The Dating Game

by Susan Buchanan

  Gill read through his profile. He had short dark hair, was of medium build with, were those green eyes? He definitely had a twinkle in them, as if he knew exactly what you were thinking. He looked fun. Quite sexy, in a Liam Neeson way. Very direct, too, about his work and she didn’t think he was rude in pointing out about his shifts, more practical. She knew that often these guys did two weeks on, two weeks off the rigs. He must be working from Aberdeen. The only surprise to her was that he lived so far down from there, in the central belt. Well, he certainly merited a second look. Formula One as his main hobby – she hoped he wasn’t a petrol head. She hated when men drove fast – it always appeared they were trying to make up for something else. Another engineer. With a wry smile, Gill realised he could easily have been placed by her agency, although his name didn’t ring a bell. She wondered who he worked for. Of course if she were to go on a date with him, that subject was taboo until they knew each other better. Photography, well that sounded more civilised. Unless he was photographing cars. Reading the classics. She wondered if he put that there, to make himself appear intellectual. Anyway, Gary was a possibility.

  Gill clicked the second file.

  Candidate Profile

  Name: Sean Hennessey

  Age: 35

  Lives: Glasgow

  Occupation: Sound Technician

  Qualifications: BA Technical and Production Arts (Management and Technology)

  Height: 5’ 9’

  Marital status: Single

  Smoker: Y

  Interests: Listening to and playing music, films, rugby, hurling,

  Further information: Originally from Co Galway, I have lived in Glasgow since my time at the RSAMD. I love it here – brilliant city and good craic.

  Looking to meet: A woman who I can romance…

  Ah, a mere baby, thirty-five. How did she feel about a toyboy? Laughing out loud a little, she thought, bring it on! Thirty-five. He was bound to be quite energetic still, no seventeen year old mind you, but hopefully still have a healthy appetite for sex. Bloomin’ eck, what was she like, some sex-starved old maid? Well, actually, yes, but that wasn’t the point. It was just the authentic Irishness of him. Gill loved Irish men and he was from County Galway. She’d been to Galway once and had loved the university city. Unfortunately she had caught a cold and ended up spending two days in bed in the tiny B&B. And she had been alone in that bed, the only comfort a chick lit book by one of her favourite Irish authors, which she’d bought in the city before falling sick.

  She’d taken a cheap flight to Ireland just after her breakup with Tim. A chance for her to get away and reflect upon the disaster that was her life and more specifically her love life. From that trip, had sprung the seed of an idea to start up an agency of her own.

  She’d been chatted up a few times in Galway, but she really hadn’t been in the mood. It would be different if she went back now. She couldn’t get enough of the Irish accent and although she liked some northern Irish accents, she preferred southern accents. So Sean was a sound technician. Interesting. She wondered if he worked alongside any bands she knew. He’d probably been to loads of gigs. She scrutinised his photo. You could tell he’d made an attempt to scrub up – he had a shirt on and he’d obviously shaved, but his hair was still a little unkempt, which she found adorable. It surprised her that she’d received his profile. Usually men wanted younger women. Maybe that photo she’d put on her profile really had worked. She hoped he wasn’t disappointed when he saw her in the flesh.

  He liked hurling, such a quintessentially Irish hobby. She wasn’t even sure exactly what it was, but she remembered it had come up on a quiz show recently. Was it played on ice, or was she mixing that up with curling? Now she came to think of it, she rather thought she was confusing the two. She’d need to check before they met, so she didn’t come across as stupid. Look at her, now potentially four dates.

  Emboldened by her successful date with Anton, Gill pressed Reply and typed,

  ‘Hi Caroline. Yes, my date with Anton went well, thanks.’ She almost put that they were meeting again, but Caroline hadn’t asked and Gill suspected she might not set her up with the two new guys, if she knew, so she left it at that.

  ‘Both Gary and Sean sound nice. Please can you go ahead and advise that it’s OK to contact me. Regards, Gill.’

  ‘That’s your first appointment here,’ Janice called through to her.

  Pleased with herself, Gill picked up her notes and went through to her meeting.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tuesday 6th September

  When they’d arrived at Il Bistro Italiano, famous for its Italian ‘tapas,’ it wasn’t very busy. Lisa had had the foresight to book a booth. ‘Last time I was here the food was great, but it was really noisy. At least the booth shuts out some of the noise and no one else can hear what we’re talking about,’ Lisa said.

  The high ceiling gave the restaurant the acoustics of an auditorium.

  Gill had finished at six and driven over to the Merchant City, parking just off Ingram St.

  ‘It’s a pity Debbie couldn’t make it,’ said Angela.

  ‘I know, but she’s been out with me quite a lot the last week or so. I already gave her the verdict over the phone today. I’m not telling you what she said until I’ve heard what you lot think.’

  ‘Well, you know you’ll get a fair assessment from us,’ Angela said.

  ‘Yeah, we’ll let you know if he’s worth another date and what we think of these new ones,’ said Lisa. ‘And we’ll be brutally honest.’

  Gill didn’t doubt it. She was sorry Debbie couldn’t be there with them to dissect her date and to discuss her progress with the others, but she needed to spend some time with her family. Fortunately Angela’s mum had her son, Matthew, overnight, so Angela had been let loose.

  After a quick scan of the menu, they decided on a couple of sharing platters. Lisa ordered a mainly meaty one, Gill chose a completely vegetarian platter, and since they were all going to dig in to each other’s anyway, Angela chose one of the two platters which contained fish.

  ‘It’s so good in here. I’ve never had room for dessert, but I’ve heard they’re good, too,’ Lisa said.

  As the girls waited for their platters to arrive, Lisa and Angela quizzed Gill on her date with Anton. After the text he had sent the previous morning, she hadn’t heard from him again, but then she hadn’t expected to. Positively glowing she conveyed to her friends the events of Monday night. They agreed that it sounded promising and as she described his kiss, reactions were mixed.

  ‘He sounds lovely,’ said Angela. ‘What a sweetheart.’

  ‘Sounds a bit slow at coming forwards if you ask me,’ said Lisa.

  ‘Well, I was hardly going to sleep with him on a first date, anyway,’ Gill shot back defensively.

  ‘Maybe he was just trying to tease Gill a little, make sure she was interested,’ said Angela, sipping her wine.

  ‘Hmm,’ demurred Lisa, as she twiddled a lock of her blonde curly mop, unconvinced.

  ‘Well, at least he wasn’t a bastard or a nerd,’ said Angela, exasperated at Lisa’s lack of enthusiasm. ‘Think of all the losers Gill’s seen over the years,’ she said hotly.

  Then realising what she’d said, she apologised to Gill,

  ‘You know what I mean, hon, and you’re not alone either,’ she said wryly. They all knew she was thinking of her ex - Jason, Matthew’s father. They rarely kept in touch now, and it pained Angela more than she let on, that he didn’t have any desire to see their eight-year-old son. To make matters worse, Matthew was the spitting image of his father, with large almond eyes and a cheeky little grin.

  ‘I know what you meant,’ said Gill softly, ‘and you’re right, which is why Anton was so lovely and he’s interesting and has a lovely voice.’

  ‘You can’t hang everything on one date with a guy and lay it on his voice!’ cried Lisa.

  ‘Have you not been listening?’ Angela said. ‘That’s just what clin
ches the deal. The guy sounds like a winner to me.’

  ‘Anyway,’ said Gill. ‘I’m seeing him again and that’s that. And, Lisa, I haven’t restricted my options. I’ve heard back from Charlie, too, and e-mailed him today to see if Sunday lunchtime would do. For a drink,’ she added.

  ‘Oh well, that’s good. Two men on the go,’ chirped Lisa, reassured.

  Angela also nodded her approval, draining her glass of wine and reaching for the bottle. Only Gill was driving.

  ‘So, what was his excuse for not contacting you before now?’ asked Lisa.

  ‘He’d been rock climbing and had no mobile reception.’

  ‘And where’s he from again?’ Angela wanted to know.

  ‘He’s from the south side, too.’

  ‘Oh, whereabouts?’ asked Angela.

  ‘The agency doesn’t give you quite as specific information as that in the profile. It’s meant to be to protect you. I suppose after the first time it’s up to you to decide how much info to share, but the agency is very particular about not giving out home addresses.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ said Lisa.

  ‘And that’s not all,’ said Gill, pausing to build up the suspense.

  Just then the food arrived and the waitress described in great detail which of the twelve dishes was which.

  Once she left, Lisa said, ‘Did you get that?’

  ‘Eh, no, but I think we can probably work out what most of them are,’ said Gill, whose mouth was watering just looking at the array of plates in front of her.

  They pawed over the food for a few minutes, Lisa dragging a meatball onto her plate, Gill popping an olive directly from the platter into her mouth, and Angela spearing a piece of sea bass.

  ‘So, what else?’ asked Lisa.

  Dying to lead them on further, but knowing that Lisa was on the point of bursting, Gill said, ‘I received two more profiles.’

  ‘Really?’ squealed Lisa. ‘Let’s see them,’ she clicked her fingers in a fashion that Gill had always hated, but which was one of her quirks.

  Gill duly fished out the profiles from her tote bag, and Lisa almost grabbed the pages in her desire to have a look at the new prospective dates.

  ‘Gary, that’s a bit of a boring name after Anton,’ she said.

  Frustrated and a little annoyed, Gill said, ‘A minute ago you didn’t think Anton was good enough.’

  ‘I know, I know, anyway, never mind that. This guy’s bloody gorgeous. Like an older Tom Ward.’

  All the girls agreed that the forensic scientist in Silent Witness, one of their favourite programmes, was someone they would not kick out of bed. Lisa thought it was a crying shame he was married and had three children.

  ‘Gary’s definitely a yes,’ said Lisa. ‘Funny, he doesn’t look the manual labour type. Can’t imagine him in a pair of overalls, can you?’

  ‘Maybe he just wears one of those yellow jackets over a shirt and tie,’ offered Angela.

  ‘Stop ruining my fantasy. I want him in overalls,’ growled Lisa.

  ‘Eh, can I just point out that he’s actually my date?’ said Gill.

  ‘Oh, so you have decided to meet him!’ Angela seemed pleased.

  ‘Well, yes, he’s sex on legs, don’t you think?’

  Angela agreed she would meet him in a heartbeat.

  ‘Why don’t you join this dating agency, Ang?’ asked Lisa.

  ‘Eh, hello? I don’t have time to go on dates and I certainly don’t have the money to pay three hundred pounds joining fee and then fifty quid a month!’ stated Angela bluntly.

  ‘Fair point. We’ll just need to find you someone going down the traditional route,’ said Lisa. ‘You can come out on the pull with me,’ she suggested.

  ‘That’ll be right,’ said Angela. ‘Last time I did that, you ditched me for some guy with an Aston Martin, at Hellenic.’

  ‘Yes, well, the least said about that the better.’

  Lisa didn’t do verbal apologies. She expected her friends to know by her behaviour and expression that she was truly sorry. She had never done it before or again since. It was an unspoken rule. You didn’t dump your friends for a man. The guy could wait until next time you were free. There were exceptions to the rule, but those included at least another friend being there with you. The streets were too dangerous to walk on your own nowadays. There were a lot of nutters out there, overindulging in drink and drugs, and then acting out of character.

  ‘Ahem, can we get back to Gary then?’ asked Gill.

  ‘Sure,’ agreed both girls.

  ‘I think he looks really sexy and he’s been very open and direct about his shift work. Some people couldn’t cope with that. What do you think about not seeing him for weeks on end, if you did start seeing each other? You need to think ahead,’ said Angela, ever the pragmatist.

  ‘Well, of course I’d miss him, even if this is a rather premature conversation to be having, but given how busy I am with work, I think I could handle it. Especially if he made up for it when he was here,’ she grinned and Lisa catching on, winked and said,

  ‘I’m sure he’d love you to handle it, doll.’

  They both burst out laughing as Angela muttered, ’You two are beyond help.’

  After taking a sip of her drink, Angela, all efficiency, said, ‘Right, so he’s a yes. Who’s the second one?’

  ‘Right, here we have Sean Hennessy.’

  Lisa and Angela squinted at the profile in front of them.

  ‘Na, he’s not for me,’ said Lisa abruptly. ‘One for the No pile.’

  ‘I disagree,’ Angela said. ‘He has a certain something.’

  ‘OK, convince me,’ said Lisa.

  Angela shot a sidelong glance at Gill, who smiled and rolled her eyes. Useless reiterating to Lisa that it wasn’t her Sean had to convince.

  ‘OK,’ said Angela playing along, ‘He looks a bit like the lead singer from Snow Patrol.’

  ‘Yes, but he also looks like he needs a good wash and a pair of ironed trousers.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ said Angela, in a tone that brooked no argument, ‘Yes, maybe he’s been wearing that shirt for a couple of days, but check out the sexy eyes, the creases at the corners of them, even though he’s only thirty-five,’ she checked the profile for this last part. ‘He looks a lot of fun. I just wouldn’t expect him to cook me lunch. His cooker probably hasn’t been cleaned since he moved in.’

  ‘Maybe his sheets will be the same then,’ said Lisa.

  ‘Lisa, why must you always lower the tone?’ Gill asked.

  ‘It’s my contribution and what I do best, well, second best,’ she said after a momentary pause, flashing her friends a wicked grin.

  ‘So, you don’t like him at all?’ Gill said.

  ‘I don’t know the bloke obviously, but on paper he’s not selling himself to me.’

  ‘I didn’t say he was an escort,’ muttered Gill under her breath.

  ‘Well I think he deserves a chance. And he’s Irish,’ Angela spotted, glancing up at Gill. ‘You love Irish accents, what more could you want?’

  ‘My thoughts exactly and even if he didn’t merit a date on any other point and I’m not saying that’s what I think,’ Gill added quickly, ‘his very Irish-ness would be enough to put him through to the next round.’

  ‘Well, that’s that settled then,’ said Angela, high-fiving her friend.

  ‘So, let me get this straight. You now have four blokes on the go at the same time?’

  Gill moved slightly in her chair, feeling uncomfortable for the first time about the four potential dates.

  ‘Well, when you put it like that…’ she began.

  ‘No, that’s bloody brilliant,’ said Lisa. ‘Result!’

  Chapter Thirteen

  Wednesday 7th September

  Wednesday was a flurry of activity. Gill was glad she hadn’t drunk much the night before. At least she felt alert. She had fielded calls all day from candidates going for final interviews at Smythson Engineering. They were preparing t
o head to Leeds for the last leg of their three month interview process. How drawn out that had been. One of the directors had suffered a heart attack and the firm had needed to wait until he could return to work before making a final decision. Now they were down to a shortlist of eight.

  Gill had been delighted to receive an e-mail from Charlie, saying he could meet her for a drink on Sunday, but he’d need to leave by four to pick up his daughter. Far from being miffed at this, his comment endeared him a little more to Gill. His commitment towards his daughter showed he obviously took his parental responsibilities seriously.

  He’d suggested Cosmopolitan in the Merchant City. Did she know it? She did. She’d been for a few birthday drinks with a friend not long after it opened, prior to attending a concert at City Halls. It was an inviting place, cosy, but with an upmarket feel. The waiters were happy to mix you up any cocktail, even if it wasn’t on the menu and without having to ask you what it contained. That was service - the difference between a good bar and a great bar, Gill thought. She loved the plush, roomy booths, essential to having a private chat. There would be nothing worse than being on a blind date and everyone being able to overhear your conversation. After a slight delay Gill replied saying that was fine, and could they make it one o’clock? Her rationale was, that way if they liked each other, they could potentially spend three hours together, whilst still having the get-out clause of it only being for a drink, if it didn’t go to plan.

  Jumping out of her chair, Gill crossed off some items on her whiteboard and added a few others. She had made a mental list in the shower that morning of the candidates she wanted to see for her SRC position. She wanted to contact them today to check their availability for next Thursday and Friday for an initial interview. The sooner she hired some help, the better.

  Pulling the well-thumbed stack of short listed CVs towards her, she leafed through them, making final notes as to each candidate’s merits:-

  Leslie Crutherland – had worked for a large, multi-national recruitment firm, in their Technical Sales Recruitment division for five years. His client portfolio included ten blue chip companies.