John sat at his desk reading an email reply that caused him to swear out loud. Yet another screw up that was going to cause more work for him when it could have been handled better from the start. His exclamation caused Amanda to stop outside his office door.
"Everything okay John." She asked in her slightly deep but very feminine voice.
"Just more headaches Amanda. Sorry I didn't mean to say that out loud."
Amanda had started with their small company almost a year prior. She was the gatekeeper for their small office among other roles she had assumed as she got more comfortable in her role. She had a pretty face with dark brown hair. Her voluptuous figure and quiet confidence made her seem quite matronly, even though she was not yet 40 years of age.
"You sound just a little stressed John," she said stepping into his office. Today she was wearing a snug black skirt and cream colored silk blouse that buttoned up the front. She always wore pantyhose and today's was black with a seam in the back. She wore shiny black heels that were more professional than flashy.
"I'll be alright Amanda," he said shaking his head, "I just don't have a lot of patience with stupid people sometimes," his expression causing her to laugh softly.
"You really look tense John," she walked around behind his chair and after placing her hands on his shoulders began to give him a gentle massage. He worried about how this would look, but ir being Tuesday, he and Amanda were the only ones in the office.
"Amanda you don't need to," he began before she interrupted him.
"Just take a moment and relax John," her hands working the knots they found in his muscles. "That's right, everyone carries their tension different places. If you let it stay all bound up it can cause all kinds of health problems." One hand moved from his shoulder up to the back of his scalp and her nails started moving up and down on the back of his head. "Listen, you need to relax and let that stress go. That's right John, just relax."
He had to admit she certainly knew what she was doing. Within a couple of minutes he was feeling so much better.
"That's right just relax and so we can get all that tension out."