All characters engaged in sexual activity are over the age of eighteen.
Martina Meadows
The August sun had pushed the Atlanta temperatures well into the 90's that Sunday afternoon, so the Meadows family headed for their subdivision's community swimming pool for a little relief. As they reached the gate surrounding the pool, Martina thought she recognized a familiar figure sun-bathing on a lounger at the far end of the enclosure.
"Hey, John, can you keep an eye on Kyle for a while? I'm going to go talk to Clare."
"Sure," he replied cheerfully. "Come on, buddy, let's play horse and rider."
As the father and son began to splash about noisily, Martina walked around the pool toward Clare Garrison. Not only were the young women friends, but both worked for III Insights, the fast-growing internet consulting firm.
As she neared the lounge chair, Martina could now see that Clare was wearing a thong-style bikini. The sun glistened off her co-worker's well-oiled flanks like a beacon. Self-consciously, Martina glanced down at her own swimsuit. Although also a two-piece, hers was definitely more conservative than what Clare had on.
Typical,
Martina thought snidely.
"Hey, Clare, are you trolling for dads?" Martina called out as she pulled up a chair beside the blonde.
Clare rolled on her side at the sound of the familiar voice. "Nope, just sunning my buns," she said, not at all offended by her friend's dig.
With that the two women began to chat about mundane topics, but when they began talking about the office, Clare's expression suddenly turned serious. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked in a lowered voice.
Intrigued, Martina replied "Absolutely," in the same quiet tone.
Clare leaned closer. In a low voice she confided, "I'm having an affair."
Martina rocked back in surprise. "For real? You're kidding me, right?"
"No, I swear. It's been going on for a couple of months now, and I'm dying to tell somebody."
Still doubting Clare's sincerity, Martina leaned toward her friend. "Who's the guy?" she demanded.
"You've got to promise you won't tell anyone," Clare demanded.
"Of course -- you know you can trust me. So who is it?"
A sly grin came over Clare's face. "It's Ivan."
"Ivan Ingersoll -- our boss? Now I know you're lying!"
"Keep your voice down!" Clare urgently shushed her. "I don't want anyone to hear."
"I can't believe it -- you're sleeping with the Iceman?" The two women began to whisper animatedly for quite some time until a call from John interrupted them. "Hey, Martina, are you going to come swim? Kyle is starting to get tired."
Martina glanced down at her watch and was startled to see how long she and Clare had been gossiping. "Sorry, Hon," she yelled, "we got carried away. I'm coming now."
As she rose to reunite with her family, Clare grabbed her wrist. "Remember," she said sternly, "not a word about this to anyone."
Martina drew an X over her heart and then hurried back to John and Kyle.
"What was all that about?" John wanted to know. "You two were really into it."
"Nothing important," Martina answered dismissively, "just the usual office chit-chat."
Later, after all three had taken showers to wash off the chlorine from the pool, Martina began putting together the components for an early supper. It was fortunate they were having left-overs, because her mind was definitely not on food preparation.
I can't believe Clare's having an office affair. And with Ivan, of all people! The Ice Man -- who would have thought it?
As she heated their food, she couldn't help going over what she knew about her boss. Ivan Ingersoll had burst onto the scene as the wunderkind of the internet. Known as much for his caustic witticisms as his industry insights, he had quickly carved a reputation as the bad boy of tech. His prescient article on the emergence of internet influencers had grabbed the notice of digital movers and shakers, and he'd capitalized on his sudden notoriety by launching a highly successful consulting business: III Insights. Despite his reputation for being cold and demanding, he'd quickly assembled a team of bright young minds who helped him win contracts with some major industry players.
But after working on his team for a year, Martina was having a hard time believing that Ivan Ingersoll was having an affair in the office. Sure, there was a fair number of young, attractive females in his firm, but Martina had never heard any gossip along those lines, at least until now. She knew that Ivan was married, and she'd assumed he was faithful to his wife Nadia. But as Martina thought about it now, she realized she didn't even have a clear picture of what Nadia Ingersoll looked like. She'd only seen the woman briefly at some company dinner, Martina remembered, and she'd thought at the time that the wife looked older than her husband.
But the truth was that Martina had devoted most of her attention that night to Ivan. After all, her boss was tall and slim, with black hair and a thin mustache that made his countenance simultaneously distinguished and sly. Between his bad-boy reputation in the industry and his ice-man demeanor in the office, he was simultaneously a mysterious and attractive figure.
Now, based on what Clare had just confided, it seemed there was more fire beneath that surface than Martina had imagined. And the fact that Clare was the one who had managed to melt that icy exterior just made him that much more fascinating.
I wonder if I could've attracted his attention if I'd known he was available?
she mused. Then she remembered the swimsuit she'd worn today. She shook her head.
Not looking like that.
Her husband, however, had apparently had a more positive reaction to her appearance at the pool. After the couple had put Kyle to bed, John tried to initiate a little romance. Martina shut that down quickly. "I have to get to work early tomorrow," she explained. "Maybe later in the week."
