Consulting the Girls

Saturday morning, Dean was running on the treadmill in his gym. He was watching the morning news on the screen in front of him when a text came through on his mobile phone. He glanced at the sender, "Mia Chou" and his heart started to pound. He quickly pressed the buttons to slow down the treadmill and sat down breathlessly to read her message.

"Dean, thank you so much for last night. I hope you'll have a great weekend. Best regards, Mia." He put his hand on his forehead to wipe the sweat off his brows and sighed. Even a text from Mia made him want her. He thought for a moment about what to say. Then he texted, "You're most welcome. What are you doing this weekend?"

A moment later, "Nothing much. Hey, did you know that the Taipei Film Festival is coming up?" Dean's heart squeezed inside his chest, "Yes, I know. Is there something you want to watch?"

"I usually go alone. But if there is anything that we are both interested in, we can go together?"

"Sure, do you know what you want to watch?"

"I was planning to do some research this weekend and decide on my list."

"LOL. Ok. I will do the same."

"Ok. I should have a list by Monday."

"No problems. Shoot it across and we can work out a plan."

"Ok. Do I need to let Bryan know? :P"

Dean snickered to himself and texted, "Very funny."

":P Have a great day."

"You too Mia. X Dean" Before Dean realised it was too late. He had sent the message with an "X". He groaned. "Does X mean hugs, or does it mean kisses?" He thought to himself frowning, "Oh well, it's sent..."

---xxx---

Mia called for an emergency meeting that evening with Beverley and Abigaill She wanted their help to decide what to do with the interior design for her future flagship store. Luckily both ladies were free Saturday evening. Abigail's date was unwell so he had to cancel at the last minute. Beverley, on the other hand, had been working on paperwork all day and was glad for some fresh air.

They arrived one after the other at the restaurant, both curious as to what Mia wanted to discuss. Mia had not told them much but said that she had a crisis that she needed their heads to help solve.

Beverley shuffled in her seat nervously while Abigail and Mia studied the menus and ordered their shared dishes and drinks.

After the waiter left, Beverley breathed impatiently, "So tell us, what is your crisis?"

"Well, so I bought the Fujin Jie building now with David and Dean's help..."

"Who's David and Dean?" Abigail asked.

"They are the owners of T & W Associates who helped me purchase the building, the architectural plans, and potentially the interior design..." Mia clarified.

"T &W Associates?" Abigail tilted her head to one side and looked at Mia. Mia waved her hand in response, "Don't mind the name. They are really good. Beverley introduced them to me." Beverley chimed in, "David is a personal friend."

"Oh, I see." Abigail nodded, "David Hsieh?"

Beverley took a sip from her newly arrived gin and tonic, "No, David Tsai."

"Ok..." Abigail still seemed puzzled.

Sensing that Beverley did not want to talk about David, Mia changed the topic, "Anyways, back to me, ladies."

"So, I said to Kai-Lin that he would be leading my interior design for the building before I saw Dean's..."

"Who's Dean again?"

Mia turned to Abigail, "Dean is the architect."

Abigail pressed her lips together, "So, who is David?"

Mia responded, "David is the lawyer."

"Oh ok." Finally, all the pieces seemed to have fallen into place in Abigail's head.

Seeing that her answer did not draw more questions from Abigail, Mia said, "Ok, so I said to Kai-Lin that he would lead the interior design before I saw Dean's amazing plans."

Beverley put her drink down and said, "So, you like Dean's designs better than Kai-Lin's?"

Mia confessed, "Yes, I do. But Kai-Lin is a friend who's done my interior design for the past five years..." Beverley interrupted, "You should go with what you like and what is best. You might regret your money later."

Mia was thoughtful, "Oh...I didn't think of it that way..."

Abigail bobbed her head in agreement, "Yeah, I agree. It's business. You need to do what's best for you. Kai-Lin should understand."

Beverley looked at Abigail, "I heard Dean is award-winning too."

Abigail's eyes grew, "Oh, even better! Think of the publicity you will get associating your flagship store with his name. What is his name?"

Mia answered, "Dean..."

"No, I mean his full name."

Mia and Beverley answered at the same time, "Dean Whitfield."

Abigail put a hand under her chin in thought, "Oh. I think I've heard of him. He did the Taipei Sky! One of my artist friends was talking about him. It's a bit gaudy though, isn't it?"

Mia frowned, "No, I've been there. It's actually really fluid and elegant. Their reception is a bit gaudy, I must admit." Turning to Beverley with a smile, she continued, "Thanks again, by the way, they gave me a really good price."

"You're welcome," Beverley beamed between sips of her gin and tonic.

Mia clapped her hands together, "Ok, so should I still have Kai-Lin working on the interior design, if I choose Dean, because he's been helping me all this time?"

Beverley said flatly, "What would his role be if his designs are not good enough?"

Mia protested, "Oh, that's not what I meant. His designs are good, but I think Dean's are better. More fresh and forward-thinking. Maybe he could be like an anchor, making sure Dean doesn't do anything too wild?" Beverley asked, "But, isn't that your role?"

Mia's eyebrows knitted together. It was obvious to her that her friend thought that it was a straightforward case. However, they did not have the friendship that Mia had with Kai-Lin. But perhaps they meant something different. "Or maybe... Do you think Kai-Lin won't do it?" She cringed at the thought. She would hate to break the news to her friend after all these years designing for her, "He probably won't. But I could ask..."

Abigail observed Beverley and then looked at Mia with the same conclusion, "Yes. Ask him. If he doesn't want to help, then too bad."

Mia thought her girlfriends were outspoken but their advice was shrewd. She bit her lips and thought about the potential conversation she would have with Kai-Lin. She let out a long sigh, "You're right..."

Soon, the food started to arrive and the ladies dug into the shared plates. "Oh, the cocktails here are so good!" Mia exclaimed taking a sip from her glass. The others dipped their heads in agreement. Then, Beverley asked while taking a bite of the roast chicken, "So have you made any advances with David or Dean yet?"

Abigail's pretty dark eyes widened into saucers, "What? Mia? What is this? Are you dating them?" Beverley winked at Abigail.

Watching their exchange, Mia's face turned crimson, "No, I am not dating them..." However, after a moment, she mischievously said, "But, Dean did take me home after a party..."

"What!" Both Beverley and Abigail exclaimed. "Tell me! Tell me!" Abigail bellowed as she pounded her fists on the marble table. Mia giggled, "Ah. It was nothing. He just helped me bring home my popcorn machine." Beverley and Abigail exchanged more looks. Beverley spoke up, "I saw Dean stare at Mia when we were at a restaurant together."

Abigail misunderstood, "What? You were at a restaurant together with Dean, the three of you?"

Beverley put her drink down and shook her head, "No. No. He had a gorgeous date with him, and I was with Mia. But he only had eyes for her." She gazed at Mia deviously.

Mia rolled her eyes, "Oh, for goodness sake, that is not true. They left early to go home together. So how could that be."

Beverley grinned boldly back at Mia, "Well, I know what I saw."

Abigail caught something in the conversation, "Wait, you guys went to dinner without me?"

"Oh... I had to thank Beverley for introducing me to David and Dean." Mia swiftly made up an excuse. Beverley glanced at her briefly, grateful for the speedy recovery.

Changing the topic, Beverley said, "Do you think you will have more chance with Dean than David?"

Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Mia responded, "I had actually friend-zoned Dean but after what he did for me on Friday, I was really touched. I don’t know…"

Abigail who felt out of the loop, frowned, "What happened Friday?"

Mia explained, "I had a party for getting my flagship store and I invited Dean and David. That was when he helped me home with my popcorn machine."

Abigail smirked, "Your home or his home?"

Mia cried, "My home! Why would I take my popcorn machine to his house?!"

Abigail shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Maybe the heat of the moment, you rushed to his house?"

Mia said coolly, "Nothing happened."

"What do you mean?" Beverley was disappointed. Abigail narrowed her eyes at Mia to see if she was telling the truth. Mia shook her shoulders, "I mean nothing happened."

Beverley asked, "You didn't invite him up?"

Mia giggled, "I didn't have to. He offered to bring the popcorn machine up for me."

Abigail was stunned, "And he didn't make a move?"

"Well. He didn't look like he was going to..." Mia thought about the evening and gasped. Maybe it would have been different if she had not brought up Kai-Lin.

Beverley raised her eyebrows, not believing Mia's words, "Really?"

"Oh, we talked about business upstairs and got into a bit of an argument..." Mia chewed on her lips again and flinched.

Beverley's eyes went upwards, "Why would you talk about business in your house with a man?!"

Abigail clicked her tongue and shook her head, "Mia...This is why you are single. You need to turn the sex kitten on. I know it's in there somewhere!" She leaned over and started poking at Mia's clothes. Snapping away her hands, Mia reacted, "Stop it! I don't have a sexy bone in my body."

Beverley scoffed, "Dean has a sexy bone..."

Mia gasped and looked around, "I can't believe you said that out loud!"

Abigail laughed loudly with her hands on her chest flinging her ponytail around. Glass to her lips, Beverley laughed while she fanned herself with her hand.

Mia looked at both Abigail and Beverley and pleaded, "Tell me what to do?"

They gladly advised, "Stop talking about business in front of him."

"Wear a mini..."

"Unbutton your top to show some cleavage..."

"Talk in a husky voice."

"Bat your eyelashes at him and look him up and down with a sexy smile," Beverley blinked her eyes and smiled at Abigail as if she was Dean. Abigail proceeded to grab her in a pretend kiss. Mia choked on her drink, "Oh gosh, I would need to drink three glasses of champagne before I can do that."

Abigail advised, "Then drink three glasses of champagne!" They all laughed loudly, not caring about disturbing the people around them.

Mia abruptly stopped laughing and put her hand across her mouth, "Actually, we said we would go to watch a movie together."

"What?!" Both Beverley and Mia exclaimed again, leaning towards Mia excitedly.

After a sip of her second cocktail, Mia nodded and said, "I am to make a list of the movies I want to see for the Taipei Film Festival. And he was too, and we would see if there was anything that both of us want to watch together."

Abigail looked slyly at Beverley, "Oh movies are the best."

Beverley put her arms around Abigail's shoulders and said, "Yup. Dim lights, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Hand touching the popcorn..."

Abigail interjected, "Hand on your thigh and then up..."

Mia’s put her hands on her hot cheeks, "Stop it! Now I will be thinking about those things when I'm with him!"

The girls laughed at how transparent Mia was as she turned as red as a tomato.

---xxx---

That evening Mia got home a little tipsy. She got a little carried away with her good friends. She sat on her bed still a little light-headed and looked at Dean's messages on her mobile phone. She sighed and smiled to herself.

Suddenly, Mia frowned. She had to plan for what she would say to Kai-Lin tomorrow when they meet up for dinner. Mia would have to tell him gently that she was going to have Dean lead instead of him. She sighed. He would just have to accept it even if he was a dear friend who has been with her for half a decade...