I am in love with my boss! There I said it, even if it's only mentally. I really am in love with my boss! I know, dangerous and foolish territory -- but you should see her and get to know her. She's amazing!

Her name is Deanna, and yes there is more than a little teasing about a like-named Star Trek character because there is a resemblance. I think Dea is taller than Deanna Troi, but the dark hair, dark eyes, sexy smile, and similar builds make the comparison inevitable. What's amazing is that she is completely comfortable with who she is and when someone teases her, she laughs and gives as good as she gets. She's completely approachable on any subject -- well any professional subject. She avoids any discussion about her personal life. She's pretty amazing!

When I got the job I was warned to avoid getting attached! She tended to go through managerial assistants, some move on to more responsibility and some burnout. It's amazed a few people that I have lasted this long. There haven't been any openings for promotion and at the same time, even with our hectic travel schedule, she hasn't managed to burn me out. But I did receive heavy warnings that a number of the previous folks tried to get on her personal side and she dropped them like a rock. So other than the both of us teasing each other about our lack of personal lives, we tended to avoid the subject.

I didn't start out in love with her. Believe me, while she is physically stunning and smarter than hell — when you get tossed into the deep end of the pool you are too busy treading water to develop any feelings. During this time we did get to know each other and more than on superficial terms. Yea, I know how she likes her coffee, but I also know how she would react to almost every professional challenge. She's taught me a ton in the past year, and along the way, I fell for her. And from the looks of things, I fell hard and she hadn't changed one hair. I know she likes me, or I wouldn't still be here. But she never dropped a single hint on any deeper feelings. I have also not dropped any hints because by now I knew how she worked and if I did and she didn't reciprocate, I would be gone -- and that was something I didn't want!

But right now today I have to admit I love her, if to no one but myself, and it's because I am jealous as hell! I am jealous over . . . well, maybe nothing. Hell, you be the judge. Do I have anything to be jealous about? Here is what happened yesterday.

After 4 hours on the road, following a diverted plane trip, and a sincere effort to make a business meeting south of Atlanta, we found ourselves in the little town of Warner-Robins GA. A nice little town, but at midnight, it was hell for us. We found a hotel with available rooms, a Fairfield Inn— not great, but OK. We also found what had to be the only restaurant still open, at least according to the desk clerk. The downside was it was a Hooters. You might know the place. I'd never been in one, and I was pretty sure Dea hadn't either. But it was late; we were both pretty wound-up and hungry! And after taking one look at the place, we decided what the hell!

I was pleasantly surprised! I guess I had no real expectation since I had never been there. But it wasn't a strip bar minus a pole. It was a real sports bar type and the Hooters Girls did wear skin-tight tops and orange shorts that had to be three sizes too small, but it was nicer than I thought it would be. The real difference is there was a higher table to server ratio, which provided a little time for each server to sit down and socialize a bit. It was a surprisingly relaxing place! After a beer, I could see the tension leaving Dea as well.

Our Hooter's Girl was Stephanie, and there was something I didn't pick up on right away until she sat on the stool next to Dea and I could see them together. Stephanie was Dea, maybe about 15 years ago, but the resemblance was even more remarkable than the one between Dea and Deana Troi. Even the voices were similar, minus Stephanie's very lovely drawl. We talked a bit and we learned a little about her, and she learned probably more about us. She thought it was so cool that Dea was the boss, and they had a nice conversation about being a female exec in a male-dominated business. Stephanie wasn't going to be a server forever, while she had a son, she was trying her best to squeeze in college and work as a single mother. After a while, I saw myself being ... well not so much being left out, it was just the two ladies hit it off. So much so that another Hooter's girl, Gail, brought our next round of drinks. I think she and Stephanie were friends because I didn't see any of the other girls even approaching another girl's territory. But Gail gave Stephanie a nice hug before going off.

None of this was a big deal until I was looking up at one of the TV's and saw Stephanie walk away out of the corner of my eye and realized Dea was watching her. Not just watching her, but watching her ass! Now I will admit it was a world-class ass, the idea of Dea watching it was a surprise, to say the least! I had to avert my eyes or she might have realized I saw it. It took a few minutes for the feelings to settle. Was Dea gay? It was something that had never occurred to me before. She was . . . Dea. Was it important? Well, I think it was, but mostly because of my feelings. She certainly figured largely in my fantasy life. The girls I had dated in the past year all seemed to be pallid comparisons, Dea was special!

And here was Dea, my Dea. looking at the tail end of a gorgeous girl with a very unprofessional look on her face. And I was not comfortable with what I saw.

We didn't stay until closing because we did have to get up and drive to our meeting this morning and it was several hours away. But Dea was torn and indecisive, something else I had never seen from her before. That's when the idea of jealousy occurred to me. I was a bit annoyed because I wanted her to look at me like that. I wanted her to be indecisive about leaving me. But no, she was acting this way toward — well I was going to say a waitress, but that would be unfair. Stephanie, in her way, was almost as spectacular as Dea, which a hard thing for me to admit! That's when I knew I was in real trouble because I liked her too! My eyes had watched her walking several times; I just never realized that Dea's were pointed in the same direction. Thank God this wasn't a strip bar or Dea might have been asking me for singles, and I would have been giving them to her. So should I be jealous?

Okay, the next day went pretty well. We got where we needed to be. But once the meeting was over, there was a hesitation about Dea again. As we got in the car, she decided to drive, and instead of turning toward the local airport, the place where we couldn't fly into yesterday due to weather, she took us back on the highway leading to the Interstate that led back to Warner-Robins. I was stunned! She never said anything; she just turned that way like it had been the plan the whole time. She wouldn't even meet my eyes, which is another very un-Dea-like thing. I tried to find words, but they wouldn't come. I felt her nervousness grow and went looking for a way to relieve it for her, but nothing came to mind.

At the hotel again, she opened up. "You know why we are here?"

I didn't say anything right away.

"Look, Alan, I'm not sure what you are thinking and usually we can read each other well. You do know why I am here, right?"

"I think I do. She was a pretty interesting young lady. What I am not sure about is why I'm here."

"I thought about that too. I thought a lot about that." Dea said.

The silence dragged on.

"Alan, I like you, I do. I really like the way we've worked together. I also know you like me, and maybe like is the wrong word. I also respect you for not allowing that to interfere with our work. But I really, really like Stephanie. I don't know what may come of it. Maybe she just did a masterful job at her job, but I need to find out. I also think that if we are going to keep working together, I can't hide this from you. So I guess we could kill two birds with one stone. I am going to go across the street and see Stephanie again. You can come with me, or you can go someplace else. If you want to resign tomorrow, that okay. I won't like it, but I will understand."

"So you are a lesbian?"

"That's the screwy part. No, I'm not, at least not until I met her. I can't get her face out of my head. I've never met anyone like her."

"I have."

"Who?"

I flipped the rearview mirror and Dea was looking right at herself. Then I got out of the car and opened her door for her.

"Let's get rooms and then we can go over there for dinner.” I said while I thought, “Who knows I might catch you on the rebound."

She took my hand as she exited and smiled. She didn't have to tell me how that would never be anything between us; I figured that part out for myself. I told you we think way too much alike!

We walked in and I saw both Gail and Stephanie at the entranceway. Gail saw us, but Stephanie had her back turned. As the customary chorus of "Welcome to Hooters" rang out, she turned and caught sight of us. No, she caught sight of Dea and the smile on her face told me I was pining after a lost cause. She came forward and gave Dea such a hug. I caught Gail looking at me and she came forward and touched my arm, partly in welcome and partly in sympathy. She read me all too well for someone who didn't know me -- or I was being that obvious? Then I caught her looking at Dea and Stephanie and I realized that she had some serious feelings for Stephanie herself. I squeezed her arm and we shared wan smiles.

Tonight was different! Stephanie barely left Dea's side. She pulled a brown top over her uniform and pulled it down over her shorts. She sat with us at one of Gail's tables. We drank some beer, ate some food. It was okay, but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you what we ate. Gail kept the alcohol flowing and in three hours, we were very relaxed, but not drunk! We were truly relaxed.

I stayed pretty quiet and watching the two of them circle each other. That was the only way to put it. It wasn't that they were afraid, but they were cautious. From the conversation, I knew that Stephanie had thought about Dea all day as well. At one point both of them were off to the loo and Gail told me that Stephanie was taken by Dea. "Alan, I have to tell you, I've never heard her talk about someone like she did about Dea."

At the end of the evening and the closing of Hooters, we walked back to the hotel. She did something she had never done, she hooked her arm in mine and laid her head on my shoulder. We looked like a real couple, but I knew it was only an illusion because I was seeing something in Dea I had never seen before. She was happy! It might seem weird, but I thought I had seen her happy before. It paled in comparison to the look on her face. I knew I would never see that look aimed at me and was struggling with that.

"Thanks, Alan!"

"Dea, what else could I do?"

"I can think of a lot of things, and not all of them pleasant. I know Terry, my last managerial assistant would have freaked out on me if she even caught me looking at Steph. But then she would never go into a Hooter's with me. She would have spent all night looking for a Christian coffeehouse and then try and get me to drink coffee and listen to scripture all night."

"Ouch!"

"Well, now you know how you got the job. She was good, but she couldn't keep our relationship work-related. She threatened to sue the company claiming I was releasing her because of her religious beliefs."

"What did you do?"

"I called her and her lawyer in and laid out my countersuit for religious harassment, including all her emails inviting me to her church, especially the ones after I told her to knock it off. They dropped any suit. I did hear the lawyer billed her and she had to eat it, but she knew damn well she would have lost even more if she pressed it."

"And we are changing the subject."

"I know, I guess I am still nervous."

We were walking past a convenience store.

"Let's get some beer and go back to the hotel for a nightcap."

Who was I to argue? So a twelve-pack of Killian's under my arm and we went back and up to her room, actually her suite. We sat together on the couch. It felt so good on the one hand. I had pictured us like this many times. It always led to places I now know we will never go, but it still felt so good! I think I was still jealous, but after seeing her relax and disarm herself, in many ways I was grateful to Stephanie.

And on that note, her suite door opened and in walked Stephanie and Gail, now both dressed in mufti. I felt Dea's soul lift higher at Steph's smile, but I was unprepared for Gail kneeling in front of me and touching me through my pants.

She just smiled a less wan smile and started rubbing me. I looked over and saw Steph in Dea's lap and they were kissing, my cock couldn't help responding. Gail saw where I was looking. "Yea, I know, she does to me what your Dea does to you!"

We stayed on the couch in the suite, rather than go to my room. We shared much, including our feelings for our friends. It turns out Gail’s the godmother of Stephanie's two-year-old son. We also took out a certain level of frustration on each other, sexual frustration. Gail is a wonderful lover! She might not be the one my heart had been set on for a while now, but I am not her heart's desire either. We . . . understand each other very well.

In the morning Dea found us spooned together naked on her couch, a light sheet over us — where it came from I have no idea. But I really woke up when I realized Dea was naked! She was even more spectacular than my imagination hoped and I felt myself stir and that’s when I also realized I was still inside Gail. Gail didn't help things when she lifted her knee and Dea could see me there. Then Dea did another unthinkable act, she leaned down and kissed Gail. That brought me to full attention and then she even kissed me.

"I hate to break this up, but we do have to get out of here. Steph and I made some plans that include you, Gail. You two talk later. I'll talk to Alan about it. In the meantime …"

"In the meantime, lover, the shower is ready. Are these horny people still at it? God, you would swear they never had sex before." Said an equally naked Steph who stepped next to Dea and again the similarities floored me, but my body knew a great thing as pulled out and back into Gail, who moaned appreciably.

"Okay, we'll leave you for a little while, but if you are still at it when we get out, cold water will fix that!"

Steph then kissed us too; more tongue from her and it got Gail going. This was so weird!

Later that day, on the plane we did talk, and the direction surprised me.

We still traveled a lot after that, but for some reason much of our business took us to Warner-Robins, at least it always seemed to be part of every trip. Luckily Dea is the company CFO and also a 25% owner. She had the money to include Warner-Robins on every itinerary. The company did ask, but since she was paying for it herself, they didn't bitch. I got to see a great deal of Gail, a great deal. We got closer and while neither of us reached the passion we were looking for with our friends, we did find a passion for each other. It was something that developed slowly, not the love at first sight that blindsided Dea and Steph.

Things did change when both of them moved up here. Well, I should say all three. By this time I was practically an uncle to Steph's son Michael David. We started traveling without going to...