Question K

[Jonetta]

Ric is strongly attracted to Annie and he fights it throughout the story. Her feelings are growing for him, too. However, in the midst of all this, Ric succumbs to Lillian Lavelle’s “charms” and is caught in the act in his office by Annie and Martell. Any idea of why he did it?

[Anita]

Maybe to prove to himself that he really didn't have feelings for Annie. But I really think that Lillian just blindsided him with the enticing offer of sex and his male brain shut down.

[Sharon]

I didn't think Ric succumbs to Lillian as much as she threw herself at him then he got caught it what appeared to be a compromising position. As I mentioned before, Lillian knows how to get what she wants from men. I believe she recognized that he had feelings for Annie, and wanted to push her out of the picture. Catching them together worked for Lillian. Ric recognized that it pissed Annie off, and played along to push her away.

[Lauren]

I also don't think that Ric succumbed. He was caught by surprise, and if Annie had come in a few minutes later, Ric would probably have already removed Lillian from his person.

At this point in the story, Ric still thinks that Annie is a lesbian. So, as Sharon says, he used the situation to push her away and cover up his own attraction to Annie, which he believes is unreciprocated.

[Jonetta]

I reread this section to see if I’d heard it correctly. Ric initially resisted and then opted to just go with it. I found it very confusing as he’s very much attracted to Annie. But later when I realized he believed Annie was a lesbian, it made more sense.