My finger hovering over the TapNext icon, I finally said, “Screw it.” Maybe BAD_Ruck could make me feel better about this situation. We’d been chatting back and forth over the past few days, and despite the absurdity of our introduction to one another, I was really starting to like the guy. He was funny, laid-back, and could give good flirt. I spent a crazy amount of my day wondering what he was like in person. Did he really look like the guy in his profile? What did he do for a living? Where did he live in New York?
We hadn’t shared any intimate details of our personal lives, a la You’ve Got Mail, which I preferred at the present time. We weren’t living in the dial-up internet era of Kathleen Kelly, and it was a different world. For me, all of her dangers were magnified by a thousand—and she was worried Tom Hanks was a serial killer! These days, there was a show called Catfish. It seemed like people got off on it now more than ever. And, although Ruck was quite charming in our online conversations, I wasn’t convinced he wasn’t a complete weirdo in real life.
Funny how that didn’t stop me from messaging him.
TAPRoseNEXT (2:15PM): Ruck? Come in, Ruck? I need someone to talk me off the ledge.
BAD_Ruck (2:16PM): We’re talking proverbial ledge, right?
TAPRoseNEXT (2:16PM): Yes. Don’t worry, I’m not literally standing on the ledge of a skyscraper.
BAD_Ruck (2:16PM): That’s good news. So, tell me, why are we flirting with proverbial death?
TAPRoseNEXT (2:17PM): I’ve got a date tonight. I’m nervous. And freaking out. Big time.
BAD_Ruck (2:17PM): And here I thought I was the only man in your life. You wound me, Rose.
TAPRoseNEXT (2:18PM): Get over yourself. I would lay money on the fact that Mr. Charming himself has a date tonight too.
BAD_Ruck (2:18PM): Maybe.
TAPRoseNEXT (2:19PM): My point exactly. Now, help me out here.
BAD_Ruck (2:19PM): Okay. Let’s start with the obvious. Why are you nervous?
Why was I nervous? That was the big question. I stared across the aisle, watching an older woman working on a crossword. The tip of her pen ran across the empty blocks as she tried to think of a four-letter word for 15A. “_____ comes trouble!”
Here comes trouble. Apt phrase for my present state. My mind had been shouting this from the second I had agreed to a date with Kline.
God, I was definitely freaking out over a bunch of things, and one thing, in particular, stood out the most.
TAPRoseNEXT (2:20PM): For one, I work with him. If things end up badly, I’m worried it could cost me my job.
BAD_Ruck (2:20PM): Ah, the old coworker conundrum. Did he ask you out? Or did you ask him out? And is it forbidden in your employee contract?
TAPRoseNEXT (2:21PM): He asked me. And I have no earthly clue. Was that something I was supposed to actually read?
BAD_Ruck (2:21PM): Okay. Different tactic. Does he normally date women he works with?
TAPRoseNEXT (2:22PM): No, never. Either that or he’s a super sleuth about it. I’m not personally the office gossip, but I know someone with an ear to the ground.
BAD_Ruck (2:23PM): If he asked you out, and you’ve never seen him date any of your colleagues, he’s probably thought this through. How long have you worked with him?
TAPRoseNEXT (2:23PM): A couple of years.
BAD_Ruck (2:24PM): And in that time, has he ever seemed like the kind of man who lets his personal life affect business?
TAPRoseNEXT (2:25PM): Actually, no. Picture of professional. Business always comes first with him.
BAD_Ruck (2:25PM): Then what’s different now?
TAPRoseNEXT (2:26PM): I honestly don’t know.
BAD_Ruck (2:26PM): Smart money says it’s you, Rose.
He had a point. Kline Brooks had never given me any reason to doubt the decisions he made. He wasn’t a player. He didn’t make a show out of fucking anything in a short skirt and pair of heels that sashayed around the office.
Leslie was a perfect example. The girl was gorgeous and made a job out of flaunting her curves for the world to see. And I’d yet to see Kline act anything but annoyed with her—no salacious glances or devilish intents flashing across his eyes. He was ever the professional when his new intern was around. Most days, he was doing everything he could to push her off on someone else.
But my dating Kline equaled us getting to know each other on a more personal level. If one date turned into more, then eventually, he would know other things about me. Things I wouldn’t normally want my boss to know.
TAPRoseNEXT (2:27PM): Can I be frank with you?
BAD_Ruck (2:28PM): I guess. I’m surprisingly partial to Rose.
TAPRoseNEXT (2:28PM): I said frank, not Frank, Ruck.
BAD_Ruck (2:29PM): Have you ever not been frank with me?
I laughed, startling the pen out of the crossword woman’s hands.
“Sorry.” I cringed, leaning forward and picking it up from the aisle.
“No worries, honey.” She took the pen from my outstretched hand. “Two words for puppy amuser?” she asked, grinning.
“Chew toy,” I answered.
“Aha! You’re right! Thank you!” And that was that. She dove right back into her crossword, tuning the rest of the world out.