-1CHAPTER TWO
"You don't seriously expect me to eat that." Lauren said incredulously as she glanced down into the Styrofoam bowl of murky broth in disgust.
"Sorry, they were all out of caviar." Michael replied flippantly as he sat down beside her on the cool grass. They had decided to spend their thirty minute lunch break outside rather than in the busy cafeteria.
"What is it?" Lauren asked nervously.
"Soup of The Day," he replied before taking a huge bite out of his bologna and cheese sandwich. "I think it's cream of…something."
"Yummy." Lauren said unenthused.
"Wanna trade?" Michael said, offering her the other half of his sandwich.
"Thanks, but I don't eat meat." Lauren said, absentmindedly stirring her soup with a cheap plastic spoon.
"That's a shame." Michael quipped and Lauren blushed at the innuendo. She never blushed.
"So, Mr. Baldwin. How long have you been working here?" Lauren asked, deciding to let him win round one of their sexual banter.
"Ever since I graduated from high school last summer." Michael replied, wolfing down more of his sandwich.
"Wow, and you already know the job well enough to be mentoring me. That's impressive." Lauren praised sincerely. He stopped chewing and turned to look at her. Lauren could tell he wasn't used to getting compliments.
"Not really," he shrugged. "A monkey could do this job."
"That explains Gary." Lauren joked and Michael barked out a sharp laugh.
"What? Pearson's not your type?" he teased.
"No, I usually go for guys who still have all their teeth," she replied. "And a healthy appetite." she added, watching as he washed down his sandwich with her untouched bowl of soup. Now it was his turn to blush.
"Sorry. Working makes me hungry." he explained.
"Yeah, strenuous physical activity has that affect on me too." she said coyly. He turned to gaze at her once more and she couldn't resist the urge to reach out and wipe away the drop of soup hanging precariously from his plump bottom lip.
"Thanks." he said, still staring into her eyes.
"My pleasure," she purred seductively. "So, pretty soon you'll be running this place, huh?" Lauren asked conversationally, trying to distract herself from the almost overwhelming urge to jump Michael's bones right then and there.
"Cuz being Plant Manager is all a guy like me could ever amount to, right?" Michael said, obvious insulted.
"That's not what I meant," Lauren tried to explain.
"Maybe not, but it's what you think." Michael cut her off gruffly.
"Actually, I think you're way too smart to be working in a place like this and can't help but wonder why you're wasting your time assembling car parts when you could be doing so much more." She said honestly and hoped he would believe her.
"The money," he said after a few tense moments of silence. Lauren sighed in relief. "I need the money to put myself through school," he glanced at her nervously, debating whether or not he should say more. "I, uh…I wanna go to Law School." he admitted.
"Really?" Lauren asked, surprised. "I was expecting Med." she said with a smile. He smiled back, shaking his head at her in amazement.
"What?" Lauren asked, amused.
"You," he said simply. "You're not at all what I thought you'd be like."
"Oh, really? And what exactly did you think I'd be like?" Lauren asked, genuinely interested to hear his opinion of her.
"You know, your typical spoiled little rich girl. The type who would only take an auto shop class like this to meet guys." he said jokingly, and Lauren tried not to let the accuracy of his remark upset her.
"Yeah, well. Stereotypes are a bitch." She said ironically, standing up and brushing off the seat of her pants before offering her hand to help him up.
"So are false emergency phone calls." he said nonchalantly, taking her hand and pulling himself up off the ground with a grunt.
"What do you mean?" Lauren asked, confused.
"Well let's just say that Gary Pearson is gonna be awfully upset when he drives all the way back to his trailer park only to discover that his wife hasn't just gone into labor on their kitchen floor." Michael explained with a wry smile.
"You didn't!" Lauren gasped, impressed by his treachery. Michael shrugged nonchalantly.
"I wouldn't wish a day working alongside Gary Pearson on my worst enemy." he said, picking up the remnants of their lunch and tossing it in a nearby trash can.
"Of course you didn't do it because you wanted to spend the day with me yourself." Lauren teased, gazing up at him flirtatiously.
"Of course not." he said, though his eyes told a different story. He moved closer to her and for the second time that day Lauren's knees grew weak as she eagerly anticipated his kiss.
"Hey, babe!" a familiar voice rang out from behind them, breaking the spell they were under.
"Danny!" Her boyfriend always did have the worst timing. "What are you doing here?"
"Since when do I need a reason to visit my gorgeous girlfriend?" Danny asked obnoxiously as he came to stand beside Lauren, throwing his arm over her shoulders possessively. He looked Michael up and down. "Who's your new friend?" Lauren grimaced at the condescending tone of Danny's voice and shot him a warning glance.
"Danny, this is Michael Baldwin. Michael, I'd like you to meet Danny Romalotti." Neither man moved to shake the other's hand, you could cut the tension between them with a knife. Lauren took it upon herself to try and lighten the mood.
"Uh, you may have heard of him. Danny's a…"
"No, I haven't heard of him." Michael said, cutting off her automatic 'my boyfriend is a rock star' response. Lauren didn't know why she always felt obligated to tell people that, as if she were justifying her reason for being with him.
"Yeah, I don't think they play the newest hit releases out here in the slums, babe." Danny said arrogantly.
"Yeah, future one hit wonders usually don't get much airtime here in the ghetto." Michael shot back sarcastically, Lauren bit back a smile. She felt Danny tense up beside her and she turned to face him, placing a hand on his chest to calm him down.
"Look, hun. I've gotta get back to work soon and the boss has me working a double shift so I'll just call you at your hotel tomorrow, okay?"
"'The Boss?,'" Danny mocked in amusement. "'A double shift?!' Jeesh, Lauren. You spend a few hours in this dump and already you're starting to sound like a working stiff!" Danny teased her lightheartedly, but she wasn't amused.
"Just shut up, Danny." Lauren snapped at him, annoyed. "Why don't you go strum on your little guitar and let me get back to work, okay?"
"Chill out, babe. I didn't think you were actually taking this job shadowing assignment seriously." he reasoned.
"Yeah, well I am." Lauren said defensively. "Look, I gotta go. Michael, do we…" she turned around and saw that he was gone. "Where did he go?" she asked, concerned.
"I guess he left." Danny said, stating the obvious.
"Oh, crap! I'm probably late!" Lauren shrieked. "I'll call you tomorrow." Lauren said hurriedly, giving him a quick peck on the lips before off towards the factory entrance. She crept passed Mr. Sinclair's office as quickly as she could and made her way back to her assigned work station. Michael was already there.
"Hey, why'd you run off like that?" Lauren asked, picking up her safety goggles and putting them on herself this time.
"I'm surprised you even noticed." Michael muttered under his breath, refusing to look at her.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lauren asked defensively. Surely he wasn't jealous of Danny?
"Nothing," he said in frustration. "Let's just get back to work, okay?"
"No, it's not okay. I wanna know why you're so pissed off at me!" Lauren yelled, causing a few of their coworkers to glance in their direction.
"Would you shut up before you get us in trouble!" Michael shouted at her.
"Baldwin!" Sinclair poked his head out of his office. "Is there a problem?"
"No, sir." Michael assured his superior obediently.
"Good. Then you won't mind keeping Ms. Fenmore company tonight cuz that little outburst just bought you a double shift as well. Now get back to work!" he ordered before ducking back into his office. Michael angrily shoved his hands inside his safety gloves, preparing for a long night of work.
"Sorry." Lauren whispered, putting her gloves on as well. "I guess you're stuck with me." Lauren teased, trying to lighten the mood.
"Just shut up and do your job." Michael hissed, but Lauren saw the ghost of a smile spread across his lips. She grinned mischievously. This was going to be an interesting night.