Slaying Goliath

Chapter 1 (part2)

Belinda was angry with herself. She should have known better. She was smart, or at least smart enough to avoid coming to parties like this one. She closed her eyes, Anthony. He was in trouble. He'd promised her that it was corporate networking opportunity not a meat market. She couldn't believe she'd trusted him.

And now she was stuck out here, in the freezing night air wearing a dress that was ridiculous. It would have been pretty if it was a summer dress, but this was mid-winter in New York City. She should have worn a suit. At least she'd vetoed the shoes he'd offered. She might be half naked, but it was a blessing that her feet didn't hurt.

She glanced at Josh. He was a mystery. He was like finding a piece of gravel in a jewellery store. The men inside sparkled and were worth a lot of money, but this guy was interesting. How did he get here and why wasn't he inside?

She might be a good accountant but that wasn't what got her to where she was. To be vying for a partnership in Mitchell, Sandford and Thainstone, you needed to be good a reading people and good at knowing how far you could push them and in which direction. The man on the balcony wasn't an open book. But that was probably because he'd hardly spoken five words to her. He must have been out here for a while.

That was a good point, if she was out here for too much longer she'd lose her voice too. She had a presentation to the board next week, she couldn't afford to catch a cold. It was time to form that plan.

She glanced through the doors just in time to see that moron with the quaffed hair and Harvard tie looking around the room. She knew that if she was cornered by another one of these morons she wouldn't be able to control her contempt. This might not a corporate event, but it was attended by all the firms' partners and many clients. She took a deep breath, it wouldn't be acceptable behaviour for her to knee the son-of-some-Senator in the balls. That wasn't the sort of etiquette that MS&T would find acceptable. Disappointing but true.

"I should be home," she sighed, "I've got too much work to do to be here. I have a problem Josh, I'm going to need your help. Can I count on you?"

"Do what?" his voice sounded like rough sandpaper on course wood. It reminded her of her Grandfather and his obsession for restoring wooden sailing boats.

"I don't know you," Belinda frowned, this was probably a bad idea. "And I know I'm asking a lot, but I need you to pretend to be my date."

He didn't say anything for a long time. She waited. This guy was out here because he was either shy or looked like Quasimodo, either way he was hiding because he didn't belong in there. If he agreed to this she might be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. It was a gamble, but it was one she felt that she had to take.

"Alright," he growled slowly like he wasn't sure himself, "Just to door."

"Agreed," she smiled relieved that he didn't expect more than that.

Pushing off the cold wall she crossed the gap between them and stood waiting for him to join her. He hesitated for long enough for her to wonder if he did look like a hunchback monster. When he straightened up from his slouched position in the dark pocket between the French doors, she was surprised to find that he was tall and broad. She found it hard to find a man who matched her height, but Josh was a head taller and his build was perfectly proportioned. The tall men she met looked like string beans with their thin limbs and lack of muscle tone. She had the impression that if she ran her fingers down Josh's chest she would find more than just skin stretched over ribcage.

Before she could be distracted by that thought, she held out her hand to him. He seemed reluctant again and this had her wondering if it was her? Did she have something on her face, stuck in her teeth or something gooey in her hair? With her other hand, she tried to be subtle as she ran it over her cheek and smoothed it through her hair. Nothing obvious.