Once Upon Stilettos

Page 7

A muscle jumped in Henri’s jaw, and I knew we’d caught him doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing. I tugged on Ethan’s sleeve. “I think something strange is going on here,” I whispered.
Ethan smiled at Henri and said, “Would you excuse us for a moment?” Then he stood, reached around Henri to grab my wrist, and pulled me to my feet. “What is it?” he asked.
I forced myself to be as coherent as I possibly could be in my condition. “It’s a spell he’s using. I’ve seen one like it before. It’s like the one Idris was selling, the one he signed papers saying he wouldn’t sell anymore because it was based on MSI intellectual property. It lets you make people do things, and they don’t even know what they’ve done.”
“But he can’t sell that spell—that contract was supposedly unbreakable.”
“I don’t know how it all works. Maybe these people bought the spell earlier. The contract might not affect spells sold before it was signed. Or maybe it’s a slightly different spell and they were testing it. It seems a bit different. But I’m pretty sure they’re using magic to make people order the wine, and I’m even more sure the wine was enchanted, especially considering I’m almost the least drunk person here and I’m a total lightweight.”
“Okay, then let me handle this.” We went back to Henri, me hanging on Ethan’s arm, partly for support and partly because he was pretty hot when he was being all authoritative. “It does seem like there are some irregularities on these order forms that I’m sure you didn’t intend.”
Henri raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” he asked icily.
That set me off, in spite of Ethan’s warning grip on my arm. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with here, do you?” I asked, unable to hold back a triumphant grin. “I know what you’re trying to pull, and I’m not going to let you get away with it. Enchanting all those people with your magical wine, then hitting them with a spell to make them buy wine at inflated prices.” I tried to keep my voice low, so it was just between us, but it seemed to echo loudly throughout the restaurant. I’d forgotten that I tended to talk louder when I was drunk. Oops. Not that anyone else noticed. The ones who weren’t passed out were too busy doing the limbo under a curtain rod with the heavy velvet drapes still attached to it.
Ethan gripped my arm hard enough to cut off the circulation. I caught the hint and shut up. “I think she’s had a bit much to drink. But I do think there’s a problem with your forms. I’m an attorney and I’d be happy to correct the forms for you before anyone leaves. No fee, unless you want to send me home with a bottle of that Botrytised Semillon.”
“Was that the sweet one?” I asked.
He looked down at me with a fond smile. “Yes, that was the sweet one.” He pinned Henri with a steely gaze. “So, want to take me up on that offer?”
“Of course. Thank you. I’m grateful you caught my error.” Henri didn’t sound the least bit grateful, unless he was grateful to be given such an easy out. He’d still make out like a bandit on wine orders, since everyone was both drunk and enchanted from the wine, but he wouldn’t be able to pull off the full scam.
While Ethan went around the table correcting the forms, I drained his unfinished glass of the sweet wine. It sure didn’t taste like it was made from moldy grapes. If they were tricking people with enchanted wine, the wine was still good without the magic.
When Ethan returned to me, Henri approached him with a bottle of wine. “With our compliments, sir, and thank you again for your assistance,” he said with a thin-lipped smile.
“Glad to be of service,” Ethan said, giving no indication that there was anything out of the ordinary about the situation. “Now I’d better get her home. She seems to have had a little too much fun tonight,” he finished with a laugh. “Come on, Katie.”
The floor refused to cooperate, and if it hadn’t been for Ethan’s steady guiding arm around my waist, I probably wouldn’t have made it to the exit without taking a bad tumble. The cool air outside made me a little more alert, but the moment we were safely ensconced in the backseat of a cab, I suddenly felt very sleepy. I rested my head on Ethan’s shoulder, and he put his arm around me.
“Mmm, that’s nice,” I murmured.
“You’re really drunk, aren’t you?” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Sorry about that. It honestly wasn’t my plan to get you wasted. I just wanted to do something nice.”