Off-Topic

[MichelleShocked]

Well, hello!!
Haven't seen you in these parts for a while. You got time for a sit and a natter?
Push those bags aside there and take a load off. You want a drink? I could do with
a beer about now too.
No, no, just the one for me, these days. Got over that hang-over crap years ago, haha!
Sorry?
Oh, right - yeah I agree, it hasn't changed much, has it? Remember that graffitti
we painted on the town water tank that night we got drunk and broke into
Marsden's? It's still there, you know. Pretty faded now, though...
Yeah, it hasn't changed much at all.
Same old small town issues and flare ups.
I suppose you saw the picket signs outside town, on your way in?
It won't change anything but if it makes them feel better...well....
Pardon?
Doreen Miller?
Oh I SEE!!
You heard about her, huh?
We were all pretty astounded when we heard out here. That sort of thing happens in stories, haha!

Chapter 1​

By the time Doreen Miller was 16 years old, she had made two definite decisions about her future.
Number One: as soon as she could, she would change her name by deed poll and
Number two: she would find herself a man who would keep her in the manner to which she intended to become accustomed.

By the time she was 17 and had scornfully observed as class mates got pregnant, dropped out of school to work
in the local chip shop or become pot-heads, Doreen had added "leave this dive" in capital letters to her mental
list. In fact, as the days ticked by to graduation, Number Three rocketed all the way up to Number One.

With a population of 4,310 - make that 311 since Jackie Walters announced at the school formal that she's having
another brat - Daleton hardly held any opportunities for an ambitious girl like Doreen Miller. There was a dingey cafe that
aspired to Bistro status. There was a surplus of mechanical equipment and farm machinery supply shops. The big local
event was the yearly Agriculutural show and if you didn't like farm animals and couldn't care less whether
a Massey could dig a dam faster than a Deere, then you were going to be bored indeed. Doreen was often bored so spent
a lot of time planning what she wanted for herself and how to get it and it didn't take her long to conclude that
most of her plans hinged on a supply of money. Lots of it. In generous - no, lavish - portions.

All through grade 12, Doreen dreamed and buffed her nails in home ec. class and imagined how nice it would be when someone
was slaving over her nails for her.
Mrs Johnson, the home ec. teacher, regularly scolded Doreen on her lack of kitchen skills and thought privately that she was a prissy little cow.
Doreen knew very well what Mrs Johnson thought - she could read it in her thinly pressed lips and narrowed eyes but she
didn't care all that much. She would be hiring a chef as well.

Even the town name was bland and tasteless, like the water and the dusty air. The town could suit itself but she would certainly do something about her own
boring name and the day after her 18th birthday, Stephanae ("no, n A e" she had snapped impatiently) Delgado stepped out into the world.

Two weeks later, Stephanae had landed herself a modest little admin job with a Sydney fashion house and a rather
acceptable apartment right in Bondi, no less. She walked the 3 blocks to work each day and had fresh-ground coffee with her co-workers
at Icebergs every Friday. Time passed satisfactorily and Stephanae found she even liked her job.

For her 19th birthday, Stephanae relaxed on her suede lounge suite and drank a glass of Penfold's Grange Bin 95 to celebrate
She had a promising job which had so far paid for all her increasing needs and a small circle of select friends who admired her taste and style.
Unfortunately, that small circle had not widened to include a man who suited her needs.

Stephanae tapped a professionally manicured nail thoughtfully against her wine glass and considered what to do.
This was all very nice, of course. Certainly a far cry from the border-line poverty she had grown up in. A memory of her mother buying underpants from
the Salvos flicked through her mind and she banished it quickly with a shudder.
She was not Doreen anymore. She was Stephanae Delgado and she could have anything she wanted. Including which ever man she chose.
Where to find the sort of man she was looking for, though...
Stephanae took another sip and stared out the french doors into the city night for a while, considering, then a smile curved across her lips.
She had an idea.​

 

[Agent M]

You have me reading fiction - and I read all the way to the end without it feeling like an effort, keep going!

 

[MichelleShocked]

Chapter 2

Richard quirked his lips in a rueful grimace and looked about him. There were places he was relaxed and comfortable and there were places
like...this.
He nervously sipped his beer again and made a mental note to throttle his mate Jason next time he clapped eyes on him. He was probably STILL chuckling to himself.
Though...he was here now and he'd paid good money - a LOT of good money - to attend this..this..fiasco so he may as well make the most of it.
Until Jason told him about it and before he could draw breath, and had booked him in, Richard had never heard of speed dating. It sounded
horrendously fashionable and up-market. Concepts Richard avoided studiously.
In fact, in all of Richard's 36 years, the words "fashionable" and "up-market" had been expressly non-applicable to him. He'd made it a
personal rule, especially after he'd made his first million. Money was a means to an end for Richard, a tool to buy him experiences and
items he needed, not a goal in itself.
He had started with a modest seed-fund from his parents when he was 18 ("if this doesn't work after 3 years, get a real job")
and spent his first 10 years building his business, though a lot of his friends accused him of just messing around.
Who else could say they made a fortune from their hobby?
He'd started off as a humble collector-diver, supplying local aquarium shops with reef fauna.
He was one of the first to pioneer hand collection as opposed to spraying the reef with cyanide and "farming" rather than taking the whole specimen.
His fish survived capture and transport and were sought-after specimens. He could acquire rare species and source master-grade coral specimens for those who wanted to pay.
Before long, he could no longer get out on the boat himself and had to hire divers so he could stay onshore and do the paperwork. Hardly an acceptable reward for
success, Richard often thought as he watched the guys head out in his place.
The years after that flew by in a blur of contracts, sales, expansions and up-grades. By the time he was 30, he owned 4 dive boats, 3 onshore shops and 2 holding warehouses.
He hardly had time to pay any attention to the 6' marine tank he had at home - the one that got him into all this to start with. He even had to employ someone to
maintain his tank these days. He was lucky if he got time now to sit quietly in the evening and be soothed as the hammer corals swayed gently back and forth and the clown fish frisked like puppies in their anemone.
Time to slow down a bit, he decided, just before Christmas. Time to spend some time on himself. "Time", Jason insisted, "you found yourself a girlfriend".
Richard looked with mild curiousity around the room again then looked at the names on his card, trying to decide which name went with which face.
He'd already "met" the one called "Lyssa". She had sculled 3 tequilas during their 10 minute chat and managed to disclose that she hated seafood, loved chocolate, is a "classic Scorp" and was "recovering from an abusive relationship".
Richard put a thick red line through Lyssa's name and waited for the next "date" to be brought to his table. Richard hoped desperately it wasn't the one with the braying laugh that could be heard clearly and embarassingly over the chatter and clatter of dinner dates, though he knew he would have to endure her at some
point in the evening. Just then, "Beaula" was ushered to Richard's table and beamingly introduced by the hostess. Richard stood to greet her and hid his misgivings behind a friendly smile.

 

[MichelleShocked]

Chapter 3​

Stephanae was also a little nervous about the remaining names on her card. She had already been seated with "Jason", he of the hairy knuckles and distracting habit of licking his lips every few seconds. He was tall, tanned and lean and from the bush peeping out from between his shirt buttons, Stephanae surmised he had more body hair than was civilly acceptable. She looked at his hands and tried to imagine them stroking her arm or breast....no...no, no, no and no. She couldn't do it. His hands reminded her of gangling spiders and with that image firmly in her head, Stephanae mentally crossed "Jason" off her diminishing list. She had to fight the urge to scrub her arms clean of the imagined stroke. Urgh.
"Gordon" was fairly handsome, in a brash, bullying way. He wore heavy gold chains around his neck and wrists and a large diamond ring on his right hand. His voice was loud and grating to Stephanae's ear. His hair was slicked back with what appeared to be a bucket of goo and when Stephanae dared a close look, she noticed he was wearing foundation and a spray tan. His hands were plump and soft and Stephanae was unsurprised to see his nails were perfectly shaped and buffed to a glossy sheen. His aftershave was expensive but overpowering, like the rest of him. Stephanae mentally shook her head and sighed. Any man who uses more beauty products than she does is going to be a problem.
"Bevin" seemed nice enough and had a pleasing sense of humor but once again, looks let him down in Stephanae's book. His skin was pasty white and looked lumpish and tone-less. When he informed her he was an IT specialist and entrepreneur, she was not surprised or impressed. He let slip his income last quarter which pricked Stephanae's ears for a moment...But she couldn't get past that white, slack skin. She could imagine his penis and balls - a ghastly limp worm hanging between two sagging clumps of dough. She was willing to sacrifice much for the life she wanted but she wasn't quite ready for that. Anyway, he probably sat up all night leveling up his game characters. No...thank...you....
The only one left to meet was "Richard".
She looked over at his table, trying to see his features in the dim lighting. He was sitting with his chin resting on his palm, listening to his current date. He seemed to be very attentive to her, watching her speak. Stephanae looked at her list then over at Richard again. Last one is for all, she thought. As he finished his conversation with his date, Stephanae prepared herself. Charm his pants off or bust.

 

[Agent M]

I hate girls with braying laughs - if they can help it that is :rolleyes So Stephanae is suitably unlikeable at this point, though I could change my mind - I'm wondering if she's going to gain some healthy character development from her experiences in the city as opposed to the small town life she's had so far. Keep going :)

 

[MichelleShocked]

Later that week, after the speed date thing, Richard and Jason had their usual Friday afternoon meeting at the pub they had frequented since they were 18.
Jason looked dubiously at the photo Richard had handed him for a long minute then handed it back to Richard, shaking his head and sighing.
"Mmm...I dunno, mate". He nodded at the photo and looked at his friend with concern. "She looks high maintenance to me".
Richard rolled his eyes. "Sheez, mate - you want me to "find someone", I find someone and you don't like the look of her".
"I wanted you to start looking. I didn't expect you to fall in love with the first chick you meet" Jason retorted in protest.
The two friends glared at each other in silence for a few seconds.
"Let me see her again?", Jason said, holding out his hand for the photo.
Richard handed it over reluctantly and watched Jason's face.
Jason looked at the attractive woman in the photo and tried to see beyond the arched eyebrows, the smile that seemed too wide and predatory and the eyes that did not smile at all. He couldn't see what Richard thought was so great about her. In fact, as he stared at her perfectly made-up face and slim, fashionably clothed form, he felt a chill steal over him, rising up his arms until it reached the hairs on the back of his neck. He couldn't explain it. She just looked.....dangerous. Then again, he hadn't met her yet. Maybe he was just being overly judgmental of a mere photo.
"What did you say her name is?" he asked
"Stephanae" Richard replied, still watching Jason's face.
Jason fixed his stare on Richard again, incredulous.
"Stephanie? Really? Including my mother, how many Stephanies have I had in my life?"
Richard rolled his eyes again and sighed.
"This isn't about you, Jay" he said.
Jason ignored him
"How many, Richard?"
Richard decided he wasn't going to humor his friend and remained silent. When Jason saw Richard wasn't going to answer, he answered his own question.
"Four. And how many screwed me over?"
Richard glared at his friend, irritated and unwilling to supply the answer they both knew he knew.
Jason again paused to let Richard answer then continued when he remained silent.
"Every single fucking one!! Dude, seriously, you want to watch your step with her. I'm telling you - Stephanies are bad news!"
Richard took the photo back from Jason's hand and looked at it.
"Well, she is intelligent and has a great sense of humor. I like her so I am going to see her again" he said decisively.
"And anyway", he added, "It's StephaNAE, not StephaNIE"
Jason decided not to tell Richard that was even worse because it was clearly pretentious as well.
Jason looked at his friend with concern and decided that the best action he could take is to support his mate's choice and not say "I told you so" later on when it all turns to shit.
He had a sneaking suspicion there would be a "later on" too.
But all he said was "Well mate, I hope she's the exception to the rule and that you prove me totally wrong" and smiled encouragingly at his friend.
Richard, relieved that his best friend wasn't going to hassle him any further, smiled back and pocketed the photo.
"She even loves reef tanks and fish" he said happily.
Jason nodded and clapped Richard on the shoulder.
"Well, like you say, its not about me - she could be the love of your life. It's your funeral either way, haha!!"
Later, Jason would recall those words and shiver.

 

[Agent M]

Oooh, taking a Black Widow turn here...

 

[Priscacara]

Nice work Michelle!

 

[MagicJ]

Is there another chapter ?