Work Text:
Zoe sent the courier to meet John when he picked up Harold’s daily green tea at Washington Square. Risky for him to have established a pattern of behaviour like that; she was doing him a favor by pointing it out, really.
The envelope John opened immediately contained an invitation for him and Harold to meet Zoe for dinner in a few days time, barring emergencies, at an upscale Italian restaurant. Zoe knew he opened it immediately because she got a text less than fifteen minutes after tipping the courier.
Officer and Gentleman: I thought we’d discussed this, Zoe
She grinned in the privacy of her hired car and set down her latte to reply.
Dinner? No, I just had a craving for Chef Bianchi’s cavatelli.
Officer and Gentleman: I don’t need your help arranging a date.
Zoe raised her eyebrows.
You flatter my generosity. I’m not setting you up. I’m setting us up.
There was no reply for several minutes. Zoe took a work call, and when she still had no reaction from John, she sent another message.
Don’t forget to give Harold his invite.
It was several hours later when she heard anything else from the A Team, and Zoe would have assumed they’d gotten busy if she hadn’t run into an interesting situation herself, and given her dinner plans for later in the week little to no thought. As it was, she didn’t get to check her personal cell until after midnight.
Well-Dressed Man: Ms. Morgan, thank you for your invitation. It would be lovely to dine with you on the 18th. Has an occasion slipped my mind? Or has something of interest popped up in the course of your work?
Of course, it was too late to reply to a non-business message. Zoe wrote up her reply and set it to send at a more reasonable time the next morning. When she went to bed, it was with a catty smile, imagining what Harold’s expression would be like when he read her text.
No particular occasion. I just thought it was time for the three of us to get to know each other better. I like to think I know your friend pretty well by this point, but I don’t know you nearly as well as I’d like. And I suspect- if you’ll pardon the intrusion- that you don’t know him as well as you’d like, either. Or as well as he’d like you to know each other.
Oh, to be a fly on that wall.
Zoe was in a breakfast meeting with a state representative’s chief of staff when her personal cell buzzed, so she let it go. When she accepted her payment with a smile and left the bistro, she read the new message.
Well-Dressed Man: Now I understand my associate’s odd behaviour yesterday. You do like to stir the pot, don’t you?
‘Odd behaviour’? Zoe chuckled to herself, walking down Seventh Avenue. She could only imagine, though of course she would relish the opportunity to tease John, if it came up.
The pot’s been on the stove for a while now, don’t you think? But, if you’re not interested in your seat at the table, I’ll settle for a one-course meal.
There was no reply for several hours, when her personal cell buzzed twice while she sat in on a contract negotiation on Wall Street. She was only observing, so Zoe read her messages immediately.
Well-Dressed Man: That won’t be necessary, Ms. Morgan. My associate and I will see you for dinner in a few days.
Officer and Gentleman: Damn it Zoe, what did you say to him?
Zoe interrupted the meeting by laughing out loud, and she didn’t regret a thing.