Blank Slate

by Olivia Saxton

  “Two hours,” Bruce said as he strode to the door.

  Chapter 29

  Alec waited in his apartment building’s lobby for Bruce to pull up. He did at eight-thirty sharp. Alec pushed the glass doors open and walked to the black SUV and got in.

  “Hey, partner,” Bruce chirped.

  “Two hours,” Alec grouched.

  “Yes, Alec, two hours,” Bruce stated as he looked in his rearview mirror. “But who knows? You might have a good time and want to stay out later.”

  “Maybe,” Alec grumbled.

  The big guy pulled out in traffic.

  “I put on a suit like your text said so. Where are we going?”

  “We’re meeting the girls at the Tampa Palms Country Club.”

  “What? We can’t afford that place even on a discount, and you have to be a member to eat there!” Alec yelled.

  “Or know someone who’s a member,” he countered in a bragging tone. “Bobbi’s friend is a member. We need to meet the girls in the lobby at seven.”

  “Shit,” Alec sneered with annoyance. “If you weren’t driving, I’d blow your head off.” He wasn’t trying to spend hundreds of dollars on being a shill on a double date.

  “Look man, when I called Bobbi and told her that I found a date for her friend Saturday night, I suggested Season 52, and she laughed her head off. I knew it was a long shot, but I tried anyway.”

  “What do you mean, you knew it was a long shot?”

  “Bobbi is an upscale woman, Louis Vuitton shoes and all. Apparently, her friend is too, because she’s a member at the country club. I had to agree to it. If I didn’t, she would have hung up and not have taken my calls again,” Bruce whined.

  “Hell, a hooker is cheaper, Bruce,” he stated as he rolled his eyes.

  “Look, I hid it from you till the last minute because I knew how you would react. I admit that, but I’ll make it up to you,” Bruce retorted with annoyance. He turned to get on the highway to go to the flush part of town.

  Alec was in this now. Besides, he hated going back on his word, especially when it was his best friend. “Bruce, do you remember how much those tickets were to that fancy auction Lana threw in that place? We had to sneak in to cocktail hour, and we couldn’t even sit down at the table to eat the meal.”

  “That was different. That was for charity. You know they up the prices for something like that. We’re talking about a small dinner for four people,” Bruce reasoned.

  Alec thought for a moment. Most vendors did raise their rates for large functions. “Okay, maybe I’m overacting. I mean, how much can it be, really?”

  “Yeah, we’ll split the bill. If anything, I might be able to pay for it all. I got two-hundred-and-fifty dollars in my wallet. I figured if we order one bottle of wine at about seventy dollars, appetizers, main course, and dessert . . . can’t be any more than two or three hundred total. You can cover an extra fifty, right?”

  “Bruce, no offense, but math was never your strong suit. Four of us in a place like that with alcohol would be a hundred-dollar minimum, perhaps a hundred and fifty. Appetizers will probably be forty bucks because you know those portions are small, and we’ll need to order two just to satisfy everyone. A main course at an estimate of about . . . Let’s say thirty dollars apiece. Then, dessert . . . fifteen dollars apiece in a place like that. Is an estimate of about three hundred and seventy dollars, not including tax and an eighteen-percent gratuity. So at the least, we’re looking at about four hundred dollars.”

  “Damn,” Bruce said with a frown.

  “I tell you what. Swing by the SunTrust ATM at the next exit. I’ll withdraw a hundred and sixty bucks. I already got a hundred in my wallet.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” Bruce asked with hesitancy.

  “No, buddy. Like you said, you would do the same for me. Besides, who was the one who always covered my bar tab during our senior year?”

  Bruce cheesed. “Aw, and here I was thinking you forgot all about that.”

  Alec chuckled.

  ****

  She got out of her convertible at the Tampa Palms Country Club. Securing her white silk shawl around her shoulders, she sashayed to the front doors of the lobby. The last thing she wanted was to spend her Saturday night on a blind date. However, Bobbi had been a loyal friend through two divorces. She owed her at least this. Bobbi hadn’t wanted to go out on a first date with this guy alone. She had met him on the street coming out of Starbucks. Despite the fact that Bobbi found him attractive, his aggressiveness made her nervous. So, she made a deal with the guy. On a double date, he could only get so fresh so fast.

  The doorman opened the door for her. She nodded her thanks. Looking around, she found Bobbi. Her mouth dropped open at the men she was chatting with. Maybe this evening wouldn’t be a waste after all. She considered they might take a minute to recognize her, but she had one of those faces that was hard to forget because she was a knockout.

  Clearing her throat as she approached the men from behind, she spoke as they turned around. “My goodness, Tampa is smaller than I thought,” Margo stated.

  Bruce’s and Alec’s eyebrows rose halfway up their heads.

  Margo giggled. “Nice to see you boys again.”

  “What?” Bobbi inquired. “You guys know each other?”

  ****

  Bruce and Alec escorted the ladies to their table located along the wall of the dining room.

  “Can you ladies give us a minute?” Alec asked as he pulled out a chair for Margo.

  “We were caught in traffic on the way over here, so we need to go to the restroom,” Bruce said.

  “Sure. Would you like us to order for you?” Margo asked.

  “Yeah. I want a steak medium rare with baked potato and whatever vegetable they got,” Bruce answered.

  “Same for me, but I want my steak medium, please,” Alec said.

  “Drinks?” Bobbi asked.

  “Rum and Coke,” Alec said.

  “I want a Bud,” Bruce said.

  “They only serve imported beers here,” Bobbi stated.

  “Oh, gin on the rocks, then,” Bruce said.

  “Get whatever appetizer you like,” Alec said.

  “All right,” Bobbi said.

  Margo nodded as she gave them a gentle smile.

  They walked back to the lobby.

  After getting a good look at Bobbi, Alec didn’t blame Bruce for wanting to take her out on at least one date. If he didn’t know any better, he would say that Bobbi was Elizabeth Taylor’s sister.

  However, they had a bit of a problem on their hands.

  “Well, this is an interesting turn of events,” Bruce commented wryly.

  “Yeah, lover boy, what now?” Alec asked sarcastically.

  “Look, all isn’t lost. We only met Margo that one time. I don’t think we told her what we did for a living.”

  “No, we didn’t, but she thinks we live two streets down from her . . . in a really nice part of town.”

  “It’s okay. Bobbi thinks I got a little more money than the average Joe Blow, anyway.”

  Alec didn’t like the sound of this. “I’m almost afraid to ask what you told her to get her to look at you twice.”

  “No big deal. I just said that my dad owned three factories that make car parts.”

  “Bruce, your dad is a mechanic. That’s way different than–”

  “It’s not like I pretended to be a millionaire’s son. If Bobbi thought I was some average middle-class guy, she would have blown me off when I asked for her phone number. When we met, she was wearing a diamond necklace that I know cost a mint,” he whispered. “Look what she has on tonight. You heard her when I complimented her black dress.”

  “Yes, she said it was a Vera Wang . . . whatever that means,” Alec mumbled.

  “It means that it’s a designer dress that cost mucho dinero.”

  “Let’s stick to the truth when it comes to our professions. That way Bobbi won’t see you as the lyi
ng sack of shit that you are.”

  “Okay, but we’re sticking with the story about my dad.”

  “Fine,” Alec said dryly.

  “Now, let’s really go to the bathroom so we don’t have to go later. I don’t want to have to miss another minute being around such fine-ass company.”

  Twenty minutes later, they had finished the appetizers that didn’t taste bad at all, but it didn’t really fill Alec up. He hoped that their meals would come quick like the appetizers. He took a final sip of his rum and Coke. It sure was good. Then again, the country club probably used top-shelf liquors. He was tempted to order another, but he wanted to make sure they were staying within their budget. Alec wondered if he was concerned over nothing. After all, the ladies didn’t even order alcohol. They drank out of their water glasses. He relaxed. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be so bad. They were both average-sized women. How much could they eat and drink? Plus, the dinner conversation was surprisingly pleasing. Margo seemed to have some intelligence about her. Alec had feared he would have to listen to two empty-headed bimbos talk half the night. The only thing that kind of annoyed him was Bobbi calling Bruce Brucie.

  A waiter approached their table with a silver pushcart. There were four small silver trays with a silver urn that looked like a Genie’s lamp in the middle of them. Fancy crackers, a glass dish full of what looked like cream cheese, and a glass dish of red onions surrounded the urn.

  “Excuse me, but what is this?” Bruce asked as the waiter placed a silver tray with an urn in front of him

  “It’s your appetizers, sir,” the waiter answered.

  “This is someone else’s order. We had the thick toast with the chopped tomatoes and basil,” Bruce said.

  “That was our hor d'oeuvres course, Bruce. This is our appetizer,” Margo corrected.

  “So, the order is correct?” the waiter asked with care.

  “Yes, please serve it,” Margo said sweetly.

  The waiter began to unload his cart.

  “And it was bruschetta,” Bobbi said.

  “Gesundheit,” Bruce said to her.

  “No, Bruce, bruschetta was the first dish we had,” Alec whispered.

  “Um, oh. So what is this . . . dish?” Bruce asked.

  “Beluga caviar,” the waiter answered as he took the top off Bruce’s urn.

  Alec’s mouth dropped open. He uncovered the dish in front of him. The urn was full of ice and on top was a glass, maybe even a crystal dish, of about two ounces of fish eggs.

  Ah, shit this is going to cost us. Alec’s father had decided to splurge one fourth of July and buy a container of caviar. They all had tried it, and it was okay, but it wasn’t good enough to justify spending seventy-five dollars a container.

  The waiter with the cart walked away as another waiter and a man who had on an ugly, flashy vest that matched the wallpaper in the lobby. He also wore a black bow tie and was carrying a gold bottle of champagne in a bucket with a stand. The new waiter started placing champagne glasses in front of them.

  “Good evening, Ms. St. John. I heard you were here, so I brought this myself,” the man with the vest said with a mouth full of teeth. He placed the bucket with the stand on the floor.

  “Thank you, Talbot, and it’s great to see you,” Margo said with a big smile.

  “And it’s always wonderful to see you. And I see you have guests this evening,” Talbot said as he took the foil off the champagne.

  “Yes, I think you remember Bobbi, and these are our dates, Bruce Styles and Alec Peterson.”

  “I do remember Ms. Bobbi, and it’s a pleasure to meet you gentlemen.”

  Alec and Bruce acknowledge him as he was twisting the cork.

  A loud pop sounded off. Talbot poured the champagne for them.

  Well, that’s about a hundred and twenty bucks.

  “Thank you, Talbot,” Margo said with a grin.

  “You are very welcome, Ms. St. John, and you have a pleasant evening,” he said and placed the bottle in the bucket and left them.

  There was enough silverware on the table to fill a kitchen drawer. They didn’t need silverware for the bruschetta, so he didn’t worry about it at first. Alec took a stab at grabbing the small spoon that was above his place setting. He was about to dip it in the caviar when Margo stopped him.

  “Oh no, honey,” she whispered. “Using a metal spoon will sour your batch. Use the white thing on your tray. It’s called mother of pearl.”

  He saw it and picked it up. “Thanks.”

  “Do you want me to give you pointers on how to eat it?” she asked sweetly.

  He grinned. “Sure.”

  Margo showed him how to place the crème frachie, caviar, and onion on the cracker. “Eat the whole cracker at once. If you don’t, there’s a chance of you wasting some caviar, and you don’t want that.”

  “Absolutely not,” Alec agreed with a smirk.

  As they ate the fish eggs and drank champagne, they chatted.

  “Alec, Brucie just told me you two work for the government,” Bobbi said in her natural, sex-laced voice. “What is it that you two do exactly?”

  “Don’t tell her. I wanted her to guess,” Bruce interjected.

  Alec smiled.

  “I think Alec here is an ambassador in the Middle East somewhere,” Margo said.

  “I think Bruce is some sort of general,” Bobbie chimed in.

  “Oh, I know. Alec, are you running for your first term in the house?” Margo asked.

  Alec laughed then. “We can’t let them go on with this. We work for the FBI.”

  “Like . . . you’re special agents?” Bobbi asked with wide eyes.

  “Yep. Do you find it alluring?” Bruce asked with hope in his voice.

  “Oh . . . yes,” Bobbi choked out. “Very . . . sexy. No wonder you two are in such good shape.”

  “This isn’t a set-up, is it? And I don’t mean the actual blind date,” Margo said as she held her champagne glass.

  “No, but you have me intrigued now. Have you done something illegal?” Alec asked in a deep, teasing tone.

  “No, but you know how the government is. Always looking for a way to get extra tax dollars,” she said nonchalantly.

  “Well, it’s a good thing we are not IRS agents then,” Bruce joked.

  They all chuckled.

  “So, have you two been in dangerous situations?” Bobbie asked with intense interest.

  “We have,” Bruce said. “I even got shot in the chest once.”

  “What?” Margo said, stunned.

  “He was wearing a vest,” Alec added.

  “Yeah, but it still hurt,” Bruce said. “Had a bruise from it for almost two weeks.”

  They finished up the caviar as Bruce told the girls about his brush with death. The waiter cleared their plates. This was taking longer than Alec thought, but it wasn’t bad. He calculated that the caviar was about seventy-five dollars a serving. Considering the champagne, the bruschetta, and the steaks, they had hit the five-hundred-dollar limit.

  The waiter with the cart came along again. This time, he had salads and a basket of bread. He started setting them down in front of them.

  “Oh, we have salads now,” Bruce said nervously.

  “Your third course, sir,” the waiter said.

  Damn. Alec looked over the new food. It looked like a basic garden salad. They couldn’t have been over fourteen dollars apiece, but he wanted to be sure. “Excuse me,” he said to the waiter. “Can you bring me a menu? I want to look at something real quick.”

  “Certainly,” the waiter said and pushed the cart away.

  “I hope you like blue cheese,” Margo said. “I wasn’t sure what salad dressing you liked. I had them put it in a cup.”

  Alec knew he liked blue cheese on wings, but on a salad, he wasn’t sure. “I love blue cheese.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” Bruce said.

  The waiter returned with the menu Alec had asked for. “Thank you.” He took the menu and opened it. He
clenched his butt muscles to keep from cursing out loud that the items on the menu didn’t have prices next to them. He quickly plastered a smile on his face and handed the menu back to the waiter. “Thanks again.”

  The waiter nodded and walked away.

  They talked about the last hurricane that hit south Florida that summer as they ate their salad. The waiter with the cart came back and cleared their dirty plates.

  “So, Margo, what do you do for a living?” Alec asked.

  “I’m an independent computer programmer,” Margo answered.

  “Oh,” he said with surprise.

  “It sounds exciting, but it’s not. I’ve tried to get her into something less boring, but she won’t listen to me,” Bobbi joked.

  “Oh yeah, what do you do?” Alec asked. Besides spend money like hell on wheels.

  “I was a successful model for seven years, and then I retired. I took some of my earnings and went back to college. I work in banking now.”

  No wonder she can afford those snazzy clothes.

  “And that’s not boring?” Margo asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Not at all. It’s more exciting than you think,” Bobbi said with a smirk.

  The waiter came back balancing a tray this time. He started placing saucers with small white bowls on them with a round mound of light green ice cream in them.

  Bruce turned his nose up at the green leaf on top of the lime-colored ice cream. “The hell do we got now?”

  “Mint sorbet,” Margo answered nonchalantly. “It’s a palate cleanser.”

  Bruce looked confused.

  “Your fourth course, sir,” the waiter said and quickly left.

  “Can’t water do that?” Alec asked.

  Margo and Bobbi laughed. “Only so much with this many courses,” Margo answered.

  “How many courses are we having?” Alec asked.

  “Six,” Bobbi answered.

  Well, at least it’s not twelve. But he didn’t expect for them to go all out. They never should have told them to go ahead and order.

  “Where’s the steak?” Bruce asked. He didn’t seem to care how many courses there were as long as he got a steak.

  “It’s after this course,” Bobbi answered.