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“I’ve got a lunch meeting with John that I have to get to. I’ll meet you at your desk at five and we can walk over to the gym?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” I stiffen when he leans down and kisses my forehead.
It’s not that I mind him kissing my forehead. What I mind is him doing it at work. It’s not the first time he’s shown me affection here, but it is the first time he’s done it blatantly in front of one of our co-workers. I don’t want Patti to get the wrong impression and have everyone at work thinking Harris and I are dating, because we’re not. Okay, we kind of are, but we’re not at the same time. At least not after Friday.
“I’ll see you later.” He steps back.
“Okay.” I nod.
“Hey, Patti.” He directs his attention to the woman as she re-emerges from the refrigerator with a lunchbox in her hand. “I emailed you the new process doc we’re trying to nail down. If you have time this afternoon could you please look it over and let me know if there’s anything you’d like to add or if you see any potential issues with what we’ve laid out?”
“I sure will,” she readily agrees, taking the seat across from me at the table.
“Awesome. Thank you.” He smiles that charming smile of his and I watch Patti melt a little.
Moments later he exits the room.
“So, you and Harris.” She gives me a little smile. “I had my suspicions.”
“Oh, we’re not together.”
“No?” She cocks her head to the side and studies me for a long moment.
“No. We’re just friends.”
“So the flowers on your desk this morning weren’t from him?” The way she says it makes me feel like she already knows they were, and because of this I don’t want to flat out lie.
“They were. He got them for me because he knows I’m going through a rough time with my dad’s heart attack and all. He’s really thoughtful like that.”
She considers my words as she bites into her lunchmeat sandwich.
“Well, he certainly doesn’t do that for everyone. And, if you two are together, you know it’s not a big deal, right? It’s not like either of you report to each other.”
“I know that. But we aren’t together.”
“Okay, then.” She takes another bite of her sandwich.
I can tell she wants to say more, and while a part of me wants to know what she’s thinking, the other part of me is relieved when she drops the topic of Harris all together. “Did you see they’re putting in another bar and grill on the corner?”
“Oh yeah?” I swirl my fork around in my noodles, my appetite suddenly nowhere to be found.
“I was thinking about suggesting we do our next team building thing there, but I’m not sure if it will be open in time.”
“That’s this Friday, isn’t it?”
“Actually, I don’t think they’re doing one this month because of the company picnic being Wednesday. It’s pretty cool that we get paid for a full day when half of that time we will be grilling out and playing softball.”
“Are you playing?” I ask, shoveling a bite into my mouth.
“No.” She shakes her head. “Ever since I had kids, I can’t run without peeing myself a little.”
I can’t help but laugh.
“I’m serious. Just wait until you have children one day. They completely wreck your bladder.”
“Well, I’m not planning on ever having kids so I don’t think that will be an issue for me.”
“You don’t want children?” She seems surprised by this news, as if someonenotwanting children is a foreign concept.
