Chapter 7
Two days in a row, Allen had somehow managed to cross paths with her, and after buying her lunch yesterday, Ashley felt obligated to accept his invitation to sit with him today. Besides, if Allen was her secret admirer, she owed him a fighting chance, even if the fleeting disappointment on Chase’s face just about killed her. It would’ve been nice to sit with Chase at lunch for once.
“Pizza day?” She looked down at Allen’s personal pan pizza box and sat next to him on the cement bench, unwrapping her sub sandwich.
“Can’t be healthy every day. It’s not good for morale.” Allen grinned and took a bite, leaving a string of cheese stretching across from the slice to his mouth. He turned away, probably so he could quickly scarf it down without her seeing. It made her laugh.
“Don’t hide it from me. I know eating pizza is messy business.”
“Want some?” He opened the box and offered her a slice. But she wouldn’t be able to finish her sub if she ate that too, so she declined.
“Are you dieting or something?” he asked.
She shook her head and finished chewing. Didn’t he know girls hated that question? Asking a girl if she was on a diet was a good way to get a carrot shoved in the ear. It was right up there with asking a girl if she was on her period.
They ate in silence for another minute until Allen brought up their favorite mutual subject, customer service stories. And he had plenty. He told her about the trainee who promised a woman she wouldn’t have to pay her premium because the bill got lost in the mail. As the supervisor, he had the fun privilege of correcting that assumption. And then there was the angry customer who had a heart attack while on the phone and called back a few hours later to chew them out from the emergency room.
It brought back memories both hilarious and stress-inducing, and she related her favorite—the time Chase peeked around his cubicle with a panicked expression. A teenage girl on the phone wanted him to promise he wouldn’t tell her parents about her car accident, but she still wanted to file the claim and have it covered.
“I told him to just tell her no,” Ashley said with a laugh, “but he couldn’t do it. He was totally afraid of her. I took the phone and did it for him. And I do have to say, she sounded like the type that would be the meanest and most popular girl in her high school. Super intimidating and passive-aggressive, like she wanted to be my buddy, but would stab me in the back if she didn’t get what she wanted.”
“Like Yolanda,” Allen said.
“Um, no.” What was with him today? “Yolanda’s not quite like that.”
“We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that one.”
Part of her wanted to know what he had against Yolanda, but it was better not to ask. She wrapped up her sandwich and smiled. “I need to get back.”
“Oh, okay. We should do this again sometime. Maybe we could go out somewhere, like that café around the corner? As soon as I get my new car we should do that.”
She opened her mouth, trying to think of a way out of this. Did he mean during their lunch break again or was this new invitation a date thing?
“My car wouldn’t start on Tuesday, and I had to have it towed to a shop. I hate having to use a personal day for something like that. I’ve loved not having a car payment, but it’s time to get something nicer and stop dumping money into my old car. I’m thinking I might get a Jeep Wrangler this time. I’ve always wanted one.”
She nodded, trying to concentrate on what he was saying, but all her mind held onto was the knowledge that Allen couldn’t be her secret admirer if he wasn’t here on Tuesday. That was the day her bracelet returned to her, the day someone left a flower on her desk. Relief flooded in. Allen was nice, but not for her. She left without having to give him an answer about another lunch date, grateful his nervous talking had come in handy.
***
“So, how is Allen doing?” Chase asked as they were walking to their cars after work. He tried to sound as non-jealous as possible.
“Plugging away in customer service. Sometimes I wish I’d taken a supervisor job instead of moving over to typesetting.”
Chase tugged at his collar. “Did they offer you that? What’s the pay like?”
“Typesetting definitely pays better. Oh well.”
And now it was a curse. Their higher salaries left them with nowhere to go but down.
Ashley reached her car, giving him a wistful smile. “See you tomorrow, Chase.”
He headed to his car a few rows over and got in, bracing himself for the night ahead: homework, dinner, clean up, job searching. He was supposed to be at his interview right now, but they’d called him a few hours ago and told him not to come in, that they’d already found someone.
He turned the key in the ignition but only got a clicking sound. Just great. Ashley was backing out of her spot, and he got out and waved at her before she left. She pulled to the side and lowered her window.
“Car trouble?”
“Dead battery, I think. Do you mind coming over here in case I need a jump?”
