The famous astronomical clock was indeed impressive, dominating the entire face of the street and drawing the crowds from all around. Tourist guides could be heard, offering varying versions of the same story - the history, the engineering, the fame - in multiple languages. I was hovering near one guide, their American accent cutting through the surrounding sounds, as they educated their charges on what was one of the beauties of Prague.
I liked Europe and how easy it was to get around by cheap airline. Browsing the web early in the week and there could well be a deal to spend a weekend in one of a number of fascinating cities, across the continent. Happy to travel on my own, curious to meet new people, my travels had taken me far and wide throughout this great continent and I loved it. Little was I to know when I started how things would turn out.
Working as an IT contractor helped enormously. Often I would get sent to cities by my company. These were the trips I loved, especially as I was on an expense account, they put me up in good hotels and I always could tack on a day or two to some sightseeing with relatively little extra expense on my side.
This was one such trip. I had flown in three days ago and come straight to the client's office from the airport. Typical issues abounded and they needed fixing yesterday, all the while with an irate executive or two wondering why the issue wasn't already resolved.
I had come in to reception and the girl on the desk had said, in pretty good English, that they were expecting me. Shortly a frosted glass door opened an another young woman walked through. First glance would have had her somewhere between 25-30, about 5'6'', slender, clad in professional attire of a light lilac blouse and a dark blue skirt, ending just above her knees. Her blond hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she had piercing blue eyes atop high, Slavic cheekbones. I wanted her. Her eyes flickered as she looked at me, before stretching a hand out to shake mine. "Anastazie", she said and this was really the last personal detail I was to hear.
We had to work together for the rest of that day. Despite her corporate outfit, this was a pure IT operator. She knew her way around the systems, the servers, the protocols, the code - you name it, you was across it. This made my life easier. She was also cool as ice.
Yes, we were working, yes, we were solving problems, yes we were heading off commercial risks. At no stage was small talk offered, even during our brief breaks for coffee or the hasty supper ordered in on night one.
This seemed to change like a computer program flicking a switch.
10pm. Not my favourite time to stop work, but they did pay quite a lot for my services. I often worked into the night, sometimes through it although I knew pretty early on whether I needed to pace myself. This problem was big but not insurmountable and I could see two days being occupied pretty easily with the third doing final checks. I usually dodged those, playing the "catch up on emails" card and went to do some sightseeing, leaving my mobile on. That's why I was here, in the square.
But I wasn't alone. If you had asked me halfway through the first day whether I'd be there alone, I'd have laid money. And lost it.
Because at 10pm on that first night, Anastazie pushed back her chair from the desk and said, "That's it for tonight. We have plenty for tomorrow but I want a drink. Fancy joining me?"
I was a bit shocked but when a sexy local asks you for a drink, why would you refuse?
We decided the easiest place was my hotel as it served drinks and it had and bar which we knew was open. She hailed a taxi from outside the office and pretty soon we were drawing up in front of the hotel.
