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Susan beamed from ear to ear, "Actually, he’s even hotter. It doesn’t sound very professional but I felt weak at the knees when I walked into his office. He’s gorgeous, I mean, drop dead gorgeous. I hope he didn’t notice but I barely heard a word he said I was so distracted. We had a quick meeting and I had to get out of there as soon as possible before I made a fool of myself and said something silly."
"That doesn’t sound like you at all, Susan. It sounds like he made quite an impression on you. Hey, maybe you just met your future husband. What do you think?"
"I wouldn’t go quite that far, Becky. I know nothing about him other than he has a body to die for and he’s absurdly wealthy at a young age. I do have standards, you know?" Susan giggled and poured some more wine.
"Hmm, he sounds terrible. No, he wouldn’t suit yo
u at all. Plus, you’d have to tame him first before he’ll ever be husband material. Susan, I take it you know about his reputation as a player?"
Susan nodded. "I know. I did some quick research on him at the gossip sites and it looks like he’s out with a different model or movie starlet every weekend. He’s quite the man around town as they say. Maybe I’ll have to settle for a short lived romance with him after the project is over. The next few months will be tough though. I mean, have you ever worked with a guy that makes you weak at the knees so much so that you can’t even think straight? I’ve never felt like this before."
"Yeah, it happened to me once and I married the guy," Becky raised her glass and smiled as she clinked Susan’s glass.
"That was different though, Becky. I don’t feel in control of myself with Mike, I’m afraid I’m going to say the wrong thing or giggle like a school girl if he cracks a joke. If this was happening outside of work it wouldn’t be such a problem but every time my phone goes or I get an email I’m all jumpy in case it’s him. I’ve only met him once and I can’t stop thinking about him."
"Sounds like love at first sight if you ask me." Becky beamed as she looked at Susan’s dreamy expression in the firelight.
Susan put her hand through her long blonde hair. "I’m meeting him next week for coffee in Battersea. I can’t stop thinking about it, I don’t know what to wear and I’m just hoping I can manage to be professional and keep it together. Of course, I need to remind myself that this is a huge opportunity for my business so I better not mess it up. In fact, he warned me not to mess it up or he’d destroy my reputation."
"He did? He sounds like quite a handful, Susan. Don’t go all head over heels like this if he’s one of those high powered maniacs that walks all over people. It’s just not worth it, that’s way more trouble than it’s worth."
Susan looked into the fire and sighed. "Maniac, that’s the word he used to describe himself, actually. But you’re right, I’ll need to tread carefully with this one. I’ve been burned enough times in the past with his type. Being realistic I know what I should do, I need to keep him at arm’s length but the problem is following though and doing that. It’s never quite as easy as it sounds."
* * *
Mike sat in the cafe at Battersea Park and looked over as Susan walked in. She looked stunning, he guessed she was about 32 and young for someone so successful in her field, her long blonde hair tumbled down to her shoulders and her smart navy business suit made the most of her slim figure. He liked what he saw and made a mental note to ask her out at some point in the future after the project had been completed.
"Hello, Susan! Good to meet you again, I hope you found this place without too much trouble."
Susan felt her knees go weak as soon as she spotted Mike. He looked like a movie star who had taken a wrong turn and ended up in the park. She felt her pulse quicken. "Hello, Mike! How are you today? Oh, no problem at all, I grew up just down the street from the park."
Mike sat up. "Oh really? Now there’s a coincidence. I live only 5 minutes walk from here. I love this part of town, it’s just such a good spot."
After a waiter took their order and brought over the drinks, Mike moved the conversation onto business. "Now, I looked over your initial sketches and I really like what you’ve come up with. Actually, I’m very impressed."
Susan blushed and looked away, avoiding his blue eyes. She reminded herself that Mike was a notorious player and that this was a business meeting not a date. She smiled. "Thank you! I’m pleased you like it. I have some more ideas but I just wanted to check first that we’re on the same wavelength before I go any further."
Mike smiled back, amused by the way Susan wrinkled her nose when she smiled. "Excellent! Hey, I was thinking when I was on my way over here. There’s a great new French restaurant just outside the park, overlooking the river. We could take an early lunch and get a feel for the ambience of the area, it’s right next to where the building is going up. I thought that would be more fun than just walking over and standing on the street like we originally planned. What do you think?"
Susan felt giddy but did her best to sound professional. "Sure, why not? Let’s go." Mike led the way and they strolled out of the park and along the bank of the Thames until they were standing in front of the restaurant and a huge building site.
Mike pointed to the boarded up disused car park. "So, that’s where the building will be. Clearing the site starts later this month which means I need to get a move on and prepare an artist’s impression of the interior. With your help we should be able to make that happen fairly quickly."
Susan looked up and down the street and then down the river. "I see what you mean now, what a great location! You must be excited, this has the potential to be a real landmark building."
"I am excited, very excited but also a little apprehensive, any cock ups and it’ll cost me a lot of money. I can’t afford any mistakes." Mike furrowed his brow and turned back to face the restaurant. "Anyway, let’s go and eat, I don’t know about you but I’m starving."
Over lunch Susan learned more about the project as well as all about Mike’s rise from obscurity to where he was today, known and respected as a true innovator in London’s property development world. The more she got to know him the more impressed she was with this good looking, intelligent, self-made man before her.
"I like you, Susan. I meet a lot of people and it’s rare I meet someone I can really talk to. You don’t know this but I had you fully checked out before I asked you to bid on the project. And you’ll be pleased to know you come highly recommended and not one person had a bad thing to say about you. And that’s rare, very rare in this cut throat business."
Susan felt her heart flutter and struggled to focus. "Oh, thank you. That’s very kind of you. I have a great team working with me and we always aim to please our clients. Even the unreasonable ones!" Susan smiled and noticed that Mike seemed much more relaxed than the first time they met.
"Forgive me if this is too personal but are you seeing someone?" Mike smiled.
Susan looked at the glint in his eye and didn’t know how to respond. "Not at the moment. I’m all about work these days, I just don’t get the chance to meet new people. As for dating, well, that’s just a pipe dream with the long hours I put in."
"You know what? I’d really like to meet you another day to get to know you better. Just to talk but business will be strictly off limits. What do you think?" Mike waited and watched Susan avoid eye contact.
