Chapter 13 – Anna
THIRTEEN
ANNA
There was a time when she’d had a best friend. But she had to switch homes and never saw her again. She stopped making friends after that.
The Lobby
It was happening. I was going to do it. The plan was set. All I had to do was execute.
Step one: Hide behind the oversized palm plant in the lobby. Check.
Step two: Wait for Claire to get off the elevator. Any second now.
Follow her on her way out of the building for lunch. Should be fairly easy.
Casually bump into her once outside. Not too hard, I hoped.
Engage in harmless chit chat.
Ew. Chit chat.
No, I could do it. I could make chit chat. How hard could it be?
Finally, the weather is cooling down. Am I right?
Traffic was a mess today. How about for you?
Oh my gosh, I love your blouse.
These were things I could say and not sound like a weirdo. I knew that because I heard people say them all the time. Then, hopefully, Claire, the receptionist from 301, would pick up the conversation. We would talk and then I would, ever so casually, suggest a get together.
Are you heading out for lunch? How about I join you?
No, that was too pushy.
On your way to lunch?
Too open ended. It didn’t imply I wanted to go with her.
And I did want to go with her. I wanted to eat lunch with her and talk about her job. I wanted to find out what she cared about. If she had a boyfriend. Did she live on her own or did she still live with her parents? What did she do for fun?
Most importantly, I wanted to know how she and her boss interacted.
Did they share personal stuff? Was the office casual or more formal?
Had her boss ever shown up drunk at her home on the anniversary of his wife’s death?
Okay. That was pretty specific. Best to stay off that topic.
I heard the elevator ding and checked my watch. It was five of one, so it could be her, but when I peeked around the plant I saw two men walking briskly through the lobby in the opposite direction.
“What in the hell are you doing?”
The voice coming from behind made me jump and squeak at the same time.
I didn’t have to guess who was behind me. I swing around and landed a solid punch to his upper bicep.
“Ow!” he said, immediately grasping his arm.
“You had it coming.”
He smiled sheepishly. “Okay, fair enough. I suppose I did. You pack a hell of a punch, Flowers. I find myself less worried about your time on the streets.”
I winced at the pain reverberating through my knuckles. Geesh, his arms were hard. It didn’t stop me from cocking my arm back for another blow.
“I told you not to do that anymore.”
He quickly caught hold of my fist and jerked me forward. Suddenly I was closer to him than I’d ever been.
He had the greenest eyes I’d ever seen. But up close, I could see they were more than just green. There was moss and evergreen and browns and golds.
What combination of genes assembled like this?
“Why are you hiding behind the lobby plant? Are you stalking someone?”
“I’m not stalking anyone,” I said lamely. “Much.”
He released my wrist, and for a second we didn’t move. Those few inches of space between us felt oddly normal. Like we were supposed to be this close. Then in a blink, that changed and we realized we were too close.
Each of us took a deliberate step back.
“Talk, Flowers. Is there some young man in the office building who has caught your attention? Thinking about attempting the awful dating scene again? I thought all of that was behind you.”
“Behind me?” I repeated. “I’m twenty-three. It better all be in front of me.”
He frowned. “Who is it? The delivery guy?”
“Roger? You think I’m stalking Roger? Seriously? ‘Roger Roid?’ We make fun of that guy.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you like the overly bulky type with a shiny chest.”
He wasn’t lying about the shiny chest. While I’m not sure it was uniform regulation policy, Roger always wore his brown UPS shirt unbuttoned beyond what would be considered appropriate. And what showed through the gap gleamed like he’d covered his shaved chest in oil.
“If you must know, I’m waiting for Claire. She’s the person who got the receptionist job at the marketing firm. You remember, 301.”
“How could I forget? Your fortuitous mistake.” He paused a beat, as if considering something. “So you’re…bi?”
“Bi?” I repeated, not understanding.
“Because you went out with that Kendrick.”
Then it clicked. “His name was Kenny, and no, I’m not bi. I’m not into Claire, I’m just trying to make friends. Like a normal person.”
He snorted a laugh. “Here’s a clue, Flowers. Normal people don’t make friends by stalking them.”
“I was trying to be cool about the whole thing. Casual. Just a simple run in at the elevator.”
“After you’ve been hiding behind a plant in the lobby. Yes, of course. That wreaks of cool,” he drawled.
“Why are you even here?” I asked, willing him to go away. “You had a lunch meeting.”
“Cancelled. Sick kid, apparently,” he said. “And I took the stairs up from the parking garage. I’m trying to fit more cardio in my day.”
Perfect. Busted by the one person who would mock me with the truth ruthlessly. I checked my watch. It was already ten minutes after one. Too late for lunch.
“I had to have missed her,” I told him. “You ruined everything.”
“I’m sure the plant will be here tomorrow for you to hide behind. Or you could just go to the office where she works and ask her if she wants to get lunch.”
I scrunched up my face. “Do people do that? Is that a thing?”
“No, not really. She’ll probably think you’re hitting on her.”
I sneered at him. I was getting very good at sneering, having learned it from the master.
“You really suck, you know that?” I pouted. I couldn’t hit him again, but I wanted to. “I can’t believe you thought I was bi.”
“We shouldn’t be talking about your sexual orientation,” he bristled. “It’s none of my business.”
“I know that. I was just saying-”
“Then why are we discussing this?” he asked.
“I wasn’t. You’re the one. Ugh. You’re so frustrating.”
“So I’ve been told. Look, you missed your lunch date. I’ll take partial credit. Come with me and I’ll buy you a sandwich.”
“A whatnow?”
“A sandwich,” he repeated, like I was thick skulled.
This was another first. We didn’t eat lunch together. We didn’t eat any meal together. This would be yet another line we would cross.
“You want to eat lunch. With me?”
“No,” he said, as if I was dense. “I don’t want to eat with you. I’m simply stating that my meeting got cancelled so I didn’t get lunch. I’m hungry. I assume you are too.”
“I am. I’ve been waiting behind this stupid plant for twenty minutes,” I admitted. “Why don’t you want to eat with me? Are you afraid I’ll embarrass you?”
“Are you high right now?” he asked, and I could feel him getting annoyed. “Stop asking me questions you already know the answers to.”
“I’m not the one who’s not making any sense right now,” I said. “I think.”
He frowned. “Let’s see if you can wrap your brain around this, Flowers. Two hungry people walk across the street to get lunch at the sandwich shop. It’s a popular place for people in this building to go for lunch. Possibly, that’s where you were going to suggest you and Claire go?”
I nodded.
La Bamba’s was pretty much where everyone from this building went for lunch. Javier made the best sandwiches. He was quick, reasonably priced, and he always had the best flavored chips in stock.
“Okay. Well, maybe on our way there we come up with a better plan to introduce you to Claire.”
Immediately, I was suspicious. “That would be nice of you,” I pointed out. E.G. didn’t do nice.
“Hmm. I see why you’re worried, but let’s call it an aberration.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
He huffed. “I promise to be meaner tomorrow.”
That I understood.
I clapped my hands together.
“Okay. Let’s go get me a friend.”