“Why?”
“I don’t particularly want to be here.” That was the truth. Well, half of it.
“Why are you here then?”
“Because of business. You know as well as I do that a lot of deals go down in the private homes of the rich and famous as much as they do in corporate boardrooms.”
She blinked at him. “Sure, I knew that with Jamie, but you wield more power tha
n he did. Surely you can dictate to them?”
He laughed a little. “You’d have me be a true dictator, huh?”
Grinning at him, she stated, “I don’t see why not. There has to be some perks, after all.”
“True.” Josh’s lips curved in a smile. “But, I actually don’t mind the Andersons.”
“Okay, so what’s really going on then?”
When the woman at the opposite end of the room caught his eye, a catty smile on her lips, he had to grimace. “See that woman over there?”
Samantha blinked. “The one in the leopard print dress?”
Yeah. Jasmine had never had that much elegance about her—and unlike Samantha, had been born into this lifestyle.
Sometimes, he realized, class simply couldn’t be bought.
“What about her?” she prodded when he fell silent as he stared down into his flute.
“I broke up with her today.”
Beside him, Samantha tensed, and considering his delivery who could damn well blame her?
“Fuck, that was tactless of me,” he admitted.
“Yes,” she said coolly. “It was.” Then her lips curved. “I’m really seeing another side of you today.”
He scowled. “Hardly the best side, either.” Josh sucked in a deep breath. “I’m sorry that came out that way.”
“Don’t be. What’s going on with her, anyway?” She cut him a look. “Did you split up with her because of me?”
He winced. “Partly.”
“Why does that feel like there’s a bigger story going on?”
“Maybe because there is. We were seeing one another for a few months, then I forgot about her.”
She blinked at him. “You forgot about her?”
“Yes. Well, she wasn’t exactly a girlfriend, more like a—”
“Oh my goodness. She was your mistress?” For a second, he watched astonishment wave over her features, then she burst out laughing. “What on Earth? Men really have those? I thought it was a joke or something.”
“Well, yes. We have them. They usually know the score.”
“The implication being Jasmine didn’t?” She scowled. “Wait a minute, you don’t expect me to be a mistress, do you?”
He snorted. “No.”