London, August 2009

He groaned.

"Why are you here?" Thaddeus asked as Rhonda Lloyd sat next to him. She seems to have a GPS when it came to tracking him down.

She simply smiled and punched his shoulder.

"Ow! You have to stop hanging out with Helga. Again, why are you here?"

"What? I can't just randomly show up? I thought we're friends," she said, pouting.

"I didn't say that," he said, giving her a suspicious side glance. "You said that. Actually, you just inserted yourself into my life and announced that we're friends. I remember because you spilled your drink on my shirt that night. It's will now be forever stained pink. So thanks for that." He smiled ironically. "By the way, we're acquaintances at best."

"Stop pushing me away. I heard what happened." She put her purse on the bar and ordered a beer. "You can't win every account." Rhonda gave him a pointed look.

He sighed.

Today had been terrible. He had worked on this pitch for months and he blew it. He did his best work and still came up short. His boss was going to be furious. Now, he was hiding at the Mulberry Bush and drowning his sorrows in drink.

"I know."

"Do you really?" Rhonda received her drink and took a long drink. "Because you seem to be taking this awfully. If that bottle of whiskey is anything to go by." She gestured to the Bowmore in front of him.

He scowled and turned away. "I'm just fine."

Rhonda huffed, "Sure." Her eyes scanned his face. "River in Egypt."

He rolled his eyes. "You can just say the Nile. Who told you I was here anyway?"

She clucked her tongue and pulled out her phone. She showed him a picture of the traitor. "Brad. He loves me."

Thaddeus downed another swig of whiskey while she dropped her phone back into the bag. "I regret introducing you two."

"He calls me his future wife," she said proudly, lifting her brows. "I'm thinking wedding by the beach. Turtle doves released when he sees me in my wedding gown and Seal singing Kiss from a Rose as I walk to the altar."

Thaddeus laughed for the first time that night. "He's a serial womaniser. You can dream big but it's never going to happen. Commitment is his biggest fear next to spiders."

"Shame. He's such a hottie. " She nudged him with her shoulder. "So, what's your biggest fear?"

Rejection.

He tensed as he remembered.

"Are you actually asking me out? Get real, Curly," she sneered as their classmates laughed in the background.

"Valentine's Day is coming up, I hope you're ready to spend it alone. Later, loser."

"Get away from me you sick creep."

"I'd rather put my hand in a blender than go on a date with you."

The laughing faces came closer and closer. Another glass of whiskey was becoming more appealing. He had learned his lesson.

"Thaddeus?"

"Yeah," he snapped back into attention.

She was looking at him weirdly. He couldn't blame her. He probably spaced out. "Biggest fear."

"Easy," he waved a hand. "Clowns. They are intensely scary."

She nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I've always wondered how parents think they're entertaining to children."

They sat in quiet, thinking about clowns as a football match played in the background. He heard Rhonda inch her stool closer to him. Her elbow bumped into his which made him jolt back. Luckily, she didn't notice. He's been avoiding all physical contact with her.

"So… do you want to talk about what happened today?" she lowered her voice.

He shook his head. "Is this the friend thing that you're working on?"

She tucked her hair, exasperated. "Yes. We're friends and this is what friends do. They share."

"Look, Rhonda. I appreciate the effort but–"

"But nothing. Do me a favour. It's the least you can do," she muttered pointedly.

They hadn't talked about what happened in Rome. Instead, they hung out whenever she was in Chicago or he was in Hillwood. All of it was casual. It was obvious that he wanted to apologise but whenever he brought it up, she changed the subject. Instead, she had him doing things with her like visiting amusement parks and eating tacos at food trucks. Not that he minded. It reminded him of their interaction in Italy before he screwed things up.

"Okay," he sighed, knowing that she would push and prod until he gave up anyway.

"Great." She was beaming, satisfied with his answer.

"I have to ask, though… Our friendship, what does it entail?"

That baffled her and she stammered a reply. She clearly hadn't thought it through. He leaned on the bar, enjoying the way the question was making her sweat.

"You know, friendship stuff and things…"

"Stuff and things?" he asked.

She gave him an icy glare. "Like spending time together, hanging out. Normal friend stuff."

"Can we spend time with other people?"

She laughed. A crazy high-pitch sound that hurt his ears. Her eyes shifted from side to side. "You mean like dates?"

He nodded.

"Pssh, yeah. Of course. We're friends. Strictly nothing romantic."

"Everything friendly," he said flatly.

"Everything friendly. Let's not get caught in the details."

"Let's."

She blew away a strand of hair that fell on her face. She trained his eyes on him. "Fine. If that's what you want. We can comment if we think the other is dating a person not suitable for them."

He winced. "You're going to have power over who I date?"

"I said comment. We can give a fair assessment but that is it."

"Right," he said, wondering how this conversation got so weird so quickly. He pointed at a blonde talking to her friend at the other end of the bar. "If I say I want to date her, what happens?"

She looked at where he was pointing and squinted. "I'll say she wears too much makeup but go for it. If you want. The final decision is still up to you."

He smiled. "Alright. I like this friendship thing. By the way, I had no intention of asking her out. I just wanted clarification."

She smiled back. "I know. And, I also knew you'd get behind this 'friendship thing' as you call it. Which is weird by the way. It makes you sound like an alien. Let's just label it being mature adults." She extended a hand.

He grabbed it and they shook like business partners making a deal. Then they both let go.

"To being mature adults," she raised a glass.

"To being mature adults," he echoed. They clinked their glasses and chugged their drinks.

"So? Today? Lexington?"

"Disaster."

"How so?"

Thaddeus never liked talking about failures. One, because he thinks it's boring. Who wants to hear about a guy moaning about his problems? And two, it made him feel vulnerable. Something that he avoided at all cost. Growing up as social pariah does that to a guy.

Rhonda waited. He observed her and wondered what could she possibly gain from a friendship with him. She was always surrounded by high-profile interesting people but constantly sought him out whenever he visited his parents back home. She let Allegra fuss over her and then charm his dad with her witty sense of humour. At times, he was uncomfortable with the way she invaded his space. Like he couldn't breathe. She was always everywhere.

"I studied their company policy for months. Looked at every possible loophole. I gave them the best deal that I could and they still didn't want to compromise. They said what the partners at my firm are offering wasn't good enough."

She leaned in and he caught a whiff of her distinct perfume. He edged away.

"Do you think they're right?"

Sadly, yes. But he's boss specifically told him to sell what they have.

"Yeah. But my boss changed the offer at the last minute. They weren't happy with 10% cut back."

"So, it's not your fault."

"Eigenman isn't going to see it that way."

She patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry you're going to lose your job."

He shook her off. "What do you mean I'm going to lose my job?"

Rhonda gave him a gaze filled with sympathy before her mouth quivered. She then proceeded to laugh until she had tears in her eyes. "Oh man, your expression. I'm kidding."

"You're a jerk."

She continued laughing.

"Look, things like this happens all the time. Deals fall through. Clients go back on their word. Life goes on. I've seen my father go through it. But you know what he doesn't do?"

"Stalk his classmates in London?"

She frowned. "No, you idiot. He doesn't let it get to him. You win some, you lose some. That's business. That's life."

To her credit, Rhonda made sense. He breathed a little easier, however, horrified he was to admit that. He felt oddly comforted.

"So, enough moping and work on a counter-offer. I've never known you to be such a quitter. Don't let this slow you down. Then, after you win Lexington over, explain to your boss why this was the best course of action. You're a smart man, you'll figure it out."

He stared at her, amazed. The greasy smell of fish and chips filled the air and the lighting was bad but somehow she had never looked more beautiful. He was positive he'll remember this moment for life. Right then, at a pub in South London, he promised to dedicate himself to be Rhonda Lloyd's loyal friend. If that's what she truly wanted, he would happily give it to her.

"How do you know this?" he asked.

"I'm a businessman's daughter. I've learnt a few tricks over the years." She leaned over the bar. "Bartender, we're going to need another bottle of whiskey. My friend and I are celebrating. He's about to win over a multi-million dollar company."

The bartender nodded in their direction.

Thaddeus smiled at her. "You're a great friend, banana split."

She grinned back. "Thanks, turkey sandwich."