Honestly, you should probably read Chapter 1 first, but in short, the married receptionist at my new job is super cute, curvy and flirty. She's also related to my coworkers and yet, we ended up, um, messing around after a work party... Just like Chapter 1, it's a slow burn until the fun starts.
* * * * * The Monday After * * * * *
Remember growing up, when you'd do something stupid and you basically couldn't function until you knew that no one was mad at you? Or until the guilt passed? Normally, Erica and I would text throughout the weekend, but there were no texts when I woke up on Sunday morning. As my mind rushed through the previous night's events, a wave of guilt and remorse flooded me. I watched my phone throughout the morning, but in my panic and guilt forgot that Erica had drank more than me, and that her husband had literally passed out.
And because I was feeling guilty, I moped around all day and never texted her. By Monday on my way into work, I was prepared to be fired on the spot; I guess that I have a guilty conscience! When I walked in, I got a very sheepish and guilty "Hi." from Erica. I returned an equally embarrassed "Happy Monday" to her.
Once I got to my desk, I sent her a quick in-office Instant Message, "I thought that you were mad at me!" And then there was no reply for at least 45 minutes, and I don't know about you, but god-damn, that was the longest 45 minutes EVER! Finally: "I thought that you were mad AT ME! You never texted all weekend!" Oh man, now I felt even worse, but somehow relieved.
Just then Deb walked in, "Thank you SO MUCH for taking Erica and Steve home! Ross and I got so hammered that we had to take an Uber home, I think I still have a headache!" and she smiled her infectious yoga smile. (You know, the smiles that the exercise instructor uses to make you feel guilty that you can't keep up with their level of fitness? Deb was full of them.)
"I basically had to carry Steve into the house, and the door slammed on his foot in the door, but he didn't even flinch," and I returned a laugh at Steve's expense. "Don't you just love Erica's living room? Their couches are the most comfortable ever; I could sleep on them all day!" Well, that comment made me feel a bit uncomfortable; I mean, I had spent 45 minutes, um, "sitting" on the couch, but I definitely was NOT paying attention to the couch!
As Deb walked away, another message from Erica, "Are you going to give me back my underwear? Or are you keeping those from your conquest?" I sent her a purple evil smiley face. "I might have made them a bit messier than even you did, sorry."
Then I decided to change the subject, "Did you rest well on Sunday?" "No, not really, Steve woke up throwing up again, and then he was just weird all day. He's such an idiot!" Guilty me replied, "Do you think that he suspected anything?"
"Oh, I don't think so, but even if he does, you intimidate him a ton."
"Really, why's that?"
"Well, you're smarter than him, and your whole discussion over dinner about particle physics and probability? Steve didn't understand any of it; he's just a food guy, I don't think that he's ever understood science stuff."
"Yeah, I guess I did drone on and on about molecular clouds and planetary orbits. Yikes, what a great Christmas party topic! LOL"
"I didn't mind, I like when you're super smart around Kristin. I like seeing her when she's not the smartest person around."
That's right, Kristin; god, that entire night was coming back.
"Well, I'm glad that you're not mad at me, and that Steve's not mad. I'll return your underwear after I wash them."
"They're hand-wash, please just bring them back?"
Now I felt awkward. Somehow her purple lace panties had become a household item that I couldn't properly care for. Ugh, real life, sucked! "Yes, I'll bring them back tomorrow. :)"
"I promise that you can see other colors later on, ok?"
I had to go to a meeting, so I said goodbye, and then thought - I should send her a photo. So I texted her the one of me shirtless from Saturday night's dinner. She almost immediately replied with a kiss lips smiley. At least that was back to normal.
The meeting was actually pretty fantastic, we would be implementing my new operations plan for the sales and quoting processes, and I'd be able to lead the process. I could even hire an intern to assist me! It was quite the big deal for only being 2 months on the job. As the day ended, I was actually kind of discouraged; normally, I'd have gone out and celebrated, but I didn't know anyone to ask.
I decided to just go out and grab some shrimp carbonara from this little Italian place that I loved. As I was sitting down at my table, Kristin tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, wanna come sit by us?" I glanced over and there was Deb, her husband, Erica, Steve, Kristin and lastly, a guy that looked like he was made from stone and the size of a mountain. They pulled over a chair, right between Erica and Deb, for me.
I introduced myself to Deb's husband Ray, and then to the body-builder. Everyone else kinda chuckled, "he's just Kristin's 'flavor of the week', no need to remember him." My face must've conveyed my confusion, Kristin replied "I met Jason at the gym, and he likes to spot for me." Over dinner I learned that Jason didn't really speak English, and that he was literally Kristin's boy-toy. It was a completely new side to the HR manager. The conversation was pretty unremarkable, except that Erica said almost nothing, and I could tell that she and Steve were having a bit of a tense standoff.
Finally, at the end of the meal, Steve turned to me, "So, you must be the guy who squashed my foot in the door!" He looked pretty pissed about it to. "Well, it was either that or your head, and I figured that your head would already be pounding!" Everyone laughed a little, and he replied "You could've been more careful!" to which Deb, his sister, replied "you sack of shit, he gave you a ride home after you threw up at the company dinner, and had to carry you inside. What a pile of trash!" Oh man, there was no way I was commenting after that. Steve cowered backwards, and then Ray said, "Yeah Steve, the new guy offers to drive you home, what a fucked up way to say thank you!"
I could tell that Steve was feeling pretty bad, but I decided to make sure that he kept his mouth shut: "Steve, next time, I'll send you home in a taxi, and I'll stay and dance with Erica, ok? That way, I don't mess up your foot."
Erica nearly doubled over in laughter. "Come on Steve, time to go before you end up saying something else dumb."
And with that, everyone dispersed. I went home and sent Erica a text: "Sorry that I was so rude to Steve..."
"It's ok, his panzy ass deserved it! How did you know that we'd be at that restaurant?"
"I didn't, I was eating out to celebrate the new job."
"Oh, yeah, congrats about that! I heard that you get to hire an intern?"
"Yeah, do you want to intern for me? The pay wouldn't be great, but the benefits package would be excellent! LOL"
"Oh god, I think that I'm still a little sore from Saturday night!"
"I guess that I could be more gentle next time! ;) "
"Gotta run, can't keep texting all night when he's in such a bad mood!"
The next morning, Erica was dressed to impress. She had a simple white blouse on, the kind that showed off her breasts, and as if to prove a point, it was unbuttoned down just a bit to far. I leaned over the edge of her receptionist desk to say Hello. Her perfect smile, combined with those adorable dimples smiled right back at me. I could simply melt.
She giggled, "What? Does the cat have your tongue?... By the way, your favorite color today is yellow." The phone rang, and she had to answer. I went to my office, hard as a rock at 8:30am. It was going to be a long, fun day.
Well, at least I thought that it would be... I got so busy that day and then that week, that I would work until 9pm and then go home and crash. I would try to send sexy messages to Erica, but I just didn't have the energy. This project had the potential to really help me advance in the company, but it was going to suck the life-force right out of me.
* * * * * Friday Evening Working Late * * * * *
Friday rolled around and I was getting to a point where I was hoping not to work on the weekend. The temps had been cold enough that week that I was planning on doing some ice climbing at a nearby state park. Deb poked her head into my office at 4pm, "Are you living at the office now?" "No, I'm just trying to get a little ahead on this project!" "Do you want me to stay and help? You can bounce ideas off of me or I can edit the proposal if you've got it written."