by Dom Price
“Ha, not quite. This is actually exactly how I left it, only tidier.” They both giggled like school kids.
“Thank you Dave. I’ve had a wonderful time.”
“Don’t thank me Miss Patel. I’ve had a brilliant time. I’ve never seen my mum beam so much. Apologies if she has been a bit full on, but I fear she is probably trying on wedding hats in their room.”
Both of them chuckled and Dave smirked. He really did like the new him. New and improved Dave Marsdon. What felt best to Dave was that he had no thoughts about a strategy or tactics? No planning for a rule of 3. No working out what he could leverage. For once in his life, he’d taken his foot off the accelerator and let fate take over, and he was kind of enjoying it.
“Dave, I’ve got a favour to ask. In fact, two favours.”
Dave coughed to clear his throat. “Should I be nervous?”
“Always. Ha, no don’t be nervous. The first one of them will be something you’ve probably done thousands of times, but the other one might be hard for you.”
“Oh er. Go on then, try me.”
“Neither requires words.”
In the soft light, she looked truly angelic, with a black painted steering wheel just behind her head. Slowly, but confidently, Ronnie leaned forward and their lips touched. Dave had thought about this moment constantly during the last week, but had ruled it out after the first failed attempt. It felt amazing. She was soft and sensual. She was warm and welcoming. She liked him and he liked that.
Dave was relieved to see that she was still there as their lips parted and his eyes slowly opened. If there had been room, he would have pinched himself.
“So that makes me Miss One thousand and one?”
Before Dave had time to respond, their lips were touching again and the softness and composure with which they kissed sent shivers throughout his body.
Dave lay back and smiled. It was inevitable that it would all come out now. With his guard down, and with her twinkling eyes talking volumes to him, it was time to drop the mask. He knew it. He had to lower the veil. Will the real Dave Marsdon please stand up? Taking the deep breath that he required to relax every muscle in his body, Dave structured the stories in his head, removed any agendas and decided it was time to tell the truth.
As he rolled over to commence the ultimate presentation of his life, he realised that he’d achieved Veronica’s second favour without saying a word. She just wanted Dave to be Dave. No performance and no pretence.
Leading forward to kiss her gently on the forehead, Dave had a chance to admire his new success who was fast asleep.
“If only you knew Ronnie, if only you knew.”
***
Chapter Take Aim and Fire
***
“I just wish I’d done it when I was 16 like everyone else.”
The inevitable had been plaguing Dave’s mind for the entire drive back to London. The conversation had flowed with its now customary ease, and they nattered away like a couple very much in the honeymoon period. To a passer by, they’d never know that these inseparable love birds had only been reunited a week before and had only shared their first kiss in the last 24 hours.
Despite all of his powers over his mind, the same thought and scenario was replaying through his mind, and it never ended well. In fact there were a multitude of bad endings, leading to embarrassment, shame, disappointment and even one scenario that required corrective surgery.
“What was that honey?”
Dave hadn’t realised that his deepest thoughts had escaped and transcended the in car conversation. Time to back track.
“Oh, I meant I just wished I kissed you back in the day. You know, when I first had a chance. Well I’m not saying I had a chance. You know what I mean?”
“Ha. You sound just like a nervous teenager. Anyone would have thought that you’d never kissed a girl before. Anyway, what do you mean ‘like everyone else’? What could you possibly be suggesting?”
Now wasn’t the time for the truth. New Dave preferred eye contact, and a simple blink or blush from Ronnie could cover a Bible full of words from anyone else, and Dave needed to gauge the reaction on this one. It could be catastrophic. He didn’t want corrective surgery. Was it even possible to break it? He’d have to Google it when he got a chance.
“Do you want to come to the hotel for dinner tonight? I was thinking that given its location, for the sake of convenience, you could stay over. You know, we could swing past yours on the way, grab your suit and stuff, and then you don’t have to rush home after dinner. And you’ll be closer to work. Logistically it makes sense. I know how time poor you are, and you need to start on your boss early to convince him that you still deserve that promotion.”
“Yes, that certainly sounds convenient and logistically compelling. Though I was hoping to send a few e-mails tonight.”
“Well that works perfectly. I have a bit of reading to do, and there is a study in my room, so let’s lock an hour to one side to catch up on our work before dinner. Good thinking.”
“Yeah, but I was also thinking...”
“Don’t tell me you were going to wash your hair or something silly like that. If you don’t want to stay Dave, I understand.” Her face suggested otherwise.
“Of course I want to stay. I mean, of course I will stay.”
Back at his apartment, Dave took control of the situation.
“Look, it won’t take me 2 minutes, so why don’t you wait here and I’ll just go and grab what I need.”
“Are you sure? Is there evidence of your other women up there that you don’t want me to see?”
“Yes dear. It’s a shrine to the woman past and present that have adorned my apartment. You stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Dave urgently needed some time with his mentor and coach, but there was a problem. Staring blankly into the mirror, it was clear that Ronnie was his kryptonite. He’d lost his powers of self-persuasion. What was most worrying, was that as far as this topic was concerned, his mentor was the only person who was as under qualified as he was.
Dave grabbed his things and just had time for one more mirror consultation.
“You can do this mate, you really can. And with her too. She is wonderful. You are brilliant at everything you put your mind too, so just focus and go with the flow.”
Far from convinced, Dave returned to the car.
“Thank you Dave. I appreciate that you are busy and I’ve already taken up a lot of your time this week, but this means a lot to me.”
“Ah, don’t be daft. We have to make the most of our opportunities don’t we.”
“Very true. Ha, for a moment then, I thought you were going soft on me.”
Dave closed his eyes as he accelerated away. That was seriously the wrong phrase. He knew what she really meant, but it added another scenario to his worried mind.
***
Chapter Rush of Blood to The Head
***
Relaxing in Ronnie’s hotel room, Dave was back in the zone. Flicking through his work e-mails, he noted that there were now a good collection of messages from Bill Hennessey wanting confirmation of the rumours he’d heard about Food United Group. Whilst the information hadn’t officially gone public again, it was natural for Bill to have many fingers in many pies. His suspicions were true, but Dave was holding off breaking the news. The confirmation that Food United Group wasn’t going through a massive acquisition spree in Europe would put an end to them as a target for CEC Services and with it, Dave’s promotion chance, which would be laid to rest for another year.
“Dave, can I get you a glass of wine?”
“No thanks, just in the middle of right now.”
“OKAY. I might pour us both one and maybe we can chat shortly. There are a few things we should discuss.”
“Erm, yeah. I need about 10 minutes to wrap this up.”
“Perfect.” With a wink and a stroke of his shoulders, the sleek and slender Ronnie smoothly strolled passed his view. “
In that case, I’ll go freshen up. I’ll be in the bathroom if you need me for anything...urgent.”
Dave’s heart was ready to leave his body. Everything he’d always wanted was being discussed in the e-mails that he was trying to digest. But the thing he thought he never wanted was suddenly the temptation and distraction that he’d feared. What he’d never realised before was the persuasion, power and lure that a woman could provide.
Sitting back, with the mesmerising noise of the shower in the background, it was time to perform a stock-take. The horizons had changed. His three phase plan to get a woman and gain promotion had both failed and succeeded. Whilst throughout the last month or so Dave had felt that he’d completely wasted his time and taken his eye off the ball, he’d inadvertently experienced a very powerful lesson.
It was now. He had two options. He could wait for Ronnie to finish in the shower and talk her through his concerns, hope that she’d empathise and then hope even more that she could help him over his nerves. Or there was the braver option 2. There was no choice really. Dave knew it was time to stand up and be counted. He wanted to join the group. The clan that he’d avoided joining for all these years.
Dave slowly and purposely removed his clothes, folding them neatly on the bed. Tidiness wasn’t his objective, but he was buying himself time to calm down. To relax and to focus. To perform.
Standing at the door way to the bathroom, the significance of the moment hit him. The weight lifted from his shoulders as he allowed reflection to be a part of his life for the first time. It seemed tonight was going to be the night for a lot of firsts.
He thought through his journey. He was amazingly proud of his success to date and had no regrets for his tactics and approach to getting where he’d got. It had been the right use of the right tools for the right job. But the time he’d spent with Ronnie had shown Dave that sharing and caring can add to your powers, and he felt that he had new weaponry at his disposal.
Dave had been scared of change, because change meant admitting that you were wrong. This wasn’t the case anymore. Dave’s new echelon of confidence was brimming from the edges, and it was a confidence that was being sourced from someone else. Someone who gave to him without taking, and didn’t deplete in the process. Ronnie was his catalyst not his kryptonite.
She didn’t steal his power. She enabled him. She made him better. She silently gave him permission to be him, and for that to be alright. That confirmation and backing had unleashed a belief in Dave that he’d never experienced before, and a poise that didn’t verge on the arrogant.
The pep talk was over. Whatever the challenges that lay ahead, he was the man for the job. He was the man to walk into that bathroom and do what any red blooded male should do. He was the man to walk into Bill Hennessey’s office tomorrow morning and explain why he deserved to be a partner.
Whilst his brain was confident, his faculties were petrified. His conviction was there, but this was still uncharted territory for Dave. New waters and new adventures came with a twinge of fear about the unknown.
His shaking hand grabbed the door handle, and before doubt could affect his body, Dave sternly twisted the handle and fixed his view directly ahead as he thrust the door open.
The view wasn’t quite what he’d expected. The pep talk had taken away from his concentration and Dave hadn’t noticed that the shower had turned off.
Seeing that tremendous and perfectly formed curvaceous body in its full delight and glistening with drips of water was too much for Dave. He focused firmly on a drip of water that was about to fall from her ear. It fell, and his eyes followed intently. It joined another slow stream of water on her shoulder and down. Down it went. “Oh dear lord. Focus man. Brave men seize opportunities. This is how nature intended it.” He didn’t hear Ronnie scream.
***
Chapter Talk Your Way Into Bed
***
“Now that is the most innovative way of getting a woman into bed that I have ever seen. Storm into the bathroom naked when she is naked, and then faint. Cunning.”
“What the...did I faint?”
“I think so. I expected the blood to rush to your extremities when you saw me naked, but I guess you chose the wrong extremity.” Ronnie giggled to ease Dave’s obvious nerves.
“Ronnie, there is something I need to tell you.”
“Oh god. You aren’t married are you? Gay? You’re not a married gay?”
“No, I’m none of those things. I need to tell you a story. A story that starts with you, and finishes with you now. Just promise me you’ll be gentle?”
“Dave. We’re both laying here as naked as they day we were born. Just over a week ago we’d both forgotten that the other person existed. Last night we shared our first kiss in your racing car bed under the same roof as your parents. I’ll be gentle.”
“OK. Imagine you’ve got the keys to an amazing car. The car is raring to be driven. And you are raring to drive the car. But as you approach the car and realise its value, significance, importance and sheer beauty, you realise you can’t drive the car. Because you are a learner driver.”
“Dave, what the hell are you talking about? You drove really well today.”
“I’M A VIRGIN!”
That was the end of the story. For the next hour, Dave went back to the mix tape, and they chuckled their way through a bottle of wine, giggling on the bed, cuddling and sharing stories.
And then without any planning, executing or measuring, it just happened. Dave was relieved that there was no measuring, as the statistics on this occasion didn’t seem too flattering.
Taking a sip of wine from her glass on the table, a cheeky looking Ronnie looked at Dave.
“You were a virgin.”
Dave smiled. He never wanted this to end. He’d learnt the lesson he’d never signed up for, had an experience he hadn’t asked for, and was with a woman that he could never have wished for. Life was brilliant. Ronnie’s visit had been a blessing in disguise, but it was just that. A visit.
“Now can I tell you my story?”
“Oh god. You aren’t married are you? Or a lesbian? Or a married lesbian?”
“Ha, no, nothing that drastic, but something quite exciting. I got a mail from Uncle Rashi before I went for my shower. The CEO of European Operations has resigned because of the failed acquisitions and Uncle Rashi wants me to relocate here for the foreseeable future until he finds a replacement. Looks like I might be moving to London.”
Dave rolled on top of Ronnie and showed her how happy he was with that news.
On his way to work the following morning, a very content Dave reached for his mobile whilst waiting at a set of lights. Searching for a bookmarked page on the internet, he added a final e-mail address and hit send. He was having his party whether he got promoted or not. Life was worth celebrating.
***
Chapter Back To Reality
***
“You better have a bloody good story to tell me. I mean something that involves the massacre of your entire family and a series of funerals and communications breakdowns that maybe, just maybe, make it slightly alright that you have avoided, screened and ignored every single one of my messages for the last week?”
There was steam coming from every orifice of Bill’s fuming body. His posture even yelled anger. The confidence Dave had felt on approach had quickly escaped and hidden somewhere far away. Maybe now wasn’t the right situation to try out his new techniques. It made sense and was much safer to go with a trusted old technique, such as ‘tell the truth, but avoid the facts.’
“Well Sir, I’ve spent a lot of time with Miss Patel this week and we’ve covered an awful lot of ground. I can promise you that I’ve tried everything . I can safely say that I’ve gone well beyond the normal call of duty.”
Dave loved presenting the facts in a way that made him look like a martyr. There was no need to tell Bill that he’d woken up in the arms of the new love of his life, and that as well as being unbelievably
stunning as a physical specimen, she was his perfect match too. They’d enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at the hotel talking about ‘leveraging opportunities’, ‘marginal cost of effectiveness over efficiency’ and ‘cross pollination of business ideas to generate innovation’. The fact that nothing of what they said made tangible sense wasn’t important. They shared the same language and love for the ridiculous when it came to the business world. They shared a cut throat desire to be the best, lavishly topped with a confidence that everything they were doing was right. The icing on Dave’s cake had been when Ronnie had told a story about a fellow Executive that she’d worked with in the USA. “She was doing really well and under my guidance had achieved some solid promotions. Then she suddenly announces to me over drinks that she is trying for a baby? What kind of message does that send? In one breath she suggests that she is dedicated to the company and its success, then in the next, she blindly admits that her dedication lies elsewhere.”
“Young man. Why didn’t you share this news with me earlier? Why did you hide?”
“Sir, I would never hide from you. You are my role model at CEC. I was merely performing my due diligence and getting as much information as possible. The fact that the acquisitions didn’t go ahead didn’t mean there were no opportunities for us.”
“Oh, you are going to surprise me with some good news then? You are going to tell me something that will enable me to give you this promotion you think you deserve?”
“No sir.” Dave felt defeated. In those words, the man he’d admired for so long was cutting the chord on his bungee rope and setting Dave free. Free into a wilderness of mediocracy. His balanced life with Ronnie in the last week had made him exceptionally happy, but stood in front of the giant now; he wondered how long that joy would last. He wasn’t ready to give up, not yet. He’d worked too hard for this.
“What was that young man?”
“Look Bill, I’d prefer it if you didn’t call me young man. I am here on merit. I am stood in your office because I respect you and wanted to fill you in personally on what the situation was. I am the best performing person at my level by a long way and we both know that, but I still took on your challenge. I’ve taken on and nailed every challenge thrown at me in my time here. My date of birth merely reflects how long I’ve been in this world for; what counts in this room right now is the calibre of work I’ve performed, the money I’ve brought in for this company and my constant achievement of the goals that I’ve been set. They speak volumes about my potential.”
