"We're not going to lose to Stephanie again. We need this contract."
The desperation was real as Todd smacked his sales partner Gary in the chest. The two 30 something year old men had enough coming in runner ups to the sales superstar of the company, Stephanie Woodson.
Gary recoiled from the strike, "Shit, I know but what are we going to do? She's gotten every big deal for years."
Todd continued with a crazed focus in his eyes, "I know that, but this is our time. It's time someone put her in her place. She has done too well for too long. You know what we used to do to all of the Junior Associates? To let them know what their place was?"
"Umm...well, we would prank them."
An excitement dashed over the energetic software salesman, "Yes, you're damn fucking right Gary! A prank on April Fools Day would be perfect. She needs to be taken down a notch or three. I'm sick of her status."
Stephanie Woodson, the 43 year old sales dynamo for Minnow Technologies, had devoted her adult life to mastering the art of software sales. Her expertise, warmth, and willingness to work extremely hard made her the top salesperson at the growing technology firm based in Chicago.
She was at the top of her game and was recognized for it. Her colleagues though found the adulation of bosses and clients to be annoying. She was successful in a world that used to be only for the boys club.
Stephanie had formed a deeply competitive spirit from her early years competing against her older brothers in everything. She was a premier athlete in high school and graduated top of her class. She craved being successful and having a scorecard by which to be judged.
It made her extremely good at sales.
It also hindered her greatly in her love life.
She had never found the right woman. The person who matched her. The one who could balance out her drive. The one to help her find a reason to slow down a little bit.
She was five feet nine inches tall with a fit body from years of weight lifting and yoga. Her sandy colored blonde hair was always eloquently coiffed up. The three inches of thick hair gave the unmistakable presence of her gayness and her sense of fashion also communicated her unyielding pride in being who she truly was.
The tailored suits, tight fitting jeans, and designer sneakers gave her a feeling of comfort. She couldn't remember the last time she had worn a dress.
She had a few weaknesses including presuming her peers were all on the same team and developing crushes on much younger women who likely weren't lesbians.
Gary and Todd had seen one of her weaknesses up close and personal when the sales staff, at the suggestion of Stephanie, would frequently go to the Champions Clubhouse eatery off the 18th hole at the high end Legacy Golf Club.
Stephanie's weakness was a much younger waitress named Erin.
Gary mused about Stephanie's desired muse as the two men tried to figure out a way to mess with the sales superstar, "You know we could figure out how to trick her to think that hot piece of ass waitress wants a date or something. Remember when she broke up with her last girlfriend? She was devastated for weeks. That would be the window we need to close some deals. She drops her card in the business free lunch bowl every single time we go. Last time we went, I saw her put her number on the back of the check."
The idea was quickly hatched between the two men. Stephanie would think she was going on a date and Erin would think she was going on a job interview.
Communication via burner phones was quickly set up by the two men to trick the two women to meet up for a lunch date. Neither one pieced together the meetup was April 1 as the reasoning seemed sound. Erin was told by the fake assistant for Stephanie that a job would be offered. Text messages were sent to Stephanie from the fake Erin about setting up a date. Stephanie was too excited about the thought to even consider the validity of the communication.
The lunch "date" was set up at a restaurant called Bel Cibo. The Italian eatery had a European style feel in an energetic part of town. The vaulted ceiling, white table cloth, black metal accents, and top level cuisine made it a burgeoning hot spot for fun get togethers and meaningful events.
Stephanie was very excited for what she perceived as a first date with the much younger Erin. She was thankful she had recently gotten her hair done in a neat fade. The look was decidedly masculine, yet the wave up top and neat distinctive line was still overtly feminine.
Paired with her favorite cologne and business attire of navy blue sweater, collared white shirt underneath, gray pants, and brown shoes she felt ready to be herself with the gorgeous young woman who Stephanie thought was meeting her for a date.
As she sat down at the white cloth table and ordered a couple of waters, Stephanie tried to calm her nerves. She had tried for months to flirt with the gorgeous waitress at the stuffy golf clubhouse for months but every effort seemed to fall flat. There was just something about Erin's simple and elegant feminine energy that drove Stephanie wild and made her lose all train of thought.
She sipped on her glass of water and casually looked at her designer watch for any sign of the young woman of her dreams.
She spotted Erin walk through the doorway and stood to motion her to the table across the restaurant.
Stephanie could feel her heart leap into her chest as she laid eyes on the young woman. Erin's smile radiated all the way across the restaurant and was accented with red lipstick. Her light brown hair was halfway down her back with soft waves danced with every step she took.
The outfit she was wearing caused Stephanie to almost gasp. She had only seen her in the unflattering waitress uniform she wore at her place of employment.
The 22 year old had on a hip hugging black wiggle skirt that ended just past the knee. A white blouse top made of thick material and a tan cardigan that draped down nearly the length of the skirt gave the young woman a subtly sexually flirty glow that Stephanie found magnetic.
The thick collar buttoned up blouse had the top two buttons undone and hinted at the tiny cleavage of Erin's small breasts.
Each step in her black heels with bag in tow caused another set of eyes around the restaurant to dart over in Erin's direction.
Stephanie started the introduction to try to stave off her nerves, "Nice to meet up with you Erin. Glad we could make this happen. You look fantastic."
Erin moved towards her seat but not quickly enough to avoid the chair being pulled out for her by Stephanie. The young woman furrowed her brow slightly at the awkward introduction for a job interview, "Oh, thank you. What can I say? I can clean up when needed."
Stephanie reseated herself across the table as the waiter took their drink order.
"I will have water. Thank you."
Stephanie scoffed, "Erin, it's on me. Please, have a drink. They have an absolutely lovely selection of wine. Do you like red or white?"
Erin's eyes darted side to side as she wondered what kind of job interview she was on, "Are you sure we can do that? In the middle of the day?"
Stephanie's attempted cool demeanor was shook, "Oh, I'm sorry Erin. I just thought you might like something. I didn't know you don't drink."
"I do drink...it's just.."
"Midday, oh right. So sorry."
"It's okay. I just want to have my wits about me. A few glasses and I won't sound too impressive."
Stephanie knew when to cut her losses in sales pitches, "Water sounds absolutely lovely. I think I will try one of those too."
The waiter left as confused as possible and returned with drinks moments later.
