They hadn't met until late in the audition process. Terry was a slam-dunk, with her angled (but not too edgy) looks and bright, blue eyes. But Tom was a question mark. His sexual energy was nebulous, and though he was able to direct it on-stage with some precision, there were still questions about his ability to create the needed chemistry for this advertising experiment.

The attraction was instant, and for Terry, devastating. Tom stood with perfect posture, but somehow conveyed a relaxed slouch -- the same way his shirt felt more wrinkled, his face less shaven, then they really were. He was the perfectly composed, committee created, focus-group refined, test-marketed example of the handyman next door, and she had trouble holding eye contact with him.