I’d only been working at Howell House for a few months before Devin started flirting with me. I’d found him attractive since the first day we’d met, but never allowed myself to dwell on it. The man was my boss for godsakes, and how utterly cliché would it have been for me to have a crush on him, never mind how self-destructive it could be to my career. I kept my head down and our relationship strictly above-board.
But Devin was ruthless in his pursuit. I think the thrill of the chase was his motivating factor, not only because of the breach we’d be committing against company policy, but because I never gave him an inch, determined to treat our association as strictly professional. I was always respectful and businesslike in my dealings with him publicly, even though privately, I actually found him intriguing, powerful and utterly gorgeous. My complete refusal to partake in his flirtatious banter elevated me into the perfect challenge in his eyes. The more I evaded his advances, the more he poured on the charm. He must have known I found him attractive, because otherwise, he’d have been setting himself up for one hell of a sexual harassment lawsuit!
It wasn’t until Marty Robinson’s retirement party that I finally let my guard down. We’d all had cake in the conference room and then a dozen of us decided to go out for drinks afterward. I’d been working at Howell House for a whole year by then, and that was the first time I’d ever socialized outside of the office with my coworkers. It’s not as though I was against making friends at work. It’s just that most of the people there were much older than me, and I didn’t have anything in common with the few who weren’t. Rajani Singh from the art department was the only person in the whole building that I had any sort of a friendship with. But even then, our camaraderie was mostly confined between the hours of nine to five.
That night, however, she and I had split a taxi on the way to Down the Hatch, a hip little dive down near my neighborhood in Greenwich Village. It was an uncharacteristic choice for the older crowd I worked with, but I soon learned that Devin had been the one to suggest it. We grabbed a booth near the tables where our fellow employees had already congregated and joined Marty in a shot.
Devin was standing near us at the time, and I used the opportunity to check him out from head to toe. He was wearing a casual maroon golf shirt and grey slacks to replace his usual suit and tie, and I remember thinking that he looked even more delicious than he normally did at the office.
Before long, Rajani decided to get home to her husband. Devin managed to claim her seat in our booth, where he stayed for the remainder of the evening. After a few drinks and then a few too many more, the rest of our group thinned out until it was just the two of us there alone. Devin showed no sign that he was planning to leave, and I was having fun, so I stayed, too.
After all those drinks, I guess I was feeling pretty loose. That night, whenever he’d make a flirty comment, I allowed myself to smile and become almost as playful. Whenever his eyes would linger for a few extra seconds, I’d meet his gaze instead of turning away.
At one point, he reached across the table and took hold of my hand, and I don’t know if it was the sultry summer heat, the many drinks I’d consumed, or the way he was looking at me, but I let him do it.
Before I had time to think about what was happening, we were back at my apartment and tearing each other’s clothes off.
The following morning, I woke up with a huge hangover and an even bigger case of regret. I’d never been much of a casual-sex kind of girl, even during my college days, but I had to go and have a drunken one-night-stand with Devin Fields. My boss! I berated myself in the light of day, lying there in my bed naked after a night spent screwing my editor. What the hell had I been thinking?
Devin’s arm slid around me then, and I turned to see his head half-buried in the pillows, a smile plastered on his sleepy face. Without even opening his eyes, he’d said, “Good morning,” and pulled me closer against his naked body. I guessed that he wasn’t feeling quite so regretful.