Lady in Red

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*****

Wearing a charcoal grey skirt and a matching jacket over a sleeveless green top, Laura Burke sat at the far end of the bar at the Royal Centennial, enjoying her whisky sour as she surveyed the crowd around her. It was typical for a late Friday afternoon, an eclectic mix of fellow travelers and local businesspeople. The midtown hotel, which dated back to the nineteen-twenties, was the forty-two-year-old lawyer's favorite place to stay whenever she was in Manhattan, both for its old-style ambience and the after-hour opportunities it usually offered.

The Boston native had come down to New York to speak at a retirement luncheon for her favorite law school professor, Joshua Keaton. With that now behind her, Laura saw no reason to rush back home, not when she could enjoy a weekend in the city and still catch a train out of Penn Station on Sunday afternoon, that would get her home in plenty of time to enjoy a good night's sleep before the start of a new week.

After all, a woman was entitled to a bit of fun now and then, and what better place than in a city where no one knows your name? Laura loved Boston and couldn't imagine living anywhere else, but as an attorney occasionally in the public eye she found it difficult sometimes get out of it. Especially in a city that was small enough to be swallowed up by the least of New York's five boroughs.

Laying her drink back down, Laura glanced down the length of the antique bar, her gaze coming to rest on the well-dressed young man who'd caught her attention when she'd first sat down. In his mid-twenties, with a thick but tightly cropped brown beard, the handsome stranger wore his suit, which Laura recognized as custom made, with a casual ease that gracefully highlighted the well-developed body beneath it.

They'd shared enough glances to establish that the exchanges hadn't been accidental. Deciding to take it further, Laura waited until she again had his attention, then flashed an inviting smile before shifting her eyes to the recently vacated stool beside her. Her meaning was clear and, after downing the remnants of his drink for a last bit of liquid courage, the young man slipped off his chair and began to move in her direction.

The crowd wasn't what it would be an hour from now, but it was still enough to slightly impede his progress. Just long enough time for Laura to glance down at her left hand, more specifically to the empty space where a wedding band used to rest. It had done so for nearly five years, although for the last half of those it had been little more than ornamentation, devoid of any deeper meaning.

Laura had first met Simon Clarke, seven years her senior, when she'd started at Braddock and Young. Laura was five years out of law school and had been working at the public defender's office. Simon had moved over from a firm that had recently dissolved. It wasn't until after they'd both been assigned to the same case, over a year later, that they became involved. After another two years, marriage had ensued.

For the first few years, it had been a good marriage. In fact, Laura would've amended that to say it had been a great marriage. Oh, their passions in the bedroom might have cooled a bit, but no more than for most couples, especially those in demanding, high stress jobs. Still, in comparing her sex life with friends, it was clear that she was laid more than they were. But then a creeping jealousy began to cause their relationship to fray at the edges. A jealousy that had its origins in the court room rather than the bedroom.

As Laura's career had progressed, it was becoming clear that, despite having half her husband's experience, Laura was twice the lawyer. A number of high-profile cases, passed down to her because they had been thought unwinnable had proven otherwise, in her hands. And while each success brought increased standing in the eyes of the senior partners, it also brought a corresponding deterioration in her marriage.

It all came to a head a year ago when, after another celebrated win, Laura had been offered a junior partnership. That was the proverbial last straw for Simon, especially since not only was there no similar offer in his future, but that the firm made it clear they only kept him on in deference to Laura.

Less than twenty-four hours after her acceptance, Simon had tendered his resignation and filed for divorce. With no children and very few shared assets, the dissolution of their union had taken no time at all. Laura hadn't even had to change her stationary, since she'd kept her maiden name for professional reasons.

Checking her appearance in the long, wall length mirror behind the bar, part of the hotel's original furnishings, Laura was pleased with what she saw. Her hair, recently cut short, was still a rich black, and her slim frame had changed relatively little since her college days when, with small firm breasts and decidedly killer legs, Laura often drew the notice of both men and women. A fortunate concurrence since, at that point in her life, she'd had an eye for both - an interest that, as was the case with most of her sorority sisters, had been left behind after graduation.

Still, that didn't mean she didn't enjoy the view every now and then, as evidenced a short while before when, while taking the lay of the land, Laura took notice of a young woman at the opposite end of the bar. Standing amidst a small group of friends, or perhaps just fervent admirers, the girl had shoulder length, strawberry blonde hair and a smile that could charm you from across the room. She wore a low sleeve red knit top, a tan skirt that extended to just above her knees and a thick light brown belt that divided the two.

Even across the distance, you could see that the top few buttons of the girl's blouse were undone, allowing a clear view of her bust. Laura had worked in her cousin's lingerie store while in high school and had learned to estimate a bust size rather well. In this case, she'd put it at as at least a 36D.

About three inches shorter than Laura's five eight, the blonde also looked like she couldn't be more than a college freshman. The drink in her hand, however, said that she had to be at least twenty-one, the Royal Centennial being quite strict about the legal drinking age, even going so far as restricting entry into the bar by minors. With her hair pulled back and held in place by a thin black headband, combined with a pair of small, dark metal framed glasses, the young woman presented an image of both beauty and intelligence.

'Ah, where were you twenty years ago?' Laura silently mused, remembering her undergraduate days when that girl would've been just her type.

The answer, that the bodacious blonde might've still been learning to walk, was not a thought Laura wanted to consider.

"Hi, I'm James," the tall young man said as he finally reached Laura. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

"Please do," Laura said with another inviting smile, again waving her hand over the empty stool, dismissing as she did any other thoughts from her mind. "I'm Laura."

As James climbed aboard, Laura caught the attention of the bartender and ordered another of whatever he'd been drinking. There was a pause as he looked to James for confirmation.

"Why don't you make it scotch this time?" he said, thinking he needed something stronger than the weak rum and coke he'd just finished off.

"Coming right up," the bartender said as he backed away.

In the brief time it took him to return with the drink, Laura afforded herself a closer look at James and was pleased with what she saw. So much so that she felt a brief flush between her legs, reminding her that it had been too long since she'd let the naughty out. Oh, she'd dated since the divorce, even shared a bed now and then, but it was only with anonymity and distance that she really felt comfortable letting go.

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, James?" Laura said as she took a sip of her drink.

It only took about ten minutes and less than half his scotch for Laura to learn just about everything she needed to know about the handsome, and admittedly eager to please, young man. Twenty-five years old, he was a sales associate for a midtown men's clothing store that had been founded by his grandfather and still remained a family business. The last explained a lot because, while not quite as dumb as the proverbial rock, James didn't come across as much smarter than one either. Simply put, he looked good in a suit and served as a walking advertisement for the store. During their brief exchange, he'd artfully dodged the question of whether he had a girlfriend with a 'nothing serious' wave of his hand, and since Laura hadn't spotted a wedding band, or an imprint where one might have been removed, that was good enough for her.

On her end, Laura gave an encapsulated version of the truth, sharing that she was recently divorced and visiting the city on business - exactly the sort of thing a man on the make most wanted to hear. As she added a few more inconsequential details, Laura leaned forward and nonchalantly dropped her left hand down along James's right thigh, letting the tips of her fingers slide across his inseam until they brushed against his cock.

As she did so, an appreciative smile formed at the corners of her mouth as a readiness words couldn't fully convey presented itself. Not only was James exceedingly hard, but the younger man possessed an impressive length and girth.

Unfortunately, he also possessed a hair trigger as, in almost the same breath, James reacted explosively to her touch, jumping forward on his stool with enough force to knock his half-finished drink right into his lap.

"Oh shit!' he cried out as, now standing, he began grabbing handfuls of napkins from the bar, trying to mitigate the expanding stain in his crotch.

Laura's reaction was quieter, but no less responsive as she laid down her drink and reached for a clean bar rag that had been left within reach. The accident, and James's reaction, were drawing the attention of the people around them, and while she was sure that none of them had seen her reach for his cock, they certainly were watching now.

"Relax, it's not that bad," Laura tried to reassure him as she held out the rag, only to have him ignore both the words and the gesture.

"Fuck!" James further exclaimed as it became obvious that he'd only made it worse with the napkins.

"Will you just calm down?" Laura said, this time loud enough to make him pay attention.

Seeing that the people around them were already going back to whatever they had been doing before, James finally did just that.

"The men's room is just down the hall," Laura said, her tone now considerably lower. "Go and take a few minutes to clean yourself up. Don't worry, I'll wait for you."

James looked at the smile on her face as if seeking additional reassurance that she would indeed wait. Then he recalled what had startled him so much that he'd knocked over the drink in the first place.

"Okay, I'll be right back," James said as he headed in the direction of the bathroom.

As she watched him walk down the hall, Laura thought it a shame that he'd caused such a commotion after spilling the drink. If he hadn't, she simply would've suggested that they head up to her room, where he could just hang his pants up to dry. Then, as long as he had them off, well...

Finishing off the last of her drink, Laura considered having another, then decided against it. James should be back in a few minutes and she had something more intoxicating in mind than another whiskey sour.

-=-=-=-

"Excuse me, Ms. Burke," a woman's voice asked from behind Laura.

Turning away from the bathrooms from which she expected to see James return soon, Laura was assuming that she would see someone from the hotel staff. After all, who else would know her last name? To her surprise, instead of a blue bloused desk clerk, she found the blonde-haired girl in red that she had observed earlier. Adding to her initial confusion, now that she saw her close up, there was something almost familiar about her.

"Ms. Burke, my name is Kathy Pierce," she began. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but when I recognized you from across the bar, I just had to come over and meet you. You've been such an inspiration to me the last year that I ..."

"I'm afraid you have me at somewhat of a disadvantage, Miss Pierce," a perplexed Laura interrupted.

"I'm sorry, I guess I really should explain," Kathy smiled. "I'm a first year up at Columbia Law, in Professor Keaton's class. I was at the luncheon this afternoon and I thought your speech was inspiring."

"The luncheon," Laura said, her voice hesitant as the sudden collision of her two worlds sent her slightly aflutter.

Reactively, she again glanced back toward the bathrooms for any sign of James, only to find none.

"You were at the luncheon, you said," Laura repeated as she turned back to Kathy, trying now to place her among the attendees that she'd been introduced to, "and you heard my speech."

"Yes, and I could tell that Professor Keaton was really moved by it," Kathy continued. "He brings your name up in class often, well, at least in reference to some of the cases you've been involved in, especially the Madison Industries trial last year. We followed it, well, I followed it every day in the press, and then I read the article about it in the law review."

"Did you now?" Laura asked, now taking some interest.

Kathy rattled off enough details to show that she had indeed studied the nuances of the case. It was obvious, Laura thought, that the girl was nearly as intelligent as she was attractive, a compelling combination. In a snap decision, she decided that she liked this girl.

"Professor Keaton must really be impressed by your work if he invited you to the luncheon," Laura commented, remembering him rewarding students like that in her day.

"Oh, I wasn't a guest," Kathy corrected her, "I was one of the servers. Some of us pick up extra money by working faculty functions and such, but for Professor Keaton I would've worked it for free, just to be there."

As much as she hated to admit it, Laura now realized why she hadn't recognized the young woman. With all the servers dressed in identical white tops and black slacks, they all pretty much blended into the background - seen, but not really noticed.

"Well, if you were in Professor Keaton's class, then I assume you also had to take Morrison's too," Laura said, wanting to change the subject. "They sort of come as a matched set."

"Unfortunately, yes," Kathy said, her face saying it was a less than enjoyable experience.

"Tell me, does she still lecture in that dull, droning, monotone voice?" Laura asked, remembering her own experience.

"Oh God, yes," Kathy laughed. "Sometimes it was all I could do to stay awake."

Laura also laughed, remembering that as well.

"Well, at least you were spared Professor Ryan's class," Laura chuckled. "I understand he retired last year."

"Yes, but I've heard about it," Kathy replied. "Some second years said they were worse than Morrison's."

"They were," Laura snickered.

A momentary look of distraction flashed across Kathy's face, only to fade as just as quickly.

"I really wish there was time to ask you a few questions about Madison," Kathy said, her voice now rushed, "but I've already taken enough of your time. I'm so glad that I had the chance to meet you though, if only to put more of a face and voice to words on a page."

The cause of her abrupt shift became apparent as Laura realized that the girl had been looking over the older woman's shoulder. Turning around, she saw James standing about a dozen feet away. Curiously, he wasn't making any attempt to close the distance.

Laura could see that his attempts to clean up in the bathroom had only made matters worse; the stain on his trousers was now even more visible. Hoping to show that it didn't matter, Laura again flashed a smile in his direction, only to receive an inexplicable reaction in return. Without any explanation, James abruptly moved away from the two women, heading in the direction of the hotel lobby. In only a few seconds, he was swallowed up by the growing crowd, vanishing from sight.

'What the hell just happened?' Laura thought, stunned by his flight.

Then it hit her. James must've seen her and Kathy laughing. Was it possible that he thought they'd been laughing at him? Could he be that insecure? The answer, she decided, was yes, as despite his good looks, Laura also had the impression that James wasn't that successful with women. At least not with women brazen enough to grab his cock in a crowded bar.

"Damn," she said under her breath, feeling a bit disappointed.

"Weren't the two of you together?" Kathy asked as she came up closer behind Laura.

"What?" Laura replied, turning back to Kathy. "No, not really. He was just someone I was talking to at the bar."

"Oh, okay," Kathy said, thinking that from where she'd been watching, it certainly had seemed more than that.

Shifting her stance, Laura surveyed the bar. The crowd had grown to twice the size from when she'd first arrived and she doubted it would take much of an effort to find a replacement for James. The question she asked herself, however, was, did she still want it? After all, she had until Sunday to scratch that particular itch, so there was really no reason to rush.

"I guess I should be going," Laura heard Kathy say, causing her to turn her attention back to her. "Again, I really am glad I had the chance to meet you."

"And I you," Laura replied as she formed a smile.

Kathy started to leave but paused as Laura continued. "You know, Kathy, I was just thinking," she said, her smile growing broader. "One of the drawbacks of being a guest speaker at a function is that you really hardly get the chance to actually eat."

"I guess not," the younger woman agreed.

"I'm also guessing that if you were working at the luncheon, then you didn't get a chance to eat yet either," Laura added.

"No, not really," she replied, wondering where this was going.

"So, seeing that we both obviously still need to eat, I was wondering if you might like to join me for dinner; then you can ask all the questions about Madison that you want," Laura offered. "That is, if you don't mind leaving your friends."

"Oh, they're not my friends," Kathy replied in an excited voice. "I mean, only one of them is, her name's Brenda. We came down here to meet her boyfriend, he works for the hotel. The rest of that crowd was just guys trying to buy me a drink."

"All of them?" Laura asked, wondering why she found that surprising, especially considering her initial reaction to the young law student.

"Yeah, it happens a lot, even after I tell them I'm not interested," Kathy said, shifting the conversation back to Laura's offer. "If you really don't mind, Ms. Burke, I'd love to discuss Madison."

"I wouldn't have offered if I did," Laura replied, thinking that while both have their benefits, a hard cock was easier to find than a bright young mind, and right now she preferred the company of the latter. "And please call me Laura. After all, we're practically fellows of the law."

-=-=-=-

As Kathy walked over to let Brenda know she was leaving, breaking a half dozen hearts in the process, Laura considered where to have dinner. She considered a few places that she remembered from previous trips to New York, then realized that the answer was literally staring her right in the face.

Not thirty feet from the bar was a wide, wrought iron staircase that led up to the second floor. Well, at least half of the second floor, where there was a small but well received restaurant that overlooked the bar and the lobby. Normally, due to its size, it was hard to get a table, but since the theatre crowd wouldn't be coming in for at least another hour, Laura didn't think that would be a problem.