Beefcake

Erin still wasn’t entirely sure how it had happened, but decided it was probably safe to blame DMX and too many rum and cokes. The Ghostbusters were so jazzed the night after saving the city that they decided to throw a party on the roof of their new firehouse headquarters. Aside from Patty, the girls did not have a large circle of friends, but they had become famous overnight and they had no trouble filling the roof (and many of the rooms below) with enthusiastic people who were ready to celebrate. The place was full of good vibes, take out (thanks to Benny) and booze. A bar around the corner had donated a few kegs to the event and when those ran out, the Ghostbusters offered up what liquor they had to keep the party going.

Erin had had a lot to drink and she was feeling brave, and dangerous. So when she saw Kevin dancing to what she’d started thinking of as “their song” (Party Up by DMX), she decided to make a move. She danced over to him. And onto him. It got dirty real quick, and as the song changed to something by T-Pain, she was kissing him, and he was kissing her back. Not long after, both Ghostbuster and receptionist disappeared from the roof-top party.

Erin was certain it was going to be a one night thing and initially, she wasn’t even sure if she was going to remember it. The next morning as Kevin left the firehouse, she smiled to herself as she watched him go. It had been a long while since she’d let her hair down (and taken off her tweed) to have some honest-to-goodness sexy fun with an attractive guy. It may have been the first time she’d gone after a guy that she found attractive without knowing what the outcome would be. She felt a little proud of her ballsy behavior.

“Well, well, well. Would you look at that. Looks like someone finally got what she wanted!” Erin looked up, blushing, and saw Holtzmann loading what appeared to be a large vase into her silver duffel bag. Before Erin could think of a good reply, Holtzmann slung the bag over her shoulder, smirked, and slid down the fireman’s pole. By the time Erin made it down the stairs, Holtzmann was nowhere in sight.

It turns out the party, aside from being good for Erin’s sex life, was also good for business. Several party-goers divulged secrets of unsettling experiences they’d had in their homes, wondering if there was anything the Ghostbusters could do to help them. Abby had scribbled down notes and contact information, and promised she’d follow up with them. So despite the crazy late night they’d all experienced, Abby was up early and making phone calls when Erin wandered down the stairs.

“Hey, where did Holtzmann go?” Erin asked Abby as she went to make a cup of coffee.

“I think she’s testing something out in the alley. Also, did I just see Kevin leave? What was he doing here this early?” Abby looked up at Erin, who was uncertain how to respond. She was pretty sure Abby was going to be mad when she found out what had happened.

“I don’t think he went home last night…” Erin began.

“And did you go home last night, Erin?” Abby pursed her lips. Shit. Well, she wasn’t going to lie about it.

“I did not.” No need to give too much detail.

“Really. Interesting. And did you do something that would qualify as sexual harassment with our employee?”

“I wouldn’t say that. He was pretty into it.” Erin tried to act nonchalant as she added cream and sugar to her coffee.

“Erin! We talked about this! You canNOT sleep with our employee! That is NOT the behavior of a professional!”

“I didn’t sleep with our employee! Neither of us was working at the time!”

“Erin. Please. Besides lugging our shit around, does Kevin ever do anything that would actually qualify as work?”

“I saw him put paper in the copier the other day.”

“Erin!” Abby shot her an exasperated look.

“Yes, Abby?”

“Are you freaking kidding me right now?”

“Abby, I don’t understand why you are making this into such an issue. I’m a woman. I have needs. Kevin was willing to help me out with those needs. Honestly, if he did as good a job with his desk work as he did last night, we’d probably have to give him...a…raise...” Erin could tell by the look on Abby’s face that stopping right there was the right choice. She cleared her throat. “Seriously though, it’s not going to cause any problems. I promise you that.” She took a slurp of her coffee and headed for the door.

“I hope you’re right, but I honestly doubt that.” Abby retorted. The phone began to ring.

“I’ll let you take that. Love you, Abby.” Erin gave a sheepish smile and made her way upstairs as Abby shot daggers at her with her eyes.

Unfortunately for Erin, Abby was right.