The Villa

toward the bar. "And expect another. A little bird tells me you're planning a brilliant promotion campaign."
    "Those little birds chatter entirely too much, don't they?" She beamed at the bartender. "Champagne, please. Another from the flock was singing about you launching a new label. Mid-market, with an American target."
    "Someone's going to have to shoot those birds. I saw the write-up in Vino on your Cabernet '84."
    "An excellent vintage."
    "And the auction went quite well for you. Shame on you, Sophia, for standing me up when you were in New York. You know I'd looked forward to seeing you."
    "Couldn't be helped. But I'll cash in my rain check next trip."
    "I'm counting on it."
    She lifted her wine, sipped.
    He was an attractive man, smooth, almost silkily attractive. The faintest sprinkling of silver at the temples to add distinction, the slight dip in the chin to add charm.
    Neither of them would mention her father, or the poorly kept secret of Jerry's wife's infidelity. Instead, they would keep it light, mildly flirtatious, friendly.
    They understood each other, Sophia thought, very well. The competition between Giambelli and La Coeur was high, and often exhilarating. And Jeremy DeMorney was not above using whatever means came to hand to push his edge.
    She admired that.
    "I'll even spring for dinner," she told him. "And the wine. Giambelli-MacMillan wine. We'd want the best, after all."
    "Then perhaps some La Coeur brandy, back in my apartment."
    "Now, you know how I feel about mixing business with… business."
    "You're a cruel woman, Sophia."
    "You're a dangerous man, Jerry. How're your kids?"
    "The children are fine. Their mother has them in Saint Moritz for the holidays."
    "You must miss them."
    "Of course. I thought I might spend a day or two in the Valley before heading home. Why don't you and I mix pleasure with pleasure?"
    "That's tempting, Jerry, but I'm swamped. I don't think I'll come up for air until after the first of the year." She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye, watched her mother slip off toward the ladies' room. With Rene a few feet behind.
    "Speaking of swamped, I have something I have to deal with right now. Lovely to see you."
    "And you," he replied as she worked her way through the crowd. It would be even lovelier to see her, he thought, when she and the rest of her family were ruined.
    Helping bring that about would be mixing business with business, he thought. And pleasure with pleasure.
     
    Rene pushed through the door of the cozy, wood-walled ladies' lounge one step behind Pilar. "Managed to land on your feet, didn't you?" Rene leaned against the door, to discourage anyone from joining them.
    "You got what you wanted, Rene." Though her hands wanted to tremble, Pilar opened her evening bag and pulled out her lipstick. She'd intended to steal two private minutes before making her last rounds and heading up to the villa. "I shouldn't be an issue for you anymore."
    "Ex-wives are always an issue. I'll tell you this, I won't tolerate you calling me, or Tony, and spewing out your neurotic abuse."
    "I didn't call."
    "You're a liar. And a coward. Now you're going to hide behind David Cutter." She grabbed Pilar's hand, jerked it up so the ring fired in the lights. "What did you have to do to wheedle this out of him?"
    "I don't need a man to buy me jewelry, Rene, or anything else. That's an elemental difference between us."
    "No, I'll tell you the difference between us. I go after what I want, in the open. If you think I'm going to let Tony slink away because you've gone whining to your family, you're wrong. You're not going to shove him out, your David Cutter isn't going to shove him out. And if you try… just think of all the interesting information he could pass along to your competitors."
    "Threatening the family, or the business, isn't going to help secure Tony's position. Or yours."
    "We'll see about that. I'm Mrs. Avano now. And Mr. and Mrs. Avano will be joining the family, and the other top-level executives, at the villa tonight. I'm sure our invitation was misdirected."
    "You'll only embarrass yourself," Pilar told her.
    "I don't embarrass easily. Remember this. Tony has a piece of Giambelli, and I have a piece of him. I'm younger than you, and a hell of a lot younger than your mother. I'll still be here when you're gone."
    "Will you?" Deliberately, Pilar turned to the mirror, slowly, carefully painted her lips. "How long do you think it will take for Tony to cheat on