CHAPTER 29

We were uncomfortably close and accidently squeezed together while standing in the packed elevator. I made an effort to hide my discomfort, but I couldn't help but get a glimpse of her sly grin when she "accidentally" brushed into me twice.

The following two hours were excruciating. She appeared to take on behaviors that made me lose my resolve every time I cast a glimpse her way: seductive glances, teasingly licking her lips, crossing and uncrossing her legs, or carelessly winding her hair around her finger. She tripped over her pen and pulled it out from beneath the table, placing it nonchalantly on my thigh.

I had a conflicting sense of relief from her suffering and a fervent want to go back to it at the following lunch meeting. When appropriate, I nodded and talked, but I was thinking about something else. Naturally, my father saw how distant and mopey I was being. He made the decision to address it while we were returning to the workplace.