Ch 4
Mindy let the hair bunched up in her hand fall against her shoulders for what felt like the tenth time. She couldn't decide. Up or down. She swung the waves around her shoulders and twisted to look at herself from another angle. The mirror in the corner of her office threw back a reflection that pleased Mindy.
The little black dress she was wearing had a tasteful scoop neck and a little more risqué cut in the back. She liked the way the curls bounced against the exposed skin at her back. The skirt fell just to her knees and made little swishing motions that echoed the movement of her hair. She smiled a little smugly. There were advantages to having a large portion of your wardrobe at work. She was certain Danny would just be wearing the same boring suit he'd had on earlier. This was quickly becoming competitive to Mindy.
Sure, she had challenged Danny. She had baited him into showing her what a "real man" was, but now she felt like she needed to show him was a "real woman" was. The image of Danny's waiflike ex-wife flashed before Mindy. Sure, she was a beautiful woman. Mindy would be lying if she said otherwise. In fact, when she'd first seen Christina a little wave of surprise had crashed into Mindy. The woman hardly seemed Danny's type.
Mindy whirled away from the mirror and picked up her compact and lip gloss. Oh yes, Danny was certainly in for it tonight. She wouldn't stop until he admitted she was perfectly capable of finding a "real man" on her own. After applying the final touch to her makeup, she snapped the compact shut and tossed it into her clutch.
One final glance in the mirror and Mindy strode confidently into the office. It was fifteen after. No rush, Danny needed to know what it was like to wait for something worthwhile. She'd expected him to be standing at the elevator waiting for her like they'd agreed, but no one was there. The office was eerily silent, not even the shuffling of papers to indicate anyone was here.
Suddenly, Mindy was pissed. He backed out. That little weasel! She opened her clutch and dug out her cell phone. If he thought it would be this easy, he was sorely mistaken. She unlocked the screen and started composing a strongly worded text. She wouldn't deign to call him, since she knew he preferred that method of communication anyway.
Just as she was about to hit send her phone started ringing. The vibration tingling at her fingertips caused her to almost drop it. It was Danny. Probably calling with some lame excuse. Well, she'd hardly let him wriggle his way out.
"Hello." Her tone was a bit icy and she stopped at the clipped greeting. She could hear him breathing on the other end. She wasn't going to make it easy.
After a few seconds he took a deep breath and asked, "Where are you?"
The righteous indignation that had been fueling Mindy's pre-rant psych up dissipated. "What? I'm at the elevator like we agreed." She grinned to herself. "Oh, I get it. Real men are perpetually late. Good one, Danny, I'll add that to the list."
Surprisingly, he laughed. "Ah, I don't think so, Lahiri. I was at the elevator on time. You, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen. Now, I'm just standing here in the lobby waiting. Not getting cold feet are you?"
She scoffed. "I don't think so. I'll be down in a minute. Prepare yourself. You have no idea what you're in for tonight." She ended the call and got into the elevator.
Danny looked down at the phone in his hand. A reluctant half smile creeping up on his face. There had been a great deal of dread following Danny around the last couple hours after lunch. Just this morning he'd been looking for ways to decrease the time they spent together outside of work, and now he was going on what was effectively a date.
Mindy was like this force of nature. Sometimes it was just better to roll with whatever crazy schemes she concocted. He'd been doing it a lot more lately, and nothing awful had happened. Nothing awful, unless he counted that unexpected breathlessness he suffered sometimes when he found himself near her.
The more often it happened, the less he thought of it as an affliction. He'd begun to wonder if he could elicit the same physical response from her. He'd love to hear the breath catch in her throat while she looked at him.
She thought he was the one in for a surprise. Well, that could go both ways.
The elevator ride down to the lobby was excruciatingly slow. Mindy watched each number at the top of the doors light up. Each time there was a brief moment when she suspected the elevator was broken and the next number would never illuminate. She was tapping her foot and having a heated inner dialogue with an imaginary Danny.
She knew exactly how she was going to get at him. He really didn't need to convince her that most men were jerks. She'd dated enough, and had collected plenty of evidence.
Just when Mindy began to believe she was trapped in some terrible episode of The Twilight Zone where she would be forced to ride an elevator for eternity, the lobby light lit up and the blessed ding sounded. When the doors slid open, she strode forward into the lobby, ready to lay it on him.
She stopped dead in her tracks. She'd expected to see Danny in the somewhat rumpled suit he'd worn all day at work. She'd certainly though he'd have his well-worn jacket and dingy messenger bag draped over his shoulder, a beleaguered look on his face, ready to take her to some dive bar.
Instead he stood there confidently giving her a satisfied cockeyed grin. He wasn't wearing the outfit from earlier. Now he had on a charcoal gray two piece suit with a dark oxford underneath, the top two buttons undone. He'd showered and shaved. She stepped closer. The scent of a musky cologne with fresh top notes invaded her nose. "I don't understand."
He closed the last of the gap between them. "Well, I knew you would not be ready at five. You're predictable that way. So, I went home a little bit early and here I am." He gestured to himself with his left hand. His right hand, still at his side, was clutching a small tiger lily bloom. "Real mean know their women." He reached up and tucked the flower behind her ear, brushing the hair out of the way. "I knew you'd have it down."
He turned away from her and headed to the glass doors facing the street. He held it open and looked back at her. For a moment she was too stunned to move. She'd never seen him like this before. It was like invasion of the body snatchers. Who was this? She snapped out of it, tossed her hair back over her shoulder, and strode confidently past him. Looking back over her shoulder she asked, "Oh please. I didn't even know if it would be up or down until fifteen minutes ago. How could you have possibly known?"
He stepped out onto the sidewalk still slightly behind her and placed his hand lightly on the small of her back. The warmth of it rested just below the edge of the material. The tip of one finger brushed the exposed skin on her back. He leaned close to her ear. "Vanity. You love the attention people give you when you walk into a room tossing those locks that people pay to have."
A shiver ran up her spine when the softly spoken words caused the lily at her ear to tremble against her skin. As quickly as his light touch ascended, it withdrew and he pulled away from her. She swallowed and broke the trance she was falling into.
It was then she noticed the cab idling in front of the building. She smiled. "Good. You hailed a cab. I was not looking forward to going on the subway like this. I'm far too hot. I would totally be accosted." She started to charge ahead of him and get into the car.
He stilled her with a hand on her forearm. "Allow me." He reached forward and opened the door. "I know you just eat this kind of thing up."
She glared at him as she slid into the cab. He followed close behind and before she knew it they were sitting hip to hip in the cab and Danny was giving the driver directions. The confidence that was radiating from him was unexpected, and Mindy suddenly felt warm. She fanned herself when she thought he wasn't looking.
When he turned back to her, she looked up at him with a frown. "You're not exactly being charming right now. As a matter of fact, you're behaving a bit like a jerk. Is this how 'real men' get the ladies?"
He leaned back against the vinyl of the back seat and gave her a smoldering look coupled with that damn smile. "Don't pretend you want me to be charming. You've dated enough assholes to know there's a difference between displaying a little masculine charisma and being a jerk. Most of the guys you date fall into the latter category. Isn't that why we're here?"
She peered up at him, a look of confusion marring her features. The confusion quickly turned into a inquisitiveness. She leaned closer to him and took his face in her hands and pulled him down so she could look into his eyes. The curiosity didn't transform into desire, instead she squinted. "Danny, are you high right now?"
He released himself from her grasp and sighed. "What? You're not gonna play along now? I'm trying to show you something Min." His shoulders dropped, his hands folded in his lap. He stared out the window at the passing streetlamps. "I'm a doctor, I don't get high. I'm not some college frat boy, or some new age hippie."
Mindy sat back against the seat next to him. There had been a slight edge to his voice on the last words. Hmmm. Jealousy. Was there some chance that Mr. Staten Island wasn't completely faking it? The beginning of an idea began to percolate. She scooted closer to him and threaded her arm through his. "Well, honey, where are we going on this date of ours?" She overemphasized the endearment to make a point. She was playing along.