4. Jake: Is this a Goddess?

Chapter four

Jake – Is this a Goddess?

I’ve been here with Ryan and his friend Brittney for the past five or ten minutes, and I must say I’m enjoying the company. It feels good to unwind, especially after the jolt at work, thinking Marty was in labor. That was a shock, but now I’m laughing at myself as the total, complete, and clueless bachelor I am about such things.

John and Marty are a wonderful couple and I count them as friends, not just as Marty being my assistant. I know she’ll be back after a few months of mommy time but I’ll miss her.

The search for a temporary replacement is a pain, in my opinion, so I’ve been asking Ryan and Brittney to be on the lookout for someone they think could fill the position. It’s always doubtful that such an outreach actually works, so I’ve resigned myself to the usual and tedious interview process.

It’s truly one of the worst parts of my job, so I typically avoid being directly involved unless I’m hiring an executive or my own assistant. Otherwise, I have department directors handle their own hires with HR helping with the intake paperwork.

Cut it out, I chide myself. Get with the program, Jake, and stop worrying about work. Tonight is supposed to be about a casual night out. I’ve got to get focused, even though I detest blind dates.

The conversation turns to the evening ahead. I tell them that I’m impressed with the bar. This place is beautiful and quite classy. It’s much different than many other places around the area, and I wonder out loud how it got its beautiful ambiance. Both of them reply in unison that Aurora is the developer and designer.

This makes meeting her a bit more enticing. Maybe this woman, who I’ve already been told is ‘without warts,’ has something more than the beauty they’ve described going for her. Maybe she’ll be as interesting to talk with as to look at, the latter as promised by Ryan. He told me that neither he nor Britt have told her about my wealth. That is always a concern for me. I want to be interesting to someone without my wallet being a consideration.

I’m not a snob, but I do expect someone I date to be able to hold up her part of an intelligent conversation. Not that I have dated much in the past few years, but some of the women I’ve taken to dinner seem to be able to talk about fashion, the who’s who in my social circle, and other tedious topics, but nothing really substantial.

Maybe if this Aurora has the wherewithal to create, open and manage a place like this, she may be more than I expected.

My casual indifference to the evening is beginning to change to anticipation for a better-than-usual blind date. Ryan is telling some sort of story about his last date when I see a vision coming up the stairway. From the distance I can make out a woman with long golden hair making her way past the top step and looking our way.

She looks like a goddess wrapped in a gorgeous blue dress, golden hair flowing with a bright smile on her face. Please let this be the one we’re waiting for. I never want to look like a puppy waiting to be patted and told I’m a good boy, but man alive, this is truly a vision walking toward me.

I hope I can actually say something intelligent, because right now I’m entranced.