Jack's POV
There were many things I noticed and greatly appreciated about her, especially now that she was well inside the recommended six-foot distance to which I’d been adhering for far too many months. The proximity afforded me the pleasure of taking in the lovely fragrance she was wearing, and that, combined with the pheromones she’d begun to ooze, was downright intoxicating.
Her closeness also gave me the opportunity to size her up, literally, as the top of her head came about up to my collarbone so that when she gazed upward with her enchanting smile I could see her beautiful neck fully exposed and framed with the dazzling necklace she wore. And the dazzlement only began at her collarbone as my eyes were drawn lower to see her nice cleavage that gave more than a hint at the lusciousness of her breasts that seemed to be peeking out of a lacy bra underneath the cocktail dress she wore.
I wondered if she had any idea that the increase in the wideness of my smile was the direct result of the excitement the sight of her smooth face, beaming smile, and creamy bosom was giving me. My next thought was that I might need to quickly find a seat so that the bulge in my trousers, which was beginning to form, would not make it extremely obvious to all in the ballroom that I was immensely enjoying the company of the gorgeous young woman!
“My dear, the pleasure is mine!” I replied with a flashing grin.
“You are such a breath of fresh air. I’ve been coming to this conference for the past few years and have to say that after a while, it has become to get a bit dull despite all the high-powered talent in the room. If my client hadn’t insisted that I accompany him as part of the work we’re doing together, I might have opted out. That, and the fact that this conference is in one of my favorite cities in all the world. And now, seeing you, well, that makes me all the gladder that I decided to accept his offer!”
“So, are you also in medical research?” she asked, making the effort to engage in the regular networking chatter.
“I guess to a degree,” I said with a little laugh. “More appropriately, you could say that I do people research.”
“Oh, how so?” said she with a lilting voice.
“I do executive and organization development and my client and I come to these events to do a bit of recruiting as well as taking the opportunity to see how members of the senior team at his firm do, amongst some of the brightest in the field.”
“That sounds like an interesting vantage point for taking in the conference,” she said eagerly as she lifted her glass to a pair of the most kissable lips I’d ever seen.
“I suppose. And I do enjoy it, but not nearly to the extent that I’d enjoy finding out more about you. For starters, I hope you don’t mind me saying that I find your accent quite captivating. It encourages me to listen to each word and syllable that comes out of your mouth with great intention.”
She smiled and seemed to blush just a bit as she replied, “Thank you, Jack." The sound of her sweet voice saying my name sent energy through my ears and caused a tingle in my loins.
“How about we get a seat over there and continue our conversation?” I said, gesturing with my head to a pair of comfortable chairs tucked into a quiet space to her left.
“I’d like that,” she said cheerily. “Very much...” trying to not sound too eager with the bubbles from the champagne starting to dance in her head.
We strode along together towards the well-appointed chairs and I took care to move at a pace that her shorter legs and high heels could navigate with ease. Allowing her to be seated first, I appreciated the ability to get a better look at her privately, as my eyes scanned and admired her shapely feminine form barely concealed by her fashionable silk dress.
As we were seated, I had the perfect opportunity to take in her full length from head to toe and I delighted in every millimeter of the view. She crossed her smooth bare legs and it is likely we both were thankful for the unseasonably warm evening that made wearing nylons, no matter how sexy, entirely unnecessary and undesirable. Looking down at her lovely ankle and foot as they dangled in mid-air, I admired them as well as the sexy heeled leather sandals and wished that it were my fingers crisscrossing the tops of her tanned feet instead of the slender jeweled straps.
“So, Andrada, it’s clear to me that you’ve spent some time outdoors and something in your spirit tells me that you enjoy being at the sea,” I said, gleaming.
Playfully, she replied, “Hmm, my spirit, you say? You might be right about the sea, so please, my handsome new friend, tell me what are you sensing about me? Perhaps I can learn something about your research methodology.”
With barely a pause I leaned slightly forward and said softly, “It is in the way you walk, lovely lady. The motion of your hips suggests a gently rolling body of warm water. Welcoming, yet perhaps dangerous, to those who are not skilled or prepared. And still, ever so much is the possibility for the body to bring great joy to those who do know how to handle the undulation.”
“Ah? It is clear to me that you possess powers of intuition” she said gazing directly into my brown eyes.
“You may be right as well!” I said with a grin. “I haven’t even told you about what your body seems to communicate to me from the soles of your feet to your hips. Let alone what your fine shoulders, neck, and dimpled cheeks suggested when I was looking at you as we stood face to face earlier.”
“Do tell” she stated. “Please. Tell me more”.
I raised my eyebrows, smiled, and said, “Ok. Gladly. Well, I knew from your introduction that you are highly intelligent. I’d heard of the brilliant young Romanian researcher named Andrada through those in my network, whose opinions I trust and value. One look into your eyes quickly told me that a large portion of your intelligence and success is due to your curiosity, an attribute that, of course, all researchers must-have, but the sparkle in your eyes and in those cute dimples revealed your playfulness.”
I paused and asked, “May I continue, Andrada?” as I looked probingly into those alluring eyes.
“Absolument!” replied her, slipping into such a level of ease and comfort that she felt right at home and not in a foreign land thousands of miles away.
“I always look at a woman’s feet and shoes, and not because I have any kind of fetish but it helps me understand how they connect to the earth, and the way I’ve seen you stand in any space which you occupy, told me that you are well-grounded, usually confident and able to move gracefully even while lifted several inches off the ground as you are in those marvelous shoes! The way they give pronation to your arches and calves gives reference to the strength and assuredness of your legs and the power that seems to reside in your thighs.”
Her eyes caught me admiring her legs as I spoke and moved my focus from her toes to her ankles and up all the way to the hemline of her dress which had chosen to slide up and expose a smooth and bare thigh which was the likely inspiration for my comments.
“You know, Jack, I think we have something in common,” she said flashing an impish grin.
“Oh, really?”
“I like to look at a gentleman’s feet as his shoes give me some clues about him, and I must say, yours are quite large!”
“Well, you know what they say….” I replied, tilting my head and lifting an eyebrow.
Andrada’s eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly as if feigning shock at my suggestion.
“Big feet….big hands!” I said with a smile, turning my palms upward and then rubbing them together slowly.
We both burst into laughter as we looked playfully at each other. We continued to chat for a few minutes, getting to know each other better and upon hearing that Andrada had never really spent much time in New York, I suggested that we go up to the roof garden.
“Roof garden?” she exclaimed with wide eyes. “I had no idea such a thing existed amidst this canyon of concrete and steel!”
“It’s another reason why I keep coming to this conference. It is held at my favorite hotel in my favorite city.”
She was finding this quite a lot to take in, as she had no idea that the building contained a hotel, let alone had an oasis at its peak. With a smile and a nod, I extended my elbow to her, and she, returning the smile, slipped her pretty hand through the opening and rested it on the inside of my arm. I could sense in her slight tremor that she felt the strength and warmth through the fine Italian fabric of my jacket and seemed to like the way her slender fingers looked pointing towards the brown skin of my wrist.
The marbled walkway between the conference reception area and hotel lobby made our steps announce their arrival through the rhythmic echo of the deliberate and measured pace. Stopping in front of the elevator, I looked over at her and gave a smile as I pushed the button. She seemed a little nervous as the numerals lit one by one to show the descent of the elevator car from the 41st floor. I could almost hear her thoughts: "what if there was no roof garden and this was just a ruse to get me up into his room? What if we had to walk along the edge of the building? What if, what if…?"
The door opened, I gestured her to enter, stepped in behind her, and pressed the button marked ‘RG. I felt her relax a little as she realized at least there was a roof garden. The ride up was swift and smooth and in a matter of seconds, we had climbed from street level to the 42nd floor. Without a sound, the polished brass doors opened and the island of Manhattan lay before us like a shimmering carpet of gems.
“Come, let me show you around,” I said and added, in order to comfort her, “Don’t worry, I won’t push you over the edge…of the building, that is!” and I'm sure she could see the twinkle in my eyes and my playful grin gleaming in the dark night.
to be continued...