Whitney had set her alarm for 8:30 a.m.  Since waking up and showering, she had spent the remainder of her time crazily rummaging through her closet, maniacally throwing outfits all over in a panic.  Her nerves were getting the best of her and she was taking it out on her clothes.  She paced her room in her robe, her towel still wrapped around her damp hair.  Finally, she sat down on her bed and looked around at the complete disaster that was her room.  She shook her head as she slid the towel off of her hair, patting it dry and then stood up to head towards the bathroom.  She was embarrassed at how anxious she had become in anticipation of meeting J.C. for brunch.  It was the first time he had ever asked her to meet him somewhere that wasn’t entirely work-related.  Granted, she didn’t know what to expect.  Maybe he was just in the mood for brunch and figured he would bring work along with him.  Still, she felt her nerves settling in at the thought of meeting up with him.  It was like a pseudo-date.  But not a date…or was it?  She was still unsure, but she knew that she wouldn’t rest until she found just the right outfit that made it seem as though she had just thrown it on, looking perfect without any additional attention.  If this wasn’t a date, she was going to be sure to not send him any wrong signals.

**

J.C. sat at the table, checking his watch.  He had arrived about fifteen minutes early knowing that she was always prompt.  It was perfect outdoor dining weather – just the right temperature with the slightest breeze in the air.  He nervously scanned the menu without really noting what items were on it.  He was too busy running over how he was going to ask her to accompany him to the party over and over in his head.  His thoughts, however, were quickly interrupted by a familiar voice.

“J.C.?  Is that you?” a leggy blonde asked, stopping at his table and sliding her sunglasses down to meet his eyes.

“Oh, Bianca, hey,” he said, recognizing the socialite instantly. 

She smiled at sat down in the unoccupied chair across from him.  “So, what’s a boy like you doing having brunch all by your lonesome?”

He shifted a little, “Oh, someone is meeting me actually.”  His eyes wandered towards the entrance, seeing if Whitney was anywhere nearby.

“Alright, well I’ll just keep the seat warm then,” she smiled and remained seated.  She slid her hand across the table, resting it on top of his.  “So, are you making an appearance at the Jones Records shindig Saturday?”

He stared down at her hand on top of his and then looked back up at her.  “I think so.” 

“Well, I’m planning on being there so you should be there.”

Before he could respond, he felt the shadow of someone approaching the table.  Whitney stood beside the table with a nervous smile. 

“Hi Whitney,” he said, sheepishly pulling his hand away from Bianca’s. 

“Hey,” she said, eyeing the other woman at the table. 

Bianca returned the favor, sizing her up.  J.C. and Whitney both stared at her silently for a moment before she reacted by standing up. 

“This is Bianca.  Bianca, this is Whitney,” he said, motioning between the two women.

“Nice to meet you,” Whitney said, extending her hand.

Bianca ignored the hand gesture and gave her an air kiss instead.  “Ah, Wendy, I haven’t seen you out before.  Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Whitney,” J.C. corrected her, “is my assistant.”

Bianca’s eyes lit up.  Her attention immediately turned back to J.C. as Whitney sat down across from him.  “Well, J.C., I’ll be seeing you Saturday night.”  She winked as she trotted off. 

Whitney nervously toyed with her hair as she skimmed the menu. 

“So…” he tried to break the ice.  “How was your night?”

“Oh, it was fine.  And yours?”

“It was nice,” he said, turning his attention back to the menu. 

The server came over and interrupted the awkward conversation by asking for their orders.

**

J.C. smiled nervously, reading the text message.

“So, Whitney…I asked you to meet me for brunch…” he looked at her, waiting to see her reaction.

She looked up, expectantly.  When he didn’t finish his sentence, she laughed lightly.  “Yes, yes you did.”

“Right…well I was hoping you would want to…if you could…”

She put her fork down with interest.  “Want to do what?”

He took a sip of water before continuing.  “Would you come with me to the party on Saturday night?”

She froze for a moment.  Normally, this would be something she would do as his assistant without hesitation.  But the way he had asked her was making her feel like this wasn’t about accompanying him as his assistant.  Was this a date?!?! 

He smiled, “It would just be nice to have someone there so I won’t have to deal with the stress of the evening by myself.”

She nodded, “Okay, sure.”

“And we can get work done while we’re there.  You’ll be so useful,” he smiled, with satisfaction.

Not a date.  “Right,” she continued to nod.  His workaholic side was revealing itself again. 

“Especially with all the contacts there, it would be great from a producing standpoint,” he started to go on and on and she zoned out for a moment, a little disappointed that what had seemed like was going to be a date was turning into working overtime on a Saturday night. 

**

Jake sat down on the sofa.  “Alright, full report.”

“What report?  There isn’t much to say,” J.C. said, fidgeting in his seat. 

Mark was busy clamoring in the bar.  The sound of glass hitting the floor reverberated through the living room.  “Don’t worry about it,” Mark yelled out over his shoulder.

J.C. sighed and rolled his eyes.

“How did you ask her?” Jake asked. 

“Um, well, I think it was pretty straightforward.”

“So you told her it was a date?”

“Well…” J.C. was interrupted by the clanking of glasses and bottles being sprawled out on the table.  Mark was determined to create another new cocktail experiment. 

“Go on…” Jake said, ignoring Mark’s mess.

“Well, I asked her if she’d like to come with me to the event…she said okay…I told her how useful it would be to have here there…”

“You called her useful?” Mark rolled his eyes, pouring shots out.

“Yeah...why…was that bad?” J.C. pursed his lips.

“Dude, you made your date sound like a business meeting.”

Jake nodded, “Gotta agree with Mark on this one.  You’re going to have up your game the day of.”

J.C. sat back into the sofa, thinking about what the guys were telling him. 

**

Whitney was in the kitchen making dinner when she heard her phone go off. 

She sighed, and paused before typing a reponse.

**