Chris was feeling quite good about his fortunes. His rival seemed to have dropped out of the race a few months ago. This was unexpected and very much a breath of fresh air. After careful planning and years of patience, it looked like the stars had finally lined up for him to make a move.

The work was slow and tedious. The journey had many setbacks happen. The most frustrating part was that his rival appeared to have no vulnerabilities he could exploit. Even the traces of weakness proved to be strengths that couldn’t be countered. However, that was all behind him now. So he hoped. So he planned. And so he acted.

The single biggest advantage Chris had was that he managed two offices. His home office was the traditional conservative corporate type. The sister office was a bit more friendly, open, laid back, and progressive. The revenues came from two different markets, but the products were the same. The two office style suited his plan nicely.

He had his eye on Sara. She was this talented rising star on the team that he had taken painstaking efforts to groom and mold to her present level of success. All the hours of meetings and networking events had allowed him to gain her trust and respect. They were quite good friends by now outside the office space. Despite all the grounds covered, there was always some obstacle to closing the deal and getting more intimate with Sara.

Taylor

No amount of effort on his part managed to get this rival out of the picture. He always managed to stumble into the good graces of Sara. Sure, they had no romance going. Sure she wasn’t interested in him. Sure, he was socially awkward. However, whenever the idea of closer ties with Sara came up, Taylor managed to be around or topic of conversation. Whatever his grip was, Chris was glad to see it slipping away.

The last two visits to the sister office, Chris noted with great satisfaction, that Taylor was a non-factor. He was either sulking away on a project or just flat out avoiding the presence of Sara. Not too sure what went down, not too interested in asking, Chris took this as the omen he needed to work the last of his plans to reel Sara into his arms and eventually into his bed. She was well worth the long wait and long hunt.

There was a team building retreat planned for the following month. Chris had checked the registry several times. Taylor had not signed up this year. He also had not made any efforts to communicate with anyone above him that he was interested. Not a single click on the registration page either. Furthermore, he noted with yet another smile, Sara seemed very puzzled that Taylor was not going. That wouldn’t matter much anyway. Once the retreat was over, all she’d be thinking about is when to spend more time with him.

Everyone in both offices had signed up to go, except for Taylor. Chris had carefully crafted all the events to maximize his time around Sara without making it too obvious that he was making a move. There were enough activities to keep everyone from suspecting anything and to also make it clear to Sara that they were leaving as an item.

With the deadline passed, Chris was now counting down the days when his good fortune would pay serious dividends and he would have the lady of his dreams in his bed.

<to be continued>