Page 23 of Cocky Nerd
Olivia
After trying on no less than eleven variables, I have opted for a green cotton dress that falls below my knees, and nude Mary Jane stacked heels. My hair is up in a messy bun. It is tasteful but not sexy. I sure hope Mrs. Investor Guy doesn’t feel intimidated by my toned-down awe-inspiringbeauty.
John texted me when they were two minutes away to give me a heads-up, and now he’s texting me that he and the driver are out front if I’m ready. I grab my purse and overnight bag (which already happened to contain several condoms in its inner pocket from the last time it was utilized), and go down to the front door without replying to the text, expecting him to be waiting for me in the car. He stands two feet from me and turns to see me in the doorway. By the look on his face, I may not have toned down the sexy enough. He is even more handsome than he was yesterday, in a simple but expensive black T-shirt, charcoal blazer and dark jeans that may have cost more than my rent. Still no glasses. His eyes are so pretty I slam the door shut, as if that is what startlesme.
He kisses me on the cheek, lingers to whisper “You look good,” then signals to the driver that he doesn’t need to open the door for us. He opens the back door and waits for me to step inside. I don’t recognize this make of car, but it’s silver and sleek andclassy.
“Hi, I’m Olivia,” I say to the driver. He is middle-aged and possibly Hawaiian, very friendly-looking butserious.
“Good evening, ma’am, I’mRichard.”
“Nice to meetyou.”
When John is seated next to me, he presents me with a bottle ofwater.
“Why thank you. What kind of car isthis?”
“Tesla.Electric.”
Expensive asfuck.
“One of my few indulgences, but it’s good for the environment and I actually like ElonMusk.”
“You’ve methim?”
“Onlyonce.”
The driver pulls away from the curb and we’re off to an upscale Zagat-rated New American restaurant in SoMa. John tells me that we’ll be dining with Phil Stanley, an investor from Houston who wants to get involved with the food tech business he’s been working on setting up in Shanghai. His new wife Elaine works inmarketing.
I lower my voice. “So you have a full-timedriver?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t like todrive?”
“I do very much, but I also like to multitask, and after getting pulled over twice for using my phone while driving, I realized it was unsafe, so I always use Richard if I know I’m going to be distracted.” He looks over at me. “Likenow.”
I assume he means he’s distracted by me, until he pulls his phone out of his pocket and reads anemail.
“I saw your Ted Talk on youtube thismorning.”
“It was TedX. It’s an offshoot of Ted, not quite as prestigious. I haven’t been invited to do Ted yet.” He sounds bitter about that, which amuses me to noend.
“It was an interesting talk,nonetheless.”
“I’m glad you enjoyedit.”
“You referred to me init.”
He looks over at me and grins. “I did. I’m glad you caughtthat.”
“Well, it was pretty obvious to me. Has my brother seenit?”
“He has. He also got thereference.”
“Interesting that he didn’t mention anything about it tome.”
“He’s a busyguy.”
