"When are you going to stop being such a chick over this girl? You look fine." Zubin said as he cracked open another beer.
Thursday had arrived too quickly for Gabe. Hell, if it were up to him he'd have put off this dinner with Claire and the money dorks indefinitely. He'd been so nervous about it all week that he'd asked Zubin to swing by his place and prep him on what he was in store for.
"I'll remember how much of a smug little fuck you've been the next time you ask for my help." Gabe said to Zubin, only half joking. "Now are you sure about the get-up?" Gabe said motioning to his blazer and jeans. "What if they're all in suits?"
"Some of them might be. But dude, if you wear a full suit they'll all think you're one of them. What are you going to do if they start talking about a recent IPO or financial scandal?"
"Come on, it's a dinner. Do you really think they're going to talk about all that crap?"
"I'd put money on it. I bet you it's all they talk about... When they're not busy bragging about their careers that is." Zubin took a swig of his beer, then continued on. "Look man, this thing isn't going to be pretty. They're going to spend the night showing off to each other and comparing jobs."
Gabe plopped down on his couch next to Zubin. "I'm so screwed."
"No you're not. You just have to have a game plan."
"Which is?" Gabe asked, grasping to the tread of hope his friend was dangling in front of him.
"Rule one – Don't try to fake it. If you have no idea what they're talking about, you can deflect, but don't pretend." Zubin said.
"Easy enough."
"Rule two – Find an ally. Do your best to sit beside one of the other people's dates who will also likely be bored to tears."
"I can do that. Her friends, Miriam and Iris, the ones you met at the club will be there. The one you made out with will be bringing a date." Gabe said, feeling encouraged.
"Perfect. Now for the third and most important rule." Zubin paused for emphasis. "Pretend you're having a great time. The uncomfortable person at the party is sad and pathetic. Don't. Be. That. Guy."
***
"Gabe don't be nervous! This thing is really no big deal." Claire said.
"I'm not nervous." Gabe lied.
"Bullshit. You haven't said a word since picking me up at the office."
"Fine. I might be a little nervous." Gabe conceded. "But it's just because I want your friends to think I'm worthy of being on your arm."
"Most of them aren't my friends, just acquaintances. At best they'll be eventually become helpful business contacts." Claire said in an attempt to comfort him. "And have I told you that you being so worried about making a good impression is totally adorable?"
Gabe wasn't sure how he felt about being called adorable. It made him feel like a puppy Claire was praising.
Claire abruptly stopped walking, reached up and pressed her lips against his. Gabe kissed her back, but it didn't halt the steady stream of ways he could screw up from running though his head.
"Not good enough." Claire said pulling away.
Crap. She'd realized how distracted he was. Now he was a crappy date and a crappy kisser.
Gabe leaned forward intent on giving his woman the kiss she deserved, but Claire beat him to the punch and had her tongue down his throat almost instantly. This time, she made it impossible to ignore her kiss. Not wanting to be outdone, Gabe took control and grasped Claire's delicate face between his hands. He pulled her close and deepened their kiss.
A soft moan from Claire told Gabe that his job was done and he pulled away. He looked at his gorgeous, brilliant, too-good-for-him, woman up and down and couldn't help but smile.
"Feel better?" Claire asked.
"Much." Gabe said. He shot Claire a look to let her know just how much better she made him feel.
"Put those bedroom eyes away!" she playfully reprimanded.
Gabe laughed. "I will for now. But they'll be back later."
Gabe's stomach was back in knots the moment he and Claire arrived at Duke's. He felt so unprepared for the evening. When he and Claire were shown to the long table where another fifteen or so people were already seated, he had to talk himself out of turning on his heel and heading for the hills.
He and Claire were the last to arrive which meant they'd be at the opposite end of the table from Miriam and Iris. Even worse, the only two seats left were smack in between a nerdy dude and a pretentious looking dude in a suit. Fuck. Gabe was already failing Zubin's second rule for the night. There was no way he was going to be able to seat himself next to someone else's date.
Gabe decided that Mr. Pretentious was the lesser of the two evils. Maybe they'd be able to talk about cars? He hadn't played enough video games to risk sitting beside the nerd.
Gabe took a seat next to Mr. Pretentious, "Gabe Darrow. Nice to meet you."
"Calvin Jones." The man said. "Hey Claire Bear. You're looking as lovely as usual." He added over Gabe's shoulder.
Claire. Fucking. Bear. Gabe immediately started counting to ten in his head. Who the hell is this guy?
"Cal, no matter how many times you say that nickname it's not going to stick." Claire said. "So how are things with you? Are you still at Smith Waterdown Anders?"
"Sure am. Just got promoted to Senior Manager." He answered across Gabe to Claire, emphasizing the word Senior.
"Wow, that's awesome Cal!" Claire said enthusiastically. "Now remember our plan, since you're the one with the dick, you have to get promoted enough so you can hire and promote me."
Like hell! There's no way he'd ever stand for his girl working for this douche. Gabe thought to himself.
"No deal unless you let me call you Claire Bear."
"Double my income and we'll talk." Claire said with a wink. She then turned her attention onto the nerd, leaving Gabe to fend for himself.
"So Gabe is it? What do you do?" Cal asked.
"I'm in real estate." Gabe answered, not wanting to sound like a scrub without a fancy job title. And it was true, construction was how real estate got built. Was it really necessary for him to point out that he held a hammer all day instead of a calculator?
"Nice. Are you a broker? Or do you work at a MIC or a REIT?" Cal asked, giving Gabe his undivided attention.
Fuck. Fuck Fuuuuuuucccck. Gabe had no idea what Cal was talking about. There was only one way out of this one. To come clean before he made it worse. "I'm in construction." Gabe answered.
"Oh." Cal said looking somewhat confused. Then his eyes lit up. "Are you a developer?"
"Nope. Just part of a crew. I work on new building construction and renovations." Gabe said.
"Ohhh. How interesting." Cal said obviously let down by Gabe's answer. "I can't even change a light bulb myself." He joked, awkwardly. It was clear he didn't know what to say in response to such an unimpressive career.
Gabe could feel himself going red. Why the hell hadn't he paid attention to Zubin's rule of not trying to fake it? His fudging the truth pretty much killed their conversation before it got started.
Gabe looked down at the menu in front of him and filled the silence with pretending to decide on his order. Cal jumped at the opportunity to exit their conversation and began speaking to the Asian woman seated in front of him.
With Claire still in conversation with the nerd, and Cal's attentions elsewhere Gabe was left sitting in awkward silence. He tried to eavesdrop and find an opportunity to jump back into being sociable, but he really didn't have anything to say about the topics swirling about him. Couldn't anyone bring up the UFC? Even talking about the new season of The Real Housewives would be better than this.
Gabe wondered how he'd managed to become the pitiful guy at the table not talking to anyone. Yup. It was official. He was the wet blanket at the party and even worse, had broken all three of Zubin's rules for surviving the night before dinner was served.