It's happening again, for the third time this week. Jeremy Stevens is in Jessica Harrison's office with the door closed. And he's been in there over 20 minutes.

Saundra Johnson, Jeremy's supervisor, is concerned about this situation. So why doesn't she say something? Because Ms. Harrison is her boss!

And besides, what exactly should she say? Though she might feel like saying, "Stop having an affair!" she really doesn't have any facts to back up her suspicions. She's not the only one who has suspicions, however. The company grapevine has been busy with the rumor for several weeks.

Ms. Harrison is Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Jeremy is a sales representative. There are timnes when they do have to conduct business together. And they may be conducting business. But they are certainly making things uncomfortable for Saundra, who is sales manager. The other salespeople who report to Saundra believe that there is a "relationship" and that it shouldn't be carried on in the office. They're also upset because they think Jeremy is getting preferential treatment.

For example, Ms. Harrison has the authority to assign "house" accounts to a particular salesperson. Often she delegates the decision to Saundra, but the last two house accounts have gone to Jeremy -- at Ms. Harrison's direction. The other salespeople have complained to Saundra, but her hands are tied. No policy has been broken.

A similar situation involves demonstration seminars for prospective clients. The salespeople are always eager to conduct the seminars because it's common to get new clients from among the participants. Yet without consulting Saundra, as she has usually done in the past, Ms. Harrison asked Jeremy to conduct the last three seminars. As a result, several lucrative accounts are now his.

To make matters (or at least appearances) worse, on those evenings when Jeremy was conducting the seminars in the office, Ms. Harrison chose to work late. If she wasn't waiting around for Jeremy, it certainly looked that way.

Should Saundra talk to Jeremy about all this? Should she talk to Ms. Harrison? Should she just look the other way and tell the other salespeople to do likewise? What are her responsibilities and how should she handle them?