After the meeting, I got a call from Jo and Renee planning a late lunch. We agreed to meet at a place ten minutes away from here.
~~~
From the restaurant's parking lot I could see Jo's back through the glass doors, she was at the reception getting a reservation.
Jolie Doyle, a beautiful young woman, a journalist by profession. With her fair skin, slim figure, and long legs, becoming a next top model was a fit not very far from her grasp.
"Hey, dear!" She smiled and hugged me as I stepped beside her.
"Hi, how are you?" I asked.
"Wonderful! Can't you see?" Jo flipped a lock of gold hair to the back.
"I can," I smiled. "Such narcissist," and joked.
"Whatever! What is keeping Renee? I'm starving," she rubbed her belly. "I got a reservation."
"He'll show me to the table while you wait?" I pointed to the chauffeur and she nodded.
I followed the chauffeur silently through rows of the busy restaurant filled with the low buzz of people's hushed conversation and clanking of spoons on plate.
The lovely aroma of the food got me hungrier. I was taken to a table at a corner. Turning to sit, Renee and Jo we're headed my way.
Renee Johnson is black like me, she is beautiful and busty. Renee always has a smile on her face but she just never takes risks. She is an architect, the best I've known.
"Hello! How are you?" She gave me a tight hug.
"Good and you?" I answered.
"I'm great!"
We slipped into the chair but stared at the advertisement on the screen for the first few seconds.
"Everybody be shouting TGIF like Fridays can cause world peace," Renee is a workaholic, for that reason, Jo and I teased her a lot.
"Oh stop being a sadist," I said.
"I ain't no sadist. I prefer introvert." She responded.
"That's what they call it now?" Jo added.
"I don't got to answer to y'all," Renee eyed us up.
"You're guilty," I stated.
A waiter came over and handed us the menu card, I just ordered my usual.
I had turned to observe my surrounding but was gone too long because my friends were already arguing about something.
"You are coming Renee and that's final, I'm not joking," Jo insisted.
"Oh yeah? 'Cause it sure sounds like a joke to me. I'm not going nowhere!" Renee declined like it was not meant to be said.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
I would love to go somewhere new for a change, I need a day off from my usual order of events, even more than a day what I needed is a vacation.
"I was given three free passes to Billy Marney's empire," Jo explained, obviously giddy about what she had planned.
"Where's that?" I was sincerely unaware.
She replied in a hushed voice, "The basement."
"What! We can't go there!" I pointed to my back like the place was located behind me.
"That's what I said!" Renee saw it as an opportunity to turn things around in her favor.
'The Basement' being a popular club downtown would be a no-go area for me if I was still okay with my reputation. In there, there are no rich nor poor, no black or white, no high or low class just people that want to have fun. It would be a total disaster if we were spotted there, the front pages would have us all over it.
Jo, Renee, and I have made a good name for ourselves because of our money and our respective businesses. We've carried ourselves with great care and have each experienced scandals of different forms in our career but none has blown up bad and I would like to keep it that way.
"Jo, if we go there you know how bad it will affect our reputations," I explained.
"It can be good or bad," Jo argued.
"It is always bad," Renee insisted.
"Many others usually get away with it don't mean we will," I made a point.
"We will, I am sure. Just help me tell Renee she's coming!" She pursued.
"I'm not coming!" I quickly rejected before she rope me further into it.
"Exactly!" Renee rejoiced.
"Why!" Jo cried.
"Come on Jo, the basement? You can do better." I threw my hands in the air.
Renee used dramatic hand gestures to explain, "Saturday headline news. Jolie Doyle, Renee Johnson, and Ellen Carson were spotted in a cheap underground club. What could have sent them there?"
"The place is nowhere near cheap, do you know how much one shot cost there?" Jo breathed deeply, "On the bright side, it'll bring good popularity."
"Really? And that's a good thing how?" I asked.
"Okay forget I said that. Don't you want to have fun?" Jo wiggled her eyebrows
"I'm not buying that!" I eyed her up.
"Come on! Nothing bad will happen. There aren't paparazzi in such places, please?" She stretched.
~~~~~
Unwillingly, at the end of the day, I stood by my car across the street from the company waiting for them. From a distance, I sighted Jo's car, she parked behind me.
"Renee?" She asked.
"No." I shook my head.
"I'll call her." Jolie offered.
"Hello!" Renee waved from behind us.
"Did you walk here?" I questioned.
"No, was dropped off, I sent the car back. It's not my car that will be used as evidence." Renee shrugged.
"Not bad. Jo, it'll your car, I'm driving," I announced.
"My car but you are driving?" Jo wondered.
"Yes. Do you have issues with that?" I rose my eyebrow.
"None. Isn't this great, we are having a girls' night out, we should do this every Friday."
"Don't push it, Jo. Give me the key and get in the car!" I yelled as I turned around to enter her car.
We left.
On reaching, Renee felt we should fix a few things about ourselves to help us hide in plain sight. I wasn't particular about anything so I was down but Jo said it was not needed. I decided to leave my glasses behind and also my blazer while Renee put her brown bouncy hair up into a bun and took Jo's sun shades.
"So, what do you think?" Renee turned to Jo.
Jo hesitated. "Well, you are different."
"What do you mean by that?" Renee was ready to scold her.
"Let's just go!" I announced.
I am still not welcoming of the idea but I will let it happen.
WAIT...STOP...VOTE. Don't forget to hit that vote button if the chapter deserves it and comment if any suggestions to get better.
Blow up my comments guys and tell me what you think.
Should they take their chances or chicken out?
Will this be a fun-filled night?
Come let's talk!