Page 4 of Positively Pricked

Chapter 2

Three Months Earlier

My gaze drifted across the room. For a total prick, the guy sure had a lot of friends.

Naomi gripped my arm. "Don't."

Startled, I turned to face her. "Don’t what?"

She lowered her voice. "Don't look at him."

And just like that, my gaze snapped back in his direction, not that it did a lick of good. He was absolutely swarmed, leaving me nothing to see but the very top of his head, covered in thick, bronze hair that would've made a movie star weep with envy.

Surrounding him were men in designer suits, bejeweled women in sultry dresses, and, on the outskirts, a couple of random reporters trying to edge their way into the inner circle.

The way it looked, they weren't having much luck.

I almost sighed. I couldsorelate. My own luck? It was so deep in the toilet that I'd need a plunger just to say hello.

Naomi's grip on my arm tightened. "Hey, Jane."

I was still focused on the crowd. "Yeah?"

"You heard me, right?"

Absently, I felt myself nod. In truth, it was hard to hear much of anything over the sounds of live jazz and the hum of excited voices –richvoices with upper-crust accents and laughter that sounded almost rehearsed.

These were important people, and they darn well knew it.

As for me, I was just a catering assistant – in other words, a total nobody. But packed in the mansion's enormous living room were plenty of somebodies, including the biggest somebody of them all – Zane Bennington, who, if the rumors were true, was an absolute asshole.

I turned to Naomi. "Why shouldn't I look? I mean, it's not like he saw me or anything."

"It's nothimI'm worried about." Naomi looked past me, and her mouth tightened. "It'sher."

Reluctantly, I turned to look. Sure enough, Ms. Hedgwick – the sharp-faced woman who'd let us into the mansion a few hours earlier – was giving me the stink-eye again.

I felt warmth rise to my cheeks.Damn it.Shehadwarned us, hadn't she?

Her instructions – delivered with such cold precision – still rang in my ears. "Don't talk to him. Don't smile at him. Don't look at him. And whatever you do, don't do anything to draw his attention. Is that clear?"

Of course, I'd nodded. I mean, what else could I do? It's not like I'd gain any brownie points by explaining that if Zane Bennington wandered over for a caviar canape – or whatever – that I couldn’t exactly fling it onto his plate with a grunt and a frown.

Besides, I smiled at practically everyone. Looking to prove it now, I summoned up a tentative smile for Ms. Hedgwick.

Her posture stiffened, and she didn't smile back.

Instead, she turned away, glowering as she headed toward the front entrance, probably to give the parking attendants another dose of holy hell for that incident with the catering van.

Next to me, Naomi murmured, "I told you so."

Again, I turned to face her. "Well, I wouldn’t havebeenlooking if you hadn't just mentioned him."

Naomi flashed me a sudden grin. "Liar."

She was right, of course. Yes, I would've looked, but hey, I wasn't the only one. Even now, all eyes in the room kept drifting in his direction. I could practically hear their thoughts. They were wondering the same thing that I was wondering.

Were the stories true?