“You look gorgeous!” Cooper screamed as she ran up to Jen, giving her two air kisses, one near each cheek.
“Are you Jewish?” Jen laughed.
“No, why?”
“You just gave me the High Holiday Synagogue Kiss.”
“You’re a card! Let me introduce you,” Cooper said, pulling Jen by the wrist toward her group.
Jen met some of Cooper’s clients and friends: Molly Crocker — heir to the Crocker fortune, Pam Kramer — wife of the Vikings’ quarterback, and Lauren Liefshultz — a very successful commodities broker. Jen got along quite well with Cooper’s tight circle. While Jen wasn’t in their league financially, she possessed enough intellectual wherewithal for them to consider her an equal. The women, of course, attracted a following of wealthy men whose money and toys were their best attributes.
“You’re a political scientist, huh? How do you feel about abortion?” asked Gunther Renfro, a starched and stiff banker.
Why do guys always ask that question when they talk to women about politics? Jen wondered. “That’s personal, but I’d be happy to discuss the migration of Fundamentalist Christians to the Republican Party over the past 40 years.”
“Umm. . .so, I guess you’re pro-life then?”
“I don’t know how you came up with that. You seem like a nice guy, but let’s not talk politics. I don’t think you’ll like the result.”
Jen turned to Cooper and whispered, “Are there any normal guys here?”
“Other than stuck up, rich know-it-alls?” Cooper responded, surveying the room. “Ah…no.”
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