There are rules in life that are undeniably black and white, and many of these are enshrined in the laws of society. Murder is bad, and saving a life is good. Adultery is bad, and faithfulness is good. Stealing is bad, and giving is good. Lies are bad, the truth is good. The list goes on.

While some would try to add filters, caveats, or exceptions to a lot of black and white truths to make them more "gray", Blair Andrews was not one of these people. He saw black and white truths as gospel and expected others to do the same.

Blair was more tolerant of the true gray areas in life. Why should gambling by playing the lottery be bad, but gambling by investing in the stock market okay? Why should any consumption of alcohol be bad just because some people become addicted? Why is it wrong to celebrate Christmas or Easter with idols associated with them such as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny?

No, Blair saw the gray areas in life as choices of conscience; that inner feeling or voice viewed as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior. He endeavored to treat people as they wanted to be treated rather than how he might want to be treated himself. This mitigated any instincts to judge others and kept his moral compass pointing in a direction that he could accept.

The betrayal that he had encountered with the announcement from his fiancée and his supposed best friend tested Blair's tolerance more than anything he had ever anticipated. They had discovered that they were true soulmates and were moving to Florida together.

His friend, Craig, had introduced Blair to the new girl at his work, Scarlet. She had been hired at Disneyland to play the character of Snow White to Craig's Prince Charming. Since Craig had been in an exclusive relationship at that time with another girl, he thought that Blair and Scarlet should try each other out. Eighteen months later, and two weeks before their scheduled wedding, Blair was finally told that the two "characters" had been secretly falling in love with each other. Craig was being offered a supervisor position in Orlando, and Scarlet felt compelled to accompany him.

Sitting in the living room of the house that he shared with his older sister, Blair had listened calmly to the confession of the two before saying, "Now it's my turn to speak." Once he saw that he had their attention, he continued. "First, the heartbreak I face is a minor inconvenience compared to the betrayal from both of you."

Craig started to speak but Blair cut him off with a glare, "I'll get to you in a minute." To Scarlet, he said, "Your betrayal is the worst. You allowed this. Soulmates don't just 'happen'. Two people invest the time and effort to learn about each other, to share intimacies, experiences, and private moments. Behaviors and thoughts that should have been devoted to our relationship were given freely by you to another. Times that you should have been available for me were instead shared with someone else. You can claim all day long that you never intended for this to happen, but that is exactly what your actions did intend, and they were successful. Now you need to convince Craig that what you did to me won't also happen to him. After all, once a cheater always a cheater, as the saying goes."

Scarlet quietly sat with tears falling from her eyes as she held Craig's hand. She had no response to Blair's comments because, in her heart, she knew that he was right. She had consciously put time and effort into getting to know Craig outside of their jobs. The same physical characteristics that made him perfect to play the role of Prince Charming at Disneyland made him someone that she enjoyed being seen with. The more she got to know him, the more she wanted to know and the more she wanted to share with him about herself, her hopes, and her dreams. Things that she should have been sharing only with Blair.

She listened as Blair then began to address Craig, "If you had been some stranger that was unaware of mine and Scarlet's relationship, that would be one thing, but you knew. Real men don't do what you have done. She might be too enthralled with her soulmate right now to notice, but someday in the future, it will become very clear to her that even though you play a character, you possess none of your own. Your reptilian morals will begin to shine through in your behavior and actions, becoming more and more obvious to Scarlet and everyone else."

Blair paused for a second to watch the two soulmates studying each other before continuing, "I don't know. Maybe you will both find Jesus and through him find redemption enough to begin living a more principled life. I'll give you an example of that life by forgiving you both and wishing you a happy life together."

He stood and walked to the front door. He opened it for them and waited silently as his guests took their leave from his house and his life.

[Two years later...]

"You went to Cal Poly?"

Riley looked at the coffee mug in her hand before glancing at the opening of her cubicle to see who had asked the question. Holding the cup so that the logo was more evident, she said, "Most people take me as a Denver Broncos fan when they see this."

The tall man smiled down at Riley and said, "I don't know how anyone could confuse Billy Bronco with that sad horse head used by Denver on their helmets. They look nothing alike. Hi, I'm Blair Andrews and you must be Riley Haberman."

"Yes, I am," Riley said as she stood to shake Blair's outstretched hand. "How are you so familiar with Cal Poly's mascot? Did you go there?"

Rolling an extra chair into Riley's cubicle, Blair said, "I was a Mustang. I graduated three years ago."

Riley sat down and scooted her chair back to allow more room for Blair to fit his chair into her tight cubicle. His mention of having been a Mustang made them almost kindred alumni since they both had graduated from the California Polytechnic University system; him from the San Luis Obispo campus and her from the Pomona campus.

"I graduated in June," Riley informed him. She then continued to get things arranged on her desk as Blair opened up his laptop and arranged it on his thighs. He spent a few minutes reviewing the information on his new team member as she continued to arrange things.

"Okay," Blair finally said, "I haven't sat through a new employee orientation for over a year, so why don't we start by having you tell me what they covered with you so I can fill in the appropriate blanks."

"Can I ask who you are?"

Blair's eyes darted up from his computer screen to meet Riley's. He said, "Well, there's a blank that I certainly need to fill in. I lead the program management team that you are joining. I'll need to have a chat with HR about not letting employees know who they report to during their orientation."

Riley's face reddened as her embarrassment grew. She had to search for a voice to explain, "No, I was told your name but it didn't register when you introduced yourself." She stared at her feet as she said, "I was expecting to meet a woman."

Blair chuckled softly and said, "That is not an unusual occurrence when all you do is hear the name spoken rather than see how it is spelled. While Blair a gender-neutral name regardless of how it is spelled, without the 'e' such as my spelling is traditionally considered the masculine version and ending with the 'e' as the feminine spelling."

Riley looked back up and saw a smile on Blair's face, which eased her concerns over her gaff considerably. She didn't make a habit of checking guys out; she was a married woman after all, but she figured that she should study the person that she reported to so that she could become familiar with his mannerisms, expressions, and body language. He didn't appear to be much older than her, but that could be attributed to his hairstyle and his casual clothing. His blonde wavy hair was worn longer than most men that Riley knew, falling over the collar of his XES logoed polo shirt and resting on his shoulders. The partition around her cubicle was six feet tall, and Blair had towered over the top of that by at least three inches when he had first introduced himself. Riley didn't typically assess a man's attractiveness, but she would have certainly rated her new boss as pleasant on the eyes.

He asked, "What else did you cover in your orientation? Did they mention anything about business travel?"

"I was told that it would be expected but not a regular thing. Is that an issue?"

"Not unless it's an issue for you," he pointed to her ring finger and added, "or your husband."

Riley quickly shook her head and said, "No, we don't have kids yet, so me being gone for a few days won't be an issue for us."

"Do you have a valid passport?"

"No, but I have applied for one."

"Good," Blair said. "We don't anticipate any international travel for the remainder of the year, so that should give you plenty of time to receive it. Do you belong to any frequent flier or hotel rewards programs that you prefer to use? We don't typically get to choose, since corporate travel makes those arrangements, but if we can get our choice without additional costs, they try to make it happen."

Riley answered, "I have no preferences yet. I suppose that I'll develop some once I get more experience..."

Blair chuckled again, and said, "Oh, you certainly will. So, here's how I typically handle onboarding new team members. If you have concerns about any part of it, just speak up and I'll try to adjust things for you."

Riley just nodded and let Blair continue, "You'll get your company laptop and cell phone by the end of the day. Until then, we'll focus on getting you acquainted with the rest of the team at our weekly planning meeting that will start at 1 in my office..."

"Where is your office?"

Blair pointed to a door directly across from Riley's cubicle. She saw him point and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You're a director?" she asked. Now she was questioning her original assessment of his age. Why were they having this discussion in her cramped cubicle if he had that spacious office over there?

Ignoring her question, Blair asked, "I hope you don't consider it too personal for me to ask what size shirt you wear. I need to get you set up with a full complement of corporate shirts since they are essentially our uniform when we are at client locations."

Riley considered the question and asked, "Would it be possible to try a few of them on? I would normally say that I wear a women's medium, but with some shirt styles, a medium isn't long enough for me."

When wearing a dress or skirt, most people would believe that the majority of Riley's five-foot-nine-inch height was in her legs, but she knew that her torso was harder to fit. After all, a woman could leave a portion of her legs exposed without a problem. Leaving either her upper or lower torso exposed, especially in a professional environment would be frowned upon.

"I think I can arrange that," Blair said. "What were your plans for lunch?"

He knew as soon as he asked the question that he had not phrased it properly. He quickly tried to clarify, "What I mean is, do you plan on bringing a lunch or going out to eat each day? I ask because some of my team members have tried to eat lunch in their cubicles so that they can continue working, and I want to discourage that behavior. I encourage everyone to take a break while they eat. If you want to eat lunch here, that's fine, but I don't want to see any work being done at the same time. Understand?"

"What do you do?" Riley asked.

"I always go out for lunch," Blair assured her. "If I remain in the building, I would get interrupted by someone or something. There are several fast-food places close by, and a very friendly family-owned deli right around the corner that I frequent."

"Maybe I'll join you sometime."

[Five months later...]

From that August day, Blair Andrews had taken Riley Haberman under his wing. There were five other program managers on Blair's team at XES, but it was obvious to everyone that he viewed himself as Riley's mentor and he took that role seriously. Some of his motivation might have originally been due to Riley being the youngest member of the team or the only female, but Blair was always protective of her, especially when they traveled.

XES managed large-scale systems integration projects all over the world. The program management team would typically travel to a client location at the beginning of a project to perform site surveys, data center assessments, and other fact-finding that would allow them to develop an appropriate strategy for the integration project. They would then return to headquarters and begin development and implementation.

There was no way that Riley could easily disguise her beautiful face and sensuous figure, and even if it was possible, her effervescence, friendly confidence, and sweet innocence would still attract the wolves. Blair guarded Riley's virtue more vociferously than he had his own sister's. Riley seldom witnessed Blair's efforts on her behalf but there were a few times when he had stopped her from accepting a drink from a stranger or pulled rank to make her return to her hotel room rather than remain in the company of a man other than himself.

Blair felt that the safety of all of his team members was his responsibility, and with Riley being the most vulnerable, his attention to her was understandable. He made certain that Riley's travel itinerary matched his exactly so that they were always on the same flight even if they didn't get seated next to each other. While not always possible, their hotel rooms were on the same floor as often as could be arranged.

For this week in Las Vegas, while the entire program management team would be attending the CES show, he had paid the upgrade charge out of his own pocket to ensure that he and Riley had adjoining rooms at the hotel. Since he had decided to drive his personal vehicle from Southern California so that they would not have to bother with either McCarren Airport or the hassle of a rental car during one of Las Vegas' busiest weeks, the mileage reimbursement that he would receive would more than cover the room upgrade price.

The rest of the team decided to fly, so Blair asked Riley to ride to Las Vegas with him. After being neglected and ignored by her husband for weeks, spending four and a half hours chatting with another adult was all the enticement that she needed to accept. Questions from Riley about what she should expect at the CES covered most of the first hour, but by the time they were in the Cajon Pass, her questions became slightly more personal, "So, if you graduated from San Luis Obispo in 2016, that would mean that you are around 28, right?"

"24," replied Blair. "I was 20 when I graduated."

"You completed a four-year program in two years?" Riley asked in astonishment.

Blair chuckled and said, "No, it took me three and a half years, then I had to wait for graduation. You should know how hard it is to get the required classes scheduled each semester..."

"But wait, that would mean that you started at Cal Poly when you were 16."

"That would be correct," Blair nodded. "I then obtained my MBA from Pepperdine last year."

"I keep telling Stuart that he should look into the MBA program at Pepperdine. I hear that it is a good one."

"I liked it," Blair agreed. "They offer a lot of flexibility for people with full-time careers."

"That's what I keep telling him about the program, but he wants to wait to see if his company will offer better tuition reimbursement for him once he has been there for a year."

"Laguna Ranch Company, right?" Blair asked. He thought that demonstrating he paid attention to their previous conversations would be polite.

"Right. He works in their marketing department currently but is hoping to move into development and planning in the near future."

"Didn't he start there around the same time that you joined us at XES?"

"A month earlier," Riley said. "As soon as we got back from our honeymoon, he reported for duty. I got the job of finding a place for us to live and getting our household setup while waiting for my starting date with XES to be determined."

Blair nodded in understanding, and said, "Onboarding of new employees in July has always been delayed due to so many people taking vacations. So, you two are coming up on your first anniversary? Be sure to request time off to celebrate."

"Our wedding anniversary," Riley confirmed. "But we've been together in some fashion since our senior year of high school."

"Did he go to Cal Poly too?"

"No, Stuart went to Cal State Fullerton, but we both lived with our parents while attending college. Since we both still lived in the same neighborhood, we were able to see each other regularly, but it wasn't always an exclusive relationship. Have you ever been married?"

Riley knew from the lack of a wedding band and talk among other women at XES that Blair was currently single, but no one knew if there was someone significant in his life. He had never brought a plus-one to any company-sponsored events, but that didn't necessarily prove that he wasn't involved in a relationship.

"No, I haven't," Blair said, but he didn't elaborate. He quickly reviewed their conversation to this point and decide that he needed to back things off some from the evolving personal tone that he was detecting. Nothing that Riley had ever said or done left the impression that she wasn't devoted to her marriage and her husband, but Blair knew from experience just how slippery a slope relationships could be when outside influences permeated them. He would not be any influence on anyone else's as Craig had been on his. He would not provide a substitute to Riley for any topics that she should be discussing solely with her husband.

"So, have you reviewed our meeting schedule for the week?" he asked.

"Yes, I have, and I was going to ask if there were any that you wanted me to take the lead on. Paul and Brent mentioned that they were preparing the agendas for a couple of meetings, so if you want me to take one or two, just let me know."

"I'll review their agendas when we get to the hotel and let you know. I may let you assume ownership of one of the meetings that they have prepared for, but I'll need to discuss it with them first. How much time have you spent in Las Vegas?"

"Hardly any. I never saw the point of coming to Las Vegas until I had turned twenty-one, and then I was too busy with finishing college, getting married, and now working..."

Blair nodded and said, "Well, the moniker, "Sin City" is quite accurate for this place. Trust me, a lot of people come here for trade shows and other events purposely to explore their most deviant and perverted selves. I would appreciate it if you stuck close to me or another member of the team while we are here. We are all going to be very busy and there won't be much time for alternative activities, but stay close regardless."

"You always do that. You have no faith in my ability to take care of myself."

"Look, Riley," Blair tried to explain, "Let's get you a bit more experience as a beautiful woman surrounded by horney guys away from their ball and chain before cutting you loose on your own. You are part of my team, and I am responsible for your performance, your safety, and from a professional perspective, your virtue. A place like Las Vegas during the CES show is not the time for you to spread your wings. I respect your marriage and your vows. You would be lucky to find four other guys in Las Vegas this week who would say the same thing."

"Oh, come on," Riley countered, "You are fine with letting the guys come and go as they please..."

"Says who? Every member of the team has strict rules to follow on all business-related travel. This is a very 'incestuous' industry that we're in and rumors travel fast and far. Even if an employee leaves a company, their reputation sticks around for a long time. XES is very guarded of our brand and our corporate image and expects all employees to respect that. It's one of the things that I like best about working here at a company with a conscience."

From what she had learned working with Blair, she could understand his attraction to a company that he respected. She asked, "Like not wearing a shirt with the company logo when they go to certain places? That's not very restrictive."

"That's one," Blair acknowledged. "Management does tend to frown on employees even visually representing the company at strip clubs and the like. However, we've already covered the rules that I was referring to, such as the midnight curfew that everyone has while on business travel, the rule requiring a member of the team always have another member of the team with them when they leave the hotel, and no one of the opposite sex being allowed into your hotel room, rules like that. I've never held you to a different set of rules and I never will."

"What about if I had a friend from college who was also going to be attending the CES show?" Riley asked. "Would it be against the rules for us to meet up while we're both in town?"

"That would depend on your plans," Blair said. "If your friend was a man that you trusted and you followed the rest of the rules, I wouldn't have any problem with the two of you getting together. If your friend is another woman, I would still have reservations about you leaving the hotel, even if you were together. Wolves travel in packs, and two women face almost the same threats as a woman alone."

Riley considered Blair's answer and said, "Well, there isn't any friend here this week, but I will remember your rule for the future."

"You do that," Blair said. "Oh, and one other very important rule, no team member should ever provide a false alibi or lie to protect another member of the team. You are all accountable for your choices, your actions, and your behavior."

Riley grinned and said, "Then you should always be on your best behavior when you are around me because I am horrible at keeping anything secret."

[Eight months later...]

Blair realized that no matter how proper and professional he tried to keep the relationship between himself and Riley, it was impossible for them to spend so much time together and not begin to learn personal details about each other. He recognized that the same thing had happened with each member of his team.

Simple things like sharing meals meant that it would be inevitable that two people would learn the culinary likes and dislikes of the other person. Routine habits would be observed, preferences in reading or movie genres would be discovered, and even what time of day a spouse would be called while the person was out of town would become known.

With Riley, however, Blair had purposely strived to limit not only his knowledge of her personal life but also her knowledge of his. He felt that maintaining a distance from her was more necessary than with the other members of his team because she was a married woman. The way that Blair acted around her compared to others on the team was obvious to everyone, especially, Riley.

For example, Blair would frequently discuss with the men on the team the need for them to take their wives out for a nice dinner, paid for by the company, whenever they returned from a protracted business trip. He knew all the wives' names and how many kids each man had, but never spoke of Stuart unless Riley brought him up in a conversation. Even then, Blair never offered any advice about how Riley should treat her husband or asked any questions about him. He simply listened to her.

"Stuart said that he is getting used to my traveling for work. What do you think that means?"

Blair closed the book he was reading and set it on the tray next to his drink. They had under an hour before their flight was scheduled to land in Milan and he had hoped to finish the book, but his manners wouldn't allow him to ignore his traveling companion. Comments made directly to him by Riley, as well as rumors that he had heard in the office led him to understand that the 'honeymoon' period of her marriage had ended months ago.

He turned slightly in his business-class seat before answering, "I suppose it could mean any number of things. What about it concerns you?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's that he is becoming too accustomed to my absences and doesn't miss me when I'm gone."

"The travel requirements for the whole team have been more than expected since you started," Blair agreed. "I've heard comments from the other team members as well and will be discussing it with senior management when we get back from this trip."

The discussion that Blair referred to had been in the works for several months, but he purposely delayed having it until Riley had been in her current position for one year. Her future played a role in the proposed changes at XES that he would be discussing.

"What do you think they'll do?"

Blair shrugged and said, "My proposal to them will recommend an expansion of our team. The projections for business growth in the next five years easily justify us adding three more program managers, but I would be happy if they approve two, and I would want at least one of them to be a woman so that you could mentor her like I did for you."

Riley suspected that there was more to Blair's comment, so she asked, "Why wouldn't you mentor her yourself? I thought that you mentored all the new hires for the team."

"I can't go into it at this time," Blair said in a tone that sounded conspiratorial. "But, if we can split the travel load among more team members, that should lessen it for everyone."

"It should," Riley agreed. "Although, if Stuart keeps working eighty to ninety hours a week, my traveling less won't really matter that much."

Blair simply nodded but didn't verbalize his thoughts on Riley's husband working so many hours a week. It was none of his business as long as it didn't affect her career.

"What do you do when you're not working?" Riley asked out of left field. Blair had become used to her wandering topic of conversation.

"I relax," is all that Blair said.

Riley bumped his arm with hers and asked, "What do you do to relax?"

"It depends on my mood, the weather, and other factors."

"Well, if the weather is nice when we get to our hotel, do you think that you might be in the mood to see some of the sites with me? We have the weekend free and I would prefer not to spend the whole time cooped up in a hotel room, which is what I would have to do according to your rules."

"Won't you be tired?" Blair asked in surprise. "When we took that red-eye flight from LA to Boston you were almost worthless the day that we arrived. That's one reason why I scheduled this trip for us to arrive on a Saturday so that you would have a couple of days to adjust."

Riley stuck her tongue out at Blair, which made him laugh. That in turn made her smile broadly. Blair seldom laughed when it was just the two of them together, which is one reason that Riley got so much joy out of it when he did. She knew from witnessing his interactions with others that he was more open and freer with his emotions with other people than he was with her, and she had wondered about that many times.

She knew that Blair respected her as an employee and probably gave her more opportunities than other team members, due largely to her being less opposed to travel than the others on the team with greater family obligations such as kids. Riley was happy to take more trips than her coworkers and hoped that when the time came for her and Stuart to start a family, someone else on the team would be available to step up for the team like she had been doing.

Blair had accompanied her on every trip so far, and the additional time spent with him had been invaluable to her knowledge growth within XES. He was uber intelligent about the technical aspects of their job, had a professional maturity about him that earned him the respect of more senior personnel, and led by example by never expecting anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself.

Last week, Riley had reviewed her calendar for the past year and confirmed what she had suspected; she had eaten more meals with Blair over that time than she had with Stuart. In fact, she felt that she could confidently order any meal for her boss, but she would not be able to do so for her husband. The familiarity that had developed between them made simple meals with Blair much more enjoyable for her than even the most romantic meal with Stuart.

Not that there had been many romantic meals with Stuart. Riley tried to keep what romance and passion existed in her marriage alive and vibrant, but she seldom, if ever, received any cooperation from Stuart. There was no way that their sex life could have the frequency they had enjoyed before she had started traveling so much, but Riley had felt an obligation to be available for Stuart whenever he desired sex. She had even tried to get Stuart interested in video sex over their cell phones when she was away for more than a few days, but he refused to even consider it.

That memory made a thought that had crossed her mind a few times resurface. When she and Blair were alone in their respective hotel rooms at night, did he have someone to share video sex with? She couldn't imagine him having any difficulty finding willing sexual partners. He was good-looking, in prime physical shape, financially and professionally secure, and he could charm the panties off a nun. Women were constantly flirting with Blair, even with Riley right beside him. Then again, men did the same thing with her when Blair was beside her.

Blair had been reviewing an email on his cell phone, when he said, "The Milan Stock Exchange is providing an escort for the duration of your stay. Her name is Gianna Lux and she will act as your translator and tour guide."

Riley snickered and said, "Her name sounds like that of a porn star."

Blair resisted the impulse to ask Riley how many porn star names she knew because that was definitely an inappropriate question. He just frowned at her and continued reading the email.

"That's why you chose me for this assignment instead of one of the guys on the team," Riley said. "Because you knew that the escort was going to be a woman."

"No, I chose you for this assignment because you are the person on the team with the greatest knowledge of Oracle and any integration challenges between it, Salesforce, and other systems. They picked the escort and assigned her to you after I told them that you would be coming."

"Do you have an escort too?" Riley asked.

Blair shook his head and said, "There will be a translator available in all of the meetings that I will have with the Board, but since most of them have a very good command of English I don't see there being much need for his or her services."

Riley turned and looked out the window. Their plane had begun its descent and she could see a mountain range on the horizon, which she assumed would be the Italian Alps. She watched the landscape passing by and tried to identify objects as they got closer to the ground. When the announcement came for the passengers to stow any electronic equipment for landing, she turned to watch Blair put his cell phone away.

"Blair, are we friends?"

He took a moment to consider the question and his response carefully. Finally, he said, "I would not categorize us as friends in the sense that most people would define it. I think of us as colleagues."

"What's the difference?" Riley asked with disappointment in her voice.

"Friends, at least those that I have encountered, share life experiences on a much broader scale than colleagues do. You and I share work experiences only. That's how I see the difference."

Riley nodded. She couldn't argue with Blair's assessment of their relationship, so she asked, "Do you have a lot of friends?"

"Not as many as I used to," Blair admitted. "Several people that I considered friends are still acquaintances and would likely become friends again under the right circumstances."

"The right circumstances?"

"Yeah, you know," Blair tried to explain, "If our lives get in synch we would likely renew our friendships. Between careers, family obligations, and mundane challenges in life, people move in and out of others' lives all the time. You've probably experienced it with some of your friends."

Riley had to admit that she had, especially with those friends who were having children. They were busier with parenting obligations and had less in common with her at this point in their lives. She still tried to stay in touch, but the opportunities to share life experiences with them had diminished considerably.

Riley reached across and lightly patted Blair's hand, saying, "Well, I consider you a friend, and by your definition, we are. Sure, most of the things we have shared are work-related, but there have been several experiences we have shared that were not."

Blair shook his head in disagreement, and said, "I know the things that you are thinking of, and yes, while they weren't technically work-related, they were experienced by us only because we work together. Catching a movie or seeing the sites of someplace we are visiting due to work obligations makes us colleagues sharing them, not friends. I don't share life experiences like that outside of work with any other members of the team and I certainly won't share the life experiences of a friend with a married woman. That is the exclusive right of her husband."

"That sounds awful patriarchal," Riley said.

"It's really gender-neutral," Blair countered. "A wife would have the same right to expect that all of her husband's life experiences would be shared with her exclusively over any other woman. Ask yourself, how would you feel if you learned that your husband was learning some new skill, such as cooking or dancing, but he was doing it with another woman? Aren't those experiences that you think should only be shared between you and him?"

Riley seriously considered Blair's example before responding, "I would hope that I was trusting enough not to be so selfish as to deny Stuart the opportunity to experience something just because I wasn't present at the time. Sure, I would rather he experience things with me, but I wouldn't deny the opportunity for him to do it with someone else, even if it was another woman."

"Would your husband be as noble and selfless?" Blair asked.

"It wouldn't matter to me if he was or wasn't," Riley said. "However, since I now recognize the importance of it to you where any experiences shared by us are concerned, I will ask Stuart how he feels about it. How's that?"

"Let me think about it," Blair said. "I'll let you know after we land."

Blair wouldn't mind getting out to see some of the sites around Milan and northern Italy during the two weeks that they were scheduled to be there. Lake Como was supposed to be beautiful and Venice was only a two-and-a-half-hour train ride east. Both were places that would hold more value to him if he could share the experiences with someone else. He would have to decide whether Riley's husband agreeing to let her share these experiences with her boss would be enough to appease his own conscience.

Just outside the jetway into the airport, there was a tall, attractive red-headed woman holding a sign that read "XES". Blair was expecting someone from the Milan Stock Exchange to greet them at the airport, but he had assumed it would be after they had cleared immigration control and customs inspections. He placed his hand on Riley's arm and steered her towards the woman.

Riley initially jerked at Blair's touch because until now, any physical contact between them had been entirely coincidental. This purposeful contact was uncharacteristic of Blair but when she considered the noise level in the airport, she realized that his intention was purely communicative. She focused on the feel of his hand gently holding her arm and felt his knuckles softly graze against the side of her left breast under her light coat, blouse, and bra.

She suddenly felt a desire for the man next to her that, up to now, had been foreign to her. Since agreeing to marry Stuart, she had seldom given any thought to the effects that another man's presence had on her and the thoughts that were now attempting to take root in her mind confused her almost as much as they excited her. She forced the thoughts to the recesses of her mind as she and Blair reached the woman greeting them.

"Buon Giorno," Blair said as his eyes made contact with the woman's. "I am Blair Andrews and this is Riley Haberman."

"Good morning to you both," the woman replied. Her English was impeccable as her smile radiated over her face and sparkled in her eyes. "I am Gianna Lux. Please follow me and I'll escort you through the immigration process. Your bags are being expedited through customs and should be waiting for us at baggage claim shortly."

Gianna led them to an unattended counter in the immigration lobby where they were soon met by a supervisor. She smiled at Gianna before exchanging a few words in Italian and then gave their passports a perfunctory examination before quickly scanning and affixing each with an entry stamp. As the remaining passengers from their flight queued up in long immigration lines, Gianna escorted her guests through the exit doors, and ignoring the arrows and signs directing arriving passengers to the customs lobby, she directed them out a side door and down a hallway directly to the baggage claim area.

[Two weeks later...]

Blair waited patiently in the aisle of the airplane as Riley sorted through her computer bag for the things that she wanted to remain in the seat pocket during the flight. When she handed him the bag to place into the compartment above their seats, she smiled at him warmly and said, "Thank you."

Smiling back and sliding into the seat beside Riley, Blair said, "It's my pleasure. You have always been a considerate and low-maintenance traveling companion."

Riley felt more like she was returning from a honeymoon than when she and Stuart had actually returned from their honeymoon. Her time in Italy with Blair hadn't been romantic, intimate, or sexual in any way, but Riley was coming away from the experience with a sense of belonging that still didn't exist in her marriage. She wasn't ashamed to admit that she wouldn't have enjoyed the trip as much with Stuart as she had with Blair.

Having Gianna as her escort definitely played a part in allowing Riley and Blair to bond and explore a non-work-related aspect of their relationship. Gianna accompanied them when sightseeing, eating meals, or even going out to dance a few times, providing Blair and Riley with the chaperone that mitigated Blair's personal and professional conflicts he had when he and Riley were alone together. His sense of humor came to life in ways that Riley had never seen. He countered Gianna's flirtations with his own and even threw a few remarks to Riley that she was initially caught off-guard by, but she quickly recovered and gave as good as she got.

Gianna was a very affectionate person and had no qualms about physical contact with either Blair or Riley. Over two weeks, she frequently gave both hugs and friendly kisses, often for no apparent reason. From the time that they had all entered the limousine for the ride from the airport, Gianna arranged their positions to create a "Blair sandwich", with one woman on either side. Seeing Gianna lock her right arm into Blair's left arm without any objection emboldened Riley to do likewise with his right arm.

With Gianna as their tour guide, they visited several basilicas and museums before being deposited at their hotel. Arriving at the hotel, Blair was initially reluctant to agree with the room arrangements. Gianna had reserved a two-bedroom suite for Riley and Blair, with her being assigned an adjoining single room. Blair argued that he should take the single room so that the two women could share the suite, but Gianna assured him that her position with the Milan Stock Exchange would likely suffer if one of their guests' accommodations were not the top of the line. After viewing the suite and seeing that each bedroom had a private bath, Blair relented.

During the first day of sightseeing, Gianna had laughed at the numerous times during their tours when either Blair or Riley would finish the other's sentence for the other. At dinner that first night, Gianna had coaxed an explanation out of Blair regarding his reservations related to Riley. He expressed his beliefs concerning propriety in relationships between men and women, especially in the workplace. Riley listened intently, gaining a greater understanding of Blair's devotion to her and her marriage, and how that had limited his perceived ability to be as open with her as he was with others.

Though his words never revealed it, Riley also realized that Blair must truly hold her in a special place in his life to want to protect her so much. Her heart and soul welcomed Blair even more with his revelations. Would her own husband be as concerned about her career, her reputation, and her feelings as Blair had demonstrated he was?

Over the course of their first week in Milan, Gianna noticed that there were no ostentatious displays of affection but the feelings between Blair and Riley obviously ran deep. The pair seemed unconsciously sensitive to each other's presence. Riley seemed to always step closer to Blair when he came up beside her. He didn't have to look to see who was there. When one moved, the other shifted instinctively to accommodate their motion, both staying well inside the other's comfort zone but not quite touching. When apart, their eyes constantly found each other across the room.

When the two women were alone, Gianna would describe her observations to Riley and inquire about the affection that she and Blair had for each other, and then ask why they never acted upon their feelings for each other. Riley would remind Gianna of her marital status and the commitment that she had to her wedding vows. However, unlike with Blair, Riley did share her frustrations and concerns about her marriage with Gianna.

Gianna was reluctant to offer Riley any advice since the differences in Italian and American societal cultures would have made any of her suggestions untenable for either Riley or Blair. She did remind Riley that wedding vows were a commitment by both parties. The marriage was likely doomed if only one partner showed the love, honor, and respect while the other didn't. Gianna suggested that Riley consider whether her husband's apathy towards her as his wife was something that could be remedied.

Blair would virtually echo Riley's words when Gianna made the same inquiry to him. He had shared with Gianna the disappointment that he felt the many times that he had wanted to send flowers to Riley, such as on her birthday, or the times when he saw even a small trinket that he knew that Riley would love. He couldn't risk sending a message to others, especially her husband, that he and Riley might be more than mere coworkers.

Discussions over several meals that week focused upon Gianna's belief that poor communication and concerns over the perceptions of others were inhibiting what she felt was a friendship that Riley and Blair would treasure if they ever fully explored it. She tried to convince both of them that a friendship between Blair and Riley didn't necessarily have to be viewed as a betrayal of her marital vows.

To that end, Gianna arranged for the threesome to spend their leisure time in activities and at places where they would be greater opportunities for Blair and Riley to interact as a couple outside of a professional environment. First, were after-dinner drinks at dance clubs where Gianna would coincidentally meet up with a man that she knew, leaving Blair and Riley to dance with each other. She also arranged for them to travel to Venice where Gianna insisted on getting dozens of pictures of the pair so that would have them as souvenirs of their visit. A gondola ride through the canals would only accommodate two people besides the gondolier, so Gianna graciously insisted that her guests do it without her.

On the train ride back to Milan on Sunday afternoon, Riley had fallen asleep next to Blair, eventually leaning over to rest her head on his arm. Gianna had smiled as Blair's arm had instinctively wrapped around Riley's shoulder in a protective gesture as the train car's movements jostled his sleeping friend.

On the flight back to America, Blair tried to read but couldn't concentrate on the words his eyes scanned. Riley stared at their flight progress being displayed on the LCD screen on the seatback in front of her. Blair couldn't determine if she was anxious for their flight to arrive in Chicago, or apprehensive about returning home at all. He closed his book and laid it on his lap.

"I know that you said to me once that you were bad at keeping secrets," Blair said. "Is that true in all cases?"

Turning to him, Riley smiled and said, "No, I am actually very good at keeping secrets that aren't harmful to someone else. Why?"

"Because I want to share with you why this will probably be our last trip together, and I need to trust you to keep the news to yourself until things are officially announced."

Riley felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach, but she tried not to let it show on her face. At the same time, the emotional reaction to the idea of not spending as much time with Blair in the future also made her feel slightly ashamed. She composed herself mentally and said, "You can trust me with anything."

Blair studied her face for a few more seconds before saying, "I received the news last Thursday in an email from human resources. I am being promoted to Vice President of Operations effective October first..."

Riley grabbed his arm and pulled until she could reach his cheek to plant a kiss there. She said, "Oh, Blair, that's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"Thanks. If HR got everything in place that I requested, there will be another promotion announced on Monday as well..."

"Your replacement?" Riley asked tentatively. "Who will be my new traveling companion?"

"You will have to make that call," Blair explained. "As the new Director of the program management team, you will be responsible for all assignments."

Riley was stunned into temporary silence. She finally realized that Blair wasn't joking and said, "Wait, I'm the least senior member of the team. How can you justify promoting me over someone like Jeff who has been with XES for more than ten years?"

"It wasn't entirely my decision. A panel consisting of three of your team members and two people from HR evaluated all the likely candidates. They presented me with their recommendation based on performance reviews, customer feedback, adherence to corporate policy, and a few other factors of little relevance to the actual role. I endorsed their recommendation one-hundred percent and submitted it to senior management. You are everyone's pick."

Riley considered Blair's explanation and then asked, "So, I won't be working for you anymore?"

Blair saw the disappointed expression on Riley's face and tried to keep his own disappointment out of his voice as he replied, "No, just as I currently report to the VP of Engineering, you will do the same."

They sat silently for more than an hour as they contemplated their daily routines no longer including the other. In her heart, Riley knew that if she stood any chance of salvaging her marriage to Stuart, becoming less dependent on Blair being in her life would be critical, but could she do that? The time that they had spent on this trip had provided her, provided them both, with a glimpse at what a real friendship between them could be like. They had shared more than life experiences; they had accepted that there existed an emotional connection that neither had shied away from. That connection couldn't be painlessly severed, at least not where Riley was concerned.

Blair struggled with whether or not he should confess to Riley the reasons that he had orchestrated the organizational changes which would provide them with greater separation at work. Long before Gianna had recognized his love for Riley, Blair had accepted the reality that he had become more emotionally invested in his subordinate; his married female subordinate, than was appropriate or sustainable from a professional perspective. Sensing a growing closeness from Riley's words and actions towards him had also been a motivation for Blair to take steps to protect her marriage.

They were on final approach into Chicago, where they would clear immigration and customs before making the connecting flight to Orange County. Riley glanced over at Blair, took his hand in hers, and said one word, "No."

"No, what?" He asked.

Announcements from the cockpit and then from the flight attendants prevented Riley from answering for several minutes but she never released Blair's hand from hers. When the plane was once again quiet, she said, "Let's discuss it on our next flight."

[Eighteen months later...]

"I got an email from Gianna this morning," Riley said as Blair took the chair across from her.

He took a drink from the beer that had already been served for him and smiled. He had known that Riley would have already ordered for him, and he hadn't been disappointed. "Is her trip here still a go?" he asked.

Riley nodded and said, "Matteo got final approval for his vacation time yesterday. They'll arrive on February 3rd and leave for Hawaii on February 10th. Hawaii for Valentine's Day as they planned. Do those dates still work for you and Allie?"

"Of course. Our offer to put you up in the cottage still stands as well."

Riley considered the offer one last time. Blair and his sister, Allie, had inherited a large Victorian house in Olde Town Orange that had eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a mother-in-law cottage on the same lot behind the house. Blair felt that the propriety of having Riley stay over while Gianna and her boyfriend were in town would only be satisfied if Riley was housed in the cottage instead of in the house itself.

"No," she said. "Stuart probably wouldn't mind, but it would be counter-productive to the message I want to start conveying more aggressively to him."

Blair nodded in understanding and said, "I still think you should have gone for the VP position. You know that I would have backed you for it."

She took his hand in hers and squeezed gently, "I know, but this fits better with my plans. I can always revisit it next year if things don't work out."

Riley continued, stubbornly in Blair and Gianna's opinions, to regenerate her husband's interest if their marriage. Her travels had cut back over the past year, but not enough to placate Stuart. This is why Riley had sought the position of Director of Technical Support at XES. The role placed her in charge of the various call center and helpdesk operations, was a consistent 8-to-5 schedule, and required virtually no travel. As soon as she had been offered the position, she stopped taking her birth control pills in the hope that she would soon become pregnant, and that fact would be the catalyst that would finally make Stuart want to work on their relationship.

While he always listened patiently to anything that Riley wanted to share concerning her marriage, Blair still adamantly refused to provide advice or take a position other than one of support for whatever Riley felt was in her best interest. To her credit, Riley had remained faithful to the promise that she had made on their return flight from Italy last year.

She had said, "No," and then waited for their connecting flight to explain to Blair that she would not give up on the friendship that they were developing.

"We're both mature adults," she had stated. "We both recognize the risks associated with an emotional connection developing between us, but I refuse to believe that we can't find some compromise that will allow us to remain friends. I need you in my life. I'll admit that I love you, but I'm still in love with Stuart. I promise that as long as I am his wife, I will place my marital vows above anything involving you and me. I know that I can trust you, and that gives me the confidence to believe that together, we would never do anything for either of us to be ashamed of."

"You never spoke to your husband about us touring Italy together, did you?" Blair had asked.

Riley grinned and said, "Yes, I did. I may have been a bit vague about who the man was that I would be seeing the sights with..."

"So, in other words, you didn't mention that you would be sightseeing and sharing other experiences with the guy that you have spent the majority of your time with over the last year?"

Sighing, Riley said, "If Stuart would have cared to ask, I would have been completely forthcoming in telling him about you. He cares so little about my life, my work, or my dreams that I couldn't see him caring if I was sharing experiences with you, or George Clooney for that matter. Listen, Blair, we haven't done anything wrong, and we don't intend to. Let's just try to be a part of each other's life when the opportunities arise. You know, we can have lunches together occasionally to keep involved in what is going on with each of us. We can share our dreams, ambitions, and fears without being disrespectful to Stuart or anyone else. What do you say?"

The fact was, Blair, had loved every second that he had ever spent with Riley, and her willingness to attempt to make a relationship between them work without compromising her marriage intrigued him. Yes, she could trust him, of that he was certain. He would never do anything to dishonor her marriage as Craig had done to his and Scarlet's engagement. As he had said then, real men don't do that sort of thing.

It hadn't been easy, for either of them. Being released from self-imposed constraints on the expression of their feelings for each other resulted in fewer inhibitions where platonic affections were concerned. Though they seldom saw one another while at work, they communicated several times each day through texts or emails. There were a few times when their banter became what someone might misconstrue as flirtatious, and when one of them realized that, it was quickly deleted and their behaviors adjusted.

They would meet for lunch at least twice a week and try to gather with other coworkers for drinks at least once a week. Their greetings when they met always consisted of a warm embrace and a friendly peck on the cheek of the other. They didn't hold hands when walking, but it was not uncommon for their hands to meet in the center of the table that they were sitting at while talking. Blair continued to open doors and pull out chairs for Riley, but he had done that since they had first met, and was something he would have done for any woman he was with.

"The offer to host the cookout at our house still stands," Blair said. "The patio at your apartment barely has enough room for the grill and a cook."

"He should know," Riley thought, since it had been Blair who she had needed to rely upon to get the propane grill set up after it had been delivered. Stuart was 'too busy' playing golf with clients on that Saturday, so she had called and asked her friend to help her get the propane tank filled and the grill positioned on the patio. The grill's first meal had been steaks that Blair had cooked for the two of them. Riley hadn't mentioned that she had given him the steak that she had intended for Stuart.

"Allie and I worked it out this morning," Riley said. "We're going shopping for all the food this Saturday so that I can pay for everything, and then we'll store it at your house for the cookout. I figured that if I held it at our apartment, Stuart would bail and you would end up cooking anyway. So, if I'm going to put you to work, I should at least let you do it from the comfort of your own home."

Blair was glad to hear of the change. He wasn't looking forward to playing the man of the house at Riley's apartment due to her husband deserting her when she had company over, but he kept his elation to himself, and said "Allie didn't mention talking to you when I spoke with her."

After a quick laugh, Riley said, "Your sister and I talk almost every day. I've told you that. You're my best friend, but you're still a guy, and a very prudish guy at that. You would fall to the ground and into a fetal position covering your ears if I ever tried to discuss some of the things that Allie and I discuss..."

Blair just shrugged. Although Riley was correct that he didn't believe that discussing their sex lives, or lack thereof, was an appropriate topic for the nature of their relationship, he wondered if Riley would be upset to learn that his sister, Allie, always conveyed at least the gest of Riley's frustrations where the attentions of her husband were concerned.

He had always believed that he did a respectable job of keeping his conscious thoughts about Riley's desirability under control. His unconscious thoughts were a different matter entirely. His dreams had been haunted by carnal fantasies of her almost from their first day together. Having Allie recently reveal Riley's confession to her that she frequently fantasized about him had done nothing to help the dreams abate.

He turned his attention back to Riley in time to hear her say, "tell her that I needed to draw a line in the sand."

"I'm sorry," Blair said. "Could you repeat that?"

"When I told Allie about my hope that us trying to start a family might help me to get Stuart more involved in resurrecting our marriage, she asked how patient I was going to be with him. I got the impression that she felt that three years was more than enough time, but I reminded her that due to my traveling for work, I had to take some of the responsibility for where Stuart and I are at today..."

Blair smirked and said, "I saw the effort that you put into minimizing the effect of the travel on your marriage. I saw how you tried to call and talk to him every chance you got. I saw how frequently you would send him a text message and would then sit for hours waiting for a reply that usually never came. I know how many times you tried to get him to fly out to spend a weekend with you someplace. I saw you trying, so don't ever knock yourself out about that."

Riley smiled at his admission that he had been so aware of her all those times when he didn't seem to notice. She said, "I agreed with Allie that I should establish a realistic timeframe to seeing some improvement, 'a line in the sand', is what she called it, but I'm not sure that is an appropriate term for it. For all practical purposes, let's just call it what it is, a 'deadline'.

Blair nodded in understanding but remained silent as Riley continued, "In the next six months, Stuart and I will have an opportunity to celebrate Valentine's Day, both our birthdays, our anniversary, and there is also the potential that I might become pregnant during that time. If things between us haven't improved by August, I'll throw in the towel, I guess."

Blair had a concern and wanted to express it, "Are you going to mention this deadline to Stuart? Also, do you think it's wise to proceed with trying to get pregnant when there remains so much uncertainty about whether things between the mother and father will work out?"

Riley sat stunned. Blair had never offered this sort of input related to her marriage, and when he finally does, they are compelling points for her to consider. She gazed into Blair's eyes and found comfort in the strength and affection that she saw in them.

She said, "I don't think that providing the deadline to Stuart would be received well by him, so no, I will keep that to myself and hope that it isn't needed. As far as possibly getting pregnant and then leaving Stuart, I'll need to give that some more consideration. I'm not afraid of being a single parent raising a child alone, but if I am with child during divorce proceedings, that could complicate things."

Blair took her hands into his and said, "You will never be alone, with a child or without."

[Six months later...]

The ping of his cell phone just as he brought the club head in contact with his ball created two problems for Stuart Haberman.

First was the errant tee shot that sent his golf ball into the water hazard on the approach to the green. This was a par three hole, and one that Stuart had mastered years ago, consistently birdieing it, and once getting a hole in one. Now he would need to take the foul and he would probably be lucky to get a bogey on the hole.

The looks of undisguised embarrassment on the face of his boss and shock on the face of their client, Alan Dostaler over the foul expletives that Stuart had shouted was his other problem. Dostaler was extremely conservative and prudish. He expected his examples of proper behavior and high ethical standards to be emulated by those that his company did business with. The language that Stuart had used would undoubtedly be viewed as moral turpitude by Dostaler.

Stuart decided to step away from the other men, to not only allow his boss an opportunity to mend some fences, but to also check to see who had dared to text him. His assistant knew that he was never to be interrupted while meeting with a client, whether in the office, over drinks, or on the links. His wife knew better than to ever text him. She would either have to call him and leave a voicemail or wait for him to come home if she needed to talk to him.

Examining his phone, he saw that the number that the text came from was not in his contacts, which meant that it was most likely spam. Glancing over at his boss and Dostaler, and seeing that the men were still in an animated conversation, Stuart decided to take the time to read the message before deleting it to decide if he wanted to block the number so that future texts would not come through.

656-511-4896: Stuart -- This is a friend of Riley's. We need to talk about your problem with Riley. I will call you at 4 this afternoon, so when you see this number on your caller ID, you will know that it is me.

"Is everything alright?" his boss asked when Stuart had rejoined them.

Stuart nodded and said to Dostaler, "I want to apologize to you both for the inexcusable outburst. I assure you that those words are not part of my normal vocabulary, and I deeply regret my lack of control that allowed them to escape my mouth."

"A man should have better control of his emotions," Dostaler said. "However, none of us are perfect and that sudden distraction obviously startled you. We have decided to allow you a mulligan on that shot since it was unduly influenced."

"On one condition," his boss added.

Stuart looked at him and asked, "What's that?"

"That you turn your cell phone off until we're at the nineteenth hole."

That was a small price to pay, especially since Stuart had planned to do just that. He didn't want any further interruptions or distractions to his game. He would gladly accept the gift of the mulligan and use it to achieve a score that would beat both his boss and Dostaler. Soundly beating a client at golf might not be the smartest career move, but Stuart would quit a job before playing the wimp for anyone.

~~~

Riley sat at her desk, staring at her calendar on the computer screen in front of her. The pop-up reminder of her lunch appointment was still overlaid in the center of the screen since she hadn't closed it before rushing out to make the meeting in time. She had been apprehensive, but also excited about the meeting and anxious to say the things that she had wanted to say. Now, she questioned whether she hadn't been too hasty.

Blair hadn't said no. That was a positive. She knew that she had surprised him, but she also knew that he was the type of person who would quickly recover and consider her words calmly, intelligently, and compassionately. There was absolutely no one that Riley trusted as much as him. It was a trust built on years of friendship.

That realization wasn't new to her. In fact, it was a major factor in her decision to tell Blair her feelings and share her hopes. Things that she should be able to share with Stuart, but knew that she couldn't. He wouldn't listen, and he wouldn't care. In their three years of marriage, Stuart had made it clear that he didn't do "feelings" where other people, including his wife, were concerned. He didn't share his and he didn't want anyone sharing theirs with him.

She reflected upon the apprehension that she had felt before her lunch meeting. Snorting, she thought, "what lunch?" She hadn't had any appetite all morning, and it didn't get better when she was watching Blair's face to try and read what her words meant to him. It was not lost on her that she had felt more apprehension in anticipation of her lunch meeting than she felt now as she pondered the words that she needed to write to Stuart.

Her initial plan had been to send Stuart an email, but remembering that he would be playing golf this afternoon, and likely not check his e-mail again until tomorrow morning, she decided to write him a note and print it out so that she could leave it for him to find when he got home. That would require her to stop by their apartment one more time, but she felt that she owed Stuart an explanation, for her own self-respect if nothing else. It certainly wouldn't be due to any respect that she still held for her husband.

~~~

"Hello?" Stuart checked the caller ID and the time. It was the same number as the text, and it was now 4:01 PM.

"Good afternoon, Stuart. Thanks for taking my call."

Stuart had been expecting a woman's voice, not a man's. He said, "I know all of Riley's friends. Have we met?"

"Just that one time at the airport when you were dropping Riley off for our flight to San Jose. My cab was right behind your car at the curb and Riley introduced us."

Stuart hadn't been paying attention and didn't remember the introduction. He had been irritated that Riley wanted him to drive her to the airport instead of taking a shuttle. He said, "If you say so. What is this problem that you mentioned? You implied that it has something to do with Riley."

There was a brief pause before the man replied, "Listen, I don't know you personally, but if my wife was planning to leave me and file for a divorce, I would consider that a problem. You may think otherwise, but I thought that you should have some of the facts so you can decide for yourself."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Stuart angrily asked. "There's nothing wrong between me and Riley!"

"Stuart... Do you mind if I call you Stuart?"

When there was no answer, the man continued, "I had lunch with Riley today. We no longer work on the same team or even in the same department, but we still try to get together for lunch at least once a week and chat at some point almost every day."

"Listen, cocksucker, if you're trying to seduce my wife..."

"I would never do that," the man interrupted. "Why would I reach out to you like this if I intended to steal Riley away from you? I'm trying to warn you of your situation so that you can start trying to reconcile with her if that is what you want to do."

"You're damn straight I do. I don't know what ideas you or some other people have been trying to plant in Riley's head, but she's my wife and will remain my wife until I decide otherwise. If she's been fucking around on me there will be hell to pay for anyone involved."

The man's words remained calm as he said, "Riley has never cheated on you."

"And you know this how?"

"Because she tells me everything," he explained. "Riley and I are best friends and have been since shortly after you two got married and she came to work with my team. I know without question that for the past three years, I have spent considerably more time with your wife than you have. There has never been anything more than friendship between us -- until today."

Stuart considered this and asked, "What happened today?"

"She told me that she is in love with me. She informed me that she had left you today and would be seeking the dissolution of your marriage. She expressed her hopes that she and I will have a future together after that, but not before."

A noticeably stunned Stuart softly asked, "What did she say about me?"

"Today? Not much, but she has been sharing her unhappiness in your relationship with me for quite some time. Look, you will find her note to you when you get home and maybe that will explain things to you better than I could do. I need you to know and understand one other thing..."

"What?"

"You need to understand that there is nothing in this world that I treasure more than Riley. Not even a member of my family. I respect that she is your wife, and I have kept our relationship completely above board. I do love her, but I will not allow myself to fall in love with a married woman. That, Stuart, is the thing that you need to understand. She has already left you with every intention of never seeing you again. I doubt that you have any chance, but if you let Riley get away, I will snatch her up before anyone else gets the chance. I will not interfere with your efforts to reclaim her, but if you fail, I will step in."

The call ended.

Blair's statements to Stuart had been honest and sincere. No matter how much he loved Riley, and he knew that he loved her more than life itself, his moral compass would never allow him to play the interloper in another man's marriage. He would provide Riley with safe shelter, all the support he could offer, and whatever other assistance she might require, but do nothing that couldn't pass the 'husband test'.

He would endeavor not to influence her decisions where her marriage and its future were concerned, and he would protect her from anyone else trying to unduly influence her decisions. Friendship and respect dictated that he do no less.

~~~

Stuart,

Riley Mason

~~~

"Riley Mason", huh?" Stuart thought. So, she has already started using her maiden name.

Three hours of contemplation and only two cocktails during that time had allowed Stuart to reflect on several things. His initial anger at the guy who had warned him about Riley's plans had abated. He had been right. Any guy intending to seduce another guy's wife certainly wouldn't telegraph his intentions to said husband. If the guy was to be believed, he seemed to be a stand-up type of guy.

Stuart then considered the letter from Riley. How much truth was there to her claims that his actions are what drove her away rather than some other guy's efforts to pull her towards him? Sure, he had placed a priority on his career, but she hadn't left him too much choice once she started going on those extended business trips. What did she expect him to do, sit around an empty apartment twiddling his thumbs waiting for her to come home?

The more he worked, the more opportunities opened up for him to work even more. Riley didn't seem to understand that the seeds he planted when she was away often needed to be harvested when she finally got home. Could he have scheduled a few things differently? Sure, but why alter his schedule for her when she would never alter hers for him? How many times had she been upset that he couldn't go to some event with her because he had a golf outing planned with a client? How many times had he suggested that she not schedule things like concerts, plays, or other events on Saturdays since that was his best day to schmooze with clients?

Riley stated that she was already in love with someone else. How should he deal with that? The guy on the phone had implied that he was the person that Riley was now in love with, but he said that he wouldn't interfere if Stuart attempted to win Riley back, even though he admitted also loving her. How much competition could the guy be if he wasn't going to put any effort into winning?

But Stuart had to consider the reality that maybe the guy had already won and the game was over. Riley had made it pretty clear that she wanted no contact from Stuart, which effectively closed the door on most avenues for launching any attempt to win her back. Could he afford the time and effort to court his own wife without impacting his career at this time?

The final question was, did he want her back?

~~~

"Eagle calling Columbia. Come in Columbia"

"Columbia reading Eagle loud and clear."

"You two are nuts," Riley laughed. "I don't know what I'm getting myself into."

Blair had been demonstrating how to use the intercom system between the main house and the cottage in the back. The routine that he and Allie had used over the years mimicking the Apollo Eleven mission to the moon had always gotten a laugh from anyone who heard it.

"You're going to love it, and you know it," Blair assured her. "Okay, so you have the code to the driveway gate, the access code for the electronic deadbolt, the alarm code... am I missing anything?"

Riley smacked his arm and said, "How would I know? It's your house."

Blair pulled her into a hug and said, "It's our house as long as you're here."

Riley tilted her head to gaze up at him and asked, "Even though I'm in love with you, you're okay with me staying here?"

Kissing her forehead, Blair said, "For at least six months..."

He paused when his cell phone pinged indicating a text message. He glanced at the message and then turned the screen so that Riley could read it.

656-777-0987: She's all yours

Confused, Riley said, "That's Stuart's number. Why is he texting you and what does 'She's all yours' mean?"

Blair hadn't intended to tell Riley about his conversation with her husband but now felt that he should, if for no other reason than for her to understand the statement that would follow. He summarized the conversation that the two men had and waited for her reaction.

"That arrogant piece of crap," Riley huffed. "Gifting me to you like I'm his property or something..."

Blair led her to the sofa and pulled her down to sit beside him. He said, "I don't read it that way. I see it as his acceptance of a situation that he can't or won't attempt to influence. The proof will be when he signs the divorce papers that get served on him, but his message indicates that he will do that without delay."

Riley considered this and asked, "So, you think that your conversation made him accept that he and I are really over?"

"No, I won't take credit for that. I think that whatever you wrote in your letter to him was more than likely what motivated him. I think that our conversation just provided him with someone to admit his defeat to. You did block him after all."

Riley snuggled against Blair and said, "I really expected his ego to get the better of him and for him to fight the divorce from start to finish."

"Like I said, let's wait to see what happens when he gets served, but I expect that he will sign without hesitation. I have to tell you; I am surprised that he never called me on the lie I told him."

Riley looked up at Blair in concern, "What lie was that?

"I told him that I could never allow myself to be in love with a married woman when I have been head-over-heels in love with you since the day that we met."

[Eight months later...]

"Damn! Call Gianna. Find out what the Italian word is for 'pregnant'"

Blair was laughing too hard to dial his phone. He had advised Riley not to buy the pregnancy self-tests when they were in Italy on their honeymoon, but she was confident that they had made love during her likely fertile cycle and wanted to be prepared to use the tests as soon as she had the slightest suspicion that they might have conceived a child.

Rather than tease Riley, Blair used his cell phone to get the correct translation. "It's 'incita', he told her."

He heard a scream from the bathroom, "It's positive!" That was followed within seconds by a knock on the bedroom door. Blair yelled, "Come in."

Riley ran from the bathroom and jumped onto the bed beside Blair as Allie stood in the doorway laughing. "My God, I didn't know whether all the yelling was due to pain or pleasure. Now I know. What's going on?"

Riley waved the self-test stick and exclaimed, "We're going to have an Italian baby!"

Blair choked on the drink of coffee he had just swallowed, He had to lean forward off the pillows as he coughed. Allie started laughing so hard that she had to take a seat on the foot of the king-sized bed. Riley's head swiveled back and forth as she alternately checked on a coughing husband and hysterically laughing sister-in-law. Both saw the impish smile and mischievous gleam in Riley's eyes as she looked at them in turn.

She showed them no mercy as she asked, "I assume that we all have to convert to Catholicism when the baby is born?"

Blair was turning red, and coffee was spilling from his cup onto the bed so Riley took the cup from his hand and began patting him on the back. Allie had fallen off the bed from her laughter.

Seeing that Blair was slowly recovering, Riley scooted up and resumed her position under the covers next to him. Allie's head peeked over the foot of the bed and asked, "Are you done now?"

Riley grinned and said, "si."

Crawling back to sit on the foot of the bed, Allie said, "I don't know why I ever thought that it would be a good idea for my brother to marry such an evil woman, and one who would bring an immigrant into this country illegally no less."

"I'll report to the immigration department on Monday," Riley teased. "Little Lorenzo will have his green card before he is born."

Finally getting his voice back, Blair said, "Okay, knock it off. I ain't raising no dago kid."

The pillow hitting him in the face prevented Blair from hearing the thud from his sister falling onto the floor again in laughter. It was several minutes before calm returned to their bedroom with all the parties once more breathing normally and in their previous positions on the bed.

Allie smiled as she watched her brother and his wife cuddling together. Even before she had met this woman, she had feared her. Not Riley, she corrected, she feared what Blair's obvious love for a married woman would mean for his future. Allie knew her brother would languish in unrequited love for an eternity before he would infringe on someone else's relationship. He would not attempt to take what wasn't his.

There had been many times over the past few years when Blair would swear that he loved Riley, but he wasn't in love with her, but Allie knew that he was just trying to convince himself. Blair had never dated much before he met Riley, but he became a virtual monk once she had entered his life, and he seemed genuinely happy that way. Allie had done all that she could think of to convince her brother that he was in love with a lost cause. Then she had met Riley and seen the two of them together.

Riley's marriage may have made her legally and morally unavailable to Blair, but he owned her soul, and she his. The connection that the two of them shared was palpable to anyone who saw them together. It was clear to Allie that they were destined to be a couple. All it would take was time.

As Riley became a friend of hers as well, Allie became a confidant that Riley would share things with which she said Blair wouldn't allow her to. Allie respected Blair's request that she not meddle in Riley's marriage, but that didn't stop her from listening to the challenges that Riley faced in trying to have a happy marriage. From the descriptions that Riley provided of her efforts to get closer to her husband and the failed results, Allie knew that the marriage would eventually end. She just hoped that it would happen sooner rather than later.

Noticing that the conversation between Blair and Riley had paused, Allie glanced over at them, "I was going to ask if you two love birds wanted to go out for breakfast."

"Sure," Riley said. "Where can we go where I can get spaghetti for breakfast? I'm having a real craving for some reason."

Blair groaned and said, "This is going to be the longest pregnancy in history." To his sister, he said. "We'll meet you downstairs in thirty minutes. How's that sound?"

Allie stood but didn't leave right away. She smiled once more and said, "I really hope to find my soulmate one day like you two have. I am so in awe of your love."

"By choosing each other every day," Blair said, "We have made ourselves soulmates."

"It wasn't instantaneous," Riley explained, "but there came a time shortly after we met when every day I started choosing to find a way to connect with Blair in some fashion. I know for me it was subconscious, but it was still purposeful."

Blair nodded his agreement and said, "For years, I despised the term 'soulmate'. It wasn't until Riley insisted that we fight for our friendship that I accepted the premise that soulmates are forged from the same fire, a fire that I wanted and needed to keep burning at any cost...

Riley interrupted, "We needed to find common ground where we could remain emotionally connected, working together to grow as friends even as our love for each other remained unspoken yet smoldering."

"My hands-off rules concerning Riley's marriage got bent several times," Blair added, "but they were never broken."

"His 'hands-off' rule that you had to keep your hands off him was the toughest one," Allie said with a laugh. "You were one extremely frustrated lady, especially while waiting for your divorce to become final."

"Don't I know it," Riley sighed. "I couldn't understand your brother's reluctance once the divorce was granted and we only had to wait six months for it to become final. There were some slamming doors and hurt feelings, but we worked it out, even when we were tired. In hindsight, I see now that it made us stronger together."

Riley and Blair glanced at each other before they said, almost in unison, "Soulmates aren't found, Allie, they're made."