That evening

"Welcome, Mr. Rossi," greeted the hostess of the event politely. "We are glad you could attend."
"Thank you for your warm welcome Mrs. Rathbone," Dave said politely with a charming smile. "This is my date Aithne Goldard."
"Hmm, very unusual first name," Mrs. Rathbone said.
"My parents were into Celtic names," Aithne answered politely. "I like to think at least my name is unique and they didn't name may something that was very common."
"Hmm, a rather interesting point," Mrs. Rathbone admitted. "Enjoy yourselves and have a good evening."
"Thank you very much Mrs. Rathbone for inviting me," Dave answered politely his handshake warm, his smile polite.
The two of them passed into the ballroom where the party was being held.
"That was very well done," Dave complimented his assistant. "I should've offered to bring you far sooner."
"That's in the past," Aithne Suggested. "You might very well meet the woman that Dughill saw here, tonight."
"Yes, I know," Dave promised. "I know I have very little time. On the other hand, Dug only estimated how much time I had."
"He said the event was close I believe him," Aithne defended the seer.
"I never said I didn't believe him, just that after having a vision of the future, figuring out what it means takes a lot of guesswork. We can guess at a lot of things, but it doesn't mean we're anywhere close to the truth," Dave explained quietly. "We can estimate and make logical assumptions, but really, visions give you few facts. Dug described the woman in question and described the background to."
Dave looked around at the massive ballroom that had been decorated for the evening. "This could very well be the place I meet her, as the decorations look like Dug described to me, but I don't know that for sure."
Aithne nodded, because Dave was very right. Being a seer could be something of a pain.
"Would you like something to eat?" Dave asked his assistant.
"That sounds good," Aithne agreed. "I've heard that food at these parties is supposed to be spectacular."
"Yes, it's very good normally," Dave agreed. "It's certainly far better then kenning stuff."
"That's true," Aithne agreed.
Kenning food was never quite the same as having the real thing. The consistency was often off along with the taste.
"Perhaps we can dance afterwards," Dave suggested. "After all, we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves
"Sounds good," Aithne murmured.
The two of them walked silently over to the buffet tables that was loaded with food. Both loaded plates and started to eat and chatted with anyone that came by. Several young women tried to get Dave's attention but he ignored them. The women in question, had the good sense not to approach him since he was with someone. Several of them looked very disappointed, women in their early to late 20s. Dave well know he only looked 30 maybe 35 at the most, even if technically, he was much older. Also, it wasn't uncommon for a much younger woman to marry much older man amongst the humans, so even if he looked 50 they would still be after him and he knew it.
Dave had absolutely no interest in those silly, shallow girls and had made his opinion more than apparent at previous events.
Dave looked around the massive ballroom and then shared a dance with his personal assistant as promised. The ballroom decorations were well done. Whoever had done them had to have a good eye and was probably a professional.
Dave wandered the ballroom, talking to a lot of people along the way, actually enjoying himself for a change. He danced with a few women and then danced with his assistant again. Finally, he spotted a dark haired woman standing over by the banquet table. Since she hadn't been there before Dave assumed that she had been somewhere else in the ballroom, perhaps out on the dance floor.
She looked rather upset and somewhat pissed off, so he went over to start up a conversation with her. He never could avoid a lady in obvious distress.
Dave approached her and the woman begin to look rather curious.
"Come over here to see what the problem is?" The woman asked with a slight smile.
"What can I say, I never could stand a lady in obvious distress," Dave said
"That is the corniest pickup line I've ever heard," The lady said with a snort of laughter that was far from ladylike.
"It's the truth. I never have been able to stand to see a lady upset," Dave said honestly making the dark haired woman look at him curiously.
"So you're the chivalrous type," The woman teased lightheartedly.
"Yes, I am," Dave told her. "So we never did introduced ourselves."
"No, I guess we didn't," the woman agreed. "I'm Alex Blake."
"David Rossi," Dave introduced himself, hiding his shock. "You can call me Dave though."
Dave immediately noticed that her first name was Alex just as Dughill had told him. It didn't seem to be short for anything Alexa, Alexis, Alexandra, Alexandria. There were a lot of names that Alex could be short for, but he also knew very well that it was unisex name, which meant it could be either male or female. He felt an instant connection when he shook her hand, which made him even more determined to help her with whatever her problem was.
"Is Alex short for anything?" Dave asked. "You know, Alexa, Alexis, Alexandria."
Dave reeled off names that Alex could be short for.
"No, its just Alex," Alex said amused her rather bad mood banished for the moment. "It's not short for anything I promise."
"Okay," Dave said agreeably.
"I know it's pretty unusual for a person's name to just be Alex, instead of it just being a nickname," Alex said.
"So can I ask why you were so miserable? I know it's none of my business, but if you want to get off your chest."
"It's nothing really," Alex sighed. "I just found out some rather shocking news."
"So want to make yourself feel better by telling me? I know I'm a total stranger and everything, but sometimes it's safer to talk to someone you don't know. It doesn't really matter for stranger judges you, you'll probably never see them again."
"Normally, I know how to conceal my feelings when I'm upset," Alex said. For some reason she trusted this David Rossi and she wasn't entirely sure why. Still, she was a woman that trusted her instincts. "I just found out that I am adopted. My parents didn't see fit to tell me until I started asking questions."
"That would be very shocking," Dave sympathized.
"It was," Alex said. "I knew I didn't look like either of my parents, but I just figured I looked like an ancestor a few generations back. Adoption never occurred to me, since dark hair and eyes are dominate, even if both parents are blonde or redheads. It happens more often than most people think that a child will inherit black or brown hair and brown eyes, even if both parents are blonde and blue eyed.
"Maybe they had a good reason for keeping it from you," Dave gently suggested. "Maybe they never wanted you to know so you wouldn't go searching for your birth parents. They might not have been good people."
"That might be true, but I still think they should've told me," Alex said. "Alright, they might have had all the good reasons in the world and I know very well that humans make decisions that not everyone agrees with. It just shocked to me, you know? I went nearly 35 years thinking that they were my blood related parents. I suppose I shouldn't have inquired a few hours before a big bash, I could have chosen a better time."
"So you didn't bring a date?" Dave asked next trying to distract her.
"No," Alex answered. "I'm not dating anyone right now and it didn't seem worth the effort to invite say a professor for one night. I dated other professors in the past of course, but we never clicked. Besides, I wouldn't want to give them any ideas, you know? As for any other man. I'm not close enough to one to even consider such a thing. I know a lot of people, men included, but casually. Besides, if I had brought anyone, word would have gotten around and that would've given my parents the impression that it was serious. Considering they've been throwing men and me for at least the last 10 years or so I didn't want to give them any ideas. Let's just say, attending this party right after such earthshattering news, just made my bad mood worse. I have to deal with a lot of idiot men that want to dance with me and won't leave me alone until I agree. They can't seem to see that I'd rather be left alone. Most of them have all the sensitivity of a toad, though that's an insult to toads everywhere."
Dave chuckle at that, but he did agree that a lot of men were insensitive to a woman's feelings.
"That's unfortunate," Dave said. "I don't blame you for being mad and pissed off. It says something when your parents never decided to tell you that you were adopted. I can understand it really, because if they love you, they want you to believe that your their own child. I suspect if you hadn't started asking question even if that didn't happen until recently, they'd never would've said a word."
"They were loving parents for the most part," Alex said amused all over again. "My family is rather high society. Not as high as the Rathbones perhaps, but certainly up their with the ultrawealthy. The Rathbones have more wealth and influence then my family does."
"So why are they so desperate for you to get married?" Dave asked.
"Grandchildren," Alex explained in one word and Dave nodded, as he knew children in general were a great gift. The sidhe had so much trouble having children that each child was a gift. Of course, it was entirely possible, even likely really, that Alex was at least partly human which meant that they have an easier time having children if they got to that point. "I also think it has to do with the fact that they want to see me settled down before they leave this world. In their day, I would already be married with at least three children by now. They were born in a time where women had very few options or at least the ones in high society did. To buck expectations often caused the father to cut off their daughter from the family teat. Unfortunately such old-fashioned views still linger in my type of family."
"Also, I won't get my inheritance, so if I don't get serious about a man in the next few months then I will lose it," Alex said. "I suppose it seems rather old fashioned, that I supposedly be in a serious relationship before I'm 35. They would have preferred that I get married at least 10 years ago not more than a couple years after I finished college. Considering their unenlightened views I'm surprised they allowed me to go to college at all. I would've gone anyway of course, just shopped around for scholarships, if they had decided that I needed to just get married."
"So when is your birthday?" Dave inquired.
"Less than three months from now, about ten weeks more or less."
"You don't necessarily need your inheritance, do you? You're perfectly capable of working."
"Well, yes, but the money sure would make it easier. Still, I will not be forced into possibly bad marriage just to satisfy my father in particular. They knew how I would take such news, so probably decided against an arranged marriage and instead started inviting men around my age to dinner when I was there about once a week. Yes, I would liked the money, but with all the stupid, antiquated restrictions on getting it I don't know that it's worth it, even though it's millions of dollars. I'm sure you can tell that my parents, particularly my father, are very old-fashioned in certain ways."
"Very smart," Dave said approvingly chuckling.
"Thanks," Alex said, soaking up the genuine compliment. She barely got complimented by her parents as they weren't the type. While she could understand that as an adult, she hadn't as a child. Children needed plenty of encouragement to grow into what they would become. Some beat the odds regardless but always had their hangups.
"So do you have any serious dating prospects?" Dave asked, pretending that he was only curious in the answer for Alex's sake.
"Not really," Alex sighed. "I know my parents want grandchildren, but forcing me to adhere to a time limit is when it comes to getting my inheritance not the way to go. I know I'm getting rather old when it comes to bearing a child, but still, trying to first the issue by denying me something that is rightfully mine isn't right."
"Don't you have any siblings that could provide those grandchildren? You know take the pressure off you, temporarily at least?" Dave asked.
"No, I'm afraid not," Alex said shaking her head. "Apparently, they never would've had children if they hadn't found me basically on their doorstep. I don't think it ever occurred to them to adopt since there was apparently some problem with mother getting pregnant. They adopted me once they found me and pulled some strings so that they could and so that I didn't go into an orphanage temporarily at least. As I said, they have some influence."
"So all the pressures on you then," Dave said felling genuine sympathetic and Alex nodded looking temporarily miserable again.
"What about this then? We can date for the next month at least and see if was suitable for each other. If not then no hard feelings and I hope we can remain friends."
"Why?" Alex asked simply with a sharp intelligence in her dark eyes.
"Because I like you. You're intelligent for one thing and worlds better than those women who keep throwing themselves at me hoping for more then a simple dance. I've been thinking about getting married lately, but I've never met anyone I like, much less enough to even consider it."
"Yeah, those women are pretty stupid at the way they act at least," Alex said. "Looking for a husband is all well and good, but there's no point of throwing yourself at every available man who is financially solvent hoping to get their attention. That just puts most men off in my experience. Of course, some like the attention."
"So what about my offer?" Dave asked. "I know it's rather sudden and you can call me in a couple of days with your decision if you want. I'll give you my personal number, so you don't have to go through the switchboard at my company or my secretary.
"Well, okay," Alex decided really liking David Rossi. He had listened to her woes with patience and a sympathetic ear for one thing and that was rare in a man. Alex admitted she liked him for that trait alone.
"What about that woman you came with?" Alex asked next.
"I only brought her to detour some of those women that want more than I'm willing to give," Dave said simply. "She's my personal assistant. I should've done it every time I had to go to one of these things, but it never occurred to me until this year. She's being paid very generously for her time. Yes, it should have occurred to me a long time ago to bring someone that works for me just as a shield, but it never did before this event."
"When you finally got tired of all those shallow women making unsubtle hints," Alex said knowingly. "You apparently have far more patience than I do, since you probably been coming to these things for years."
"Yeah, I have," Dave said with a wink. "It was only a few times a year after all."
The two chatted getting to know each other better and what they knew they both liked about each other.
"Why don't we go on a date tomorrow," Dave suggested.
"Sounds good," Alex agreed. "Why has no woman snatched you up before now? You must be close to 40, though you don't look it."
Dave tried not to snort out loud at that last comment. He was actually way more than a mere 40, but Alex had no way of knowing that.
"I haven't met a woman as interesting as you," Dave replied honestly. "I don't want to marry someone whose just going to sit on her lazy butt and probably have a nanny look after the kids. That's pure laziness. Oh, sure, every once in awhile when you've been working hard you deserve a break, to take a vacation or just relax. Everybody needs something constructive to do with their life whether or not they come from money."
"That's something I agree with," Alex approved. "Since I couldn't get my full inheritance until I'm 35, which I think is really late in the game. I got my degree in linguistics and teach at the local university."
"So you didn't get any money at all not even a little bit to help support you. You know a kind of phased in trust."
"Yeah, I did get a stipend every month," Alex admitted. "But it certainly isn't enough for me to not have to work. I won't say it isn't a nice chunk of change, but with today's inflation being what it is... It does help with expenses though."
"I understand," Dave said. "So any idea who your birth parents are."
"No, and it's not like I have had very long to even think about it, much less investigate the matter."
"Yeah, I forgot you just found out today," Dave said.
"Yeah, less then 12 hours ago," Alex said, her miserable mood vanishing now that she had a date with a very handsome guy, one she liked a great deal. She would see where it went, but so far she liked what she knew about the handsome David Rossi and she knew that her parents would definitely approve. He was rich and had an excellent reputation in the community. He was also generous and kind at least from the rumors she had heard.
"Would you like to dance, m'lady?"
"Sounds good," Alex agreed with a smile, as she took his offered hand.
The two of them headed out to the dance floor and dance for over an hour, before they went to sit down at one of the tables where they chatted and laughed enjoying each others company immensely.
At the end of the night Dave escorted Alex to her car and kissed the back of her hand like a gentleman.
"I'll see you tomorrow for our date," Dave promised with a seductive wink.
Alex laughed, even as she blushed and got into her car making sure to close and lock the door before starting the vehicle.

~~~Dave and Alex~~~