By the time the set ended and the applause was over an hour later, her nervousness was long gone. She knew who she was tonight, she knew what she wanted, she knew how she was going to get it.
Some of the patrons were lining up to exchange a word with Midori or her band. A few had bought CDs up front and were waiting to have them signed. Delilah watched. The woman was friendly and gracious with her fans, but Delilah could tell there was a professional façade she stood behind while chatting with them. The façade wasn't fake, exactly, the warmth was certainly real enough – but it wasn't the real woman, either. Delilah smiled slightly. Seeing the public display would make it that much easier to know when she had burrowed through to the private person beneath.
The guy in the leather jacket came over and said, 'Looks like whoever he was, he did lose his mind. You feel like a drink?'
Delilah smiled. She knew he'd been watching, and that he'd noticed she was still alone. She liked that he asked again. Someone with a little less confidence might have just sent a drink over at some point. She got that all the time and hated it. It was so lame, a way of trying to force an obligation on someone from a safe distance.
'Thanks for asking,' Delilah said. 'But I'm going to meet him now. I just want to talk to Midori first.'
'Okay…' he said, that nice smile lingering, hoping for more.
Delilah smiled back to let him know she was flattered – he deserved that. But she also dipped her head to let him know the answer was final. He said a gracious good night and they were done.
When the line had dwindled, Delilah got up and walked over. She knew Midori had noticed her during the performance, and then afterward, and now the woman offered a smile, part welcome, part apology for having kept her waiting, part curiosity about who this attractive woman alone might be.
Delilah smiled back and said in a heavier than usual Parisian accent, 'I have to tell you, you play beautifully. I'm so glad I had to come to New York on the same night you were performing.'
Midori said, 'Thank you. Where are you from?'
'Paris.'
'You've heard of me in France? I'm flattered.'
Yes, that was the idea.
'I have friends all over the world who recommend music to me,' Delilah said. 'A girlfriend in Tokyo told me I would like you, so I went online and bought your CD Another Time. I love it. I come to Manhattan a few times a year, but this is the first time we've overlapped.'
There, a few more brushstrokes to fill in the canvas. Friends all over the world: cosmopolitan. Interested in music: sophisticated. Frequent trips abroad: wealth, status, an important job, perhaps? With that conjoining we at the end subtly implying that Delilah's intriguing international existence might extend also to Midori.
And of course Delilah had as always researched all these points: the name of Midori's album, online availability, etc. She was even ready to talk about her friend in Tokyo, but Midori didn't follow up on that. Instead she asked, 'What brings you to Manhattan from Paris?'
'I'm a fashion scout for some of the boutiques there. I travel around and photograph native clothing styles, art… anything that inspires the Paris designers. The business meetings are usually in New York, Milan…'
The story was true, too. Delilah really did have relationships with some of the Paris designers, and they really did use her photos. A cover wasn't worth much if you didn't live it.
'Wow,' Midori said. 'That sounds like a fabulous job.'
'I can't complain. But it feels boring compared to what you do.'
Midori laughed. 'I don't know about that.'
'Really. I would kill to have a talent like yours.'
'Well, I guess I can't complain, either.'
'Where did you learn to play? And why jazz? Did you know when you were a child that… I'm sorry, you must get this all the time.'
Right. Gorgeous, sophisticated, intriguing women who were ten times more interested in talking about Midori than they were about themselves? Delilah doubted it.
Midori laughed again. 'Not really, no.'
'Well, I'd love to hear more. Look, I know it's late, and you probably get this all the time, too, but… is there somewhere around here we could get a drink? I would really enjoy that. My name is Laure, by the way.'
Midori paused, then said, 'Sure, why not. Let me just call the nanny first, make sure she can stay a little longer.'
Delilah raised her eyebrows innocently. 'Oh, you have kids?'
Midori nodded. 'Baby boy. Hang on.' She pulled out a mobile phone and walked a little way off. After a moment, she came back. 'Okay, we're fine. How about L'Angolo, right next door? It's a neighborhood kind of place, if you like.'
'That sounds great.'
'Just give me a few minutes, then.'
Delilah nodded. Midori disappeared in back for a moment, then came out in a waist-length black leather jacket. They headed for the door. A few more patrons thanked Midori on the way out. She got hugs from the bassist and the drummer. The bartender waved and the bouncer gave her a European double kiss. She was obviously liked here, and at ease. It was her world.
They walked over to the bar Midori had in mind. Delilah unobtrusively checked their surroundings as they moved. She noted that Midori did not.
The bar was nice – a neighborhood place, as Midori had said. It was old and dark, with couches and other upholstered furniture arranged in clusters across an expanse of white tiled floor. The sounds of conversation and music were nicely balanced. You could talk here without shouting.
They sat at a table in one of the corners. Delilah took one end of a couch, her back to the wall; Midori, an overstuffed adjacent chair, her back to the window. Delilah paused for a moment to listen, then said, 'Good song. Oystein Sevag. Learned about him from a friend in Oslo.'
'So it's not just jazz, then?'
Delilah smiled. 'Oh, no. I like everything.' She picked up a menu. 'Well? What do you feel like?'
'Oh, I don't know. Probably just a glass of wine.'
'Should we see if they have a Beaujolais? The Nouveaux just came out, and there are some fun ones this year.'
'That sounds great.'
Delilah looked at the menu and was pleased to see that they had the Domaine Dupeuble, which she thought was among the best of the recent harvest. When the waitress came over, Delilah ordered a bottle. That might have been more than Midori had in mind, but she didn't object.
'How do you like New York?' Delilah asked. 'Your website says you're originally from Tokyo.'
'I love it. This is the second time I've lived here, and it feels like another home.'
'What brought you back?'
'Mostly a job opportunity.' The reply had been smooth enough, but Delilah thought Midori's features had clouded just for an instant as she recalled the circumstances of that move. Interesting.
The waitress brought the wine and moved off. Delilah picked up her glass. 'Cheers,' she said. 'It's very good to meet you.'
'Likewise,' Midori said. They touched glasses and drank.
Delilah knew to start slowly. The secret to seduction isn't really the target's attraction to the seducer. It's more how the seducer makes the target feel about himself. Or, in this case, herself. Yes, looks and appearance are important, but only as a foundation. What has to follow is the feeling of pleasure and flattery brought on by the notion that such an alluring creature could be so genuinely fascinated with me. Making someone feel important, worthwhile, the center of a universe to which he would ordinarily fear to aspire… that was a seduction.
So during their first, and then their second, glass of wine, Delilah asked mostly about Midori's jazz background. Delilah was a fan, after all, and the questions were natural enough. Where did you learn to play the piano? What's the connection to New York? What attracted you to jazz? Who are your influences? What does it feel like to compose a song?