Flattery
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.
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Apparently, someone had told Bob that flattery would go a long way in impressing a girl. He was annoying. Every female in the office dreaded running into him, because he would be sure to say something like, “Good morning! Wow! That shade of blue really makes your beautiful eyes stand out!”
Then, the poor woman would have to acknowledge the compliment, which was sure to bring on another. He could keep a person standing there all day saying, “Thank you, Bob.”
Since no one wanted to do that, they all tried to ignore him. Elaine was no exception. She’d been in the office only a couple of weeks when she realized was going to be in trouble if she didn’t do something to stem the flood of flattery. She didn’t want to be unkind, but Bob’s presence had already started to feel more like stalking than compliments.
Elaine tried to avoided Bob as she left the building one night by managing to be in the middle of a crowd of other people. She was pretty sure he was working himself up to asking her out, and she dreaded having to turn him down. So she kept her head down, looking only at the floor.
But it didn’t work. “Elaine! ELAINE! WAIT!”
Her heart sank. She wasn’t going to escape. Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Might as well get it over with right now. Thinking about how she was going to turn him away as kindly as possible, she lifted her head and looked for him. And there he was, right beside her.
“Elaine, I wanted to talk to you earlier but you were never free.”
Elaine decided to go right to the point. “What do you want, Bob?”
“Actually, I wanted to introduce you to the newest partner on our team. You two will be working together on the next project. So. Elaine, this is Bryce. Bryce, this is the girl I’ve been telling you about. Elaine. Look, I have to run, see you guys in the morning.”
Elaine was rarely at a loss for words, but she was so surprised that she couldn’t think of a thing to say. Bryce seemed equally at a loss. They both realized they were blocking the exit, and they moved away in the same direction. Bryce broke the silence. “Bob has been singing your praises to me all day, Elaine. I didn’t believe anyone could be all that he claimed you are. This is really awkward. He’s obviously trying to set us up, and I was dreading meeting you.”
Bryce looked down, looked away, cleared his throat, blushed, and stammered, “Listen, do have anywhere you need to be, or do you have time to go get something to eat? We may as well get to know each other.”
Elaine said, “Um, no. I mean, no I don’t have to be anywhere. Yes. Yes, I have time to eat with you. Are you new in town? I know a couple of places you might enjoy.”
And they walked away together, each blessing Bob for his flattery.
Just Writing! 