The first month at WNYX had been a hectic one for Dave. He had tried to do his best, running an all news radio station as best as he knew how, although there seemed to be forces working against him. Not only the quirks and extreme eccentricities of his staff, but with the station's owner, Jimmy James. He was forever coming into the offices with a latest scheme or just to see what everyone, especially Dave, was working on at the precise minute. The milestone of Dave's one month mark was no different.
"How goes it?" Jimmy breezed in from the newsroom to Dave's office, where he was on the phone, attempting to get the first scoop with the upcoming visiting senators and some foreign dignitaries.
"Good, can you hold.." Dave began, but was quickly interrupted by Mr. James again.
"Dave, did you ever see how these were made?" He held up a bag of taffy candy, taking out a piece. "Fascinating."
"No, uh, sir, I can't say that I have." He knew it was useless to continue his phone conversation with the consulate, plus they had already hung up. "But I take it you've just come from a candy factory?"
"Well, no," Jimmy paused. "Well, yes. And it's not a just candy factory any more, it's a Jimmy James, Incorporated Candy Factory. You ought to take a tour. It'll blow your mind. You see, Dave, after adding color, the taffy is put onto these two big metal arms, and they pull and stretch it, and it never breaks, fascinating."
"Really, nice, Mr. James," Dave mustered as much interest as he could. "So, what's your favorite flavor?"
He looked at the bag he held. "Oh I never eat the stuff. I just like watching the big machines and how they.." Dave joined in unison, "Pull and stretch the taffy."
"I get you sir."
Bill entered at the end of the conversation and cast a disdainful eye at the bag of taffy. "Uh hi, Jim." Then shook his head at Jimmy's offer of the candy. "Dave, if you want me to go live with what out of state politicians do on vacation piece, I'm gonna need it..."
"They are not on a vacation, they're here to.."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Whenever. But right away."
"Fine, Dave, looks like you've got things going on here." Mr. James turned to leave. "I'm off to see if these can be marketed as a silly putty compound. God bless."
The staff meeting with everyone seated around the table did not go as Dave had hoped. Both Bill and Joe kept making jokes about how the politicians would be here on a vacation, and what sights they would be taking in and all. Along with Matthew dealing with a handful of the taffy candy he'd found in his desk. To the others' astonishment, he went about trying out the taffy as silly putty works. Flattening it out, then sticking to a newspaper. Of course, it didn't have the same effect and ended up a big mess.
Dave refilled his coffee mug and sank back down in his chair at the head of the conference table. By that time, Lisa was the only one remaining there.
"You need a bit of a break." She suggested nicely.
"Yeah I do. But I can't see myself taking one in the near future."
Lisa thought for a moment. "Well, it doesn't have to be for an long period of time, just a couple of hours."
"Sounds good," Dave answered absently as he gazed for the zillionth time at the ad budget for the month. "Though not for me."
"No, really." She scooted a chair nearer to him. "Such as taking in a movie? Or dinner Or both?"
He rose from the table with the budget report in hand and moved back into his office. "Good, but doesn't look possible."
"What do you mean?" Lisa followed him. "Not possible? Of course it can be possible. You just decide to go." Dave still remained unaffected. "Uh, we could even go together. I mean take a break at the same time."
"We could?" His interest was finally sparked. Lisa's suggestion finally sank into Dave's overworked/high-strung employees-saturated brain. He gave her a long look before replying. "Both you and I on the pretense of taking a breather, catch a movie, or go to dinner, or both?"
"Certainly, it's possible."
"Well, given that our work situation, it might become rather complicated."
"It might, what? How can it become complicated? No one else knows, or will know, I can kept a secret. Besides this is just a couple of colleagues taking a break." She determined, more satisfied with the idea the more she thought of it. "So wanna meet at the movie theatre just a couple of blocks over, tonight around seven-thirty?"
"Oh, all right," he said in a louder tone, of which Lisa promptly shushed him.
Beth witnessed Lisa parting from Dave's office and scurried after her, and quickly ushered her into the break room.
"Sssohhh.." Beth drawled out. "You and Dave going out? To ahhhh.. the movies?"
Lisa looked a tad frantic. "What? Shush!" She looked quickly out the door before closing it. "How'd you..? You were eavesdropping again, weren't you?"
"I didn't have to," Beth smirked with an all-knowing smugness. "It was obvious from the get-go, that you two have an unlying thing for each other.
"Beth, no. Really? Do you think anyone else suspects..?"
Cathryn came in to get a bottle of juice from the refridgerator. Noticing the uneasy silence, she stopped to glance from Lisa to Beth back to Lisa. "What's going on?"
"Uh, nothing."
"From the guilty look on your face," Cathryn nodded towards Lisa. "It's as if you were like caught in a comproming situation with Dave or something. Imagine that."
"Ha-ha, Cathryn, how do come up with things like that." Beth said with a flourish, as she tried to cover Lisa's sudden stricken expression.
"No, it's nothing like that.."
"Whatever." Cathryn stalked from the break room.
As she was leaving, she was passed by Matthew coming in. He still had taffy residue stuck to his fingers. The flinging motions he was making weren't doing the trick of getting rid of it.
"Matthew, what do you want?" Lisa demanded impatiently.
"Uh, paper towels?" He pointed timidly to the counter.
Beth tore one off the roll for him. Although when he preceded to wipe the candy from his hands, he managed to get pieces of paper towel stuck to his fingers moreso than removing the gunk.
"Can I have another?"
"Oh, here," Lisa pulled the entire roll from its holder and handed it forcefully to him. Again, he went about cleaning his hands. "Can't you do that somewhere else?"
"Uh, sure, I guess so." He turned to leave, but at the doorway, he dropped the roll of paper towels, which bounced down with the first one still adhered to his hand. "Oh my."
Matthew bent over in the doorway to retrieve the roll, but Lisa didn't give him time enough to get it picked up and inadvertently closed the door on him. Which bumped him square in the backside sending him toppling forward. Both Lisa and Beth looked puzzled at each other at the muffled crash outside the break room, but didn't investigate to what it was.
Lisa thought she had Beth pretty well pacified as to her relationship with Dave. And though she felt she could trust her as to not blab anything, she still had to dodge Beth's teasing remarks for the rest of the afternoon. For later that evening, Lisa emerged from one of the movie theatre's rooms arm and arm with Dave. "See, now wasn't that nice? We need to do this more often."
"We do?" He caught what he hoped was her emphasis.
"Well, yeah, and.. omigosh, isn't that Carl?!" Her low shriek was accompanied by yanking Dave behind the popcorn machine.
"Carl? Who? Where?" He strained to look. "Wait a minute, are you ashamed to be seen out in public?"
"No, no, that's not it, I just don't want to let it get out around work for us to be seen out together, and people misconstrue it as dating!"
To be sure, Lisa insisted on waiting until another movie was let out and they could blend in with the in exiting crowd. Lisa quickly grabbed a baseball cap off a passing kid's head and hurriedly put it on Dave.
"What are you doing?"
"Trust me." She hustled him out the door with the rest of the patrons. Once outside, she again pulled Dave on the other side of a potted plant until the coast was clear.
Which it was to all except the little boy who tracked them for his swiped property. "Mister! I want my hat back!"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm very sorry," Dave took it off and handed to the little boy.
The boy glanced at an otherwise occupied Lisa. "Maybe if you can get your mom and dad to take you to a game and get you a cap of your own and not have to steal someone else's."
"I'll be sure to ask them." Dave replied very embarrassed as the boy dashed off.
When she was sure that Carl was no where abouts, Lisa finally let Dave leave the shadows of the bushes.
"Quite a fun time, last night. Apart from being a hat thief and being hidden away like some sort of fugitive, I'd call it a rather successful evening." "
"Sorry, about that I just didn't want anyone to get the wrong impression just yet."
"What impression, it's not like we're dating," Dave gave a little snicker, but found she wasn't laughing. "Or was it?"
"A date? No, of course not. I mean, we could go to the movies again, I doubt we'd have the some bad luck as to run into anyone else from the office. It just was.. uh.. " Subconsciously, Lisa was moving steadily closer to him.
Dave was aware of her maneuvering moreso than she. "I might be willing to try again."
"It did, didn't it? We didn't even get to.." she was very near.
"Say goodnight properly?" He finished as she leaned into him and they dissolved into a steamy kiss. The door behind them opened ever-so-slight with a small hand reaching around to close the blinds.
The End. :)
