"Damn. I forgot my umbrella. And, I'm late for work."
Carol Evans drove the 30-minute commute every day to the office. The rain this past week was relentless. Carol parked her car in the far lot and made a run for the entrance. The fifty-yard run drenched and darkened her long straight auburn hair. She quickly checked her face in the bathroom and tried her best to dry her hair and face. After a quick reapplication of makeup, Carol stepped out of the bathroom and sneaked over to her desk.
"Surprise Carol!" said Ann. Ann was Carol's friend and fellow secretary at the small accounting firm. "Carol, you're just in time. We're having a meeting in two minutes. Some kind of surprise. Don't know what."
Oh great Carol thought. They're probably going to reorganize again and lay off the staff or something disastrous.
The small staff of ten crowded into the small conference room. The VP of the firm stepped in and announced that the firm had been acquired and that they had a new owner. Some larger company had acquired the firm.
Then he stepped in.
"Hello." There was a brief pause while everyone observed the man standing at the end of the mahogany conference table. Carol and Ann looked at one another and they both had the same thought—"Not bad at all."
"Hi everyone. Sorry to announce such a sudden change. I wanted to make this transition of ownership as smooth as possible. In order to do this, I'll be working with some of you very closely to learn more about the business, your customers, and whatever else might be relevant."
Carol couldn't help wishing that she'd be working alone with the only man talking in the room. She couldn't help noticing him---deep dark eyes, straight black hair, caramel skin, and the luscious lips. She couldn't place his ethnicity. Probably Indian, maybe Hispanic. Carol grew up in a small town and she never really worked with anyone non-white. Carol had never attended college so she never really left her small town. She had married her high school sweetheart more out of resignation and his persistence than anything else. Carol was in her mid-thirties, and she was blessed with great looks. She had long auburn hair and piercing blue eyes with smooth creamy skin. Despite her age, she only had a few wrinkles and had gained a few pounds, but she had aged gracefully.
"Here's the schedule. I'll be spending the next three months in this office trying to learn everything about our acquisition."
One of the employees asked, "By the way, sir, what is your name?"
"Oh my. I'm sorry. Let me tell you about myself. My name is Ram. I graduated from NYU with an MBA a few years ago, and Mr. Rennart brought me on board to ensure that this acquisition goes smoothly."
Ram made eye contact with Carol and kept his gaze. Ann noticed and elbowed Carol.
"In any case, here's the schedule. I'll be talking to each one of you individually this week. Thanks."
As Ann and Carol stepped out of the meeting, Ann said, "Damn Carol. Did you see his biceps? I hope we meet at his place. God knows I need it!"
Carol rolled her eyes at her divorced friend. Carol reassured herself that she was happily married to her high school sweetheart and that no one could come between her and her husband Jake.
---NEXT MORNING—
"Hi...is it..Carol?" Ram said as he slanted his head to read the partially covered name tag on Carol's desk.
Carol kept typing and finally looked up. She was taken aback by Ram. He was even more attractive than what she noticed from yesterday's meeting. He was dressed in a short sleeve polo so she noticed his well-developed biceps and she also noticed his firm legs and well-developed chest.
"Oh, yes...I'm Carol. Nice to meet you." She said extending her hand.
Ram spoke "Carol do you have some time to meet this afternoon? I really want to understand your financial reporting process. This is probably the most vital part and I'll need to understand everything. Besides, I've heard that you are the resident expert."
Ann chimed in, "Yup. She is definitely the expert!"
Carol replied, "Sure! Yes. Let's meet later in the afternoon."
"Great. I'll drop by at 4:30 PM." Said Ram.
Carol couldn't help feeling incredibly attracted to Ram. He was an amazing physical specimen and he was almost "pretty" without sacrificing any masculinity. Carol's husband Jake majored in drinking beer, was barely interested in sex of any kind, smoked like a chimney, and never really treated Carol special. He was a great husband and wonderful provider, and a dutiful father to their daughter, but Carol reassured herself that she was a married woman and that she shouldn't have these feelings.
Carol spent the day organizing all the files and documents that she would need for her meeting later in the afternoon.
Before the meeting Carol went into the bathroom and put some cold water on her eyes. Then she checked her hair and makeup and did some touchups. Why would she need to care? She was married. It's not like she was going on a date or something.
She walked into Ram's makeshift cubicle. That's when she noticed that he had no ring on his left hand. Had he forgotten it?
Carol sat a couple feet away from Ram and she summarized on paper the entire financial reporting process. Ram caught on really fast. He asked really good questions. Ram looked straight into Carol's face when she explained everything. Carol never looked up. She started to fear Ram and what might happen if she tested the boundaries of her flirtation. Then she thought, what's the harm in just having some fun? Carol then looked back into Ram's dark brown eyes. He had high cheekbones and a chiseled face. His skin was absolutely smooth. Not even the slightest imperfection. It was like a baby's bottom. Carol moved in closer and straightened her back so that he could get a good look at her ample cleavage. Ram definitely noticed and then their feet touched. Carol didn't politely say "excuse me". Neither one of them did. They stayed connected and definitely attentive to one another. Carol could tell that she had gotten to Ram. He started digressing. Had she gotten to him? Wow. Carol felt more confident and incredibly liberated that she was having an effect on this young attractive man.
Ram then looked at his watch. "Carol, can we continue this later? Actually, I really need to look at your trial balances. Do you have these?"
