The breeze was blowing through the green umbrella awning causing the edging to flap noisily. Inside the music was playing just above a conversational tone, Dean, Frank, Satchmo and Peggy and others singing the classics.
Students, sales people, an occasional teacher, moms with kids in tow, and grandparents having a day out with their little ones all line the tables and window counter as the aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafts through the air and blends with the sweet smell of baked goods and cinnamon.
Their vehicles are equally diverse. The parking lot is shared by a white Dodge Charger, a green Toyota Tundra, a red Camry and a gold Ford Explorer.
A mysterious black Jaguar enters the lot, circles and scans for available spaces. The glossy finish reflects the light in a series of starburst glare flashes. It glides quietly into a space away from the door. The door opens. A silken leg appears, then a second.
She stood and surveyed the parking lot. Dressed in a simple but elegant black dress, she looked every bit as sleek as her car. Statuesque and regal she moved with a sensual air that bespoke her nature. She entered the coffee shop and saw him.
In the corner he sat. The New York Times in his hand and an espresso on the table, he looked up over his glasses and back into the newspaper. The markets were fluctuating in the traditional January sell off and profit - taking frenzy. His portfolio was diversified and he knew now was the time to buy as others were selling. He was wise and shrewd, qualities that had served him well over the years. He also possessed an uncanny ability to read people, a magnetic charisma and disarming charm.
Hers was a fortune made from the proceeds of three failed marriages to men who worshipped her flawless body but disrespected her mind. She was intelligent, beautiful, cunning and... dangerous.
Her exquisite body, porcelain complexion, pouting lips and mesmerizing eyes provided all the tools she needed to captivate, manipulate and devastate any man. She was the consummate "black widow".
She ordered her small no water vanilla chai latte and took a seat with her back to him but positioned so she could watch him in the convex security mirror in the corner. She saw him glance up from his paper and new that the bait was enticing and the trap had been set.
He repositioned himself so he could get a better look at the target. Her body was a delightful display of curves and symmetry. Her ebony hair cascaded below her shoulders and was sensually draped over her left shoulder, revealing a tiny delicate spider tattoo on her right shoulder just barely peeking out from the Grecian drop shoulder dress. The best he could see of her legs from his vantage point revealed long sculpted calves dissolving into slim ankles disappearing into six inch black heels. He was definitely a leg man. He saw her gaze at the security mirror and he knew the trap had been set and she was taking the bait.
Two predators engaged in an epic battle for superiority, they danced the sensual dance of intrigue. An intellectual paso doble as each plotted the domination of the other.
They were not strangers. They had met five years ago.
He was an international business man functioning as a border broker for small independent companies trying to break into emerging European markets in a rising global economy.
She was an aspiring chemist trying to market her skills to international pharmaceutical companies as a research analyst. She had worked on some groundbreaking projects as an intern and junior associate in the U.S. but politics and her beauty kept getting in the way of her career growth. Her male supervisors were either so distracted by her that they couldn't function or they were constantly offering to advance her career in exchange for sexual favors, an invitation she considered but chose not to accept.
She actually may have acquiesced if they had respected her mind as well as her body but instead they were only focused on the sexual nature of their propositions. Her female superiors were threatened by both her beauty and her intellect.
She sought the European manufacturers because she knew that even though there would still be sexual advances at least women in science were respected for their mental abilities as well.
It wasn't that she didn't like sex. She did. In fact, she had a nearly insatiable drive and some rather unusual requirements.
