Her voice is shrill, and the way that Gabriel rolls his eyes immediately tells me this is his mother.
“Mother, we’re here, aren’t we? Quit nagging please, and don’t be rude. I brought a guest as you can see.”
“Fine.” She throws her hands up in defeat, glancing in my direction. “You must be Victoria,” she says sourly.
“Yes, hello Mrs. Maddox it’s nice to meet….”
She cuts me off with an exaggerated wave. “Come on, we don’t have time for this. Everybody is waiting.”
My mouth slams shut in shock as Gabriel gives me an apologetic smile. He’s definitely brought me into the lion’s den. We follow Mrs. Maddox down the hall and into a large sitting area filled with other guests.
Angelina and Abel make a beeline for the bar on the other side of the room, and Gabriel wraps his arm around my waist protectively. I glance around, noticing several other couples who aren’t paying us any notice. But when I see a familiar face glowering back at me, I freeze. Anya Petrovski is here, whispering something into Mrs. Maddox’s ear. They both glance in our direction before sauntering our way.
My heart kicks against my chest in protest, my palms growing clammy in her presence. I don’t know what it is about this woman that I find so intimidating, but I don’t want to be anywhere near her.
Gabriel glances down at me, concern marring his brow. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head, unable to speak.
“Gabriel, darling!” Anya purrs as she leans in and kisses his cheek with a wicked grin.
My head is spinning, and I hate that mischievous gleam in her eye. I try to pull away from Gabriel, to excuse myself to the powder room, but his grip tightens around me like steel.
“Anya,” he says coolly, shooting his mother a disapproving look. “I didn’t know you would be here tonight. This is my girlfriend, Victoria.”
My heart lurches at his choice of word, and Mrs. Maddox laughs nervously.
“Oh, I completely forgot you were bringing a friend, Gabriel. I invited Anya to keep you company, silly me.”
“I’m sure you did forget,” Gabriel says, “that I was bringing my girlfriend.”
Anya’s face sours as he repeats the word, and inside I’m doing a little victory dance. But still, I can’t help but feel a stab of disappointment as his mother eyes me disapprovingly. It’s obvious who she wants Gabriel to be with, and it isn’t me.
Gabriel leads me over to the bar, pouring me a glass of wine and himself a whiskey. “I’m going to need this tonight,” he sighs.
Several minutes later a servant appears in the door, announcing that dinner is served. Mrs. Maddox ushers us all into the dining room, and I belatedly realize I still haven’t seen Mr. Maddox.
“Where’s your father?” I whisper.
Gabriel shrugs. “Who knows. Working… fucking his secretary, your guess is as good as mine.”
Ouch. Okay, I’ll stay away from that subject. We find our seats at the dining table and I take a long pull of my wine as a hot plate of food appears in front of me.
“Don’t worry about Anya,” Angelina whispers beside me. “My mother is determined to shove her in Gabriel’s face. But he isn’t interested in her like that. And after tonight, I think it’s safe to say he only has eyes for you.”
I smile and clasp her hand. “Thank you.”
“What are you two whispering about over there?” Mrs. Maddox hisses.
Angelina smiles at me and then winks. “Oh, we were just talking about Gabriel’s new business venture, mother.”
Her jaw nearly drops to the floor as Gabriel groans beside me.
“What new business venture?” an older man sitting next to Gabriel asks.
“I’m starting up my own software company,” Gabriel replies coolly. “It’s in the works right now.”
“But what about Maddox Corp?” Anya shrieks across the table.
“I will be stepping down from Maddox Corp, and either Abel or Angelina may take my place if they wish.”
“That is the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard,” Anya states with disgust.
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Maddox cuts in, panic and embarrassment etched into her delicate features. “This is just a silly dream of his, he needs to get it out of his system. But rest assured he will remain at the company.”