Chapter 3
By Donna

"Damn, damn, damn," I thought, as I heard the question. "Obviously, I can't yet tell him the *whole* story, but I can't lie either. Well, here goes nothing...." Taking a deep breath, I started to explain.

Well, to be perfectly blunt and perfectly honest, no, the relationship between Arnold and me is not strictly professional. BUT, it's not physical either.

Arnold and I have known each other for years. Way before we started the company, we used to work together, even sharing an office. We started off hating each other. I was the old-timer, knowing the systems backwards and forwards. He was the new kid, just out of the Marines, with a typical military personality that just didn't fit in with the kind of company we were. We spent the first couple of weeks avoiding each other, even though physically we were within a few feet.

All the women in the office just fell for him and we're constantly bugging me with the, "Is he married? Dating anyone?" questions. Everyone wanted me to play matchmaker when they found out he was single.

I think the only thing that saved him was that he wasn't arrogant. He knew he had a lot to learn and was determined to learn it. I think this is what finally broke the stalemate between us. That and the fact that he's really smart and I knew I needed help.

The project we were working on was long, and the schedule extremely tight, and neither of us had outside lives at the time, so we worked constantly. Slowly, we started to become friends.

After months of this, it was time to install the system. We packed our bags, and went to the client. This install wasn't like your system, we were there for the parallel, and the training, and the debugging. All-in-all, we spent over a month there.

We tried to keep it professional, we really did, but when you're stranded in some little town, in the middle of winter, for a month, well......it just happened.

When we came back, we tried for a while, but it just didn't work out. So, we ended it, and eventually, he left for another company.

A few years went by, and we ended up starting DAS. That's an even longer story that I won't bore you with. Even today, when we travel together, there's always that temptation, though so far we haven't touched each other."

I stopped there, not really finishing the story, and leaving out some important details, but giving an honest answer. Arnold had returned while I was telling my story and he added, with a grin, "And damn it, it hasn't been easy!" He paused, looking at Kevin, then back at me, and grinned again. "Oh oh, did I come back too soon? You want me to get lost again for a while?"