He scanned the room. It was populated by the same types of people as before—mostly men, mostly older. He spied Dani’s friend Sinéad leaning against the bar. She must have felt his attention. She looked up, took him in, and smirked—though it seemed a friendly smirk. He hitched his head to summon her—they could use an ally—and she started making her way toward them. He took note of where Vince was—standing near a window with a deep ledge that Berkeley was sitting on. Vince hadn’t noticed them yet.

Max had a plan. At the Christmas party, his goal, which had only emerged as he’d gotten a bead on the situation, had been to shamelessly exploit his perceived poshness, to make Dani look good in front of both her departmental chair and her abominable ex. Max was fully aware of the power his status afforded him, and he had never been shy about using it, be it to advance his own aims or in service of others. It was bullshit, but it was reality. Today, though, he was planning to fade into the background.

“Hel-lo.” Sinéad arrived and gave Dani a quick hug, assessing Max over Dani’s shoulder as she did so. When she straightened, she flicked the lapel of the suit he was wearing. “Linen. Nice.” Yes, he’d packed seasonally appropriate dukeish casual attire.

Sinéad was wearing fitted black pants, a white button-down shirt with a skinny black tie, and a shiny green blazer with the sleeves pushed up. She looked like a Beatle dressed up for a party—in other words, fantastic. He pointed at the blazer but didn’t touch her. “Silk. Nice.”

“You two are perfect for each other.”

They both turned to Dani, who also looked fantastic in a white sheath dress and gold sandals.

“All right.” He gestured to both women to come closer. “Here’s the plan.”

“There’s a plan?” Dani said.

Max turned to Sinéad. “Her lawyer wants her to come off as friendly and not threatening in case the divorce gets ugly, so I’m thinking she should make the rounds.”

Sinéad nodded. “That makes sense. Is the point widespread coverage, or are we targeting, say, the power brokers in the department?”

“Um, hello?” Dani said.

“Good question. Can we do both? Aim for maximum coverage but start with the power brokers? I don’t know who they are beyond that chair I met last time—James, I believe his name was?—so you’re going to have to take the lead.”

“Got it. And should she talk to Vince? I’m going to say yes. A friendly conversation initiated by her and witnessed by colleagues can only be a good thing to have in the bank, right?”

“I can hear you, you know,” Dani said.