Tina woke up in the morning, completed her routine. She headed to the field. One of the customers complained that he didn"t receive the material that was ordered. She made few calls, tracked the shipment and gave the status immediately and secured a repeat order from him.Another customer asked for a product. She gave him a technical presentation in comparison with another compet.i.tor and highlighted the benefits of their product. The customer wad satisfied. It was a huge lead which would be a major contributor for her numbers next month.
She completed her visits and called Fred as promised. He answered her call. They decided to meet at a restaurant which was placed at equal distance to both of them.
She parked her car. Suddenly she felt a need to check her looks. She opened her handbag, took a wet tissue, wiped her face and neck. She took out a compact, dabbed some foundation in her face, applied a strawberry lip balm on her lips which gave them a pink shade and a sweet fragrance. She combed her hair, sprayed some deodorant and stepped out of the car. She felt fresh like a daisy.
She was wearing a white formal shirt and a formal grey trouser. The dress was accentuating her curves. Many men were openly staring at her figure. She didn"t take much notice. She went into the restaurant and found Fred.
Fred was devilishly handsome and charming. He too groomed himself a bit. Sales people carried a vanity kit everytime as they had to travel a lot and there was a constant need to be presentable as they were considered as brand amba.s.sadors of their products.
Fred was a six footer with muscular upper body and toned legs. He was a football player and was a fitness freak. Fred was openly staring at Tina. She was little embarra.s.sed but liked the attention. She smiled at him in an alluring way and took a seat in front of him.
He smiled and offered to shake his hand. Tina shook his hand and asked, "how was your day? "he said, "boring till now, "and winked at her. She smiled and said, "mine too, I hope the evening would be better" smiling suggestively.
Fred withdrew his hand and acted shocked, "please Tina, I just came as a friend, don"t flirt with me" she blushed and retaliated, "you started it, I was only giving it back" and winked.
"wow, not bad, you have a sense of humour" he said and called the waiter to take the order. Fred asked, "order what you want" she said, "I need Italian wine first, you order the food, I am a vegetarian, you may order anything you like, "
Fred said, "bring two gla.s.ses of your best Italian red wine first with some cheese b.a.l.l.s" the waiter nodded and left. They started speaking about numbers. No one can take away the numbers from a discussion between sales guys. The wine came in, they said, "cheers" and started drinking. Tina was a wine lover. She smelled her wine, took a mouthful, rolled it in her mouth letting the taste seep in and gulped it. This was like a ritual to her. Halfway through the wine, her cheeks developed an attractive blush due to the wine.
Both of them relaxed, Fred extend his hand and tried to hold her hand. Tina felt gooseb.u.mps. She felt b.u.t.terflies in her stomach. She didn"t withdraw her hand. She looked doubtfully into his eyes. There was no malicious intent there. He was smiling at her in a friendly way. She let him hold her hand for some time. The waiter came and put a plate of cheese b.a.l.l.s. She withdrew her hand slowly and started speaking something randomly.
Fred said, "Tina, please don"t get tensed, you know that I really like you.. I don"t have any bad intentions, I am still thinking about the opportunity in Shanghai, I have a month"s time to decide"
She nodded and said, "I understand Fred, I need to speak to you about something, can we go somewhere private and talk? "