Drew paused outside the black steel gates of Maplewood Manor. The rain pattered down on his umbrella. Up the driveway, a corporate party for which he was late raged into the night.
It’s the biggest building for miles, Mr. Keswin had said in his invitation. You can’t miss it! “Damn straight,” sighed Drew, pushing open the gate and heading for the door.
As the Assistant CFO of the biggest name in the auto industry, Drew Chaffer had something of an obligation to attend the party. How he hated parties. In Drew’s eyes, they were nothing but massive crowdings of people with tiny attention spans fueled by needle drugs and loud music. He’d much rather be at home watching a war movie or playing his piano.
Drew’s plan to stay for one, maybe two hours before making a French exit was foiled almost immediately when Mr. Keswin himself greeted him at the door.
“There he is!” he said with a grin. The slightly overweight engineer with a receding grey hairline and navy blue suit extended his left hand for a handshake, the other occupied by a glass of some pink beverage. “So glad you could make it! We were beginning to think you weren’t coming. Ah, who were we kidding? I knew I could count on you.”