Danni was known as the PowerPoint Queen. At least that's what Robert called her. He would send her rough slides with crappy graphics, and she would turn them into works of art with beautiful images and graphs that perfectly presented his ideas in simple, clear presentations. The Graphics department consisted of Danni and one other person she supervised, but Robert would only let Danni work on his projects.
Danni had been with the firm for nine years. She liked her job and the people she worked with. The company was willing to spend money to give her the equipment she requested, and she felt like they valued her skills. After the recent move to the new offices downtown, she got a new, very fast computer and two huge high-resolution monitors. Although she was in a cubicle, it had high walls which gave her a feeling of privacy.
Robert started working a year before Danni, after receiving his MBA, and was a senior manager in the consulting division. He started with the company when they first opened an office in the Chicago suburbs, so only the VP in Chicago, who moved from the San Francisco headquarters, was more senior. When the office relocated to a larger office downtown, the company took over office space that was already built out. In order to save money, they left the configuration as it was, including the four large corner offices. Even though his job level didn't qualify for such a large office, his seniority within the Chicago office meant one of those corner offices would be his.
Danni was a very pretty woman who exercised and danced regularly to keep in shape. She had black hair, which she sometimes wore perfectly straight and sometimes wore very curly. She had beautiful blue eyes and small, firm breasts. Danni never came to terms with the size of her breasts. Much of her hang-up was related to the guy who her took her virginity. She can still picture the moment when he removed her shirt and bra. He looked at her, shook his head, and said, "Jesus. I knew you weren't sporting double Ds, but those are tiny!" Needless to say, it left a lasting impression.
Even Steve, her fiancé, didn't do much to improve her negative body image. She once made a comment to him about having small breasts and apologized for not having bigger ones (as if it was her fault), and his response was a less-than-uplifting "yeah, well, it is what it is."
Robert was six feet tall, in good shape, and had above average looks. He hadn't been in a relationship for the last 5 years which allowed him to pour his time into work. He never planned to stay at his first job for ten years, but he found little reason to leave. He liked what he did, he was well-paid, he received a rapid set of promotions, and he liked the people in the Chicago office. He didn't always like dealing with some of the VPs in San Francisco, but the good times far exceeded the bad.
Robert was very outgoing and could often be found walking around the office asking people how they were doing. He cared about the people in the office, whether or not they worked directly for him. If Danni was working on a project for him, he always made a point of stopping in her office. Ostensibly he was there to check out her progress on the project, but in reality, he was also there to check out her. He would frequently walk up behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, and ask how she was doing. Sometimes it was a quick 20-second conversation, but other times she would bring up his project and show him the progress she was making. He would stand behind her looking at her monitor... and occasionally looking down her blouse. He found Danni very attractive. Although he knew she was engaged to Steve, he would still think about the things he'd like to do with her. They had worked together for a long time and had become friends. They would tease each other and occasionally flirt, but they never "crossed the line".
One morning Robert had a sudden feeling of guilt. He called Danni and asked her to stop by his office whenever she got a chance. Nothing critical, he said, and no rush; just stop by when it's convenient. Fifteen minutes later Danni tapped on his open door. She was wearing a royal blue satin blouse and a grey skirt.
Robert was on the phone but waved Danni in.
His office had a standard office desk which was laminated to look like wood. There were two guest chairs across from the desk covered in a grey tweed material. The large office also had a small couch covered in the same material as the guest chairs and a small conference table. A bookcase was on the wall across from his desk.
Danni sat in one of the guest chairs while Robert finished his call. He dramatically rolled his eyes a couple of times while looking at Danni, clearly making fun of the person at the other end. This brought a smile to her face. After a couple of minutes, he finished his call, hung up the phone, and stood up.
"How's it going today?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Not too bad. No one's been too big of an asshole today, so I guess it's a good day." Robert gave a small chuckle. He walked around the desk, walked past Danni over to the door, and closed it. He walked back toward her but stopped behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders, paused for a second, and said, "I think I might owe you a huge apology."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Look, I'm a touchy, feely kind of guy. I frequently sneak up on you in your office and put my hands on your shoulders just like this. I like putting my hands on your shoulders. But I never really asked you if it was ok. We've known each other a long time, but I suddenly realized this might make you very uncomfortable. I feel really bad about that, and I'm sorry." Even though he just apologized, he didn't even realize his hands were still on her shoulders. He was still doing the very thing he was trying to apologize for.
"No, no, no... don't be ridiculous. You don't need to apologize." She didn't mention that she liked him touching her, and it often got her excited. In fact, she was getting wet right now.
"Are you sure? I mean many people would say it's totally inappropriate, and I'll stop if you ask. No hard feelings."
