The Blind Date

Chapter Seven

"Hello?"

His voice makes me close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"Helloooo? Is anyone there?"

"Yes. Hi Travis. It's Vivian."

There is a sudden loud noise in the background and I wince, pulling the phone away from my ear.

"Who? Hold on, please." The noise recedes gradually until there's some silence. "I'm sorry, I'm on site. Who am I speaking with?"

"Vivian Padmore." I think about it and add, "'s office. Miss Padmore's office."

"Oh. Okay. Hi. What can I do for Miss Padmore?"

I relax in my chair, the pressure is off a little bit. "She asked me to call you and schedule a lunch date at your earliest convenience. Are you available today?"

"Today is terrible, actually. I have to be here, at work. Can't leave."

My heart sinks and I hold back a sigh. "Oh. Alright, I'll let her know."

"However, I have a functioning office here. It's clean and the noise isn't too much. We could get some food here and still have lunch, right? What do you say, Vivian?"

I sit up and squeeze my eyes shut, a huge smile on my face. "I...uh. That sounds really nice. How'd you know it was me?"

"I know your voice well, Viv. If you were a secretary, your boss' clients wouldn't be able to get past your soft, alluring voice to state their business."

Oh my.

"Oh...I see."

He chuckles. "Yeah. Listen, I want you to know that I wouldn't normally do this. Invite a lady down here. There's a lot of dust and noise, even if it's just on the way in. But I'd really like to see you. We can reschedule if you want though."

"No, it's okay. It sounds fun. I'd really like to...meet you too."

"Great. One last thing. What are you wearing?"

The question and the voice that says the question both takes her mind to a different place for a few seconds. "Huh?"

"What I meant was, this is a construction site. I don't want you to get dust on anything expensive. Is it possible to get some sneakers along with normal clothes? Just a precaution."

"Oh yeah. Yes, definitely.  I can do that."

"Alright. I'll text you the address. See you soon, Viv."

I wait for a few seconds then end the call. My heart is going crazy in my chest, every thump serves as a reminder of what I just did. I called. And now I have a lunch date. Seconds later, Siri reads out the address and I squeal a little.

I call Phoebe to come to the office. In a few minutes, I hear the door close.

"Yes?"

"I need clothes. Normal clothes. And sneakers." I stand up and grab my bag. "I have a lunch date."

"And you're wearing that? What kind of date is this?"

"The kind you have at a construction site." I close my eyes tight when she gasps. "I called Travis. He can't leave work but he really wants me to meet him there. I've never been to a construction site so it sounds funn!"

"Okay. I'm glad you were brave enough to do this but boss, this is a construction site. Are you sure you're ready for it?"

"How bad can it be?"

"Loud noises all the time. Dirt. Sand. Some shirtless men. Okay, the last part is a pro but still. Can you at least take a mask along? I don't want you wheezing when you come back."