The Love Contract

Everyone knows you're not supposed to date your boss. It makes things messy at the office.

I dated mine once, and can attest that things did get messy at the office. Also in the car. And on the sofa at his place.

We flirted. We kissed. We got naked. Shacked up, got married, had kids. Even now, we continue to grope each other in front of the subordinates, open each other's mail, and answer our home phone singing, "Aloha! Deano's Weiner Shanty" — all behavior that is really frowned upon in a corporate setting.

Mr. Boss Man and I were in college when we began canoodling among the cubicles, and our tryst failed to raise a ruckus. Some colleagues offered high-fives; others rolled their eyes and made occasional gagging sounds. Most just dismissed us as indiscreet young idiots.

Today, though, employees who date coworkers may be asked to sign a "love contract" declaring their romantic alliance. Known formally as "consensual relationship agreements," these documents confirm that both parties willingly entered into the affair, and that either one is free to end it without professional ramifications.

I saw one that read, "The undersigned independently and collectively desire to undertake and pursue a mutually consensual social and/or amorous relationship ..."

Whew! Makes me hot just reading it.

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