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his heart, inhaled as though about to deliver another verbal tirade.
    How could she possibly know him that well? Kat. Had to be her big mouth. “Oh please, you make my brother sound like the proverbial saint. Impossible. I can see it now, Trent in the editor’s office, in his underwear, big screen television on the wall set on the sports channel, poker on the monitor, while attempting to hold a staff meeting. That’s what you’d have if Trent ran your precious magazine.”
    “He’s your own brother for crying out loud, how clueless can you be,” she muttered.
    He felt like a fraud, yet equally satisfied he wasn’t the only one pushed over the edge by his brother. Maybe he’d portrayed Travis too well. Silence hung over them like dark storm clouds, leaving Trent unable to think. He sure as hell didn’t deserve her defense after the incident in the pool. Trent lost his appetite. He hadn’t meant to piss her off, even if it was a thrill to his ego. He flipped his fork over and signaled the waiter to remove their dinner plates, who returned and handed them dessert menus.
    “I’m sorry, Travis. It wasn’t very polite for me to speak to you the way I did. I hope you’ll accept my apology.” She looked genuinely shamefaced when it was all his fault, not hers.
    “Nothing to apologize for. I appreciate your honesty, even if it is misguided.” Despite his asinine portrayal of his brother, Sabrina maintained an inordinate amount of diplomacy. Was she doing it because he was her boss? No. He suspected that was the kind of person she was. She was being gracious, and generous for not slapping him across the face and dumping his ass then and there. Point to Sabrina.
    “What would you like to do after dinner? Care to go to a play, a movie, or to a club perhaps?”
    “What kind of nightlife do you have around here? Is there an upper echelon club open on Monday? I’d like to see how it compares to what we have on the East Coast.”
    “Sure, a new club opened a couple months ago. My friends love this place. I’m not much of a dancer. I usually sit on the sidelines and listen to the music.”
    “What’s it called?”
    “The Metronome. They have great theme nights. Salsa dance, Disco, Line Dancing, and such. It was Jill and Kat’s suggestion.”
    “How quaint.” He tipped his head down and glanced at her over the top of his glasses. A gesture that never failed to rile him. If that was Kat’s hang out it had to be a hot spot.
    “It’s on the outskirts of Sac, not far from the Arena. Kat and Jill, our other roommate, will be there tonight. If you’d like to go, I’m sure they’ll be happy to dance with you. Me, I have two directionally challenged legs, sorry.”
    “If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’d like to check out your little burg, but,” he raised an eyebrow the way he’d expect Travis to. “Dance with my cousin? Sorry, not on my bucket list.”
    She opened her mouth to say something then clamped it shut, a look of pure disdain on her face.
    They declined dessert. He paid the tab. “Ready to go?” Trent hoped he’d find a way to salvage the evening.
    * * * *
    On the drive over to the nightclub, Sabrina berated herself for speaking so severely to her new boss. What a pretentious jerk. He might not be Trent but he was still her boss and he deserved respect. Trent must have gotten all the style and class, while Travis got the arrogance and ego. Damn. She did get the DeVito twin. Regardless, it was time to suck it up and play nice.
    Sabrina pulled into the parking lot and found a space. “Here we are.”
    “What’s the big deal about this place? What makes it the place to hang?”
    The neon outline of a metronome swinging back and forth greeted them. The blare of house music came from inside.
    “Monday is ladies night. The owner owes his thriving business to Kat and Jill for their terrific playlist suggestions. Besides the theme music, Jill convinced them to bring in a DJ on Monday nights and spin