The day my life would change forever - that sounds like such a dramatic thing to say, yet there is no other way to describe it - started like most days at Digital Interactive Gaming. That is, busy and fast paced with the usual pressure of what we call the "death march" of a software product release. That phrase also sounds quite dramatic though it is more of a grind than a march. This time I did mind the long days of coding since I had not been seeing anyone since Jennifer left.
She had grown tired of being an "engineer's widow" whenever a new app release was on the horizon. The fact that I was the team lead and had numerous people counting on me did not seem to count for much in her estimation. So perhaps it was the tedium, and the loneliness, that made me particularly vulnerable to what had happened on the fateful day I met the young woman who would cause me to lose my self. Or maybe that is just is something I tell myself to hang on to the last shred of what I once was.
It was almost noon on that day, and I was headed to the break room for some more caffeine as I was planning to work through lunch break. I was passing by one of the empty conference rooms when I first laid eyes on her. She was with Josh, one of our young web developer interns. Sitting in one of the aeron chairs was a strikingly beautiful woman about Josh's age. I paused by the door to the room.
"Hey Dale," he said cheerfully. "This is my girlfriend Candice. She surprised me for lunch today."
"Hello Dale," she said, extending her hand. I shook it and immediately her soft, lovely and penetrating hazel green eyes. She gave me a look that was oddly both warm and somewhat predatory at the same time. Her hair was also brown and seemed to flow down to and caress her shoulders. Her lips were full and sensuous, and it was hard not to notice her firm, toned and curvaceous figure. It took everything I had at that moment to stay professional and appropriate, but I was able to avoid leering.
"Nice to meet you Candice" I said, feeling relieved as I came out of my momentary state of trance. "Make sure you take her somewhere decent," I said jokingly to Josh.
"Oh he always treats me well. He's a real man." Candice said with a glimmer in her eyes. The edges of her mouth curved into a faint smile.
"Thanks!" Josh replied. "Hey babe since your ankle is sore I will bring my car around from the garage so it's out in front. I'll text you when it's there." he said as he bent over and kissed her on the cheek.
"Fine. I'll hang out here and chat with Dale while you are doing that." Josh had a strange look of concern on his face briefly, then he returned to smiling as he left the room, I knew that he knew I was always very respectful
of women in the workplace in general and of coworkers partners specifically, and besides as I was entering middle age I was sure I was no sort of threat anyway to him so I dismissed it.
"I'm sorry about your ankle," I said to break the ice.
Candice smiled faintly. "You can stop apologizing. I'm a runner, so it happens sometimes." She leaned over in the chair and began rubbing her ankle.
As she leaned over her breasts, which were in a tight blue blouse with a plunging neckline, squeezed together. I looked to the side of the table, but even with my peripheral vision
I could see how amazing they were. Michelangelo himself could not have sculpted more shapely and perfect breasts.
Candice looked up at me, still in this position as she massaged the sore ankle. "Go get me a coffee. Black," she said.
Normally I might have been taken aback by the abruptness of her request, which seemed to border on being a command. But I needed to get out of the room for a moment to regain some composure, and I told myself she was probably just a little cranky from the pain.
I returned from the break room with the coffee and handed it to her. She was sitting upright once again, and was sitting at the head of the conference table.
"Very good," she said, and as she took the cup her fingers lightly grazed mine and she flashed me a quick smile. What I did not realize at the time was this was a reward for proper behavior.
"Would you sit and talk with me for a moment? If you have time," Candice said, waving towards the chair next to her.
I didn't have time, of course, but I took the chair and sat next to her at the table. I wasn't getting any other break today and besides she was a guest here and didn't know anyone besides Josh probably.
"So you are in charge here?" she asked looking at me once again with her brown eyes. So oddly enchanting, warm but with a strange firmness in them as though she were continually studying anyone who met their gaze.
"Well I'm the tech lead so I'm in only in charge of other developers, which is worse than herding cats," I replied..
"I see. " she said. "Still, it must be stressful. All that responsibility." As she spoke, she produced some lip gloss from her purse, which I noticed was a Louis Vuitton. I started to wonder what kind of job she must have since Josh didn't make that much, but I began to become distracted watching Candice apply the gloss to her lips. Damn, I thought, that dude is one lucky SOB.
"Do you think this goes well with my blouse? I just noticed you admiring it a few minutes ago. At least I am going to be polite and say it was the blouse you were looking at."
I felt a hot flush as the blood ran to my cheeks. I nervously fumbled through a quick reply. "I am truly sorry if I looked at any way that made you feel uncomfortable, that is not how I normally conduct myself."
Candice's expression changed to amusement. "Relax, they do get a lot of attention. It's perfectly ok. Josh likes to tease me and call me a heart breaker." She then said with a tilt of her head.
"The most heartbreakingly beautiful girl I ever hope to see."
I was stunned. "That last line is from Cat's Cradle. He was talking about Mona."
She looked at me again, this time looking more like the girl next door type with her facial expressions. "Yes I love Vonnegut."
I felt a new wave of admiration. This lady was bright as well as beautiful. But this was not a time to get into some schoolboy crush mode, I thought and tried to change the topic a bit.
"So where do you work?" I said.
"I'm studying psychology in the evenings. And I'm a writer of sorts to, I plan on expanding that. I have a little side business as well that brings in some extra money."
"I'm quite impressed," I said.
"I KNOW you are," she said. Her eyes flashed a vaguely predatory look once again.
I was tongue tied for a moment, but her phone chimed. She pulled a pink iPhone from her expensive purse and glanced at. "My man Josh is out front, and I have a gift!" she exclaimed.
"Good man, getting both the car and something for you," I said.
"Who said it was from him?" she said impishly as she stood up. "You've been very good to me Dale, talk to you later" she said as she left the room.
I waited silently as she left the room and headed towards the exit to the office. I tried not to look at her backside as she left, but I could not help but notice it was as perfect as the rest of her. She glanced quickly over her shoulder at me as she went through the door, flashing her smile once again.
It took me almost a minute before I remembered I needed to go back to work.
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I tried to dive back into the code base for the app for the rest of the day. I found it was very tough going as my thoughts kept drifting back to Candice all throughout the afternoon.
I thought not only of her beauty but wondered what else she read, what else went on in her mind. After a few hours I realized I was getting very little done and the deadline was coming in a couple of weeks. Get it together, I thought to myself. I just need to start dating again, that is what this strange schoolboy type fascination was all about. As soon as he was past this next app release, he'd get out on the dating scene, with an age appropriate professional woman and then he'd forget about this strange fixation towards a younger and unavailable girl.
I had managed to center myself again just long enough to start writing code again when the chat application on my phone started chiming. The chat id was for members of my team to contact me after hours if they were working from home, so I picked it up thinking there was an issue.
