Free PillowFace by Kristopher Rufty Page B

his nose crinkled, he looked as if he were sniffing for cheese.
    “Right, I forgot, sorry. Geoffrey, this is unexpected.”
    “Close, but not quite.”
    “Geoff?”
    “Bingo!”  He chuckled, his arrogance shining almost as brightly as his hair.
    “So, what brings you by?”
    “Well, I was just on my way to lunch.”
    “Oh?” 
    “Yep.”
    She sat silently, wondering what his point was, or if he even had one.  He rarely did.  Normally when he peeked his head in, he’d say a few awkward comments about her neck, and be on his way. 
    Holding his arms out, he slowly rolled them over each other as if trying to persuade her understanding.  “Come on Haley, I was on my way to lunch and…”  He waited.
    “And?” she asked back.
    His smile oozed above his chin.  “And, I realized I didn’t have a date.”
    Help me.
    “Oh…?”
    “That’s right. And , I was wondering if you would help me correct this problem?”
    “Geoff, are you sure that would be appropriate?”
    He scoffed, as if offended by the question. “Haley? This is just lunch, of course it would be, plus I am your boss, so I’m demanding that you come with me and make me a happy man.” He picked at a piece of lint on the sleeve of his cheap suit, then flicked his fingers until the pesky flake was gone. 
    “Isn’t that your wife’s job?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she already wished she hadn’t uttered them. She was well aware that she did not want to go with him to lunch, but damn it, she didn’t want to get fired either.  With the morning she’d had, getting fired halfway through the day would be a great way to top it off.
    To her surprise—and relief—he laughed. Smirking, he stepped up to her desk, obviously taking her comment as a challenge.  She eased her chair away from him as he leaned over; placing both hands on her desk. “If she was making me a happy man, would I be in this office right now?”
    She sighed. “Touché.” Haley knew that if she told him no, he’d keep bugging her until she eventually caved, and things at work would probably become awkward.  But, she was pretty certain that if she told him yes, then he’d make it a trend.  What else would he try?  What wouldn’t he try seemed a better fit.  Would he take this as her welcoming his advances?  If she went to lunch, would he expect more?  A special thank you, perhaps?   “But, just so you know, all this is, what we’re doing, is lunch.  Nothing else.”
    “Absolutely.  What else would it be?”  He was lying.  She could read it through his bleached white teeth. 
    She felt trapped, cornered. “I’m a cheap companion, but I like to eat classy.”
    “And, that’s where I come in. You like to eat costly, and I can afford the cost.  We make a perfect team.”
    She chose to ignore his last statement. “I’ll meet you at the elevator.”
    “I’m happier already.” He walked to the door, stole a glance of her from over his shoulder, then left.
    The office was pummeled with stillness.      
    It’s just lunch.  He’ll treat you to a nice meal, better than the pig-slop you’ve been feeding yourself and Joel for the last several weeks.  It’ll be okay.  Just put up with him for an hour, maybe a little more, and get a good meal out of it.  How bad could it be?
    Plenty.  
    What had she done? 
     
    (II)
     
    Joel sat at his desk, the search engines pulled up on his laptop, determined to find out all he could—if anything—about this man.  There had to be something online, a story or an article about either an eyewitness, or a… murder . 
    He typed into the search-bar:  Unsolved Murders in NC history. 
    Enter .
    The links filled nearly two hundred pages. Groaning, he didn’t know where to begin.  Some were dated as far back as the twenties.  He decided to narrow it down the best he could.  Trying again, this time he typed:  Recent Unsolved Murders in NC.  
    Enter.
    A slightly smaller list of websites with