Yours, For Good (Cozy Latine Billionaires #4)

35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Javier

Suits had never made me feel like I had a noose around my neck before. That night at the John Grier Home fundraiser, I caught myself pulling from the neck of my formal attire with two fingers more than once, in the hope I'd get to breathe a little easier.

More often than not, I skipped the JGH annual party. This year I arrived early, because there was a chance Nora might be there, four days after she visited me at my home.

The gala took place in an old theater turned event venue. Traces of its old glamor remained in the detailed ceiling and gold accents in the crown molding. Tall arches decorated the walls, and warm sources of light shone on the floral arrangements on each table.

People mingled during the cocktail hour in fancy clothes and jewelry. I walked around the hall chatting with other board members and guests; since I was there, I used the opportunity to negotiate and get votes for the changes I'd been working on for the charity. Even as I worked my ass off, nerves fluttered in my stomach.

They went haywire when Mrs. Lippett approached me with a hand on Nora's back.

The older woman grinned at me. "Mister Pendleton, what a treat to see you! We're not used to having you here."

My eyes were all for Nora. Her outfit was a mix of a dress and a suit in deep purple, with a fitted bustier and pants wide enough to look like a skirt. A thin, see-through shirt covered her top and disappeared at her waist. Her hair was pulled back, showing off her beautiful face and the freckles I had yet to kiss directly.

I wasn't sure what my face did in response to her appearance— my heart had started a gallop. She seemed to enjoy my reaction to her, if the slow, reticent smile appearing on her face was anything to go by.

I cleared my throat and gave Mrs. Lippett a formal nod hello. "It's good to see you again."

"I suppose you haven't met Eleanora Toledo, despite the nature of—" she remembered my rules around anonymity, the surprise at her near faux pass only visible in a small widening of her eyes. She recovered smoothly and continued, "well, that's not here nor there. Eleanora is one of the most prosperous students to ever come out of the John Grier Home. The degrees she obtained thanks to the charity took her on a path to success. She has recently received international investments to set up her very own business."

I smirked at Mrs. Lippett. As usual with the students I'd placed in my program, she presented them to funders and, with enough subtlety to claim innocence, suggested that they owed their success to the John Grier Home. A sort of, "Look at the good we do! Give us money!" plea. A political move in a fundraiser, and one that didn't feel as simple as a necessary evil.

It always left me with a stone in my stomach. All the JGH and my program had done was open doors that shouldn't have been closed. It didn't take away the work every student had put into shaping their careers.

Nora agreed with me, if the twitch in her brow was any indication. She also decided not to say anything, for she simply offered me her hand. I took it gently in mine— we didn't shake. My thumb caressed her warm skin.

I didn't know if it brought her back to New Year's like it did me, but I wished we were on an escapade to Lock Willow instead of in that party.

"Hello, Javier."

At least her teasing eyes had made a return.

"Hello, Nora." I didn't let go of her hand.

Mrs. Lippett's head whipped between us and our hands. She blinked twice at Nora's casual use of my name.

The older woman didn't dare have that kind of familiarity with me.

"I take it you know each other, after all," Mrs. Lippett said.

"We are… acquainted." Nora pressed her lips together to hide another smile.

What a way to describe whatever we still had, or what had happened only a few days before.

"Yes. Well acquainted," I added.

Nora let go of my hand and held both of her own in front of her. "I've been hearing whispers of changes coming to the John Grier Home… from what people are saying, you're behind them."

Mrs. Lippett nodded. "Mr. Pendleton has been pushing for reform for a few months."

"A few months?" Nora asked.

I could see her doing the math in her head, so I helped her. "Almost a year ago I learned some ways in which we could improve the charity. My team has been working on it since then."

"Interesting."

Mrs. Lippett frowned. "Well, we should take our leave. There are other people I want Eleanora to meet."

Networking , I mouthed to Nora.

She sighed, nodded, and let Mrs. Lippett take her away. At the last second, I took her hand.

"I'd love to talk to you," I whispered.

"I'll find you."

I watched her walk away.

For nearly an hour, I went back to working on those changes and getting votes for my proposal. I caught glimpses of Nora; twice, our eyes locked across the room. Each time, I lost my train of thought, especially when on the second time she smiled.

It took effort not to stride to her, kiss her, and ask her to cut the night short with me. Only to make it longer together, in the privacy of my room.

I had it bad for her. Especially now that she smiled again at me, and my guts braided themselves with the need to ask her why, and would she smile back at me some more?

Nora found me while pulling from my collar again.

"Feeling a little hot, Mister Pendleton?"

"Yes, actually." I gazed down at her body. "You look beautiful."

She lifted an eyebrow and returned the perusal with eyes down my body. "I've always wondered about suits like the one you're wearing. With so many layers it must get hot quickly, no?"

"They don't have to." I shrugged and undid my neck button to give myself some freedom. "The problem is the company."

She raised both eyebrows in surprise. "Meaning…?"

If she didn't recognize my poor attempt at flirting with her, it was safer to tell her a different truth.

I loosened the silk knot of my bowtie. "I don't usually wear such formal suits. I rarely wear a tie at all, but these people are more traditional than my usual crowd and I need to convince them my ideas make sense. Is it too obvious that my top button is undone?"

She studied me and brought her fingers to my neck to rearrange my bowtie. Her touch, practical as it was, shot straight to my cock. I pressed my lips together to contain my reaction.

She patted my chest twice. "There. No one can tell now."

"Thank you, Nora."

Her powerful brown eyes remained steady on me. "I keep hearing how great it is you're here, how unique. That the changes you're pushing for are big but have people curious. I think you got their attention."

"Good. It's one of the reasons I came this year, even though I generally avoid it."

"Mmmh. I remember you telling me on Halloween how you avoid these parties. That you don't like them."

I shook my head. "I rarely come to this one. It's the political tone of events like these— I prefer to argue in the boardroom."

She continued to watch me. Thoughts swirled in her head, clear as day to me.

A pull to fill in the space drove me to keep chatting. It could keep her close until I found a way to get her alone and get a chance to talk to her properly.

I fidgeted with my cufflinks. "It's also the anonymity issue, of course. The students I bring to my program are usually invited to the fundraiser. How are you liking it, by the way?"

"I told myself I was making more connections for my business. It's something I learned at the incubator, so thanks."

I nodded, soaking in her presence and feeling a little breathless in the process.

She cocked her head, apparently unaware of my feelings. "So how did the other students in your program react when they saw you at this party?"

"They never learned my identity." I frowned. "They never knew they were talking to their benefactor."

"What? Really? Don't tell me they missed out on you going down on them, too?"

My cufflink fell to the ground and skittered a few steps away from us.

Laughing, she picked it up for me and reached for my wrist. She handled the cuff, putting the simple metal whale back in place.

She gazed at me with a teasing slant to her mouth. "Nervous, Javier?"

"A bit." My breathing quickened in her proximity. "I really wanted to see you."

Her fingers grazed at the skin of my wrist. I sucked in air; even the simple touch had my skin on fire.

"Is that why you came even though you usually don't?" Her hand remained still on me. "To see me?"

I nodded. "I'm dying to know how you're feeling. If you're still thinking about us."

"Of course I am," she confessed. "I can't stop."

She took her hand away and I chased it with my own.

I interlocked fingers with her. "Can I?"

"Here? In front of all these people?"

"I'd kiss you in front of all these people if you gave me permission."

"They would know there's something between us. The board member and the charity student."

"Former student, but, yeah." I took a step closer to her. "Imagine Mistress Lippett's scandalized face. With a little planning you could take a picture at the right time."

She rubbed her lips together not to give me a full grin.

I leaned closer. "I'm just a little caught on how you said there's something between us."

"I may not be able to name it yet, but…" She gazed around the room. "As much as I would enjoy scandalizing Mistress Lippett… can we get out of here?"