Day: Thursday
Date: September 8th, 2011
Time: 3:02am
*bzzzzzz bzz bzz*
Douglas Fargo glanced over at his nightstand where his PDA sat, a red light blinking in the darkness of his room. Sighing, he reached for it, figuring he wouldn't be sleeping tonight anyway. Fully expecting the message to alert him of some new emergency at Global Dynamic, his eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar number that had sent him an attachment. He hesitated a moment, his thumb hovering over the message that could contain anything. A moment was all it took to pique his interest and, mentally crossing his fingers, he opened the text. The last thing he had expected to see was the grinning face of one Claudia Donovan staring back at him. His face softened into a smile as he studied the photo; she was on her back in a darkened room, a soft light source somewhere to her left. She had taken the picture by raising the phone as far above her as she could in one hand, the other near her face poised in the infamous 'Live long and prosper' gesture. Her auburn hair was splayed around her face, sharply contrasting with the dark olive pillowcase under her head.
*happy star trek day! may your journey be free of incident*
A quiet chuckle escaped Fargo's lips as his thumbs moved deftly over the keyboard of his phone.
*Peace and long life*
As he rolled over to drop the phone back on his nightstand, he was surprised to feel it vibrate against his palm again.
*cant sleep either?*
*Asks the one quoting Star Trek in the middle of the night,*
*you love it*
*Guilty.*
*Dare I ask how you found my number?*
*a lady never tells ;)*
Day: Tuesday
Date: September 27, 2011
Time: 6:52pm
Fargo's shadow stretched out along the blacktop ahead of him as he trudged towards the solitary sapphire blue car in the parking lot of Global Dynamic. The setting sun caused brilliant reflections to bounce off the rain-washed windshield and dance across his vision. Fumbling for the keys that refused to untangle from his pocket, he startled as they violently vibrated in sync with his PDA. Yanking both free in triumph, he attempted to unlock the door and check his messages, all while juggling his brief case and suit jacket. After throwing the case and jacket into the back seat, he slumped behind the wheel in an exhausted heap. A snort of surprised laughter broke the silence of his car as he opened the new message.
*inappropriately push any buttons lately?*
*You know I can't resist.*
*whatever shall i do with you?*
Chewing on his bottom lip, Fargo hesitated before typing a response, his thumbs hovering over the keyboard. He nearly dropped the phone when it vibrated again, rescuing him from trying to come up with a witty retort that wouldn't read as desperate.
*wait.. dont answer that*
Day: Saturday
Date: October 1, 2011
Time: 11:17am
Sitting at his kitchen table, wrapped up in a blue bathroom embroidered with his initials and the Global Dynamic insignia, Fargo nervously stared at his phone. Placed directly in front of him, he drummed his fingers against the table on either side of the PDA. Taking a deep breath, he plucked up the phone, unlocked the screen, then promptly dropped it with a thunk. Head in his hands, he mentally berated himself for being silly. Slowly, he reached for the phone once more, tapped out a message, and punched 'send' before he could talk himself out of it.
*Finally repaired the laser-turned-light-saber this morning and thought of you. Hope you're doing well.*
Pushing away from the table and nearly toppling his chair in the process, he paced around the kitchenette without taking his eyes of the PDA sitting innocently where he'd left it. He willed the phone to vibrate so his anxiety wasn't for nothing. When it stayed infuriatingly silent, Fargo gave an annoyed huff before resigning himself to finding something to keep him occupied, or else he might do something he'd regret.
Day: Saturday
Date: October 1, 2011
Time: 8:22pm
The phone buzzed incessantly where it was still sitting on the kitchen table as Fargo was emptying out a bag of microwave popcorn into a large green plastic bowl. He considered leaving it and going back to his movie marathon, but curiosity got the better of him as he snatched the PDA off the table. Walking back to the living room, he settled back onto the couch and opened the messages.
*aww our first date*
*ps you would not believe how fast a startled cow can move*
The next message opened up to a photo of Claudia pouting at the camera, dirt smudged across her cheeks and hay stuck in her hair. Fargo turned his phone around and tried not to blink as the flash of the camera indicated a picture was taken. Approving the image, which contained more popcorn than his face as he seemed to be hiding behind the bowl, he sent his response.
*Looks like you could do with a night off. Joss Whedon and popcorn?*
*oh how you tempt me so*
Day: Wednesday
Date: October 5, 2011
Time: 1:02pm
Sitting at the head of the conference table, Director Douglas Fargo was intently listening to the presentation pitch that one of the new interns from Tesla was giving when he felt the jolt of his PDA vibrating in the pocket of his slacks. His plan to ignore the message until after the meeting started to crumble when he felt a second message come in. Moving slowly as to avoid bringing attention to himself, he extracted the phone and unlocked the screen to make sure he wasn't being summoned away from the pitch.
*impromptu spring cleaning of my closet led to the discovery of the year*
*what im about to show you is classified, are you alone?*
Glancing around the room and assuring the young intern was still the center of everyone's attention, he painstakingly typed out his response so the clicking of the small buttons wasn't obvious.
*Are you sure you should show me then?*
*oh youll want to see this*
Doug reached for his glass of water while the photo was being received to his phone. Just has he was taking a sip, the photo revealed itself and he nearly choked, causing the rest of the room to turn towards him. Slamming the phone screen side down on the table, he stared at his audience with eyes wide behind his glasses. Blinking at them, he cleared his throat and gave his nervous half smile.
"Ah.. please excuse me."
Before anyone could protest, he bolted from the room and only ran into 2 scientists as he desperately escaped to his office. Locking the door and making his way to his desk, he reopened the photo and sagged into the black leather chair. Claudia Donovan, the bane of his existence, had taken a photo of herself in a full length mirror. Her short hair was parted into miniature pigtails, a faded red handkerchief was tied around her neck, and she wore blue knee socks with shiny black Mary Jane sandals. It was the outfit in between that made his breath hitch and heart hammer. A short sleeved, white button up shirt showed off an expanse of flat tummy, and a dangerous amount of cleavage as the last 3 buttons couldn't be fastened. A pleated navy skirt hung low on her hips and stopped just above her knees.
*it still fits! well.. kinda*
Fargo gulped, his thumbs dancing over his keyboard.
*You're going to be the death of me.*
*;) who me?*
*I hate you.*
*oh you love me and you know it*
Day: Friday
Date: October 14th, 2011
Time: 5:38pm
While waiting for his order at Cafe Diem, Doug idly flipped through a binder of reports he was supposed to go over before Monday when his PDA vibrated and danced over the counter top in front of him. Welcoming the distraction, he snapped the binder shut and unlocked the phone.
*what does one do for fun in eureka on a friday night?*
*Oh you know.. build robots, blow stuff up, the usual.*
*what, no hot date?*
*Well, I did just order 2 servings of Vince's tiramisu, but I plan on gorging myself with dessert while going over reports. Does that count?*
*how about now?*
Doug cocked his head at his phone and wasn't sure how to respond when the bells attached to the front door tinkled as someone entered the cafe. He glanced up at the the newcomer as Vince set the white paper bag containing his order in front of him, and did a double take as Claudia stood in the foyer, nervously shuffling her feet. Her lower lip was caught between her teeth as she scanned the cafe, and her face lit up as she met his open mouthed gaze. The sun was setting behind her, creating a copper halo framing the brilliant smile on her face. Crossing the cafe, she eased onto the stool next to him and plunked her messenger bag onto the floor at their feet. A hint of a blush crept into her cheeks as he continued to stare at her, not quite believing she was sitting next to him.
"So," breaking the silence, Claudia peeked into the to-go bag before turning back to him, "How about that date?"