Her Own Wings

Meeting Jack

Monday morning, she was picked up and taken to the office of the company that was going to work with her to get the exact specifications for the database, build it and test it.

She was introduced to Jack Lewis, the man she would be working with all week. Jack had been out of college for a few years, and had worked exclusively on designing databases the entire time. He was fast becoming one of the leading experts on database design and security. She felt an instant attraction for Jack, and wondered how she would be able to work so closely with this man all week, and not have it become obvious to him and everyone that she was so attracted to him. She started blushing almost as soon as she shook his hand. He was six feet tall, had dark hair that was trimmed short and had a slight wave. He had a strong, rugged looking chin line with a perfect amount of stubble that made her swoon a little. He was broad shouldered, and she could tell he worked out. He had straight, white teeth, and a beautiful smile and his lips were shaped so it looked like he was constantly devilishly smirking at her.

She pulled out her notes, gave them to Jack, and said she had typed up her ideas for the database. Jack led her to his office, and shut the door behind them. He sat down at his desk and read her notes, jotting down notes of his own. He didn't say a word the entire time he read her notes. When he was finished, he sat back in his chair, and closed his eyes for a couple moments, tenting his fingers inches in front of his face. She could tell this was his thinking pose, and she sat quietly.
Finally, Jack moved his hands, and looked at her.

"How long have you been working with databases?"

"Well, I really only just started. I was in the extensive training session the last two weeks, so just made my notes, and edited them as I learned more each day. Why? Does my inexperience show really bad? I just thought I'd do well to come in here prepared, so we had something to start with. If you have a better idea..."

"Liz" Jack interrupted, "Your ideas are fantastic. I've never seen someone as new to database design come up with a plan so well thought out, and so well designed. I see a few changes to make, but overall, this is a fantastic plan..."

* * *

A Few Days Later

* * *

"Liz, the database has been designed, and we are preparing it for the initial data dump. We just have a few things we need to get worked out, and it'll be ready in a couple hours. I was thinking.... uhm, how do you feel about going to dinner with me? There's a great pizza joint a couple blocks down, and we could be back and the database would be ready for us to start working on it."

She was so excited. She'd been watching Jack closely the last couple days, and was so attracted to him. She found him to be highly intelligent, kind, dedicated and wicked funny. She was still as confidant as when she first met him that he was her soul mate. She found him sexy, and loved the light curl his hair had. She kept daydreaming about grabbing a handful of his lightly curled hair while kissing him.
Blushing, she looked at Jack, and stifled a small grin. She could tell that he was nervous as hell; he had a cute boyish charm about him.
"Sure, Jack, I would love to go grab some pizza. I've heard about the fabulous Chicago Deep Dish pizza, and have been intending to get some, but knew I couldn't eat a whole pizza."

"Great, can you be ready to go in 15 minutes? Need to let the guys know we're heading out."
"Sure, I need to get a couple things done. I'll meet you at your office in fifteen."

"Ok, see you in a few minutes." Jack walked off, whistling.

She grabbed her purse and dashed to the ladies restroom. She touched up her mascara and lipstick, washed her hands and returned to her desk. She looked around, and didn't see anyone, so she picked up the phone and made a quick call.

She called her Mom, but the answering machine picked up. She left a short message, "Mom, it happened! Jack just asked me to dinner. He was nervous and when I said yes, he walked off whistling. I'm so excited. After dinner, we're coming back to the office to work a couple hours. I'll try calling you again tonight when I get back to my room. Love you, Mom!"

She looked at her notes one last time, and then checked her watch, and it was time to go meet Jack. She walked over to his office, and he was just walking to the door. He saw her approaching and grinned.

"Hey, Liz. Are you ready? I called ahead and reserved a table for the two of us. I know the owner."

"Oh, great!"

She and Jack walked through the lobby, and out to the busy street. The clouds in the sky were dark, and it was windy.

"Looks like it's going to rain."

"Forecasters are calling for rain, but it should be a few hours away. I brought my umbrella just in case. Our restaurant is a couple blocks to the right." Jack said as he simultaneously put his hand on the small of her back, and gestured to her right. She smiled and turned to the right. Looking around her, she saw business people walking down the sidewalks carrying briefcases, a dress shop, couples walking holding hands, and a man standing on a wood box on the corner street preaching. He had wild, crazy eyes, and had a subtle sway to him, and a slur to his speech that was barely noticeable. She knew, instantly, he had been drinking, and grabbed Jack's arm, and moved to place Jack between the man and her. Jack looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face.

"Oh, I get nervous being around drunk people, especially drunk men. My father drank a lot while I was growing up, and it makes me nervous." Jack gave her a knowing smile, grabbed her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze and moved her another step away from the drunken street preacher.

She felt her heart thumping in her chest, and felt the heat rise on her cheeks. Once they crossed the street, Jack let her hand go. Instantly, she was disappointed he let go, and just looked at Jack and said, "Thanks."
"My pleasure, Liz. Ah, here we are, " Jack said as they approached the restaurant. Jack opened the door, and waited for her to enter. Jack strode up to the hostess saying, "Hello, Claire. I just spoke to Mike, we have a table reserved."

"Yes, Mike told me. It's ready, go ahead and seat yourself."

"Great, thanks."

She followed Jack to a table that was back, a bit secluded from the rest of the restaurant. It was in the corner of the dining room. Jack pulled out a chair for her, and then after she was seated, he sat down.

Once they ordered the pizza, and a couple glasses of red wine, Jack asked, "So, it doesn't bother you to drink, but being drunk does?" Jack asked.

"Well...growing up, my father drank, daily. He got drunk every day and was a mean drunk. It was a terrible way to live, and I still get nervous about being around obviously drunk people, especially those who seems a bit unbalanced." She smiled, and then continued, "I enjoy a drink every so often, but I don't like to get drunk. I don't care if others like to drink, but I can't be around someone who gets sloppy drunk."

"I don't blame you. I also enjoy a good drink, but I don't like getting drunk."