The cab pulled up to the Apple Bistro the following Saturday at ten P.M. Gabriella and Martha stepped out. Gabriella tossed the cabby a twenty-dollar bill for the fourteen dollar ride.
“That’s a big tip for such a short ride, Gabriella. Are you sure you want to give him that much?” Martha asked in surprise.
“Sure. I picked it up from Paul. Besides, it’s only money. I get paid well, and the apartment is taken care of for me, so I don’t need money for much. Certainly not for my grocery bill,” Gabriella said with a laugh. “May as well pass it around and make others happy.”
Gabriella wore a mid-thigh red leather skirt. A diagonal silver zipper ran from the upper right hip to the bottom center. A black long sleeve top with a plunging neckline was tucked tightly into the skirt. The outfit complimented the lightly curled blonde hair cascading to her shoulders.
Martha was in a simple short black leather skirt with a clingy red, and black horizontal striped stretch sweater tucked in. Her shiny black hair fell smoothly to her shoulders, framing her milk chocolate skin.
The two women walked into the restaurant to meet their dates. Several men drinking alone at the bar turned to watch as they entered. “Hello, Ralph,” said Martha as she walked up to him and gave him a lingering hug.
“Hi hon,” Ralph replied. “You’re right on time. Hi, Gabriella. How are you?” Gabriella gave him a light peck on the cheek.
“I’m great, Ralph. And who is this?” Gabriella asked although she knew perfectly well who the other man was.
“Let me present my coworker and boss, Lance Coopers,” answered Ralph. Lance extended his hand to both women.
Gabriella reached out and gave Lance a firm handshake, maintaining eye contact. “Very pleased to meet you, Lance,” she said with a warm smile.
She took a step closer to his side, wrapped both of her arms around his right arm, and led him over to the bar. As prepared as he was, Lance could not wholly stifle a very slight pullback motion. The reports and videos did not prepare him to meet a living Gabriella.
“Nervous, Lance? I felt you pull back. I promise I’ll be a good girl,” Gabriella chirped, playing a little one-upmanship game. Lance glanced over to Ralph, who gave him an almost imperceptible nod.
“So Gabriella, Ralph tells me you are one of his star pupils. Have you been taking self-defense classes for a while?”
“No,” she responded. “Ralph’s is the first class I’ve taken. I’m quite enjoying it. I didn’t think it would be so much fun and be so useful.”
“Useful? Do you mean for getting into shape and maintaining such a beautiful figure?”
“Another ‘no.’ Martha and I have been attacked on the street since starting the class, so we found it to be handy.”
“Oh my gosh!” Lance feigned a gasp. “Do you mean you were attacked by street thugs or something? That had to be terrifying for the two of you. What happened? How did you handle it?”
Gabriella paused for a second and then said, “Well, I think we handled it very well. In the first attack, it was one single person with a knife, and we put him away pretty easily. In the second attack, there were three men, and I was alone, but they were not much harder to dispose of. In both cases, these jerks were left lying on the sidewalk in pain and gasping for breath, except for the one I stabbed. He managed to run away down the street. I’m assuming he probably got help someplace. Either way, though.”
Gabriella winked at Lance and sipped her drink. Lance stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded.
“Gabriella, you talk about a personal attack as if it were no big deal. Most men and women would be terrified of such a thing. Were you always so composed as a little girl?”
“Well, you know how some people act very mature at a very young age? I guess I’m one of those people. I can honestly say I was never a typical child.”
Martha looked up towards the ceiling, rolled her eyes, and said, “No truer words were ever spoken, Gabriella. And I’ll bet you’ve always liked skating close to the edge of the thin ice, too.” Martha shook her head slightly as she spoke. “What on earth are we going to do with you, girl?”
Ralph laughed and said he knew what he was going to do. He walked Martha to their waiting table for dinner. Lance was grateful for the change of pace, giving him time to regain his ordinarily unflappable composure.
Dinner conversation centered around politics, the economy, the latest shows on Broadway, and recounting amusing stories from their youth. Gabriella freely joined in by fabricating stories of her childhood as they were speaking. Lance was becoming increasingly impressed by Gabriella’s capabilities and poise. Even a careful listener would not be able to tell the stories of her younger days were cobbled together from other people’s experiences. Her delivery and conversational skills were believable.
The four of them managed to stretch dinner out for two hours, a feat which would have been utterly impossible were it not for the fact Lance had previously used a little of his discretionary military budget to ply the manager, matre-d’, and waiter to ensure they would not be disturbed or rushed.
“Hey, dinner and drinks were great. What do you say we hit a club or two before calling it a night?” said Lance, alcohol slightly slurring his voice
“Sounds good to me,” agreed Martha. “I’m always ready.”
Ralph laughed and said, “I’m beginning to believe you were born ready.” Everyone chuckled at the inference, knowing it was not only funny but entirely accurate. Lance found himself hoping it was also going to be true of Gabriella.
Gabriella suggested they catch a cab to Tropos on the lower east side. “It’s beautiful out tonight, and they have rooftop dancing. Let’s do it.”
The cabbie was happy to have a four-person fare and raised the flat fee somewhat. He knew Tropos charged twenty-five dollars per drink.
The waiting line to get into Tropos was long. Lance quietly talked to the security people who were acting as gate-keepers. Lance and the senior bouncer at the door shook hands. The man then put his right hand into his pants pocket for a moment. The four were promptly ushered in ahead of the others in the line.
They heard music as the elevator approached the twentieth-floor rooftop club. The elevator door opened to flashing lights and a hundred young professionals dancing and waving their arms over their heads as they gyrated to the music. Lance surveyed around at the crowd.
“I might be the oldest one here, Gabriella.”
Gabriella laughed, “Who cares, let’s dance!”
With that, she pulled him immediately onto the jammed dance floor. Gabriella shouted she loved the undulating beat of the music and the freedom of movement her body felt on the dance floor. Lance pointed to his ears, smiling. “I can barely hear you, Gabriella.” He kept dancing. Ralph and Martha joined them on the floor.
Ralph nodded his head toward the outside terrace. “Let's see if we can move into the open air,” He shouted. As they danced, the two couples edged slowly to the sliding glass doors leading outside. They continued dancing and drinking in the fresh night air. Martha and the men were slightly drunk. Gabriella pretended to be.
Lance slow-danced with Gabriella. Knowing he could blame it on the alcohol, he tried to nuzzle her neck while his hand slipped down to her bottom. She pushed him off gently, protesting she didn’t want to do that. He continued groping. She placed both her palms on his chest and straightened her arms, peeling him off of her.
“You have strong arms, Gabriella.”
“Lance, I think we had better call it a night. I’ll catch a cab home. It’s been fun, but I have to go. You're a little plastered, so why don’t we walk away before something happens that can’t be fixed.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I’m a touch drunk, I guess. It’s just you are so good looking I can’t help myself. How can I resist you? You can’t blame me for that, can you?”
“Yes, I can blame you, Lance. I can blame you for trying to grope me. It’s best if we say this evening is over.” She turned and walked away from him.
Gabriella said her goodbyes to Martha and Ralph, pleading being tired from a long day of work and having a slight headache. Martha looked quizzically at Gabriella but said nothing.
“I’m going to stay a little longer, Gabriella,” said Martha. “Ralph can bring me home when we are done. I’ll be in good hands.”
Gabriella shook her head and agreed Martha would undoubtedly be in good hands.
***
The telephone call the next morning was short and to the point, “Frank, this is Lance Coopers. We need to talk.”