Mistress's "Business" Lunch

In addition to several AM suitors, Mistress got an interesting proposition at lunch the other day that she described to me on her drive home.

There's a gentlemen who's been eager to lunch with her. He's the "think tank" type who has a long resume of publications. Indeed, it seems odd that he's here in River City at all. Somehow he ended up here following a wife who is now no longer his wife. Mistress lunched with him several weeks ago, and he was nagging her for another one. Thursday was the day.

The other odd thing: two Sundays ago, when we were driving back from visiting our daughter in Maryland, and Mistress was relaunching her AM screening process, the two of them got into an email exchange. He was asking if she had any female friends he might get involved with. She was playing along, asking about his "specifications".  It became clear as she read me their back and forth that what he was looking for was someone like Mistress, but "available".

Sadly, this is not a town where lots of sexy, smart, professional and "available" women are falling off trees. Mistress did not have any come to mind for this poor guy. But she had no reluctance to flirt back in their exchange.

"This guy could be a prospect, Mistress. He clearly wants you. He's single. Local."

"He probably does, Slave. He's smart, interesting. Very opinionated. But he's too..... short, and nebbishy...."

I wasn't so sure. But of course, Mistress is always right on such things, isn't she?

But somehow, the door was not quite shut all the way,   leading to Thursday's lunch date.

She called me on the drive home, after their lunch of about 90 minutes or so.

"I can't believe it, Slave.... he tried to kiss me in the parking lot.....in public".

I urged her to back up and tell me the whole story.

"Well, at some point he asked if I was sending him 'signals' Slave...."

"And you said....."

"Well, I explained a little bit about our 'arrangement', not the Slave part, but that I had 'permission' if I wanted to have alternative relationships, and maybe that's what he was picking up...."

"And he said....."

"That we should have some type of an affair.... that he found me very attractive."

"Where did you leave it Mistress?"

"I left it unresolved, Slave. I'm not sure I really like him .... he's short....and kind of Woody Allenish.  He said he'd have to talk about this with his analyst...."

"Yeah, very Woody Allen...."

"He said let's have drinks some night and see where it goes."

I got the impression that Mistress was mulling it over, not sure that she wanted to be Diane Keaton to this guy's Woody.

But waht about that kiss?

"He walked me to my car, and when I was opening the door, he sort of put his arm around my waist and tried to move in...."

"And you said...."

"Whoa.... not here, in public.... someone might see who knows me."

I guess if I were him I'd interpret that to mean.... "but in private, that's a different story."

We'll have to see where this subplot takes our heroine.