Saturday night came faster than Bailey had originally thought. When she woke up, it was eleven in the morning. She scrambled out of bed and hopped into the shower. Bailey took a ten minute shower and got out with a towel wrapped around her body. She headed back to her room to dress in casual clothing until she would have to change later for the dinner. Bailey took her day slow for the most part. She watched some TV, had lunch, got the mail and went on a walk. By four thirty in the afternoon, Bailey remembered to check her e-mail. She got her laptop out and opened it up. She logged on and checked for any new e-mails. She saw one new message and it was from her boss. The e-mail was a simple reminder. Bailey replied to the e-mail and then logged out completely. Bailey closed her laptop and had put it away. She then checked the time and it was a quarter to five. She made the executive decision to get ready for the business dinner right there and then.

Bailey went to her room and changed into the clothes that she had laid out the night before. She slipped on a red dress with three inch wide straps and black two inch high heels. Once Bailey was dressed up, she checked herself in her body mirror and thought that she looked decent. It was exactly the look that she was aiming for: attractive yet sophisticated and professional. Bailey grabbed a handbag that went with her outfit and a dressy jacket to keep her warm. She headed out of her apartment and dead locked the door. She then set off to head over to Toscano Restaurant. She made sure that she was there at six thirty or earlier so that she wouldn't disappoint her boss, Mr. Martin.

Upon Bailey's arrival at the Italian restaurant, Cody was standing out of the establishment waiting for her. He had on a dark blue suit with a white button up shirt and a dark blue necktie. He also wore a smile on his face. Bailey thought that he looked dashing as usual…she meant handsome. Cody looked handsome. Bailey breathed in deeply as she approached her boss. As soon as Bailey got close enough to the entrance, Cody ushered her in. The head of the house asked if they had a reservation and Cody told him that they had a reservation under the name Martin party for two. The head of the house checked off Cody's name, grabbed two menus and led the two of them to their table. He then gave them their menus and left. Bailey felt nervous while Cody felt confident. They didn't say much to each other but only because Bailey was very nervous about talking to Cody and Cody didn't want to further make Bailey feel uncomfortable.

During dinner, Bailey ate her linguine with clams and washed it down with a diet coke with a slice of lime wedged on the side of the glass. Cody observed Bailey's actions as he ate his angel hair pasta with capers and a lemon sauce with grilled chicken and drank his iced tea with a slice of lime wedged on his glass. Cody could tell that Bailey felt awkward having dinner with her employer. It wasn't an every-day thing that a single employee had dinner with their boss alone. It would be more understandable if there were multiple employees having a dinner party with their boss. Cody understood what Bailey was feeling and wanted for her to feel comfortable around him while outside the office. He decided that he should bite the bullet and ask her how she felt.

"Bailey?"

Bailey stopped eating her linguine and dropped her fork onto the plate as she looked up at Cody.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Relax. Stop freaking out. You know, this really isn't a business dinner, it's just dinner."

"We're just having dinner?"

"Yes."

"Why? What do you want from me?"

"Calm down, Bailey. We're just two friends having dinner together."

"You and me as friends?"

"Yes. You and I are just friends. Just relax already."

"I suppose you're right."

Even after what Bailey had said, Cody could clearly see how tense Bailey was. Her shoulders curled close to her neck and she kept her arms in front of her chest.

"I am. So, take a load off and relax."

A tiny smile crept up on Bailey's face. She felt as though she could loosen up a bit around Cody. She dropped her shoulders and her arms went down with them.

"I kind of feel a little silly for worrying about something that I shouldn't have to worry about."

"That's exactly what I've been trying to tell you, Bailey."

"Thank you, Sir—I mean, Cody."

"No problem. Now eat, enjoy the food. We have all night."

"Alright."

Bailey relaxed even more so than before and continued to eat her meal. Cody watched Bailey eat for a moment or two and then returned to eating his own meal. After a few minutes, a thought occurred to Bailey. She stopped eating and washed down her food with her diet coke before she looked over at Cody. He was drinking his iced tea.

"Cody?"

Cody finished taking a sip of his drink and placed the glass down on the table. He then gave Bailey his full attention.

"Yes, Bailey?"

"What memories do you have of Harvard?"

"What I remember the most was this one night of my Junior Year as an undergrad student."

"What was that night?"

"It was an extraordinary thing. The night started out crumby and then ended being great."

"What happened?"

"You may have known of this since you went to Yale. It was the night that Harvard and Yale had their annual math competition as part of their rivalry."

"I do recall the competition. I was part of it."

"Good to know. I was too. It all started earlier in the day when my brother and I were fighting over the phone. By that time, I was used to his put downs and insults but one thing that he said to me over the phone really bothered me. I was so infuriated by his comment that I hung the phone on him and then threw my cell phone on my bed."

Bailey cringed at Cody's story but still was curious about the fight. She wanted to know what Cody did next

"What did your brother say?"

"He told me that I sucked at math and that I shouldn't have entered the competition in the first place."

"That was highly uncalled for."

"I know. But we didn't make up until two weeks later when Zack was begging for forgiveness from me. H even came up to me once before when we both were home and bent down and shook his hands for mercy. After two long weeks of asking for forgiveness, Zack finally got it but just barely."

"Those must have been two rough weeks."

"They were….for Zack. I was just fine ten hours after the math competition."

"How was that?"

"Well, I had four hours to study before my match with some guy from your school. I didn't do so well studying because Zack's words haunted me. At my match, I was doing fine until we got to the very end. I freaked out on the last question and got it wrong. I lost the match and I was torn."

"What did you do?"

"I drowned my sorrows in beer and got a little drunk. At that point in my life, I wasn't much of a drinker and when I did drink, I never had more than one beer. The night of the Harvard/Yale math competition, I had four beers. I felt dizzy so I decided to walk around Harvard's campus in hopes that I could clear my head. As I walked alone in the cold dark night, I saw a girl around my age sitting down on a bench. I joined her and asked her if she was at campus because of the competition. She said that she was there for the competition, that she came from Yale and that she had just won her match."

Bailey quivered. Cody's story was beginning to sound oddly familiar to her but she didn't know why. She didn't bother asking any other questions at that point and continued to listen to Cody's tale.

"Well, the girl and I talked about how we thought how silly the rivalry was between Harvard and Yale was. We laughed at the thought and then talked about ourselves. We ended up having a lot in common. The only real differences between us were where we came from and which colleges we attended."

"Do you recall where the girl was from?"

"No. But I do remember a little bit how she looked. She had brown eyes, brown hair and a small nose. She kind of had similar physical qualities like you do."

"Did you ever get the chance to know her name?"

"No. I was about to ask her what her name was but all I remember is passing out and waking up the next day in my bed."

"So, you never got to see the girl again?"

"Never again. All I can tell is that I thought that she looked like an angel and that she was the reason why my night turned from bad to good. Talking to her cheered me up. But that's the past now. Now, I have you to talk to when I need some cheering up."

"You talk with me to make your life better?"

"I sure do. I really appreciate all that you have done for me, Bailey. I wanted to thank you by treating you to dinner tonight. You deserve it."

Bailey couldn't help but allow a warm, rosy color come up to cover her youthful cheeks. She was truly grateful that she made Cody happy and that he appreciated her. Bailey then remembered Cody's tale. She remembered more and more of that night as she replayed Cody's story in her head. Bailey blushed ever harder as she realized that she was the girl in Cody's story. She was the one who sat with him and talked with. She had remembered Cody being partially drunk and greatly depressed. She recalled how Cody passed out and his head fell into her lap. Bailey remembered how she stroked Cody's hair and fell in love with him while he slept. She remembered how she got a passing Harvard student to help Cody to get to a friend and have him get back to his room.

In the present time, Cody stared at Bailey with concern and curiosity. Bailey didn't know what to do. She knew the whole story from start to finish. She knew it so well that she could recite it. Bailey didn't speak. She bit her lip.

"Bailey, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just fine." But I think that we should finish our meals soon and get the bill so that other people can have our table."

Cody's mouth twitched into an upward curve.

"You're right, Bailey. We've been here long enough."

Cody called up their waiter and asked for the check. Within five minutes, the waiter came back with bill and Cody paid for it right on the spot. Once the bill was paid for and a tip had been left for the waiter, Cody and Bailey left the restaurant.

On their way out from the restaurant, Cody and Bailey walked side by side. Cody asked Bailey how she got to the restaurant and she told him that she walked. Cody told Bailey that he drove over. Bailey absent mindedly nodded her head. She was internally debating with herself whether or not to tell Cody that she was in fact the girl on the bench at Harvard's campus. Cody saw that Bailey was distracted again. She wore the same far-out look on her face as she did back in restaurant. Cody placed his right hand on Bailey's left shoulder.

"Bailey, is there something wrong?"

Bailey's face relaxes. Her eyes were focused. She turned to Cody with determination in her eyes. She wasn't ready to confess to Cody about the night of the math competition.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."

Cody dropped his hand from Bailey's shoulder. Then he stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.

"Alright then. Would you like for me to give you a ride back home?"

Bailey weighed her options. She could either risk the chance of being seduced by her own boss in his warm and safe car or risk the chance of getting cold, lost and eventually mugged or raped at night where there isn't much light around. Bailey chose her first option. She would rather take the chance of Cody's hands run over her body than take the chance of being entered by a filthy, unlawful man without her consent. It was the obvious and more sensible thing to do to pick her first choice. Plus, she would want to have the chance to be in Cody's car where she could sit next to him with the legitimate reason of being the passenger.

"I think it would be best if I rode back home with you."

Cody grinned. "Great."

He pointed to his car that happened to be in front of them. It was a silver Mercedes-Benz.

"This is my car. We can get in it now."

Bailey walked over to the passenger's side and got in. She clicked in her seatbelt as Cody entered the driver's side. He too clicked in his seatbelt once he was seated. He looked at his side and rear view mirrors and then moved out of the parallel parking spot and drove up to the nearest intersection.

"Where to?"

"You just go up two blocks and then turn to the left. You'll be able to see the parking lot that leads to my apartment."

The light turned green and Cody drove on. He followed Bailey's instructions and drove right into the apartment parking lot. He parked the car at the curb.

"We're here."

"Thank you for the ride."

"Hey. I only did what was the right thing to do."

"I suppose so."

Bailey clutched her handbag in her hands and had her upper half droop in her evening jacket. She stared at her bag in her lap.

"Um, Cody, there's something that I would like to say before I leave."

"Shoot."

Bailey turned toward Cody. She stared at him. Her stare was so intense that it made Cody tense up.

"You know the girl that you talked about?"

"Yes."

"Well, I have something to say about her."

"What is it?"

"I was that girl. I remember you being drunk and depressed. I just thought that I'd let you know."

Cody was shocked. He took in Bailey's words slowly and realized that she was right. She was the girl in his story. He didn't move an inch. He just breathed in stale air.

"Well, goodnight, Cody. I'll see you on Monday."

Cody barely blinked. Bailey watched Cody with careful eyes as she left the car. When she was about to close the door, she paused to leave Cody with one last thought.

"Drive safe, Sir."

After that remark, Bailey closed the door and left. Cody bit his lip. He watched Bailey leave. As Cody watched Bailey walk up to her apartment, he fell into a daze. It was pleasant, sensual and simple. Cody pretended that the night he had met Bailey that he did learn her name. He pretended that he and Bailey stayed on the bench and end up sharing a sweet and tender kiss. Cody brought himself back to the present and saw that his presumably single and most undeniably attractive assistant, Miss Bailey Pickett, had entered her apartment. Cody wouldn't mind shaking her peach tree and enjoying her fruit….He scoffed to himself. He had to stop himself from think less than professional thoughts of Bailey or else he would give into he senses and think deep and dirty thoughts of Bailey's humble beauty and sultry figure. Cody shook his head. He started up his car again and drove out of the parking lot. He thought to himself and knew that he would certainly play a few mind games with Bailey come Monday. The last thing that translated from his mind to his mouth was a comment that had to do with Bailey. As he spoke, Cody's voice grew more audible. It would go from an airy whisper to a loud and clear self-declaration.

"Time certainly has served her well. She has filled out a little more quite nicely in the last six years since I last saw her.…..Bailey Pickett, you are no longer the cute and pretty college girl that I once knew, you are a beautiful and sexy, full-blown woman. You have become the embodiment of all things beautiful and lovely. The aroma of romance and lust has tried to attach itself to you but you wouldn't let it near you. Look out, Bailey. I'm out to get you. I plan to make you mine and when that day comes, I will make sure that you are doused in the scent of passionate desire. I will shower you with love when you are mine."

To Be Continued…