The order phone line lit up and buzzed. I said, "Good morning, O. and E., order department."

Then, "How are you this morning?" the deep sexy voice asked. I knew it was Bob and his sexy voice for the last year just sent shivers up and down my spine.

"I'm fine, thank you. Do you have an order this morning, Bob?"

"Yes. It will probably be a page or two, mostly pharmaceuticals plus some over-the-counter things."

"Okay, you may begin anytime."

After about 15 minutes, I finished Bob's order, thanked him, and sent it on to the warehouse, via the conveyor belt.

I wonder if Bob is married? He always seems so cheerful and full of mischief, so handsome and mysterious. He was here several times over the past year talking to Mr. Latchke, the manager, when I got a glimpse of him.

I looked over at Deannie, the other telephone order girl. "Hey, Deannie. How old is Bob Dillough?"

She said, "I don't know, maybe in his late thirties, early forties."

I asked her, "Is he married?"

"I'm not sure; rumor has it he is divorced right now." Deannie called over to Josie across the way, "Hey, Josie? Is Bob Dillough married?"

Josie looked up from her work and got this sly grin on her face and said, "I don't believe so, although I can't be quite sure."

It was around 11 a.m. when I heard Josie exclaim, "Oh my, those are beautiful!"

I looked over and saw Bob standing there with a dozen red roses, wrapped in green paper and cradled in his left arm. He had this mischievous grin on his face and as he extended them towards my direction, tipped his head down, looked over his glasses and said, "These are for you, little lady; I thought you would like them."

I took my headset off, got up from my chair, and slowly walked over to him by the swinging half-door that separated us from the inner office. He handed me the beautiful, long-stemmed roses, and I breathed in their delicate and luscious scent. I was awestruck! I could feel the heat rising up into my face.

"Thank you." I looked into his eyes and immediately felt my heart melt. He is so handsome. Why is he doing this?

"Becky, I would like the pleasure of your company at dinner this evening. Would you do me the honor of accompanying me?"

"Uh, well, sure, I guess so. What time, I mean I don't get off until five. I would have to go home and let my dog out and get ready."

My heart was doing flip-flops.

"Okay. How about around six-thirty this evening? I'll pick you up. Where do you live?"

I proceeded to grab some paper to write down the directions to my apartment, and then asked,

"Where are we going? Do I need to dress up or what?"

"Just wear a dress, nothing fancy. We'll be going to a nice restaurant up north, near where the new expressway is going in. Have you ever been to Tipp's Chalet?"

"No, I've never been there to eat, although a girlfriend of mine worked as a waitress there for a while, and I stopped to see her a couple of times. It's really very fancy!"

He said, "I go there a lot. Okay, I'll see you about six-thirty then."

I thought I'd better tell him about my dog right off the bat.

"Oh, by the way, I have a Doberman Pinscher named Caesar. He will greet you when you come to the door. His bark is worse than his bite. He's a good dog, though, very well behaved and obedience trained. Are you afraid of dogs?"

"Not really, just the big ones."

"Oh. Well, he is big, but he is a well-behaved dog. I have complete control over him."

He kind of rolled his eyes and flashed a big smile and said, "Okay, I'll see you in a little while; I'm looking forward to it."

Gosh, why is my mouth so dry, and I am having trouble speaking?

More calls were coming into the phone lines, and I said, "I have to get back to work now, sorry."

I took the piece of paper I had written the directions on and handed it to him. Our fingers touched, and shivers ran up and down my spine, and then he looked at me and said, "See you soon."

I watched him walk through the spacious office and exit the door.

I quickly turned to get a phone line that was buzzing and exclaimed, "Oh-my-gosh! Deannie, do you think I should do this, I mean go out with him? He is so much older, but seems so young, fit and trim. What a body! I have never dated an older man before."

She looked at me with a strange look on her face, then answered the buzzing line, put whoever it was on hold and said, "Becky, if you want to go out with him, go and have a good time. Let him wine and dine you, take you to dinner and all that good stuff. Sheesh, it's not like you're going to marry him or anything."

"O.K. I'll go, but I don't know what to wear." My heart was racing.

We both took some orders; then I turned to her and said, "Do you think I should tell him right off the bat about the baby? You know, they're always saying you shouldn't keep secrets from a-oh heck, I'll just go and have a good time. I'll worry about that if things progress. Oh man, I am so excited! Wow, he is so handsome, tall, and dresses so nice, and smelled soooo good. I wonder what that aftershave was he was wearing? Why do you think he'd ask me out? I am so plain and unattractive. Gosh, he has his own store and is a pharmacist for heaven's sake. That has to take some 'smarts'.