King Read Online Free Page A

far too engrossed
in chatting up the bevy of models that approached him, to bother with me. There
were hundreds of them milling around, incredibly beautiful and incredibly tall,
and I felt like I’d landed on a different planet, where flaws just did not
exist. Everything about them was utterly perfect and Jason looked right at
home. I immediately recognised Tamsin Lloyd,
supermodel and well documented uber bitch hanging on
his every word and picking imaginary lint from his shirt with one hand, while
flicking her hair furiously with the other. He might be there a while I
thought, eventually making my way across to the bar to get my own drink,
feeling slightly deflated as I cast him an angry glare. He smiled at the
reaction, as Tamsin sneered, and I realised quickly
that for my plan to work, I had to stifle my irritation. He seemed to enjoy
having me on the back foot, angry and frustrated. If I kept my cool, I would be
fine and I might just get away with my devious little scheme.
    “Hi
there, I don’t think we’ve met” said a beautiful, tall stranger with rich
mahogany hair and the deepest chocolate eyes I had ever seen, and I gasped
inwardly, automatically straightening my posture and smiling broadly.
“Charlotte Smith” I extended my hand as he took it in his, shaking it firmly. “Robbie Hurst, lovely to meet you. Are you with London
Models?” he asked as I laughed out loud. “Hardly” I grinned. With my
highlighted blond waves and hazel eyes, I could be considered quite pretty, but
a model....definitely not. Even in these heels, I seemed to be permanently
craning my neck tonight. He looked down at me, laughing through his puzzlement
“Why did you say that?” he grinned. “I’m no model Robbie, I’m actually in
advertising”. He looked relieved and interested. “Thank God for that” he
laughed, “I wasn’t sure I could take another second of talking shop. Who do you
work for?” “Grayson International” I said quickly and we chatted happily and
naturally. It turned out Robbie was doing modelling while finishing his degree
in architecture. Apparently it was easier and significantly more profitable
than working in McDonalds.
    He
was really cute and I was flirting relentlessly, ignoring the steely glare I
felt from across the bar, moments before Jason King appeared at my side,
clearly unimpressed. “Excuse us” he said to Robbie, nodding curtly before
pulling me to a quiet corner of the room by my elbow. It was exactly the kind
of presumptuous behaviour that usually irritated me so much, and tonight was no
different. The only difference was, that I wasn’t about to start showing it.
    “What
the hell do you think you’re doing?” he growled as I smiled at him, perfectly
puzzled. “What do you mean?” I quizzed, shocked by the fury etched on his face
that he was doing little to conceal. “That’s not how I expect my dates to
behave Smith” he said firmly, as I laughed out loud, shaking my head, I
couldn’t believe he was actually serious. “Stop flirting with the fucking
models” he said eventually, his voice deep and low and snapping me immediately
from my laughter as I stared incredulously. “You stop flirting with the fucking
models” I spat back, unable to control myself as we
spent a good few seconds staring each other out.
    The
unexpected stand off was broken only by the
announcement that it was time to move through to the main room for dinner. They
had obviously been busy rearranging the seating plans as my name had
miraculously appeared on a table towards the front of the room, right next to
Jason King and none other than Tristan Wright, the up and coming designer whose
marketing we were both obviously desperate to secure. So that was his plan, the
sly bastard, I looked up at him grinning. His mouth was set in a firm line,
still clearly irritated by our earlier exchange, and he didn’t even look at me
as he put his hand on the small of my back, guiding me firmly through the
throng