Annie's Story

Chapter Four: The Surprise Date

Chapter Four: The Surprise Date

Gray clouds loomed over the city as a pending storm was on the way. The temperature had dropped ten degrees, and everyone was bundled up, causing the line for the coffee shop to be longer than usual. Markus stood amongst the customers waiting his turn.

"Good morning, Claire and Donovan," Markus said. "Can I get the Italian medium roast today with the egg and cheese bagel dine in?"

"Good morning, Markus," said Claire. "I will get that going."

"Are you not going to work today?" Donovan asked with a furrowed brow.

"I am," Markus said. "I just want to talk to you two first."

"All right," Claire said, handing Markus the coffee-colored tray. "As soon as we clear the line, we will come to sit with you."

"Great. Thank you so much, Claire," said Markus, taking the tray to the table at the far end of the café. He ate his sandwich and sipped his coffee while watching the people hurrying off to work. He was daydreaming when Claire and Donovan walked up, startling him.

"Sorry," Donovan said, laughing. " We didn’t mean to scare you."

"It’s okay," Markus said, laughing. "I was in my own world over here."

"We noticed," Donovan said. "So, what's up?"

"I wanted to ask you two some questions about Annie," said Markus, casting his eyes down to his coffee cup.

"We don't snitch," said Donovan. "Annie would gut us."

Markus snapped his head up, giving the two of them a look. They both grinned and laughed.

"Jesus, all I thought was, what have I gotten myself into," Markus said, shaking his head.

"What do you want to know?" Claire asked.

"Hey, not so fast," Donovan said. "If we have to spill secrets about Annie, we want the goods on you."

"I am an open book," Markus said.

"Pay no attention to him," Claire said. "Why do you want us to answer questions about Annie? Why not ask her yourself?"

"I want to surprise her on our next date. The first one was so bad, and I felt horrible taking her to a place she was completely uncomfortable at. I didn't know they would mistreat her," Markus said.

"We didn't hear the date was that bad. She liked the food and the company. Yeah, she said the service sucked, but she liked being there with you," Donovan said.

"Thank you for letting me know that," Markus said, sighing. "I just want this next date to be perfect. What does Annie like?"

"As in?" asked Claire.

"Food, music, movies, plays, anything would help," Markus said.

"What do you two talk about walking home together?" asked Donovan.

"Donovan," Claire scolded.

"I mean, I would have thought this is what you would talk about getting to know someone," Donovan said, shrugging.

"We talk about our days," Markus said. "And what we are eating at the diner. Then when we are there, we talk to Val, and she tells us about her day."

"She loves that diner," Claire said, smiling and shaking her head. "And the music she listens to could be anywhere from classical to metal," Claire said.

"Metal?" Markus asked.

"Yeah, our sweet Annie likes to be in the middle of mosh pits, headbanging with the beat," Donovan said.

"There is something I would have never expected," Markus said, raising his eyebrows.

"I know. We didn't expect it either from this soft-spoken girl when she first started working here," Claire said. "Then, one day, she comes in all excited because she is going to a concert after work. We were both astonished when we asked her whom and she told us."

"Wow, okay," Markus said, shocked, eyebrows raised and nodding. He didn't know what to think, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, she likes plays. She has always wanted to see a Broadway show. She watches videos of them, listens to soundtracks, and when they become musicals on television or in the movies, she watches them," Claire sighed.

"That's perfect," Markus smiled. "Thank you. Well, I need to get to work. It looks like I have a big date to plan. Please don't tell Annie any of this. I want to surprise her."

"I won't say anything," said Claire, pretending to lock her lips up.

"Me either," Donovan crossed his heart. "Good luck with the planning."

"Thanks," Markus said, putting on his jacket and leaving.

"Are we telling, Annie?" asked Donovan.

"We just told Markus we wouldn't say anything," Claire's voice raised.

"But she is our friend," Donovan whined.

"So is Markus," Claire said, sternly. "So, don't say anything. Let her be surprised. This is a good thing. She deserves a little happiness after all the heartache she went through, crushing on Jake. Don't ruin this for her."

"Okay," Donovan said, sighing. The next group of customers strolled in, and Claire and Donovan worked together to get them out of the café.

*****

Markus arrived at his office to see David waiting for him. The office was in the corner of the building with two walls of just windows so he could overlook the city. His oak desk was in the middle of the room, with a brown leather couch and two armchairs off to the left. The mini basketball hoop was just to the right of the door leading into the office.

"The board wants to know when Tao is going to send over the information they promised when they were here," David said, tossing the mini basketball in the air and catching it.

"They just left yesterday and have been flying all night. I think we can give them a few days," Markus said.

"I agree, but you know how they are. They want answers before they can fully commit to backing this deal," David said. "If they don't get answers right away, they will back out, and we will be right back where we started."

"I know. We will see what they send over in the next few days. Hopefully, we can get the board to see it for what it is," Markus said.

"Yeah," David said. " I should get back to work on the next proposal. Later."

"Later," Markus said, sitting down in his chair. He called Tao and spoke to one of the executives.

"Markus, meeting with you and your board members these past few days was great. Thank you for hosting us in your city," Mr. Wing said.

"We were happy to have you," Markus said. "My board is wondering when they will have the numbers you promised."

"We are working on the spreadsheets now to send them over. Give us a couple of hours," Mr. Wing said.

"That sounds great," Markus said. "I look forward to talking to you more about our possible investment in your company."

"We look forward to possibly working with you," Mr. Wing said.

"We will talk soon," Markus said. "Goodbye, Mr. Wing."

"Goodbye, Mr. Belle," Mr. Wing said. Markus hung up the phone and stared out the window. He picked up the phone and called the diner. He needed to get his plans going for his surprise date with Annie.

Markus was clicking away on his keyboard, crunching the numbers again for this deal, when there was a knock on the door. Looking up, he saw David.

"Hey, what's going on?" Markus said.

"Are you eating lunch today, or are you going to starve all day?" David joked.

"I didn't even notice the time," Markus said, looking at his watch. "I have been getting things together for this deal."

"It's funny how time seems to move faster when you are busy," David said.

"Yeah, it is," Markus said. "I can't have lunch with you today. I have some important planning to do. I will catch up with you later."

Markus grabbed his jacket and left the building. He headed three blocks over the local theater's box office. Plays were being shown there throughout the season. This year's theme was all Broadway musicals from some of the most famous playwrights. He purchased two tickets to Saturday's evening performance for the orchestra pit section. He wanted Annie to be as close to the action as he could get her.

He then went to the diner to talk to the owners. He rented out the diner for a few hours on Saturday and set up a romantic dinner for them. Next on his agenda was finding a music selection Annie would like, preferably not one he could withstand listening to. After he ran all his errands, he headed back to the office. Sitting down at his desk, he saw the email from Tao Pharmaceuticals.

He printed the spreadsheet and called an emergency meeting with the board. They all went over the numbers together. The board backed Markus' decision to go with Tao over Philip Morris. Markus stood a little straighter as he walked out of the room, full of confidence in their decision. He was still euphoric the following day when it was his surprise date with Annie.

There was a knock on Annie's apartment door. "Coming," Annie said, walking across her floor barefoot. She looked out the peephole to see Markus smiling at her. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I have come to take you on a date," he said as Annie eyed his fancy suit.

"Okay, I was not ready for this. Did we discuss another date, and I forgot?" asked Annie.

"We never set anything in stone," Markus said. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Oh," Annie said. "I am going to guess fancy again."

"Yes," he said. "Take your time getting ready. We have two and a half hours before we have to be at the first part of the date."

"First part?" Annie said.

"Yes, there are multiple parts to our date tonight," Markus said, smiling.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Please make yourself as comfortable as possible in my tiny apartment," Annie joked.

"I told you before, I think it is cute," he said. "Now, go. I will be waiting here for you."

Annie went into the bedroom. As she showered, Markus could smell her soap wafting through the air. He took a deep breath, knowing that when he pulled her in close tonight, that was what she would smell like. He smiled, thinking about how she felt in his arms whenever he wrapped them around her.

Annie walked out of the bedroom in a snuggly fit red knee-length dress and Markus' breath caught in his chest.

"What? What's wrong? Should I go change into something else?" Annie asked, looking down at the dress.

"No," Markus said. "You look stunning. You took my breath away."

"Oh," Annie said, heat rising to her cheeks.

"Yeah," Markus said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Annie said, grabbing his outstretched hand. They went downstairs to find the same black window-tinted car that drove her home from Markus' apartment.

"Good evening, Miss Annie. You look stunning tonight," said the driver, opening the door.

"Thank you," Annie said, climbing into the back seat. Markus smiled at Hank as he followed Annie into the car.

"That's weird," Annie said. "I have never seen the diner closed. I wonder if everyone is okay?"

"Maybe there was some sort of emergency," Markus said, playing it off.

"Maybe," Annie said. Annie stared out the window as they drove through the city. Markus reached for Annie's hand. She looked over at him and smiled. He pulled her to him, placing his lips on hers. She melted into the seat.

Hank drove them to the theater. Annie read the marquee and gasped. One of her favorite plays was performed that evening. Markus watched Annie while the performers were acting out the scenes. She mouthed every line and sang every song. Smiling, he knew he had made her happy. After the play, Hank drove them to the diner. Annie gave Markus a side-eye look.

"What?" he asked, laughing. They walked up the stairs to the sounds of classical music.

"I can't believe you planned this out," Annie said. "How did you know about me liking plays? We've never discussed it."

"A little birdy told me," Markus shrugged.

"Would this birdy or birdies be named Claire and Donovan?" she asked.

"I'll never tell," Markus said, raising his eyebrows. Annie shook her head. They ate, in a bashful silence, stealing glances at one another, their meals of open-faced roast beef sandwiches, mashed potatoes with gravy, and corn by candlelight.

When they were done, Hank drove them back to Annie's apartment. Markus pulled her into him and kissed her as he did on the beach. Annie grabbed his jacket lapel and started to pull him into her apartment. He stopped her.

"Annie, we can't do this now," he said.

"Why?" Annie asked.

"Because I know you are not that type of girl. I don’t want you to change because of a lustful feeling. We will get to that point, and trust me, I want to, but we need more time," he said.

"Okay," Annie said, disappointed. Markus kissed her softly and turned to walk away. She watched as he got in the elevator, leaving her to think about him for the rest of the night.