Around six months after I'd started my new job, my boss decided that I should visit a few of our other offices and meet in-person many of my coworkers who I only knew via Zoom up to that point. With him being in Portland while I was in Denver, he suggested we start with a visit to the Portland office, since that was the company headquarters, anyway. He also realized that one of my coworkers who held the same position that I did but in Salt Lake City had never ended up visiting any other offices after she'd started because, just as they were starting to plan some trips, the pandemic reared its ugly head and most travel that wasn't critical ceased. It made sense for the two of us to visit our other offices during one trip so we got to work on identifying a week that would work for both of us.
Once we had narrowed down our options, we found a week that would work for both of us, our boss and coworkers both in Portland and in Salem. Booking the hotel was easy because it was a block away from the Portland office and the company had an account with them but we needed to have our flights booked first. We both ended up booking flights that arrived on Sunday afternoon, then we'd drive from the Portland office to the Salem office with our boss on Monday and spend Tuesday in Portland. I was flying out on Wednesday morning but Christine had to get back to SLC so she was flying out on Tuesday night. Our arriving flights on Sunday landed close enough together that we agreed to meet up in the airport and catch a ride to the hotel together.
I was pretty sure that Christine was a bit older than me but not a whole lot. She had silver hair, which she wore in a short style, and I first thought that she was Asian or Filipina but I learned during that trip that her family was from Hawaii and she'd spent some of her childhood there. Even though I'd only seen her on Zoom prior to meeting up in the airport, I wasn't concerned about recognizing her because, if I'm being honest, I spent a lot of our Zoom calls gazing at her because I found her very attractive. I knew I was going to have to be careful during this trip but I was looking forward to spending time with her and getting to know her better. I figured that, since our boss and other coworkers would be around us most of the time, I'd probably be okay.
I'd only seen her from about the shoulders up on Zoom so, though I knew she was cute, I didn't have any sense of her figure. Once we found each other in the airport, I was not surprised to see that she was slim and petite, which I knew wasn't going to help me in trying to remain completely professional. By that, I mean I was concerned that I'd end up obviously staring at her not that I'd hit on her or even flirt too blatantly. It wasn't the first time I'd be around a coworker who I found attractive so I knew how to act appropriately and to suppress any inappropriate thoughts.
Not only was this the first time we'd be seeing each other in-person, it was also the first time interacting one-on-one since we were typically at the very least on a call that included our boss if not multiple coworkers. It turned out that we had an almost immediate rapport and were chatting almost non-stop until we were at the hotel, separately checking in. Once we'd finished, we shared which rooms we'd been assigned to so we could find each other if we needed to, though we also had exchanged cell numbers while we were planning this trip. It turned out that we were on different floors and facing different directions but I was not expecting to see her view nor was I expecting her to see mine.
"What's your plan for the rest of the day?" I asked as we waited for the elevator.
"I should probably get some work done if we're going to be on the road to and from Salem for part of the day tomorrow," she replied, "What about you?"
"No idea, really," I told her, "I guess I'll unpack and see what I feel like doing but I can let you know if I decide to go out in case you're ready for a break."
"Okay, thanks," she replied, "I'd appreciate that."
I got off of the elevator before she did so I didn't even get an opportunity to watch her walk away, which I knew I was going to want to check out at some point. Of course, I didn't turn around to see if she was watching me walk away but, based on what happened, she may have been. I got to my room and, after checking things out, I went ahead and unpacked, put my clothes away in the dresser and closet and set up my toiletries in the bathroom. I knew I didn't want to get my laptop set up and start working, too, so I was thinking maybe I'd go out and take a walk around. The weather was nice and I knew there was a greenbelt with a trail along the river so I could see where that would take me. I'd started to figure out what I'd need to take along with me but wasn't ready to head out yet when there was a knock on my door. There was only one person who knew my room number so I had an idea of who was knocking but I looked through the peephole anyway and was not surprised to see Christine.
"Hey, what's going on?" I asked as I opened the door and indicated for her to come in, if she was so inclined. She was so I closed the door again once she was inside.
"I was going to try to get some work done," she replied, "but I just kept thinking that it would be a waste to sit in my room working when we each have a big, king-size bed not being used."