The buzz of the intercom was most unwelcome interruption. Seated in a plush sofa in a well-appointed office, Bo needed a stiff arm to push Dyson away. She threw a wink at a panting man to let him know there was a chance their impromptu make out session could continue if he behaves for the next few minutes, and reached for the still-buzzing device on her desk.
When the intercom was switched on, her assistant's soft tones filled the office through the microphone.
"Miss Dennis, Hale Santiago is on line one. He says it's urgent."
"Put him through" Bo allowed. She walked around the massive mahogany desk and sat in her office chair. Moving the mouse, she brought the computer back to life and quickly scanned the titles of emails that came into her mailbox in the last 10 minutes, since the time Dyson came in to have 'lunch' with her. Not seeing anything that would warrant an urgent call from Hale, she put speculations aside, knowing she'll have the answers in just a few moments - Hale was not a man to beat around the bush.
They've known each other since they were kids, when Hale's father, who owned and operated a medical clinic, met Bo's father, an industrialist who owned ship yards and wanted to provide health care to his workers. Hale's father was looking for financial backers to expand his practice and Bo's father took a chance on a stranger and his handwritten business plan. The two men had hit it off as friends and as business colleagues, and their little venture had grown into a multi-national managed care consortium, serving 10 million people across North America.
Santiagos became frequent guests at the Dennis house, and Bo and Hale, both the only children and only a year apart in age, ended up as weekly playmates. They were as close as siblings, and frequently referred to each other as such, prompting their friends and classmates who didn't know their families to ask which one of them was adopted. Hale would laugh and insist they were biologically related, that he, Hale, was a black Irish - an explanation that would frequently satisfy those not familiar with a term. In fact, it was Bo who was a black Irish, with her black hair and dark brown eyes. Hale was half Cuban, half African American. It became a running gag between two friends and provided for some entertainment over the years.
As college undergrads, both Bo and Hale majored in business, then went on to get MBAs from elite universities. Freshly minted MBAs then went to work for the company their fathers built. But that's where the similarities between two friends ended.
Hale was a very responsible, sensible young man. He was always trying to please his parents, so he hardly ever set a toe over the line. Bo, in contrast, was a wild one - strong willed, independent, and frequently in trouble.
Hale was shy around women and had trouble getting dates on his own. When he did manage to establish a relationship, he was committed, generous with his time and money, attentive and loyal. Unfortunately, he tended to fall for women who didn't appreciate his fine qualities, were after his family money, or where not approved of by his parents. Fortunately, Bo was always there to console her closest friend and to promise to help him again next time he met someone he liked. Bo herself was flirty, confident and assertive when perusing a sexual interest. She dated both men and women, never agreeing to be exclusive with anyone.
No one knew how the two never rubbed off on each other, but they managed to maintain their separate styles and remain the best of friends regardless.
There was a click on the line indicating that the connection was established, and Bo garbled the receiver of her phone to disengage the speakerphone. Not knowing what the call was about or if Hale had someone in his office, she opted for a business greeting.
"Mr. Santiago, good afternoon."
Hale answered and immediately she could tell he wasn't phoning about an issue at work. Her friend sounded a little breathless with excitement.
"Bo, I need my wingman. Can you come to my office right now? Your lackey says your calendar is free for the next 2 hours."
Bo looked up at Dyson who was sprawled on her couch, a smirk on his handsome face as he unabashedly ogled her. She could tell his eyes were dilated with desire even from this distance, and it made her heart beat a little faster in return.
"I have company". She said, though it was mostly to appease Dyson. Hale would know her well enough to see through the words. If Hale needed her, she'd drop the rugged heartthrob watching her from a couch in a jiffy. He was good looking and fit, and a great kisser, but Bo was a firm believer in 'friends first' ideology. If she truly was not available, she's simply say no and not dissemble.
As it turned out, Hale did need her.
"Bo, it's code blue". That was their secret phrase for 'drop your shit, I need you now', and Bo did not hesitate upon hearing it.
"Understood. I'll be in your office in 3 minutes." She hung up the phone and turned to her lunch date. "I'm sorry, there is an emergency at work that I need to deal with right away. Rain check?" She batted her eyelashes and tuned up the sexy vibe in her voice to make sure her date didn't leave disappointed. He was too good a fish to let slip off the hook.
Dyson was eating up the vibes Bo was dishing out, and was reluctant to leave with proverbial blue balls in hand.
"You're so sexy when you get all business-like," he said, trying to charm his way into staying. "Fire the line managers! Double the throughput! Restructure marketing! You know, 'bossy' looks totally hot on you". He tried his own version of batting eyelashes, and it was surprisingly effective. For a man, Dyson had freakishly long eyelashes, and was obviously well aware of the effect they had on Bo.
"Well, then prepare to be scorched," Bo played along for a minute, then made a hand gesture indicating Dyson should get up and he followed her instructions like a good pup. Placing a hand on his upper back, and taking a moment to enjoy the movement of muscles under her hand, Bo walked them both out of her office. Stopping at her assistant's desk, she asked the young man to help escort Dyson down to the lobby, since non-employees were prohibited from wondering around unattended, and she was short on time.
The young man – Mark – agreed eagerly, though it was only partly due to his desire to please his boss. In truth, he had been pretty obvious with his crush on the boss's boyfriend for some time now. Mark's been a fan of Dyson's since the day he first showed up at her office with a box of chocolates, but forgot them on the assistant's desk. Mark thought the gift was for him, and in short order had developed a theory that Dyson was coming to see Bo only as a cover to see him. He didn't share his theory with Bo, but he did confide in a few people, and the rumor has reached Bo within hours. Rumor mill was the only equipment that worked without glitches.
Quickly rising from his desk, Mark ushered the still grumbling Dyson towards the elevator. Bo spared them one last glance – once more noting Dyson's shapely… everything, and her assistant's dapper attire, wondering, not for the first time, how he was able to afford designer clothing that rivaled in price and quality those of his much more affluent boss.
The elevator doors closed with a quiet 'whoosh' and Bo hurried down a long hallway towards her friend's office, leaving all thoughts of the two men behind. Hale had been serving as head for the Division of Procurement for the North-East region, and had a suite of offices for his staff on the same floor as her Operations team. When she entered his office, being waved right through by Jack, Hale's assistant, she found him pacing the length of the carpet and muttering to himself.
He turned to face her as soon as she shut the door to his office to give them some privacy for the upcoming conversation, his sigh of relief at seeing her making her glad she hurried over.
"You want to fill me in?" She asked calmly, projecting confidence that she knew would be infections.
"We are being pitched by a pharma lab - some new wonder pain killer drug they've developed and now want our 10,000 affiliated physicians to peddle to their patients. Standard stuff," he waved his hand to emphasize the routine nature of the pitch. "Kaminsky from R&D and I were supposed to meet with their rep right here in my office, but when reception called and said there were 8 people from this lab here to meet us, I asked Jack to find us a conference room big enough and went down to reception to tell them we'll need a few minutes to get set up."
Bo nodded to indicate she was following so far, and it was all the encouragement Hale needed to finally spill the reason he called her for help.
"I was going to stay with them and then escort them up once I heard from Jack, but then I saw this one girl sitting with them - she sure didn't look like a lab rat, she was so... so..." Hale struggled for right words, but his vast vocabulary failed him in that moment. "I panicked and ran." He finished in a rush, chocking on the words a little.
Well, that wasn't at all atypical of him, Bo thought. But she was sure the situation could be salvaged with little effort.
"Hey, I got your back," she put a comforting hand on Hale's broad shoulder. "Is the room ready now?"
Hale shrugged his broad shoulders, and Bo knew that she wouldn't get much more out of the man until he calmed down. She opened the door and repeated the question to Hale's assistant.
"Yes, Edward Jenner room has been reserved for you," Jack replied crisply. Bo nodded her thanks to the man and turned to her friend who was still taking deep breaths in the middle of his office.
"All right," Bo said, motioning for Hale will follow. "Let's go get them. Give me the usual sign when this girl introduces herself."
Hale followed her mutely to another elevator, and she had a few minutes to wonder what kind of girl caught his eye this time. The few girls he had dated - mostly set up with Bo's help - were of varying types in terms of looks, but generally had a very outgoing personality and projected a lot of confidence.
When they reached the reception area on the first floor where the guests were seated, one woman rose up before the others and approached them. She was strikingly beautiful and exotic, with dark eyes, wavy dark hair, generously wide lips and the cutest dimples Bo's ever seen. She was clad in a form-fitting dress that would not be out of place at a cocktail reception, but was just conservative enough to pass for business-elegant.
The exotic woman took in the sight of the approaching pair. Noting Bo's natural confidence and the fact that Hale, who she met earlier, was hanging well back, she assumed the newcomer was of higher standing than Hale. She extended her hand to Bo with a wide smile. "Hello, I'm Evony Fleurette Marquise, the Founder and CEO of LG Pharmaceuticals. I'm very excited to tell you about our newest drug we call NonNocet. It's going to revolutionize the way we treat pain."
"A pleasure to meet you." Bo answered the greeting in kind. "Bo Dennis, the head of Operations for North-East region at Dall Epsilon Healthcare Consortium."
This Evony had a firm handshake, Bo noted, and a very outgoing personality, but her gut was telling Bo this wasn't Hale's usual fare. There was something inauthentic and disingenuous about her; plus this woman, while very attractive, seemed a bit older than her friend. Still, she waited for the signal, and when none came she was happy to move on.
"You've met Hale already," she said, and when Evony confirmed it with a nod and a toothy smile for her friend, Bo pointed to the rest of the group. "I'm very curious to meet the rest of your team."
"Yes, of course!" Evony answered as if she momentarily forgot she wasn't there alone. Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Sales, Manufacturing Director and head researcher were all women, though each one seemed progressively less likely to be Hale's choice. The head researcher - Lauren Lewis - was so shy, she blushed when greeted by Bo, and looked away almost immediately. The vibe she was getting from the woman told Bo she was more the woman's type than Hale. As if to confirm her suspicions, Hale remained quiet through the introductions. Confused, Bo looked around the room, surmising that Hale was mistaken about his mystery woman being a part of the delegation from LG.
The only other female occupant of the reception room, excluding the receptionist, was a young woman in bandana, heavy eye makeup and Goth outfit, complete with knee-high black leather boots on 5-inch platforms. A motorcycle helmet and a large canvass bag rested at her feet as she sat examining the black polish of her nails and paying everyone else no mind whatsoever.
Walking over the woman, Bo cleared her throat to get her attention. "And you are..?"
"Delivery." The Goth woman pointed at a large, padded envelop sticking out of her bag, then went back to examining her nails.
"For...?" Bo did her best to extract any kind of a name out of the woman.
"Someone else, obviously" the Goth answered curtly.
Well, that was an epic fail... Bo thought as she examined the woman, trying to determine if she should spend any more time on her. The LG people were giving her weird looks, no doubt wondering why she was spending her time quizzing a delivery girl instead of talking to them. Luckily, her dilemma was resolved when Hale took a step forward to stand next to Bo at that moment.
"Hey, Bo, didn't you have a college professor once called 'Delivery-something'?"
Smooth... Bo winced. Well, the girl didn't really give him much to work with. Her embarrassment gave way to curiosity though, and she took a closer look at the woman. A little befuddled, she thought Hale was thinking way outside the box when he laid eyes on this one. Still, now that the girl was identified, she has work to do. But first, she had to get rid of their audience. It also occurred to Bo that, since she spent all that time integrating herself into Hale's meeting with pharma people, now she would likely have to stick around for their presentation.
Sales pitches on drugs were painfully boring, especially for someone who didn't specialize in the medicine side of business. Hale was going to owe her BIG for making her sit through that.
"I had a prof named 'Jack Deliverman', is that who you were thinking of?" Bo said, trying to smooth over Hale's signal. Smartly, Hale just nodded in response, aware that continuing conversation down this path would be disastrous.
Bo was just as happy to move on.
"Hale, why don't you take these people up to the conference room? I think I need to deal with that" she inclined her head in the direction of the Goth woman, "first. Then I'll join you all upstairs."
Hale was on the same wave-link, so he agreed instantly.
"Follow me, folks." He ushered them to the executive elevators making small talk and acting more like his old self, now that he had outsourced setting up a date with the Goth to Bo.
As soon as the group was out of sight, Bo went to the receptionist, knowing the sassy Goth woman will not tell her what she needed to know. Receptionist didn't have her name, just that she worked for a Karimov Brothers messengers company and was waiting to deliver some papers to Director of Claims, who was taking his sweet time getting down to collect them. Bo googled the company and called them, but they refused to name their staff. A call to the Director of Claims was equally as fruitless - the envelop contained divorce papers from the man's wife, so this messenger was hired by her lawyers. Her favorite go-to options exhausted, Bo had one last move to make.
"Call security and police." She instructed the shocked receptionist.
Security arrived half a minute later, and when they approached the reception desk, Bo told them she needed to see the identification of the messenger girl. Being a daughter of one of the founders gave her a lot of clout with the rank and file, so they didn't hesitate to do her bidding.
Predictably, the girl refused to produce identification, calling the security man a few words that sounded like they were in Russian. While they argued, the city cops pulled up and joined the fray. Bo let it go on for a moment, just long enough to get the cops angry with a feisty girl, then took one of them aside and asked him to arrest her on the charge of disorderly conduct.
"You want to press charges?" He confirmed, unhappy with the amount of paperwork this little call would be likely to generate. Bo wanted, so that's exactly what happened. Knowing the cops would need to file paperwork that will include the girls name and address, and provide her with a copy of the report, she let them take her away in cuffs. Moreover, she thought Hale could score mad brownie points if he showed up at the police station about an hour later to drop the charges, or at least bail her out, laying the blame at receptionist for overstepping her bounds. If he had any game, he'd get a dinner date out of it for sure.
She headed up to the conference room fairly confident in her plan, but dreading having to sit thought the sales pitch and the inevitable Q&A - if Hale were to leave, she would need to remain until the end for sure, no escaping the torture early.
When she entered the room, Hale was seated at the head of a long oval table; the group from LG was lined up down one side in order of org hierarchy - with Evony seated at Hale's left arm and Lauren all the way down at the end. Kaminsky was seated at Hale's right arm and looked kind of lonely all by himself, facing eight people across the table.
Bo plastered a gravely concerned expression on her face for their visitors. "I apologize for interrupting, but something had come up and I'm afraid Mr. Santiago needs to leave to personally oversee the situation. I'll take his place, so we wouldn't have to reschedule." She said and beckoned her friend to step out. "Hale, can I see outside for a minute?"
Hale made his own apologies to the group before leaving the room with Bo. Outside, she quickly filled him in and gave him the contact info for the cops and the station, sending him on his way after extracting a promise that he'll let her know how things turn out. Then she took a deep breath and stepped inside the conference room, taking the chair Hale had vacated moments ago.
"I'm really sorry we had a rocky start to your presentation, and also that I'm not as familiar with Division of Procurement operating procedures as Hale obviously is, but I will do my best to hear you out and answer any questions you may have. Won't you begin?" She gestured to Evony to get started.
Evony was an engaging and clear speaker, and Bo was able to sit through a 60 minute presentation without relying on a bucket of coffee and to mostly follow the material presented. When Evony reached the last slide, Bo leaned back in her chair and addressed her colleague from R&D.
"So, Kaminsky, you've had a chance to review some materials on this new drug ahead of the meeting, what are your thoughts?"
"It looks promising on paper, but I think finance and legal have not even started on this yet, and lots will depend on our forecasts for costs – it's going come down to the math, Bo – how much are we willing to spend and over how many years before we see any return on that investment. I'm sure LG's contractual and financial requirements would need to be carefully reviewed and negotiated as well. But the science behind it looks very intriguing."
Bo nodded, liking the cautious approach to the new and untested drug.
"We welcome the opportunity to address any questions or concerns you have." Evony pointed out, her tone smooth and self-assured.
Bo looked back at Kaminsky. This not being her field of expertise, the only semi-intelligent question she thought to ask had to do with FDA approval status, but it was already addressed in the presentation. Kaminsky had not disappointed, however, taping a few keys to bring up a new screen on his iPad where Bo could see a long list of notes.
"Let's begin" He smiled jovially at the row of representatives from LG.
A ping from Hale's iPad that he left behind distracted Bo a few seconds later and she swiped to reactivate the device and see what caused it. The screen indicated she had a new email message, and when she saw it was from Kaminsky, she tapped on it curiously, wondering why he would be sending something to Hale right at that moment. When she opened it, she saw it was a forward of a message that was sent to Hale about an hour before the meeting with LG was to start. Since Hale was no longer in the room, the message was clearly intended for her. Even more curious, she scrolled down, finding a list of about a dozen questions. So, that's how her old buddy was able to look so smart in those meetings, she mused. No wonder, if someone smarter was feeding him questions to ask. Well, she wasn't above using a little help from time to time herself, so she smiled her thanks at her colleague and went to study the questions on her screen, listening with half an ear to the going-ons around her.
She looked up a few minutes later when she realized that every question was being answered by the same person – Lauren Lewis, the tall blonde she shook hands with earlier, when she was looking for the girl Hale was interested in. Bo recalled dismissing her as the object of Hale's interest and quickly moving on, not impressed with a shy, quiet woman. Now, the blonde seemed to sparkle with energy. She was using her hands to illustrate something as she answered Kaminsky's latest question, and although what she was saying had seemed like gibberish to Bo, her colleague looked on at the young woman in utter fascination. Bo turned back to watch the blonde with a new appreciation – Kaminsky was a long-time researcher with an excellent reputation, and his attitude indicated this Lewis woman was a scientist of rare caliber.
Intrigued, Bo took a minute to give the woman a thorough once-over. She had big brown eyes, high cheekbones, shapely lips and a strong chin with a tiny dimple in the middle. Her blonde hair reached a few inches below her shoulders, falling softly over the simple gray pantsuit jacket. She was slim, but Bo's attentive eye caught the way the sleeves would stretch around her upper arms when she moved her hands, indicating a fine muscle tone. She wasn't an exotic beauty (like Evony), but she was definitely attractive in a girl-next-door way. Except when she talked about science – when the passion would radiate from her like a million-watt light bulb, rendering her nothing short of stunning.
A tiny movement just to her left had Bo's gaze shift to Evony, who was studying Bo with a curious twinkle in her eyes. Busted, Bo thought, catching the look. She wondered what Evony would make of the little scene, but quickly put it out of her mind. The pitch and any corresponding decisions would soon be Hale's problem again, she was just a stand-in.
The meeting continued for a little while longer, with Bo adding some of her questions to the mix (or rather – some of the questions Kaminsky had thoughtfully supplied her with). When it was over, she escorted the group back down to reception with assurances that someone from Dall's legal team will be in touch very soon with next steps on contract negotiations.
Bo noted with curiosity that Evony took Lauren aside and exchanged a few words with the blonde before nodding a final goodbye to Bo and Kaminsky and walking out, most of the group trailing right behind her. Except for Lauren, who gave her boss one last uncertain look before heading in the opposite direction, towards Bo.
"Can we speak for a moment?" Lauren addressed Bo, nervously stuffing her hands into pockets of her jacket and once again not holding eye contact for very long, though this time Bo noted the blonde's eyes shifted down to her cleavage whenever she thought Bo wasn't looking.
"Just a second," Bo requested of Lauren, then turned to Kaminsky, thanking her colleague from R&D for his time. "I'll get my notes to Hale", she promised, though she knew Kaminsky will have his own, much more useful debriefing with Hale upon his return from the jailhouse.
Kaminsky nodded and reached out to shake Lauren's hand, though he'd already done in earlier as everyone was saying goodbyes. "Again, a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lewis," he said, obviously meaning every word. Bo turned back to look at the older man, but saw nothing but fatherly affection is his expression.
As soon as they were alone, Bo turned back to Lauren, giving her an encouraging smile.
Lauren was fidgeting with something in her pocket and anxiously biting her lower lip. Bo thought she looked adorable, but she missed the confidant, vibrant woman she observed during Q&A, finding that woman far more attractive.
The blonde must have sensed that Bo's sexual vibe shifted down a few notches, and felt more relaxed. She pulled out a card from her pocket, noting with dismay that it seemed irrevocably bent, thanks to her fidgeting with it earlier. Still, she extended it to Bo, since it was the only one she had.
"You had some interesting questions, and I thought maybe I could give you more detailed answers, if you are interested. Perhaps we could combine it with some dinner?"
Bo took the card, noting the back held a hand-written phone number. She made a show of examining both sides to buy herself some time to think. She was no stranger to come-ons, but this one surprised her. Lauren was interesting enough to garner a positive response, but something in her invitation bothered Bo.
Bo was very good at reading people, especially when it came to gaging their sexual interest, though she had a well-deserved reputation in the office for making astute observations in business settings as well. And Bo simply pegged Lauren for a kind of woman who would be much more comfortable on the receiving side of a pick-up line.
Which led Bo to the inevitable conclusion that the whole scene was a setup, quite possibly orchestrated by Evony. Though for what purpose was a mystery – Bo had nothing to do with negations or contract signings. She also wonder why Lauren would go along with it. Second-guessing herself, she allowed that perhaps Evony had no nefarious intentions whatsoever, acting like a wingman for Lauren. Caught between possibilities, Bo realized that the best way to learn about it would be to accept the invitation.
"Yes, I think that would be lovely. How much longer are you in town for?" She asked the blonde woman quietly waiting for an answer from her.
"Through the weekend." Lauren replied, relieved her invitation was accepted.
Taking the reins of the plans for their date, Bo took down Lauren's hotel and room number, promising to make reservations and pick her up at 7 in the hotel lobby.
Pleased with the arrangement, Lauren thanked her, affirming she looked forward to the meeting. She sounded genuine, further confusing Bo as to whose idea it was to deliver the dinner invitation. If Lauren was sincerely interested and Evony was simply helping a shy colleague with making a move, much as she herself often did for Hale, she'd owe the other woman an apology.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Hale chose that moment to call. Saying a quick goodbye to Lauren and excusing herself to take the call in private, Bo moved towards the elevators and her own office.
Hale sounded frantic, and it took Bo a few moments to understand that jailhouse encounter did not go as well as either of them hoped. Sure, he learned the girl's name – Kenzi, and had her released as soon as the form to drop the charges was signed and filed. But not only was the girl not grateful, she had kicked Hale in the right shin on her way out of the police station, walking so quickly on those ridiculous boots that he didn't even have time to try to ask her out.
Putting her own dinner plans out of her mind for the moment, Bo promised to think of something to create another opportunity for Hale to meet Kenzi soon. Her friend was obviously not deterred by the attitude or the pain – she remembered admiring Kenzi's boots earlier and was pretty sure getting kicked by them would hurt a fair bit.
Running through potential options in her mind, she thought about calling the messenger company and asking them to deliver some documents to Hale. She discarded that idea after remembering that the company had over a dozen messengers working for them, and they would have to get very lucky or send a ton of packages before running into Kenzi again. After a few more of potential ideas went the way of the first one, Bo decided she needed more information about the Goth girl to formulate a good plan.
When she reached her office, she tasked her assistant with making reservations to a popular French restaurant for her date with Lauren, while she dialed a rarely used number from her list of contacts.
The call was picked up on the second ring, a terse "Fitz McCorrigan" as the only greeting.
"Fitz, it's Bo Dennis. I had hired you a while back to do surveillance on a woman who was dating a friend of mine…" Bo said by the way of introductions. Fitz was a bar owner who supplemented his income by doing a little private eye work. Bo thought he would be perfect for the job. With his 'kind grandfather' looks and short statue, he tended to come off as harmless and docile, though in truth he was a tough old salt who was a professional wrestler in his youth. Giving him Kenzi's information and settling on a price, Bo requested a report as soon as it was humanly possible, knowing that her friend would be unbearable until either he was successful at securing a date or permanently shut down by a feisty Goth.
When she was done with the call, her assistant, Mark, buzzed the intercom to let her know the reservation was set up in her name for 7:00 PM, exactly as she requested. Satisfied that her own date plans were set, she returned to work on the projects for her department, giving the work her full attention.
Shutting off her computer promptly at 5 pm, Bo was unhappy that she was leaving a number of tasks unattended – after the two hours she spent in the conference with Hale's pharma people, she had fallen behind on her to-do list for the day, but couldn't stay in the office longer if she wanted to be on time for her dinner date with Lauren Lewis. Gathering her things, she headed down to the garage, climbed into a shiny Mercedes and hurried home to shower and change.
A little under two hours later she pulled up to a hotel where Lauren was staying. Handing over the keys to valet, she entered the lobby and asked the concierge to phone Lauren's room number. The call was not answered, and Bo had a momentary fear of being stood up. But a heart-beat later she spotted Lauren walking towards her from the direction of the hotel bar, and came to meet her half-way.
Lauren was wearing a sleeveless black cocktail dress that ended just above her knees. Her hair was done up, and the pumps on her feet looked more elegant and a lot less practical than the shoes she had on earlier in the day. The only visible jewelry she wore was a pair of hoop earrings and a small pendant on a thin chain of white gold that served to accentuate a long column of her neck.
Bo's first thought at seeing Lauren dressed up for their dinner date was to congratulate herself on scoring a hot date for the night. Her second was to congratulate herself for guessing correctly that Lauren had very nicely toned arms and shoulders, just as she suspected.
She was happy that she took the time to doll-up as well, donning an evening dress and styling her hair into soft curls. Lauren seemed to approve of her look, staring at Bo with open admiration.
"You look lovely, Bo" Lauren said, moving in close to kiss the air just to the side of both cheeks, revealing a European upbringing.
Bo felt her face heat up, wishing that Lauren's skin would brush against hers in those fleeting moments. Not to be outdone, she took Lauren's hands in both of hers, stroking the soft skin with her thumbs. "You look ravishing."
Lauren blushed, inordinately pleased by the complement. She looked down, unable to take the heat emanating from Bo's dark eyes, and found her gaze caught on the sight of their joint hands – hers being held so very gently by the brunette's – and felt faint from the rapid migration of blood southbound. Clearing her throat and gaining a temporary hard-won control over her libido, she removed one hand from Bo's, while shifting the grip on the other to more or less hold hands.
"Shall we?" She prompted, wondering if Bo felt as unsteady as she did.
She examined what few data points she had – Bo's posture and her dry hand in Lauren's sweaty one spoke of confidence that was eluding the blonde woman. Still, the other woman took the time to dress up and make plans for their date, so perhaps she was interested enough to give her a chance, Lauren hoped.
Bo led them out, getting her car from valet in record time. The ride to the restaurant was mostly quiet and, thankfully, short. Bo was once again reminded why she didn't date introverts – she was the type who liked to draw energy from others around her, and introverts just didn't give off energy, not without some cajoling. Luckily, the French restaurant where they were going had an excellent collection of wines, and Bo had every intention of getting Lauren at least tipsy, to see if she'd loosen up.
The first glass of red that arrived ahead of their appetizers was proving well worth the money when, after several appreciative sips (it really was an excellent Merlot), Lauren abruptly abandoned the mostly one-sided conversation about decor of the restaurant with a giddy "Do you want to hear a joke?"
"Sure!" Bo agreed readily, delightful that the sparkle was back in Lauren's eyes. She briefly wondered if the joke would be nerdy, like the woman seated across from her, or something more generic.
Lauren wiggled in her chair to get as close to Bo as she could with a dining table between them. She visibly, and with some effort, schooled her features before asking "Why can't an atheist solve exponential equations?" with a straight face.
Bo gave herself an internal high-five. Yep, nerdy as they come. "I don't know, why?" she played along.
"Because they don't believe in higher powers!" Lauren exclaimed.
Bo chuckled. "That's funny." She was suddenly glad that she spent a few minutes googling nerd jokes and memorized the only one that made sense to her. "I have one for you as well." When Lauren nodded eagerly, she made sure to deliver it with the same straight face Lauren used. "A group of protesters gathered in front of the physics lab, waving signs and shouting 'What do we want? Time travel! When do we want it? Irrelevant!'" She punctuated each statement with a fist pump, much to Lauren's delight.
Lauren laughed. She had a beautiful laugh – heady and vibrant, and imminently contagious. Bo chuckled as well, pleased to once again see the animated side of the woman seated across from her. The silly jokes and the wine had succeeded in cutting the tension from earlier, and the rest of the dinner conversation flowed less awkwardly.
They talked of many things – embarrassing childhood exploits, favorite travel destinations, hobbies and food phobias. Lauren admitted that she avoided processed foods, knowing too much about various chemical compounds that went into making and preserving them. Bo confessed to an intense dislike of avocado and anything that uses it as an ingredient. She shuddered when she described a catered business meeting she attended in California, and how every dish - from the salad to desert - has incorporated the despised fruit.
They didn't talk about work or their earlier meeting until their desert – apple tart (no avocado lurking between the apple slices – Lauren checked for Bo, just to be sure) – was placed with a flourish between them.
"Bo," Lauren started, furtively, "how much influence do you have over contract negotiations with our lab?"
Bo speared an apple slice, thinking over the question, wondering what had prompted it and how honest she should be in her response. In truth, she had none, but did she want Lauren to know that? R&D lab rats would sign off on the science, Finance would work out the compensation and performance terms and Legal would sign off on trademarks, service levels and compliance. Then a final check by Procurement to make sure everyone did their due diligence. And a signature by one Hale Santiago.
Finally, she looked up at her dinner companion, deciding that if Lauren had an ulterior motif for this date, she didn't want to have anything to do with the woman. "None." She answered truthfully. "Which is why I accepted your invitation – no conflict of interest."
"OK. Good." Lauren said contentedly, seemingly considering the topic closed.
Bo was just as glad to move on as well. Spearing another slice of apple she made a show of looking at it carefully. "You know," she said gravely, "I think this is, possibly, the best apple tart outside of Paris."
Lauren gave the statement and the apple tart their due consideration as well. "I don't think I've ever had an apple tart in France. Perhaps I made a grave mistake in judgment when choosing my deserts there."
"What were you choosing?" Bo asked, genuinely curious.
"Madeleines and macaroons. I gained 10 pounds on that trip, at least 8 of which can be directly attributed to my insatiable appetite for those dreaded little pastries."
"I sympathize," Bo smiled at her dinner companion. "What were you doing in France?"
"I went a couple of times during school breaks. I was studying medicine at Cambridge, so France was a convenient destination for a short trip."
Bo was chowing on a piece of pastry, and chose that movement to remove a few crumbs off her lips with quick swipe of her tongue. Lauren lost her train of thought, and mumbled the first thing that came to mind.
"Did you know that stethoscope was invented in France, by a French physician? He was examining a young woman who had a heart condition. To diagnose her, he was required to place his ear against her chest to listen for rhythm of her heart... She was quite beautiful, and he was instantly smitten… He realized he couldn't concentrate on the sounds of her heart this close to her bosom, so he improvised – he rolled a sheet of paper into a cylinder and pressed one end against her chest, and was surprised that doing so allowed him to hear the heart better than he'd ever heard it before, with just his ear."
"So, Dr. Lewis, do you often find yourself having to choose between professional and pleasurable?" Bo flirted, leaning closer to the blonde woman and bringing more of her own bosom into view.
Lauren didn't answer. Bo suspect she hadn't even herd the question, nor seen her lips move. Her 'girls' were definitely a hit with a blonde, though. Bo chuckled, and it broke the intense stare from the other woman, who blushed from the roots of her blonde hair down to her own chest.
The waiter came in with their check just then, and they left quickly after paying. Bo had drove Lauren to her hotel, tacking even less time on the way back. They were mostly quite on the ride over, but the tension between them was palpable in the close confines of the car. Once they were walking once again in the Hotel lobby, Bo was surprised when Lauren took her hand and stopped them both.
"I had a lovely evening, Bo," she said, looking deep into the brunette's eyes.
"As had I," Bo replied, slightly confused why they would be having this conversation in the lobby. She had hoped Lauren would invite her up to her room.
It seemed Lauren had other ideas, though. She leaned in once more, this time softly kissing Bo on the cheek, and stealing another long glance down Bo's cleavage in the process, which had not gone unnoticed by the other woman.
Bo was used appreciative stares – she had a killer body and never tried to hide her better attributes. Most of the time she felt indifferent to the implied compliment – after all, things that come easily don't feel monumental, the way things you had to fight for did. And despite an obvious attraction, Lauren was not playing easy. Considering what she learned of the other woman, Bo didn't think she was playing hard to get – Lauren wasn't the type for such games. She was also not the type of person who would be enticed into a meaningless affair, much less a one-night stand, obvious physical attraction be damned.
Later at home, safely tucked into her own bed, Bo was still thinking about the other woman and their parting kiss. Damn, but the woman got under her skin. Across town, Lauren lay equally awake, remembering twinkling brown eyes.