Wife helps win Business 01. Networking at the convention
It all started when my firm told me to attend a trade convention. I was making arrangements to book in when my wife asked whether she could come along too. Joanna worked as a freelance writer so she could work from anywhere. She fancied a change from being at home. It would be a bit of a break for her. My company had reserved me a room in a hotel near to the convention centre. They said it was all right for my wife to accompany me so long as I paid any extra expense incurred for her meals etc - so it was all agreed.
We sometimes took short breaks in the UK and often took the opportunity to spice up our bedroom antics. Just being in a different place seemed to add to the excitement to the point where just the thought of a hotel room excited us. But obviously this would be different. It was a work trip for me and I needed to meet and socialise with other people in my business, some of whom might be potential customers. I had a couple of people in mind I wanted to work on. As my boss reminded me, I badly needed to drum up some new business.
Joanna said she could perhaps tag along and she was happy to talk to anyone. If she could help with my target clients, she would. She was completely at ease in social situations. In fact, she loved a night out and she loved a challenge. I was confident her coming along would work OK.
On arriving, we found our hotel was not the most modern, but luckily we were able to check in straightaway. I was pleased to see our room was very spacious and pleasant. It even boasted a sofa. Having dropped our cases, I made the short walk to the convention registration. Meanwhile, Joanna got out her laptop and accessed the hotel wifi. We both set about our day's work.
I met several people I knew and was introduced to several more people who were potentially useful contacts. The delegates were mainly men -- the number of women in our profession was growing but they were still a minority. So, all the women were noticeable and were popular among the guys.
The day progressed as well as a convention can. There were some good speakers and I chatted to a lot of people on trade stands and over coffee. I identified two people as potential customers and made a note to talk to them some more and make an impression on them if an opportunity presented itself.
I checked in by telephone with Joanna a couple of times and found she'd was getting on fine, had been for a coffee and a walk and enjoyed the fresh air. By the end of the day, I was ready for a break. I returned to the hotel room, genuinely looking forward to seeing my wife.
We relaxed a while before showering and changing. There was a convention drinks reception in the early evening for all delegates and I had secured a pass for Joanna to attend. I hoped I wasn't going to be charged extra! Afterwards, various dinners were taking place. Some firms were entertaining clients privately in exclusive restaurants but I had booked in to a more informal meal arranged by a couple of guys I knew from other companies with a variety of their contacts, in a private room at an Italian restaurant nearby. They were very happy for Joanna to come along. Like me, they favoured an informal style of socialising. The more the merrier they had said.
The reception dress code was smart casual and I had brought my best jacket. Emerging from the shower, I found Joanna pulling on her little red cocktail dress. I couldn't help but intake my breath at the sight. She smiled and said she thought I would want to show off my wife and impress my potential clients. I laughed and said that she looked very attractive indeed.
She did. She was 33 and had a really good figure to show off -- a good, but not overlarge - bust and curvaceous hips and buttocks to which her cocktail dress clung nicely. She also had a ready smile and an inner confidence. All of these things had made me want her as a wife a few years ago. We loved each other but, as often happens in marriage, the demands of work meant we had less time for our sex life. We both liked to refresh it periodically by surprising each other with new ideas.
She knew that other guys ogling her turned me on. I suspected that this was in her mind for tonight to spice up our return to the room later. I didn't like to say that a bunch of guys away from home and "off the leash" wouldn't need a cocktail dress to find her attractive. But we were going to a public event. What could possibly go wrong?
Part 2
There were several hundred people at the drinks reception which was held in the rather grand setting of a hotel ballroom. I soon spotted some people I knew so I steered Joanna over to chat. I introduced her and she soon got talking, pretending an interest in what the conference speakers had to say. One of my target clients was not far away so I moved over to speak to him. Harry was in his 50's and held a top job in a large firm with big orders to place - none of which had ever come in my direction.
Harry was a batchelor, usually rather quiet but, with a drink in his hand, he seemed more at ease tonight. I noticed him glancing more than once at Joanna nearby. She had attracted a group of guys keen to let her know of the industry's latest developments. I beckoned Joanna over and introduced her. Harry's face lit up and I could see them both turning on the charm. Joanna asked him about the conference and she listened attentively to his response.
Leaving them safely in conversation, I walked round the crowded ballroom in search of my other targets. After a while I spotted Keith who also had responsibility for granting contracts on behalf of a substantial firm. Keith was in his 40's, powerfully built and good looking. I'd heard he had divorced the previous year and the gossip was that he was enjoying his freedom with an active social life.
I managed to engage him in conversation about industry matters and told him that my wife was with me.
"Is she the lady in the red dress? Sure - I've seen her. She looks far too good for you!" Keith joked.
At that moment, I saw Joanna and motioned her over. I saw her make a polite exit from Harry, smiling demurely. A few moments later, she joined us, greeting Keith like a celebrity she'd always admired. Like most men, Keith was flattered by attention. He was soon drawn into conversation and we established he was going to the same dinner as us. A handy coincidence.
After a while, Joanna excused herself to go to the ladies' room. When she returned, she soon gathered a new group of men. I was never far away from her and overheard more than one guy asking about her writing and a few others trying to get a look down her cleavage.
The reception was drawing to a close so I gathered Joanna and we set off to the restaurant along with several others including Keith and, I was pleased to see, Harry. With some alcohol already consumed, it was a high-spirited party that made the short walk to our dinner venue. I kept Joanna close enough to check she was OK. I thanked her for being so nice to Harry and Keith. She said she hoped to do more to promote my position with them. She admitted she was actually loving all the attention. Being cooped up writing most days meant she looked forward to nights out and said the guys were all good fun.
Our group had a private room for dining upstairs at the Italian restaurant. There were two long tables but no seating plan so it was a bit of a scramble for who sat where. Joanna was being asked to sit with other guys but she spotted Harry and asked if it was OK to sit next to him. He was delighted. Then she saw Keith and invited him to sit on her other side -- effectively pushing me further down the table. I wasn't concerned. She was clearly trying to be nice to the two guys I wanted to impress. I was near enough to keep an eye on things. I caught her eye and wordlessly asked if she was OK. She smiled back and nodded.
The dinner was fairly raucous. Of about 30 diners in the room, there were only two other women apart from Joanna, although she was by far the best looking. The atmosphere was noisy and masculine, the sort of business event I would regularly attend on my own but not normally with my wife. But she had asked to come along, had the personality to hold her own in a man's world and, so far at least, seemed to be lapping up all the attention.
I was stuck next to a dull guy who wanted to talk about health and safety but further down the table Harry and Keith were talking happily to Joanna. Other guys nearby were good naturedly taking the mickey out of each other with much laughter from those around. By the end of the meal, a drinking competition had started on the other table.
It was then that the limbo dancing competition began. The restaurant was clearly used to hosting this sort of rowdy dinner so had set up a horizontal bar to dance under. The usual set of idiots volunteered first and of course the initial high setting of the bar made it straightforward but there was much cheering and encouragement from the onlookers. People were encouraged to have a go and inevitably, it wasn't long before Joanna was being urged to join in. Playing her part beautifully, she demurely declined at first but then allowed herself to be persuaded and walked up to the limbo area. I sat back and sighed. I thought she was in danger of going a bit far but it was out of my hands.
Her problem was the little red cocktail dress which was a bit tight around the legs and didn't lend itself to limbo dancing. She hadn't thought of that when choosing her evening's attire. Fortunately, she is fairly flexible and shimmied underneath the bar with little problem. One other lady had a go but she had sensibly chosen to wear trousers.
The bar came down a little and several of the larger guys failed to get under, so were eliminated. When it came to Joanna's turn, she theatrically hitched her dress a little up her legs and shuffled under the bar with little trouble.
The game progressed until there were three competitors left including Joanna. By now, she had developed a large and vocal following from the assembled audience who started to chant her name. I didn't know whether to sink my head in my hands with embarrassment or glory in the fact that my wife had never been so popular.
Joanna was first up for the final round under a fairly low bar. She smiled and hitched her dress right up - causing an impromptu gasp from most of the guys followed by a roar of appreciation. She looked around, lapping up the support. She bent backwards and was concentrating very hard on getting her body low and under the bar. I don't believe she realised that her pants were partly on display. I was not the only one who noticed they were damp. She eased her way under the bar and rose up, triumphantly, to another huge cheer.
The atmosphere was noisy now. The crowd was loving the competition and the other two guys whipped up vocal support as they attempted to get under the bar. Both failed. So, Joanna was declared the winner to the biggest cheer of the evening. She threw her hands in the air in triumph, the delight on her face apparent for all to see. Her prize was a bottle of sparkling wine presented by my friend who had organised the dinner. He took the opportunity of giving her a very public kiss of congratulation - which lasted just a moment too long - and drew its own cheer. She was loving the adulation.
Joanna returned to her seat and straightaway shared her wine with Harry and Keith and others around who were all effusive in their congratulation. The wine didn't get as far as me.
