Ted stood in the parking lot, a gloomy expression on his face. He was looking into the distance, clearly deep in thoughts. Then, his phone beeped with a new Bantr notification, and the man's face brightened up momentarily as he read,
Bossgirl: You could say it's my pet name
Right above that, he saw the question that he asked her this morning.
LDN152: So, why Bossgirl? What's the history there?
His thumbs hovered inches from the screen before he settled on the reply.
LDN152: Oh, I love that
Almost immediately, he received another message.
Bossgirl: Right back at you. Why LDN152?
"Why, huh?" he mumbled under his breath, taking a quick look around. Even though there was no one paying him any attention, he hunched over to cover at least some of his screen.
LDN152: It's a reference to this movie I like
With a smile, he clicked the send button but didn't close the app, hoping for another quick reply.
"Ted, heads up!"
Rebecca's voice startled him into nearly dropping his phone. Fortunately, she gave him enough time to put it back into his pocket before throwing him the car keys.
Ted opened Rebecca's car and took the driver's seat. Deborah joined him at the front, while Rebecca and Keeley sat in the back. Nobody spoke from the moment Ted started the engine until they dropped Deborah at Rebecca's house.
"Bye, darling. I'll be seeing you after work." To the others, the woman said, "And bye, Rebecca's friends. It was nice meeting you."
"Bye," Ted and Keeley replied in unison.
The moment Deborah shut the car door, the atmosphere changed. Everyone seemed more relaxed.
"I'll tell Roy that we're on our way." Keeley took out her phone and started texting.
Once Ted joined the traffic, Rebecca leaned forward and said next to his ear,
"I'm sorry, Ted – about my mother's insensitive comments. She can be a handful."
Sensing the underlying anger in her voice, Ted dismissed her worries and instead replied with,
"I'm fine – but you okay? There seems to be a history there with your folks. Can we expect your dad's visit, too?"
"No," she said curtly. "We don't get along."
"Sorry to hear that." He glanced at her through the back mirror. "If you ever wanna talk about it, I'm all ears."
Rebecca nodded before realizing that he couldn't see her.
"Thanks."
Ted turned on the blinker and took a sharp turn left.
"Speaking of not getting along…" The man hesitated. "I know it's none of my beeswax, Boss, but has anything happened between you and Sam?"
Keeley looked up at her friend mid-texting. Once the initial shock wore off, Rebecca asked in what she hoped to be a casual tone,
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh, you know," Ted replied with a shrug. "Whenever we're hanging out with the team, he used to orbit you around. Now, it seems more like he'd rather be on the other side of the globe, eating one of those transparent Chinese noodles with his little sticks."
Without letting go of the steering wheel, the man put his fingers together to imitate holding a pair of chopsticks.
Giving off a frustrated grunt, Rebecca covered her face with both hands.
"It's so embarrassing." Her words came out muffled.
"No, it's not," stated Keeley with conviction, kicking her lightly on the ankle. "It's flattering. Proves just how fit and sexy you are."
"Well, that's one way of looking at it…"
Keeley's brow furrowed. "Oh, come on, Rebecca! You know I'm right."
Hearing the commotion he inadvertently caused, Ted quickly added,
"Know what? Forget I asked."
The prolonged silence was something that basically never happened when Ted was around. Under Keeley's pressuring gaze, Rebecca decided to spill the beans.
"No. Ted –" She took a short sigh. "Remember that night we celebrated the end of our tie streak? We've all had quite a few drinks, and just as I was leaving… Sam, he – he asked me out."
"Ted, a car!" screamed Keeley.
The tires screeched. Everyone lurched forward. The car came to a sudden halt.
"Whoopsy-Doo," said Ted with a hint of panic. "Sorry there, ladies."
When her heart stopped pounding like crazy, Keeley's head peeked out from between the headrests.
"You sure you know how to drive on the other side of the road?"
Ted nervously chuckled.
"Truth be told, I feel like Alice after walking through the looking glass. You know, like I broke my arm and must brush my teeth with the other one."
"Or wank?"
All the eyes were now on Keeley, who smirked mischievously. Ted cleared his throat.
"Now that I know what that word means, I must admit yours is a better analogy."
It took him a moment to recall the main topic of the conversation.
"I get it you said yes?" he asked Rebecca, who was looking out the window.
"Are you fucking mad?" she replied at once, her voice dangerously high. "He's practically a child, for heaven's sake – and, I own his contract. That would be an HR disaster waiting to happen."
"Wow," mouthed Keeley, checking her phone for a message from Roy.
Ted waited until he exited the roundabout to express his own opinion.
"Glad to hear that you folks have laws against getting all cozy with the boss-y. Otherwise, we might end up like the socks in my drawer – all in pairs."
"It's not like you'd be sent to Azkaban for shagging Rebecca."
"Keeley!" Rebecca said through gritted teeth.
Ted's face went red. He guessed that's what he got for being the only one sober.
"What?" Keeley replied innocently. "Roy and I work together, and no one ever bathed an eye."
Giving Rebecca the time to respond had no effect, so the man interjected with a soft chuckle.
"Oh yes, Roy… He takes one good look at ya, and you're petrified like a pair of mountain trolls left too long in the sun."
For the remainder of the ride, he kept checking in the mirror on an awfully quiet Rebecca, who abandoned the discussion and was checking something on her phone. He felt vibrations on his thigh, indicating a new Bantr notification. To his surprise, he was actually excited to read it.