1742

Lawrence has suddenly stopped laughing, and now he is staring at a middle aged South Asian man with a shaved head. He is at the serving counter, flirting very ostentatiously with the the young woman barista. "Oh my God, talk about timing", he mutters under his breath. "Who is that", say I. "My adorable boss", he hisses. "Fortunately, I have to pee, and if I move fast enough, I can get to the can without being noticed." He makes his exit from the table, but, too late. His boss has cornered him and they appear to be having rather an animated conversation. Lawrence makes a quick escape and now, take out cup in hand, his boss makes his way to our table. His face is painted with a big shit-eating smile, and he comes straight toward me, his hand outstretched. "You must be Christopher", he says, standing over the table between Carl and Erik. "And who might you be", says Stella, her voice a compromise between a purr and a growl. "My name is Zaheed", he says in the booming over confident voice of a Youtube self-help guru. "And I am the new team lead." "Pleased to meet you", I reply. Apparently not noticing Lawrence's barely begun cappuccino holding vigil over his empty chair. Suddenly, his eye seems to catch the betraying beverage, then Caspar, who ordered nothing, suddenly reaches for Lawrence's cappuccino and takes from it a hearty draught. And now Lawrence's boss is really noticing. "Anytime you need support from us, always feel free to reach out, Christopher", he says, the smile again pasted all over him. Very glad to meet you", and without so much as even noticing any of my companions, Zaheed the boss walks out of the café, bearing his takeout coffee like a faltering torch...