Her Secret Weapon

“Didn’t know you had a child, Ms. Severin.” The portly, middle-aged banker raised an eyebrow when he spoke.

Although having children out of wedlock was generally more accepted these days, there were still those who frowned on the practice. Sir Thomas and most of Burke’s guests would be appalled that his PA was an unwed mother. She glanced at Burke, silently asking him how she should respond.

“The little nipper is almost two, isn’t he?” Burke slipped his arm around her waist. “Callie’s quite a devoted mother. I greatly admire women who are good mothers and put their children’s needs first, don’t you, Sir Thomas?”

Pasting a weak smile on his pale face, Sir Thomas nodded. “Indeed. Indeed.”

Within five minutes all the guests had arrived and Burke took Callie’s hand in his and led her into the living room. Before he released her, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“The circumstances of your son’s birth are no one’s business but yours,” Burke told her. “You don’t owe anyone an explanation, especially not a pompous jerk like Thomas Warfield.”

“If he’s such a pompous jerk, why did you invite him to your party?”

“This isn’t a gathering of friends. You should know that. These people are business acquaintances. Nothing more.”

“Yes, of course.” In the two and a half months she had been working for Burke, she had come to realize that the man had hundreds of friendly acquaintances, but few friends. Actually, she wasn’t sure he had any friends. And she found that odd. Burke’s personality most certainly leaned more toward his being an extrovert than an introvert, yet he seemed adept at keeping others at arm’s length.

“We should mix and mingle a bit,” Burke suggested. “Just be your beautiful, charming self and you’ll have them all eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“I’m afraid you overestimate my charm.”

Burke gazed into her eyes. Butterflies danced in her stomach.

“You underestimate your charm,” he said.

Blushing profusely, Callie smiled. “You’re such a flatterer, Mr. Lonigan.”

Suddenly a tall, willowy blonde draped her arm through Burke’s as she rubbed herself against him. Callie recognized the woman instantly. And why shouldn’t she? Hayley Martin’s picture graced the covers of countless magazines. She was this year’s most popular supermodel. At six feet tall in her three-inch heels, the waif-thin beauty stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Burke.

“I’m a tad upset with you, love. You’ve been neglecting me terribly.” Hayley pursed her collagen-fat lips into a sultry pout.

“I’ve been back from Paris for weeks now and you haven’t rung me even once.”

When Burke kissed Hayley’s cheek, Callie felt an unpleasant stirring of jealousy in her heart. Don’t show him that you care, her inner voice cautioned. Don’t let him see that you’re upset. After all, she was well aware of Burke’s womanizing reputation. And she’d known about his affair with Hayley Martin. The affair had been the hot topic at Lonigan’s Imports and Exports when Callie had first gone to work there.