Chapter 2: Meeting Agas

My dad put his hand on the small of my back and guided me into the conference room. Most of the people there knew me, even if it had been a few years since I’d seem a number of them. A few new faces stood out in the crowd. My dad introduced me to most of them and then we came upon a gorgeous specimen who he referred to as “Agas”. He had a Russian type of accent and a rather rough-hewn face that was handsome nonetheless. Apparently his real name was about twenty letters long and had been immediately shortened upon starting work to something more easily pronounced. What stood out the most for me was his height. Damn, he must have been at least 6’6” or more!

Agas shook my hand and then introduced me to the beautiful woman by his side. Tonya was almost as tall as Agas and he introduced her to me as his fiancé. Tanya was apparently an American citizen whereas Agas was not. A more cynical person may have viewed their marriage as one of convenience for Agas in terms of getting his citizenship but they seemed to be in love so even if such a situation WAS true, it appeared to be a side benefit and not the deciding factor for the upcoming nuptials. Did I mention Tonya was gorgeous? Tall and thin as a rail, she wore a stylish black dress that hugged her figure and revealed the vast majority of her long shapely legs. All-in-all, the two of them made a great looking pair.

My dad moved me on to the next people to be introduced to but I couldn’t help but notice Agas’ eyes following me as I walked away. For a brief moment I thought perhaps Tanya was looking as well but I put it down as just a coincidence.

“Agas may be engaged but don’t let that fool you,” my dad chuckled, “I’ve already had two secretaries complain and threaten to file a sexual harassment suit if he doesn’t stop looking down their blouses. Apparently he comes from a slightly different culture when it comes to dealing with women in the workplace.”

Before he could say about it anymore, we were up to the next group of people and I was shaking the hand of the newest partner and his intern. For the time being I put Agas and Tonya out of my mind.

As I would have expected, everyone body was really nice to me, just as they always had been over the years when I would visit my dad’s office. Although I knew I looked pretty good in my slinky outfit, I was under no illusion that it was my good looks that caused them to act that way. Being the daughter of one of the senior partners was enough to get most anyone to kiss ass a little - figuratively that is. More than a few gave me some looks that might have been deemed “inappropriate” by someone who didn’t appreciate them as much as I did, but by and large most of the guys behaved themselves. It was one of the things I noticed over the years that as a teenager the men seemed more willing to flirt with me whereas now that I was in my twenties it was as if they were afraid to do it anymore. It was like it was no longer just goofing around but perhaps a bit too serious now that I wasn’t a kid.

After being there about twenty minutes or so I was finally able to get a few minutes to myself - or so I thought. To my surprise, Agas appeared at my elbow, sans Tonya this time.

“Do you mind if I talk to you a minute Kelly?”

“Sure,” I answered, shrugging my shoulders as if I didn’t think it was any big deal - which I actually didn’t at the time. I turned to face him, waiting for him to say whatever was on his mind.

“Sorry, I meant something a little less ... public,” he said meekly.

I looked at him sharply, wondering what he REALLY meant. He pointed me towards the main office area which was vacant now as everyone was in the conference room. We moved to an out-of-the way corner and he started to say something but then stopped, as if unsure about what he had to say to me.

“Well, what is it that you wanted to ask me, Agas?”

“Ummmmm ... you know I’ve only been here a few months so I’ve never had a chance to meet with you before,” he finally managed to get out.

“Well, I guess you’ve met me now then, right?” I said, trying to sound light-hearted but wondering what this was all about.