She was in town for a business trip. The only woman on the team, leading the project, so she felt she had to look her best. 

Hair half pulled up, suit jacket and pencil skirt that stopped at her knees. She wore short heels as she was already tall at 5’10”. She found men were intimidated by tall women, but didn’t need to fully tower over them. 

She’d come into town the night before, but had gone straight to her hotel to prepare and sleep. 

She thought she’d killed it on her portion of the presentation, so tonight called for a celebration. She figured since she was in Memphis, she’d go to a blues club. It wasn’t normally her type of music, but she heard Justin Timberlake would go from time to time, either to listen to music or to perform himself. Running into her teenage heartthrob wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. 

She found a table, ordered some food and an Arnold Palmer. She didn’t want to lose focus for the next presentation in the morning to their Board of Directors. 

The band started, and she liked it. Again, not her usual thing, but she could appreciate their talent. She pulled out her notes from the meeting that day and was already prepping for the next day. 

She took off her suit jacket, revealing a sleeveless black top and her toned arms. She stayed for a while, looking at her notes between songs and enjoying her meal with the music. 

The band took a break, and the waiter came up to her table with a cocktail. “A drink from a gentleman here tonight."

She took it and sipped at it so as not to be rude. Her eyes scanned the room. Who could this mystery gentleman be? It was dark, so she couldn’t see most of the men clearly. Her eyes went to the balcony section upstairs, when she saw him. A man standing against the balcony gave a subtle wave to her, nodding his head and lifting his glass. She lifted her glass and sipped, nodding her head in appreciation of the drink. She smiled, even though she had no clue who this man was. 

She saw him walk away, and hoped he would walk up to her to introduce himself. She sat through another set from the band, and it seemed her mystery man was gone. 

Her hotel was nearby so she had walked there, and walked back to her hotel. She was a little disappointed but knew she had to focus on her presentation. Her career was riding on this. It could make her a junior partner in the firm. She poured over her note cards and fell asleep at her table in her room. 

The next morning, she grabbed coffee from the Starbucks that was down the street before going into her meeting across town. She was nervous but laser focused. She’d rehearsed countless times in her hotel room, going over it in her head most of the morning. 

…

The meeting went very well, the Board and their biggest client were extremely pleased. Her team wanted to celebrate by going out to dinner. She joined them, but was wanting to decompress by herself and left as everyone started to drink. 

After dinner, she decided to unwind a little and went to the piano bar downstairs at the hotel.  The house band was on, playing blues and jazz as people came and went.  

She ordered her first drink, her typical go to- Midori Sour.  Drink in hand, settled on a large plush chair near the back corner, where she could observe the people and enjoy the music.  She slipped her heels off enough to relieve her feet, but not enough to be considered rude.  

The night went on, she’d now switched to a berry wine, enjoying herself in just being, not having to be anywhere and do anything.

Then she saw a man enter, his silhouette seemed familiar, but his clothing hid his identity.  She was far from anyone she knew, so how could he seem so familiar?  The thought bothered her, but she tried to enjoy herself.  She closed her eyes and listened to the band, enjoying her solitude.

“Hello,” said a male voice in her ear.  “I saw you watching me as I entered.  I’ve been watching you ever since.”