"You didn’t have to go that far." I said laughing after he was done with his full self-introduction. "Your name is all I need to know for now.

So, Ronnie, what did you think of me that night?" A sheepish smile played on my lips. I am sure my face is all red like a tomato. I can feel the heat of it on my cheeks. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. I needed to ask because I cannot drop myself on him if he does not feel the same way. "It was. . .I don’t really. . . know. . . how to. . .put it, but it is one of the best I have had. . . . ." Why is he counting his words? He must be shy. If he is that makes two of us. My stupid sheepish smile only grew wider. "It is the same for me also. And I am wondering if you would like to meet me again?" I threw shyness and caution aside and followed on one of the rules that Annie had sent me. "Don’t play shy, innocent and coy. Many men are not into that. Be bold. Be in charge." She had texted. "S. . . sure. Where would that be?"

"Where else darling? It is only right for the meeting to happen where it first began. Same place, same spot." I was about adding what do you think? When I remembered Annie’s advice. "Don’t give him any room for rejection. You must have the upper hand and leverage even though you are going to get rejected."

"O-okay. I will meet you there."

"Great." I pressed my palm over my mouth to prevent myself from squealing out loud. "What time will it be?" I thought it over before responding "10pm." I will get off work by 7 and use the remaining hours to get home and prepare myself for the sex meeting. "Bye. Oh, and this is my number. Save it." I said then hung up. I blew out my cheeks repeatedly to somehow counter the blush heat. I then came out from the restroom stall and went back to my office. Reaching my desk I try to keep myself busy by looking at spreadsheets on my computer for the company’s project that had been put on hold. I was glancing at the time on my phone every minute and counting down to when I would leave work. Five hours. Four hours. Three hours. Two hours. One hour, thirty-four minutes and forty-five seconds. Now we are getting somewhere. Veronica brings a log of files to my desk. "Please help me out with these. I have got an important meeting with a client." She says. The time on my screensaver says it is less than thirty minutes to seven pm. This files would minimally take over an hour. "I can’t. I am sorry. I also have an important meeting to be at right after we get off work." I politely refused.

"You are not doing overtime today?" Just listen to this darn woman. There was a never a time that I was doing my own work during overtime. It is always hers, Laurel’s

"No. I plan to stop overworking myself from now on." I plastered on a sweet smile. I happily walk out of the office once it was seven pm on the dot. I feel a profound sense of liberation. This is something worth celebrating; me turning down Veronica. She always has somewhere to be at and would always conjure up methods to leave early by throwing her workload on me. I can’t understand her. I mean she is not like Laurel who has problematic triplets. If it was her, I would have gladly split the workload so she could quickly get home to her husband and her kids. Arthur and James have kids and a family too.

James in particular has a fire-breathing wife who goes paranoid and blows up his phone with calls and texts whenever he is out late. I have seen it firsthand when we all went out for a team dinner one time. He had left to go the bathroom and was taking quite a while. Seeing the number saved ’wife’ repeatedly calling. I took the call meaning to tell her that her husband is not there and would return her call when he gets back. I realized that had been a bad idea the second I put the phone close to my ear. I had never been cursed out that much in my life before. She called me all sorts of names. From bitch, to hoe, to homewrecker, and a dirty cocksucker. The last part triggered something in me. I didn’t know when I snapped and insulted her back.

We did a competition of name calling before I angrily hung up and slammed the phone down on the eating table. The others who were slobbering drunk immediately became sober after they heard me curse. I reported James what the woman saved as his wife did right after he returned from his bathroom trip. He uttered words of apologies like raindrops. He then arranged a meeting with me and his wife at a coffee shop near our workplace. She had asked to meet me to be fully convinced that I was really his colleague. I went, and things became clear. She too apologized, extenuating that it wasn’t really her fault by mentioning that her husband was once a chronic cheater. And that he even once slept with her best friend. I had given James a wierd glance when his wife said that. He didn’t say anything. He just had his head lowered, not contradicting his wife’s statement which gesticulated that it was true. He claims that he has repented and that he now knows nothing other than Christ and his family but his wife doesn’t believe it.

I could no longer say I blame her for always keeping tabs on her husband and putting a cage over him, but she goes about it the wrong way. I did not say that to her though, that was only a thought. She then told me to keep an eye on her husband at work for her like a spy. I was disgusted at the fact that she thought her husband and I a "thing"