She agrees

Kate walked into the office beaming. Her sunny demeanor was in direct contrast with the frigid weather outside. Mr. Cowall wasn't at his desk, so she quickly left his coffee beside his computer before hanging up her jacket. She felt her foot slip a little on the tile floor and looked down to see a trail of water that followed her from the door. Kate chastised herself for not wiping the snow off her boots before coming in and quickly ran to the front to remedy the situation. It was the first snowfall in the city since she started her job with Mr. Cowall, and that was the kind of lesson you'd have to learn as they arised. She made a mental reminder to bring a pair of indoor shoes to wear around the office.

When Mr. Cowall came out of the bathroom, Kate was in her socks with a mop in hand, cleaning the floor and whistling a festive tune.

"Good morning, Katie!"

Kate grimaced, but masked it before turning to her boss. She hated that name. It was so cutesy and childish. "Hi," she said, "Sorry, I brought some snow in with me."

"It's all OK! No harm, no foul," he replied as he carefully stepped around her on the way to his desk, "Besides, I like seeing a woman with a mop!"

Kate rolled her eyes more in jest than annoyance. By this point she knew that Mr. Cowall's sexism was mostly harmless. She knew that he thought she was just as effective in the workplace as any man could be, he just had an antiquated feeling about traditional gender roles. Mr. Cowall grabbed his latte from where Kate had left it and leaned on his desk to watch Kate. The woman was acutely aware of his ogling eyes on her body, but decided to let it go and keep mopping. She was in too good of a mood to let Mr. Cowall's lustful gaze bring her down. Her lips began whistling the jaunty song once again as she basked in the warmth of her elation.

Mr. Cowall chuckled, "Well you seem to be in a good mood today!"

Kate smiled and finished the last stroke with the mop. "I am," she beamed at her boss before putting the mop and bucket away.

"Any particular reason?" called Mr. Cowall while she was in the supply closet.

Kate waited until she was done in the closet and could see her boss before answering. Her socked feet padded on the cool tile floor. "Jake cancelled some of his subscriptions yesterday!" she announced with a beaming smile.

Mr. Cowall looked back at her with an amused, yet shocked expression. "Wow," he said, "So the ultimatum worked?"

Kate nodded enthusiastically, causing her long auburn ponytail to vigorously wag. "Yup! It's nearly $120 per month!"

Her boss's expression changed as the amusement bled away leaving only shock behind. "That's a lot! What had he been subscribing to!?"

"Oh, you know, streaming services, video games, I don't know what else, but that's a win in my book!" She sat at her desk and took a victory sip of her americano.

"I'll say!" he exclaimed before quickly lowering his voice as if other people were around to eavesdrop, "So did you, uh, you know?"

She nodded emphatically. "It was so good! Fuck, I needed it as much as he di-" Kate paused. There was a look of disappointment on her boss's face. Or was it disgust? She covered her face and tried to backtrack. "Sorry," she said, "That's probably too much information fo-"

Mr. Cowall waved her off and he placed his coffee behind him. "No, no. It's fine. Remember, it's important for us to be completely open and honest. Don't you agree, Katie?"

Kate grimaced at his nickname for her. She didn't want to start something, but it was like nails on a chalkboard. She didn't know him well enough to know how he'd handle confrontation, but... Well, if he wanted her to be open and honest...

"Actually, Sir, about that," the slight tremor in her voice grasped his attention, "I really don't like the name 'Katie'. I just go by 'Kate'." Her cheeks burned red. She had never been a fan of challenging authority, but he literally asked for it.

"Oh." Mr. Cowall's face fell. His eyes unfocused and gazed past Kate as he thought. Kate's mind raced. He wasn't going to take it well, was he? She should have just kept her mouth shut. She could have continued to grin and bear it. Right?

After what felt like an eternity, but was really just an extended pause, Mr. Cowall seemed to pop back into the present. "OK, uh, Kate. I'll keep that in mind."

Kate watched him deflate. He awkwardly looked away form her and walked around his desk to sit at his chair. He didn't say another word. He just went straight to work on his computer. Kate grimaced and followed suit, shaking her mouse to wake up her computer.

**

A few excruciatingly silent hours later and Kate was thinking about lunch. It wasn't quite noon, but they never held to a strict break schedule. She was debating getting her chicken and hummus wrap from the fridge when Mr. Cowall piped up. "Hey, Katie, er- I mean, Kate," he stammered and looked at the woman with his frosty blue eyes. Kate looked over and made eye contact. There was always something so cold about his gaze, more than just the colour. It was as if he was always calculating something. It made her feel uneasy. "There's a week-long conference in Atlanta coming up in two months," he said, "I go every year. You should come!"

Kate groaned inwardly. She didn't want to reject him twice in one morning, but things weren't exactly smooth between her and Jake. Going away for a week with her boss probably wouldn't be the best idea.

"What's the conference for?" she asked politely.

"It's, uh... Well, it's for business owners. There are speakers and workshops about how to run a business, what investments to make, that kind of thing," he explained.

"What would I be doing there? I'm an employee, hardly a business owner. Wouldn't that be weird?" she asked. Maybe rejecting him wouldn't be so hard if she could just use logic to get her way out of it.

"Oh, nonsense," he chuckled. His eyes flicked back to his monitor. "No one would bat an eye. Plenty of the other guys even bring their wives or girlfriends."

Red flag. "That's even worse!" she replied with a half chuckle, "I'm your employee. I wouldn't want to give anyone the wrong impression."

"Kate," he said firmly. His eyes looked back at her and drilled through her own gaze. The cold blue irises made her uncomfortable once again and she looked away. "Don't you agree that it's always good to learn something new?"

"Well, ya, bu-" She felt her heart rate quicken, and the hunger in her stomach was replaced with an uneasy emptiness.

"And don't you agree that you could learn plenty of new things at this conference?"

"Probably... Yes. There's plenty I could learn." Kate felt odd. Ashamed. Like she was a school child receiving a stern lecture. She knew the conference could be a wealth of information for her, but in no way would that be worth the price of her relationship.

Mr. Cowall continued his verbal barrage. "Well, since it's always good to learn new things and you will learn lots at the conference, don't you agree that you should attend the conference with me?"

Kate could feel his continued stare, but she couldn't will herself to look back at him. His argument was iron clad. Attending the conference would teach her many new things, and it was always good to learn new things. Still, in the back of her mind, Kate knew leaving for a week with her boss could spell the end of her relationship with Jake. She couldn't risk that.

After an extended pause, and the excruciating feeling of her boss's stare piercing her soul, Kate spoke up, "I- I just can't... I shouldn't." Her face burned with shame. "I need to stay in town with Jake."

"OK," said Mr. Cowall. He looked back to his computer and began clicking his mouse. "Obviously, I can't **** you to change your mind, but the offer stands."

"Thank you," Kate meekly said.

"Just, if you change your mind, make sure to give me enough time to book you a hotel room."

Kate nodded.

"Oh, Kate!" he added in a cheerful tone, as if she hadn't just rejected his generous offer, "I was having problems with another video on my computer. Can you try it on yours again?"

Kate furrowed her brow. Did he say, 'again'? She couldn't remember having to help him with a video before.

"Oh, uh, sure," she said and she donned her earphones, "Just send me a link."

Mr. Cowall smiled. "I already did."

**

"Are you going to stay late again today?" asked Mr. Cowall, startling her in the process.

She quickly pulled her earphones out and looked at her watch. Where did the day go?! She rubbed her strained and tired eyes.

"Or are you going to reward your boyfriend again?" He chuckled as he grabbed his coat from the stand.

"Fiancé," she corrected. She still felt disoriented and her stomach was growling. "I must have gotten into the zone or something.."

"I'll say! You hardly budged from your computer all day."

"Did we seriously work through lunch?" she asked her boss with slightly unfocused eyes.

Mr. Cowall put his hands on his slightly portly belly. "I guess we did!" he said with a smile, "I'll make sure to include that in your pay. So are you staying late?"

She looked at her workstation. She still needed to finish a few things, and save her work... It shouldn't take her too long, but...

"Yea, I shouldn't be too long though," she responded and tabbed back into her work. For some reason her internet browser had been up on some broken page.

"OK. Just make sure you lock up!" he said as cheerfully as a man could be while wearing a scarf and earmuffs. He began to walk away, "And don't stay too long, Kate! I'm sure your boyfriend would like a piece of that ass you've been working so hard on."

She grimaced. Luckily, Mr. Cowall's back was turned to her, so he didn't see her expression. She could just let it slide, but she knew it was best to be completely open and honest... Even if her boss might not appreciate it.

"S-sir?" she croaked. Fortunately it was loud enough for him to hear and he turned around with a look of mild concern. She took a deep breath and said, "I usually prefer to be called 'Katie', 'Kate' just sounds like someone who's boring and uptight." Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment while Mr. Cowall thought about her statement. She really hated confrontation.

Fortunately, her shame didn't have to last long as a wide smile emerged on Mr. Cowall's face. "OK, Katie. I'll keep that in mind!" He turned around and continued to leave the office, whistling a festive tune as he did.

"Thanks, Mr. Cowall!" called Katie, relieved that he took it so well. She turned back to her computer and hurriedly finished up her work. For some reason she was unbelievably horny and she wanted to get home to her man. Jake was in for a fun night.