The Love Pill

  The Love Pill

  For Natalie,

  Who made me believe in the kind of love I write about.

  1. Autumn

  Cara Hemlock

  When I walked into my office, ready to start work again, I was startled by all the noise. A group of my colleagues had gathered and were applauding.

  ‘Well done, Cara.’ and ‘Nice job.’ were the only sentences I heard for the next three minutes. I was flattered, but I just wanted to start work and hide from everyone congratulating me.

  I work for a government company that tries to obtain secret information. We were in a way spies. The reason everyone was clapping their hands? Yesterday I obtained information that would save five soldiers in Iraq. Was the applauding necessary? No. I hadn’t done anything special, just did my job. Successfully, that is.

  ‘Thanks, guys, now can we just get back to work?’ I asked, not really liking being the centre of the attention. I don’t want to brag, but I was one of the best in my line of work. I just never got used to all the admiration.

  I started working, only to have Ruben stomp into my office. He threw his jacket over the armchair and sat down looking angry.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked my colleague and very good friend. He huffed and crossed his arms, shaking his head.

  ‘I was sent on a mission to seduce a woman to get some private information, but she rejected all my advances.’ he exclaimed, looking hurt.

  Ruben was a very good looking guy. We had been on a couple of dates but there was no firework or magic. So we just decided to stay friends. I understood why he was upset though, no one ever rejected him.

  ‘I don’t get it, I mean, I was friendly and charming and nice and sweet and I am good looking and, and. . .’ he trailed on, lost in his ramble.

  I smiled. I’m not gonna say it was nice that someone finally wasn’t interested, but it would be good for his ego. Shame it had to happen on a mission.

  They had sent Ruben so that must have meant it was an important piece of information he had to retrieve.

  ‘Tell me about her.’ I asked, intrigued by this woman. There were not many women around him that didn’t faint at his feet and I would enjoy having female friends that could keep their hands off of him.

  ‘She had dark hair, dark eyes, tiny frame. Nice boobs and a…’ he started, but I interrupted him by saying I didn’t need to hear about those parts of her body. He gave me a cocky grin, but I knew better. Deep inside he was just a softie, sweet and gentle.

  ‘She was extremely gorgeous. Funny and sweet. She was kind of perfect, actually. If it wasn’t for this mission, I could have fallen for her.’ he said, staring grumpily at my wall. It was obvious that there was a dent in his pride.

  ‘I don’t get it, I even gave her an LP, but it had zero effect on her.’ he continued his whining.

  LP was an abbreviation for Love Pill. The latest discovery from our advanced science team. The name says it all.

  You mix in some DNA of yourself and you slip it in a drink. The person who drinks it gets the chemicals into their body and it heightens the chance of them falling for you. It had something to do with the stimulation of the brain that was responsible for love. It wasn’t like a rape drug or a roofie, it didn’t work that way. It was only effective if there was already some sort of attraction.

  ‘Don’t worry, Rube, maybe she was gay.’ I joked, trying to get him to lighten up and feeling a bit sorry for him. That comment did apparently help because Ruben sprang up out of the chair, thanked me and ran out of my office.

  I didn’t think anything of it until my boss walked in a couple of hours later.

  ‘Hemlock, York told you about the situation he was in?’ my boss asked me. I nodded.

  ‘Good, Lexi Zellichman is the daughter of a very important mediator. He died a couple of weeks ago, but he knew something. Something we need to know. She refused to talk to the police, stating she doesn’t know anything, but my gut and sources tell me she does.

  We really need to know this, but she has shut herself off since her father passed. She is ice cold towards the world.’ he said, giving me her file and looking at my expectantly.

  ‘And what do you want me to do? Befriend her and try to get her to open up?’ I asked, not really knowing where this conversation was going, but I was getting an ominous feeling.

  ‘Well, we sent Mark, Jonathan and Ruben, but none of them were successful. So when Ruben came into my office this morning asking me if our client was gay, we did some additional investigation and apparently, she is.’ he said, confirming my feeling.

  He was gonna ask if I wanted to go and seduce her.

  Thing was, I’m not gay.

  ‘Again, what do you want from me.’ I inquired, noticing he hadn’t really answered the question.

  ‘Well, since you have the highest success rate with men it would only be logical to sent you, even though you are straight.’ my boss answered, looking guilty at the floor.

  ‘You know I’m not gay.’ I tried, but I knew that my sexual preference was moot here. After all, I had seduced a lot of men I equally wasn’t attracted too. In my profession, it didn’t matter what our own attractions were.

  ‘But I’ll go.’ I finished, seeing my boss his face lit up.

  ‘Thank you. In the file is the basic information, a more specific review will follow up.’ he said, walking out from my office.

  I picked up the file and immediately noticed that Lexi Hemlock was indeed stunning.

  ‘Well, no time like the present for a lesbian romp.’ I told myself.

  2. The Meeting

  Lexi Zellichman

  ‘Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.’ I muttered, running around in my house, looking for my car keys. I thought I left them on the counter last night, but I couldn’t find them and I was already 10 minutes late. I was never late. On the contrary, I was always too early. But not today, no, today was just a disaster.

  Eventually, I decided to walk to work, since I wouldn’t be finding my keys anytime soon, anyway.

  Exactly 23 minutes after I should have been in my office, I finally stepped out off my house, holding a pile of papers, a cup of coffee, my phone and my house keys. At that moment it seemed pointless to even try to be on time, but I kept rushing. Doing that thing between walking, skipping and partially running. Great way to start the day.

  When I reached work, I was so late it wasn’t even funny anymore. I tried walking into my office but there was a woman blocking my way in.

  ‘Sorry, can I help you?’ I asked, trying to be polite but really annoyed because I was already too late and as far as I knew, I had no appointments scheduled.

  And then the woman turned around, leaving me speechless.

  Wow. If that was my punishment for being late, I would come late every day.

  ‘Hi, I’m Cara. I’m kind of looking for someone?’ she said while extending her hand, making me shake it awkwardly while I tried to juggle my belongings. Damn, she was stunning.

  Don’t drop your coffee!

  ‘Hi, Lexi Zellichman. Who are you looking for?’ I asked, still holding her hand. Wow, she was beautiful. And probably very straight. Not that it mattered.

  ‘I am looking for miss Zellichman. Guess I found you alright.’ she spoke, never losing eye contact, making me feel very hot under her intense stare.

  ‘I heard through the vine that you were the person I needed to see.’ she smiled, her green eyes piercing straight into mine.

  When I didn’t answer for a while, she cocked her head to the side and waved her free hand in front of my face.

  ‘Hello, you still there?’ she asked, studying me with an odd look on her face.

  I nodded quickly and pulled my hand back.

  ‘Yeah, sorry. That
’s me you are looking for.’ I managed to answer, trying really hard not to check her out again. I opened the door and gestured that she could go in first. She smiled and stepped inside my office.

  Of course, I couldn’t help myself and I let my eyes trail up and down her body. Damn, she was extremely fit. What I wouldn’t give so I could take her here and now on my desk.

  I mean, focus. Stop thinking about her perfect booty in that sexy red dress. She was here professionally, focus.

  What was the matter with me? I hadn’t looked at a woman in a long time, from way before my father had passed, but I couldn’t help but feel drawn to her in an inexplicable way.

  ‘Have a seat. How can I help you?’ I coughed, hoping she didn’t notice the turmoil and confusion going on in my head.

  3. Embarrassment

  Lexi Zellichman

  I went through the file again. Went through my notes again. Memorised everything I needed to know to charm her. This was a whole new playing field. Seducing guys? Easy, give them a flirty look, do a cute wink and they came lining up. But charming a woman? No clue. I had searched some tips on the internet but it was gonna be one hell of a challenge.

  She was 24 and had held a steady job at a very prestigious law firm since she had been 22. She skipped a couple of grades, apparently being one of the best in her line of work, so that explained why she was already at the top of her profession.

  I understood and could honestly relate to that since I was one of the youngest in mine. But of course, I couldn’t tell her that.

  Luckily the boys had gotten to know her on some level. She loved red but preferred white roses. She sometimes drank beers, but really she was a cocktail girl. All that kind of stuff. If I played my cards right it might work.

  Isn’t there a saying?

  “ What do lesbians bring on a first date? U-haul or something?”

  Anyway, I always heard lesbians fall extremely fast so that would play into my advantage, right?

  After all the prep work, I had found my way to her office and after shaking her warm hand, sat down opposite of her.

  There was a strange flutter in my stomach, but I wrote if off as nerves. This was, after all, my first mission that involved another female.

  ‘I’m just here for a quick consult. I’m not sure if I have a case.’ I started, going with a story Rube and I made up.

  ‘I have been living with my girlfriend but some stupid things happened, we broke up and she threw me out on the street. She changed the locks and won’t let me back in, but I still have a lot of stuff there. Like a lot of cd’s, some furniture, clothes, …Is there something that can be done?’ I asked, making sure she got the point that my ex was a girl. We made sure that it wouldn’t be possible to make a valid case, but at the same time, didn’t seem like a silly request.

  ‘And did you have some sort of contract? A written agreement? Something of that sort?’ she asked, scribbling down some unreadable words.

  I thought only doctors had terrible handwriting?

  ‘No, it was her house and I only moved in a couple of months ago. We didn’t think about breaking up. I didn’t think about changing my address on my I.D. yet because it is such a hassle, so officially I still live in a tiny apartment that I bought a couple of years ago. I was gonna sell it, glad I didn’t do that.’ I lied, well, it wasn’t a complete lie. I did buy my own flat when I started working and I tried to sell it because it was so tiny, but apparently, you can get too attached to a place.

  ‘I’m sorry, but from all I’ve heard I don’t think you have anything on legal grounds.’ she said, closing her notebook, giving me an apologetic smile.

  I’m not into girls, but she was indeed very pretty. She had beautiful eyes and a smooth velvety voice. She was completely Ruben’s type and I got now why he was so upset.

  All his sulking disappeared when he heard I had to seduce her though. He got all excited about it, like most men, when they hear that two girls are about to get it on.

  ‘Okay, thanks anyway.’ I said, standing up and walking to her door. Then after a little pause, I turned around, seemingly like I just made up my mind about something.

  ‘I don’t wanna be out of line, but is there a chance you would wanna go out with me?’ I asked, giving her my signature wink. Apparently, it works on men and lesbians because she almost immediately said yes.

  Ruben, 0. Cara, 1.

  ‘Great, how about I’ll give you a call?’ I said, taking the lead as confidently as I could. In reality, I felt very insecure and vulnerable. Did men always have to do this? This kind of sucked.

  She nodded, grabbed one of her business cards and scribbled down her personal number, I assume.

  ‘Delightful. I’ll call you tonight.’ I chirped, immediately cringing when I heard what left my mouth.

  Delightful? Who the hell says that nowadays. Why couldn’t I have just said awesome or fantastic? Stupid. I was already making a fool out of myself and we weren’t even on a date. If I kept going like that, there wasn’t gonna be a date. Just breathe.

  Play it cool.

  ‘Awesome. I’m gonna go now. Bye.’ I said, trying to cover up my idiotic choice of words. She flashed me a stunning smile and it made me a little bit lightheaded.

  Better get out of here quick before I say more stupid things. I turned around and walked out of the office, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Wrong move.

  Before I knew it, I walked into the open door, banging my head loudly against it.

  ‘Auw. Shit.’ I yelped, rubbing my head that was going red, not from the bang, but from embarrassment. I was never this clumsy, no, I was always the composed and in control one, but something about this girl made me jumpy.

  She ran towards me and took my head in her hands. ‘Let me see. Are you hurt? It looks fine, but it might turn into a bump.’ she said while examining my head and giving me a very good look at her cleavage.

  What was going on here? I never felt like this around anyone and staring at boobs? Completely not my thing.

  ‘Thank you. Anyway. I should be going. I’ll call you.’ I awkwardly muttered, quickly getting up and walking cautiously out of her office, trying really hard not to embarrass myself again.

  She smiled. ‘I hope so. I will be home around 7ish. Call me.’ she said.

  It was only just 10:00 am, but I already got nervous that I had to call her and I was certainly looking forward to it.

  Yeah, I definitely hit my head harder than I thought.

  4. The Call

  Cara Hemlock

  I went home, thinking about the best strategy to make her fall for me. Well, first of all, I should give her a call tonight, ask her out for drinks and then get her tipsy enough so I could kiss her?

  That sounded like a plan Ruben and his guy friends made when they went out. I always thought that it was wrong and deceitful, but now I almost understood. Trying to get a girl to like you was difficult. I mean, no offence, but hooking up with a guy is easy.

  You give them a short look and within ten seconds they come up to you. You make some short conversation, gaze into their eyes and lean in close. Before you know it they’ll be kissing you.

  That is if you play easy, but most girls don’t. They play hard to get. The more they want a guy, the harder they try not to notice him. Looking the other way, but dancing sexily and hoping he notices her. Keeping the conversation to a minimum, trying to come over as not interested. Maybe look around, like there is someone who you are looking for, but really, we all know there isn’t. And most of the time, we talk to a guy and when he thinks he is gonna get lucky, we switch to another random person. Getting a girl is not easy. But in the end, we ladies just want to be wooed. Swept off our feet. And drunk guys are no prince Charming.

  I didn’t count down the hours, I mean, I only checked the clock a couple of times, but who doesn’t. I saw 2:00 pm, and 4:00 pm. And maybe I did see 6:00 pm and 6:32 pm and 6:43 pm and 6:52 pm and 6:57 pm.

  But that is beside the point.
I didn’t count down the hours, just kept a close look on the clock. Okay, I counted down the hours, but that was just because of the job and I didn’t wanna screw this up. Not because I was interested in her, no way.

  7:19 pm sounded like a perfect random hour to call. Not too close to 7:00 pm, not too close to 7:30 pm. A random hour, like I just remembered that I would call her.

  ‘Hello, Zellichman speaking. What can I do for you.’

  Shit, what do I say? Why didn’t I think about that? How stupid, I had been thinking about this call all day, but did I think how I would ask her out? Of course not.

  ‘Euhmm, Hi. Hello. This is Cara, Cara Hemlock. I…We met this morning in your office? I’m the girl with the ex-girlfriend and no case...’ I started rambling. It was normal, I never tried to date a girl before so this was completely new territory for me. I was nervous because this was new. Not because she was really beautiful and I was genuinely trying to impress her.