They walked home in silence, the dancing having sobered them up quickly. Once they made it back to the hotel room, Beth went into the bathroom first. Dave sat on the bed and tried to imagine what she would come out dressed for bed in. The way she dressed at work had to be carried over into her home life. He actually worried that she might come out in something erotic, but he was shocked by a voice in the back of his head that said he wanted her to. He shook his head to clear it and turned on the TV. Soon the door opened and she came out dressed in a large robe. He tried to not look at her but he was compelled to look. She smiled at him. "It's all yours." She said motioning to the bathroom. He cleared his throat. "Uh yeah, Okay..thanks." He said feeling so odd by the new feelings he was experiencing. It had to be the alcohol he told himself, that’s all. By the time he came out wearing his own robe, she was in bed watching TV. He gave her an uncomfortable grin and removed his robe and jumped into his bed. He was wearing a T-shirt and flannel boxers and she had on a pink silk top. He found himself wondering what she had on under the covers, and silently chastised himself for thinking such things.

What the hell was wrong with him? He said to himself. He cleared his throat. "Want me to turn the TV off?" He asked unwilling to look at her. "Yeah, I'm ready for bed." She said quietly. He turned the TV off and reached for the light. "Did you tell them to give us a wakeup call?" He asked her just remembering the seminar. She nodded. "Sure did." He smiled at her. "Well..goodnight then." He said nervously. "Night, Dave." She said returning the smile. She had no idea what was going on inside her body. She felt so alive and excited about something. She told herself it was the alcohol but she was terrified it was really being in Dave's arms. She always teased Lisa about him not being sexy, but being so close to him and feeling his warmth and touch made her feel crazy inside. She rolled over on her side and tried to sleep but she always found herself wondering if Dave was awake and thinking about her, like she was awake and thinking of him. Things from their past came into her thoughts and she now saw some things in a new light.

That morning they both took turns getting ready, they hardly said more than a few words to each other and Dave was worried he had done something to upset her. Little did he know that she was thinking the same thing. Once they arrived at the seminar, they were directed to a table where a way too perky woman had them sign in and gave them nametags and a large manila envelope filled with papers. Once they entered the room Dave was amazed at how many people were there. They found their seats and sat down. Beth glanced at him and smiled. He felt so awkward with her now, he didn't know what was going on between them, but he hoped it would go away soon. They had spent lots of time together at work, sometimes alone, and never had any of the things he felt surfaced before. Of course they were in the work environment and they were with the others, and of course, Dave was always fretting about Lisa.

Soon the lights went down and a well-dressed man came out. He did a short introduction explaining how the seminar worked. They were to take the packet of papers and go around the room to different booths and do each test there, once they were done the test results would be sealed in an envelope and be tallied later on. They looked through the packet not sure where to start first. Beth closed her eyes and drew out a paper. "Okay, this is the one we are doing first." She said as she looked at it. It was the booth called ESP, which stood for Extra Special Personnel. Dave rolled his eyes at the terminology. The test ended up consisting of learning how compatible they were at knowing each other’s thoughts. They had to sit down with two other pairs and play a game very similar to the dating game. In the end they managed to get all the answers correct and won the match. Beth squealed and Dave hugged her when they won. Then they let go abruptly when they noticed everyone was staring at them. They were given T-shirts as prizes and they once again drew a new piece of paper.

The next booth was where the boss's had to trade their receptionists for another one, just to maybe learn some new things about communication they might not have known. Dave's new receptionist was a shy young woman with short brown hair named Angie, she seemed sad to him and he gave her a reassuring smile. Beth glanced toward him as her new boss led her away to the makeshift office to role-play. Dave gave her a wave to let her know he would be nearby. He felt a pang of resentment at the thought of another man ordering her around. He took his new partner to the training area and they sat down. A number of surprise situations were to occur and how they dealt with them would be the training experience. Things went well for the first hour and Angie actually smiled once or twice. Then the phone rang and she answered it, and instead of transferring it to Dave she cut the caller off on accident. Immediately she jumped up and ran to Dave. "Oh! Mr. Nelson! I am so sorry, I swear it won't happen again." She said nervously. Dave gave her a smile. "It's quite all right, not to worry." He said patting her arm. She jumped and moved out from under his hand. "I'm sorry." He said stepping away from her. "I didn't mean to touch you." Tears started to form in her eyes and Dave felt concerned for her. "I hope I didn't do anything to cause you to feel uncomfortable." He said motioning for her to sit down.

She waved her hand as she sat. "It's not you." she said, crying now. "In fact you have been so good to me." She said wiping her eyes. He pulled a chair up next to her. "Tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help." He said gently. "I'm afraid of my boss." She said. "He yells at me over everything, I can't do anything right. He says horrid things to me and tries to get sexual favors from me." Dave was horrified to hear such things. "Did you tell anyone about what's been going on?" He asked her. "Yes, and they said that it would be my word against his and then I think they told him what I had reported. He told me that if I said one more word he would fire me. Mr. Nelson, I'm a single parent, I can't go without work and I can't get a job that pays what I make now. I will never survive without the pay I get. I already work a night job as well and things are so hard, and now this." She said crying harder. He gave her an understanding look. "Well I know it seems bad now, but maybe I can help you out. Where do you live?" He asked her. She wiped her nose with a tissue and looked at him with hope. "New York." She said. He gave her a huge smile. "I know just the person who can help, I'll give him a call and see what I can do." She jumped out of her chair and hugged him. "Thank you Mr. Nelson." She said. "Even a chance is some hope." She said relieved. It was at that moment that he thought of Beth alone with that sicko. "Stay here, I'm getting Beth away from that guy." He said leaving the room.

Part 4