“So who was that knockout I saw you with in the lobby yesterday?” Rich asked, fighting back a smile
“So who was that knockout I saw you with in the lobby yesterday?” Rich asked, fighting back a smile as he sipped his beer. Immediately, my skin crawled…I knew I’d eventually have to answer questions like this, down here. Rich was a colleague, a friend I guess, a guy I’d grown to know over more than ten years of coming to these conferences. He had his practice up in the Northeast and the only contact I really ever had with him was this once-yearly thing, maybe an e-mail here and there. But he was a good enough guy, maybe a little plain spoken, especially after two IPAs. He’d been in practice a few years more than myself and always been good to bounce ideas off of, discuss professional stuff, or share a beer with at the end of a long day of classes. Which is exactly what we were doing here. Sitting at the bar in one of the resort’s semi-casual restaurants, with a view of the big pool and the front entrance…so I could watch for her… “Oh, who…? You saw that? Yeah…” I answered, remembering the moment yesterday, Melissa and I checking in to the resort after our plane ride down. I had felt it crawling over my skin: other eyes on us, how acutely aware I was of being seen with a young, six-foot bombshell. “That’s, uh, my new Office Manager…” “Your Office Manager..??” Yep. My Office Manager. My Office Manager whose newest Instagram post had appeared during my mid-afternoon class, a lecture on novel ACE-inhibitors. Earlier he’d insisted I put my alerts back on during our trip so… “She works for you??” Rich laughed, sitting back from the bar as his eyes went wide, “Wow, man, good catch…” His smile now a knowing smirk, he nodded in admiration, watching me start to squirm. “No, no, it’s not like that…” I countered, “She’s…very good. Great for the position.” A total lie. The practice is a mess. “She’s been with us for, uh, almost a couple months now. She’s…uh…” “…Massively educated, obviously,” Rich interjected wryly, “Huge…qualifications.” This was apparently very entertaining, and he was enjoying watching me try to cover. “You dog…!” he added, seeing right through me. Oh my god I am the worst. But nnngh those tits. It killed me that I had to sit in a dark presentation hall while Melissa, that body, and that bikini were down at the resort’s beach. I had tried to concentrate on the lecture…tried to ignore my phone, the texts from her that came after the post… “No, really, it’s…” I tried, “it’s just that my old office manager, Jeannette-“ “She’s the one you came with usually?” he asked, remembering, “she was a hoot.” “Yeah…yes. She…retired. And I needed-“ “Someone that’d fill out a swimsuit better?” “Dude, really, no…” Those texts earlier had been the most tempting thing…  …the restaurant we were in now. She should be here any minute. God why am I so nervous?? “soooo…your wife. Sheryl, right?” Rich asked, “Has she seen her? What does she think about…?” “Oh, uh, yeah…” I’d commiserated with Rich about my marriage troubles in the past. Last year things were chilly; now they were even worse. “She’s…” Oh god there she is… Across the bar, just inside the restaurant’s glass entryway, I spy Melissa enter. She approaches the desk, towering over the hostess…. “That looks like your date…wow,” Rich comments. He, too, was speechless. From over the crowd, Melissa looks up, catches my eye. Smiles, waves. “I should go…” I say.Jesus give me strength. ==============================Thanks again for your patience. Image is a morph of mine. -- source link