Trapping Roselyn

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I stared at the shrimp platter being walked around with more interest than it probably warranted. Was it just me, or did the food get smaller every party?

“Oh, those things are disgusting,” Tiffany - Stephanie? - muttered, eyeing the same platter with raw hunger in her eyes.

If it weren’t for the string of natural pearls around her neck, I would have thought she was being left to starve in her step-father’s mansion.

“Mm-hmm,” I murmured upon realizing she was waiting for me to respond.

Agreement was always safe.

“I mean, do they even realize how many calories are in one shrimp alone?” she continued, oblivious to my disinterest.

More than a celery stick? “Mm-hmm?” My fingers idly twirled the champagne flute around, letting the little bit of bubbly catch the light and glimmer.

It was just so much safer - and oddly more polite - to make random sounds of agreement than to give in to the pressure and tell her a celery stick was beginning to look more appealing than her.

And speaking of appealing, there was a cute red-head on the other side of the room that was fluttering her super-long eyelashes in my direction. It was pathetic how fake they looked, but nothing was pathetic about her...my eyes drifted south of her face before smiling in approval.

“-so mom told Dave he’ll have to get me a personal trainer or change his chef.”

“Mm-hmm...”

I made a point of checking my watch. Tiffany/Stephanie had eaten a stuffed pepper about ten minutes ago; I was counting down the minutes before she excused herself to stick her finger down her throat. It was a shame I’d brushed off all of my acquaintances upon arriving, else I’d have a reason to leave the girl to her own devices.

“So this is the infamous Callister Jensen!”

It was rare to hear a snide tone being associated with my name. Rarer still to be addressed in such a way by an oddly-alluring brunette.

‘Oddly’ because she was skinny, tall - almost matching my 6’1” in her heels - and had nowhere near the...asset size of the red-head still watching me from the corner. Not to mention, her blue-grey eyes were almost too large for her face.

She was a definite beauty, but didn’t look like the type to jump at the offer of a ‘fun time’.

Pity.

“He’s my date tonight,” my blonde companion snapped, laying a possessive claw over my arm. Her bright red nails gave my white suit the appearance of being blood-stained.

The brunette scoffed. “Oh yes, which is why Mr. Jensen has spent the better part of the night checking out other women.” She met my eyes challengingly.

I casually sloshed the champagne around some more. Challenge accepted. “It would be terribly insulting if a woman spent hours getting ready for the night and is only appreciated by her significant other.” Nobody could accuse Callister Jensen of being slow on the uptake. “Tiffany may be my date for tonight,” although never again, I told myself silently, “but I wouldn’t want to hurt another woman’s feelings by completely ignoring her.”

“Tiffany?” the blonde asked, her brows furrowing in confusion.

“Did I say that? My tongue must have slipped - I meant Stephanie,” I said smoothly, not missing the smug look that appeared on the brunette’s face. “Now, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced?”