Finn

It was amazing how productive my day had been. After three meetings, two new companies had agreed to partner with us, another one was on the fence but looking likely since our bid was optimal and our work above reproach.

Whistling as I walked down the hall my stomach growled. Checking my wristwatch, I noticed lunch had just begun. I’d forgotten to pack something, this morning had been busy and I might or might not have gotten caught up in that chat with eggplant.

What a name. I chuckled under my breath.

Maybe I could quickly make it down to the cafeteria, grab something fast, and get back to work before Daniel’s evil eye could accuse me of anything.

I was just getting in line when I heard a female voice call out over my shoulder, “Hey Finn, way to go securing that Azalea campaign. That was huge!”

I glanced up just as someone from my floor came and stood beside me. She was on Team Three. I was Team One, so I couldn’t quite remember her name, but we’d been to many of the same company dinners.

Leggy. Red haired. Warm brown eyes. Freckles all over her face. Monica? Michelle? I couldn’t quite remember, but I was pretty sure it started with M.

“Yeah, thanks,” I said as I grabbed her a tray.

But she held up her hand. “No time, just stopping for a cold sandwich, and then I gotta get back to it.”

“I hear ya.”

She checked her watch before wincing and nibbling on her pinky nail. She was clearly pinched for time.

We got up to the register and I stepped back, letting her go first since she seemed in a more obvious rush than I was.

She ordered a chicken salad on sourdough. I pouted, I’d been eyeballing that, but it was the last one. Oh well, there was a good-looking Mandarin Chicken Salad calling my name. Though I hated green onions, I hoped it wasn’t covered in them like last time.

She paid, reached for a bottle of water, and said, “I’m sure that’ll nab a raise for you.”

I grimaced and hooked a finger beneath my collar nervously running it back and forth. I hated small talk.

“Ahh… I’m not so sure about that, but thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too robotic.

She shrugged. “Rumor has it there’s a team manager position opening up real soon. Chatter is the higher-ups are eyeballing Team One. Put two and two together, makes sense, right? Anyway, good catching up.” She waved a friendly goodbye.

“Melissa, you ready or what?” A blond-haired woman suddenly appeared beside us, tapping the redhead on her shoulder.

“Ah yup, bye, Finn,” she chirped.

There one second, gone the next. Whirling dervish. I blinked, feeling like I’d just been put through the ringer. How did she even know my name? Not being mean but I could have literally passed her on the street and not realized we were coworkers.

It kinda made me feel bad, but also kinda made me want to curl up in my snuggliest blankie and not people anymore.

“You ready?”

The cashier with bright blue eyeshadow asked, snapping me from my thoughts.

“Ah yes, the manda—”

“Actually, could I have that one?”

I froze at the voice that haunted my nightmares. Daniel had his mega-watt smile on full display. The cashier instantly giggled. The matronly—well past fifty-year-old cashier—giggled.

He seemed to have that effect on others.

I gnashed my teeth. “No, that’s mine.”

“Yeah, but—”

He leaned down and I caught a whiff of cologne I’d never smelled on him before. It was subtle but rich with undertones of burnt oak and cedar. Since when did he start wearing cologne?

“—everyone knows you’re allergic to green onions.”

Did I tell him that? And since when did everyone know this? I scrunched my nose.

“I mean, it’s not that bad. I won’t die. It just tickles. A lot.”

His lips were thinned and his forehead scrunched, he wore a look that clearly read, “Yeah, right. Whatever you say.”

Grrr…

Why was I making excuses? Was I seriously that annoyed by him that I was willing to risk a trip to the ER if I accidentally ingested a sliver? I scratched the back of my neck, feeling like if I quit now, I would lose. But I was losing either way… I really was a moron, wasn’t I?

“Hey guys, you’re holding up the line. Some of us got to work for a living,” some douche in a suit grumped down the line. “Flirt later, will ya!”

A small growl came out of me and suddenly Daniel’s arm was pressed to my belly as though to hold me back. He quickly shielded me from the suit douche’s view.

“My Finny can be accused of many things,” he said as he flourished his finger high in the air, “but flirting with me has never been one of them.”

The crowd chuckled in unison.

I smacked his hand away, my cheeks blazing with embarrassment. “I’m not your Finny and I sure as heck wasn’t flirting.”

“See,” Daniel said before tsking. Then looking at the cashier he said, “I’ll take the salad. And if I’m not mistaken, I saw a chicken salad sandwich tucked away in the glass case where almost no one can see it, as though someone’s trying to hide it for themselves.”

The cashier looked down at the register with a “busted” look on her face.

“That’s Finn Finn’s favorite. Right, widdle Finny?”

“You bastard,” I hissed, poking him hard in the rib.

He didn’t even have the decency to flinch. But he did take the very tip of my finger in his hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

“Ah, how I live for our daily tête-à-têtes. But, alas, I’m too busy to properly get under your skin today. So as a gesture of goodwill, I’ll pay for our lunches.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I huffed, silently salivating at the thought of chicken salad.

He passed over his card, and before I could even get a chance to reach for it, the cashier yanked it out and swiped.

“Too late,” he said with a cheeky grin as he spread his hands in an “oh well” gesture.

I was muttering under my breath as I made it back to my desk.

“Mmm, green onions. It’s loaded,” Daniel said as he made an obvious gesture of spearing his salad, which was indeed loaded with onions at his desk a few feet from mine.

“Damn you,” I grumped.

I briefly considered throwing my sandwich away, but my stomach rumbled so loudly that my cubicle mate looked up in surprise.

With a soft growl, I tore open the wrapper and took a bite.

It was sooo friggin’ good. “Damn you, you crotch goblin from hell,” I muttered around the bite but didn’t come up for air until it was all done.

~*~

I was just tossing fish cakes and furikake flakes into my bowl of ramen when my phone pinged. I’d gotten home thirty minutes ago. I was showered and was now in my jammies for the night, ready to chow down on my fancy noods and binge-watch some trash tv.

Rushing with my hot bowl in hand toward the living room, I plopped down on my couch and glanced at my phone.

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: U there sweetie bum

I grinned. Oh jeez, I really needed to give Rory a good spanking for that name.

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: ?

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: ????

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: Somebody save me… from this boredom :)

I laughed as the three texts came in rapid succession. What a freaking weirdo.

Cutiepiesweetiebum: Dude, ur a total stalker. Aren't you? Im eating

Blinking ellipses.

I slipped my chopsticks out of their sheath as I watched the ellipses blink over and over.

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: Whatcha eatin :)

Cramming a giant mound of noodles in I shook my head. Normally, I’d be annoyed if my eating time got interrupted. But for some reason chatting with this stranger felt just as easy tonight as it had this morning.

Cutiepiesweetiebum: Noods

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: Uh… wut? Like nodes? Nodes of what?

Chuckling, I rolled my eyes. I’d forgotten that most people didn’t speak Rory.

Cutiepiesweetiebum: Ramen

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: Sexy

I scrunched my nose. What was so sexy about that?

Cutiepiesweetiebum: ? *confused face*

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: You know. Like raymun and chill

Cutiepiesweetiebum: U mean Netflix and chill

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: It’s a thing. In S Korea where Im from. We say ramyun and chill. Its a thing

I was gonna have to look that up later. First I’d ever heard of it. And South Korea, huh? So my potential “fate” was Korean.

Suddenly another face popped into my head. I instantly curled my lip. No way in hell. Besides, Daniel was half Swede and half Korean. Though I wasn’t exactly sure where Daniel had grown up, but his accent was too American to have been any place but here, right?

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: How was ur day

That was a benign question to ask. I’d expected him to deep dive into more sex themed questions. After all, wasn’t that what these apps were mostly used for?

Cutiepiesweetiebum: Seriously?

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: I mean, I could get super freaky perverted if you want me to *cheeky grin* BUT I don’t want to do that to my 99 ;)

Snorting, I rolled my eyes but couldn’t keep the grin off my face.

Cutiepiesweetiebum: What a gentleman. Well, if you really wanna know not to brag or nuthin’ but I sorta rocked today

MyEggplantsBiggerthanUrs: Oh yeah. Tell me more…