Editors Note: This is NOT a slam bam type of story.
Thanks to Olivedabove for her assistance in editing this story and for you ideas to make it better.
All Characters in this story are over 18 years of age.
It was a beautiful day in late June, which can be unpredictable. This time of year can be rainy, cool, pleasant, or just plain hot. Today was beautiful; the sky: clear and blue, with few clouds. Right now was pleasant; but at nine in the morning being eighty degrees, one knows that it is going to be a hot one. I drove to work with all of the windows of my SUV rolled down, singing along to the radio, and anticipating a lighter workload for a couple of months as things wind down from about now until August. I think I even caught a whiff of lilacs in bloom.
I work in an office with three other employees -- Sophia, Samantha (we call her Sam) and the other field operative, Terry. Terry is the newest to the group while I have been with the company the longest at five years. Sophia the office manager and Sam who pulls double duty as bookkeeper and IT Support, have been with us for about three years. The four of us have dealt with many crises, making us a tight knit team. We are good at what we do and decompress by joking around and playing pranks on one another.
As I pulled into the parking lot I immediately knew something was amiss. The parking lot is in the back of the building away from the street. Both back doors were propped open, which wasn't normal. It's a two-story office building: we have the second floor, and another organization has the first. The office is actually in a residential neighborhood, the location was once that of a neighborhood grocery.
My first thought about the doors was attempting to figure out the joke. This one might be pretty complex as it even involved the office downstairs.
I parked my car and warily headed in. I usually take the back outside stairs, as my office door is situated at the top of those stairs.
When I arrived at my door, I heard Terry's footsteps. He strode down the hall toward me, and before I could ask he said, "The air conditioning is out. The repairman has been called but there is no estimate as to his arrival, or the problem. I'm gathering my stuff and going to work from home." He then said rather loudly, "I think Sam sabotaged that AC so she could go home."
We both heard a distant voice say, "I did not!"
He smiled and disappeared into his office.
Terry is about ten years younger than me but he has a great understanding of our work. He is married with two kids at home. His wife is a teacher so he takes advantage of our slow season.
Instead of heading into my office, I decided to walk down the hall further and stuck my head into Sam's office. "Good morning. I hear we have a problem."
Samantha is a thinker. She is a computer genius and on the quiet side most of the time but she can be a pistol once you get to know her. She is taller than my five foot ten inches and doesn't let anyone push her anywhere she is not willing to go. I have seen more than one client get put in their place when making assumptions about her long blond hair and rather large breasts.
Sam looked up. "Hi Rob. Yes, Sophia has called the repairman but it doesn't look as if the AC will be fixed until late this afternoon." More loudly, "The first words out of Terry's mouth when we discovered the problem was, I guess we have to go home. If anyone broke it, I say it was Terry! " In a lower tone she continued, "Terry and I are both going home to work from there. I'm not sure about Sophia's plans."
I said, "Okay, have a fun day and stay cool." I walked a little further up the hall to reception, where Sophia did double-duty, running the office and serving as receptionist to any walk-ins. Sophia is the organized person in the group. The rest of us would be running around bumping into each other if we didn't have Sophia. Her back was to me, and she was on her computer. "Good Morning beautiful, what's up?"
She turned and said, "Good morning, Rob. I'm sure you have already heard what's up." Her smile was ever-present and her outfit as always very professional but the damp bangs of her light brunette hair were an indication that she was feeling the heat.
I had fallen in love with Sophia the moment I'd met her at her interview for the position. It was probably more appropriately called lust. Her smile, her bubbly personality, and ... her chest. Her breasts weren't overly large. Maybe the size of nice ripe apples but placed on her diminutive stature, they appeared prominent.
"What's the temperature in here?" I asked.
"Well the last time I checked it was over 100 degrees and I'm melting."
"So are you going home too?"
"I don't know, I was going to ask you about your plans . There isn't a great deal of my job that I can do from home but this heat is really getting to me."
I could smell her perfume from five feet away. She must be hot.
"My workload for the day isn't large but I do have this one document that must be done today and sent out. There are too many references here that I need . I'll stay and work on it here.
I'll keep the doors and windows open, at least those that open. I'll need your help with this thing but you could go home and I could call you once I send the document to you. You could work your magic and send it back.
"Sounds like a plan. There are a couple of things I want to get done here first; then I'll go home and wait for your call."
"Great," I said, and paused to continue to take in her aura then headed to my office.
My office's being closest to the back stairs, made it a bit cooler. As I entered I noticed a slight breeze so that will help. The only window I could open was a very small one to the side of the large window that took up most of one of that office's walls. I turned on my computer, loosened the collar of my shirt and began to gather the references I needed.
I could hear Terry scuffling around, packing his laptop and files. He called to me as he left, "Think of me Rob. I'll be home drinking a cold beer as I work, while you are here in this tropical heat."