Driven

Clucking her tongue, she started ahead with confident strides of her long legs. God it was hot. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that she was passing by the windows of the showroom. Before she could even think, she had already tilted her head slightly to "just steal a look" to make sure that no one saw her.

"Just keep telling yourself that, silly girl," she thought to herself, so disappointed in her lack of resolve. With that, she slowed her pace to a crawl and turned her head fully to peer into the dealership.

"Whoa! Watch yourself there."

A deep, smooth voice called out from directly in front of her. Realizing she was about to crash into somebody with her trays of cupcakes, Charlotte stumbled to a stop apologizing as she turned her head, "Oh shit! Sorry!"

She blinked and there he was half a meter in front of her, the guy she had told herself, unconvincingly, that she didn't want to see, wanted to avoid. She looked right into his piercing blue eyes and lurched forward as if she couldn't stop her legs from moving.

Two strong hands reached out and grabbed her by her shoulders, halting her before she fell over. "Careful," the man said to her, bracing her firmly in his hands.

Charlotte gasped and immediately stepped back awkwardly. The trays of cupcakes began to slip.

The man reached out and helped her steady the boxes.

"Sorry. Thanks. Sorry," she repeated, unable to think of anything else to say. She pulled one hand out from underneath the trays to try to sweep the hair from her eyes and regain some composure. The cupcakes began to slip again.

"Are you alright?" the man asked as he took the boxes from her. "Here let me take those for a sec."

"No, no. It's okay," Charlotte said, reaching out to take back her boxes.

"It's alright," he replied, smiling. He nodded, "Just take your time. Breathe. Relax. The heat's making everyone a little unsteady today."

Great, now he thought she was suffering from heat stroke. She was about to reach for the boxes again but she looked up at him. Again without a word, his eyes and smile told her something otherwise.

Charlotte stood back, her lips sucking back into her mouth as she thought. It was freaking hot. She raised her sunglasses and rested them on the top of her head. She wiped the perspiration from her nose and lifted away strands of damp hair clinging to her forehead. Fanning herself with one hand and sweeping the hair away from the back of her neck with the other, she stole glances at the man, trying to not make it look too obvious while doing so.

Even outside of the showroom, which was raised a foot above street-level, he was still noticeably taller than her by a few inches. An appealing, light leather-musk scent managed to waft through the heavy air and wend its way into her head as she breathed. He watched her with a placid expression, cool blue eyes shaded by his deep brows, but there was nothing transparent about his look. Charlotte couldn't imagine what he was thinking. She also noticed one more thing.

"You don't look hot," she mused, the words slipping out thoughtlessly. She froze, wincing from her own comment. Trying to recover she sputtered, "I...I mean...ah...The heat isn't bothering you?"

She noted that his swarthy complexion hadn't cracked a sweat even though he was still in his suit.

The man chuckled softly once out of the side of his steady grin. "Must be my Spanish blood," he offered with a coy tone, "Aside from the humidity, this would be a brisk day in Murcia."

Charlotte frowned slightly. "Oh."

After a pause, the man smiled a bit more broadly then added, "I also just came out of the showroom a minute ago. Believe me, once I grab my lunch, I'm getting my butt back on ice in the dealership."

Another pause, then Charlotte suddenly found herself chuckling through a grin. She wasn't sure if it was because of the man's amusing quip or because of the absurdity of having a conversation with him. Maybe it was because she had to do something else other than stare at him.

"Well," she sighed deeply, "Thanks. I'll take those back."

"You must really like Christine's cupcakes."

Charlotte shrugged as she balanced the trays in her arms again. "Office reception."

"Are you alright carrying those?" he asked.

"Uh...yeah. I mean, yes. It's only a few minutes away," she quickly answered. For some reason, she also decided to add, "I'm at Generation Techs."

The man nodded.

Charlotte looked down and away uneasily, like pulling away from his sight was akin to yanking off a bandage. "Thanks again," she said softly, "I'm so sorry about that."

"No problem," the man replied. He nodded towards the showroom, "These beauties can be a bit of a distraction to anyone passing by."

Charlotte nodded silently and started to make her way past the man, head down.

"You've had your eye on something in there, haven't you?" he added.

The young woman dragged her foot to a stop and looked up quickly at the man. "What?" she blurted. She watched him as he peered into his own dealership, head turned away from her. Collecting her thoughts she said, "Oh, you mean this morning? I was just...uh...I--"

His hands in his pockets, he looked back towards her, pushing up one of his thick brows. "Well, this and every morning for the past...mmm...3 months?"

Charlotte felt her heart punch against her ribcage.

"I confess," he went on, "It was often a pleasing distraction to see you at the window each day.

The young woman continued to gawk hopelessly at him.

"You have no idea how long I've been wondering when you would actually come into the dealership for a closer look," he remarked.

She needed to look away from him --just get away from him. Instead she just stood there and gawked at him for several impossibly long seconds.

"So...see something you like?" he asked without the slightest hint of cockiness or overture, "Something you've been aching to try?"

Charlotte didn't know what to say, couldn't even shake her head. She had only one ace-in-the-hole. It was embarrassing but she played it anyway. "Uh...I'm just a receptionist," she conceded. Feeling deflated, she added, "There's no way I can afford one of those. I'd be wasting your time."

The man leaned back a little, never looking away from her. "All the same, wouldn't you just like to come in and take a look? Nothing wrong with looking. It's even better than a museum because you'll be allowed to touch," he said with a warm, cajoling voice, "Trust me. Once you get the feel of one of these revving through you, you'll never look at them the same way."

The woman looked back blankly at him. Were they still talking about the cars?

She swallowed then mustered a retort. "What would be the point?"

He grinned. With a cool squint narrowing his eyes, he said, "Alright, to be honest, it has nothing to do with you buying one. It's me. I'm being selfish. I'd just love to see you try one on for size. I think you'd look stunning."

Charlotte frowned. There was no reason for a sales-pitch and she didn't feel like she was being pressured into buying anything. Yet, the whole thing made her uneasy...but not in a repulsive way.

"I...have to get back to work," she finally said.

"Make an appointment," the man said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his business card holder. "Come in tonight. I'll stick around past my shift if I know you'll be coming."

"I've got this office party after work," Charlotte replied almost apologetically, feebly trying to back away.

She watched him closely as he took a card and stuck it into the opening slit of the top cupcake box. "Make an appointment," he repeated confidently, "Come see me again."

Thinking retreat was the best thing she could do for now, Charlotte turned and shuffled away down the sidewalk. She tilted her head and read the name on the business card: "Javier Valerde".

"May I know your name?" he called out from behind her.

She stopped. Pausing for a moment, she looked back and said, "Charlotte Chang."

"I'll be seeing you, Charlotte."

"No...you won't," she told herself. Then she continued on her way, walking along lost in thought like a stray contemplating a bone. She thought about what she had noticed as he had put the card into the cupcake box: the way the sun had made the white-gold band glisten around his finger.

Damn. It was unbelievably hot this day.

* * * * * * * * * *

So that was the end of that.

"Yeah. Definitely out of play," Charlotte muttered to herself as she stared into the washroom mirror. "Out of bounds. Off limits. Not happening."

There was no way in hell she was going to go down that road. She teased her hair with her fingers mindlessly as she thought about the BMW sales rep. Javier Valerde. Trying to focus on the sight of that wedding band flashing around the man's finger like some sort of warning beacon, it somehow continually lost focus, overcome by the image of the man's unsettling, ever watchful gaze and inviting smile. She couldn't even shake his scent and his smooth, deep voice...

"Come see me again."

"No. No. NO!" she insisted to herself to stay away...though sometimes it sounded like it was a voice of disappointment more than anything else.

She leaned on the sink counter and looked down, shaking her head. She smirked. Why was she even beating herself up about this? He's married. So what? Meaning, what difference did it make if all he was trying to do was sell her a car? That's all, right? He had made no attempt to hide the ring. All the suave wordplay and beckoning looks were to get a poor, impressionable, young woman to finance away her pay-cheque no matter what he said about just checking things out for the fun of it. She was a commission. He was just doing his job, just like she had to do hers.

"Charlotte?" A voice said from the other side of the washroom door. Eddie knocked on the door and called to her, "Hey. You going to come out anytime soon or do we have to call the fire department?"

The woman sighed and stood back from the sink. She looked in the mirror. She hadn't changed her clothes but she still looked pretty good, she thought, all things considered for that long day. She had put on a slightly flashier necklace, earrings, and a bracelet -- little accoutrements that accented the peach skinned beauty. A fresh application of some light make-up brought out the smoothness of her face, a pinching sharpness in her eyes, and the softness of her lips. The high heels of her sandals highlighted her long legs and height. After trying out a smile in the mirror, she exited the washroom.

Eddie stood outside waiting for her.

"It's all yours," she said.

"That's not it," he replied shaking his head, "There's still guests arriving and no one's at the reception desk."

"Still?" Charlotte looked at her watch then shrugged. "Fine. I'll go back to the desk."

The shorter young man instead took her by the elbow and led her down the hallway. "Never mind," he said, "I want you to come with me."

They went into the Kennel where the open-house now was in full swing. They had done an impressive job making the place appear competently functional yet presentable for a sort of reception like this. Soft temporary mood lights were scattered around the room. Some incidental jazz music piped in through the speaker system. Towards one side of the room, desks had been moved to make space for a full buffet spread and a small bar. People milled around, some discussing the actual tech aspects of the company, but mostly people were just talking about things like sports, investments and video games.

Eddie led his tall cousin towards one of the windows where her uncle was standing talking to two men, one an older man she knew as a client of the company, the other a younger red-haired guy in a black Henley shirt and jeans. Maybe she noticed when he had come into the office but didn't recognize him.

"Hold it." Charlotte stopped and finally twisted her elbow away from her cousin. "Where are we going?" she asked as she looked towards the buffet, "I'm starving."

Eddie gave her a gentle push at her back. "There's someone I want you to meet and talk with," he said, nodding towards the men by the window.

"Why me?" she said, frowning. She looked at the men. "Who's the one in the black shirt? A possible client?"

Eddie shook his head. "No. Bigger," he noted with a little gleam in his eye, "That's Braden Connelly. That guy started up his own company two years ago and he's already working his program platforms and system frameworks with the biggies of the industry. He's an insider who can bust things open for a start up like us."

"Oh," Charlotte said, her response somewhat muted. "What am I supposed to talk to him about?"

As they stepped closer towards the group, Eddie said out of the side of his smile, "Just talk. Be the face of the company."

The red-headed Braden turned and looked at them. The moment his eyes set upon Charlotte, he sported such a wide smile that she thought if it were any bigger, the top of his head would have rolled off.

"Just be your pretty self and talk," Eddie whispered.

Braden turned to face her fully as they approached.

"This is my niece, Charlotte," Mr.Kwan introduced, "Charlotte, Mr.Braden Connelly."

She smiled a bit tentatively but offered her hand. He quickly took it into his with a firm grip.

The little group exchanged a few more pleasantries, then Eddie, Mr.Kwan, and the older client moved away leaving Charlotte and Braden standing by the window. She was hoping he would offer to get her a drink or maybe walk with her to the buffet.

Instead, still wearing a beaming smile, he looked at her and said, "Wow, you're so tall."

His face immediately blurred out of focus.

* * * * * * * * * *

The last ebb of daylight had long faded into the summer's night. Inside the offices of Generation Techs the open-house reception was going strong. Boisterous chatter and laughter floated up into the high ceilings of the room. People hovered around the buffet and bar, picking leisurely at the food and ordering rounds of drinks.

Charlotte and Braden hadn't moved from the spot where they had first been introduced. They had been talking for almost 30 minutes. Actually, it was more like he had been talking and she was nodding adding only pertinent comments such as "Oh, that's interesting" and "Really? Wow" every other minute and making sure to randomize them from time-to-time. At least his huge spotlight smile had softened to a more natural curl. It made it easier for her to look at him without appearing as if she needed to rush off to the washroom.

Actually, there was nothing really wrong with the guy. His fire-red hair was nicely styled, he had a gentle, earnest, expression and he filled out his shirt quite well. If she were in her flats, they would probably be the same height. No, he was definitely cute. But she knew what her role was this evening, though she felt neither her cousin nor Braden had any really sordid or explicit ideas about how this was supposed to play out for the night. For whatever reason, all she could think of at first was how hungry she was. When she realized she may not have a chance to satiate that particular pang, her mind wandered towards thoughts buried a bit deeper.

Charlotte looked towards the window. The lights from inside the office reflected their image in the glass back towards her. In her mind's eye, there was a man standing close to her, but it wasn't Braden. The voice she heard, the scent she smelled, the eyes she saw watching her...none of them belonged to the person standing two feet away from her.

Javier. She wondered if he was still waiting for her to come by the dealership that evening.

"Damn, I've been talking your ears off, haven't I?" Braden spoke up when he noticed her attention drifting. "Do you want anything?"

"What do I want?" Charlotte thought to herself.

"Can I get you something like a drink or--"

"Do you have a BMW?" she asked, still distracted.

Braden grinned and frowned, bemused. "I...ah...actually drive an Audi."

"Oh." She pursed her lips, turned towards him and nodded. "Nice."

Pleased to just have her looking at him again, Braden smiled and pointed towards the buffet. "How about I grab you something to eat?"

"Sure. Thanks."

As the man made his way towards the buffet, Charlotte headed for the doors and exited the Kennel. Half a minute later, after picking up her bag from her desk drawer, she was standing in the elevator pushing the Ground Floor button repeatedly.

* * * * * * * * *

The cover of night hadn't done much to break the enveloping humidity. The gathering clouds, slowly blanketing the stars over head, may have had something to say about that eventually.

Charlotte made her way slowly along the sidewalk, partially because she didn't want to break a sweat but mostly because she was still struggling with the idea of where she was going and what she was expecting. The way she was gently chewing on her upper lip gave away her anxiety readily.

The dealership would have been closed by now, she was sure of it. Even though she could see the lights spilling out through the large windows and onto the sidewalk, she figured it was because the showroom's lights were always on. Then she saw them suddenly dim a bit as if a set had been switched off. Her pace quickened.

She swiftly found herself standing in front of the windows again peeking inside with anxious anticipation. The room was indeed darkened by a few lights. In the back of the dealership should could make out a person moving around in the shadows.

Hesitantly she raised her hand to knock against the window. Before she could, Javier emerged from the darkness, already smiling as he moved towards her. He nodded and pointed towards the doors.

"Oh...no," Charlotte breathed. She envisioned herself suddenly making a break for the streetcar stop. Instead she remained rooted as the man unlocked the showroom door and poked his head outside.

"Nice to see you, Charlotte," he called to her with a nod.

"Hi," she replied softly. "You're still here."

His eyes narrowed as he grinned. A subtle shadow had grown around his mouth and chin after a long day, yet it suited him handsomely. He remarked, "That's because I've been waiting for you to return. Just had that feeling."

Charlotte shook her head. "I'm...going home," she said, "Just...I wanted to say good-night."

"To the cars?"

The young woman sighed and grimaced, knowing how ridiculous she must have sounded.

"Still pretty hot out," Javier remarked.

Charlotte nodded.

"It's nice and cool in here." The man cocked his head. "Come on in."

She looked around the empty streets for a moment then made her way past him and into the dealership as he held the door open.

The showroom was indeed cool. Charlotte stepped around hesitantly, the heels of her sandals clicking on the smooth floor. As Javier locked the door behind her, she heard a couple of soft "clacks" which made her nerves race a little. She looked back towards him, an expression of uncertainty on her face.

"Go on," he remarked as he stood by the doors, his hands in his pockets. "Have a look. Take your time."

Charlotte moved gingerly between the automobiles. Her eyes searched nervously around the large showcase at first, but finally she managed to settle down somewhat and turn her attention to the cars. Soon her admiration for the fine machines put her at ease. She scanned every inch of the polished vehicles, caressing them with her gaze. A fine-lined smile stretched across her red lips. She strolled casually around each car. At some point, though she wasn't aware of it, she started to drag her finger tips ever so gently along the cool, smooth exteriors.

"You like?" Javier asked as he slowly stepped towards her.