They were as unlikely as any couple to ever become lovers.
He was a big redheaded man, nearly six-five and at least two hundred twenty pounds. He was very reserved and many thought he was unfriendly but he liked people well enough. However except in the line of work he just would not speak to anyone unless spoken to first.
The conversations were friendly and polite but rarely lasted sixty seconds on his end. Questions asked about him were given short answers then he asked a question in return about them. That usually ended his part of the conversation.
Much to the surprise of many he really did listen.
He was very handsome and the women of the company wanted him but he had not had a relationship with any of them.
Some suspected he was gay but when he set out to get laid he was nearly always successful. Among the women he had sex with he had a reputation as an exceptional, long lasting lover with a bigger than average cock. He had a lot of repeat business.
Somehow that information made its way to his office and he had to withstand some advances. They stopped when he mentioned they would both lose their jobs.
The people working for him were intensely loyal. He gave them flowers or dinner coupons on birthdays and anniversaries. He always gave them full credit for jobs well done. Yet no one at his office thought of him was a friend, he was the boss.
She was a liaison in his unit assigned to his office when his company bought hers. She was a pretty black woman, very intelligent, and terminally shy. She was about five feet tall, under one hundred pounds. She was perhaps the oldest member of his staff but looked like the youngest.
She was terrified of the city; it was more than fifty times bigger than her Georgia hometown.
She was embarrassed by compliments because she never felt she deserved them, just doing my job she said.
She spent a lot of time blushing.
At first many thought she was lesbian because she had always retreated from male company but the department's two lesbians had their advances rebuffed too, the only single woman to ever do so.
He felt sorry for her and worried what would happen to her when her job was done. The bosses had already told him she would be let go soon.
That was what she seemed to expect. She had been working for him for three months.
He did hope she would stop blushing every time he spoke to her.
When he had flowers brought to her desk on her birthday she blushed the entire day. When the others told her the flowers were from him and a tradition in their section she blushed whenever she saw him.
At the end of the day it took her several minutes to be able to say thanks to him and ran out of his office as soon as she did.
He wondered how lonely she was. Probably lonelier than he.
As they were leaving the office that Friday, the last two as usual, he asked her to please follow him and he led her to a nice restaurant on the corner of their building and they sat at a corner table.
"The chicken is very good here and so is the pasta but order anything you want. And stop blushing," he said with a smile.
She gave him a brilliant smile and a brilliant blush then stammered that a chicken salad would be nice.
He ordered that for her and a chicken sandwich for himself and chicken soup for both.
Their conversation was sparse but neither found that unnerving. In fact dinner with company was very pleasant for both
.
When dinner was over they separated at the sidewalk with just smiles for each other.
"Terminally cute, borderline gorgeous, smart" he thought then did his best to erase that from his mind.
"What a handsome, gentle man" she thought and then tried to bury that thought.
On Monday he found a Thank You card on his desk. It read, "It was my best birthday since I was twelve. Thanks."
She had not signed it but he knew from who it was. He gave her a smile as he went past her desk. She blushed.
He had never taken someone out to a birthday dinner so she became an immediate celebrity in the department. He saw the commotion and apologized to her for placing her in the middle of it. She smiled, nodded, and blushed.
That workweek was hectic; a client had changed her mind on what she wanted and the sales department had made promises that could not be fulfilled. He had to explain the process to the client and cover for sales. He had spent most of the week out of his office.
The sales department as usual did not acknowledge his efforts on their behalf but the company president gave him a thanks and a pat on the back. That Friday morning the sales department sent him a note that promised it would never happen again. His boss had apparently gotten on their butt. He put the note with the other five he had from them.
As he rode the elevator down he thought that he would like to have company for dinner that evening. He saw her on the sidewalk in line to take a bus. He went to her and asked if she had a date that night.
She giggled and said "No."
"Follow me please," he said and led her to a Japanese restaurant a block away.
They were led to a small booth and he ordered the fried calamari appetizer and a Japanese beer. She asked for tea.
He soon noticed that she had no idea what anything on the menu was and he asked if she would like him to order for her. She closed the menu as she gave him a grateful smile. He ordered the shrimp and noodle for each of them.
She loved the fried calamari and admitted it was the first time she had ever eaten them. She did leave the ones with tentacles to him. When her tea was brought her confusion led him to prepare it for her.
"Have you been in a Japanese place before?" he asked.
"No, in my town we don't have one that I know of. We have Italian, seafood, and Mexican restaurants. We have lots of diners and a Chinese buffet but I have never been to that one. There was an Indian restaurant but they closed."
"Well, in this town we have a wide variety. Name a country and we have at least three restaurants with their cuisine. Did you like the Indian restaurant?
"
"I never went, I was too scared. I would have needed someone to explain things for me."
Their food was served and she enjoyed it even though she though the shrimp looked funny.
He told her there were hundreds different kinds of shrimp and different ones were preferred by different cultures. He also mentioned that the restaurant served sushi one of which featured a raw shrimp.
She was aghast so he ordered two.
He ate his shortly after it was served and as usual wrapped a piece of ginger around it.
Several minutes later she cut a very small piece of hers and wrapped ginger around it too. Several minutes later she closed her eyes and put the morsel in her mouth.