Michelle had been working on her presentation for two weeks now and the end was finally in sight. She wished she could give it herself, but her boss insisted that she stay in the office, like always. It was a big company, so there was definite hierarchy that needed to be followed. She sighed as she put the finishing touches on it and opened her desk draw to get a flash drive to copy it to. The drawer was empty.
She smiled to herself and gave a fake sigh for the sake of her cube mates. “I have to go to IT for a flash drive, I will be back.”
The truth was she was always looking for opportunities to go to IT. She had recently become acquainted with a relatively new member of the team named Alex, and she couldn’t get her mind off of him. Suddenly she found herself having computer trouble constantly and needing extra software or cables. It was amazing how many things she suddenly needed help with.
She was acutely aware of him every time he walked by her desk. He was shorter than she usually went for, about 5’6 same as her, and cut his hair in a trendy, but very sexy way. Somehow everything about him was well put together, but effortless at the same time. From his perfectly trimmed beard to his casual button down shirts. On top of everything, he had an awkward shyness that she found adorably irresistible. Maybe it was because he was at least 5 years younger, but something about his seemingly innocent nature made her think of all the naughty things should corrupt him with.
She got up from her desk and smoothed down her short skirt before heading into the bathroom. She quickly checked over her make up and made sure her 38DD’s were well displayed as she pulled down the v-neck of her plum colored dress. Her skirt was long enough to get away with in the office, but paired with the high heels and the thigh high stockings underneath, it was almost inappropriate. Her makeup was perfectly understated, just enough to highlight her big brown eyes and full lips. Taking one last look at her long dark hair in the mirror she pushed the door open.
Michelle nearly crashed into Dan as she left the bathroom.
“My aren’t we in a hurry,” he said with a laugh.
“Of course. I need a flash drive for my presentation.”
Dan was her best friend in the office and he gave her a knowing smile. He knew of her fascination with Alex. Dropping his voice a bit he said, “Isn’t it a bit early to be ogling your IT crush? Give the poor guy a break.”
She rolled her eyes and gave him a smile. “It is never too early for a bit of fun."
“Isn’t that the truth?" he said, giving an evil smile and running his fingers over her bare arm.
She shivered and stepped away. He knew her well enough to be a dangerously good time, but she hadn’t taken those steps with him. They teased, but never took it further than friendship. Her fascination with Alex was all in good fun. She was the cat in that game of cat and mouse. With Dan she wasn’t sure who was the cat, and that was too confusing to get involved with. She liked having the upper hand.
Shaking off the lingering sensation in her arm, she walked past all the cubes to the IT area in the back. There he was, sitting with his back to the aisle. He was working on taking the screws out of a piece of hardware. Bits and pieces of a hard drive littered his desk. Walking up slowly, she gently tapped his shoulder, trying not to startle him. He glanced back, and did a double take before pushing his chair back and muttering, “Hey.”
Michelle smiled and said, “Sorry to bother you, but do you happen to have any more flash drives? I need to save a presentation for someone and I am all out.”
“Oh yeah. Definitely. Um. Hold on.” He stood up quickly and started frantically rummaging in his drawers and cabinets. She watched with amusement. He always seemed a little flustered when she came to talk to him and it was very fun for her to see. He checked every drawer and cabinet before giving her an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I have any…..” he said. She faked her disappointment and gently touched his arm. He tensed up and then relaxed.
“That’s okay, maybe someone else will.” Michelle dropped her hand. She turned to go.
“Uh…wait, there may be more in the storage room by the server. Um yeah, definitely should be some there.” He moved past her and started walking toward the other end of the building. She followed, even though she probably didn’t need to. Now she was curious because she’d never been back there before.
The server room was dark, lit by thousands of blinking blue and green lights that indicated business as usual. It was a secure area so Alex swiped his keycard and opened the door. It was warm and you could hear the soft whirring noise from the fans working to keep the equipment cool.