I escaped from work and made my way to the bar, knowing that I’d be early. However, I wanted to be able to secure a good seat in this place, and it usually filled up around this time. I wasn’t too worried about running into any students, unless they were there with their sugar daddies. I figured that I wouldn’t have to worry about running into any other faculty members, as this bar attracted a younger and wealthier crowd. At any moment, I was surrounded by actors, pop stars, people in finance, and your occasional rich kid burning their parents’ money. It was the perfect place to get to know someone in a public setting. The music wasn’t too loud and the lights were low. I had a ninety percent success rate here when it came to sealing the deal.

I ordered a whiskey on the rocks to sit as I waited. On my way over, I decided that it might not be enough to just buy her a drink if I wanted her to be my date to the fundraiser event. I would have to find her something more valuable. Ordinarily, I could find someone to go with me, with no problem. But, I was running short on time, and Rebecca was the one.

She ticked all the boxes. She was fun enough to talk to. I didn’t know anything about her, but as we came from the same hometown, at least we had that to talk about. She was intelligent and she was interested in what I did for a living. She would love talking to my clients, bosses, and future clients. I would have to train her to speak the appropriate amount and not pester, but she would take direction well.

And, she was cute. She wasn’t like, stunningly beautiful, but she was still very pretty. I could probably buy her a ball gown and send her to the salon beforehand and she’d clean up nicely. Yeah, she would certainly do. I had to make sure that she wouldn’t say no. I didn’t have any other leads, and the event was just two days away.

I saw her walk through the door as I was taking my last sip. I drained the rest into my mouth and set it on an adjacent table as I stood up to wave her over. She was dressed to fit in and the dress really suited her. Ripping my eyes away from her ample bosom, I leaned in and gave her a friendly hug before escorting her into our private booth.

“You look great,” I said.

“Thanks,” she said bashfully. “So do you.”

“What are you drinking?” I asked. I pushed a drink menu toward her. “Lots of girls like the specialty cocktails.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said as she read through the list. “Is this one really twenty dollars?”

“Get anything you want,” I said. “It’s on me. It’s not every day I get to hang out with a Hazelwood native.”

“I’ll have this one,” she said, pointing to a fruity mixture when the waitress came around. I asked for another whiskey on the rocks, knowing that the bartender would remember my order.

“So, were you a public or private school kid?” I asked, trying to break the ice with some easy conversation.

“Private school,” she replied. “My mom always complained about how expensive tuition was, yet she still sent my brother and me there. I’m sure the public school was just as good.”

“It’s possible,” I replied. “I mean, we had a lot of degenerates come out of Prep. Our sports teams were better, though. Did you play any sports?”

“I was on the track team—middle distance,” she said after taking a sip of her drink. “I wasn’t great, but I made the team.”

“That’s cool. I’m guessing you were more into academics, right?”

She blushed and looked down at the table. “Yeah, kinda,” she giggled. “Is it that obvious?”

“Intelligence is not a bad thing,” I said. “Smart is sexy.”

She giggled again. I seemed to have found the right thing to say. I just had to sprinkle in a few more reassurances and she would be open to anything.

“I’m still trying to figure out where our paths might have crossed. It’s not like Hazelwood is some big city. For the most part, everyone knows everyone.”

“Can you name everyone in your graduating class?” she asked.

I thought for a moment. For the most part, I had a decent memory of whom I spent thirteen years with. But, there were always a few kids who lurked on the fringes, ones that I didn’t have classes or extracurricular activities with.

“If you gave me last names, I think I could give you first names,” I said confidently. “Could you?”

“For sure,” she said coolly. “I have a pretty good memory for names and faces, though.”

“That skill will take you far,” I replied. “There have been a few times where I’ve nearly made a complete ass of myself in a meeting for almost flubbing a name of an important client. Even the non-important clients get upset if you don’t know who they are. I swear, some basically want you to know everything about their life.”

“I suppose it can’t hurt to know a little bit more about someone,” she said optimistically. “If it makes the client happy, then it’s worth the research, right?”

“Kissing ass will only take you so far. It’ll take you far, but what they really want is money. If you make them enough money, then you can do whatever you want.”

“Is that the point where you are now?” she asked.

I grinned. “I don’t go out of my way to be an asshole, if that’s what you’re asking. But, if you’re asking if I could, let’s just say that I could sleep with a client’s wife and still meet with him to discuss his portfolio.”

She laughed at this. I waved the waitress over and ordered a second round of drinks. Things were going pretty well.

“So, tell me about business school?” she asked. “What was it like?”

I shrugged. This topic didn’t really interest me. “Oh, you’ll have no problem,” I said lazily. “It’s really no more advanced than some of your undergrad classes.”

“Cool,” she said, nodding. “I’m not worried about the coursework, but I am nervous about finding the right experience along the way. I haven’t landed a summer internship yet and I’m a little concerned. I don’t want to do just anything, because I want my résumé to be perfect when it comes time to really start applying for jobs.”

“Are you asking me for hookups already?” I asked with a sly smile.

“No, not at all,” she said earnestly.

“I’m just messing with you,” I said. “Actually, I have a little inside scoop for you if you’re interested.”

She leaned in a little closer. I had her in the palm of my hand now.

“My company is going to hire an intern for the summer. In fact, I’m supposed to use my class to handpick the most promising student. You guys probably didn’t realize it, but I’ve been listening to what you’ve said in class and looking through some of your homework answers. At the end of the semester, I’m going to offer it to one lucky student.”

“Really?” she gasped. “Oh my goodness, that would be the most perfect opportunity out there!”

I smiled. “I know. It’s a good opportunity for me because I can have a trusted student give me a little extra help. I wouldn’t make my intern fetch coffee and file papers. Of course, there would be some of that work, but I’d also give my intern real assignments.”

“I can’t even imagine getting a gig that good,” she said, taking another sip of her drink.

“Well, you better start imagining it, because you’re well on your way to getting it.”

“Seriously?” she asked, her eyes widening.

“You’re clearly one of the better students in the class. But, there are always things you can do to improve your chances.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“There’s this event I have to go to on Friday night. It’s a charity dinner, and a lot of important people are going to be there. I wanted to bring a date, but not just anyone. I wanted to bring someone who knew her shit. You’re smart, and with a little preparation, I think you could really help me impress my bosses and pull in new clients. There are a few people I’m trying to poach from our competitor, and if I play my cards right, it could be a very big night for me.”

“And you want me to go with you?” she asked in disbelief.

“I think you would be perfect for the job, yes,” I said, smiling sweetly. “If things go well, I’d be happy to recommend you for the internship.”

“And if things don’t go well?” she asked, looking concerned.

I shook my head. “It’ll be fine. I’ll make sure you’re prepared to go. It shouldn’t take much work. I’ll give you a few pages on the people you’ll be talking to, and some background information on our portfolio. You’re not the one selling my services, though. Mostly, I just want you to make polite conversation with the wives. Talk about fashion, or reality television shows. You don’t even really have to know anything about investing. You can make small talk, but just don’t speak too deeply about shop talk. Leave that to me.”

She nodded intently, her brow furrowing. “It all sounds very promising, but I have a ton of homework already. I don’t know how much extra work I can pile on right now.”

I pursed my lips. “Screw that. I’m sure your grades are fine. You already got into business school, too. A good experience is worth far more than a formal education. You’d be crazy not to accept my offer.”

She forced a smile. “I guess you’re probably right. I really need to land a good internship.”

“Go with me to this event, and it’s practically yours. Of course, I’ll have to announce it so it seems like a fair competition, but no one has to know our dirty little secret. It should be fun for you, too. You can mingle amongst power players, wear a fancy dress, and eat and drink some fantastic food. I bet you’ve never been to an event like this before.”

“I haven’t,” she replied. “That does sound nice. What if I don’t fit in?”

“You will if you’re with me. I wouldn’t even ask you if I didn’t think you were the right girl for the job. What do you say?”

“It’s a very enticing offer,” she giggled.

I reached across the table and took her hand in mind. “Excellent. Now, what do you say to coming back to my place now? We can start preparing for the event.”

She bit her lip in hesitation. “I don’t know, I told my roommate I’d be home after a quick drink.”

“Text her and tell her you’re with me. You just look so pretty right now. It would be a shame to waste those good looks on a dorm room. It’s not even late yet. I promise I’ll have you back to campus by your first class tomorrow.”

She frowned. “Tomorrow?”

“Sure,” I replied casually. “I’m not going to kick you out of my place in the middle of the night. What kind of a guy do you think I am?”

She looked away from me. “I don’t know. I suppose I don’t really know you, after all.”

I sighed. I was losing her and I wasn’t sure how to get her back. Perhaps I had misjudged Rebecca. She seemed to smart and eager to please. Maybe she wasn’t nearly as eager as I originally thought. Nevertheless, I had to press on. The event was just a few days away, and I really didn’t want to show up alone. If Rebecca were as smart as she seemed, she wouldn’t refuse my extremely generous offer.