River City Connections — 2025-12-22 (Patreon)

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EXIT STRATEGY by Roman Lenox

It’s the Monday before Christmas, and things here at work are spinning down. The Christmas party is tomorrow, then we’re closed until next Monday. While things at work are slowing down, my thoughts are anything but idle.

Dinner on Saturday night with Hayes was amazing—once I stopped pretending it was a business meeting. That took about ten minutes.

After I stopped pretending, I turned up the filters so I could ignore the fact that—by any employment law definition—I was on a date with an employee who directly reported to me.

It isn’t about how things look or gossip. It’s about leverage—real or perceived. I approve her hours. I evaluate her work. I influence her future here, whether I intend to or not. Even if every decision I make is fair, the imbalance exists.

If things go well, it can look like favoritism. If things go badly, it can look like coercion. And if anyone ever questions her success, the first thing they’ll question is me.

I did a really good job of ignoring that. I continued the illusion through church on Sunday, then lunch at The Trophy Room. I dropped her off and headed home before I admitted how much trouble I could be in.

Something has to change, and if everything derails… well, I’m going to sit down tomorrow and look at options for an exit strategy, just in case the partners decide I’m a liability.

Considering where things seem to be with us, the one outcome I can’t accept is her paying a price for something I should have had the discipline to prevent. It’s a lot to consider.

Meanwhile, I need to chill things with Hayes enough that neither of us end up needing to figure out how to word “reason for leaving” on our resumes.

The Storylines are the heart of Ailana Geven Imagines, and they are found in the Collections section of the site.

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All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.

CHILL IN THE AIR by Hayes Markel

Compared to my weekend, today was a huge disappointment at first, then it turned confusing.

The business meeting over dinner with Roman on Saturday didn’t last long enough for the waiter to bring salads. I’m not sure if he would agree, but I quit pretending we were working as soon as the iced tea glasses hit the table.

After dinner, we lingered at the table. Refills, dessert, coffee. My bladder was about to explode, but I dared not dispel the moment with a trip to the powder room—not until we gave up the table and he excused himself to the men’s room.

“How about church tomorrow?” he asked as—yes, he walked me to the door.

“Of course.”

We stood there, close enough to touch, and I decided if he tried to kiss me, I’d try back. He faltered a step forward, then closed his eyes and backed away.

After church, there was lunch together. And another walk to the door, and more lingering, more of me imagining, or not imagining, as the case may have been.

Now, it’s Monday and it feels like a different man has come to the office. It might be warm outside, but there’s a chill in the air.

At the end of the day, he finally pulled back the curtain a little. “Hayes, we’re going to be okay. Not sure how. We need to keep our heads on straight, for now.”

I swear he kissed me with his eyes! I could feel it, whatever that means.

I know it’s workplace ethics, and I can hear my mother warning me not to be the girl that made it up the ladder by dating her boss. I get it. And I’m still pretty much ignoring all that.

Instead, I’m holding on to two words: “for now.”

Be your best you!

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