Chapter 1

Thomas Gardner came to greet me personally at the entrance, making small talk as he kept one eye on the stream of arriving guests. That day was his daughter's wedding day, and he was clearly stretched thin. I told him not to fuss over me and made my way to the reception table on my own.

I pulled out my gift and was about to hand it to the groom, Daniel Pearce, when he glanced at me and muttered under his breath, "What kind of knockoff is that? And he has the nerve to show up wearing it."

His voice was low, but it reached me clearly.

I assumed at first that the stress of the day had put him in a foul mood. But when he took my gift and gave it a testing squeeze, he looked up, smirking. "Who dragged this charity case in here?

"Fake belt, low-effort gift. And he still has the cheek to show up for a free meal?

"Our reception costs two thousand dollars a head. This isn't the kind of place people like you belong."

The groomsmen nearby stifled their laughter. "Probably some nobody with no real connection to either family."

"Look at him. He's probably hoping to ride the coattails of the wedding and find some rich woman to leech off."

I almost found it funny. The entire hotel had been booked out by the Gardner family. You couldn't get through the door without an invitation, and I had walked in with Thomas himself.

When I said nothing, Daniel stepped closer, then recoiled with an exaggerated look of disgust. "That's what that smell is. You reek of cheap synthetic cologne. Like plastic."

With that, he threw my gift onto the floor. "Get that thing out of my sight. I don't need your pocket change."

I stayed quiet. That gift inside was worth a million dollars.

If it weren't for the years the Gardner family had served me faithfully, I wouldn't have come at all. And Daniel was only here because he had married into money. What exactly gave him the nerve?

I took a slow breath and was about to say something when I spotted Thomas' daughter crossing the room toward us. I had seen her a handful of times before but had never caught her name, so I had always just called out to her casually.

Out of habit, I called out, "Hey, beauty!"

My plan was to have her set the record straight. But before she could hear me, another guest pulled her aside.

Daniel stared at me in disbelief. "Excuse me? Did you just call out to my wife? Calling her 'beauty' right out of the gate—are you so addicted to your gigolo gig that you can't turn it off?

"I saw you at her place once, laughing it up with her like you were old friends. I knew exactly what you were after. And now you have the audacity to follow her to our wedding?"

His voice carried, and the guests nearby began murmuring among themselves. By that point, I was fairly certain that Daniel wasn't tired or stressed. He had decided I was a rival and had been treating me with deliberate contempt from the moment I arrived.

I calmly picked the gift up off the floor and looked at him. "I hope you'll still be speaking to me that way in a little while, Mr. Pearce."

After all, Thomas had asked me to say a few words when the ceremony began.

But rather than looking worried, Daniel seemed pleased with himself. "What, you think getting into the banquet hall makes you someone special?

"Stay away from my wife. And once today is over, my father-in-law is introducing the Gardner family's silent backer to the Pearce family. After that, you won't be in any position to make enemies of us. I suggest you remember that."

That last line drew a quiet laugh out of me, somewhere inside. I had been willing to give Thomas the courtesy and consider a partnership with the Pearce family. Now I wasn't sure it was worth the trouble.

I gave him a measured nod and left it at that. After leaving the reception table, I walked straight to the head table. Whatever happened after that day, I thought, Daniel and I were unlikely to cross paths in any meaningful way.

But just as I sat down and turned my attention to some work, his voice came from behind me again.

"Why are you sitting there? Who gave you permission to sit at the head table?"