Penthesilea's Wish [Vol.1]

Chapter Forty-one

The next morning, following the boardroom presentation inside Wexler Advertising Solutions, hands were shaken and kudos given. Mr. Williamson and Mr. Cuomo were both appreciative and enlightened by the presenters for their convincing illustration. The Wexler chairman assured the representatives of StreamStar Productions that their expertise would be of great assistance to Wexler as it moved out into a more high definition platform with respect to Smartphone and Tablet ads. The details of that relationship were agreed to be forthcoming during a more plenary meeting between the board of Wexler and the CEO of StreamStar in the weeks to come. At the adjournment of the meeting Mr. Sorrel made a point of approaching Daniela in the hallway as the group departed.

"I just wanted to thank you, Daniela. For your 'good-sport' participation this morning." He said this quietly, almost privately, but still in a businesslike manner.

Daniela was at first speechless, feeling an old familiar shyness returning. But then she stopped and faced him as the two were alone. She looked directly into his piercing blue-gray eyes, not wanting to ever fall back into her weak voice and insecure posturing again. Surprising herself, she spoke up assertively.

"Well. Your work is vey impressive, Mr. Sorrel."

"Please, call me Bryant."

She instantly looked at the floor but struggled to get her eyes back up to his face. "And I do think what you offer is going to help us, overall."

"So . . . may I invite you to lunch today?"

She quickly moved her eyes back off his boyish face. For Daniela the request was bold and unexpected.

He smiled a little apologetically. "No more about the meeting, you understand. Just a sort of . . . a pre-agreement celebration . . .?" He smiled again. This time, confidently. "About our . . . future collaboration and good will."

Daniela caught herself smiling back, more amused by his self-assuredness and obvious attempt at flirtation. She was aware of his attraction to her and at the same time admired his bravado and maturity in revealing it. It was a strength of character she herself now wanted more of—something she could perhaps learn from observing him more.

"Well . . . I usually only take a half-hour for lunch. And I don't know if that will be. . ."

"It's perfect! I have a busy day ahead of me, too. Look . . . I know of a place nearby. Great salads and soups. Homemade bread and the best mint iced tea in the City."

His smile was already becoming familiar to her.

"It's very fast service and very delicious. What do you think, Daniela? Can you escape today . . . just for a while? Maybe . . . forty-five minutes total?"

Daniela was now thinking about Nicasio. A spike of guilt suddenly penetrated her thoughts about lunch. She had never accepted such a mid-day date from work with anyone, other than her longtime boyfriend. It was for now what seemed like a lifetime.

Again, those new feelings came over her. The ones that were born back on the mountain. It was there she learned she could suppress her fears while staring down the large cat. This was once again something she had to prove to herself.

"Well . . . I guess it would be OK. As long as it really is no more than an hour."

"Right. And entirely business related." He was now looking at her again with those convincing and quite beautiful eyes. It was all coupled with that reassuring and irresistible boyish grin.

"Yeah . . . exactly." She fought back giving him the return smile he waited for which would have undercut her solid position. "Can you promise that, Mr. Sorrel?"

"Completely. Work-related, I promise."

She then smiled and they both laughed.

"Alright," she added almost in a whisper. "Can you meet me in about an hour's time? I'll be at a place called The Willows. It's a small art gallery two blocks from here. West on Fullerton. See. . . I have this over-intrusive boss and . . . well he can be. . ."

At that moment, Mr. Cuomo appeared in the hallway and was striding toward them. As he approached, he stared at Daniela in a noticeably oppressive manner. Mr. Sorrel quickly diffused the situation by formally reaching out and shaking her boss' hand. And then he shook Daniela's as if in a final, farewell gesture. Daniela was amused at his smoothness. He then left quickly, bidding them both a good day.

The action was accompanied by a subtle wink and a smile from the tan face Daniela had tried not to think more about that morning. Though throughout the day there was an intrusive image of him which became a constant distraction. This distraction to her work and thoughts began in earnest during the brief but enjoyable lunch engagement. For there Mr. Sorrel conducted himself as promised, though used his charm, interesting conversation and hypnotic eyes to leave her guiltily wanting more of his company.

* * *

By late afternoon, the tired and distracted graphic artist had already received two phone voice messages while preparing to leave work—one from Nicasio and one from Bryant himself. In addition, there was an inter-office memo delivered personally by Vicki from her boss. The message from Mr. Cuomo was simply a curt 'thank you' for her attendance and input at the meeting earlier that morning. There was something again about a pay raise as soon as the firm's association with StreamStar would "come to full fruition." But it was the two later voice messages that gave her the most concern:

[Click] "Hello Dani? I'm at the Bancroft, stuck back in the special collection area. Can't believe I dragged myself in to Simon's office by eight-thirty this morning. I'm up to my ass in Spanish ship logs right now. But hey, guess what? The professor is actually OK with you coming with me to Europe! Think you'll really be able to pull this off with work? He's already booked the tickets to Greece. For both of us. Wants us on the plane in three days! I've already told him you're in. Hope you don't make a liar of me, Angelina. I know you won't let me down. You know this will be the best medicine for you. And good for both of us. So . . . see you tonight, OK? About ten? How does Greek food sound? I've suddenly got a taste for it. Love you!"

And then this:

[Click] "Daniela? This is Bryant. I . . . just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed our lunch today. OK, it was a bit brief . . . and maybe a little too confined to talking about work . . . but anyway . . . I did keep my promise, right [laugh]. Well, look. . . I just had this feeling you wouldn't mind . . . maybe getting together again sometime. Like . . . possibly this weekend? Dinner or a film? Maybe both? I don't know. But I'd like to see you again. Just call or text me, OK? Until then . . . keep up the great work!"

There was something in both of these men's voices—in their competing attraction that Daniela liked. And yet, there was something in the voice of each she didn't like. Though she loved Nicasio, or thought she had loved him deeply for the past five years, she had been totally honest with him the night before when she said she was not totally sure how she felt—about every element of her life anymore.

The dilemma now of Bryant complicating it further was not a sound option, she knew, nor even really a possibility. Or was it? Maybe the excitement of someone new in her life was what she actually wanted and needed. Possibly what would bring on the growth she now craved. But could it really be all that simple?

Reflecting again on the brief time she had spent with Bryant for lunch, she thought of the excitement he offered her through his positive advances and obvious charm. These attractive qualities had put her into a surprisingly erotic mood earlier. And this brought with it a disturbing twinge of guilt she had never so clearly felt before. Those admittedly pleasant thoughts about him which had entered her mind several times during the day, were now hard to deflect as she prepared for her journey home rather than her usual ride with Baylor out into the foothills. It was a stark revelation as she shut the office door behind her, that she had never seriously considered a sudden romantic or possibly sexual liaison with any other man besides Nicasio—until now.

* * *