Deal swiveled in his seat to find Annie Dodds standing in a hall doorway, clad in a lime-green version of the previous night’s floor-length gown. She’d been attractive enough then, but here, in such disparate surroundings, she looked positively stunning. When she saw him, her gaze barely flickered. Deal couldn’t be sure, but he assumed his jaw was somewhere near his chest. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said to Deal, then turned coolly back to Stone. “Really, Franklin. It’s embarrassing.” She gestured at the screen, where the image had shifted to a dreamy couple watching a raging sunset from the balcony of their virtual condo. Stone gave her a conciliatory nod and snapped the monitor into darkness. “An oversight, I assure you. But on the other hand, why cloak such beauty?” He sent what was supposed to be a good-natured grin toward Deal and Russell Straight, then turned back to her.
