Edited April 7, 2008
*
Even though she had presented an impressive writer's portfolio, Robert Boswell was not interested in its contents any more. The press releases and annual reports could have been so many shopping lists. Instead, he found himself more interested in the portfolio's owner; or to be more accurate, the portfolio's owner's legs. She wore a dark blue suit with a short pleated skirt, and she had carefully crossed her legs to show them off.
The rest of Melina Flaherty was considerably better-behaved. She sat quietly in front of the banker's desk, hands folded in her lap. Perhaps she had already guessed that his eyes were wandering. She disliked self-promotion and was too shy to haggle, so she stuck to the basics: wear a short skirt and say little. Not all men fancied pale redheads, but almost all of them fancied her legs.
But she had underestimated Mr. Boswell.
He closed her book but said nothing; instead, he stood up and walked to the front of desk. Next, he looked down at her without speaking, arms folded across his chest.
Wondering if this was a negotiating technique favored by senior investment bankers, Melina decided to brazen it out. Considering Mr. Boswell's size -- he was at least 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and no lightweight -- this was no small feat.
He finally broke the silence.
"In case you're wondering, the answer is yes. I was looking at your legs instead of your work. That's what you wanted, right?"
Not used to losing the upper hand to a man, she tried and failed to stop fidgeting. Finally she peeked up at him. Thankfully, he was smiling.
She relaxed a little as he walked to the door of his office. Her mood reversed as she realized he'd not only closed the door, he'd locked it. He returned and sat down, in control of the situation and doing nothing to hurry it along.
"Are ... are we finished here?" Suddenly her mouth was dry, and she was having trouble speaking above a whisper. "I have a dinner date."
He handed her his telephone as he slowly unwrapped a cigar.
"Cancel it."
She hesitated.
"You heard me. Cancel it."
She fumbled through a small black address book, dialed a number. It rang and went to voicemail. She spoke quickly, in a whisper.
"I'm sorry; I can't make it for dinner tonight. I'll call you tomorrow. Sorry."
She slammed the phone down.
Even though Robert was enjoying Melina's discomfiture, he was intrigued as her mood changed to confrontational. She took off her glasses and looked directly at him. He realized she had beautiful green eyes.
"I'm going now. Thank you for your time."
She took her oversized portfolio and tried to close it quickly, which was a mistake. The contents shifted and slid to the floor, and the only way to retrieve them was on her hands and knees. She heard Robert's chair creak as he stood up.
He slowly helped her to her feet and kissed her once before pulling back. She wondered how tall he really was. She also wondered where on earth he had learned to kiss like that.
"You really didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you, darling?"