God Bless Her

As they entered the restaurant, Dan was still marvelling at how stunning his wife looked. The bottom of Sarah’s dress was a hip-hugging pale pink that went past her knees with a slit in the middle exposing a little of her thigh.

The top made her look like she was covered in nothing but rhinestones, but the rhinestones were mounted on some kind of fabric that matched her skin. It gave the illusion that all her interesting parts were just waiting to be uncovered beneath a sequence of small gems. The rhinestones stopped at her wrists and just below her collarbone. The bejewelled top did wonderful things for shaping and accentuating her natural figure. The back of the dress was completely open, exposing her naked back. Dan wondered about the physics of the dress: her chest looked amazing despite the absence of any bra strap across her back.

Even though it was a chilly Chicago night and the restaurant was a short walk from their hotel, Sarah had still managed to prioritize her appearance.

After a brief exchange with the hostess, she led them towards a booth in the back of the dimly lit restaurant. The eyes of the booth’s sole occupant scanned Sarah up and down as the couple approached. He stood up and extended a hand across the table.

“Sarah, this is Byron. He’s my counterpart over at the Lincoln Group,” Dan gestured.

Sarah shook his hand, noting that he held it a few seconds longer than expected.

“Dan failed to mention that his wife was such a stunner.” Bryon grinned as the couple slid into the booth next to him. “Frankly, Dan, I am impressed you managed to get into the office with us at all today, knowing that your wife was waiting for you in the hotel.”

He winked. “It just shows how extra committed you are to us.”

Dan and Sarah both chuckled politely.

The group continued to make small talk while reviewing the menu. Byron took the liberty of ordering a couple of bottles of wine for the table, even though it had been implied that Dan was taking him out.

After the wine arrived and everyone placed their orders, Byron enthusiastically poured for the table. He paid particular attention to Sarah’s glass, filling it beyond a normal restaurant pour.

Byron began to tell a story about a recent issue that had happened at work. His voice was getting loud, and drawing looks even with the background noise of the restaurant. He was clearly building to some kind of punchline but Dan wasn’t paying close attention. He was watching Byron’s eyes as their focus kept seeming to shift and stay on Sarah.

Byron smacked the table, laughing to accentuate whatever joke he was making. Sarah laughed enthusiastically while her husband marvelled at her social acumen.

She sure does a great job wining and dining folks.

Dan laughed as well, not wanting to offend Byron. He was working after all, and he needed to get Byron to sign some amendments to their contract.

The table suddenly got quiet. Dan glanced at Byron who seemed to have been interrupted mid-sentence and was now looking up toward where Dan presumed the waitress was standing.

Instead of the waitress, it was Jesse. No one said anything for a second. It dawned on Dan that no one at the table had actually met Jesse yet in person.

“Byron, this is Jesse, my work associate. He wasn’t able to make it to our meetings today and just got into town. Jesse, I don’t think you’ve met my wife yet. Sarah, this is Jesse.”
Jesse gave the group a limp wave. “Hi, nice to meet everyone.”

Out of courtesy, Dan had forwarded the dinner details on to Jesse, but he had assumed the asshole would simply ghost him, just like he had done all that day. Word about that had probably already gotten back to Dan’s boss, which might explain Jesse’s sudden appearance.

There wasn’t room in the booth for Jesse, so he just awkwardly stood there.

“Excuse me,” the waitress said from behind Jesse. He moved to the side as she scooted past him, her arms carrying three plates of food that she set down in front of the group. “Are you joining the group here?”

“He is,” Dan said flatly, unable to feign much enthusiasm for his coworker’s presence.

“Great, I’ll go get you a stool.” The waitress returned, toting a stool from the bar and placing it at the outside edge of the table. “Can I get you something to drink? Here’s a menu.”

“I’ll take a beer, whatever you have on tap.” Jesse perched himself on the stool that was clearly only meant for the bar counter. Dan suppressed a groan. It would have been better if Jesse hadn’t shown up at all. His belated appearance had instantly killed the flow of the conversation and he was now sitting on a stool that was too tall for the table. He looked like some kind of comedian about to entertain the booth.

The conversation shifted to how good everyone’s food looked and thankfully some semblance of normalcy returned. Byron noticed that Sarah’s wine glass was getting close to empty and took the initiative to refill it.

Dan eyed the glass. Sarah smirked at him, knowing what he was thinking. He could already see the telltale signs that his wife was going to get tipsy.

“So, Byron, I’ve gone through the new changes to the design of the project that your team outlined today. I have to say I’m impressed by the number of sustainability goals you’ve added. It does change a lot of the scope in a few areas. I’ve drafted what those changes will look like. I just need to get you to sign off on the approvals,” Dan said before biting into a piece of his steak.

As Byron was about to respond, Jesse cut in, “Sustainability goals? Personally, I feel like a lot of those things are meaningless. It’s always just a way for a company to virtue signal to their friends and other investors how woke they are.”

Byron’s face grew beat red at the accusation. Dan cringed, trying to think of some way to salvage what had just happened. In a matter of a few sentences, Jesse might have just tanked all the changes Dan had been working on all day. Even though these sustainability changes were a pain in the ass, they still meant more revenue flowing into his firm.

What the fuck, kid!?

“Byron, I love that you and your company place such an importance on sustainability. I think it really shows leadership. Dan hasn’t told me about the changes and I’d love to hear about them. Which ones are the most significant?” Sarah smoothly interjected.

God bless her.

Dan took another sip of his wine as he watched Byron’s side eye at Jesse transition over to a glowing enthusiasm directed towards Sarah.

For the next several minutes, Byron went into great detail explaining why his company was leading in this space, what changes were being made to the project and the wide-reaching impacts they would have. During this time, Jesse’s food was served to him while the waitress picked up the plates that the others had finished with. The group politely waited for Jesse to finish his meal, allowing Byron to top everyone up and then order another bottle of wine.

After everyone had wrapped up their dinners, it was suggested that they move things to the bar for a last round of drinks. Dan and Sarah were enjoying themselves, even if this was more than they would normally partake in.

The waitress set the check down in front of Byron. Without looking at it or breaking from his animated conversation with Sarah, he slid it across the table to Dan.

With a bemused smile, Dan gave his credit card to the waitress to settle up. Sarah excused herself to use the ladies' room.

“Dan, I think we’re good. I’ll call you soon, maybe tomorrow morning, and we can get that amendment signed.” Byron clapped Dan on the back and shook his hand. It looked like this trip and this large bill would pay off.

“Hey, have a good night. I see a couple of folks over there I want to catch up with. Let’s connect in the morning. Give your beautiful wife my best, and let me know if you need me to keep her entertained while you are in town working so hard.” He winked at Dan and made his way toward a group of men drinking at the other end of the bar.

Before Dan had an opportunity to grill Jesse about where he had been today, Sarah returned and the trio left the restaurant.

“Jesse, did you know that Walt booked us all in the same room?” Dan asked as he shuffled down the street. He had given his coat to Sarah to keep her warm, so his hands were stuffed in his pockets.

“No, not until I checked in and they asked if the other guest was present. I didn’t realize there would be two other guests…” Jesse trailed off as his eyes made a quick appraisal of Sarah. Both Dan and Sarah were too intoxicated to notice the subtle look.