***All characters are over 18 and are fictional. Any resemblance to any real-life persons or situations is purely coincidental.
***Originally published as Harmless Office Fun Ch. 1.
...
MORNING
Mike Wilson left his apartment a couple of hours earlier that morning so he could hit the gym before work. His office building was right next door to the gym, and they gave membership discounts to the employees of his company, so it was very convenient for everybody.
He did his usual workouts, pushing himself a little more on the free weights, but decided to skip the treadmill this time so he wouldn't be late to work. Mike enjoyed staying fit and healthy; his father died at a young age, and he didn't want that to happen to himself. He didn't want to become a bodybuilder, but he enjoyed the muscles he had been getting over the last couple of years, and so did his wife.
He saw several others who worked at his company, even a few who worked for him in his department. One of them was one of his top sales reps, Fiona Miles, who was killing it on the treadmill, as she usually does. She had her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail for her work out, and she was wearing small gym shorts and a tight tank top. She was always at the gym, and because of that, she had a great body that you'd have to be blind not to notice.
A lot of men in the office have hit on her at some point, but never Mike. Besides the fact that he was happily married, he would never think of giving her a simple friendly comment on her haircut out of fear it may be misconstrued as something else. He had seen enough people get in trouble for taking it too far, including the person who previously held his position at the company. Because of those people, he had been to enough sexual harassment seminars that the company made everyone take, to know to just shut up and keep your hands to yourself.
After he was done with his workout, he had a quick shower in the locker room, got dressed, and made it to work just in time. As soon as he got off the elevator on his floor, he was approached by his best friend and one of his other best sales reps, DJ. The smile on DJ's face indicated one thing, he scored last night and wanted to brag about it.
"It was a bartender. I've never had a hot bartender before," he said as they both made their way to Mike's office.
"I have. Twice," said Mike.
"That was back in college, before you went corporate and became lame," DJ replied.
"I still get laid more than you, even now."
"Only because you're married and don't have any kids yet to slow you down," DJ replied. "How do you live with yourself banging only one woman?"
"Don't knock it until you try it."
"Never."
They got to Mike's office, and he was still trying to tell him about the bartender he scored with while Mike was getting himself set up for the day. Mike had to admit that even though he's happily married to Janet, he did miss the single life and sometimes enjoyed hearing DJ's stories of his conquests.
He was sitting behind the desk, going over some paperwork, while DJ sat across from him, his feet propped up on the edge of the desk, taking his time getting to the end of the story.
"So, we found ourselves in the storage room at the back of the bar. I had her shirt off, and finally got my hands on her tits--"
There was a knock on the door, which made DJ suddenly go silent. Both men looked over to see Fiona at the door with some files in her hand. She was looking much better now than when Mike saw her at the gym earlier, where she was getting sweaty from the treadmill. She was cleaned up now; her hair was down, and she was wearing a navy-blue blouse with a black skirt.
"Don't stop on my account," she said, smiling.
DJ just sat there silently, trying to figure out how to get out of his situation. It's one thing when he tells his stories about getting laid to his friends, but he's smart enough not to tell those stories in mixed company. At least he was smart about it now; he had been called down to the HR department enough times for his comments over the years to finally know when to shut up.
"Go on, DJ. You had your hands on her tits, and what happened next?" Fiona was waiting for him to finish with a smirk on her face.
"Come on, DJ, finish your story," said Mike, trying to contain his laughter. He was taking a little enjoyment in seeing his friends' humiliation like this.
"Alright, I get it. You can both stop messing with me now," said DJ.
Mike and Fiona had a chuckle at DJ's expense, who just sat there feeling very embarrassed.
"Can I help you, Fiona?" Mike asked.
"Sorry to interrupt your boys' club, but I need you to approve these sales reports."
Mike got out of his chair, and they both walked up to each other. She handed Mike the files she had, and he gave them each a quick glance.
"I saw you at the gym this morning, Mike," she said. "You were really pushing yourself."
"Yeah, I thought it was time to add a few extra pounds to the weights today."
"Don't strain yourself too hard; you'll burst out of your clothes," she said as she put her hand on his bicep and gave it a gentle squeeze.
DJ saw what she had done and got excited by what he was witnessing.
"I'm careful, I know my limits," he said while still reading the files and signing off on each one with his pen.
"Too bad you weren't on the treadmill; we could've had a good run together," she said.
"I usually do, but I didn't want to be late to work. Maybe next time we see each other there," he said, handing the files back to her.
"It's a date," she said, and she walked out of the room smiling.
"Dude," said DJ as he got up from his chair. "Did you not notice what just happened?"
"What are you talking about?"
"She was totally flirting with you."
"What? No way," Mike shot back at him.
"She was complimenting you on your workout."
"I've done the same to other people I know who like to work out," Mike replied.
"And didn't you notice the way she kept smiling at you and how she touched your bicep? Only women do those kinds of things to show they're interested."
"Come on, DJ. Fiona knows I'm married."
"That doesn't mean she wasn't flirting."
"Are you saying she wants me?" Mike asked.
"Definitely!" DJ replied enthusiastically. "I mean, she's not stupid enough to go after a married man and her boss, it could ruin her career. But that doesn't mean she doesn't think you're attractive enough to flirt with."
"So, what should I do about it?"
"You flirt back," DJ replied.
"I can't do that."
"Why not? It's only a little harmless office flirting."
"I don't think that's a good idea," said Mike as he sat down back at his desk. "If you remember, our previous manager, the guy who the company asked me to replace, tried something similar, and he got fired."
"No, he got fired because he went too far and tried to use his position to get sexual favors from a few women in the company. I'm not suggesting you fuck her, just flirt back a little. Don't you miss how good it felt back when you were single and flirting with other women?"
"Sometimes I do," he admitted.
"So, give it a try. The next time she flirts with you, just flirt back a little. Even when I don't score with women--"
"Which is often," Mike said, jokingly.
"Good one," DJ said with a chuckle. "As I was saying, even when I don't score, I still enjoy flirting. It's fun, and it makes you and the other person feel good. You'll probably enjoy yourself for once."
"What about sexual harassment lawsuits? We've been to enough seminars to know better."
"Yeah, those things are so much fun," DJ replied sarcastically. "Just keep it simple. Don't say anything too sexual. Just compliment her looks and other little things."
LUNCHTIME
Over the next few hours, Mike made a bunch of phone calls, set up some new appointments, fixed a problem with the budget, and so on until it was lunch time. He went down to the ground floor of the building to a sandwich shop he frequented. He thought DJ was going to join him, but he was too busy with a few sales leads. It was good to see him focusing on work and not just hitting on women in the building.
He was sitting at a table in the corner, eating a veggie sandwich. There were a few other people from his company, all doing their own thing, so he didn't bother them and sat alone. But that lasted only a few minutes before Fiona unexpectedly showed up.
"Mind if I join you?" She asked.
"Sure," he replied, but she was already sitting down by then.
The conversation he had with DJ came back to him, and it made him look at Fiona in a different way. She had long blonde hair, green eyes, and a great body from what he could see at the gym. He guessed she had large C-cups, definitely bigger than his wife's breasts. He tried not to look at her body too much, out of fear that she might notice. Instead, he focused on his lunch and having a decent conversation with Fiona as long as she was sitting with him.
They talked while they ate, mostly about work and a little office gossip. He already knew about some of the gossip, but he was sure there were a few things Fiona didn't' want to gossip with the boss about, which was completely understandable. He was the same way before his promotion.
They talked a little about working out as well and what they were doing to stay fit. That's when she noticed the veggie sandwich, he was eating.
"You also like to eat healthy, I see," she said.
"It's not just working out to stay healthy, you've got to eat healthy as well," he replied.
"Believe me, you don't need help there," she said as she touched his arm again, just like she did back in the office.
Mike finally had to admit that she was indeed flirting with him. He couldn't believe he didn't see it before and made him wonder how many other women might have flirted with him but he was too oblivious to notice.
"I've got to do more to lose a few pounds," she continued. "Summer's coming up, and I have to get my beach body ready."
It was at that moment that he decided to take DJ's advice and flirt a little, just to see how it felt.
"From what I can tell, you already have that beach body."
She looked at me and smiled.
