The meeting broke up, and everyone started to walk out of the conference room. Matt pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket to take it off silent mode, and he noticed a missed call from his sister. He also noticed a text message with the same time stamp.
"Nothing critical, but please call me when you get a chance."
When Matt got back to his office, he hit the Favorites entry for his sister.
"Hi, Matt, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine, Lauren, what's up?"
"Do you remember my friend Briana?" Lauren asked.
"Brianna... Brianna. Gee, Lauren, I'm not sure. I mean, how do you expect me to remember your best friend since you were in kindergarten, a girl who practically lived at our house, slept over almost every weekend, and lived four doors down. If she lived THREE doors down, I might remember her. But FOUR doors... that's kinda' tough."
"Okay, okay," Lauren said while laughing. "It's just that you haven't seen her in a long time. You stopped living at home, what, after your sophomore year of college? I was only a junior in high school."
"Yeah, but that leaves about 12 years when she was like a roommate. And I probably saw her a few times when I was home for holidays. Anyway, what about her? How is Brainy Brianna?" he asked, using a nickname he made up for her years ago.
"Actually, she's still kinda' brainy. She just finished a Master's degree at MIT, and she accepted a job in Chicago. She's flying out next week to find an apartment. The company set her up with an apartment search company, but she doesn't know anyone in Chicago. Any chance you could have dinner or drinks with her one night just so she doesn't feel so alone?"
"Of course," he replied. "When is she coming?"
"I think she gets in Tuesday, and she's looking at places Wednesday, Thursday and Friday."
"Send me her cell phone number, and I'll contact her to find out her travel plans and where she's staying."
"Thanks, Matt, I really appreciate it!" Lauren replied. "I almost feel bad about telling everyone you're an asshole," she said with a laugh.
"Wouldn't expect anything less from you, Lauren. I gotta' run. I'll talk to later. Send me Bri's info."
"Okay, thanks. Love you."
"Love you too, Lauren."
Shortly after the call ended, Matt received a text message with Brianna's contact information. He saved the information and immediately sent her a text:
"Hi, Brianna, it's Matt. Lauren told me about your trip next week. Let me know your flight time, when you're visiting apartments, and where you're staying, and we'll make some plans."
Later that evening, Matt got a message from Brianna with all the information. He proposed meeting her at the hotel Tuesday evening at 6:30 and going out to dinner. She replied:
"Thanks, Matt, that would be great! See you then."
Tuesday evening, Matt left the office at 6:00 and walked over to Brianna's hotel. Although Chicago can get incredibly hot and sticky in June, this was a beautiful, low-humidity day, so it was a very pleasant walk. Matt entered the hotel through one of the side doors, and he saw Brianna from behind. She was in the lobby facing the main doors, so she didn't see him. He walked up behind her.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he said, and she immediately turned around. "I'm looking for a geeky, skinny, 17-year-old with braces and glasses. But she has that same beautiful red hair as you, so I thought you might be related or you might know her."
Brianna had a huge smile on her face. Matt realized it really had been quite a while since he had seen her, and she had really become a beautiful woman. She was still thin, but not skinny. She was about 5 foot 6, with curly, red hair that went below her shoulders. He knew she had bright blue eyes, but her makeup made them look even better than he remembered. He loved the few freckles over her cheeks. Her breasts were on the small side, but perfect for her body.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said, "but that girl left quite a while ago. I'm afraid you're stuck with me."
"Actually, I'm quite pleased to be stuck with you. Welcome to Chicago, Bri," he said with a smile.
Brianna returned the smile and wrapped her arms around Matt, who returned the hug.
"It's really nice to see you, Matt. It's been quite a while. Thanks for being a familiar face in a strange city."
"It's great to see you, too, Bri. And it's a pleasure to welcome you to Chicago. How about we grab a drink at the top of the Hancock building -- it offers a great view of the city."
"Sounds good," she replied.
The walked a few blocks to the Hancock Building. Matt knew it wasn't officially called that anymore, but that's still the way 90% of people referred to it. Along the way, Matt pointed out a few special buildings that had architectural significance or housed famous companies.
They rode the elevator to the 96
th
floor. Since it was a Tuesday, the place wasn't overly crowded. They grabbed some stools near the northwest corner, providing a beautiful view of the city. They ordered over-priced drinks, but the price was well worth the view. For the first few minutes, Matt pointed out various buildings and sites. Brianna thought it was beautiful and had a constant smile on her face. After a short time, Matt walked her over to the Southwest corner so she could see the other half of the city. In both corners, Matt pointed out some of the neighborhoods she would probably see with the rental agent.
After the initial "tour" of the city from 96 floors up, Brianna and Matt started catching up. She told him about the company she was going to be working for and about her job. He told her about the neighborhood he lived in, his job, and what he liked doing in the city.
Brianna really enjoyed talking with Matt. He was funny, self-effacing, and smart. She also noticed he was a really good-looking guy.
Matt really enjoyed talking with Brianna. She was funny, incredibly smart, and had lots of interesting experiences. He also noticed she was a really good-looking woman. This was not the 17-year-old skinny girl he last saw in the neighborhood of his youth.
After talking for a while, Matt suggested they get some dinner. He said there was a nice restaurant along the river which had a wide variety of items, and asked if that would be okay.
"I'm in your hands," Brianna said, suddenly thinking for just a moment how nice it would be to be in his hands. "I trust your recommendations. And if you poison me, you'll have to deal with your sister."
Matt laughed. "Well, THAT'S an incentive to make sure I take good care of you."
Since it was a beautiful night, they walked to the restaurant. They continued catching up as they walked and throughout dinner. They each told funny stories about their common link, Matt's sister and Brianna's best friend.
"Hey," Matt said at one point, "can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," Brianna replied, surprised by Matt's serious tone and funny look.
"I probably wasn't always the nicest guy to my sister, especially when I started high school and you guys were like 11 years old." Then he paused for a second. "Was I an asshole to you?"
Brianna burst out laughing.
"Actually," she said when she finally stopped laughing, "you were always really nice to me. You and your sister were usually pretty good with each other, but she was your sister. So, of course you two had arguments. But you always treated me well. And god knows I was at your house a LOT! You could have gotten sick of me -- and maybe you did -- but you were never mean to me. Even though I didn't spend nearly as much time at any of my other friends' houses, their older brothers WERE sometimes jerks to me. But not you. It's something I always noticed and appreciated. So, I'm a little late with this, but thank you."
Matt chuckled. "It's not often I get thanked for not being an asshole. Guess you had pretty low expectations of me."
"No, no, no," Brianna objected. "I just appreciate that..."
Matt cut her off.
"I'm teasing you, Bri."
They both laughed and moved on to some other topics.