I'm delighted to have Special Guest F. Leonora Solomon here today! Enjoy!
From Team Building by F. Leonora Solomon
“Tere, where’s Carter?” Gigi asked suddenly, as if alarmed.
“He took a call at the last minute,” Tere said around a mouthful of bread.
“Why?” Gigi asked.
“We received an urgent call. From Acme,” Jake said.
Everyone turned to look at Jake. Acme was a huge client, and as such, any call from them took top priority.
“I’m sure it’s nothing Carter can’t handle, so let’s go back to enjoying this wonderful outing, courtesy of Tere’s brilliant mind,” Libby said, tipping her glass in Tere’s direction.
Tere wasn’t sure what made her blush more, Libby’s compliment, or being named in the same sentence as Carter, as if they were a pair. The only thing they had in common was working for the same company, a small consulting firm that provided specialized creative and technical services for other businesses. Since Tere was the lead creative, and Carter was the lead tech, they barely interacted with each other, which was for the best. Tere never wanted to shit where she ate, and she really liked her job.
Handsome distractions like Carter were meant to be avoided.
Tere dipped another hunk of bread into the oil, the fragrance of which reminded her of the cologne Carter wore. An ex of hers wore the same one, and when she used to sit on his lap, he’d hold her close and she would take him all in. Nose buried in the curve of his neck, sometimes the scent would infuse with his sweat, and it aroused her all the more.
She had definitely taken Carter in. From the moment, he arrived in the morning and muttered a terse good morning, until one of them left. They were both workaholics, even to the point of taunting each other with phrases like, “First one to clock out is a rotten egg.”
But until they were separated, she took him in.
“We’re just waiting for one more, and then we’ll start,” the woman in the front of the room said. “This is going to be a very relaxed class. We just want to give you a little background about the cheeses and wines so you can show off to friends, or maybe make yourself a cheese plate at home.”
Tere took another sip of wine and continued to pluck at the addictive bread. She knew she should leave some for Carter but didn’t care that much if he had any. Carter walked in a bit later and was handed a glass of wine, some of which he spilled on her as he got into his seat. She was lucky she wore black.
“I am so sorry,” he said, handing her a napkin.
Tere shrugged and used the napkin to dab at her dress. “It’s fine.”
Servers appeared and placed delectable samplings on each table. Tere’s mouth watered over the circular spread of cheeses—six in all—placed in order from mild to robust. A different wine was paired with each cheese.
Jake turned and looked at Carter. “Is everything okay?”
That was how serious Acme was to the firm. Carter could not even get settled before Jake pressed him for details about the phone call.
“Perfect,” Carter said with a smile, his deep voice confident and warm.
His confidence, that’s what bothered her about him, Tere thought to herself. From his first day at the firm, he had acted like something special, treating Tere like an assistant. Even sitting next to her now, he said nothing, just plucked bread from the basket with his long fingers.
Tere sampled the first cheese, a semi-soft variety called Valencay paired with prosecco and a rosemary honey garnish. The pure decadence of the pairing made Tere want to close her eyes. Carter copied her and spread the cheese on his bread, putting a dab of honey on top. When she watched him lick the left-over honey from his finger, she was glad she’d kept her eyes open.
“This was a good suggestion Tere,” Carter said. He took a generous sip of the prosecco while gazing into her eyes.
Tere realized she had never been this close to Carter before. Even though they shared an office, they were very good about boundaries. Her side was her side, and his side was his side. But at this proximity, she couldn’t forget how handsome he was, or how he smelled of Le Labo, the same scent she took in while sitting on her ex’s lap, when he’d held her close, and she wanted nothing more than for him to be inside of her.
She moved away from Carter—as much as she could with their chairs side by side—and continued to eat her bread with Valencay. There was so much giggling and clinking of glasses that she was happy that she had a plate chart. It was almost impossible to hear what cheese they were tasting above the noise.
Next, they sampled a washed rind cheese which was funkier than the cheeses they’d had to that point. Tere was nervous about the cloth bound cheeses, afraid she might gag if she ate the rind. The locker room smell of the current cheese was jarring, but tasted delicious.
“So, the Acme call went well?” she asked Carter, following Jake in asking about business to make small talk. She wondered if the suggestion of absinthe in the rind had placed her a little out of her comfort zone.
“We still have jobs if that is what you mean.” Carter gave her a mocking smile to let her know he was joking and Tere smiled back, in spite of herself. “Everything went well. They just wanted me to check on some minor things before their website launch tomorrow. They have a new line of chocolates.”
“The sexy chocolates?” Gigi said.
Mara giggled. “Do you think they’re sexier than the candy they already make?”
Carter looked over at them and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never had their chocolates.”
Acme’s chocolates were rumored to have an aphrodisiacal component, but the company would not confirm it. Their tongue-in-cheek commercials hinted at it though, so they played with their reputation, nonetheless.
“I’ve never had them either,” Tere said to Carter. “It’s funny, because they’ve sent us some amazing holiday gift baskets, but they never include the chocolate.”
Carter shot her a smile, and said, “Maybe they’re not safe for work.”
This small snippet of witty banter was the most they’d ever spoken to each other and she wondered if she would continue on Monday…
You can read the rest in Chemical Sex 2 : Just One More, and find several other confectionary tales here. You can find more of me here.
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