Turbine City Update #3

After the meeting we went out for dinner at the excellent Thai restaurant that Ice Queen recommended. Margo was really excited - she changed into a deep red 3/4 sleeve blouse and let her hair down - and drank quite a few Singhas. We all replayed the meeting, tried to figure out how we did. The consensus is that they liked Delphi and may buy into it.

Margo said I did an "excellent" job, even when I fucked up answering that question about searchable client databases. After her third beer she upgraded my performance to "awesome."

Keith and I shared some sexist banter about Ice Queen and in turn the girls frequently returned to the topic of Jason Delacroix, World Conqueror.

Loretta: "I mean, I don't say this a lot about guys, but he was beautiful. Beautiful."
Margo: "Uh-huh. Hot."
Loretta: "Seriously. He is like, the ideal of male beauty."
Margo: "I don't even like goatees, but he really pulls it off."
Loretta: "And he's single, did you notice that?"
Margo: "I did. I did notice that."
Loretta: "God, a guy like that, he probably has some genius Swedish supermodel girlfriend."
Margo: "Swedish?"
Loretta: "Yeah, I mean, can you see him going out with some American girl?"
Margo: "Yeah. Me."
Loretta (laughing): "No, I mean, he seems so intercontinental, so sophisticated. I'd have a hard time seeing him with some chick from Newark, you know?"

It went on like this, accompanied by some eye-rolling by Keith and I.

"Somebody's a little jealous I think," Margo said laughing.

"Oh please," I say, trying to laugh. "Of that guy? He's trying waaay too hard."

"I'd say he's succeeding," Loretta says and they laugh.

"Whatever. You really want to hang out with a guy who spends more time in the bathroom than you?"

Keith chimes in. "Yeah, or a guy who gets manicures more often than you?"

I say nothing to this because I get a manicure every other week. What can I say, I like my hands to look nice.

"And that accent," I say. I'm on a roll now. "What kind of accent is that? Who is he, Madonna? He's probably from Newark himself."

Keith and I diss Delacroix for a little while longer until the conversation inexplicably turns to dogs. Loretta has three dogs. I get the impression that any time she has a few drinks in her she ends up talking about her dogs.

We've got another meeting and a luncheon tommorrow with InterBionics, so we head back to our hotel. As we're parting ways in the lobby Margo gives me one of those playful slugs in the arm and says, "Nice job Mackenzie. I'm glad I drafted you."

"Me, too," I say, looking directly at her. Am I flirting? I think I'm a little buzzed. She's beautiful.

She gives me The Grin and backs into the elevator.

"See you tommorrow," she says.

"Yeah," I say, watching the elevator doors close.

Sigh.