The Project

On Thursday evening Julia worked until six and then waited outside for Ben to pick her up. He was taking her out to dinner. Steven walked out of the office and stopped when he saw her. She was pleased to notice he was wearing the new shirt. "Hi Julia," he said in surprise.

"Hi Steven. Working late again?" she asked him with a smile.

"Not too late. You…look really nice," he said.

Julia had changed into a form-fitting black dress and let her hair down. It fell in soft waves around her face. Julia knew her hair was one of her best features, and she preferred to wear it loose when not in the office. She graciously accepted the compliment.

A moment later Ben pulled up in his silver BMW. Julia waved at him. "Here's my ride," she said to Steven. He wished her a good evening and watched her get into the car with Ben. As they drove off she could see him in the side mirror. He was still standing there, rather forlornly she thought.

"Who's the kid?" Ben asked. He put his left arm around her shoulders. He wore an expensive-looking grey suit and was clean shaven.

Julia resented him calling Steven a kid but she kept her annoyance in check. "He's a software engineer. And a really nice man," she said pointedly.

"Ok," Ben replied. His disinterest was obvious.

They ate at a popular Japanese restaurant and Julia made polite conversation all evening. Ben told her about his job as a property developer and she told him about some of her recent contracts with various firms. By nine o'clock she was quite tired and asked Ben to take her home. He was disappointed but did as she asked.

"This is your house?" he asked as they pulled up outside. Julia smiled as he unknowingly echoed Steven's reaction. "Yes, it's my little renovation project," she explained sheepishly. He stared at her home with a critical eye. "It looks like quite a large section. If you removed that old house you could get a row of units on there, easy," he commented.

Julia was horrified at the idea. "No, I'm restoring it," she said primly. She couldn't believe Ben would just bulldoze a historic villa. But, she supposed, that's what property developers did.

Ben shrugged, not too bothered by her reaction. "It's your house I guess." He walked her up to the front door. She intended to escape with a quick goodnight kiss but he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. "How about I come in for a little while," he suggested huskily. Julia could feel his arousal pressing against her hip and she knew what would happen if she let him inside. But for some reason, it just didn't appeal to her anymore.