"BOO!"
Nearly jumping out of his skin, he whirled round, ready to fight if necessary. Richie stood, arms folded, behind the door, a huge smile lighting up her delicate features.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack," he exclaimed, relieved.
"Some head of security you are... Bentwhistle!" she replied, walking over to him and enveloping him in the mother of all hugs. "Anyway, Scared of Salisbridge, I'm here to take you to lunch."
Peter glanced down at his watch.
'It can't be lunch time yet,' he thought. But it was two minutes to twelve, and the staff restaurant always opened dead on twelve. 'I had no idea I was in Garrett's office for that long.'
"Come on," ordered Richie, offering out her hand.
Patting his trouser pockets, he checked he had his phone, and more importantly... wallet, and then took Richie's hand.
"You're in a very good mood," he said as they walked hand in hand down the brightly lit corridor.
"Cheeky!" she cried, slapping him playfully on the bum, which caused him to blush profusely. "I'm always in a good mood, I'll have you know."
"Hmmmmm," sighed Peter sceptically.
Richie raised her eyebrows.
"Want another slap?"
"No," he replied, covering his bottom with both hands. "Anything but that."
It was then that they arrived at the double doors of the staff restaurant, which strangely seemed closed. Normally, they would be open wide with a queue extending out of them.
"What's going on here?" he asked with a puzzled expression.
"Let's find out," remarked Richie, giving him a great big shove into both doors. Peter went flying clumsily through them, trying hard to maintain his balance, and not fall on the floor as he did so. Total darkness suddenly turned into bright light. Looking around, he found himself the centre of attention in a very full restaurant. A round of applause started, softly at first, building to a full on thunderclap after thirty seconds or so. With little else he could do, he stood, blushing all over again, as even Richie, off to one side, now joined in.
Eventually the applause subsided. It was then that he discovered he was the guest of honour at a lunchtime celebration arranged by Al Garrett. Richie, of course, had been in on it all along, and Peter wouldn't have been too surprised to find out that it was originally her idea.
The lunch, if that's what it could be described as, went on for just over two hours. By the time it was all finished, Peter was stuffed to the eyeballs. Great pleasure had been taken by the cooks in dishing him out all of his favourite foods: roast beef, fajitas, fish and chips, and not just one portion either. Never had he eaten so well, or so much. Staff from numerous departments came over and shook his hand, clapped him on the back, or just said thanks. All the time, Richie sat opposite him, grinning away, amused beyond belief.
Although he didn't relish the attention thrust upon him, surprisingly, he had a wonderful time. Everyone was so friendly. It made everything he'd been through seem totally worthwhile. As the last of the staff filed out of the restaurant and the cooks started tidying up, only Peter and Richie remained, having both been told by Al Garrett to relax and soak up the atmosphere.
"You sneaky git," accused Peter, leaning across the table towards his friend.
She smiled that famous Richie smile, right back at him.
"Would you have agreed to come if you'd have known?"
Carefully he considered the question.
"No," he admitted truthfully.
"There you go then."
"That's all you have to say?" he countered.
Shaking her head, Richie said,
"It wasn't all just about you, you know."
"Do tell," he replied sarcastically.
Richie's beautiful smile faded as she sat back in her chair, considering her next words.
"Manson being here, and what he did, affected nearly everyone in the company. From ordinary workers being intimidated and bullied by those gun wielding idiots, to Dr Island being sacked. I guarantee you that everyone here knew someone who'd had a bad experience. You've seen what the company was like before Manson, much like it is now. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is so pleased that the company and its leader are back to normal. They all wanted, needed even, to be given the chance to put everything behind them. Also, they all feel they owe you a great debt for playing such a vital role in returning the company to what it was. For them to be able to come and thank you, pat you on the back... it may seem insignificant to you, but it's a vital part of the healing process for each and every one of them.
None of the things that Richie said had even occurred to him. Now that she'd explained it though, it did all seem to make perfect sense. Never before had he considered looking at things from this point of view.
"You see?" asked Richie, having let her words sink in.
"I think I do," he replied. "When did you get so smart?"
Letting out a little chuckle, she tried to explain.
"It's simple really Pete. All you need do in any situation is put yourself in the other person's shoes. Think what things look like from their perspective. If you do that, you get a much more balanced idea of what's actually going on. One or two of the more rounded humans on my team do exactly that, nearly all the time, and do you know what? They're far better at their jobs, and far happier in general, than the ones who don't do it. Speaking to them about it, they claim that it's a mixture of growing up in a happy and loving environment, along with a mixture of good manners and a high regard for others. One of the other things that's very noticeable about all the same people, is that in their words, they treat others how they hope others would treat them. Admirable in design, impractical in the real world, as it doesn't often pay off, but something that everyone should strive to achieve."
He was impressed, having never heard her talk this way, and marvelled at how passionately she spoke about it all.
"Well, there you go. Not just for your benefit, but for the good of everyone. Anyway, time to get back to work," she said, smiling, scraping her chair across the mezzanine floor as she got up.
Peter stood up as well, having thoroughly enjoyed his very long, and delicious lunch. As the two left, he gave Richie a peck on the check..
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome," she replied, about to go off in the opposite direction.
"Before you go Rich, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"You seem really, really happy. Can I ask why?"
Richie let out a soft chuckle, walked up to Peter and whispered into his ear.
"If you had with Janice, what I have with Tim, you'd have a constant smile on your face." With that, she turned and walked off towards her department, waving over her shoulder as she did so.
Standing in the middle of the corridor, outside the large double doors of the restaurant, he buried his head in his hands at what he'd just heard.
'A relationship with a human, that's what we all need. This is going to end so badly, for everyone... I just know it.'
5
Frozen scales weigh in
It had nearly stopped snowing outside the cave. Unusually for him, Flash wasn't sure exactly what to do. Even with his fancy watch, he figured he stood virtually no chance against the two nagas. On the other hand, the two of them were very confident about taking him to his 'new home,' as they put it, somewhere he knew without even seeing, that he really wouldn't like. Not for the first time his life hung in the balance, dependant on whether he could exploit the right window of opportunity, should it even exist.