Emily's Dilemma

by Gabriella Como

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Gabriella Como

Emily Chastain gave instructions to her
husband but he wasn't listening, par for the course for him. She
told him where the kids' lunches were. She told him to check the
calendar for their sports events. She told him where the checks
were to pay for their school trips lay. He offered up
"yeah...yeah...yep." He's a self-centered, vain ass, she thought.
He just cares about himself and his workout routine. Thank God the
kids are smarter than their dad. They'll know where everything
is.

Boarding the plane, Emily greeted the polite
and helpful flight attendants and carefully made her way down the
narrow aisle to her seat, 3C. Once there, she put her carry-on away
in the above compartment, her but kept her iPad and earbuds. She
sat and made herself comfortable. It was no small pleasure to sit
down after all the walking she had to do to get through the airport
to her gate. Getting herself situated, the tall, slender, handsome
man with a salt-and-pepper goatee motioned to her with a bit of a
smile that he had the seat next to her. "Excuse me," he said.
"Thank you."

"Hi, Robert. You just made it just in time,
again," Emily told her CEO. "You are making sprinting in airports a
habit."

"It's good exercise and I don't get enough of
it," he replied, chuckling. He was breathing heavily. "I should get
in the kind of shape you are. But I can't seem to make the
time."

Robert Noble was the CEO of the startup
pharmaceutical company named NobleCor. They specialized in heart
conditions, particularly electrical pulses that drove the heart.
Their most promising drug, X-3580, could make severe arrhythmia a
thing of the past. Emily was his lead biochemist. Robert recruited
her a couple years back from a dry, dreary career at a nearby giant
company who had her work on commercialized compounds that they sold
to pharmaceutical companies. Robert knew she was underutilized
there, and offered a vision of what he intended to accomplish and
how they were going to do it. She bought into his vision, because
it meant working on a cure for something that could enhance the
quality of life, if not extend it. That meant something to her,
especially since her poor mother suffered from the severe
arrhythmia the new drug in development would cure. She found
purpose again. It reminded of a time in her past when she found
such a purpose, pushing her to make a tough decision. The
sacrifices she made back then were tough. That was long ago, and
behind her. She didn't think about them anymore. She didn't want to
remember those times at all.

Casually looking over, she noticed Robert's
long, lean legs stretched out with his feet hidden under the seat
in front of him, the grace of his hands as they worked on his
laptop. His wedding ring was simple and inexpensive. Robert was in
his early fifties, she guessed, by the look of his hands and the
shape his legs seemed to be in. He never told her his exact age.
His look was one of confidence and ease in just about any situation
he was in.

Emily thought to herself that the idea of
getting out of the office and away from her husband and kids was
not such a bad idea. Her husband was capable of managing home life
while she was away on business, although she usually did the lion's
share of the housework. She relaxed, breathed in, and felt a slow
release of tension leave her body. “The family will be fine. I can
enjoy this conference, even if this conference is full of
freeze-dried pharma people, it can be enjoyed.” She repeated in her
head, over and over, almost trying to convince herself of this.

He noticed her lean, well-muscled legs. He
could tell the inner musculature that gave rise and shape to the
proper parts of her. Her hands were pure, light, with a soft patina
that suggested expensive skin lotion. He was balanced enough to
turn his sexual impulses off, something younger men cannot possibly
do. He knew getting hot and bothered by someone's legs is an energy
suck and a waste of time. He liked that about himself. There's a
time to turn it on; there's also time to turn it off and
concentrate on the things at hand. Now he had a choice in the
matter. He had that power; finally, it kept him in balance when he
needed it. It didn't help that Robert's wife had intimacy issues.
He respected and admired his wife, but it wasn't the perfect
give-and-take marriage. Robert's wife had issues stemming from bad
childhood experiences. She never sought treatment for them.
Instead, she would insist they wouldn't define her. In the end,
they certainly did. Robert's wife lacked sex drive. She hoped his
sex drive would decrease over time to match up with hers. Then,
both would be on the same page and she wouldn't worry. Robert
compensated by diving into his work. His drive was always high.

Emily and Robert both did their own thing,
accepting hot towels and drinks from the flight attendants, and
enjoying the comforts of first class flying. The movie came on, but
they ignored it. The cabernet made her feel even more relaxed as
she slipped off her shoes. He could smell her perfume. His vodka
and tonic relaxed him as the battery charge in his phone quietly
dissipated. He opened up his laptop to work on his
presentation.

****

Arriving at the hotel, Emily was exhausted
but she knew work had to be done. She took the clothes out of her
suitcase and hung up her suits. Her lacy underwear and running gear
went into the dresser of her hotel room. Shoes lined up smartly
inside the closet. Cosmetics and lotions went into the bathroom
where she neatly arranged those things. Now that that was done, she
needed to shower, then onto the meet-and-greet reception down in
one of the smaller ballrooms. I'm glad the actual conference is in
the same hotel, she thought, it makes it much easier to slip away
for a quick run. As she closed the door to her room, she could hear
the meet-and-greet underway through the open atrium. She looked
down and saw dozens of people drinking, talking, laughing and
meeting each other. Emily exited the elevator and walked around to
the atrium, picked up her identification badge from the courtesy
table, then stopped to get a glass of wine on her way to a group of
people she recognized.

Robert joined her later after he made some
calls and worked on his presentation some more. He felt it needed
just some final touches at this point. He was scheduled to present
the results of the Phase 4 clinical trials for his company's
promising new drug at the conference's key meeting. Physicians as
well as other competitors were going to attend. This was
potentially a game-changing drug for NobleCor.

The two-hour meet-and-greet was drawing to a
close as attendees slowly disappeared away to their rooms or to the
bar to continue old friendships. He always had company around him,
so she had mingled with others throughout the introductory event.
She was getting her third glass of wine, a fine Sonoma cabernet,
when she heard a voice over her shoulder.

"Can we take this to the bar and discuss the
latest in NobleCor's pharmaceutical innovations?" he joked with a
huge, impish grin. Surprised by the voice and delighted he didn't
bring along the crowd around him, she readily agreed. Secretly,
Emily adored Robert. He had the mind of a scientist, a head for
numbers, the drive to succeed, plus his charm and looks. Few people
in their business had all those traits. Mostly, they were dry,
by-the-book scientists, perhaps with some self-deprecating humor,
but without any trace of charm.

They found a somewhat private booth in the
large bar away from the noisy and nosy. She offered to order
another drink for him, but he shook his head, saying he was only
drinking water now. He said he needed to be sharp and ready for the
following day. They laughed and joked and talked. He certainly was
loose despite not drinking, she thought. The wine definitely had
loosened her up. It was past dinnertime by this time. They talked
about the company and the final clinical trials, and submission to
the FDA.

After spending time in the hotel bar, she
mentioned she hadn't had dinner yet and should soon. She told him
she wanted to be in good shape for the next day's conference
opening and the Robert's meeting. She jokingly thanked him for his
time, and rose to go up to her room, where she got into her pajamas
and ordered dinner from room service. He stood as she left and said
that he'll see her the next day, and said he hoped to find her at
the meeting at which he spoke. "I hope you can make my presentation
tomorrow. I worked so hard on it," he said, smiling. Again, both
laughed heartily. She made a call home to see how her husband and
kids were doing and to let them know she got there all right. After
speaking to each one of them, she wished them a good night and went
to bed. Of course, her husband needed answers for all the things
she told him before leaving. As she turned off the TV and closed
her eyes, her thoughts returned to Robert. Much was riding on
tomorrow's meeting. She was sure he was going to deliver a powerful
presentation of the clinical trial data. What they didn't know was
who was going to be in attendance.

****

The next morning she got up, made herself a
cup of coffee, and checked her email. She put on her running
outfit. She never thought too much about her looks. She thought she
was plain and uninteresting-looking. Her love of running kept her
in shape. She had been running since her first year at Georgetown.
Her husband was a runner too, as it was something they had in
common. That’s how they met years ago she reflected, when they
literally ran into each other. Now, he was too busy working on his
own body to notice hers. But to neighborhood men, her running was a
welcome sight, especially in warmer weather when they could take in
her legs and sigh, and daydream about what they would do with legs
like those wrapped around them. Taking the elevator down she could
see the atrium populated with early birds enjoying breakfast.
Setting her runner's watch for a 20-minute run, she walked out of
the lobby and through the automatic doors. After a few minutes of
stretching, she looked around and planned her route. She started to
run, slowly at first, and then picked up speed as she crossed the
street onto the third block of her journey. The run was starting to
make her feel good. She looked ahead to navigate the upcoming
intersection when she saw a man running towards her. Robert slowed
down as he finished his run and started his cool-down and with
hands on hips, looked up and saw her. She slowed down as they
approached each other.

They exchanged greetings. He was breathing,
but not heavily. A thin veneer of sweat covered his face. He was in
a good mood, as the endorphins gave him his runner's high. He told
her she didn't have to stop her run to say hello, knowing runners
never stop to chat no matter what. She laughed it off and joked
that he was a special case but not to let it go to his head. He
noticed her nipples poking through her tank top, and how round and
firm her breasts were. He tried to put it out of his mind. It's
funny how men could still appreciate the female figure despite
having things on his mind. His eyes went down to her narrow hips,
wrapped tightly in spandex shorts that revealed how her athletic
thighs joined her hips in that perfect manner that men like so
much. Try as he might, he could not turn his sexual interest off.
They continued to talk, and yet he couldn't help but enjoy the
physical female form in front of him, smiling and laughing, in her
revealing runner's outfit.

Back in her hotel room, she peeled off her
running clothes and climbed into the shower. As she felt the warm
water coursing over her body, she caressed herself. She thought of
Robert. She thought of his engaging presence in a room. She tingled
when he paid attention to her. She remembered the specialness of
being at the bar with him, just the two of them. At the time, she
didn't think as much of it as she did now. It dawned on her she
was, for the first time since getting married 10 years ago, that
she was physically and emotionally drawn to another man. Although
ten or twelve years older than she was, it didn't seem to matter to
her one bit. He seemed to be everything she wanted in a man: charm,
intellect, accomplishment, humor, and good looks.

The mid-morning session featuring Robert
neared. She entered the small ballroom, scanning to see where he
was in the crowd of assembling people. He was up front near the
screen, surrounded by admirers and curious attendees. He
immediately saw her enter. She noticed his eyes making contact with
hers. A shiver went up her spine. She slowly made her way to the
middle of the ballroom, where the seats were arranged perfectly,
with a main section flanked by two thinner sections on either side.
She did not want to get up too near him. This might be seen as an
obvious gesture on her part. She finally admitted to herself she
was attracted to him, but this was a serious, professional
environment, and she was a colleague. "Settle down, Emily", she
told herself.