The following day, I had to blow off John for a second time. It kind of grieved me to do it, because I genuinely liked the guy and I knew he was bursting with questions about my day with Mable and her computer.
I patiently explained to him about the fledgling computer repair business that Mable was setting up for me, and how I was supposed to meet with two prospective clients at her apartment today after school.
He seemed to understand and even offered encouragement for the computer repair business, but I still felt bad. I promised I would give him a tell-all, play-by-play when next we met, and that seemed to pacify him a little more.
"Oh, hey, I almost forgot," said John as he walked me toward Mable's apartment building. "I talked with Joel yesterday, and we were thinking about running another all-nighter again at my house to run a bunch of the new elite dungeons that just became available in WoW."
I smiled, "Count me IN," I said enthusiastically, "Just tell me when."
"Cool," He smiled, "I still gotta clear it with my folks, but I'm going to try to shoot for this Friday night."
Whenever we pulled an all-night gaming session, it was always of a Friday or Saturday to give us a day to rest up afterward.
"Excellent," I responded with a smile, "Just let me know."
"Okay, man," he said, clapping me on my back as he peeled off to make his way home and I made my way toward Mable's apartment. "Good luck with your computer thing."
Mable answered the door with a smile and, as she had guests in her apartment, embraced me somewhat platonically. "Everyone, this is James," she said. "James, these are friends of mine from work, Eleanor and Michael."
Mable was barefoot, wearing a tight-fitting pair of denim jeans, and a pull-over sweatshirt with the sleeves casually cut off at the elbow. As she moved, her breasts swayed beneath her sweatshirt in such a provocative way, it left no doubt in my mind that she was again without a bra.
I stepped forward and shook hands with Michael and Eleanor. "We all work in the same office together," offered Mable. They were both seated on the sofa and Mable had pulled up two easy chairs on the opposite side of the coffee table facing them. I took a seat on the chair beside Mable, and she poured me a small glass of wine. I smiled, to see an empty wine bottle on the coffee table along with the half-full bottle she poured my drink from. It appeared the three of them were feeling rather mellow at that moment.
Michael was the eldest of the two. I estimated him to be at the very least in his late 60's or early 70's. He had lost most of his hair and had only a fringe above the ears that was a solid gray.
Eleanor, on the other hand, was a rather striking woman and very attractive in a strange sort of way. I estimated her to be in her mid to late 30's. She had dark red hair, pulled back into a severe bun at the back of her head, giving her a rather stern countenance. Her heavily made-up eyes were so deeply brown they almost appeared black and, along with her dark burgundy lipstick, contrasted dramatically with her very pale skin complexion. The first thing that came to mind as I shook her hand was how much her pallor seemed to resemble the character, Elvira, Mistress of the dark.
Contrary to her rather Goth appearance, she wore a light, colorful summer dress, short enough to reveal she possessed exceptionally nice legs.
Mable turned to me and smiled. "Once I told them about the wonderful job you did on my computer, they couldn't wait to meet you. They both seem to be having the same issues with their computers that I had with mine."
I nodded and looked from Eleanor to Michael to see them smiling and nodding in agreement. "Sure," I said with a smile, looking at each of them in turn. "I'll be happy to help if I can."
"Mable has already explained the prices you charge for your services," said Michael, "and I believe they are more than fair, especially when it comes to having the peace of mind to have someone willing do all the work in my own home."
"I totally agree," said Eleanor, pursing her lips, "I'm so tired of constantly lugging my computer down to BestBuy, only to have them keep it for several days, which is completely annoying. The idea of having my very own personal computer guy looking after my computer in my own home is absolutely the best idea I've heard in years."
"Mable mentioned the necessity of buying an external hard drive to back up all of our work files, said Michael. "How much do they cost?"
I nodded, "Yes, I highly recommend an external drive. Anything you presently have on your computers, that you cannot afford to lose, should be backed up externally. The cost varies," I continued, "depending on the number of files that are needed to be backed up. Your work files, music, pictures..."
"Videos?" Interrupted Eleanor, crossing her legs with a slow elegance that only women with gorgeous legs can.
I nodded, "Yes, again, anything you can never afford to lose. Pictures and videos especially are often very large files. If you have a lot of those things, I'd recommend at least a one terabyte drive. The upside is that they're reasonably cheap these days. I think BestBuy has them for a little under fifty dollars."
"That sounds good to me," said Michael. "I'll make the arrangements to get to BestBuy and pick one up. I can even pick one up for you too if you like," he said, looking over to Eleanor.
"I have to go by there later today," I said. "If you both agree, I can pick up two drives and we can just add the price to the original agreement?"
Michael smiled at Mable, "I like this guy already," he said.
"So?" Said Mable, looking from one to the other. "If James picks up the drives for you, we can make the initial charge two hundred and fifty. Are you both good with that?"
They both nodded and smiled. "All right then," continued Mable with a smile. "Let me get together with James and go over his calendar. I can call you both later tonight with dates and times for your approval."
I suppressed a smile, check my calendar, indeed. At the moment it contained nothing but cobwebs. Mable was proving herself to be a shrewd businesswoman and an excellent partner.
"Perfect," smiled Michael, rising from the sofa and extending his hand to me. I stood and shook his hand as Eleanor too stood and offered her hand as well.
They both thanked Mable for the wine and her hospitality and said they looked forward to her call. They both gave Mable an affectionate hug as they departed.
I stood with Mable at her front door and, as she closed it, she turned to me and took me in her arms. "I've been wanting this from the moment you got here," she murmured, her lips close to my ear.
She took my hand and led me to the sofa where we sat, and she added more wine to our glasses. She raised her glass to me, and I clinked mine against hers. "I think that went rather well, don't you?" She smiled.
"I nodded, "Thanks to you," I said. "You handled the meeting so professionally."
"Thank you," she smiled. "I have several other people from work that I know would welcome your services as well, probably ten or twelve right off the top of my head. I'll keep you posted on any new developments."