I sat back in the big leather chair in my new office thinking over the changes that had happened in my life in just the last few days. I had been working in the marketing department of an advertising company here in Colorado for almost ten years now. I'm 39 years old and happily married, I keep myself in good physical condition, and I love my job and the people I work with. All in all, I was pretty much content with my life the way it was. Then last week, Martin, the marketing director, dropped dead of a heart attack at the young age of 42. Late last night, Joe, the company CEO, called me into his office and offered me Martin's job, and here I was, sitting in my new office with the opportunity of a life time.
My husband, Chuck, stopped by to see my new office this morning, beaming with pride. He had taken me to dinner last Friday to celebrate and we spent the weekend relaxing and making love. Life couldn't get any better.
I was just getting settled in when Joe called me on the intercom.
"Chantee, come on in here, will you? I want to discuss the Viking account," he said.
I didn't answer. I just got up and entered his office through he door that adjoined our offices.
"Listen. Martin's been negotiating with this company for about four months now and Walker's been a real pain in the ass. I want you to fly to New York and wrap this up for me. I've asked Donna to get the tickets for this afternoon, so you better head home and pack."
"And what should I expect from Walker," I asked.
"It won't be easy. Just make sure that you come home with a contract signed. Donna has a draft ready for you to negotiate from…..and Chantee, just get this done. This could be an important client for our future in NYC, understand," he asked.
"Got it," I said as I got up and headed for the door. Donna handed me a file and tickets as I walked out the door. She said that she had made reservations at the Hampshire in Central Park and everything was set. I had some information from meetings about the account but I had never talked directly to anyone there, so this was sure to be an experience.
I called Chuck on the way home and told him what had happened. He understood completely, since the same thing usually happened to him. Before I had time to sit and think, I was packed, on the plane and on my way to New York City. The flight was uneventful, thankfully, and when I arrived, I took a taxi to the hotel. It was late in the afternoon so I placed a call to Walker to let him know I was in town and that I would meet him the next morning.
When the call went through, I asked to speak to Mr. Walker. The receptionist politely informed me that I probably meant Ms. Walker.
"Of course, I'm sorry," I said as she put the call through.
"Hi, this is Melissa," the voice at the other end of the line answered. I introduced myself and told Melissa that I was in town and would be there first thing in the morning to meet her.
"Nonsense," she said. "You can't spend your first night in New York by yourself in the hotel. Why don't I pick you up in the lobby of the hotel around seven for dinner?"
So we agreed on the time and hung up. I sat there a little surprised. Joe didn't tell me "Walker" was a woman. Just that she had been an asshole to negotiate with. I just assumed Walker was a man. I unpacked and took a long soak in the tub, trying to figure out how I was going to proceed with the negotiations tomorrow. Expecting to work with a man, I had brought along a number of sexy dresses, figuring that dinner would be included, and if I could get "Mr. Walker" to hit on me, I could easily close the deal. Now I was really going to have to negotiate. Fortunately Melissa sounded quite pleasant on the phone, and I began to suspect that Martin was the real asshole.
I finished my bath and picked out a dress for dinner. I chose my long black dress because, even though it was sexy, it was the most conservative dress I had, if you could call it that. The front showed off a little cleavage but the back plunged to the small of my back and there was a slit up the left side of the dress that went to about mid thigh. I finished with my hair, put on my makeup and headed for the lobby. It was now 6:55pm on Tuesday evening.
When I walked off the elevator, I saw a woman who was probably in her early thirties sitting in the lobby dressed in a long white dress. She stood as I approached and offered me her hand saying, "Chantee, I presume." She had long blond hair and when she stood I could see that she was quite attractive. Her body was slim and healthy and she had a perfect smile on her beautiful face. It was then that I guessed that the problem was Martin hitting on Melissa.
"Yes, you must be Melissa," I said as I took her hand. "Very nice to meet you. Thank you for the dinner invitation. It really wasn't necessary though," I said honestly.
"Well I thought this would be a good chance to get to know each other before we had to start talking business. Have you ever been to New York before," she asked.
"No this is my first trip here." She seemed quite friendly and we quickly hit it off.
"So, I've made reservations at this little Italian restaurant that I know…..I hope you don't mind," she said as she headed for the door.
"No, not at all. I'm in your hands," I said laughing.
We went out into the street and I was surprised to see that Melissa had a personal limousine waiting for us. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since she owned her own company and was obviously successful. I could see why Martin would have trouble with her. He thought that men were the only good business people.
We proceeded to the restaurant and had a delightful meal with a bottle of Cabernet that was out of this world. We talked til about ten and I realized that I had made a real friend. We finished with coffee and Melissa just told them to put it on her tab.
"Why thank you Melissa. You really didn't have to…."
"Nonsense," she cut me off. "My pleasure." We climbed into the limo and she asked if I would like to join her for a nightcap. I said sure since it was only a little after ten.
"Johnny, take us to the club please," she said to her driver.
"Yes maam."
I settled back and made casual conversation as we drove. I didn't want to make the mistake of rushing into discussions about work. Besides, the evening had been so pleasant and Melissa so warm, I really didn't want it to end on a business note. There would be more than enough time tomorrow.
When we arrived at the club about forty-five minutes later, the chauffer opened the door and let us out. I was really mellow from all the food and wine. We went in and Melissa ordered more wine as we went into a private room settled on the big, overstuffed couch. I made the mistake of crossing my legs, which made my dress ride up to the tops of my stockings where the dress split. Damn, I should have brought another dress. Next time I'll know better, I thought to myself.
The waiter came into the room and handed us glasses of wine before leaving and closing the door. This was obviously a very private club for the well to do.
