Michael trudged slowly into the crowded city bar. It was Friday evening and it had been a tough week, he needed a stiff drink before heading home. As he fought his way through the throng of early evening revelers towards the bar, he noticed several of his work colleagues drinking and laughing. They had not seen him and he had no desire to engage in the social chit-chat that inevitably involved long, protracted conversations about work. Finding a space at the end of the bar, he perched himself on a high stool and attracted the attention of the bar tender.
"Evening Mike, what'll it be?"
"Hi Phil. Beer please and a shot on the side."
"Hmm, sounds like a hard week!" said the bar tended as he flipped the top off the beer bottle and placed it in front of Mike together with a small glass of whisky.
"Yeah, thanks Phil, it sure has." Mike sighed and swallowed half the beer in one gulp, quickly followed by the entire contents of the shot glass.
"Again please, Phil!"
As the bar tender refilled his glasses, Mike looked around him. About six yards away from him sat a dark-haired woman in a sharp business suit sipping a glass of white wine. Mike guessed she must be around her late thirties. Probably waiting for her old man to join her for a drink after work, he thought, turning away. Not seeing any other obviously unattached females, he turned back to the bar where Phil had placed his fresh drinks. Suitably fortified by the first whisky still burning in his stomach, Mike now slowed his drinking considerably, taking his time and savouring the pleasant taste. Pulling out his daily newspaper, he turned to the crossword puzzle.
After fifteen minutes and only six clues of the crossword solved, Mike was finding it hard to concentrate. It was almost as if someone was watching him. He raised his head from the paper and, again looked around. This time his attention was caught by the woman at the bar. She smiled at him as their eyes met. Mike could see that her glass was empty and she was still alone. Perhaps her old man had stood her up, he thought. Draining his own glass, he took a deep breath and walked over to her.
"Hi. I'm Mike. Can I get you another drink?"
The woman smiled up at him from her stool. Her dark hair was neatly tied back in a bun and her face confirmed Mike's earlier estimation of her age. Her suit looked expensive and smart, she obviously knew how to wear her clothes. Mike liked that.
"Hello." she replied in a deep sexy voice that quite took Mike by surprise. "I'm Wendy and yes, I'd like a white wine please."
Mike attracted Phil's attention once again and indicated their empty glasses.
Wendy, immediately took control of the conversation. She asked Mike about himself, what he did, where he was from etc. Mike was pleasantly surprised. Usually it was him that had to think of things to say when he first met a woman. This certainly took a lot of the pressure off. After fifteen minutes of conversation, Mike realised that he had imparted a lot of information. She knew that he was twenty eight, single, lived alone and was not seeing anyone special right now. He had told her that he worked as a department manager in one of the large banks in the city and that he had been there for several years. He wanted to know a little about her as well though, but had to wait for a break in her questions before he could ask. When the break finally came, Mike enquired as to what brought her to this particular bar. There was a brief silence before she replied, their eyes locked together.
"Do you really want to know?" she said, her voice flat and her face devoid of any emotion.
This was not the reply that Mike had expected. His question had really been little more than a line but Wendy seemed to actually have an interesting answer.
"Er.. Yeah..of course I do."
"Well, to put it bluntly, I'm on a man hunt!"
"What!" Mike laughed, almost choking on his drink. He looked at Wendy but her face showed no sign of amusement. She appeared deadly serious.
"Look. Before we go any further, I think I need to explain a little more, but first I need to know if you find me attractive."
Mike was having a hard time getting his head round this turn in the conversation but his brain quickly caught up with his mouth as he turned on the charm.
"Yes, Wendy. I do. I think you are a most attractive woman. I love the way your eyes light up and the way that you are so easy to talk to."
"Thank you for the compliment, but it is actually quite unnecessary. I also find you attractive and I would very much like you to come home with me. However, it is not quite as straight forward as that. There is my husband to consider."
Mike knew there would be a 'but'. "What about your husband?"