The Proposal by Lily Zante

her
quickly, "Lovely to see you, would you please excuse me one moment, I'll
be back." She gave her most winning smile and raced off towards Ethan, who
had his back turned.
    He was talking to Michael
Zimmerman and Sandra Donnelly.
    Nadine's color drained
from her face. She knew Sandra's motives and she knew Sandra had a knack for
discovering details in a roundabout way. She could only hope that Ethan had
been able to hold his own. She temporarily forgot that he wasn't even properly
dressed. Rushing up to him, she took his hand softly, "Hey honey, I was
beginning to wonder where you had gotten to."  Ethan turned to
acknowledge her and she saw a quick flicker of delight spread across his face
as his eyes dropped down, taking in her whole outfit.
    Nadine had picked the
right dress for this evening and she knew she looked good in her pure white
floaty number.
    "You look stunning,
" said Ethan staring at her dreamily and completely forgetting about
Sandra Donnelly and Michael Zimmerman who were standing next to him.
    Something in Ethan’s eyes
and the way he said it, told her that he meant it.
    "Mr. Zimmerman, how
nice to meet you." said Nadine brightly, stretching out her palm and
shaking it warmly.
    She liked this man and
the few meetings she had had with him gave her the impression that he was a
shrewd but fair man. He rewarded loyalty and hard work and merit and had no
time for people who slacked off or for those who treated him like a god.
    "Nadine, please.
Call me Michael. After all, we're all here to relax as well as do a bit of
work." He laughed and his silver grey eyebrows lifted as he did so. He was
not particularly tall, and Nadine felt as though she and Ethan towered over Sandra
and Michael.
    But even with his small
height and slim frame, Michael Zimmerman was a force to be reckoned with. He
had built up his advertising company from nothing forty years ago to now being
one of the most successful advertising agencies in San Francisco. Many other
companies had come and gone but his had remained with the largest market share
because he believed in the power of relationships, something that many
companies, especially in this digital age, forgot about.
    "We've been having a
wonderful conversation, Ethan and I," he turned to Ethan and chuckled.
    Great , thought Nadine. She dreaded to think what these
two could possibly have in common.
    Michael Zimmerman beamed
at her, "Art. Structures and architectural metalwork,” he said. “I never
knew your boyfriend was so talented.”
    "Metalwork?"
said Nadine, a little weakly. Oh dear god. She didn’t want Ethan’s little white
lies to turn into huge episodes that would come to haunt her in months to come.
    Sandra Donnelly continued
listening quietly. She had been studying Ethan and watching him in delicious
silence.
    "Anyway, nice to
meet you. I hope we can carry on with our conversation another time Mr.
Zimmerman." Ethan seemed enthused to have met the man who Nadine had
wanted to impress the most.
    "Call me Michael,
please," said Michael. 
    "Would you excuse us
for a moment, please?” asked Nadine. She grabbed Ethan's hand and frog marched
him slowly away from the group.
    "What are you
doing?" she hissed between clenched teeth, smiling at all the people she passed
on the way. 
    Ethan held her hand
tightly, "What's wrong now? You need to relax a bit Nadine."
    "This was not our
agreement!" she glared at him when she had him in the elevator.
    "The proposal, you
mean," he said slowly, looking at her calmly. Cleary he was enjoying
watching her wince. These people didn't mean anything to him.  He couldn't
care less about the other people here but he was trying to show Nadine in a
good light. He didn't think he had done anything wrong by getting to know
someone like Michael Zimmerman on good terms either. So he was confused as to
why Nadine was so angry with him.
    "I don't want you to
draw any unnecessary attention to yourself Ethan! And making a beeline for the
founder of the