorneys who worked with Chad, and a mix of men and women, gay and straight. And if they had been talking business most of the evening, as Sasha suspected, it was little wonder that Julio - who was far more outgoing and sociable than his spouse - was desperate to change the subject.
At Julio's prodding, she gave a quick recap of her evening out, describing the restaurant and what she'd ordered, which led to a discussion of what everyone's favorite dining establishment was.
"But you haven't told us what I'm really dying to know," protested Julio. "How did his kids like you? More importantly, how did you like them?"
Sasha hesitated, not wanting to say too much in front of virtual strangers, and also wishing she'd taken Chad up on his earlier offer of a glass of wine - or something stronger. "The kids were fine," she offered up diplomatically. "Matthew's son is a sweetie, just like his dad. His daughter is incredibly pretty, dresses to kill. Chad will be proud of me since I recognized her handbag as a Prada."
Chad let out a low whistle. "This girl is how old? And she's carting a two thousand dollar bag around town? Wow, somebody's mommy and daddy sure love her a whole lot."