The secret about Caroline Monroe's secrets was that everyone at Azura Holdings knew the truth behind them. In spite of Caroline's make out session with a college intern (Secret #1), her in-office orgasm (Secret #2) and her not-so-hush-hush affair with Dan from the San Francisco office (Secret #3) -- the truth was Caroline Monroe was not a very sexual person.
Caroline had not yet reached her thirty-third birthday and, on a single hand, she could count the number of times she'd had sex since her thirtieth. And she often did this (recount her recent sexual encounters with one hand) when she was giving herself pleasure with the other. But those fantasies never went to the truth behind Secret #1 (making out with Jeremy the drunken college intern in the TGI Friday's parking lot before he vomited on her smart, new Ann Taylor shawl-collar jacket and matching skirt) or Secret #2 (sneaking into a conference room to rub herself silly because the smell of microwave popcorn aroused her, just as the entire Accounts Payable walked in) or Secret #3 (faking an affair with Dan from San Fran so he and his wife would have a reason to file for divorce).
"Carolineβ" The baritone interruption to Caroline Monroe's daydreaming belonged to Albert, her boss' boss. "I'm going to need that cash flow analysis today," he said as his eyes quickly darted under her desk -- from the strap of her black two-inch platform heels -- and then back up, to the opening at the neck of her blouse.
"But you asked for it tomorrow afternoon," Caroline protested.
Albert licked his dry lips and Caroline tried not to read into it. His baldhead and goatee made it difficult for Caroline to figure out how old he was. He worked out, she could tell, but she took her eyes off his forearms.
"I need it today. I have an investor meeting on Friday and need tomorrow to review the numbers," he said with a wink. Again, Caroline tried not to read into that.
"If I work late, it's going to be overtime," she said.
"If you were in a management position under me, I wouldn't need to worry about that." She couldn't help reading into that. He walked out.
Caroline imagined what a management position under Albert would look like. She checked the clock. 5:20. It was going to be a long day. She double-clicked on the files she needed to get the analysis done. There was a lot of work ahead of her. "Endless," she mumbled to herself just as Peter, her tired boss, lumbered by.
"G'night," he said without looking in.
Caroline buckled down. For what seemed like hours (because it was), she crunched numbers. She noticed the cash flow for the past twelve months looked great, but if you did a three-month rolling average of the past quarter -- the numbers were trending downward. "Interesting," she thought and then reprimanded herself for thinking that little fact was interesting.
Her office did not have a window, but she could sense how dark it was getting. Every muscle in her body felt tight. She'd been hunched over her keyboard for too many hours, craning her neck to read the small numbers on her screen. She stopped to rub her eyes when a deep voice at the door spoke.
"Excuse me," he asked, "I'm supposed to be in a meeting with Albert Robinson. Can you tell me how to find him?"
The man was tall, with broad shoulders and an electric smile. His dark eyes pierced her.
"It's left," Caroline pointed from her chair, "then right... um, and around a corner. Here, let me show you." She got up and walked to him. She barely came to his chin. He stayed at the doorjamb when she passed, so that she brushed him to get by. There was a subtle hint of cologneβ or was it an essential oil? Sandalwood? As she brushed him, she looked up and their eyes met. A tingle rippled through her. "Uh-oh," she thought and hoped her expression didn't betray her inner tingle.
She led him through the halls of Azura Holdings. When she pointed down a corridor, toward Albert's office, he touched her elbow and thanked her. Another tingle. He smiled and walked away. His black suit cut the perfect silhouette as it glided out of sight.
Back in her office, Caroline couldn't concentrate on the work in front of her. The building was almost empty. She let herself drift. Who was he? Why did he smell so damn good? Why did he have to touch her on the elbow? She leaned back in her chair and imagined what it would feel like to have his long arms wrapped around her.
She closed her eyes and turned her back to the door. Her hands started on the inside of her knees. She pressed her head against the back of her chair. His warm, intense smile... The firm, gentle touch of his hand...