Chapter 1

I was headed back to my desk after enjoying some snacks in the engineering customer service department when she started speaking to me. Actually she wasn't speaking "to me" so much as speaking "of me." It appeared that her intention was for me to hear what she was saying; it's just that the comments were directed to the room in general. She didn't return my attempted eye contact; she just went on saying that she had always found me "delectable" and something about how changing my hair color would make me even more so. I knew who the woman was although I hadn't seen or spoken to her since I had set up her PC for her when she started with the company last year. I remembered her name was Staci Lords. I wasn't even aware that her desk was so near mine until this moment; she had been sitting at a desk downstairs on her first day. I knew most everyone else in the area, or at least they knew me. Since it was a Friday afternoon there were quite a few people standing and talking to each other over their cube walls. The conversations nearest Staci paused during what had become her monologue. Since she wasn't looking at me (or anyone else for that matter) I looked at her neighbors who were looking between Staci and me. Their expressions went from slight surprise when looking at her and changed to bemused when seeing the look of confusion on my own face. I didn't slow my pace for more than a moment as I headed for my area. I didn't speed up though either, and as I was entering my area and consequently leaving her line of sight she finally looked directly at me, along with everyone else within earshot. I was filled with conflicting emotions as I gave her an understanding and sympathetic smile. I pointed in the general direction of my desk and said "I'll just be going to my desk now..." I let my voice trail off.

My coworker Dan was standing by the printer near my desk when I came into the area. I asked "You know Staci Lords?"

"Yeah"

"Well, I'm pretty sure she was just coming on to me."

"That seems strange. Especially considering that her brother was giving her such a hard time about her ex-boyfriend last weekend."

I knew that Dan would know to whom I was referring. Everyone on the team knew who she was. She was one of the few extremely good looking women in the building, so when a tech had to visit her desk it was the stuff of legend. Some of these guys were just out of school and were still pretty immature. I tried to avoid stooping to such depths and always let one of the younger guys take her calls. But I had forgotten that Dan was a friend of her family. His wife was her cousin, or second-cousin, or something. Anyway he didn't seem overly surprised or impressed with my revelation. After all we were both used to the empty boasting about her that the other guys engaged in, he probably assumed I was joking. He wandered off looking down at his printout.

I was still chuckling to myself about Staci's behavior. I had been having a great day. In fact my whole life had been pretty darn wonderful for quite some time. I was good at and enjoyed my job immensely. I led a great team of techs that were all hard-working, conscientious, and professional. We were getting accolades and positive comments from departments that used to regularly slam the help desk previous to the recent changes. Even my home life was going well. After nearly a year my wife had started getting her act together and was able to work. Her bouts of melancholy and despair were more and more infrequent. And our relationship finally seemed to be headed in a positive direction after many years of spiraling towards divorce.

I sat down and started getting things finished up. I was hoping to get out of the office a bit early since it was Friday. I don't know why I bothered since the tech that was scheduled to work the late shift asked if I would mind covering for him again. He said something about his need to get to the bank before it closed or some such. I'm sure he actually just needed to get naked and sweaty with his girlfriend before hitting the bars. I was used to this; he asked almost every Friday. I almost always agreed. I didn't have anything sweaty to hurry home for usually. In fact this weekend my wife was out of town anyway. Besides, I had met his girlfriend and she was smoking hot. Just the thought of her getting fucked, even if it was by my employee, was enough to make me breathe a little harder. But I've always had a vivid imagination. And that's all the closer I was going to get to her, being a married man and all. I shook my head ruefully to his back as he waved good bye off-handedly over his shoulder. I never minded working late when it was quiet. I usually took the time to do an online crossword or surf the web researching my latest topic of interest. I found it relaxing and it added immensely to my job satisfaction.

This evening was different however. As soon as my coworker left the area I remembered the incident with Staci. I chuckled quietly, shook my head again, and said to myself "delectable" as I sat down at my desk. I had just decided to do some surfing in what I hoped would not be a vain attempt to distract my mind from these fidelity endangering thoughts when I heard someone approach my desk. "Oh well," I thought "at least working will get my mind off her." However what I assumed was somebody needing help with some computer problem or other was none other than the woman herself. I had to take a long, slow calming breath in order to quiet my mind as I looked into her eyes. In hindsight I'm very glad that she spoke right away; there was no opportunity for an awkward silence.

"Hi John"

It wasn't exactly the lengthy monologue I was hoping for. It didn't give me much time to gather my thoughts. I wasn't really able to identify what I was feeling. And I didn't know if I would be able to stop myself from taking advantage of this woman's obvious attraction to me. Of course in the back of my mind I was thinking that she had probably come over in order to explain that what she had been saying earlier was just some sick joke; she really thought I looked like a troll and smelled twice as bad.

"Hi Staci" I'm not sure where I came up with the eloquence necessary to utter such brilliance; but there it was. Fortunately, she again saved us from an awkward silence.

"I'm sure you're wondering about that bit of nuttiness earlier."

"Nuttiness? I didn't notice any nuttiness earlier. And I've been thinking of changing my hair color lately anyway." I thought it wisest to leave it at that and let her take the conversation wherever she wanted.

She laughed softly and appreciation for my understanding was apparent in her eyes, "I'm leaving the company. I mean I've got a different job. Today is my last day here." This was said somewhat quickly and staccato. It was apparent that she was waiting for my response. Was it possible that she thought of this as some kind of explanation?

"Oh" Sometimes I just can't turn off this silver tongue of mine.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Oh! Sorry! Of course, let me get you a chair." I started to push away from the desk in order to go get a chair.

"No don't," She went on as she sat down on my desk and leaned back against the overhead compartment. "I've wanted to talk to you since my first day on the job." She was looking directly into my eyes and seemed willing to hold my gaze forever. I was OK with that. She was leaning back in a position that looked uncomfortable. Her body was stiff and she was bracing herself with her hands flat on the desk and her elbows locked. In fact she seemed to be listing a bit to her left.

I wondered where this was leading, "I remember your first day here. I enjoyed working with you when I gave you your computer."

"Yeah, me too. I felt so comfortable. We seemed to have an instant rapport. I've never before felt that way toward someone I don't even know." I was amused that she was talking about being comfortable and looking so uncomfortable.

Her voice softened as she said, "I knew I would regret it if I left here without telling you how I felt."

At that moment I didn't have a clue what to say next. I've never been much of a ladies man. Come-on lines and suave behavior are not part of my normal routine. I'm more of a cut to the heart of the matter kind of guy. Plus I was distracted by a couple of things. She smelled awesome. Underneath the subtle scent of her perfume was a scent coming from her that I can only describe as "fleshy." It's hard to define but is slightly musky and rich and always turns me on. I also became conscious of the fact that her eyes were gray and blue and even had flecks of green and darker colors in them. Short light brown hair framed her face and came down to the top of her collar where it curled up at the bottom. Her face was pretty in an unconventional way. Her eyes and mouth were the best part of her face and complemented each other somehow. Her chin was fine with out being pointy. Her nose was a normal nose, just straight and the perfect size for her face. I was just starting to marvel at the fact that I could take in all these details of her face without looking away from her eyes when I realized she was waiting for me to say something.

"Oh, it's my turn now." I decided I wouldn't let her off easy. I didn't want to make any incorrect assumptions. Plus I really needed to hear what my instinct told me she was about to say.