Gabriella glanced at the photo in her wallet, then stared at the man at the bar. He was short, balding and overweight. His cheap blue suit accentuated his look. She had been searching for him for the past week.
As she stepped into the bar, heads turned and men ignored the women they were with. She was used to that reaction. She sat at an open spot at the bar, ten feet from Jack Williams.
Jack stared at her in his not so subtle way as she ordered her drink. She made eye contact with Jack. The man practically drooled. How classy.
She got up and sat in the open stool next to Jack. “I finished my drink. Would you like to buy me another?”
“Uh, sure. Of course. How about we sit at that table?”
Gabriella went to the table as Jack got their drinks. She engaged him in small talk, pretending she was interested in what he had to say.
“So, Jack, do you have a wife you’re hiding back home?”
“No. I’ve been searching, but I haven’t found a woman who has captured my heart.”
Gabriella smiled at his lie.
“What I need is a great gal like you.” Jack ordered another gin and tonic. “So, Gabriella, that’s a pretty exotic name. You must not be from around here.”
“I was born in Spain.”
“I have important clients in Spain. I travel around the world quite a bit with my job.”
“Is that right?” Another lie. Jack Williams told her he was a marketing manager for a pharmaceutical company. She knew he peddled insurance.
“Yeah, I fly to different countries to meet clients. I’m hoping to do more teleconferencing in the future. Still, you can’t beat those frequent flyer miles, let me tell you, and it’s a good idea to get close to the customer. So do you have a significant other?”
“I had, but he died.”
Jack recoiled, sweat beading down his forehead. The man's hygiene left much to be desired. “Well, um, sorry to hear that. You know what they say, you gotta get back on the old horse.”
She took another sip of her drink and held his hand.
“You probably get this a lot, but you’re a real looker.”
“Not really,” Gabriella said. “I don’t meet many people.”
“Well, I’m all ya need. I have a certain way with women. I treat them like angels.”
“I can tell.”
Jack looked at his fake Rolex. “I was thinking we could go somewhere more private. There’s a hotel downtown I like to go to. Maybe you and I could get to know each other better.”
“I thought you weren’t married.”
Jack smiled. “No ring on this finger. My condo's being renovated, so this'll be more cozy.”
She leaned back and crossed her legs. “I’d love to.”
He paid the bar tab, leaving no tip. They got into his beat-up Pontiac Bonneville. Gabriella held her comments that this was hardly the car a marketing manager of a multinational pharmaceutical company would drive.
During the drive, Jack bored her with false stories of major deals he had brokered in the business world.
They parked in a garage and walked toward the seedy hotel lobby. She stayed behind while he checked in, but remained close enough to listen to the conversation.
