A corseted Victorian woman in puffy pink silk beamed up at a starched-collared lord astride a stallion that pulled at the hobbled stable boy gripping its reigns. I stared at the oil painting on the mahogany wall of Smith & Wollensky. A man prowled up, forcing his bulk into my sightline. Smug smile. Jos. A. Bank suit with an Armani ego. His line was, “Don’t you wish we could live back then?” Held out a drink I didn’t ask for, confident he’d already won. “God, no,” I laughed. “Besides, if we lived back then, you’d be the one holding the horse.”
Betsy Ellor has attended many mahogany-paneled work events. Find Betsy on Twitter@bewordsunbound and on Instagram@betsy_ellor.