I number-closed this HB 8.5. It was Saturday afternoon. She was wearing a green dress when I saw her. So I used a sincere compliment "your dress is cute. Where did you get it? I need to get one for my gf." The gf argument may work well as a defensing-lowering implication and a dis-qualifier. She took me to the store and we chatted more on the way there. At the store she gave me my biz card, I saw that she works in the same industry I do so I said I wanted to seek her advice on some grad sch options, etc. She mentioned we can have lunch together.

Going forward, I'm not that worried abt the gf argument coz I kinda implied in the conversation that it's a LD and it is getting to the breaking point. I guess if I can do my work in Day 2, this should not backfire on me like "hey, you have a girlfriend. We shouldn't ..." My guess is that girls don't really care if she is really in to the guy.

Now that I have her work email from the card, I will email her to arrange a date for dinner instead of lunch, b/c lunch is kinda hustle and it is not as intimate as evening dates. I have a legitimate excuse like "My lunchtime is delayed b/c of the schedule of my work."

My question is, suppose she agrees to do dinner,
should I call her earlier that morning to try to reschedule it later the same day as an after-dinner drink, or should I stick with the dinner for Day 2?
I'm asking b/c I'm under the impression that dinner is not an ideal option for Day 2, and it becomes such a routine option for girls that they rarely spend longer time with the guy after dinner. If I can arrange a late meet-up like 9pm that gives me a better shot. If you have any advice/thought to add on to this, feel free to throw it in. Cheers.

to me that sounds like a limiting belief, I'm just an AFC, but still that's my first impression.

Besides that, if you really think later is better and you think you can deliver the excuse in a way that sounds genuine, go for it.