To waste time lavishing attention (ostensibly in the form of sexual favors) onto a party who cannot provide you any form of significant reward or upward mobility, while the reigning and more influential members of the metaphorical household go unserviced.
Joey spent all day showing his project to the junior VP but I told him he's really just shining the butler, Jenkins the new CTO makes all the decisions around here!
by GentlemanlyScholar March 10, 2011