Emily's Dilemma by Gabriella Como Page A

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