***Jennifer***

Jennifer Edwards was walking through New York City one fall afternoon. She had taken a half day off of work for a doctor's appointment, and decided to walk back to her apartment instead of taking a cab.

She did some window shopping, and then stopped for a bite to eat at one of her favorite restaurants, Blowfish. She decided to get something to go. 15 minutes later, she was on her way.

She began to trek to her apartment once more, and thought about how long she had lived in New York. She had moved here after graduating college, when she accepted the job at the New York Times. It had been 8 years since she had decided to move to the big city all alone. She was struck by the memory of a conversation she and her father had when she told him she was moving.

"Pa, I'm moving to New York City in 2 weeks".

"Over my dead body…that's a bad place, bad things happen to people there, especially young, impressionable ladies like yourself".

"I'll be fine, Pa. It's what I have always wanted to do, and I will be fine."

The conversation hadn't ended very pleasantly, but eventually he came around and saw that she was in fact able to take care of herself.

Thanks to a trust that her mother had left her, she was able to live comfortably in a New York Loft apartment without having to rely on a roommate to get by. The financial freedom of a roommate would have been wonderful. However, the peace and quiet that she got from not having a roommate was absolutely priceless.

She turned the corner, and began to walk the final 8 blocks home.

She had to pass through a construction zone, and she was careful to watch her step. Dressed in a black pencil skirt, a red v-neck blouse and red high heels, she attracted attention for sure. But that was nothing new for Jennifer Edwards, as she attracted attention everywhere she went. At 5'9, 120 pounds, and shoulder length hair the perfect shade of auburn, she definitely was on the radar of most men in the vicinity of wherever she was. It wasn't her hair color that set her apart, or her legs that went on forever, or even her gorgeous eyes, the color of honey, with the tiniest specks of green-it was the way she carried herself. Five minutes with Jennifer, and you couldn't help but realize that she was the most genuine, honest, trustworthy person you would ever meet. Gentle was a word often used to describe her.

She was about halfway through the construction zone, when she heard it.

"Hey legs! Wanna put those childbearing hips to use tonight?"

She turned and looked at the offending construction worker.

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Hey, don't be offended, sweetheart. I only say that to you because I like you".

"If that's how you treat someone you like, I'm afraid of what you would say to someone you don't like".

"Come on-don't you want to go out with a gentleman?"

"Yes, I do. Is there one around here?"

With that, she continued walking towards her house, ignoring their pleas for mercy.

Across the street, a gentleman in every sense of the word was sitting on a bench outside his office. Every day for the past 2 weeks, he had purchased the same lunch-tuna salad on wheat, extra pickle, and brought it to the table and bench outside to eat, hoping to get a glimpse of the beautiful woman he had seen walk down the block a few weeks earlier. Only in town on short-term business at first, he extended his trip indefinitely until he could talk to her. At least that's what he told himself. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and in his short life, he has seen and been with hundreds of women. He was known as a Casanova, a playboy of sorts.

He watched her handle the cat-calling from the construction workers, and thanks to a nice breeze in the right direction at the right time, he was also able to hear her response. He chuckled at how she put them in their place. If only more women were like that, the world might be a better place.

He saw her continue down the block and then take a right two blocks down.

He thought about trying to follow her, but he had a meeting to get to.

"Guess I'll be here another day".

He headed inside, hoping to see her again.

***Jennifer***

Jennifer got home to her loft, and let herself inside.

She was happy to be home and to be able to relax some. She set her things down, checked her answering machine messages, and then went and changed clothes.

She poured herself a glass of wine and took her meal to the balcony.

As soon as she finished, she heard the phone ring. She jumped up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Jennifer, hi. It's Meredith. I was calling to see if you want to go have drinks tonight with me at Iris".

"I haven't been there. How dressed up do I need to be?"

"Cocktail attire is fine. How about 7?"

"Sounds great. See you then".

She hung up and went and took a bubble bath.

After soaking for about an hour, she got out and started getting ready.

She chose a bright blue v-neck blouse, and a black leather mini skirt, with black stilettos. She put her hair up in a twist, partly because it looks good like that, but also because she didn't want to deal with it.

Shortly after 6:30, she hailed a cab and left.

***Iris***

Jennifer arrived at Iris precisely at 7 and found Meredith at the bar.

"Hi, wow, you look gorgeous!"

"Thanks, so do you".

Meredith was pretty, tall, and had brown hair. At 5'10, she towered over most of the men she met. She loved heels, but wore flats most of the time so as not to appear taller than she was. She had on a simple green cocktail dress, with black flats.

"The hostess said it would be forever till we can get a table, so how about we sit at the bar?"

"Fine with me".

They found two seats and ordered drinks. Jennifer ordered a double vodka martini, straight up with a twist, no olive. Meredith ordered a rum and coke.

They both ordered an appetizer to munch on while they sipped their drinks.

"How is work?"

"Fine. I got a new assignment today. I get to do an interview with the organizer of a charity that helps families in the hospital."

"That sounds interesting".

"I think it might be. How about your job?"

Meredith is a paralegal.

"Well, we got a phone call the other day to represent a mob boss. My boss said no way, and an hour later, a window in our office was busted by a brick. So, we called the cops, security caught the guy, and he was arrested. But, it has freaked my boss out to the point that he is moving us to a high-rise office".

"Good choice".

They continued chatting for a few minutes, but they were interrupted by some guys coming up and asking them to dance.

"No thank you".

"No thank you".

"Oh come on, just a dance. I'm a nice guy, you look like a nice lady."

"I am sure you are a nice guy. But honestly, I want to chat with my friend tonight, so no thank you".

The guys walked away, and Jennifer and Meredith continued chatting.

Neither of them noticed the man sitting next to them with a friend.

After about an hour, Meredith headed to the bathroom for a minute.

Jennifer was done drinking, so she decided to pay her check.

She picked up her purse, and her napkin fell. She reached down to get it, and ended up bumping elbows with the person next to her.

He turned to see who it was.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I dropped my napkin".

"Oh, here. Allow me".

She allowed him to get it for her, and as he brought his face up to meet hers, his mouth dropped open. It was her, the lady he had been trying to meet for 2 weeks.

"Thank you".

"My pleasure".

Meredith returned from the bathroom then, and saw Jennifer talking to the man beside her.

She walked up and picked up her drink again.

Jennifer looked at her, and Meredith leaned down to tell her something in her ear.

"Hubba Hubba zing zing, baby he's got everything".

Jennifer cracked a smile.

The nice gentleman had turned back to his drink, and his friend.

Jennifer and Meredith resumed chatting. A few minutes later a couple of tall, dark and handsome gentlemen came to talk to them.

"Hi ladies. I'm Phil, this is Dave. We are leaving here and heading to Club Wildfire, and would love it you two would join us".

"Thank you but really, I couldn't".

"Club Wildfire is not really our speed, guys. But thank you".

The men walked away, and before Jennifer could say anything, the first two guys who had approached them were back.

"Hi, we would like a second chance at talking to you two beautiful ladies, if we may".

"You can try".

"I'm Alex, this is Wade. We would love to dance with you two ladies if you are so willing".

"That was very nice. But again, no thank you".

"I agree with my friend here, that was very nice. But, I'm not interested".

"Oh, come on. We have been patient, we have been polite. All we are asking for is a dance."

Meredith stood up then, and towered over both men.

"Need I say more?"

Wade backed off.

Alex looked at Jennifer.

"Well, what about you?"

"What about me?". Jennifer was raising her voice.

"Last chance to dance with me before I bounce".

"Well consider yourself a ping pong ball, because we aren't dancing together. I already have a dance partner".

"Who?"

Without thinking about it, Jennifer grabbed the arm of the guy next to her.

"Him!"

He turned to look at her.

"What?"

She leaned in close.

"We are dancing. Just go with it and I'll explain in a moment".

He took her hand and led her to the dance floor, as she handed Meredith her purse.

She rested one hand on his shoulder and took his other hand in hers.

"I'm sorry. Here's what happened. He keeps bothering me and my friend Meredith, pestering us for a dance. So I told him you and I were dancing hoping he would get the hint. I'm afraid I didn't think it through though, so I apologize."

"No apology needed. I am happy to dance with you. And if he's still bothering you after our dance is over, I will help you get your point across".

"You will? Thank you, that's very kind".

"Guys like him give guys like me a bad name".

She grinned.

"My name is Jennifer, by the way. It's nice to meet you".

"Jonathan. And it is absolutely lovely to meet you".

Jennifer could feel herself blushing. There was some kind of electricity between the two of them that she didn't want to try to explain.

They finished their dance, and then the music ended for a bit, so they returned to the bar. Meredith was now talking to a new guy, Brandon.

"Thank you for rescuing me".

"It was my pleasure."

She signaled to the bartender that she wanted her check, and Jonathan insisted on paying it.

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"Nonsense, I want to".

"Well, thank you very much. That's very kind of you".

She turned to Meredith.

"I'm heading home. I'll call you tomorrow".

"Ok, thanks for coming".

They shared a hug, and then Meredith resumed talking to Brandon.

Jonathan noticed that Jennifer was leaving alone, so he quickly threw some cash on the bar to pay for his tab, and went after her.

"Jennifer-may I hail you a cab?"

"Certainly".

He stepped out in the street, waved his hand and yelled "Taxi!"

A few seconds later, one pulled over and stopped.

She climbed in, and he climbed in beside her.

"808 Broome Street, please".

The cab driver nodded, and started driving.

Jonathan turned his attention to Jennifer.

"So, are you from around here?"

"Not originally, but New York is my home now. What about you?"

"No, I'm just here on business".

"What kind of business are you in?"

"Electronics, mostly. I own a conglomerate-basically I buy struggling companies and get them running again, and partner them with other companies to maximize all the profits".

"That sounds interesting".

"It can be. What about you, what do you do?"

"I'm a journalist. I write for the New York Times".

"How interesting. I bet you write about fascinating things all the time".

"Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But it pays the bills and I love the writing aspect".

The cab driver pulled up in front of her building.

"Here we are, ma'am".

"Thank you."

She turned to Jonathan.

"Thank you so much for the dance, and rescuing me, and my drinks, and getting me this cab. It was a pleasure meeting you".

She pulled her wallet out.

"No, let me".

She smiled at him.

"Goodnight. Thanks again".

She got out of the cab.

"Driver, can we wait till she gets inside? I want to make sure she's safe".

"Sure".

He watched till Jennifer walked in the door of her building, and then told the driver they could go.

"Plaza hotel, please".

"Right away, sir".

A few minutes later, Jonathan walked into his room at the Plaza.

He took his jacket off and loosened his tie. He walked over to the bar, and poured himself a drink.

No matter what he did the rest of the night, he couldn't stop thinking about Jennifer.