“I need to tell you something, urgently. It’s about your boss.”

Usually, when Elliot would rush in with a new piece of gossip on his lips, I would ignore him. Out of my long list of friends and acquaintances, his lips were the loosest. It was the look in his eyes and the way his hands shook that left me caving. “You remember what my boss looks like?”

“You—“ Elliot shook his head and waved his hands in the air, “Not the point, Jen. I just want you to listen to this.”

He wasn’t very good at selling his stories off as serious. I contemplated turning away from him and continuing my casual scroll through social media, but my curiosity got the best of me. “You’re the worst influence, dragging me into your gossip circle.”

“It’s not gossip,” he shook his head, and I rolled my eyes. “And it’s about YOUR boss. I’m trying to tell you something serious.”

“If it’s really that serious, then just spit it out already,” I placed my phone down on the table between us. I’d been alone, peacefully relaxing on my lunch break, until Elliot barged his way in. I glanced down at my watch. “I have ten minutes before I’ve gotta head back upstairs.”

“Well, you’re not going upstairs if your boss won’t even be there,” Elliot shook his head again and leaned over the table. “Jen, he came into the shop, right? Asked for another order of paper as if you don’t have enough in your office.”

I couldn’t help but frown. “He should have asked for more pens. He’s chewed up all the good ones.”

“Not the point—“ Elliot shook his head, “Anyway, the point is, my new coworker walked out from the back and immediately began screaming at the poor guy. He looked like a deer in the headlights and she was running all over ‘em.”

I tapped my fingers on the table and glanced back down at my watch.

“After a few more minutes of screaming, this chick reaches for a pair of scissors that were sitting in front of me and starts running the guy out of the store!” Elliot leaned forward as my eyes grew wide. “He wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings because, next thing you know, he ran out into the road. Guy was instantly hit by a bus, and I spent the next five minutes on the phone with 911 while this chick was still screaming at him.”

My jaw was slightly ajar as Elliot blew a breath out of his mouth and leaned back. I waited a few more seconds for him to continue, but he just stayed quiet. “So instead of staying to give a witness statement, you ran down the block to tell me about it?”

Elliot puffed out his cheeks for a few seconds. “I just told you your boss got hit by a bus, and you’re grilling me?”

“What if your crazy co-worker stuck around to seal the deal?” I leaned forward, “You didn’t even tell me if he’s still alive.”

“You didn’t ask.”

I huffed. “Well?”

Elliot shifted in his chair to sit facing the door. “He was still conscious when I left.”

I narrowed my eyes, “Oh? Is that why you left? ‘He must be okay if he wasn’t knocked out, lets run down the street to tell Jennifer about all of this!’”

“What was I supposed to do?” Elliot’s voice rose defensively, “That chick started up a whole new argument, and I refused to listen to it.”

“Sounds like something you usually wouldn’t wanna miss,” I teased. “Besides. Why would my boss getting hit by a bus effect me being able to work?”

Elliot glanced up for a few seconds before chewing the bottom of his lip. “I thought it was just the two of you up there.”

“Sure is,” I patted his left hand resting on the table before sliding out of my chair and stretching my legs. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going back to work. I’ll just run the show without him.”

Elliot stood up mere seconds later. “Can I join? I’m not going back there.”

“And why not?” I crossed my arms. “What, don’t tell me you were the real reason he ran out in the road.”

“Wh-“ he shook his head and huffed childishly, “No. My shift was almost over, anyway.”

I took a deep breath and brushed past him. “You say one word to disrupt my work, I’ll send you back.”

Elliot clearly took my compliance as a victory as he followed me out of the shoppe with a huge smile on his face. I was smiling, too, simply because I knew he wouldn’t last more than two minutes with those loose lips of his.