A Different Type of Business Trip Pt. 01

"Um... excuse me, but are you Bill? Um... Bill Jones?" a meek and unsure voice asked.

Completely caught off guard, I turn around sharply to face the voice. Wham! My elbow hits the owner of the voice in the chest with an audible thump.

"Ouch!" the voice said in pain.

"Oh! I am so sorry!" I exclaim. "I didn't see you there..." my voice trails off as I focus on the owner of the voice. We at least I would have if a giant parka hood wasn't covering their face.

"That really hurt!" The parka arm massaged its chest.

"I'm sorry. Are you ok?"

"Yeah," sighed the parka, "I think so".

"So... ah... yeah I'm Bill." It was really the only thing I could think of saying. What else was I going to say to a parka that had asked if I was so and so?

"Oh good! I found you! I'm Kim Smith I was told to find you here!" the parka exclaimed.

"Hi Kim" I said unsure of myself. "Um, can I help you with the hood?"

"Oh, I forgot about that." Kim laughed.

Kim raised the hood and for the first time I could see her face.

Wow was the first thing that went through my brain.

Wow were her eyes blue with flecks of green mixed in that made them look like deep pools of Caribbean waters.

Wow did that eye liner make those beautiful eyes sparkle.

Wow was her smile dazzling.

Wow did her small hoop earrings accent her face.

Just wow...

Kim seemed genuinely excited to see me. Like an idiot I was staring and taken aback. I noticed that her hand was out so I took it and gave it a shake.

"Nice to meet you Kim." I stammered.

"You're a lot taller than I thought you would be..." her voice trailed off.

"Excuse me?" I was really puzzled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Your boss, I mean, our boss showed me your photo and well it made you seem shorter than you are." Kim stumbled along. "Not to say you are a giant, but... oh this isn't really going well..."

I laughed. It was so ridiculously funny to me. I mean, seriously, I was standing in an airport, in Buffalo, in the winter, in wet shoes, with a new hire that I didn't know anything about. We weren't really able to articulate ourselves. To top it all off, I hit her in the chest before I could even say hello to her. Oh boy, did I feel screwed six ways to Sunday.

"Mr. Jones... um... he he..."

As I wiped tears out of my eyes, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I'm sorry I laughed. It's just that this has got to be one of the most ridiculous ways to meet a supervisor or a new hire."

I continued once I caught my breath. "Do you have all your stuff? Do you have all your bags?"

"Yeah, I've got everything" Kim confirmed.

"Ok, let's go. It's sunny outside, but the roads are shit. We'll head back to the hotel and get you checked in. We can talk and catch up once you're settled in."

"Sounds good to me."

On the drive back to the hotel, the roads were a little better. At least all of the accidents were cleared. The highway was moving at least. It didn't take long for us to strike up the new meet someone conversations that always happen. As usual, as the supervisor, I started off.

"How was your flight?"

"Oh not too bad. A little turbulence but other than that it was good".

"Where did you fly out of by the way?"

"I came out of Tennessee. There was a layover in Charlotte. Then straight here. Not bad really. It could have been worse".

Kim was very upbeat. I wonder if that was the new hire high or it was her normal approach to life. Either way, I'd find out during this trip. For the next few minutes we drove along in silence. Kim was looking out the window just watching the traffic role by.

"So how long have you been with the company?" Kim asked.

"Oh, a few years now. It's not bad once you get used to the routine and the travel." Boy was that a lie and a half.

"Cool!" Kim generally seem excited. Was she in for a new experience in her young life.

Shortly after, I pulled into the hotel driveway and under the awning by the main entrance. We unloaded her bags and I sent her in to wait at the reception desk while I parked the car.

I joined Kim at the reception desk and spoke with the woman behind the counter. Check in went well and Kim was off to get situated in her room. By happenstance, her room was just next to mine. We were going to be sharing a room to room door.

I instructed Kim to knock on my door so that we could talk about what was going to happen in the next few days. She agreed and we headed up to the floor with our rooms and parted ways for the time being.

Around 2:30 or so, I heard a wrap on my door. Initially I thought that it was the hallway door, but instead it was the door between our rooms. That was un-expected...

I unlocked my side of the double doors and greeted Kim. If I thought that here face and eyes were amazing, I was really stunned by what I was looking out now. There was Kim in a powder blue skirt with spaghetti straps that was cut just below her mid-thigh, a little cleavage was showing, and I guess that she had B or C sized breasts. Here feet were encased in matching blue high heels. This didn't seem to be the same woman that I met at the airport. Boy did that winter coat hide a lot.

"Hi!" Kim smiled.

"Hi..." I mumbled. I was still getting over the initial sight of her. She had definitely changed since arriving at the hotel.

"Oh! Come on in." I waved Kim into my room.

I offered her the recliner chair near the window and she sat down and crossed her legs. I grabbed the chair at the desk.

"So what's the plan for today boss?" Kim chided.

"Well first of all, have you eaten?" I inquired.

"Oh I grabbed something during my layover. I should be fine till later tonight."

"Good... Good..." I said nearly under my breath. "So, what would you like to know? Do you have any questions for me off the bat?"

"Well, Jim told me that you were really good and that I could learn a lot on this trip. The goal was for me to be able to work with suppliers after 2 months or so. I guess I'd like to know what the average work day is like."

"Well, our average day isn't going to be tough in the sense that the work is complex or demanding. Yeah at times it can be a little stressful, but that is really more about managing your time than anything else. If you wait to the last minute, things have a way of stacking up quickly."

Kim was leaning forward and had one arm across her thigh. Her head was resting on her other arm that was firmly planted on her lap too. I could tell that Kim was really paying attention. I on the other had was a little distracted by her cleavage. Snap out of it Bill!

Continuing, "The day typically starts with me checking emails that may have come in from the office or suppliers overnight. I try and clear them right away since the supplier I will be visiting later in the day may not have a reliable internet connection. Also I don't want to have to work once I get back to the hotel" I smirked.

Kim gave me a courteous smile.

"After, I usually go get breakfast and coffee from outside the hotel. You'll quickly learn that hotels have really bad free breakfasts and even worse coffee."

"We'll then head to the supplier and start working with them on whatever we are there to see them about. Usually we'll finish up somewhere between 3 or 5 pm. Afterwards it's back to the hotel and then off to dinner."

"Until you get your Amex card, I'll be paying for everything since I will get reimbursed."

"After that, well your time is your own." I concluded.

"Sounds pretty straight forward I guess." Kim leaned back in her chair. "So is there anything I need to do before tomorrow? I don't even have a computer."

"Nope, you're pretty much on your own. You should make yourself comfortable and relax. You've been traveling all day so I would take it easy." I suggested.

"Oh, ok. Sounds good" Kim answered. "I guess I'll head back to my room and watch some TV then. Do you want the door open or closed?"

"Open is fine. Just let me know if you need anything. I'll be just checking my email with the TV on. Let me know if it gets to loud."

"Ok" she replied and heading into her hotel room.

I hear the TV in her room click on followed by some quick channel surfing. It appeared that she finally found some channel to watch and settled in.

I pulled out my laptop and started to work at the desk. After a while I looked up and could see into Kim's room where there was a mirror on the wall. Kim was on her bed watching TV.

"Boy was she cute ..." I thought. "Stop it Bill! She's too young for you and you're her superior... ok not her superior, but her mentor".

I put my head down and forced myself to continue working on my laptop. I finished up my reports that I had started the other day, the emails were replied to, and my schedule was completely planned out for the next few days. "Good deal" I thought, the rest of the night was free.

My stomach started to grumble. The clock said it was just after 6 so I figure it was a good time to head out for dinner. I looked up from the desk and spotted Kim in the mirror again. She had been looking at me. Watching me. She quickly looked away. Curious...

I went over to the door and gently knocked. "Hi Kim, do you want to get something to eat?"

Kim rolled over on the bed towards me, "Sure. Sounds good."

"I have a place in mind for dinner. Why don't you grab your coat and we can head over".

We entered the restaurant and were seated at a booth in the back. I ordered a bottle of red and we started to chat and drink. The food came and went. The bottle of wine slowly got lower until it was empty. A second bottle was started and finished. Looking at the clock, we had been there for several hours and it was getting late.

I paid the bill and Kim and I climbed out of the booth. Kim was very obviously tipsy if not drunk. She was swaying to some imaginary music. It was a little cute if I have to say so for myself.

We made it to the car and back to the hotel. Kim went to her hotel door and me to mine. I told her that we would meet in the hallway at around 8:30 the next morning and we could head to breakfast.

After wishing her a good night, I swiped myself into my room, went into the bathroom, and started to shower. The warm water ran down my head and back. My head was in a fog from all the wine, but it started to clear as the hot water woke me up. With a wave of my hand, the water kicked off and I grabbed a towel to dry off.

I opened the bathroom door and a cloud of steam rolled out into the dark room. I hadn't turn the lights on when I got back. Looking into the main room, there was a faint light spilling through the doorway between Kim's and my room. We had forgotten to shut them when we had gone to dinner.

With a soft rustle of fabric from the doorway, I knew Kim had been peering through the crack near the door hinges. She must have seen me in all of my glory since my towel was around my shoulders.

"What do I do? How do I close the door without acknowledging what she had seen? If she brings it up, how should I dismiss it? Do I dismiss it even or do I just own it as a mistake or an oversite? I've got to get pants on!" I was freaking out.

Giggling came from the other room.

"Was she laughing at me or something else? Was she embarrassed? Should I be embarrassed?" A million questions flashed through my mind and no answers were coming.

"Pants! I need pants! Where are my pants! Ok, ok, they are on the edge of the bed. Put the pants on. Yeah that's a good start."

"Ok, the pants are on... where is my shirt?!?!?"

"Ok there it is. On it goes. Ok... Ok... um, now what?"

I was almost hyperventilating. "What's next... what's next?!?"

"Shit, shit, shit! I am so fired if she tells the boss! FUCK!" I scream in my head.

"Ok, ok, ok. Calm down... you'll be ok. Don't panic. Panicking gets you nowhere fast."

I padded my way over to the door hoping that she was asleep or something. Hoping that I wasn't going to have to face the uncomfortable reality of the end of my job, maybe even my career.

Softly, oh so very softly, I knocked on the doorframe wishing that Kim wouldn't answer. I didn't even want to stick my head in to her room. That might make the situation even worse. What a disaster!

"Hi? What's up?" Kim quietly answered.

"Um, hi... I think we forgot to close the doors. I'll see you tomorrow morning". My stomach was doing flips as I was closing the door.

"You don't have to do that. You can leave the door open if you want" Kim said suggestively.

My heart was pounding in my chest and my brain was screaming "What the hell?!?"

"Why don't you come on in and hang out for a bit" Kim invited.

"Ok" I replied, scared out of my mind.

"What the hell are you thinking? Shit, Shit, Shit!" I screamed at myself in my head.

I tentatively walked into Kim's room trying my best not to look over toward where her voice had been coming from. I turn and walked to the side of the room farthest away from her intending to prevent this from getting any more uncomfortable than it already was. There wasn't a situation that I could reasonably think of that would end well for me.

Kim's room was very dim. The only light was coming from the night stand closest to the mid-door. Even though I wasn't trying to look at Kim, I couldn't see her anyway with the light obscuring my view.

"Uh... so what's up?" I asked like an idiot. What else was I going to ask? What would you even say if you were in this situation? My heart was pounding so hard that I was afraid it would beat right out of my chest. Maybe that would be good. I'd have a heart attack, die, and not have to get fired... if I were lucky...

"What are you doing?" Kim questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"You are standing over by the window. It's kind of weird. Why don't you come over here? I'm about to watch a movie. You could join me" she invited.

"Yeah... ok" I meekly agreed.

"I could get out of this. No problem. A movie. Just a movie. Leave halfway through... say it was late and we had an early morning... get the hell out of Dodge..." I mulled over in my mind.

The nightstand light flicked off with a click, bathing the room in complete darkness. Kim had doused the light before I could even think of taking the first step towards the bed. My eyes started to adjust to the lack of light and I was starting to make out shapes in the room. The desk, the office chair, a light near the window, the dresser all started to emerge from the darkness with fuzzy outlines. The silhouette of the bed slowly began to appear through the dark ether. Suddenly the TV switched on and I was blinded with the hotel welcome screen splashed across the screen. I shielded my eyes with my hands instinctively.

"I should have warned you. Sorry!" Kim apologized. "Come on over. The bed is soft and the blankets are comfy" she encouraged.

With dread I turned to the bed so I could address my fate with utter and complete cowardness. I kept my eyes directed anywhere but towards the bed. I justified it by thinking that if I didn't look, this wasn't actually happening. The edge of the bed was all too quickly approaching. I had to do something. I turned my back to the bed and sat down on its edge facing the TV.

"Oh come on. You can do better than that. Get comfy!" Kim chided.

I slowly placed my hands on the comforter and slide myself deeper into the center of the bed till I ran into a ripple of blankets. There was nowhere for me to go on the bed without looking for a clear path backwards. Without thinking, I placed a bent knee onto the bed and twisted around.

Kim was under the covers in a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up like a halo around her head. I breathed out with relief. Kim wasn't undressed or wearing something that would shock an HR manager if they were to walk into the room unannounced. This all could still be explained away.

"I think I am in the clear" my brain surmised.

Her head cocked to the side and Kim was giving me an amused smile. "There's a movie that is starting in a few minutes. I'll flip over to it in a minute. Here's a pillow for you to lean on" she offered. The TV switching channels as she spoke.

I took the pillow and slid next to her. I placed the pillow behind my head and adjusted it a few times so that I could watch the TV in some comfort. Breathing in and out a few times, I began to relax. The bed was soft and the pillow swallowed me with enjoyable spongy coziness.

The TV stopped flickering between channel changes. The movie was playing already and I didn't know what the two of us were watching since the title had come and gone. The actors seemed to be in an apartment talking about what they were going to do that day. It was mundane and typical for the beginning of what I could only guess as being a romcom. I'd been traveling so long that I had stopped watching movies a long time ago. The plots always were formulaic anyway.

Over the next half hour or so, my eyes kept getting heavier and I had to force myself to stay awake. The movie didn't seem to really be going anywhere, but Kim seemed to be enjoying it so I sat there in silence. She had the fate of my job in her hands whether she knew it or not.

Ring... Bring... Ring...

Ring... Bring... Ring...

Ring... Bring... Ring...

"Where the hell was that coming from?" my brain started to wake.

Ring... Bring... Ring...

Ring... Bring... Ring...

Ring... Bring... Ring...

"Where am I? I'm not in my room, I don't think." My sleepy brain continued.

My ears turned towards the source of the noise. It seemed to be coming from a wall in the room. "How odd. Why was the wall ringing? Why was it ringing like a phone?' I mulled in my clouded head.

In a sleepy stupor, I finally realized that it was the phone in an adjacent room. It was a wake-up call. I could tell because only hotel phones sounded like that when they ring. Nothing really new there. Maybe the phone in this room was unplugged and both rooms in the suite were connected.

"I need to answer that..." my brain concluded.

With the big fluffy pillow obscuring my view, I rolled towards the center of the bed. Something other than blankets was there and I had just bumped into it. Reaching out with my hand, I probed the lump below the covers. It definitely wasn't a pillow and was certainly not something that I usually find in my bed in the morning.

My eyes flew open within milliseconds. I knew what that bulge was and it wasn't anything that could be good. A small groan came from the mound and I swung myself away from it in a flash.

"Can't let her wake-up!" my brain screamed.

Racing into my room I picked up the receiver and slammed the phone back down into its cradle with a loud bang. "Please please please let her not wake-up!" I pleaded with the gods.

Crossing from the desk to the mid door with three strides, I reached out and grabbed the door handle and started to close the door as quickly and as quietly as I could. It almost had clicked shut before the sleepy voice stopped me.

"Hey... morning... is it morning... it's got to be morning..." Kim groggily said.

"Morning" I replied as I half poked my head through the doorway.

"What time is it? It seems really early."

"It's about 5:30 in the morning."

"Too early" Kim moaned with an accompanying groan.

"Yeah, it's a little early. I usually get up early" I explained.

"You know you fell asleep during the movie last night. You are cute when you snore. You sound like a little kitten purring." She chided me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I should have gone back to my own bed when I started to feel tired."

"No worries. I told you the pillows were comfy." Kim said. "Come back to bed. You can even get under the covers this time. I won't bite."

I padded my way over to the bed and stood by its side. "What the hell are you doing!?! GET OUT OF THERE!!" my white shoulder angel screamed at me. The red shoulder angel won over without saying a word.