Gathering Happiness

"Jack?style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Can I … have a word?"style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Connie bit her lip, trying not to glance
around.  That would just broadcast to
everyone in the vicinity that she was doing something … inappropriate, and Mike
would never forgive her if a rumor got started. 
"Privately?"

He met her eyes, then nodded and
led the way back to his office.  Rather
than sitting behind his desk, he took one of the armchairs in front of it and
gestured that she should take the other. 
She closed the door securely and did exactly that.

"What's up?" he asked,
genuinely concerned.

"It's Mike," she
started.  "He's been having this
dream—"

His eyebrows rose abruptly.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  "You're going to do it?" he asked,
instinctively lowering his voice.  She
looked surprised.

"He told you?"

He shrugged.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  "More like I extrapolated."

She took a breath to shore up
her confidence, then plunged ahead, ignoring the voice in her head that was
screaming don'tdoithe'syourbossstyle='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>!! 
"So, what do you say?" she asked, almost daring him to
refuse.  "Tomorrow's his
birthday."

He looked away, his eyes
screwing up in thought.  She shifted
slightly in her seat—she was on tenterhooks, waiting for him to answer.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  It would be all too easy for him to inform her
that, aside from this entire conversation being highly inappropriate, propositioning
someone was against the law.

Finally, after several long
moments, he spoke again.

"Sure," he said.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  "Why not?"