Page 17 of The Boardroom: Cassidy
Chapter Eleven-Cassidy
It’s the night before my date—not my prelude to sex date, the kind I’m used to, but a real, proper, romantic “getting to know you” kind of affair, with all the works. It may be a more important kind of date, but my modus operandi was still fundamentally the same—it started with some internet research, and then tailoring the exact kind of date to make a woman swoon.
I opened my laptop and typed Eliza’s name into the search bar, which opened up a nice assortment of her social media profiles. Her Facebook profile was full of sweetness, clouded with old birthday messages and photographs of her with her friends at parks and country music concerts. Far too many pictures of Maggie. Even the pages she liked were full of sunshine…she liked Julie Andrews musicals and NBC sitcoms likeThe OfficeandParks and Recreation, pop-country and classic children’s books like theHarry Potterseries andA Little Princess. The page seemed untouched, barely updated, as if she was a girl who lived outside of her home and the web, only letting the social media pages pick up rare traces of her life when she allowed it. The pictures and messages were never hers, but from others—people wishing her well and tagging her in pictures as she climbed mountain tops and made cupcakes for her friend’s birthday celebrations.
Her Instagram was very much the same, and only had around ten pictures posted on it, half of which were of Maggie, going for walks in the park or with funny hats perched upon her head. One particular photo caught my eye, however, one of her standing with a tall, similarly sweet-looking brown-haired man next to a waterfall, wrapped in each other’s arms. The caption simply read “…and now it’s forever” followed by a series of heart emojis. I felt my heart sink. It kind of looked like an engagement photo, or engagement announcement, if I had to be honest. It was posted almost a year ago…perhaps something had happened? She couldn’t be engaged, or dating someone, that was ridiculous. This was Eliza, and she was the absolute sweetest, always.
I wondered if she was here in Seattle getting over the mystery man. I decided not to let the photo bother me too much. Eliza was clearly interested, and hey, not to brag, but I was better looking than that other guy anyways. I would let it go.
So what to do for the date? Eliza liked dogs, and the outdoors, and baking cupcakes, outdoor picnics and concerts…I knew just the thing.
I got out my phone and texted Eliza:
Meet me outside the Torver offices tomorrow afternoon at three. Bring Maggie.
I smiled, imagining all of the parts of the date falling together. With a little bit of planning, it would be absolutely perfect.
