Hank got off the plane at LAX with his carry-on it was a short trip so he didn't need to pack much. The company held its yearly meeting for the managers in LA near the corporate office.
The company had sent luxury cars to shuttle them to the hotel and he shared one with an office manager from Texas who was talking to her sister on the phone the whole ride.
It was a short ride and Hank got checked in and up to his room. After a quick shower and shave he got into his suit for the opening night dinner. He caught an elevator down with some managers from the central territory who all sounded like they belonged in Fargo.
He entered the hall for dinner and was directed to a table with the other northeast regional managers. He said hi to some of his fellow managers and took a seat. A waitress came around to take drink orders and he ordered an Old Fashioned.
"How very Don Draper of you," said a voice from behind him.
"Hi Jill," he said turning to look at her.
She was wearing a black dress with a white shawl.
"Hey," she said as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek before taking a seat.
The regional manager came over to join them and they listened as a group of company higher ups droned on about hard work and dedication.
After the meal they opened the bar and Hank
went with Jill to get a drink.
"So how have you been?" he asked.
"Good," she said, "I heard your office has improved its numbers ever since I left."
"What can I say?" he said with a shrug, "I'd take the credit but life is too easy."
"I also heard Mimi and Rachel left," she said, "that must have been hard."
"It was," he said sipping his drink, "but I'm awesome."
"You didn't have this much confidence when you worked with me," she said as she sipped her Cosmo.
"I didn't run the show," he said, "now I do, and I have to say I'm pretty good at it."
After a few drinks Hank turned in they had a day full of corporate training exercises to slog through starting bright and early at 8am.
He got to bed but his mind drifted back to Jill. After Mimi and Heather he had been single for a while and he couldn't deny he'd had fun with her.
He woke up in the morning with an erection, he'd been dreaming of the last time he'd been with Jill. Hank took care of himself in the shower, he figured it was better than getting a boner during a conference about sexual harassment and workplace affairs.
After ten hours of mind numbing meetings and exercises broken up by lunch they finally got sent to dinner. They broke them up into regions again and Jill took a seat next to him.
"Jesus Christ," she said, "that was the longest day of my life."
"It's not over," said the regional manager as he took a seat, "next we're going to break up into teams of two and talk through strategies going forward."
Jill let out a groan and emptied her glass of wine. They got split up into teams and whether through dumb luck or the universe having a sick sense of humor her got paired with Jill.
They were sent to a small room with a desk, two chairs, and some pens and paper. Hank held the door for Jill and took a seat.
