The evening betrayed the turn of seasons, the clicking of her heels on the pavement like the ticking of seconds as time ran out on summer. It had fallen from a swelteringly hot thirty degrees centigrade to a little over half that: cool enough for bare legs but still grounds for surprise when the breeze played over them, flapping the silk of the dress across her thighs. The city had come back to life that week with a bustling intensity that matched the determination with which they walked: they were late for a dinner party at the house of an artist and film director, whose disordered creations contrasted with his hatred of unpunctuality.
The wind teased her perfectly cut, below the shoulder blonde hair, pulling a disordered length across the classic Nordic frame of her face. She was middlingly tall. Over the years she had mellowed into one of those enduring northern beauties, blonde and chiseled cheekbones: far from hiding from age but surpassing it. A natural beauty set miles apart from the Barbie or the Stepford wife.
Her athletic economy of motion spoke to years in the pool as well as her continued training. At just notch over 40 she was as toned and fit as when they'd first met in her late 20s. Her body was unchanged, and frankly, was better than that of most women two decades her junior. Her breasts were round and ample B-cups (really verging on Cs) that sat proudly, swaying only a bit when she walked. Graceful arms. Long legs. A soft rounding at hips and breast (not the austere and severe frame of the hard-core athlete). She would criticize her ass, but it was shapely and well formed and invited him to stroking, even if it was not the taut and boyish one she wanted for herself.
"We'll be late". The severity of her resting face - chiseled by years at a white shoe firm - softened again and a girlish smile played across her face.
They were late. Their austerely dressed host kissed her, shook her husband's had. "Isn't it the Wall Street power couple, like a pair of Holbein's late studies." He drawled out the word 'late', making his point.
Cocktails were being served in the hall, onto the walls of which were being projected scenes from his latest collection of movie shorts: ranks of determined men, jaws thrust forward, marching forward is a dada-esque angle. Soft focused panning over women, nude but for gauzy sheets whipped this and that way by an off camera fan even as the screen shaded into hues of mauve and purple. This gave way to geometric shapes that then resolved into a close-up of a breast or a thigh. The projection was from above, and anyone descending the wide staircase of the 19th century townhouse cast oddly distorted shadows over walls.
She was chatting with the executive of a media company, not quite a friend and yet not purely a business relationship. "Yes, my husband is working on a deal. He'll be in Singapore for at least two or three weeks. He leaves early to be fresh for Monday."
"And what will you do in all that time?"
He host had materialized at her elbow. He was more than usually attentive and had leaned in so his arm was level with hers. The touch of his arm to hers was glancing but perceptible.
"Likely go to the country this weekend. They've been working on the barn." Her answer was firm. Was he flirting?
"I am starting a new movie this weekend. Why don't you come see the set? It will be work and a party: fun."
He extracted his phone and texted the address of a discreetly plush hotel on the Upper East Side. "starting 4pm Friday." He said. Early but doable. "Save the hellish drive out of the city on Friday evening. I will include the details for the production assistant" (a woman who acquiring small if growing renown) "and come made up, perhaps we can use you as an extra". His voice caught on a note of excitement.
The dinner was enjoyable. Their host had produced magnums of a decent Ribera, now a decade and a half in age, and they were in a slightly more leisurely and relaxed mood as they left.
"Ought I to go?" she asked after she'd explained his offer.
"I imagine that the movies themselves are slightly repetitive processes: his art seems to be in the editing, not the acting."
"Still" she mused "it might be interesting to see."
That Wednesday, as she watched her husband be driven off to the airport, she received another text from the director.
"Making a small drama: partly the plot of 'Centuri' by GΓΆtz (the Austrian director) but set on Wall Street. Want to be in it? Look professional but alluring."
She smiled. Why not and texted assent.
---
Her Husband rang on Friday, sounding surprisingly cheery for a jet-lagged man in a steamy city on the other side of the world. She was at the office.
"How's the movie extra? Bet he'll want you to take a speaking part because you are beautiful with a very sexy accent."
She smile. "Actually I may not bother. I agreed to go but then watched the movie he is basing it on: 'Centuri' by an Austrian director."
"Tell me more."
The offices were expensively done, equipped with expansive views, but open plan for all but the most senior. She paused as she walked to a quiet corner with her mobile.
"Austrian movie, with a pretty actress, blonde, early middle age. She..."
He interrupted "...gets her clothes off?" He sounded excited by the conversation.
"Yes, and more. She's having an affair. Proper hotel. Full frontal, brightly lit, and then she poses for photos, spread on a bed. Answers the door for room service nude."
His voice picked up an octave. "Really. He's making that?"
"It gets worse, or better I suppose for you. She gives the actor she's playing with..."
Now it was her turn to drop her voice "... a blowjob on camera. And I am sure the sex was not simulated."
"Well that would be something. Is that the role he has in mind for you." He was laughing. She glanced around: her firm's global reputation did not exactly jibe with this sort of talk. She cupped her hand around the mobile.
"Oh, so now you want me in a pornographic scene?"
"It would be an art film, darling, not porn!" He was laughing and she joined in his merriment.
"And would you watch it with interest?"
"With great interest."
They laughed and bantered a bit more and she again resolved not to attend the movie making session. "I won't be done by 4 or 5 anyway."
---
The call to the meeting in the tower on East 57th came a short hour later. A client seeing a decline in a rival's share price wished to explore an approach. She called together a team, was driven up and led a focused meeting. By 5pm she was free. She bade the team goodbye - they were heading back downtown - and consumed by a curiosity ordered an Uber Black.
She emerged from the car every inch the elegant and well coiffed professional. She had been to the hotel bar and restaurant before, and glided through the lobby to take the elevator to the 6th floor.
She emerged into a bustling atmosphere. The suite at the western end of the hallway stood open, a hum of voices emanating. Curious yet apprehensive she peered in. The director saw her immediately and came over to greet her. He motioned to the assistant, a severe-looking brunette, thin and hiply clad all in black. Smiling he asked for a moments patience and consulted with the assistant, who nodded, looked at her, and then vanished into the other room. She returned a long minute later with a glass of champagne, which she pressed into her hand.