A Surprise

It was the morning of Franks first day and we drove to work together, and then parted ways once we reached the office.

When I got to the office, Steve greeted me with a smile.

"Good morning, Jennifer. How are you?"

"Good morning, Steve. I'm good, thanks. How are you?"

"Fantastic. Just fantastic."

"Glad to hear it."

"So, did Frank start his job today?"

"Yes, he started this morning. I think he is down in the basement now."

"Perfect. Let's get to work then."

We got stuck into the days tasks. It was a bit of a busy day, with lots of meetings.

I could hear Steve frantically typing away before he looked up at me and said "I've secured some last minute tickets to this years publishing expo" could you go ahead and arrange the plane tickets, hotels etc please?"

"Sure thing!" I answered quickly before immediately getting to work.

"Also Jennifer, I know it's your first week but could you clear your schedule as I want you to join me" He paused looking at me expectantly "...on a business trip." He continued.

My heart skipped a beat when he mentioned going on a 'business trip' together. It seemed like our relationship had already progressed beyond a normal employer-employee friendship so hearing him say those words caused a rush of excitement to flow throughout my body. This was something completely new for me.

"Oh! Ummm..." My mind raced with ideas in an attempt to decide whether or not I should even bring it up, let alone take part in such a big decision. I decided to try to come up with the best response possible by choosing my words carefully.

"Are you asking me to accompany you to the expo?" I asked calmly "Because if you are then yes...I'd love too." I smiled widely hoping that the right answer had just come to me while still being modest enough to make sure it wasn't too forward.

"Thank God!" Steve exclaimed happily before clapping his hands excitedly.

"Well now wait a second..." he stammered out after a brief pause "There is actually another reason why I wanted to ask you along on this trip" he continued as he lowered his voice. "I'll explain later but don't worry about it, okay?" he added nervously as he reached over and gave my hand a quick squeeze.

"Okay" I replied quietly feeling a bit unsure of what was going on here. But after a moment or two I decided not to push him further and instead started focusing on the task at hand which was making all of the arrangements needed for us to attend this year's publishing expo. After about an hour or so of hard work I finally managed to get everything ready for us and emailed the details over to Steve who quickly looked through the information and nodded approvingly.

"That looks fantastic Jennifer! Thank you so much."

"No problem" I responded with a smile.

"So we leave in 3 days" he said looking up from the screen at me "...and don't forget to pack swimwear, we'll be staying in a hotel with plenty of amenities." he added as he stood up and started gathering his things together. "Anyway I've gotta run" he said before quickly leaving the office and rushing off towards the elevators.

As soon as he was gone I couldn't stop the butterflies fluttering around inside of me at the thought of spending an entire weekend away with him. It was definitely exciting but also kind of nerve-wracking. The truth was, I'd never been anywhere without Frank and now I would be alone with my boss. What if he expected something more from me? Was that even appropriate to think of? I knew it wasn't, but part of me wished it was.

"Stop it, Jennifer." I scolded myself mentally while shaking my head violently trying to get the image out of my mind. "Don't even think about that. You're a married woman!"

With that I tried to get back into my work but found it extremely difficult as I kept getting distracted by these feelings swirling around inside me. Eventually though, after a few hours had passed, I finally managed to concentrate on finishing the tasks assigned to me that day.

By the time 5:30 rolled around, I was exhausted. My eyes were sore, my neck was stiff and my lower back ached like mad. So, without further ado, I packed up my things and left the office. When I got outside Frank was already waiting for me by the car.

"Hey beautiful" he said happily giving me a hug before helping me into the vehicle. "How was your day?"

"Pretty good" I replied.

"Great! Well, let's get home."

As we drove home, I couldn't help but think that I still needed to tell Frank that I was going away with our boss.