“We didn’t get to make a plan,” I said, trying to scold, trying to keep the desire at bay so I could focus on the operation and the deal going down somewhere on the premises. I wanted Violet out of here before anything happened. We had agents placed among the staff who had been hired for the event, but it was a drop in a storm.
“Do we need a plan?” Her eyes widened slightly as her hands slid around my waist under the tuxedo jacket and hit the gun that was tucked into the waistband. Thankfully, the twenties-style evening wear was loose enough to hide the silhouette of it.
“We might,” I said.
A gong sounded like an old-time Victorian call to dinner, and from a side door, Tsuyoshi Mori stepped. He wore a regular tuxedo, which didn’t surprise me.Mori-samawasn’t the type to play dress-up. He wasn’t the kind to play at all.
He stepped up on a tiny stage near a wall of retractable glass doors that had been flung wide to allow the guests to meander between the heavily decorated room to a tent with the tables. The crowd quieted for him without further encouragement.
“Thank you for coming tonight to help us celebrate,” he said.
Ken’Ichi emerged from the same doorMori-samahad come from. His tux was as simple as his boss’s, but he had a pale blue silk vest underneath that matched the color of Jada’s dress. I wondered if she’d told him the color or if he’d found it out for himself by bribing Yuriko. He moved through the room, eyes sliding around, finding me and then gliding away again. I was sure he was searching for Jada who’d vanished.
Violet turned to watch just as a voice spoke beside me.
“Dawson.”
I turned to see Dax entering, tipping a cane toward me. He was garbed in a twenties-style tuxedo similar to mine, and a pale blue flower was tucked into the lapel. The blue was not a mistake in his case. It was a silent tribute.
“Dax. You look…dapper? Is that the right vernacular?” I asked with a small smile.
He chuckled before looking down at Vi.
“Violet, you’re beautiful,” he said, raising her hand to his lips and kissing the knuckles.
I scowled, and Dax laughed even more just asMori-sama’swords drew us back to him.
“Tonight, we celebrate a great accomplishment. An accomplishment no one has been able to achieve in over twenty years. Raise your glasses to Armaud Racing for winning theConquistar de la Atlánticacup.” The words were a compliment, but the way he said Dax’s last name was almost an insult. I was pretty sure he hated having to recognize the Armauds for anything.
A flute of champagne magically appeared inMori-sama’shand, and he raised it in our direction. The room copied his movement. Cheers, gentle clapping, and “Hear! Hears!” filled the room. I inclined my head, and Dax did a full-on bow.
When I looked down at her, Violet was beaming up at me. Happy. Full of joy.
God, I hoped I could keep her that way.
I slid my hand into hers, and she squeezed it tightly.
A small motion at the glass doors brought our eyes to Jada reentering from wherever she’d disappeared to.Saito-sanon one side,Ito-sanon the other. Both dressed to the hilt in twenties garb.Ito-sanwore a tuxedo instead of a dress, but it still showed off every curve of the driver’s body.
Jada tossed back the champagne in the flute she held, handed the glass toIto-san, and then joined her father on the stage. Ken’Ichi mounted right behind her, shooting a look of daggers in Jada’s direction before it was schooled away behind a small, tight smile.
“It also brings me joy to be celebrating a new partnership tonight. It is with great pleasure I announce my daughter’s engagement to a man who is already like family to me. A son. Someone who has shown tremendous loyalty to both me and Mori Enterprises. My dear Matsuda and Jada, may your union be full of honor and grace.”
The crowd raised their glasses again, a murmur of surprise and applause going through the room. The three of us did not join the congratulations.
Ken’Ichi pulled a blue Tiffany box from his pocket, opening it. There was no smile on his face as he pulled from the velvet cushion a ring with a diamond so large it could be seen clearly at the back of the room. He pulled Jada’s gloved hand up.
“Perhaps you should remove the glove,Jada-chan,” Ken’Ichi said, a tease that caused the crowd to laugh, but I saw Jada cringe at the informal endearment she did not want and had already requested he not use.
“Not even married yet, and you’re already asking me to remove my clothes,” she taunted back.
The crowd thought it was funny. Ken’Ichi and her father did not.
“Why must she provoke them?” Dax muttered under his breath.
“Why is she having to marry him at all?” Violet asked, shooting Dax a telling look.
Dax had the graciousness to look away.
