Rae munched on a celery stick, checked the clock, and suppressed a groan. She knew from previous years that the management wouldn't start handing out door prizes for at least an hour. The company party was dragging on even more than a normal work day, as usual.
It wasn't as if she had anything better to do, though.
Five years after her divorce and a year from the dreaded 4-0, she was about to give up. A string of boring relationships and bad sex had prompted her to stay home for the last several weekends, and she had no plans to go out that evening either.
She knew she wasn't the only one bored to tears, because fully half of the party attendees had their phones out. Upon passing by him on the way to check out this year's prizes, she had noticed that even one of the upper managers was playing solitaire on his phone. Considering the state of the gossip grapevine in the office, she had little doubt that many of the people on their phones were talking to people seated right next to them about the person seated across from them.
Because she refused to participate, the odds were that her name was flying back and forth through the cloud as well.
Though she was doing her best not to look at it, the table of dessert dishes was calling to her. Someone had brought in a cherry pie, which was particularly tempting. Through force of will, she walked away without indulging, and thus avoided a week of extra time on the treadmill that the treat would have required, if she wanted to keep up the fight against her slowing metabolism.
For all the good that's doing me,
a self-depreciating voice muttered in her head.
When Rae turned, she saw the co-workers she'd been sitting with were engaged in conversation with the CEO. Not in the mood to smile and lie about what a good time she was having, she took advantage of the open path to the break room door. A trip to the restroom would kill enough time to avoid executive entanglement, if nothing else.
To her surprise, the restroom was empty. Pleased that she wouldn't have to listen to whispered gossip, she took her time at the mirror. Because she'd fixed her makeup between the end of her shift and the start of the party, everything was in order there. Her brown hair, recently cut short, but leaving long bangs, gave her a classy, businesslike appearance that she felt suited her. As always in recent years, she wasn't especially fond of the thicker middle of her figure, but she was at least satisfied that she was holding up better than most of her friends.
A check of her stockings completed the evaluation. They weren't sagging, and she couldn't find any runs. Pantyhose had always irritated her when it was time to use the restroom, and splurging on stockings had solved that problem.
Loathe to leave the haven of the bathroom when she had it to herself, she pulled out her phone and discovered a couple of messages that she'd somehow missed. As soon as she answered them, she heard the door open. She exchanged a smile and a nod with the head of HR, and then swept back out into the hall.
Well, hello handsome,
she thought upon seeing the new head of IT lounging in the hall, looking bored, and tapping away on his phone. He was fresh out of college, and even without the whispers floating around the office, she knew he had to have some sort of connection to have landed the job. He was handsome, well-built, and from a few glimpses she'd caught, she suspected he filled out his slacks quite well.
Rae had started mildly flirting with him on day one, and to her delight, he flirted back. It was a pleasant diversion from the work day, even if she knew nothing would ever come of it.
"You're going to have to find somewhere better to hide, Eric," she said as she approached. "Someone's sure to find you here any moment."
"Are the parties always this boring?" he asked.
Rae emphatically nodded, and paused when she reached him. "I hear that they were amazing back in the eighties when they still served alcohol, but yes, they're terrible now."
"I could use a shot of something right now. I wouldn't even have stayed if you didn't have to be present to win prizes."
"Same here — on both counts. If you have a stash, you need to share." With nobody else in the hall, she decided to go a step beyond the usual. "Well, as long as you don't try to get me drunk and take advantage of me."
He smiled and chuckled. "Well, there goes that idea."
Rae laughed, rolled her eyes, and gave him a theatrical slap on the arm that was more a caress than anything.
Eric looked first one way, and then the other, before leaning in to whisper, "I do have a stash."
"Oh, don't tease me like that. That's just cruel."
"No joke. Care to join me?"
Taken aback by his seriousness, she panicked and said, "Oh, I couldn't."
"Come on," he said. "Nobody is going to notice if we have one little drink, but it sure would make this more tolerable."
"I... Uhm..." she stammered, unable to think.
"Offer's on the table. All you have to do is follow."
With that, he started down the hall. Rae was left standing where he'd left her, not sure what to do. She watched him walking away, and after a few steps, he glanced back and grinned.
Her thoughts were still reeling when she started following.
Bad idea. Bad idea,
she thought, though she continued to walk. Then, as she passed the door to the women's restroom, she prayed,
Please don't come out.
The door didn't open, but she only relaxed once she turned the corner.
Eric was waiting for her, his smile even wider than before. He waved for her to follow and started walking again.
Once they were far enough from the bathroom, she whispered, "It's not in your car is it? The break room windows overlook the parking lot."
"Server room. My own little fortress of solitude," he answered.
"This is such a bad idea," Rae said, as much to herself as to him.
"Nah, we're never going to get caught. It's all the way on the other side of the building, and behind two badge controlled doors."
"Still..." she began, but then trailed off. He was unabashedly watching the jiggle of her breasts when she looked at him. Rather than reacting as most men did when caught ogling, he looked up into her eyes for a moment.
"Everyone is so busy gossiping, sucking up, or messing with their phones that they'll never even know we're gone," he said without the slightest hint of shame or hesitation.
For the first time, she wondered if his flirting was something more than a way to help pass the time of the workday. He'd complimented her outfit on a few occasions, and remarked about how good her legs looked once, but looking at her breasts was far different. It was openly sexual. Her nerves frayed even more, but beneath that, an undercurrent of excitement was building.
Eric scanned his badge, letting them into IS, which she knew had a level of restricted access, though anyone who rang the bell was generally admitted. It was the first time she'd ever seen all the cubicles empty. On the opposite side of the room was another door. It was windowless, and the previous head of IT had demanded that only he and management have access.
A thought occurred to her and she asked, "What if someone looks at the video?"
Eric chuckled and said, "The cameras in here and the hallway are dead. I've been complaining for two months, and I'm supposed to have the budget for new ones soon, but for now, we're ghosts. Relax."
"Easy for you to say."
He scanned his badge at the final door and said, "It will be easier for you to do after you have a drink."
Rae followed him in, and gasped as she crossed the threshold. It was freezing inside.
"Yeah, sorry about that. The servers don't like heat."
She nodded, and added nipples that were suddenly hard enough to cut glass to her list of things to worry about.
