Closing the Deal

[Wild_Oats]

"I'm leaving it with you, Doug," Roger told me. He trusted me to make the right call. We were opening up a call center for hard selling - a boiler room - and we needed a computer fleet, server, backup, 40 stations with all the routing and the hardware, not to mention the integrated stock brokerage software. We were skyping everything so we could afford no bottlenecks. The works!

We were gonna make money. I wouldn't have uprooted to New Jersey if we weren't. I had been a lot of places, but I was still a California kid at heart. Blonde hair, blue eyes, the beach, convertibles, all that. 33 years old and after a few months of this hard selling I wouldn't have to work for a few years if I didn't want to, maybe ever. Roger put it all together. My old college buddy Corey was our legals guy. I was running the sales staff. I had been lining up hirings for a month.

We had three deals to choose from. One of them we really didn't like. It was basically out. The other two were a toss up. I was meeting with the broad that was fronting one of them today. She sounded pretty eager to make the sale. Perhaps a bit too eager. My sales sense told me that maybe her job was on the line, but she knew her stuff. She sounded like a veteran. She was flying in to see us and Roger and I expected her in at 2 o'clock. We liked the new custom software that she had. That was the strength of her deal, but the local guy had her beat on price. She was coming in for a last ditch effort to convince us. If she couldn't do it by tomorrow morning, we were going with the other guys.

I was my dashing, charming salesman self, golden blonde with a slight curl, perfect smile. I adjusted my tie, diagonal zigzags forming diamond shapes in multiple shades of blue. My suit jacket hung over the back of a chair in the large empty 2nd floor office space. Cubicle bits leaned unassembled against the walls. Tables and office chairs covered the floor. There were a few boxes here and there. The only computers were our laptops at the moment. There was one wall of windows with a drab vista of gray traffic. We didn't care about the view. We only cared about the money. My watch read a quarter to 2.

OOC: Looking for a female sales pro reluctant, but desperate to close this deal. PM me first to discuss details.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Francesca Murphy Bianchi was if nothing else punctual, glancing at the slim silver wristwatch she wore she tapped her foot impatiently and leaned against the elevator’s handrail. “Be cool you can do this girl, you’ve done it a million times, what’s one more, eh?” The attractive raven haired New York native, of Italian decent, folded her arms across her modest chest covered in a simple just shy of the knee and ever so flattering smoke colored pencil dress and slate blue blazer, that fit like a well tailored glove.

Eyes of the same slate blue framed in black lashes set under heavy brows of the same hue, a face that wasn’t soft neither harsh but a nice middle ground for an over thirty something woman of her profession. Long lean legs crossed and uncrossed as she waited to get to the second floor.

She never felt this restless before a meeting; she so needed to pull herself together. Taking a deep breath she let it out just as the elevator chimed to announce her arrival at the proper floor. “Ok, show time” Straightening her carriage to exude confidence her black Jimmy Choo’s calmly lead her out of the elevator car and down the hall to the office suite designated on the business card of her potential clients.

Checking her watch and seeing that it was ten till she smiled and knocked at the door, she didn’t want to just go barging in, unannounced, but after a few seconds of nothing she gently pushed open the door and peeped her head in, blue eyes scanning the large yet sparse space that looked more like a construction site than an office.

All signs of nervousness done away with as she closed the door behind her “Hello? Mr. Douglas*?” That was the name of the man she was supposed to meet right, she hoped he was here and not coming in after, she didn’t want to look as if she was snooping around.


*Wasnt sure for a last name, can edit it once you give me one ^_^

 

[Wild_Oats]

I heard the door click and knew that it had to be her. I made sure to look up casually and smile warmly. From that very first sight I could tell she was a fine piece of sexiness. Long and lean, and knew how to dress. She had a figure to match her telephone voice. I walked across to her and offered my hand. Watching for hers to take mine, I used the brief moment as an opportunity to subtly check her out in more detail (and if she wore a ring). Not much in the chest that I could tell (at least the lapels of the blazer didn't seem to stretch over anything significant, but the dress was snug to her slender hips. The inky black hair didn't seem to be a dye job either. I liked where this could go already. There was a coldness though. All that dark blue and gray, especially the eyes, like frozen smoke. Something told me that she didn't just give it away. That turned me on even more.

"Francesca. Great to finally meet you in person," I greeted her with a sparkle in my eye. "Welcome to our operation in its infancy," I chuckled. "As you can see, we have no computers as of yet. Please come have a seat, will you?"

I gestured, almost bowing, towards two castored office chairs next to one of the desktops. I would have led the way but I wanted to watch her walk from behind.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Matching his warm smile Doug would realize it didn’t quite make it all the way up to her eyes as they shook hands. Her slender fingers were cool to the touch but not frigid, and no ring graced them except for the fashionable cocktail one she wore on the middle finger of her left hand. The sizable turtle with its shell of multi colored glittering crystal chips might have seemed kitschy but Francesca hadn’t been able to resist its playful charm and it gave the otherwise austere seeming woman more of a whimsical charm.

While Doug was checking her out she took the opportunity to size him up as well, though her motives were more business related, there was only so much you could tell about a person over the phone after all. She did have to admit that he was not unattractive, with boyish golden blond curls and rich baby blues that were brought out even more by the blues in his shirt and tie. He was at ease and had no reason to be otherwise as far as business went him being the one in charge of the checkbook made him in control. Now it was her job to take over the wheel and allow him to ‘think’ he was still driving.

“A situation I hope I’ll be able to remedy for you.” her well-educated background came out through her coy speech as she dropped his hand and walked to the seat offered. She felt that sixth womanly sense kick in, the one that tells you ‘someone’s checking out your ass right now’ And while her dress did nothing to accentuate her nearly C cup chest it did everything for her butt, and she knew it, slowing, and swishing her hips in a tantalizing manner. Distract him with the assets and he’ll willingly close the deal right? It wasn’t her normal strategy and she couldn’t say that, that’s what she really had planned for today, but it couldn’t hurt right?

Taking the offered seat, she sat her bag next to the chair waited for him to take his and looked over at him, all polite business smiles, and an air of calm about her. “So, Doug, what do I have to do to see my hardware’s logo gracing this place?” she made an all-encompassing gesture with her hand before it fell back to her lap.

 

[Wild_Oats]

The motion of her hips as she walked was incredible. It was elegant, classy, understated ... and downright seductive. All of her movements were graceful, even the casual wave of her hand with her spidery fingers so keenly presenting my own empty office space back to me.

"So, Doug, what do I have to do to see my hardware’s logo gracing this place?”

She was real smooth, trying to put me on the defensive right off the bat like that but I knew the tactics. I was a salesman myself, selling cars and even software on my CV and about to sell stock, after all.

"We've got lots of time for business," I responded and casually strolled over to the side table where the coffee machine sat. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? A drink?" My own personal office was in one of the three glass enclosures at the end of the room. I had stocked a small bar in it, as Roger had also done in his. The offer of alcohol may have been a tad presumptuous, but certainly not unbusinesslike and her response to it would tell me a lot.

"How was your flight?" I asked.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Her mouth twitched, unhappily, as he turned from her and headed to the coffee machine, offering her, her choice of beverage. She wanted this to be quick, one of those in out and be done with it kind of deals, but it seemed he didn’t like playing that way. “Oh nothing for me, unless you have water, which would be divine” Coffee was tempting, but she’d had just finished a sizable latte on the cab ride over, so she was good on caffeine, and in her mind alcoholic drinks were for celebrating deals not making them.

Adjusting herself in her chair Francesca smoothly crossed her legs at the knee, revealing more of her sheer stocking clad legs. It wasn’t meant suggestively, it was simply the physics of wearing a fitted dress and shifting ones legs, something had to give.

“The flight was good, on time for once” chuckling she brushed some invisible dust specks from the skirt of her dress “and they didn’t loose my luggage so that’s always a plus right?”

 

[Wild_Oats]

I went into my office to fetch a tumbler for her water. While inside I heard her remark about getting her luggage. I came back out with the tumbler and filled it from the water cooler.

"I once flew back to LA from Charlotte and my bags ended up in Tokyo," I mused. "Took three weeks to get them back." I poured myself a coffee and strode back to hand her the glass of water. "Never fly United again," I winked.

She sat there casually yet forthright, a double-edged sword, perfectly businesslike yet tormentingly sexy. Her jet black hair fell about her shoulders framing cheekbones that led to her exquisite jaw and chin, which pointed to her chest and downward to her firm lean legs, which looked as if they were engineered and built to the highest exacting standards of temptation.

Standing nonchalantly, I gave her a coy sideways grin and ventured, "As subtle as it may be, that has to be a New York accent."

 

[Poppinbubbles]

“Thank you” she took the water offered her and took a sip before setting it on the table within arms length of her “Now see, why cant I ever go missing? I’d gladly let my bags fly to boring seminars while I get to travel the world.” grinning she tucked a few of her inky, perfectly flat ironed locks behind one ear turning her frosty gaze up at him. Raising a delicately arched brow at his little smile, he definitely had a nice one. It fit him, his whole image perfectly; the Casanova sales man that could sell snow to an Eskimo.

Reaching for the water she took another sip and chuckled, nodding “And you would be correct! Brooklyn to be exact. It’s like this annoying tail that follows you no matter where you go and the more I try and shake it the more noticeable it seems to get.” This was not good, he was getting all chummy and it was making her to loose focus. The deal, she was here to make a deal, if he didn’t want it she was just wasting time.

She needed to steer this conversation back to the reason for her being here. He could only distract her with his laid back California charm for so long… right? Besides all he wanted to do was get her off her guard so he could try and get her to cut down the price, which was soooo not happening.

“Speaking of annoying though, isn’t the reason for my presence to fix that annoying little issue you have? You know, your of lack of hardware.” she smiled a sweet and sour smile, one foot bobbing slightly, she had a habit of fidgeting, and even though it’d gotten better over the years sitting perfectly still for long periods of time was nearly impossible.

 

[Wild_Oats]

The small talk suited me fine and I was keen to continue the banter, but then she volleyed back, putting the focus sharply back on the deal. It was the word that she used, "annoying", as if the issue wasn't so much annoying to me as it was to her. That was the first tell. The twitch of her leg clinched it. I knew she was anxious to close. Of course any sales pro is anxious to close, but not to the point where you lose your cool, and she was starting to slip. It was a hunch that I had from speaking to her on the phone, but now I was sure of it. I looked up from her antsy foot to her eyes and drew a confident breath. I had her dead to rights.

I knew how the sales game was played. I knew she had an expense account with a client dinner for two in it just for us. I also had the leverage. Checking my watch, I responded to her.

"I have two interviews coming up. The first one is in a half an hour," I informed her. "Why don't you call me back a bit later and we can meet up in more hospitable surroundings, where you can tell me what you can do to 'see your hardware's logo gracing this place'?" my expression still warm and affable with perhaps a trace of smugness. Without a mirror I couldn't say for sure.

She was definitely anxious, she might have even been desperate. It didn't matter why. It was the thrill of the deal. I smelled blood and I was going to get as much out of her as I could.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Seriously? Was he seriously dismissing her? Like some kind of principal dismissing a student? Despite her face, which still wore its cool smile and the casual grace of her posture as she calmly gathered her bag -thankful she hadn’t set up her laptop yet- her eyes spoke of her silent fury. If she didn’t need this deal so damn bad she would have gladly walked out and never saw this guy again. Who the hell did he think he was anyway!

“Very well then” she smiled that overly pleasant smile as she rose to her feet inwardly fuming at his smug little smirk her voice light and overly charming giving away how she felt about being dismissed in such a manor. It was utterly rude and unprofessional. He’d scheduled this meeting for this time, and now he was just trying to waste her time, it was beginning to annoying her. But again, she really needed this deal to go through.

Pulling out her Blackberry she scrolled to the calendar application and opened it to today’s date “Now you’re certain that you have no prior engagements? Because I would hate to be a drain on your precious time, especially in light of your current… scheduling conflicts” Her words obviously meant to be a sarcastic jab at him were still well in the realm of polite conversation, especially with the sugary sweet way in which they tumbled from her soft lips. Looking up from the device she once again smiled at him one brow raised, awaiting his reply.

 

[Wild_Oats]

She was so mad. I could tell. She was beyond mad. She was incensed. It was great. Her tone was exceedingly diplomatic and charming - the woman dripped with class - but I was willing to bet my Porsche that the moment she left the building she'd right hook the next guy to say hello to her. I tried to conceal my excitement, but I'm sure my nostrils flared slightly when I inhaled with a grin, and my eyes may have flashed when the adrenaline hit me.

"I'm sorry," I explained with a glint in my salesman's eye. "You know how it is when you're starting up from scratch." I gestured about the tables chairs and cardboard boxes that were to become a beehive within a couple of weeks. "Things are a bit hectic and tough to schedule at the moment." I didn't care if she bought it. She didn't have to. It was just enough that she couldn't argue with it. She couldn't stand me but she had no choice but to deal with me. I could tell that the sooner she got my name on a contract the sooner she could get the hell away from me, but I wasn't going to let her off that easy. We'd start by finding out how such a classy dame wines and dines a client.

"Any time after seven," I said. I realized that her being from out of town probably didn't know the neighborhood all that well. "Shall I suggest a place?"

I could swear the steam was venting from her as she sat there listening to me.

"My phone doesn't leave my side these days," I smiled.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Somehow, she wasn’t sure just how, she managed to refrain from rolling her eyes at his weak as water explanation for the quick brush off, simply standing and nodding politely with a small tight lipped smile. She didn’t like him that was for sure, he just rubbed her the wrong way. Mainly the fact that she even let him get to her, normally she was unaffected, but him… ooo! He just seemed to have gotten under her skin! That was what probably bothered her the most. That and the fact that she couldn’t just brush him off in like manner as she needed his business.

“Seven thirty then, and don’t worry I think I can find an appropriate setting for our meeting…” Scrolling through the calendar ap on her phone she entered the appointment before letting the device slide back down into the depths of her bag only to be franticly searched for when it was bound to go off at a most inopportune time. “It will just be us wont it?” She added almost as an after thought “Or should I have an extra table on stand by, you know for any last minute follow up interviews?”

She probably shouldn’t have added that, the sarcasm not being nearly as well concealed, as it should have been through her veil of silky sweet inflection of her voice or the cotton candy smile. Artificial to the core, but she hadn’t been able to help herself, she had to release some of that annoyance before she really did right hook some poor chap trying to hold the door for her. “Good luck on your interviews Doug and I’ll text you the location once I have it” Extending a hand politely to close this flop of a meeting as quickly as possible before she really lost all sense of decorum, she managed to give him an only slightly stiff smile.

 

[Wild_Oats]

“It will just be us wont it?”

"Just us, I promise," I assured her.

"Good luck on your interviews Doug and I’ll text you the location once I have it."

"Looking forward to it," I winked as she turned and left.

Indeed I was. I knew a desperate pitch when I saw one. I started to think of the possible reasons why. Were her numbers just low? Was she at the bottom of the sheet? I'd been there. I knew what the pressure was like. Was the business going under? I'd seen that too. I would just jump ship before it sank, but perhaps she had a stake in the company? That was a possibility. Maybe she was just falling on tough personal times. Perhaps a messy divorce, although the women usually came out on top of those. Maybe she had a sick family member, or maybe some expensive habits draining all her cashflow and putting her in debt?

Then my thoughts shifted to the evening. I wondered how she'd dress for the occasion, how seductive she'd try to be and how much of the powers of her female persuasion she'd be willing to employ. She'd probably have to lubricate herself for that. I mean, she did despise me and my upper hand after all. I was certain of that. Hell, she may have been downing a couple of shots of vodka as she was texting me just to get up the nerve. I relished the thought.

I imagined her naked figure, a jet black curtain of hair down the arched back of her lithe ribcage, tickling her behind. Dark taut nipples peaking on her soft breasts. Smooth creamy skin from head to toe, perhaps a small mole on the inside of her thigh. With any luck at all I'd be able to compare my image to the real thing before dawn. She was going to earn this sale.

I conducted my interviews. The first guy, Ben was a loser. I gave him the old 'don't call us, we'll call you' routine, but the second guy, Achmed was really promising. Bright and eager, but no stock trading experience. I liked that. I could train him just the way I wanted. I saw him out, locked up and headed home to relax and receive that text.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

The economy was bad everyone felt it to some degree, but that wasn’t what had Francesca on edge, making rookie mistakes. Mistakes that were going to cost her, big, she could tell and she cursed herself for it as she stepped out of the building into the crisp fall air. Dinner was her last chance to hopefully get things going her way again. This is why she hated selling to sales men.

He was a relaxed guy this Doug, typical West coaster she couldn’t rush this, and from the way she could feel his eyes oogling her ass she knew what she needed to do to lure him feeling at ease again. She had a few hours till 7:30 and aside from the 10 minutes it would take to make the reservation she had the rest of the afternoon free to prepare.

It wasn’t vodka shots she was doing as she picked up and put down her mobile, instead she drank an herbal tea as she lounged in the hotel’s bath. Playing by the rules of practicality would have meant staying with her sister and her family in the Hights but family was where she threw the rule book out the window. She wasn’t on the best terms with her sister and therefore would rather shell out a small fortune on a luxury hotel suite instead of snug brownstone.

Standing up, water and suds from her bubble bath ran down every curve of her smooth skin she reached for a towel from the rack next to the tub and wrapped it around her body. Once again she picked up her phone, but this time she hit the send button on the tactful text she’d prepared for Doug. He was making her wait so she could send him directions at the last minute too, she thought, her lips pressed in a firm line as she wiped a bead of water from the display of her phone and pushed the damp tendrils of her hair from her face.

Time to get dressed. And what a choice in dress it was, elegant black satin that clung to every curve and, thanks to skillful stitching, accentuated like a second skin. The shoes, black leather with crystal studs around the thick angle strap, couldn’t have suited her better had cobbler’s elves crafted them just for her. A round silver pendant graced her neck right in the gap of her collarbone.

Hair and makeup were a breeze as she kept those simple, thicker eyeliner for the evening with mascara to accentuate the long lashes that beckoned people to look into her steely blue depths while she chose to introduce color on her lips with a deep red lipstick to make one’s mind switch to battery power when she moved them.
Even a seasoned sales man would have a hard time refusing an offer made by the sexy panther she saw staring back at her in the mirror. Smoothing down a strand of hair that was attempting to escape her tastefully coiffed hair she sprayed perfume on the insides of her wrists, put a cranberry stole about her shoulders, grabbed her clutch and headed for a cab.

Looking down at her watch she took a sip of her martini as she sat at the bar of Ramati’s, a very chic Italian restaurant in the city. It had fantastic food and an air of sophistication that she loved. If he wanted to be pampered he was about to get it in spades.

If he came on time… now Francesca… she chided herself, that was not the proper mindset to have. According to her watch, he still had time, after all, it was only 7:25.

 

[Wild_Oats]

The text came. Ramati's. I'd been there once before. Upscale Italian place. Great place to be seen with a classy broad on your arm, that's for sure. We'd turn heads. It was not lost on me however that she probably picked it to feel on home turf considering her Mediterranean heritage.

We were two salesmen trying to make a deal. Well, I was a salesman, she was a saleslady - a salesdame - and a hot one at that. She knew what she was doing, but the fact that she was trying to sell to another sales guy was working against her and we both knew it. Still, the tension of this deal had me dialed in. We were both trying to maintain leverage on each other. Something had to give sooner or later.

The suit lay on the bed, dark coffee brown. It looked black in the dim light. In front of the mirror I flicked up the collar on the ice blue shirt and began to knot the tie. It was a perfect choice, a cross weave pattern of brown and tan (to match the suit) and blue (to match my eyes) on black. Donning the suit, I returned to the mirror to look myself over. The smooth wool reflected a sheen at a certain angle of light. Brown never looked so good. I adjusted the tie and collar and nodded my approval to myself.

My Rolex read 7:09. The plan was originally to make her wait, get her jittery, put her on the back foot, but then I realized that she would probably expect that. She wasn't going to flinch anyways. I changed my mind, grabbed my overcoat, headed out the door and hailed the first cab I saw.

During the ride I went over my position again. Something about the dynamic was off. Everything pointed to me having the upper hand. She needed to close. But why did something not feel right? The chick seemed totally on the ball. She knew that I ultimately held the hammer. Perhaps I needed to change my tack slightly. This whole thing could just be too adversarial. Maybe I could put that hammer in my back pocket for the next couple of hours at least.

"Here we are. That'll be eighteen fifty."

"Keep the change," I said and got out.

I strode through the front entrance of Ramati's at 7:29. The chandelier light was low and the place was immaculate. The carpet was soft plush under my shoes. The hostess in a burgundy gathered wrap number, pinned up hair and pearls greeted me with a smile.

"Buonasera signore."

"I'm here with Bianchi," I said softly. I thought I saw a movement at the bar at the mention of the name. There she was with her elegant white profile under jet black hair. "Ah, thank you," I said and made my way over.

"Francesca. Very nice to see you," I smiled and offered a sincere hand. She was slick black satin and stunning. She made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I had to make sure to keep looking her straight in the eye, but a glistening of light as she faced me drew my attention to the pendant nestled nurturingly at the bottom of her throat. I spotted the half-consumed martini resting on a coaster near the end of her lingering fingers.

"Martini. What a wonderful idea. Mind if I join you?"

 

[Poppinbubbles]

Yeah he’d better think it was nice to see her in this outfit, she thought as her blue eyes caught sight of the smug Californian businessman, with those beachy good looks. Coupled with that slick suit. He looked… well he certainly made that suit look damn good. And it made her wonder what he’d look like without it.

The fact that she’d just honestly entertained the idea for even the most fleeting of seconds made her sick. ‘What is wrong with you Francesca’ She chided herself, she was here not to get him in bed but to close a very important business deal, and as quickly as possible.

Forcing all thoughts -that could be classified as having a personal nature- out of her mind she instead turned in her bar stool so that she could better face him. "Good evening Doug," Extending a slender hand to meet his she smiled in that polite controlled way. He had a nice handshake, she couldn't help but musing for the second time that day. ‘Francesca’ her inner voice growled out in warning.

“Of course not” she shook her head, and motioned to the empty bar stool to her right with one hand while motioning to the bartender with the other to fix another Martini for Doug. “I’m afraid our table isn't quite ready. I was honestly not expecting you this early” She admitted.

Toying with the one olive that remained speared to the end of the expensive looking silver pick in her glass. Just then the bartender set Doug’s martini on a coaster in front of him. “Hope you like it dirty” Francesca couldn't help smiling as she lifted her glass. The reference having been towards the dirty vodka martini that had just been mixed up for him.

 

[Wild_Oats]

The way that she swiveled on the stool to face me was subtle, but the view was a full frontal assault of sexiness. The dress clung to her and the evening lighting caught the accents of her curves in the velvety sheen. The contrast of the dark fabric on her milky skin was an exotic dream. Aurora hues shimmered in the inky pitch of her perfect hair. She was straight out of a glossy glamour cover. I expected the word 'VOGUE' or something to be stenciled elegantly above her head and I wanted to open the page and see the whole shoot. I couldn't help but look her up and down. How could she expect me not to dressed like that anyways?

Then she was playing with the olive pick as if she were actually skewering me, like her icy gaze wasn't already doing a good enough job. She was on the attack and the upturned corner of her racy red lips told me that she knew it was working.

“Hope you like it dirty.”

I wasn't ashamed to blush a bit at that moment and cocked my head in contemplation.

"Tell me," I began. "Is it about the taste or is it just all about how good you look drinking it?" I asked with a grin. I took the glass by the stem and raised it to hers making an angelic 'ting'. "Cheers." I sipped.

 

[Poppinbubbles]

A cruel smile tinged her blood red lips at his blush. His question only seemed to egg her on knowing she was doing a damn good job, getting him to feel like the worm on the hook now. “Are you trying to give me a compliment Doug?” A perfectly arched brow lifted as she lightly shook her head “Tsk tsk You do realize this isn't a pleasure date.” She accentuated the word in a cruel tease, before placing the skewered olive on her parted lips and let it slip into her mouth, pulling out the pick and setting it on her napkin. The action wasn't overtly drawn out to make it obviously sexual, but it wouldn't be hard for any red blooded male to find a sensual note in it.

“Just business.” She purred, like a cat toying with its prey. She was hoping to get him riled up to the point where he would just have to sign on the dotted line of her contract. She’d used tactics like this before, for tough clients, and they hadn't let her down before. The way he seemed to not be able to take his eyes off of her told her she had no need to fear that they’d fail her now.

The only problem was that the one or two times she’d put on this panther act, she had been in no danger of falling for it herself. As much as this man frustrated her, she couldn't deny the fact that the physical attraction wasn't just one sided. She needed to focus on her game plan, and not let those stupid baby blues and that boyish grin get the better of her.

“So tell me Doug” She picked up without missing a beat “what made you want to get into the stock game?” Dinner was going to be a while so they might as well indulge in some small talk before getting to business.

 

[Wild_Oats]

"Are you trying to give me a compliment Doug? Tsk tsk, you so realize this isn't a pleasure date."

"I was referring to the both of us," I said as I swished the cocktail around in the glass, "but yes nonetheless." Then I took another sip before adding, "And looking at your business attire I'm quite curious as to how you'd dress for a pleasure date." I figured that I'd gained some ground back with that one, but I let a warm smile linger as I flitted my eyes away sheepishly a moment to hopefully let her know that the comment wasn't intended as a low blow.

"So tell me Doug what made you want to get into the stock game?"

Countering with a question, the simplest way to take control of a conversation. I knew it and she knew it and we both knew that each other knew it. Everything is transparent when a salesman is trying to close another salesman.

"Money. Why else?" I said flatly. "That's the short answer." I rested my elbow on the bar. "If you want the slightly longer version, when Roger called me up with this offer it was a chance to get in on something new and build something successful."

She swiveled ever so slightly on her stool and I caught a gleam reflecting off a stud in the strap of her high heel. Even her feet were sexy.

"How about you?" I countered. "Do you have much experience in stock?"