The woman stared through the windows of Henry’s Bar and Grille. It was mid summer, and it was still sunny late in the evening. The air was hot and damp. The woman looked inside of Henry's and could see the faces of people smiling and laughing - it looked pleasant. The woman took her phone from her purse and looked through the messages.

The woman put her phone back in her purse and checked the time on her watch. It was 9:02. The woman looked up and down the street, and then back inside of Henry’s. The woman stepped towards the door and pulled it open.

"Good evening ma'am, welcome to Henry's" - said a smiling hostess by the door.

“Oh hey!” - said the woman - “I am meeting someone, in the booths”

The hostess smiled and the woman walked past her. Henry’s was noisy and filled with people laughing and drinking and eating. A waitress passed in front of the woman carrying a tray stacked with plates of grilled steaks and pasta. The woman made her way to the side of the restaurant where the booths were, and slowly made her way up along them. He was sitting alone - wearing a blue jacket with a white carnation. She stopped beside him. He was eating clams - clams casino - and sitting beside his plate was a bloody mary. He didn’t see her, so she coughed and then waited. He didn’t react, and kept eating the food. She coughed again and he turned and looked at her.

“I am Miss White” - she said.

He smiled.

“I am Mr. Black” - he said - “Come and sit!”

She smiled at him, and then slid into the booth opposite him.

She was pretty, and athletic looking. She was wearing a black pants suit and a white blouse - and she had blond hair tied back into a bun.

Mr. Black was waving at a waitress.

"Whadya want?" - said Mr. Black

“What?” - she said.

“A drink - you want a drink?” - said Mr. Black

"Oh, yes. Sure" - said Miss White - “Vodka soda and lime”

"Vodka soda and lime for my friend please sweetheart, and another plate of clams casino and a Bloody Mary"

"You wanna eat?" - said Mr. Black, looking back at Miss White.

"No" - she said, quickly.

“Shrimp cocktail? Or some clams? The clams casino are excellent!"

"No"

Mr. Black smiled at the waitress - "Thadda be all, sweetheart"

Mr. Black finished his Bloody Mary, and then pulled out a silver cigarette case and lit a cigarette. He smiled at Miss White, who smiled back.

"Are youse nervous?" - said Mr. Black

“No” - said Miss White

The waitress brought their drinks - "Clams are coming straight up hun"

Mr. Black smiled at the waitress, and thanked her, and then puffed his cigarette and held his Bloody Mary in a cheer. Miss White picked up his drink and they cheered, and then they both took sips.

"Youse was probably thinking that this was some kinda set-up - and that I was the cops. Amirite?" - said Mr. Black.

"No, I didn't think that" - said Miss White

“Sure you did. Youse was thinking is this a set-up"

Miss White took another sip of her drink.

"But, if I was the cops - then we would have everything we need already, and we wuddn't have dragged you all the way down here to make a big scene. We wudda cuffed you at your families foundation - up on 5th Avenue"

Miss White smiled nervously.

"We spent a whole lotta time checking you out, Miss White - making sure youse ain't a cop, and to make sure youse ain't working with the cops. When everything checked out - we decided to arrange this consultation"

"Cool" - said Mr. White.

“So, now we knows we both aint cops - we can all relax and talk business"

The waitress brought over Mr. Black's plate of clams.

"Thank you sweetheart" - said Mr. Black, as he squeezed lemon juice over the clams casino.

"Now Miss White - youse should know. I don't work for the people you wanna work with. I am a middle man - I take care of the consultation and answer all of your questions. If it looks like youse gonna be a good fit, then I will help make the arrangements for the next step - but if it looks like this aint gonna be a good fit, then I will let you know and then that is the end of it all. Understand?"

Miss White nodded.

"I am not involved in everything else - I just meet the prospects and conduct this consultation, you understand?"

Miss White took a sip of her drink, and nodded.

Mr. Black heaped cocktail sauce onto a clam, and then slurped it back. He chewed for a moment, and then took a sip of his Bloody Mary and then smiled.

“So, Miss White, what are you in the market for?"

Miss White took another sip of her drink and then spoke - “I want to be like him”

Mr. Black slurped down another clam, and chewed for a moment.

"Like him?"

“Yes, like him" - nodded Miss White, confidently.

Mr. Black slurped back another clam, and chewed and nodded and then took a sip of his Bloody Mary. He then lit another cigarette, and thought for a moment.

"You mean, like Mr. Amazing?" - said Mr. Black after a while.

"Yes"

Mr. Black drew on his cigarette, and held the smoke in his lungs. After a while he blew the smoke out of his lungs in a cloud above the booth.

"Well, that is something that we can do." - said Mr. Black, flicking the ash from his cigarette in the ashtray, sipping his Bloody Mary, and smiling.

Miss White smiled, and took a sip of her drink.

The End