Never Understand Part One ( Johnthen Trent Adult Romance 1) by Miranda Mailer Page A

is looking cuter every time I look his way, and I’d swear he wants to pour that whole bottle into my glass.
    Oh my.
    Now a second guy has tried to explain the unfairness of Mark-to-Market in swaps derivatives. All very interesting, no doubt, but not the right thing to spring on a girl after a couple of glasses of fizz. I’d rather have Chomsky! Bolero boy with the champagne gives me a knowing smile, as if he too is tired of Mark-to-Market, and fills me up.
    Still no theater directors on the prowl for undiscovered talent, which is probably just as well given that I’m a little off the top of my professional game here. I’ve settled in to enjoy a great evening, and to hell with the networking opportunity.
    I decide to take a break from the “hot guy hunt” and glance around for some female company. There are three women with some guys in the next little knot of people. I go over to introduce myself. From behind, one of the guys looks a good prospect. Blond hair, good body and tight buns. I make a mental note to check him out and come back.
    But as I pass behind him, I overhear him say, ‘So, Henry. Been getting some ass?’
    I roll my eyes and walk on by. Jerk! Then I recognise the voice. It’s Josh. Josh Lake. That’s a surprise and not a welcome one. Still, hearing Josh make that juvenile remark will help me get over him once and for all. Low-life. I make a point of not looking round. It doesn’t look like Phoebe’s with him though. She must have seen him. Perhaps she’s with some other guy and found a corner where Josh won’t see her. Go Phoeb!
    I join a couple of other women and start a conversation about Nelson Mandela. You can’t go wrong talking about Mandela. Mandela’s a good guy, he’s a great guy. He’s sweet. So long in prison, yet such dignity… It’s so easy to talk about Mandela, say great things and mean it. If Josh sees me, he’ll at least see me being sensible. Female lore tells me I should be with another hot guy just to rub Josh’s nose in it, but right now the “hot guy hunt” doesn’t seem like such a fun game. It’s the last thing I need, what with Massimo locking me in a room with Mr Dark and Mysterious, and now Josh Lake showing his true colors.
    The truth is, however antsy Dark and Mysterious made me feel, I’ve been knee-deep in alpha males recently, and what I really need is another champagne-loving gal. As far as male company goes, my faithful champagne bearer will do fine. I glance round to see if I can see Phoebe. Still no sign. Perhaps she really IS staying away from Josh and if so, she has my respect.
    I’m still looking. There’s Andrea. And… shit . That is who I think it is: Johnthen Trent as Andrea calls him, and she’s looking up at him, facing him. I can only see his lean, muscular back draped in the suit, and the dark, thick hair playing over the collar of his shirt - I’d recognise it anywhere. His back is broad and virile, but unsettling too. His hair is dark and thick, and slightly long over his clean white collar. That’s him. Dark and Deep. John. No wonder Andrea’s waving her arms about nervously as she talks to him. Sculpted features, dreamily handsome, but a sexual predator if ever I saw one. I give myself a pat on the back for the way I dealt with him yesterday.
    That look on his face in the video clip when he was seventeen said it all. He was dirt poor, no education, but he had innate style and a grace in the way he moved around. He’s made it to a position of wealth and power, and he didn’t do that with just his looks and a little style. He must have been ruthless. He’d be ruthless with a woman too, however tenderly he kisses her. I have to remember that. Which power-dressing female from corporate finance will he be performing due diligence on tonight?
    I turn away so he won’t see me. My shoes are beginning to hurt already. It’s going to be a long night. In front of me are a charcoal-suited female lawyer and a male model whose outfit is