The SoapBoxers

Secret Admirer

February 4, 2011

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Becky did a double take when she saw the flowers.

As she slid into her chair, she turned to her co-worker in an effort to quench her curiosity.  “Someone sent flowers … to Ken?”

Cheryl giggled before responding.  “Well, sort of.  A bunch of us chipped in to pay for the flowers.”

Becky furrowed her brow in an attempt to make sense of this.

“It’s a prank,” Cheryl explained.  “They’re from a secret admirer.”

Becky thought that the joke was a bit sophomoric, but faked a convincing laugh in an attempt to fit in.  Ken – the socially awkward computer geek – was probably the only person who felt less at ease in the group than Becky.  The girls on her team struck her as a bit mean spirited, but Becky knew very few people in this new town, so she tried to stay on their good side.  Maybe they were good people once you got to know them.

When Ken returned to his desk, it was easy to read the confusion in his face – a look that only intensified when he read the card.  After a moment, he appeared to shake off the confusion and return to work.  As Becky glanced around, she could see a few of the girls stifling giggles.

A half hour later, Becky found herself in need of Ken’s assistance.  She was tempted to simply ignore the flowers, but quickly realize that this would look suspicious.

“Nice flowers, Ken.  Who sent them?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted.  “The card says they are from a secret admirer.  Me, an admirer?  Yeah, right.”  He chuckled and then turned his focus back to work.  “What can I help you with?”

“I’m not getting the output I expected,” she explained, as she spread some printouts on his desk.  “See, I would expect this to be -”

“Yes, yes, I see the problem.”  A few minutes later, he had fixed the problem, and Becky was able to continue with her work.  Such a nice guy.  It was too bad he wasn’t her type.

When Becky came into the office on Friday morning, she knew that something was being planned.  Cheryl, Lindsey, and Jessica were gathered at Cheryl’s desk, whispering conspiratorially.

“We’re going to out tonight.  You want to come along?”

“Sure,” Becky replied.  A night out with the girls was surely better than staring at the four walls in her apartment.  “What’s going on?”

“We’re going to spy on Ken and his secret admirer,” said Jessica.

“But I thought the secret admirer isn’t real?”

“She isn’t,” replied Lindsey, “but Ken doesn’t know that.”

“He got a second note yesterday,” added Cheryl.  “His admirer made dinner reservations and asked him to join her.  We reserved a table with a good view of his – so that we can have a good laugh watching him wait for his admirer to appear.”

“But how do you know he’ll show up?”

“Becky, girl, this is Ken we’re talking about.  He doesn’t exactly have the girls beating down his door.  If he thinks a girl is interested in him, he’ll be there.”

Ken showed up at 6:45 – a full fifteen minutes before the scheduled meeting time.  From their perch on the upper level of the restaurant, the girls had a great view of Ken’s table on the lower level.  By 7:10, he began to fidget a bit, and by 7:20 the face that had been so hopeful when he entered the restaurant now showed signs of disappointment.

Becky decided that she had seen enough.  She grabbed her purse and excused herself, saying that she needed to freshen up.  The other three girls panicked when she made a beeline for Ken’s table – knowing that she was going to rat them out.

Ken looked up as she approached.  “Hi, Becky.  What are you doing here?”

Becky started to tell Ken that he was the victim of a cruel prank, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.  Instead, she took a seat across the table from him.

“Sorry I’m late.  I hope I didn’t keep you waiting – I’m your secret admirer.”

Fiction Friday
Romance