Page 43 of Second Act

“Um, I need to tell you something.” Aidan looked anywhere but at her.

“Sounds like something I won’t like.” She put her fork down.

“I might have applied for a job at ExDat, but it’s not in Pete’s division or anything, so it’s not a big deal.” Now her brother met her eyes. “But I’m glad you’re doing okay with Pete.”

“Are you seriously implying that I should keep dating Pete so you can get a job with his company?” Of course, she had considered the same dilemma when Pete had told her.

“Not really, no. It’s just good that you like him.” Aidan had the grace to look sheepish.

“Did you keep in touch with him between high school and now?”

“I saw him every now and then at parties when we both came home during college vacations, but not after that. It was a surprise to run into him here in New York. He’s a good guy,” Aidan continued. “Not as rich or famous as Hugh, but solid.”

It seemed unfair that everyone compared Pete with Hugh, including Pete. Even worse,shecompared them. “Fame doesn’t mean a whole lot to me—”

“That’s obvious.”

“Hey, I was about to say that I wouldn’t mind being a little richer, though.”

“You and me both,” Aidan said with a grimace. “Getting this job would be a step in the right direction.”

“The truth is that Pete already told me you’d applied for the position. He wanted to make sure it wouldn’t affect anything between him and me.”

“Did he think I might get it?”

She decided not to tell him that Pete had supported his application, so as not to raise her brother’s hopes. Although after seeing Pete with his colleagues at the game, she was no longer convinced that his recommendation was as negligible as he claimed. “He said it was an entirely different area than his and he didn’t know much about it.”

Aidan’s face fell. “I thought he might have some pull, since he’s pretty high up in the company.”

“I’m sure he has some influence, but he’s not going to share that with me in a social setting.”

“Good point.” He cheered up enough to grin at her. “Well, since you don’t hate him, maybe you could just keep dating him a little longer, for my sake.”

She threw her wadded-up paper napkin at him and got up to go to the clinic.