Above and beyond.

Beth's day at work progress like most, without much to break the routine of paperwork, phone calls, and making legal notes for the lawyers for their cases. When she returned from lunch, she had just settled into her computer chair when David Mossburg came knocking on the office door.
"Hello ladies!" David was a junior associate at the firm, specializing in personal injury. He had been with them for about six months: bright, perhaps a little nerdy, but cute with horn-rimmed glasses and short brown hair. He was only 27, and was newly married as of around the same time he joined the firm. Beth had met his wife Kimmy a few times at social events. She didn't like to judge, but she seemed... dim-witted for David.
"Hi, David." Beth gave him a smile.
"Beth, I need to ask you huge favor."
"Oh, I already hate the sound of this..." she pursed her lips and crossed her arms.
"I have a big meeting with the lawyers for J&L on Monday, for the workman's comp case? It's my first lead chair for something this big."
"I know, congratulations."
"Yeah, the thing is I need to put together all the relevant information and case law... It's proving to be a big undertaking. I could really use someone to stay a little late with me tonight, so that my whole weekend isn't consumed by it."
"I see." She gave him a withering look. "And you're here to sweet talk me, is that it?"
"Beth you're the best and most organized clerk here."
"Gee, thanks, David!" another clerk piped up.
"Kimmy and I are supposed to go to see Hamilton tomorrow night. Do you know how expensive those tickets were? I don't want to have to tell her I can't go because I need to work on this. I'd like to get it done tonight."
"I haven't heard yet how you're going to make this worth my while."
"How about a glowing recommendation for your next review, try to get you a raise?"
"No offense, David, but from a junior associate...?"
"Fine..." David was thinking fast, and it was cute watching his brain work overtime. "How about new shoes?" Kimmy worked at a high end boutique.
"Getting warmer." She enjoyed watching him squirm. "Alright."
"Beth, you're my savior. Meet me in conference room B around 4." He rattled off a list of files and law volumes to bring.
After he left, Margaret sighed. "You wouldn't catch me getting roped into a night like that. Not for anyone but Terry."
"Well, he didn't ask you, Maggie, he asked me. And I managed to get a pair of shoes out of it."
"He asked you-" Margaret cut herself off, and just gave a thin smile. "Enjoy them."
"What?" Beth spun her chair to face the other woman.
"He asked you because.... well you, know!" Margaret gave her a look, tilting her head as if to say that it was obvious.
"Maggie, I have no idea..."
"David has a crush on you." Holly offered without looking up from her work.
"What?!" Beth laughed. "No he doesn't."
"You haven't noticed? He's always in here, chatting you up. You don't see the other lawyers making small talk all the time."
"He's still new, he's just being friendly."
"He's been here six months, Beth. He practically drools over you." Margaret gave a prudish sniff. She was 44, and had been married to the same guy for fifteen years.
"He's got a beautiful wife that he loves."
"Okay..." Holly piped up once more. "Since when has that mattered for a guy?"
Beth let the two other girls go back and forth and the foibles of the opposite sex for a while. She tried to think back over her interactions with David. To her, they all seemed pretty innocent. David was friendly to everybody. Maybe...maybe he was a little friendlier to her than most... she just couldn't believe their interpretation. {if Formation = 1
}Then again, she had always been kind of oblivious to guys being into her. {elseif Formation = 3
}Then again, maybe it was just because he wasn't a domineering older guy like Terry, the senior PI lawyer. She'd had more than one wet dream about Terry, that was for sure. {elseif Formation = 4
}Maybe it was because he was so nice, and she was used to attracting bad boys. {endif
}