Free Executive Perks by Angela Claire

only one without a partner.”
    Virginia took the opportunity to down the rest of her glass of wine and a waiter she had never seen came to refill it as Aaron commented, “How very sporting of her,” addressing Nora, but never taking his eyes off Virginia.
    The waiter left without refilling the glasses of anyone else at the table, Virginia noticed. She must have been the only one who really looked as though she could use another drink. She downed it gratefully, despite its slightly funny taste. Almost salty. It was probably some outrageously expensive vintage her uneducated palate couldn’t properly appreciate.
    Fortified by a sudden, unfamiliar buzz—she usually just nursed her drink all through an evening—Virginia was about to demand of Winston the same rude question he had asked of her when a stunning, dark-haired woman appeared at his side.
    “My, my, my,” the woman said brightly. “What a coincidence. Look who you ran into on the way to the bar.” Never mind that the bar was in the opposite direction. Unexpectedly, she reached forward to shake Virginia’s hand. “You probably don’t remember me. We met on a deal once when you were practicing law.” The woman gave her name, Julie something or other, and the name of the investment bank she worked for.
    “Nice to meet you,” Virginia offered, not knowing what else to say, and stood up as if about to make the introductions around the table. Aaron flicked his eyes down the length of Virginia’s classic, body-hugging, floor-length dress.
    “No, no, sit down,” Julie protested. “We don’t want to interrupt. Aaron, there are some people you really must meet. Will you excuse us?”
    After Aaron and Julie walked away, the Becketts’ table was strangely silent for a moment and then Brendan irreverently let out a low whistle. “Wow. How come I never have an investment banker like that on my deals?” His brother-in-law Pat gave a cautious sideways glance at his wife, but laughed in agreement and Linda poked Brendan in the ribs.
    “What?” Brendan laughed innocently. “I’m just asking. Virginia, can we hire her for our next transaction?”
    “I’m sure Winston has her under some kind of exclusive arrangement,” Virginia responded cattily, feeling the effects of the wine rather more than she usually did. Her sisters and Linda laughed heartily.
    “I, for one, thought she looked a little overblown,” the rail-thin Linda, more than willing to get into the catty spirit of things, opined.
    Brendan and Pat rolled their eyes at each other, but let the remark go, outnumbered by their female table companions.
    Missy and Mindy returned from the dance floor. “What did I miss?” Missy demanded, flouncing into her seat, looking around at her brother and sisters, as if sensing a drama somewhere.
    “Aaron Winston and his date came by,” Nora explained. She reached for the wine bottle and was startled when Virginia beat her to it.
    “Shoot! You’re kidding. And we missed it?” Mindy cried. “Darn, we wanted to meet him! He’s supposed to be gorgeous, though you’d never know it from the way these two talk about him.” She nodded toward Virginia and Brendan.
    “He was very good-looking,” Allie said mildly.
    Good-looking. Yes, that was one way to put it. And charming and sexy and…
    What was wrong with her? She must have taken more of a blow to her head last week than her doctors let on. Mixed with the alcohol, it left her with some unfamiliar pounding. Lost in her thoughts for a few moments, when she surfaced again, she looked around for Winston and saw that he was dancing with that black-haired bombshell.
    “Do you want to dance?” she asked Pat suddenly, grabbing his hand before he could answer and gliding out with him onto the dance floor, feeling light from all the wine and graceful in her swirling white dress. She deliberately danced them over toward that dark handsome head leaning over his companion in her slinky red dress.
    Seeming to be on