Business Talk

Chapter 1

The first time Eve saw him across the pool, she was captivated. He fit the description of “tall, dark, and handsome” almost perfectly. He was six feet, two inches, had a killer tan, dark hair, and a white, even smile. She almost pushed Kristen into the swimming pool.

“Introduce me!” she hissed at Kristen, her neighbor.

“To who?” Kristen asked laughingly, looking in the general direction Eve was gesturing. “There’s about thirty of Alex’s friends standing there, all equally drool-worthy. Which hunk do you want to grace with your presence?”

“The hunky one,” Eve promptly replied. “The tall one with the chocolate eyes.”

“Ah, Matt it is,” Kristen decided, before taking a strong hold of Eve’s arm and dragging her unsubtly in front of Matthew Clements, an old college buddy of her new boyfriend, Alex. “Matt, this is Evelyn Reed, one of my neighbors. Eve, this is Matthew Reed, Alex’s roommate last year. Matt, Eve is doing an advertising internship this summer. Eve, Matt is in the business program at Berkeley. I need to go entertain other guests now, so why don’t you two entertain each other?” she suggested, before slipping off.

This is why I don’t ask her for favors, Evelyn reminded herself dryly, trying not to turn red.

“Hi,” Matt said, holding his hand out warmly. Subtly he surveyed the sprite Kristen had not-so-subtly shoved in front of him. She was on the petite side, maybe five feet four inches, but she had adorable large brown eyes and curly, wild almost, brown hair. Not a beauty, he noted, but…cute. Yeah, cute.

“Hey,” Eve replied, shyly taking his hand. She noted it felt big but smooth, almost soft. He hadn’t done much manual labor in his life, she concluded.

“So, I can see why Kris and Alex make such a great pair, going by that introduction,” Matt commented, trying not to look awkward. He wanted to jam his hands in his pockets and rock back and forth to help deal with this somewhat strange situation, but his father had always told him showing his nervousness was a weakness. “Alex is equally spastic.”

“Tell me about it,” Eve agreed, warming up now that she felt they had something to talk about. “Last week he decided to go on a baking frenzy and tore up ­my kitchen looking for stuff to make here.”

Matt snorted. “Sounds just like him. So, uh, do you want a beer or something? I can get you something to drink.”

“I don’t drink, I’m underage,” Eve said thoughtlessly. Matt let out a surprised laugh at her honesty, before relaxing. She’s cute and refreshing. Maybe…

“Ah, that’s cool then. Anyway, what are you doing for advertising?”

As Evelyn replied, they eased into a normal, getting to know one another conversation. Evelyn was delighted with his wit and humor and ironically amused to know that he was staying in Ithaca for the summer, working for a large corporation, her father’s rival company, specifically. He was equally happy to discover her irony and realize that she was working for a small, start up advertising company a few miles away from her apartment, and that she would stay there until heading back to UCLA to work on her arts and marketing degrees.

The mutual admiration between the two built as Kristen and Alex covertly watched.

“You think they’ll hit it off?” Kristen asked, her hand twining into her boyfriend’s casually.

“I hope so,” Alex replied, tightening his grip on her hand. “Matt works too damn hard – he never had a solid relationship in college because work always came before everything else. Eve seems nice, too.”

“Yeah, they’d be cute,” Kristen said. “And they’re hitting it off well.”

“That doesn’t mean much,” Alex warned, loosening his hand a little. “Matt gets along with basically everyone. It’s the asking out bit which doesn’t always happen.”

“Mmhmm. I’m willing to bet that he asks for her number before he leaves,” Kristen said confidentally.

“Uh huh. What are the stakes?” Alex challenged. When Kristen leaned up and whispered something in his ear, he let out a pleased, satisfied grin.

“That sounds more than fair, love,” he said, pulling her close to him.

-*-*-

“So, I don’t normally do this,” Matt said, as the sun began to set and the first of the guests departed, “but I was wondering if I could get your number? It’d be cool to hang out sometime.”

“Yeah, sure!” Eve said, her heart thumping with the pleasure of a new crush who seemed equally interested. They exchanged numbers, continued chatting few a few minutes, and then, with a quick smile, Matt went to thank his hosts and depart. Eve collapsed on the closest couch, trying not to giggle in happiness.

This summer is turning out perfect, she thought giddily. A great internship, an awesome new friend, and now a new potential…well, potential something. She got up from the couch, said an absentminded goodbye to Kristen, and walked to her apartment, where she daydreamed for the next several hours.

Meanwhile, Matt was walking home, a thoughtful smile on his face. This summer is going to be interesting, he mused. Dad’s finally giving me more responsibility and Eve…finally, a time limited potential somebody. He frowned. Well, maybe not limited, but at least there’s no pressure. And with that thought, his smile relaxed completely as he let himself into his apartment.

-*-*-

Alex watched Matt meandering away, before turning to Kristen, smiling sheepishly.

“Well, I guess we’ll be doing that thing you like,” he said with a mischievous expression on his face. “Once, of course, all the guests clear out.”

Kristen had the decency to blush and hit Alex. “I just hope it’ll work out,” she said, her blush fading as she became a little concerned. “Eve seems really innocent to me.”

“Mmm,” Alex said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her close. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he said, before lightly kissing the pulse point on her neck. “Now go and get the other guests to leave.”

Her eyes slightly unfocused, Kristen simply sighed and leaned further into Alex.