“Ma’am, here are your tickets.”He smiled an apologetic, what-can-you-do look over the woman’s head.
“Oh, right, let me just find my winner.”She resumed digging.
Wanda muttered something under her breath, too low for Eric to hear clearly, but she didn’t sound impressed.
“We’re going to miss the bus,” he responded slightly louder.He was starting to sound like he was stuck on autoplay.“Skip the food.We’ll grab some at the next stop.”
“Can I help you?”A young blonde woman appeared out of nowhere and stepped up to the second register.
“Yes!”Eric exclaimed.“Can you be quick, please?We’re sort of in a rush.We don’t want to miss our bus.”He glanced toward the parking lot as the bus slowly pulled out.
“Oh no!There it goes.”Wanda’s voice trembled.“We’re too late.This is all my fault.”
It was, but he wasn’t going to rub it in, even though he wanted to.A fifteen-minute stop with a busload of nearly thirty people was ridiculous.
“What are we going to do?I can’t take the time to repeat this disastrous team builder.I have a business to run.”
“And I don’t?”He chuckled.He might be the CEO, but he’d learned not to sweat the small stuff, and in the big scheme, missing a bus wasn’t a big deal.At least not after he’d resigned himself to being here.
“This isn’t funny.”She glared.
“It’s a little bit funny,” he countered.“There isn’t any sense in getting uptight.”
“Forty-two forty-seven,” the clerk declared.“How would you like to pay?”
Wanda blinked up at the woman, seeming confused by the question.
Eric set the drink tray on the counter and pulled out his wallet.“Debit, please.”In only seconds, the transaction was complete, and the snacks bagged up.
“What do we do now?”Wanda groaned, frustration clear in her tone.
“Come on.We’ll go next door, grab a table, and eat this food before it gets any colder.”
“How can you eat at a time like this?”Her eyes bulged in disbelief.
“Easy.I hate wasting money.I bought it, we’ll eat it before it’s cold, and too gross to finish.”He picked up the drink tray and nudged her toward their destination.“Besides, my grandfather taught me to never pass up the opportunity to eat, use the washroom, or take a nap.”He frowned.“Of course, I’m not the best at that last one.”
He led her toward a table and sat down.After spreading two napkins on the surface, he laid out their food.
“That’s it?Just coffee, a yogurt cup, and a muffin?”She stared at his food, then turned her attention to something outside the windows.“This is terrible.”
He knew she wasn’t referring to the food, but the situation, and couldn’t help teasing her.“It’s a snack.I’m not starving.I was only going to have coffee, which is my one vice.”He waved his spoon toward her food.“Eat up, Wanda.We’ve got plans to make.”
“I’m not hungry.”Her stomach growled, and the old couple beside them chuckled.
He laughed.“Apparently, you are.Besides, I’ve got this handled.”He pulled a cellphone from his pocket.
“You’re not supposed to have a phone.Where did you get that?Brent took yours.”
He smirked.“I’m the CEO of a hundred-million-dollar company.Do you honestly think I’d be without a backup phone?”
“I-I guess not.What are you going to do?Call the bus back?”
“Nope.”He pushed some buttons.“Betty, I need some help.My team-building partner and I are in a situation.I need a rental car brought to our location.Use my personal card.”He paused.“It’s a beautiful day, make it a convertible.”He stopped to listen before filling her in on where they were.“Okay then.Thank you very much.We owe you big time.”
He banked a smile at the stunned expression on Wanda’s face.He rarely used his money frivolously, but in this case, to keep from having to repeat the exercise, it was well worth it.
“Well,” he teased, “problem solved.Eat up.”He picked up his spoon and dove into his yogurt.
