I was returning from a meeting and rather agitated by the
outcome. I needed my afternoon fix so I
walked to the Starbucks next to my client’s office. While I maneuvered my way to the condiments
counter, I stopped just in time before spilling hot coffee on the most
beautiful woman I had ever seen. Unfortunately,
the person behind me didn’t stop in time and now my back is ablaze from a chai
tea latte. Great! This is officially a
nightmare. The young messenger boy
behind me looked as though he was going to piss his pants when he saw the grim
expression on my face.
“I’m sorry Mr.! You stopped so quickly that I didn’t have
time to react,” he pleaded.
I took a deep breath because I didn’t want to be belligerent
in front of this beautiful woman who was now watching and waiting for my
reaction. I smile and politely said, “It’s okay, it was just an accident.”
“Hi, I’m Catherine.” She said.
My God she was stunning!
“I’m Patrick, nice to meet you Catherine.”
“I don’t think the napkins are going to do the trick.” She
teased.
“You need to wear flashing lights to warn people when you’re
approaching.”
“So you’re saying this is my fault?” She responded
playfully.
“Of course it is.
Someone as beautiful as you needs to be announced before they enter a
room.”
The messenger guy grabbed a fresh chai latte and jetted away
on his bike. We both laughed like we had
a private joke and I felt it was the perfect time to make my move.
“So Catherine, do you work in this area?”
“I had a doctor’s appointment in the adjacent building. The smell of coffee lured me in here. What about you?”
“I’m a partner at Williams, Cloud and Shephard.”
She raised an eyebrow.
I think I impressed her.
“Are you in a hurry?” I gestured towards a table
outside. I could sense a bit of
hesitation on her part, but she decided to join me after all. We talked for about an hour or so, laughing
like we were old friends. I learned that
she just returned from France. She is a fashion model and very much
single. I decided to be bold and ask her
out on a date.
“Do you have any plans this weekend?”
“What did you have in mind?” she smiled.
“I have to attend a black tie charity event on
Saturday. I would love for you to
accompany me.”
“What time shall I be ready?”
“I’ll pick you up at 7.
What’s your….?” Before I could
finish my sentence she was writing her address and phone number on a
napkin. I wrapped it in my handkerchief
as if it were a shrine. I couldn’t take
the silly grin off my face. Hell, I was
just plain giddy at this point. She
stood up and kissed me on the cheek.
“Until Saturday,” she smiled.
After watching her walk away, I checked my watch and nearly
jumped out of my skin. I had a meeting
at 2:00 and it’s 3:30! I grabbed my coffee stained jacket and hailed a
cab. I call my assistant, Valerie, to
see if my meeting could be rescheduled.
Luckily, the client cancelled.
Valerie tried to feverishly reach me but I forgot to turn the ringer on
after my last meeting. That’s why I was
able to talk to Catherine for two hours.
Just thinking about her now makes me smile. She was about 5”9, long black hair sparkling
brown eyes and African American. I have
never dated outside my race. I am an
Irish boy from Boston and dating a black woman was a no-no. Things have changed and so has my
opinion. Besides, this woman was so
gorgeous there was no way I was going to throw away this chance to get to know
her.
I arrived at my office building and paid the cab
driver. I just need to check in return
any pertinent calls and then start my weekend.
Valerie gave me that ‘why are you so late’ look. I pretended not to notice.
“Any messages Val?”
“Mmm Hmm. Mr. Cloud
was looking for you. I’m sure it’s
regarding your last meeting.”
“I’ll stop by his office on my way out.”
“And your wife called… She wants to know if you are coming
to the cabin this weekend.”
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