“Yes, quite, Macallan 18 for you, eh, Dad, Raspberry Stoli on the rocks for you, Mom,” his mother frowned at him for making the albeit correct choice in front of their guest, but he blundered on, “and what about you, darling?”

Everyone but him caught the word immediately, the parents raising their eyebrows once more at each other. Lana assessed the comment quickly, and decided on her response in a microsecond. Sending instructions to her cheeks to flush red, she bowed her head coyly and avoided the eyes of her hosts as she said, “Err, a glass of wine, if that’s possible, please.”

Her hosts could not help but feel for the blushing girl, and the admiral suddenly went into action, stepping past his son towards the cellar door.

“Of course, Lana,” he said, offhandedly, “I have a nice Sauvignon Blanc chilling, will that do?” He did not harass her with his eyes as he asked this, but diplomatically avoided looking at her blushing face.

“Perfect, Admiral, thank you.”

Good, thought Mrs. Hamilton, at least one of my men can act civilly, some of the time anyway. Now, let’s get this girl comfortable and take her mind off my son’s brutishness.

* * *

The dinner was a success, Lana was charming and intelligent, and she seemed to like young Chris. His blundering compliments for her remarkable performance at the officer school served two purposes. They could not help but impress the admiral, who remembered his own time there, and they forced both the host and hostess to be especially engaging to make up for the embarrassingly blatant adoration of their son.

By the end of the night, Tim Hamilton, who was the chief of naval operations at the Pentagon, had been impressed by both Lana’s apparent capabilities and her ability to handle herself under pressure. She had also proven extremely knowledgeable on naval and world issues, but always stopped just short of expressing an opinion, focusing on the facts. Opinions are for politicians, not the military, he had always said … and for senior officers, of course, who had to be both.

He would watch the young lieutenant, and his son around her. Neither he nor his wife were fooled for a moment by why she had been interested in the son of one of the most senior admiral’s in the US Navy. But then again, he had seen no evidence of manipulation on her part, or condescension toward his son.

She had expressed an interest in submarine tactics and strategic deployment. It was an unusual avenue, and tough to get into, especially for a woman, as the close confines of submarines made them the only remaining unisex branch of the military. That said, she clearly had the mind for tactical and strategic planning, and he was not without the power to help her get where she wanted to be. If she was, indeed, as good as Chris said she was.