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The room was lit up like the fourth of July Neal are that he was being watched, but he was used to this sort of thing People may look at hiht up to George and started conversations That hat Neal really wanted to avoid He veered expertly through the growing crowd, the flashing lights froive him a headache

He would have liked to spend these parties with his brother so that they could walk around together, laughing at what people wore and passing jokes between them to pass the time That was just a childish dream he had nursed since the first time he had been called upon to attend one of these events

He had never once spent a business party with his brother George attracted too much attention as the president of the company and Neal hated small talk What orse than the s business They assu a rove brother, he would be as intimately involved in the co

e was He had to stand there, with a knowing expression on his face and nod along as though he understood what they were saying

Apart from the other board members, Neal kne others at these parties He felt uests He saw George so particularly debonair in his tuxedo A s on his every word, surrounded him

Neal sidled behind one of the large Doric columns of the ballroom, and watched the open floor He was always ae with so e had been only twenty-six when their father died, leaving hie company He had a lot of help from the board, particularly Cliff Stanley, but he had risen to the challenge with a perseverance and a deter very many men in their twenties

George sacrificed the re the business successful The coated to the back Neal knew that he would never have had the courage to do what George had accomplished

He was too selfish and too unfocused to ever pick a project and stick to it He pondered at the differences between himself and his brother They were so different in personality and character, but you could never tell fro boys, they ht have been e difference that separated them

Both were tall and lean, both had hazel eyes and strawberry blonde hair They shared the same square jaw, thick eyebrows and thin upper lip A few differences set the two brothers apart George’s nose was straight, while Neal’s nose was slightly crooked in the e, at six feet, was an inch taller than his younger brother, as constantly aware of that e liked to keep a neat layer of stubble hiding his jaw line, Neal preferred to be clean-shaven

Neal leaned back on the pillar he stood behind, his head resting against it, wondering how long it would take for this night to be finished He fidgeted with the lapels of his expertly tailored Arlances at the wait staff

He was disappointed to find that they were limpse were stony faced andthe sidelines, picking at the passing hors d’oeuvres on the circular trays that the waiters carried A few people caught his eye and save the

He e and dramatic sculpture stood He had actually attended the boardin which this event had been planned, and Neal remembered now that there had been some discussion about a sculpture It had been Cliff Stanley’s idea He had always been one for unnecessarily grandiose gestures

The sculpture was of a beautiful, athletic youngin a drarove Brothers logo Neal had to suppress a laugh while looking at it It was so overdone, so obvious He couldn’t believe his brother had signed off on this, but then again, Neal realized, George often passed the lesser decisions on to other board le hi as distant as he was fro of the company, but he had no real interest in business, and he wasn’t about to force it

Neal was about to wander off in another direction, when he noticed a pretty young wo up at the statue She wore a wine red slip dress and black puany brown, the color of honey and chocolate all ether Her hair was black and curly, and it fell down to her bare shoulders

Neal could tell from where he stood that her eyes were a warm brown shade She had focused the expression, and she did not seeaze on her Neal was not shy when it came to women He usually sahat he liked and he went for it, without reservations He was not looking for anything serious and that meant there was no emotion tied to his conquests