Author's note: while the setting and characters are loosely based on reality, the events depicted in this story most certainly are not!
*
Danielle's favourite part of the economics conference was a presentation about rural land use change. It wasn't so much that she was interested in land use (though she was), it was more because the presenter was utterly gorgeous. With his Australian accent and blond-haired good looks, Sean cut a dashing figure in a tailored grey suit. He was several years older than Danielle, perhaps early thirties. He moved and talked with complete confidence.
Danielle couldn't take her eyes off him, though afterwards she would hardly remember a word of what he said. He looked in Danielle's direction often and it felt like he was talking directly to her. Although, she was surrounded by a hundred other economists so it was more likely he was just addressing the crowd in general. Whenever he raised his arm to gesture at the overhead display, his jacket lifted to reveal a nicely toned butt. Her eyes glazed over and she wondered what he looked like naked. Did he have a surfer's body, smooth and tanned? Was he any good in bed?
With a start, Danielle realised Sean had stopped talking. She clapped appreciatively with everyone else and then they all filed out of the auditorium for afternoon tea break.
The food laid out for afternoon tea looked just as rich and delicious as the rest of the catering at the conference. But Danielle ignored the little chocolate fairy cakes and got a banana from the fruit bowl instead. She couldn't see Sean amongst the throng of people but even if she did, she wouldn't have had the nerve to approach him.
"Hi"
Danielle turned at the sound of the voice right behind her. It was him. She glanced around to see if he might have been talking to someone else, but there was no-one else nearby.
He flashed a hundred-watt smile and held out his hand. "I'm Sean. I don't think we've met yet."
Danielle hastily swallowed her mouthful of banana and shook his hand. "Danielle," she replied.
"I enjoyed your presentation this morning," he said, still smiling.
His gaze was friendly, but intense. Danielle averted her eyes and felt her face flush with sudden warmth. "Thanks," she replied shyly. "I enjoyed yours too. I was thinking I could apply your methodology to an Auckland data set."
"Really?" Sean looked genuinely pleased. "I'll send you the full paper. If you have any problems I'd be happy to help."
A moment later they were interrupted by a senior research fellow who wanted to talk with Sean about something. He apologized to Danielle and touched her briefly on the arm before leaving. Danielle caught her breath at the unexpected contact. She wistfully watched him walk away. It was pure fantasy to think she could ever attract the attention of someone like him. Sure she had a reasonably good figure and long blonde hair that she ruthlessly tamed with a straightening iron. But she didn't have any natural charisma and felt much more comfortable dealing with facts and figures rather than people.
Soon the next session of presentations started and she lost track of him.
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Later that evening, Danielle showered and dressed for the conference dinner. She was staying in the same hotel as the conference, which was very convenient. But the room was very small and lacked a full-length mirror. Not that she had any options about what to wear, seeing as how she only packed one dress. It was a wrap-style, in a deep burgundy colour. It showed off her narrow waist while skimming forgivingly over the hips. She wore knee-high leather boots and black tights underneath, in concession to winter. She finished putting on her makeup and then made her way down to the ballroom for dinner.
The ballroom was set out with dozens of round tables with six seats each. Danielle covertly looked around for Sean, hoping she could at least sit at the same table as him. But he sat with his Economic Institute colleagues, and his table was already full. Danielle noticed a table nearby with some familiar faces so she headed for that one.
Dinner was a predictably long, dull affair. Danielle didn't really like wine but she downed two glasses in an attempt to be a better conversationalist. Not that the other people at her table really noticed if she was talking or not. The older professor sitting next to her soon discovered her to be a willing listener and he happily shared stories of his earlier years in London.
The professor retired soon after finishing dessert, and Danielle considered leaving as well. But then someone else took the seat next to hers. It was Sean.
"I was hoping I'd get a chance to talk with you again," he said cheerfully. He draped his jacket across the back of the chair.
"Really?" Danielle inwardly kicked herself for sounding so surprised..
"Of course. I'm interested to hear more about the work you're doing at Auckland council."
Work was one topic that Danielle was good at talking about. And in Sean, she found someone who was genuinely knowledgeable and interested in what she had to say. Sean considerately refilled her wine glass for her.
Time passed as they conversed. After a while, Danielle was startled to discover there were only a handful of other people left in the room. The waiters were starting to clear the tables and remove the tablecloths.
Sean leaned closer to Danielle. "I think they're going to throw us out of here fairly soon," he whispered.
Danielle pouted. Which was an indication of how much she'd had to drink, since sober Danielle never pouted. "How inconsiderate of them," she said.
"Are you staying here at the hotel?"
