offer, so I tried to comfort him by drawing attention to the fact that Jack had actually claimed to be interested in MCI. He legitimately had said he was interested—it wasn't just wishful thinking or a dumb platitude. Those promising words were the only positive weapon I had.
However, we still didn't hear anything from Jack for the next two days, which left us with the weekend. Sam was bent out of shape, but what the hell could we do anyway? It was Jack's decision, and that was that. Sam would just have to survive a couple more days, I was sure of that.
Oh, weekend...
***
My Craigslist searches had led me to the lovely neighborhood of Astoria. I found a spare room in a two-bedroom apartment with a guy named Jesse, a finance major at NYU whose long-term goal was investment banking. He was interning with a major banking firm and gone a lot of the time for work-related stuff. As a result, I usually had the apartment to myself, an added perk. Jesse had a girlfriend too, Laura, but she lived in New Jersey and had her own stuff going on during much of the week.
Jesse was usually absent when I got home, but Friday night, he was there, dressed in a fancy, tailored suit. "Hey, Effie!" he shouted as I walked in. I was shocked to see him, even though he lived here.
"Jesse! Wow, don't you look nice!" He usually dressed nice for work, but this was a couple steps above that. "Are you going out with Laura tonight? Something fancy? Ballroom gala?"
A big, mischievous smile broke out across his face. "No, just a dumb investor meeting at the New York Palace." He paused for a second. "Wanna come?"
"You want me to come to the New York Palace with you?" I asked. I was definitely confused.
"The party is at the Madison Room. Free drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Laura can't make it, and I get one guest. I wouldn't want this great opportunity to go to waste." He looked a little desperate, but then again, this was a huge offer.
"Jesse, that's kind of crazy. You want me to hang out with a bunch of bankers at one of the fanciest hotels in the world?" It was a stupid, surreal question to have to ask.
"Yes, actually," he said matter-of-factly. "That's exactly it. You'll have fun. Some of these guys are kind of amusing, even though bankers sound as if they'd be boring. No pressure, though, if you want to skip out."
I stood there for a moment and thought about my plans for the evening, which included nothing. It would be nice to relax, but who knew if I'd ever be invited to another party at the New York Palace? "I don't know if I have anything nice enough to wear."
"Okay, I'll tell you what," he said. "Go take a look in your closet and tell me your decision in fifteen minutes. We'll leave in twenty."
"Twenty?" I said, my voicing oozing exasperation. "That's a little soon!"
Jesse smiled. "If you want to go, you should really hurry up." He turned and walked his well-dressed self back into his room.
My internal debate was intense, but I quickly decided that I should take advantage of his offer. I hadn't really been out much in the city yet—I also knew a night out at the Madison Room would likely spoil me—but a chance like this didn't come around every day.
I had one really nice dress that I had worn to a friend's wedding, a black and blue strapless that I had wanted to wear again but had never found the opportunity. I threw it on a fast as I could, struggling with the zipper in the back. I was relieved to learn that it still fit just as well as it had the day I bought it. Oh, and the coordinating heels I had worn with it happened to be at the front of my closet as well. Convenience!
Somehow I managed to do my eye makeup and apply lip liner and a gentle lipstick in the very few minutes I had. It certainly wasn't perfect, but I looked pretty good. And I had forgotten how good this dress made my cleavage look. Unfortunately—or fortunately, perhaps—guys would probably notice that before they noticed my haphazard, spur-of-the-moment makeup job.
"It's a shame you're not really my date," Jesse said with feigned humility. He burst out laughing after seeing my phony disgusted look. Although I had only lived with him for