Her affair, she recounts, started with pure admiration from watching the man in action.

"You have to agree, for someone to be in the public eye, it would mean he has some kind of charisma."

She was drawn to the way he worked with people. He was friendly and easy-going, with the right touch of humanity.

She pauses for about five seconds, then says: "You know the saying, we were all drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

"We just couldn't help it."

The "we" refers to colleagues, teammates and even strangers.

And, most importantly, she says: "He never once gave you a reason to doubt his sincerity.

"He was always earnest and he was kind. If you approached him with a problem or an issue, he sat down with you to rationalise and work things out.

"It didn't matter if it was day or night, he was never too busy or tired for anyone."

Power, she confesses, was a draw. "That he was not an ordinary person was already a hook."

Add a bright future to that, she says.

"I'd be lying if I claimed that aspect wasn't an attractive point."

She insists she cannot really pin down how the affair started.

"There was no specific date or moment. But there was a growing attraction, that much I can tell you.

"I began to look forward to seeing him at conferences and meetings. And when there were events to attend, I'd make it a point to go if I knew he'd be there.

"You just want to see him. Catch a glimpse of his smile. A 'hello and goodbye' could also send me to cloud nine. I was like a young school girl nursing a huge crush."

He'd shower her with little acts of kindness and concern. Like when he gave her a lift home and because she was so tired, he sat in the car and "waited for a full hour as I slept".