What the hell is it she's playing at? I wonder as she breezes by my desk for like the seventh time today, whiffs of perfume in tow. Every time she goes by she turns, pauses almost imperceptibly, and just looks at me before turning on her heel, expensive business suit in a whirl, and walking away. The first couple of times I've tried to ignore her, but eventually it's started getting to me. During lunch hour, I wander over to her office to find out what's up.

She is talking with another subordinate-- Charlene, from accounting. I wait for Char to take off, and then knock on the open door to get her attention.

"Ah," she says as she notices me, "come in." Is there a dangerous smirk on her face? She stabs a button on her desk and the door closes behind me. Executives have all the cool toys.

Echoes from the door latch are punctuated only by an uncomfortable silence. She looks at me expectantly, leaning forward in her plush chair. "Yes?"

"I--" I'm uncomfortable now. Have I been imagining things? How many times did she come by, again? Was it really out of the ordinary? "I-- uh, did you want to see me for something?"

She looks puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Dammit. "I noticed you coming by my desk a bunch of times today, and I figure I've been so busy and maybe you didn't want to bother me. But obviously, I was wrong." I make for the door.

"Wait," she calls out before I can reach the knob. "There are some things we need to discuss."

I turn around and look at her. "Yes?"

"Come and sit down," she requests, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of her. I sit back. It's comfortable enough.

"Is this about my performance?" I ask. I thought I'd been doing pretty damned good for my first six months here.

She smiles slightly. "In a way." She pushes her chair back from the desk, leaning back a little. "Your performance here in the past several months has been adequate." Adequate? Great. That's not too far above "sucky". She leans back a bit farther in her chair, crossing her legs and putting one of her shoes on the desk. "In some cases, more than adequate." Hooray. I'm jumping for joy. "But let's ignore that for the time being. I'm wondering more about your personal opinions about working here. Are you comfortable in your current position?" She gets more comfortable in her current position by putting her other shoe on the desk, her legs now crossed at the ankles. Nice ankles, I notice. High heels. Black hose. Very tas-- wait a second! This is my boss I'm looking at. Hell, technically this is my boss's boss's boss. I need to focus on what she's saying.

But now I fear she's noticed my apprecation of her, as she arches an eyebrow when I meet her gaze again. "Are you going to answer my question?"

Shit. What was her question? "Uh ... I'm sorry? Could you repeat that?" Idiot!!!

She is amused rather than angry. "I asked," she repeats, "how you enjoy working under me?" She uncrosses her ankles and leaves her heels slightly apart on the desk.

"Oh! I enjoy it a lot. The tasks are enjoyable, and there seems to always be room for advancement."

"I see," she replies, and parts her legs a bit. I'm sweating as I notice her expensively-tailored loose dress skirt is slipping up her thighs, revealing ... more of her than I should be seeing. I quickly look away, but she's caught me again. To my amazement, she's still not angry at my lack of attention, but instead seems to be breaking into a grin. I'm thinking again about how she's been hanging around my desk, as she's sliding her legs back and forth, together and apart, like she's at home in front of the TV instead of at her desk talking to a junior employee. "Well, I'd like to offer you an advancement opportunity that is simultaneously a task you'll enjoy." She laughs, then, tossing her curly red hair.

Her meaning is becoming abundantly too clear, as she smiles broadly and looks me in the eye. "I, uh, don't know what to say?"