Deceiving Her Boss (14 page)

 
"What?  Who, Alex?  Why is it any of your business?" she asked, more
out of curiosity than anger.

 
Sean's response was to pull her even closer to him, his hand spread across her
lower back as he moved against her, letting Allie feel his need for her.

 
"That's why it's my business, Allie.  Who is he?"

 
Allie could barely speak, let alone continue to verbally spar with this man.

 
"He's a friend.  Actually, more like a friend of a husband of a friend,
but..."

 
"Allie..."

 
"You need to let me loose," Allie said quietly.  "I can't think
when you're doing that."

 
Sean released her slightly, moving his hand back to rest loosely on her waist,
his other hand holding hers tightly between them.

 
"Better?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

 
"Much.  Thank you," she said softly, moving slowly with him as she
caught her breath.  "Anna called me late this afternoon and asked me to
come tonight.  Begged me, really.  Alex is a friend of Paul's, and he and his
girlfriend had recently broken up.  He needed to be here tonight, but didn't
really want to attend.  He agreed to come for a while if I'd join him.  I said
I would, but I came with Paul and Anna, and I'll leave with them." 

 
"No.  You'll leave with me, Allie," Sean stated firmly.

 
"But..."
  "That's not negotiable.  I understand that you're doing your friend a
favor, so I will not monopolize you tonight.  But at the end of the night, you
leave with me.  Is that understood?" he asked, lifting her chin gently
until she was looking in his eyes.

 
She shook her head.  "No.  You came with someone.  You need to leave with
her."

 
Sean's eyes narrowed.  "Do you really think I'd be here with you, like
this, if I were here with someone else?"

 
"You're not?  But I saw you..."

 
"With the wife of a good friend."

 
"Oh."

 
"Which brings us back to my earlier point.  When it's time to leave, you
tell Alex goodbye, and I will take you home."

 
Allie nodded.  "It's not really an issue, anyway.  Alex's girlfriend
walked back in about ten minutes ago -- I left her and Alex to work things
out.  I was on my way to find Anna and tell her that I was leaving when you
accosted me."

 
"So you and Alex..."

 
"Barely know each other."

 
"You looked pretty cozy with him on the dance floor."

 
Allie smiled.  "We move well together, but that's it."

 
She felt Sean's grip tighten around her waist.  "You and I move well
together too," he said softly.

 
Allie's breath caught as his other hand, holding hers, reached up to lift her
chin again.  He bent down and kissed her lightly, then rested his chin against
her head and moved slowly with her.

 
"You look beautiful tonight."

 
"Thank you," she whispered.

 
"So you didn't know until this afternoon that you'd be here tonight."
Sean said, looking down at her.

 
"No, I didn't," Allie said with a nod.

 
"And that's why you didn't say anything to me about being here."

 
"That's why."

 
"You're going to be the death of me yet," he said with a slight
smile.  "Do you know how high my blood pressure got, watching the two of
you on the dance floor?"

 
Allie shook her head.  "Maybe about as high as mine got when I saw you
with that beautiful red-headed woman."

 
Sean looked down at Allie, and pulled her in even closer to him.  The heat in
his eyes burned into her.  "Dance with me," he said, his voice husky
with need.  "I want to hold you."

 
They danced well together, Allie thought.  His lead was easy to follow, and he
knew his way around a ballroom floor.  He held her loosely for most of the
dances, but when the band started playing anything slow, he pulled her closer.

 
"Don't you need to be social and dance with other people?" Allie
asked after their fourth dance together.  "I feel like I'm monopolizing
you, and while I'm not complaining about it, I know that you have other
obligations here."

 
"My obligations for the evening are over," Sean stated firmly. 
"And there's nobody else I'd rather dance with.  Do you need to find
Alex?" he asked.

 
Looking around the room, Allie saw Alex and Meghan still talking quietly
together at the table where she had left them.  They looked good together,
Allie thought.  And they didn't need her interrupting them.

 
"No," she answered Sean.  "Looks like he's doing just fine."

 
With that, Sean swept her back onto the dance floor and pulled her close.  Allie
curled her arm up around his neck, and smiled up at him.  When the camera
flashed next to them, Sean knew immediately what had happened, but it was too
late.  The photographer was moving off through the crowd, and following and
making a scene would only make matters worse.   Releasing Allie, Sean ran his
hand through his hair and looked down at the woman beside him.

 
"Damnit, Allie.  I didn't even think about the photographers tonight. 
This could be a problem," he admitted.

 
"I didn't even consider it," Allie confessed.  "And I should
have.  I knew you always got photographed here, but it's always when you're
with some well known model, or..."

 
Sean chuckled.  "And you figured that they were photographing my date, and
not me?"

 
Allie nodded, but smiled ruefully.  "I guess so.  I'm sorry, Sean."

 
"This isn't your fault, Allie.  And what's done is done.  We'll see if the
photo even makes the papers tomorrow before worrying about it."  He
reached out his hand and waited for her to take it.  "Let's go get a drink
and be social, sweetheart."

 
The rest of the evening was a blur to Allie.  A wonderful, magical blur to be
sure, but a blur none the less.  Sean knew everyone at the event, and as he
moved around the room, he stopped and talked with people of all ages and
backgrounds, and charmed each of them with his courteous manner.  Allie was
impressed.  She had seen him work a room before, but this was a different
crowd, and he fit in.  Just as he'd fit in at her friend's barbeque.  Just as
he fit in at business events.

 
Sean enjoyed the evening more than he normally did.  His dates usually dragged
him away from his conversations and tried to pull him out onto the dance floor,
or steal private moments with him.  But Allie was interested in the people he
talked to.  She was engaged in the conversations, and she asked questions and
actually listened to the answers.  People liked her, he realized with some
surprise.  This was Allie, after all, and everyone liked her at work, but he
had no idea that she would fit in so well at an event like this.

 
Once, as the evening progressed, Allie excused herself to go find her friends
and take a break from greeting strangers.  She was pleased to see Alex and
Meghan on the dance floor, holding each other tightly as they moved to a slow
dance.  Alex looked up once, and mouthed the words "thank you" to
Allie.  She grinned and winked, then went to check in with Anna and Paul.

 
"Having fun?" Anna asked, hugging her friend as she moved up beside
her.

 
"Yes, I am," Allie smiled, as the two of them moved away from others
and found a quiet corner to chat in.  "Did you see Meghan and Alex?"
she asked, pointing to the dance floor.

 
"NO!  Seriously?  Meghan came here?  Oh, that's wonderful!  Oh wow, it
looks like they're working things out, huh?"

 
Allie grinned.  "I think so.  They were miserable without each other,
though, so this had to happen sometime."

 
"So are you coming to tell me that you're leaving?" Anna asked.

 
"No, I was on my way to do that earlier when Sean waylaid me.  He didn't
bring a date tonight, and..."

 
Anna was laughing.  "It's about time," she said.  "Geez, you've
been dancing around each other for ages.  Even before you stopped wearing that
ridiculous getup to work.  So where is Mr. Right?" she asked.

 
Allie shook her head.  "No, you've got it all wrong," she protested. 
"Anna, he's my boss.  We're just..."  she stopped, unable to really
describe what they were.

 
Anna looked seriously at her friend.  "Sweetie, sometimes the
circumstances aren't what we'd hope for, but you can't turn your back on
something good, just because of that.  If you and he are right for each other,
you need to let things happen between you."

 
Allie looked glum.  "The issue may have been forced a bit tonight.  A
photographer snapped a photo of us on the dance floor."

 
"So?"

 
"So, those photos usually end up in the paper.  And that means that Sean's
entire company will think that we're... well..."

 
"What?  Dating?  Dancing?"

 
"Anna, it was a pretty intimate photo."

 
"Ah.  So they'll assume you're sleeping together."

 
"I think so.  Yeah.  I'm pretty sure."

 
Anna smiled kindly.  "Well, I'd say that this opens up the door for you
two to actually see each other, but I can see why you're concerned.  How did
Sean react?"

 
"He seemed pretty resigned to it all.  But I'm afraid that he might think
differently when he sees the photo."

 
"Well, it may not even make it into the papers.  No point in worrying
about it too much.  Go have fun, sweetie.  You've already been photographed
together, so you might as well enjoy the evening as a couple."

 
Allie laughed then.  "I suppose you're right.  Sean was going to take me
home later, but maybe I should stick with my original plan and go with you and
Paul."

 
But Anna shook her head.  "Go with him, hon.  We're happy to take you
home, of course, but like you said, the damage has been done.  I don't think it
will make a bit of difference to anyone if you leave with him."

 
"Why are you always so darn logical?" Allie grumbled in good-natured
complaint.  "And right?"

 
Anna hugged her friend, and together, they moved back into the crowd.  Paul and
Sean were talking together when the women walked up a few moments later.

 
Paul smiled as Anna and Allie drew closer.  "Are you both still
happy?" he asked as he bent to kiss his wife's cheek.  "I'm doing
fine, but just let me know when you want to leave."

 
But Sean pulled Allie close as she moved to his side.  "She's leaving with
me tonight," he said in a tone that brooked no arguments.

 
"Ah, so that's how it is," Paul grinned.  "About time, I say. 
OK then.  Anna, shall we have a dance and show these two what a real romance
looks like?"

 
Anna rolled her eyes and grinned at her friends, but took her husband's hand
and followed him out to the dance floor.  Sean turned to Allie.  "Are you
still doing well?  We can leave when you want to," he added.

 
"I'm still happy," Allie said.  "But I'd love a glass of
champagne and a chair for a few minutes.  My feet need a break," she said,
looking down at her 3-inch heels.

 
"I don't know how you women wear those," Sean admitted, then looked
up at Allie with a gleam in his eye.  "But I'm very glad you do."

 
Pointing Allie to a small table nearby, Sean went to the nearest bar table and
ordered a glass of champagne for Allie and a bourbon for himself.   Setting the
drinks on the table, Sean pulled out the chair next to Allie and lowered his
long frame into it.

 
"Do the same people come to this every year?" Allie asked Sean as she
sipped her champagne.

 
"Mostly.  New faces appear annually, but the basic crowd is the same. 
Why?"

 
"You just seem to know most people here," she said.  "And they
seem to know you."

 
"Several of the people we talked with tonight are board members, and I
know others from standard business dealings.  But yes, many of them are
regulars at these events.  Did you like them?" he asked curiously.

 
"Most of them, very much," Allie answered.  "A few of them, not
so much.  But nobody was terribly unpleasant."

 
"Anyone I need to beat up?" he asked with a wink.

 
"Not at this time," Allie responded primly.  "But thank
you."

 
Sean laughed, and the conversation turned quickly to the benefit, and what the
yearly goal was.  From there, Allie wanted to know how Sean had gotten involved
with the hospital, and how he had gotten appointed to the board.   Sean filled
her in on his interest in the work they did, based primarily on his own
experiences from years ago when one of his good friends had been diagnosed with
a rare liver disorder.  The doctors at the hospital had saved his life, and the
level of care that he'd been given was beyond anything Sean had seen before. 
Since that time, his support for the staff and the facilities was unwavering.