Part 2
"98, 99, 100" David Goldman finished his last push up with a determined whoosh of breath. He got off the mat and made his way to the bench press, and began to work his upper body. Working out for him was therapeutic: the machines never argued back, and it was satisfying to see the results on one's body within just a few weeks. Not to mention the sidelong glances by the ladies on the treadmills. One of the perks of his otherwise boring job was that it shared the building with a TV network, and as far as he could tell, not a single lady who worked there was ugly or fat. He tried not to stare, of course. After all, he was now a committed man. Plus, today it was Sunday morning and the gym was mostly empty.
The thought of Sidney brought a smile to his face. Boy, was she work. He'd never been one for commitments - had worn his badge of singledom with pride for over seven years, sidestepping commitment conversations with the nervous girls he'd dated over the years. But those philandering years were behind him. He was a grown man now, he was ready to show everyone that he could be in a normal well-adjusted relationship, and besides Sidney would have none of that.
He admired her forthrightness, and the serious way she'd looked him when he'd started to trot out some of his tried and true lines. What does that even mean? She'd ask. What exactly do you want from me?
"I want you." She had squinted at him, and he had felt uncomfortable, like a guilty witness under her cross-examination.
"You want me? As in, you want me in the bedroom?"
"No," he'd said quickly. "I want to be with you." That did not seem to satisfy her, as she shook her head a quick no and turned away. "I want to be in a relationship with you." He'd expected that at that time she'd have said an enthusiastic yes - no one had ever turned him down, and here he was offering more than he had ever offered anyone else. Instead, her face stayed serious.
"I'll think about it. You're moving a little bit too fast for me. The first date was only 9 days ago." she said eventually, as she got up from the couch and went to wash their glasses. "I think you need to slow down. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is." he'd said, and he meant it. There was something about her that intrigued him. Even now as he thought about it, he still wasn't quite sure what it was. It could be the way she didn't seem to need him, didn't need anyone really. The way she'd shut him down so many times when he thoughtlessly made a comment she found misogynistic. The no nonsense way she often said, "it's time for you to go home' and crossed her legs, and it was obvious that she meant it. She'd made him work harder than he ever had, had told him she couldn't see him anymore once already - something about his actions in front of his friends not matching up with what he whispered to her in private - but that same day he'd made a final inspired pitch and she'd agreed to be his girlfriend, officially. He had once again prevailed.
He got off from the bench press and headed to the showers. His end of fiscal year review was in a couple of days, and he he was sure it would be great. He hadn't logged all those hours for nothing - he did whatever was needed to get the job done, including coming in to work at 6.00am on a Sunday morning. His mind went from work to the private company he'd co-founded, and suddenly all the anxiety he'd worked off came rushing back. There was just so much to be done, from meetings with legal to hiring a new full time programmer to making sure all the partners feathers stayed unruffled, now that they were making money. The next product was to be released in about a week, and he suddenly remembered that its press release still wasn't done. Sidney had promised to help him with it - he'd asked her when he discovered that legal briefs weren't the extent of her expertise. She'd said she'd work on it yesterday, had assured him it was half done when they'd gone to the barbecue the night before. He dried his hair quickly, shrugged into his pale pink polo shirt and navy jeans, sprayed on a hint of cologne and slipped on his shoes. He had to get to a meeting in 35 minutes, and it was on the other side of town. He tapped out a quick text to Sidney. "Press Release?" it said. He felt a sense of accomplishment that at least that was done, since he knew he could count on her to come through with it. They made a good team, and he was glad that that partnership at least was settled. Now if only he could avoid the mess that his fledgling company could become if everyone didn't stop getting jittery about profit sharing and stock options. Of course this wouldn't have become a problem if they'd just listened to him twelve months ago and had had everything sorted out legally, before dollar signs dancing in front of people's eyes turned their brains to mush. Time to execute some conflict-resolution strategies, he thought as he dialed his senior partner, grabbed his gym bag and strode out the door.
Dave thinks he and Sidney make a good team. What does Sidney think? Read Part 3 here.
No comments:
Post a Comment