HIM
down."You as well," Luke replies.
If only Luke knew what Brady did to me, he would never be so kind. I am still torn as to whether I want to tell him or not. Although I'm sure if he knew there would be an exchange of words right now or even some fists. Spoiling Barret's party in my team's and my honor is not part of the plan.
"I'm Troy, nice to meet you," Troy says as he shakes Luke's hand.
"Nice to meet you too, I'm—" Luke starts to say before Brady rudely interrupts him.
"Ali's boyfriend. Luke, right?" he says ruthlessly while giving me a sly glare and a wink.
I can see he's going to be an abhorrent prick tonight. Luke is being a gentleman and not feeding into Brady's crudeness. The look on Troy's face when he hears the words "Ali's boyfriend" is heartbreaking to see but not as hard as the look that he gives me next. I look at him with the biggest “I'm sorry” eyes that I have. I didn't want him to find out about Luke and me this way. Fucking Brady.
I am glad that Luke already knows about Troy and me. He doesn't seem to be bothered by having met him or that he is here, which is excellent. He has pulled me tighter to him, though.
"Can I get you two a drink?" Brady asks connivingly.
Why can't he leave me, better yet, us alone! Luke looks down at me; I smile up at him as I bring my hand over our hands that are interlocked.
"Sure, I will have a beer, and she'll have a-" Luke answers but is again interrupted by Brady's smug remark.
"I know what she likes," he replies curtly.
I roll my eyes and turn away from Brady and Troy, skimming the room for Ris. She is toward the back of the dining room near the windows, chatting with the ladies from work. That is when I see Barrett and his wife walking past. Luke hands me my drink that Brady bought; it's white wine, how ironic of him, I bet he roofied it too.
Chapter Sixty
The room's acoustics become louder as Barrett and his wife enter, everyone follows them from the bar into the dining room. We all take our seats as Barrett stands in the middle of the room. Brady and Troy sit at a table across from us, both looking at me, but with a different look in their eyes. It's very uncomfortable, to say the least because I know the meaning behind both.
"Thank you, everyone, for coming out tonight to celebrate one of the largest accounts that our firm has had the pleasure of landing. Our Commercial division is the heart and foundation of this company. All of you here tonight are the reason for our success, and each of you is greatly appreciated," Barrett says as he looks around the room of over twenty people.
"Ali, will you please, stand," he asks, putting me on the spot.
I look at Luke, smile, and stand from my seat. Ris grabs my hand.
"Ali has been with Facade for four years now. She came to us as an intern in college. We immediately saw her potential and knew that we had to keep her. Upon her college graduation, we offered her a Designer position, which she has taken to heart and has worked hard to fulfill. It's been four amazing years. You are truly an asset to Façade!" Barrett begins to say.
I'm starting to tear up from the kind words that he is saying about me. I love working for Facade and him. I can't imagine being anywhere else. Leaders like him are one in a million. He is an inspiration to me.
"We, at Façade, want to thank her for putting all her projects and clients first, making them feel important and that they matter, which they do. She builds strong relationships with every client, allowing them to place their trust in her and trust in us. We gain loyal customers and build a positive repetiteur. Tonight's celebration is not only to congratulate her on this account but also her achievements of the past four years," Barrett continues.
Everyone in the room begins to applaud. I smile and say "thank you" to Barrett. I feel very honored by his compliments, which are very genuine and sincere.
"I would like to say one more thing before we dive into the delicious meal planned for us tonight, as I can see, some of you look very famished. We have decided to promote Ali to Co-Senior Designer of Commercial alongside Brady Adams. Congratulations Ali! You deserve it! Keep doing what you do, and you'll go very far with us!" Barrett finishes.
My mouth drops wide open, and I cup my hands over it. I cannot believe my ears. This promotion was unexpected; I'm speechless. Looking around the room as everyone is standing and clapping for me is astonishing. Luke is here with me, making the entire moment and evening more special. Even Brady is clapping, he doesn't look too enthused but is standing and applauding. He has to do it reluctantly to come across as a team player. I turn to Ris, who is jumping up and down screaming. We embrace each other tightly. I look at Luke, he hugs me and kisses me firmly on the lips.
"Congratulations, beautiful. You deserve it. We need to have a special celebration tonight of our own if you know what I mean," he says all smiles and gives me a cute wink.
I know what he is hinting toward; however, I don't know if I am ready to engage in anything sexual with him right now. I want to, but I am not sure if I can stomach it or if I am ready to explain my bruises. I'm also not quite sure if he's truly happy for me or just pretending like he is. He's hard to read right now.
I need to focus on what Barrett just said and not worry about what may