A Curve Ball Called Love

“Well, I need people not to look at him like he’s the worst thing to happen to humanity for starters,” Tiffany said matter-of-factly.

“So, his apartment is out of the question,” Ian pointed out and Tiffany shrugged.

“Why is his apartment out of the question?” she asked.

“Well, he once hosted a party for the Playboy Bunnies at his apartment,” he said. “The video was all over the internet.”

“So, is it a place that can handle the shareholders?” Tiffany went on.

She was yet to understand why the apartment was such a bad idea.

“There were bongs and toys all over,” Ian pointed out. “Grown people toys. Anyone who has an internet knows that apartment.”

“Fine,” Tiffany said. “Just make sure it’s a place that I can host the shareholders. Get some finger food. Sandwiches, hors d’oeuvres, maybe some pigs in blankets and chardonnay. Make sure it’s twenty-five years old at the very least.”

“Quarter century chardonnay. That’s definitely going to be a blast,” Ian said.

“It should be,” Tiffany said under her breath. “It has to be.”

Ian had barely made his way out of the office when he suddenly turned round.

“Found it.”

Tiffany looked up.

“What? What did you find?” she asked.

“The venue. This is probably a new place because this article just went up a few hours ago.” Ian walked up to Tiffany’s desk “It’s one of those blogs that list celebrities and their houses. See this,” he pointed to the iPad he was holding. “This list was updated a couple of hours ago and when I last checked it, this new property wasn’t on it.”

“Celebrity realtor closes deal on Hollywood Boulevard property,” Tiffany read and then shrugged. “Nothing here points to Douglas being the new owner.”

“Well, the realtor is Susan Noshimuri and I could have sworn I saw her the same day Douglas showed up in the board room. I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Ian explained.

“Find out for sure and if he doesn’t own the place, have him give you a list of his properties in Los Angeles that don’t look like the Playboy Mansion.”

“Got it.”

***

As Tiffany came to realize later in the week, Ian was a much better assistant than he was a general employee at Entity. His intel had paid off. Douglas was indeed the new owner of a beautiful unit on Hollywood Boulevard. It was the perfect place to host the shareholders. The perfect place to make the point she so desperately needed to.

Ian handled the catering company, leaving her to concentrate on getting ready for the evening. She had an image to uphold and she wasn’t about to choose the wrong outfit for that evening. She usually stuck to blacks and grays but on that particular evening, she was in a plum red jumpsuit that looked perfectly tailored for her body. The way the fabric clung to her body showed just how hard she worked on her body and she was proud of that fact too. Instead of how she always held her hair back, she had her hair flowing freely on her shoulders. To finish her look, she had on a pair of strapped gold colored heels. She knew that her outfit was a statement in itself by the way Douglas looked at her when he first saw her.

“I’ve never seen this look on you,” he said as he looked at her. “It’s….” his voice trailed off. “You are perfect,” he finally said and she smiled at him.

“Well, you don’t look so bad yourself,” she said as she looked at him.

He was in a navy blue slim suit and burgundy tie that was a perfect contrast against the white shirt he had on. He had a new haircut that reminded Tiffany of Adam Levine. He was even spotting a beard and Tiffany hated the fact that she even considered him remotely attractive.

“This is a new side of you I would like to see a little more,” she pointed out. “You clean up quite nicely.”

“I would say the same about you but you always look so perfect… you never have a hair out of place,” Douglas pointed out. “Even now… you look like you just stepped off a red carpet event somewhere. Or is it that where you’re headed? To a red carpet event?”

“No, this is all for this.” Tiffany looked around. “Which is why I need to remind you that this evening isn’t just to make you look good. It’s also for Entity.”

Douglas nodded.

“Of course.”

“So, follow my lead. That’s all I ask.”

Douglas nodded.

“Okay.”

***

The evening went smoothly. Tiffany kept expecting Douglas to mess up but he didn’t. He was actually quite pleasant. Tiffany couldn’t help but be impressed by the way he handled himself. Answering every question so intelligently that for some time Tiffany completely forgot that she was there for work. She was actually feeling quite entertained and why wouldn’t she? He spoke about classical music and literature. He spoke about politics and global warming. He was doing everything right. Tiffany didn’t have to do anything except for stand in a corner sipping her chardonnay as she watched what was the most wondrous thing she’d ever witnessed: a client doing everything he could to redeem himself. It was a breath of fresh air, really. After standing in awe for some time, she decided to make her rounds so she could hear just what he was talking about.

“If you think about it objectively, The Green New Deal makes a lot of sense…no, don’t politicize it. Just look at the facts. The ice caps are melting, they have been for years… polar bears are migrating. We keep on hearing reports of delayed rainfall in countries that rely solely on agriculture. All these are the effects of global warming.”

He’s not just a good-looking airhead. He can think too, Tiffany thought as she listened to Douglas make points about climate change and how human action had contributed to it.