Lenny gets a raise, and something else.

“Good work today, everyone. I just wanted to highlight an amazing moment from one of our longtime employees: Leonard Walt. Today Mr. Walt helped stop a potential shoplifter with his quick wit and ingenuity, and for that I’m gonna give him a fifty-cent hourly raise. Let’s give him a hand, shall we?” Ms. Prift subtly commanded as she started to clap. Soon, everyone in the break room awkwardly started a half-hearted applause in turn.

Erica nervously said “N-Nice one, Lenny… g-good job…” as she stood next to him. He just nodded, unsure of whether he should be speaking right now.

With the workday over, everyone filed out of the sparse room. But, Leonard’s egress was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder that made him jolt in surprise. “Leonard… can I call you ‘Lenny’?”

“Uh… sure…?”

“Great, will do. Lenny, I’m going to be honest with you. You made an impression today that left me shaken, and that’s not an easy feat.” his employer explained.

“U-Uh huh…?”

“And I don’t mean the thing with the old guy, I mean this.” she continued, before showing him a photo on her smartphone. It was a zoom-in on his furious erection visible through his clothes, the one he had been hoping to hide. “You were pitching a hardcore tent earlier, what gives?”

“Wha… I… A-Am I being fired…?” Lenny panicked. Indecent exposure was no joke, he hadn’t realized he was showing that much of himself to discerning watchers.

Ms. Print just laughed “No, not at all! I’m just curious how you hid an anaconda like this for so long.” as she pointed to the bulge on her screen, before switching it off. Her hand returned to its previous spot on his shoulder, only this time it was almost giving a slight massage. “By the way, are you doing anything tonight?” she asked, smiling.

Leonard gulped. “Uh… n-not in particular, no. I… do have to drive back home, Erica and I are roommates now, and she needs a ride, s-so…” he hesitantly muttered.

“Great! I’ll pick you up at 7:30, put on something nice!”

With that, Ms. Prift power-walked out of the break room, leaving him to stand there, stunned.

“I-I mean, it’s got to be some kind of trap, right…?” Lenny asked, spinning his wheel into a turn that was less smooth than he was hoping.

Erica replied “Well… it tracks with what she asked me.” before her head bumped into the window. “Ow. It’s definitely something you could talk to H.R. about, but…”

“… she might sweep it under the rug cause it’s her doing it.” he finished, catching onto his roommate’s point. “Well… what if she tries to come onto me? Like, more than she has already.”

The brown-haired woman looked away in thought, then nodded to herself, saying “You do what you have to. We’re… kinda dating, but it’s fine. We’re talking about it, and… I don’t have an issue with you doing things with her.” with resolution in her voice. “J-Just, don’t say that, I’m not sure she’ll want to share. Ms. Prift always struck me as the… monopolistic type.” she concluded, taking a second to think of the word she was trying to say.

“O-Okay…” he muttered, easing into a stop at a red light. “S-Sorry, also.”

“For what?” she asked, before he mimed a knock on his head. “Oh, right.”

Leonard didn’t have much in the way of nice clothes. He had a suit that his parents bought for him to wear for job interviews, but that wasn’t exactly something he could wear on a date. Ann would be expecting clothes that were nice, not formal.

“Do you have anything buttoned up that’s less… thick? I’m worried you’re gonna get overheated and start sweating.” Erica asked, as she stared at her roommate’s first try at a “date” outfit.

He had on jeans, a blue dress shirt with the top button unbuttoned, sneakers, and a white t-shirt underneath. “T-That’s what the T-shirt’s for, it’ll catch the sweat before it soaks the button-up.” he explained.

“Either way, it looks more like you took the bottom half of one look and the top half of another and smushed them together…” she critiqued. “Do you have any nicer shoes? Boots, even?”

“No… I don’t really buy other shoes unless my current ones are falling apart.” Lenny admitted.

Her phone’s clock showed 6:47, so she said “We’ll hit up a thrift store I frequent, they usually have stuff that fits me.” before explaining “M-Most women’s clothes are too small, so…”