Day 10
When Ronald saw his favorite redhead return to the coffee shop, she didn't look as cheerful as he expected.
"Sick?" he asked tentatively as Grell sneezed into her handkerchief.
"It's just a cold." she sneezed again, "Where's Alan?"
"On the phone with you-know-who." Ronald smirked, "I'm sure a wedding invitation is on its way."
Grell chuckled, "He needs to thank us."
"Indeed… By the way, how did Friday go?" the blond asked, reminding her of the much anticipated club night which took place in the previous week.
Grell blinked for a second and muttered, "It was fine." she looked exhausted, both physically and mentally, likely because of the illness but Ronald suspected there was something else.
"What happened?" he asked with great concern.
"Nothing." Grell sniffed.
"No, seriously, what happened?" the boy leaned towards Grell, fingers scratching her sleeve.
Grell stared into the emptiness and answered sternly, "I was serious too. Nothing happened...sadly."
Only then did Ronald begin to understand what might have taken place, or to be exact, what had not taken place. "But, um, he did go out with you, right?"
"He did, just not really enjoying himself. He wouldn't even get any liquor… Who does that?" her sentences were intercepted by occasional coughing , "But I did get a little tipsy later that night so I can't remember too much. And the next morning I had this terrible hangover before I discovered I also had a cold. Did you miss me when I didn't show up for work yesterday?" she asked teasingly.
"Of course I missed you." Ronald handed her a cup of hot chocolate in a rare moment of seriousness, "But why are you here today? You still look very sick."
Grell shook her head," I don't have the luxury of sick leave, unfortunately. Got an important meeting in 2 weeks and no time to waste. My entire year's work is on the line, not another day shall be lost… Plus, however unpersuasive it seems, I am actually recovering, so don't you worry."
Ronald was of course not convinced but he decided not to press further, "Are you going to stay here today?"
Grell shook her head again, "I don't want to litter your nice little coffee shop with used tissue paper. I'll be fine back in my office." she winked at him and turned around, right when William showed up at the door.
For a moment they just stood there, looking at each other in silence.
"Will…" Grell wanted to say something but another loud sneeze interrupted her.
"I heard you called in sick yesterday." William said, "Are you sure you're ready to come back to work?"
"I'm fine." Grell gave him a reassuring smile, "And...sorry about Friday."
William frowned, "Why apologize? You did nothing wrong."
Grell shrugged, "You just...didn't seem to be enjoying yourself all that much."
William put a hand on her arm, as if fearing that she might soon fall over without support, "Honestly, you weren't sober enough to tell, either."
Grell looked up at him with a pouty face, "How nice of you to remind me that I'm a dru-" another sneeze.
"You should probably get some rest." William suggested, "Are you returning to your office now?"
"Yes, of course. You don't have to remind me. We haven't got a second to lose." she took his hand in hers and leaned closer, only to back away immediately and cover her mouth, "Sorry, I don't want to give you the cold."
William didn't move, but he looked slightly upset when she withdrew, "Hm, no, don't worry…" he opened the door for her, "Take care."
"Thanks, Darling." Grell blew him a weak kiss and left.
William watched her cross the street and entered the office building before turning back into the shop. The espresso was already waiting for him at the counter. "Thanks…" he paid for the coffee, but didn't pick up the cup.
"Absent yesterday?" Ronald asked, "Didn't see you show up."
"No, I was just…busy."
"It's okay. No need to explain to me." the boy joked, "It's not like you have a point coming here when she's not around anyway." after finishing the sentence, he expected a cold retort from the suited man, but nothing came.
Instead, William seemed rather distracted, "I presume she told you about Friday."
The boy hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly.
"I guess she regretted the decision."
"She didn't say that." Ronald corrected him, "She thinks you didn't enjoy yourself."
"Where did she get that idea?"
Ronald shrugged, "Your refusal of liquor? I mean I'm just quoting her here-"
"Nonsense." Wiliam cut him short, "Honestly, who else does she expect to take her home if I got drunk with her?" he adjusted his glasses, "You didn't attend university with her. You have no idea what kind of trouble she could get herself into."
"Okay…" Ronald wondered if he should carry on with the conversation, but it would look awkward if it ended there, "So...you purposely stayed sober just in case she couldn't go home on her own?"
"What other choice do I have? You can't trust her with a taxi driver… Something might happen to that taxi driver." he looked genuinely concerned about that hypothetical driver, prompting Ronald to imagine the past incident that gave him such fear.
"But why didn't you tell her that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Tell her you refused the drinks because you want to stay sober and take care of her! Because otherwise she thinks you didn't enjoy hanging out with her and that'd make her sad!" when he finally got the words out of his chest, he sighed and pushed the neglected cup of coffee forward, "Sorry. Didn't mean to tell you what you should do with your life."
William was surprised by the barista's sudden burst of emotion, but he didn't seem offended, "It's fine." he picked up the coffee and bid farewell.
The noise they made caught Alan's attention as he emerged from his office, "What's wrong? I heard you argue with someone."
"No, it's just Mr Spears."
"What happened?" the brunette asked, phone still in hand.
Ronald shook his head, "Nothing…"
"By the way, Eric asked if you want cupcakes."
"Sure. Is he coming over later?"
"Yep." Alan blushed, "He will come pick me up for dinner."
"I see - WAIT A SECOND!" Ronald quickly turned around, "I thought you were going to close the shop today."
"He just asked me to dinner. I can't say no!"
"Of course you can! I am totally unprepared to cover the night shift for you!"
"Well, it's not like you have other plans…"
"Your smile is mockingly sincere. I feel betrayed."
Alan widened his eyes, "But you will get cupcakes, all to yourself!"
"I did not realize it was a bribe!"
"C'mon, I'll switch shifts with you next time."
"Fine…" Ronald returned to the counter, impatiently tapping on the cashing machine as he mumbled to himself, "Why am I always helping other people get dates?"
When William go out of the elevator, he had finished his coffee. Just when he was about to throw the empty cup in the bin, he found something scribbled near the bottom. The letters were small, indicating that whoever wrote it did so quite discreetly. He looked closer. It read:
When will you tell her?
T.B.C