He couldn't figure out why she wanted to see him. He did not have time for this today. In fact, he had a date. He'd been seeing someone for a while now and things had gotten pretty serious pretty fast. He walked the brief distance from his office to hers, knocking on the door.
"Aaron, come in," she says from the other side.
"You wanted to see me?" He says as he pushes the door open. At first, he's nearly positive his eyes are playing tricks on him. Erin Strauss is perched on the edge of her desk wearing nothing but what appear to be edible panties. Immediately he turns his back to her, feeling a strong urge to leave the room.
"Ma'am?"
"Oh, I think we can drop the formalities, Aaron. We're both mature, responsible adults," she is practically purring at him. He can't bring himself to turn around and look at her. This whole situation makes him extremely comfortable, but she is his boss and he feels the need to at least let her down gently. It's also a safe bet for him to assume she is drunk.
"Fine, then, Erin. You know I'm involved in a committed relationship at the moment. Also I keep a strict policy about not getting involved with married women," he is trying to keep his tone casual.
"Oh, hell. That sorry bastard ducked out on me the first chance he got," she hops off the desk and pulls some clothes back on. It occurs to him that she should feel more embarrassed, they both should, but the fact that she doesn't just validates his suspicion that she is drinking again.
"I'm sorry to hear that." He turns back around after she's finished redressing, but finds himself unable to meet her eyes. Instead he studies the glass dish full of candy hearts on her desk. "If you're concerned about discretion, I can promise you I won't tell anyone. But you need to tell me something, honestly," he finishes.
"And what is that?"
"Have you been drinking?"
She just sighs and pulls the bottle out from under her desk. It looks to be missing a quarter or so of its contents. He reaches out and takes it from her. "I should have just gone to a meeting, but it's Valentine's Day and I didn't want to be alone. It's the first time in a long time...," she starts to choke up a bit.
"It's not too late for the meeting, and I will be happy to drive you."
"Thank you, Aaron." He drives her to the nearest meeting and makes arrangements for a car service to pick her up when it is over. He realizes this little side trip has made him terribly late for his date. He pulls over at the nearest florist with the intention of buying a dozen red roses.
"Sorry, man, I got half a dozen red and half a dozen white, but that's it," the attendant informs him.
"That's fine, I'll take it." He arrives at his girlfriend's house nearly twenty minutes late, desperately hoping that the events of the early evening don't ruin the rest of the night.