Mr. Unpredictable CEO

A Reckoning

Regina was having coffee on the balcony. She wanted to wait for her friends to wake up. And she wanted to calm herself.

Actually, she could hear them whispering to each other. She was almost sure they were trying to work out how to talk to her and who would talk to her first. They knew she was mad. And it took a lot for her to get mad. They knew better than to mess around even more than they already did. So, they were walking on eggshells.

KC was the one who opened the door to the balcony. Regina didn't turn to look at her on purpose when she called her name.

"Reg dear. Breakfast is ready..."

She was trying to sweet-talk her.

"Yes. I'll be there soon."

"Okay. We will wait for you."

She simply nodded. She intentionally waited for at least five minutes before going in. When she entered, she saw them gathered around the dining table. They looked like well-behaved, misbehaving students who were waiting for disciplinary action from the headmaster.

As soon as she took a seat, she was handed a plate of food. She almost chuckled but managed to maintain a poker face. It was amusing to watch how her friends were acting, knowing among themselves that they were in trouble.

She waited until they finished eating.

“Girls..."

She began.

"I get it. You're concerned, but I was serious and honest when I said that you really don't have to. I’m alright but this--"

She lifted her phone so they could see what they had done.

"This is not okay!"

Her tone was stern.

The three looked at each other. Mel was about to speak but Reg lifted one hand up to let her know that she wasn't done talking yet. The floor was still closed for rebuttals.

"You know how I feel about these things. And seriously, do you honestly believe that I can find 'love' here? Ayvs…"

"Yes, dear…"

He responded at the mention of his name. He looked so serious as he placed a hand over his chest waiting for the rest of what she had to say.

"Do you go to Grindr to find 'love' or 'hook-up'? Or is the latter what you want for me?"

"Noooooo!!!"

They chorused in protest.

"Then what is this?! This is nothing but a heterosexual version of that. It's a waste of time and waste of my phone's memory space."

"Bestie, it’s not like you would meet up with just anybody who matches you. You can filter them out. Start by chatting with them and only meet up with those with real potential. Right?"

He tried to make a point and asked the others for agreement. And the rest nodded.

"Yes, sis. Also, the only ones who can see your profile are those you liked---"

Mel was going to say more but Reg interrupted.

"Have I liked anyone? Strange then that I have matches."

She said with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

"Ahhh… you can unmatch those you don't like…"

She was quick to offer a solution.

"Did you even read your profile? Did you even bother opening it?"

Now, KC was playing the pity card. And Reg couldn't answer.

"See? Open it… We worked hard on that. We labored on that for weeks---"

KC was going to add more but Reg caught a pertinent detail that she couldn't let go of.

"Weeks? So… You've been planning on doing this behind my back. You didn't even ask if I wanted it before you paraded my face all over there."

She put her phone down.

"It's not open to the public, so technically, your face won't be visible to just anyone, only to those you're actually interested in. It's a paid subscription."

"Ayvs what? You wasted money on this thing?"

She put her hands over her head as she couldn't believe they actually paid for it.

"No dear. It’s not a waste of money at all. And it's not expensive… Why don’t you give it a try?"

KC's encouraging tone was getting to her a little bit.

"Go over the profiles, check out the pictures. Pretend that you're shopping online."

It made a lot of sense to all of them but Reg just couldn't or was refusing to get the point.

"Online shopping, really? Not helping!"

She was shaking her head in disbelief.

"What she means to say, sis, is it’s really not a big deal these days to meet people this way. It doesn't make you less of a person. And you know that we will never put you in harm's way. We will be with you through the entire process. We can chaperone on your dates. We can even hire private investigators to screen those men out."

Reg couldn't help but chuckle at Mel's words. And she knew these girls would go to those lengths to ensure her safety.

Her friends were relieved to hear her laughter. They gained the courage to tease.

"We have an orientation, bestie. We got you! But now I have to use the bathroom because I can't take this seriously anymore. It's not me!"

Ayvs broke the ice. KC was using her arms to fan out invisible things around her and she called it 'aura cleansing'.

Everybody else was laughing while she was feeling frustrated. They got the best of her. And now, she was being forced to give in.

"Aaaarrrgggghhhhhh…"

Feeling defeated, Reg buried her face on the table.

KC put her arms around her.

"It is only six months, sweetheart. Give us this six months and we'll permanently shut up about the matter."

Regina lifted her face, looked at KC. And KC reminded her.

"But you have to take it seriously. You promise us and we promise you."

She offered her pinky finger to seal the deal. Reg sulked and crossed her arms.