Ian Shaw shot him an irritated glare. "What’s the rush? Aiden Avery isn’t here yet either."

The moment he heard Aiden Avery’s name, a mocking smile touched Cassian Jennings’s lips. "You think he’ll show up when I’m here?"

"Oh, he’ll come," Ian Shaw said dismissively, a cold smirk on his face.

Cassian Jennings threw his head back and took a long swig from his bottle. Tossing it aside, he strode over to Ian Shaw, reached out, and yanked the woman from his arms. "Come on. Let’s dance!"

Yanked to her feet so suddenly, the woman shot Ian Shaw a displeased look.

Ian Shaw just smirked and nodded for her to go along.

A smile instantly spread across the woman’s face. She smoothly linked her arm through Cassian Jennings’s and walked with him toward the large LCD screen on the side of the room.

Ian Shaw watched them for a moment, then looked away. He picked up his glass from the table, leaned back into the sofa, and began to drink at a leisurely pace.

About half an hour later, the door to the room was pushed open.

Aiden Avery and Tristan Grayson had arrived together.

But Aiden Avery had also brought a female companion.

Cassian Jennings and the woman stopped dancing. He rested a hand on her shoulder and looked toward the door.

He had seen that woman—Aiden’s companion—earlier tonight at Vespera. ’I can’t believe I’m seeing her again...’

Cassian Jennings lowered his head with a cold smirk. He put an arm around the woman and led her back toward Ian Shaw. Once they reached him, the woman slipped from Cassian’s side and sat down demurely next to Ian. Ian immediately pulled her into his embrace, his large hand wandering insolently over her chest. The woman just blushed and leaned against him...

This brazen display clearly displeased Aiden Avery. He took his companion by the arm and led her to a seat in the corner of the room.

With hazy eyes, Cassian Jennings sank onto the sofa. He grabbed an unopened bottle of liquor from the table, poured himself a glass, and started drinking again.

His eyes, however, would occasionally drift toward the woman sitting beside Aiden Avery.

The woman seemed to notice him looking. A small smile played on her red lips as she leaned forward to pour herself a drink. After sitting back down beside Aiden Avery, she raised her glass and gave it a slight swirl in Cassian’s direction.

Cassian Jennings’s lips twisted into a sarcastic smirk. He swirled his own glass in return before tipping his head back and taking a drink.

The other three men were talking amongst themselves, but Cassian didn’t hear a single word of it.

Maybe it was because he’d had too much to drink, but by the end, his vision had blurred to the point that he kept mistaking her for someone else...

’Even though I know she isn’t Amelia Avery,’ he thought, ’my eyes just can’t help but look her way...’

Just then, the woman suddenly stood, leaned over to whisper a few words to Aiden Avery, and then left the room.

Seeing the woman leave, a complex look entered Cassian Jennings’s eyes. His expression darkened as he swayed to his feet, glass still in hand, and headed for the door.

Out in the hallway, he found the woman leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette.

Cassian Jennings walked over and leaned against the wall beside her, taking a small sip from his glass.

The woman held her cigarette between her fingers and asked with a cool smile, "Got something on your mind, Master Jennings?"

"No," Cassian Jennings replied in a low voice, turning to look at her.

"Oh."

Hearing her indifferent reply, Cassian Jennings closed his eyes for a moment, a bitter smile on his lips. "How do you know Aiden Avery?" ’He’d never seen Aiden bring a woman with him before.’

The woman took another drag from her cigarette. "He’s my boss," she said coolly.

"Boss? You work for him?"