Chapter 2: The Beginning
The first time Will and Lynn met, he had been sent to her worksite to help launch an increase in business. He was one of a number of people sent from his office. There was a get together to introduce the visitors to their local colleagues and they spent an evening in a restaurant over dinner and drinks. It was a pleasant evening and she had looked forward to meeting all of her colleagues, but particularly the man that one of her co-workers had raved about so much. He was such a nice guy and had been her rock when she was so far away from home keeping her company in a strange place.
Lynn had brought her husband with her to the dinner. Hubby had a hangover so he wasn't his usual charming self, but she was there to meet people anyway. Will, however, didn't look anything like she expected. She, of course, didn't really know what she expected. He was a charmer though and she was initially taken with his deep, resonant voice. He had a deliberate way of speaking that indicated a thoughtful mind. She was impressed enough to agree with her colleague's assessment of him.
In the two weeks he was at her site, he endeared himself further showing a quick wit and a flirtatious style. When he smiled or laughed his eyes twinkled mischievously. She began to notice the sleepy bedroom eyes that accompanied the voice, the immaculate way he dressed and the tapered fingers that held his cigarette. She had always been a sucker for nice hands. He had dark hair and a close cropped beard salted with enough maturity to make her consider him worth talking to. She was happily married and never really looked at other men. Sure, she drooled over the Colin Firth's and Viggo Mortenson's that played across movie screens, but they were mere fantasy and that didn't count.
Shortly before he was scheduled to go home, Lynn and her husband invited Will out to a night of karaoke. He was game, sang a few songs and drank a few beers. Will told them, something it turned out was common knowledge, that he hadn't been laid in a long time and he was scoping the room for would-be partners. When nothing that caught his eye panned out, they took him back to his hotel room alone. All the while, he complained about not getting laid. It struck Lynn, a little painfully, that under different circumstances, she would have been glad to ease his plight. She, obviously, kept that information to herself and life went on.
Months later, Lynn was asked to travel to yet another of her company's offices for the same reasons Will had been sent to hers. She was more than happy to accept the chance to travel. It wasn't long before she found out that Will was already there. He IM'd her at work every day from the time he found out she was heading towards him until the day she arrived, jokingly asking her if she was "there yet". She played the game, teasing him that she was "knocking on his hotel door" and "where was he anyway". Another colleague of hers, reading over her shoulder made a crack implying that there was something going on between Lynn and Will. Lynn laughed it off, but blushed at the thought and kept playing the game.
He asked when her plane was landing and offered to pick her up at the airport. She arrived on time and there he was. Waiting for her luggage, she babbled incessantly. Slightly nervous from the flight, she was never a good flier, and completely unnerved that the attraction to him was not only just as strong, but possibly stronger, she couldn't keep herself from going on and on. Will seemed unphased while Lynn tried to sound intelligent and professional. He had already told her his plan was to get a "real" coffee maker so that they could have morning coffee. She had been sent with a care package from home of his favourite brand and the plan was to meet before work and start the day civilized.
Their first stop was to get the coffee maker and whatever other necessities Will thought she should prepare herself with. She was staying a month after all. They fell into a camaraderie that made her feel comfortable in a strange city. Their mutual friend from her office was right, Will had a way of making her feel welcome. He helped her check in to the hotel switching her from the non-smoking room they had booked her in to a smoking room which the hotel, accommodating as they were, found right beside his. Will would make sure she was looked after although he never seemed aware of his chivalry.
As promised, they spent there mornings having coffee, waking up slowly before heading out to the office together. They timed their breaks and meals together and Will showed Lynn the city that he had spent more time in than she had. They spent hours finding common ground, talking about everything and anything that struck them, always injecting conversations about the work that consumed so much of their time. Her attraction to him grew stronger and the flirting increased. Now she found herself flushing, embarrassed by the heat that he managed to create in her. Lynn kept reminding herself she was a married woman, but it didn't seem enough. Somehow, at sometime the implication of a real possibility got strong enough for her to actually consider.
A third colleague showed up and, once again, Will helped him move to the smoking floor. The proverbial third man was now in the room on the other side of Will. There was another member in their intimate coffee klatch and the dynamics had changed. Lynn would have breathed a sigh of relief at the necessary distraction, but she wasn't sure it was going to stop her anyway. Not if Will gave her an open door. The fates conspired yet again, by changing Will's shift at work. Her only response to their change in circumstance was to give him a key to her room so that he could move the coffee maker there so that she and the third man could still have coffee in the morning. Lynn and Will were now ships that passed in the day. He had also told her that he was casually dating one of the women in that office. Lynn decided that her foolish fantasies needed to take a back seat and tried to encourage his potential romance, though she and Will continued to flirt. Will was, apparently, still having trouble getting laid. She wasn't all that surprised now that she had spent some time with him and realized that he wouldn't sleep with someone strictly out of convenience. That would have been too easy and he seemed to prefer a bit of a challenge.
One night he teased Lynn that if he didn't get lucky with his date, he would show up at her room and it would be nice if she wore something sexy. She went to bed in a satin thigh length camisole, certain that he would never show up. He did. She was surprised to see him, but let him in. He was cool about it stretching out on the second bed in her room and finishing off the burger and fries that he bought on the way back to the hotel. They talked about the movie he took his date to and kept the conversation on a friendly level. He finished his dinner and left for his own room. They didn't talk about what could have happened until he IM'd her at work. There was a cat and mouse game afoot. Will didn't want to make a move because of her "situation" and frankly neither did she. They continued to remain professional at work except for the IM's which only took place when she was there and he was at the hotel.
Lynn was not going to cross that line without more encouragement from him. She could have thrown himself at him. She certainly wanted to, but if she was going to make a compromise to her own ideals, she needed someone else to help share that burden. At one point they decided to cuddle, in his room, on his bed. Will had a single with a king size. He was warm and it was comfortable lying next to him. She was still afraid to touch. He had to tell her that he wanted to hold her. She feigned some reluctance, but she wanted it as much as he did. They spooned and he held her while they dozed. She didn't sleep, but he must have. At some point his chivalry kicked in instinctively. Will's arm was around her, her shirt had slid up and his hand touched the bare skin on her side. If he had slipped his hand up slightly, he would have been touching her breast. Instead, he tugged her shirt down, slung his arm across her chastely and kept sleeping. Lynn smiled despite herself, but the near miss only made the heat in her body increase. She was actually getting wet at the prospect. Again, they did not take it any farther.
