The Mouse

If you haven't read the Baseball story, this is a spinoff featuring Landon and Lani.

1. All characters are 18+

2. No characters resemble real people

3. Enjoy the fiction

----

Landon rolled his eyes. "Stop trying to be like that."

"Like what? Helpful? A good friend?" asked Lani.

Landon had dated Lani a few times. It never worked, but somehow they stayed friends. She was normally available to be his escort to charity events, especially when he was paying for her ticket or meal.

His parents were wealthy, so he could afford it, and because of their status, he was expected to attend. He just didn't like going to those events alone. An extroverted friend like Lani could help an introvert like him get through those.

But things had changed. Last month, Landon had taken Lani to a luncheon and introduced her to a friend named Wallace. Lani immediately took to him, and the feeling was mutual. The two quickly became a couple, leaving Landon to look for another date for the next high-society function.

"You don't have to," Landon told her. "I'll look for someone else."

"I can help!" Lani insisted. "Please, let me help. It's the least I can do."

Landon tried to be indifferent, but Lani was begging, her hands clasped in front of her, and smiling. "Fine. You can help."

"Yes! I'll find someone for you, don't you worry."

"But I have to meet her before the next event," Landon gave her that condition. "You know my parents will be there. I can't walk in with just anyone."

"Oh! Yes, of course," Lani promised. "I'll find someone worthy of Don and June."

----

"You have to set me up with him," demanded Tiffany.

"Why?" asked Lani. The two were gabbing over lunch in Lani's office that Monday. "You think he's boring."

"Yeah, but he's cute, and he's rich," said Tiffany. "I can overlook the rest."

Lani considered her raven-haired friend for a minute. 'I used to be more like her,' she thought. Lani had been more obsessed with finding a rich guy, but that was before her best friend Casey found love with Johnny, a minor league baseball player who was basically broke. She attributed to them her realization that love didn't require money.

After all, Landon had money, and Lani never got past friends with him. But Wallace, her new beau, had a great, outgoing personality that transcended the fact that he had some wealth. Wallace wasn't a miser or a snob, he used his money to help people, and to have fun. That (and his adorable dimpled smile) what Lani was attracted to.

"I can introduce you," Lani said, somewhat reluctantly.

"You don't sound excited about it."

"It's just, he's a good guy, and he's my friend."

"I'm your friend too," Tiffany pointed out. They'd been coworkers for over a year now, and ate lunch together most days.

"Yeah, but what I mean is... he's not a typical guy."

"He still has a penis, right?" Tiffany joked.

"I've never seen it, but yes, I'm sure he does. But he's more timid. I'm not sure if you two will, you know, click."

Tiffany stood up and ran her hands down her fit body. "As long as he has the equipment, I'm sure we'll be able to find a way to click."

Both women laughed. Just then, a quiet knock on the door interrupted them. "Sorry," said a petite girl at the door. She came in and handed Lani a report. "Mr. Mason said to bring this to you."

"Oh. Thanks. I guess lunch time is over."

"Besides, what other single women do you hang out with?" asked Tiffany. "If not me, are you going to set him up with..." She turned to gesture to the small young woman who'd delivered the report, but she was gone. "The ghost?"

Lani looked around. She'd seen that girl around the office before, but only in glimpses. She didn't know her name. And even though Lani's office featured glass walls that looked out over the rest of the office, she didn't see the girl. She had delivered the report and quickly disappeared.

----

Lani set up a Friday lunch for herself, Tiffany, and Landon. Tiffany had been right on one thing: Lani didn't know too many women who were still single. And both were her friends. Maybe they could be a match. But Lani had her reservations.

It took until Wednesday afternoon for Lani to spot the mysterious ghost again. "Hi," she said to the girl as she was getting coffee in the office's kitchenette.

"Hi," was the simple response. She didn't look up. Lani was around 5 foot 6, and this young woman was shorter, maybe around five feet tall.

"I'm Lani," she offered, hoping to be friendly.

"I know."

"I was just wondering your name," Lani awkwardly asked.

"Oh. I'm Minerva." This time, she looked up to Lani. For the first time, Lani, really noted her. Minerva had pretty green eyes, hidden behind glasses. Her red hair was naturally curly, but it looked like there had been some attempt to straighten it before it was bunched into a sloppy ponytail. She wore a white sweater and a grey skirt past her knees.

"Minerva. That's a pretty name. How long have you worked here?"

"Umm. Seven months, five days."

"Huh," said Lani. "And you're an... administrative assistant?"

"Yes. For Mr. Mason," Minerva answered. Matt Mason was one of the founders of the company, and the CEO. Based on the few times Lani had talked to him, she believed he was one of those men who was tough on the outside, and softer inside.

"That's great. I bet you like working for him."

Minerva shrugged. "He's nice. But no, not really. I'd like to be in finance. But there's no openings."

Lani nodded, understanding. The finance department was a boy's club. All of them were in their forties, and all of them were jerks. A young thing like Minerva wouldn't fit in with them.

"Well, hopefully you can get in there someday," Lani offered.

Minerva just nodded, and then turned to leave. "Bye," she said quietly, and then was gone.

----

Lunch on Friday was a disaster. First, Lani was almost late. She had to finish a report for Mr. Mason that morning. Thank goodness that Minerva showed up at her office, asking for it. It saved her the trip of delivering it herself.

But more importantly, Tiffany was way over the top. She'd worn a dress that showed too much cleavage, and she was overly flirty. Landon was intimidated. Tiffany couldn't even tell, but Lani could. Landon was as polite as he could be throughout lunch, but as they went to leave, Landon gave her a subtle shake of his head. That was a no. She was sure she'd get a call from him about this fiasco this evening.

When Lani got back to her office, the report she'd prepared was still on her desk. Lani freaked out, as it was due today. Why didn't Minerva deliver it?

Then she spotted the sticky note sticking out of the folder. She opened it to find a note on page three: 'There is an error here. You still have time to fix it before Mr. Mason sees.'

Lani gazed at the section indicated by the note. There was indeed an arithmetic error. The math didn't add up properly. Lani immediately sat at her computer, fixed the error, and reprinted that page. As soon as she had replaced that page in the folder, Minerva walked in.

"Did you leave that note?" Lani asked. The small girl just nodded. "Thank you. Mason would have been pissed with me."

"You're welcome," she answered.

"I'm surprised you saw it," Lani told her. "I stared at that for days and didn't see it until you pointed it out."

Minerva shrugged. "I like numbers. They make sense. When they don't add up, I notice."

Lani handed her the report, and again, Minerva was off, quick as a bunny. Lani watched her jet to the elevator to take the report to her boss. 'What a peculiar girl,' she thought.

----

Landon had stifled his emotions during lunch, but was releasing them now on his friend. "What the hell, Lani?"

"I know..."

"You thought I'd like HER?"

"I thought maybe. She is pretty," Lani tried to explain.

"Pretty slutty. I'm pretty sure she'd have been in my lap if you weren't around."

Lani couldn't argue against that. Tiffany had been too much, and it was embarrassing to Lani. Who the hell acts like that on a first date? Not even a date, it was an introductory lunch!

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I didn't think she'd be like that today."

"Is she like that all the time?"

"Not all the time," Lani said, then thought of the times they'd gone out to bars on the weekend. "Just, around guys, I guess."

"So yes, you knew she'd probably be like that."

"I told her not to."

"And I'm betting she knows my family is wealthy."

Lani admitted, "Yes, she does know that. That... might have been a motivating factor."

Landon sighed. "There's another stupid charity thing in two weeks. I absolutely cannot bring that woman."

"Okay. I'm sorry. I tried to find you another date. Tiffany is my only single friend at the moment." Then her mind wandered. "Except for maybe... no, forget it."

"Forget what? You thought of someone else?"

"She's not really a friend," Lani said. "I actually just met her this week."

"Is she single? Because I'm pretty sure anyone is going to be an improvement over that gold-digger I met today."

"I think so. We haven't spoken much. She's really quiet."

"Well, maybe ask. And no more Tiffany."

"Definitely, no more Tiffany. Sorry again. And I'll try to talk to this other girl."

----

That weekend, Lani spent a lot of time trying to think of how to talk to Minerva. Part of that was how to find the elusive young woman.

So when Tiffany ambushed her on Monday morning, she was unprepared. "So what did he think?" she asked. "He loved me, right?"

"Umm..."

Tiffany was stunned. "You're kidding. He didn't like me? He didn't like this?" She motioned to her slim body with plenty of good curves.

"You came on too strong, Tiff. I told you, he wouldn't like that."

"So he's intimidated by a sexy woman?"

Lani flustered on how to word it. "He's... he's not looking for that. He's looking for a relationship."

"Guys don't want relationships, Lani."

"This one does!" Lani said, standing up for her friend. "Landon's not like other guys. He's always been looking for a nice girl, ever since I met him. And now that he's pushing thirty, it's even more true."

"Well, tell him I'm still available for his charity dinner."

"Good to know," Lani said, and sighed in relief when Tiffany finally left.

It took almost the whole day to track down Minerva. She was hustling across the floor of cubicles, and Lani had to pick up the pace to keep up. "Hi, are you busy?"

"A little."

"Can you come to my office later? I have a favor to ask."

"Okay." Then Minerva zagged right ninety degrees and was headed off in that direction. Lani marveled at her focus and efficiency.

----

It was a little past four when Minerva came to Lani's office. "Hi."

"Hey, sit down."

"Okay." She sat in the seat opposite Lani's desk.

"You look like you've had a busy day."

"Well, Mr. Mason had a busy day, so I did too."

"Yeah, I get it," Lani said with a nod. "So, this is going to sound weird, but I have a friend who needs a date."

"What?" Minerva's eyes went wide in shock. "Oh. Oh no. I'm not a lesbian."

Lani laughed, and tried to ease Minerva's discomfort. "No! I mean a guy friend."

"Oh. You... you want me to go out with your friend? Umm. I'm not sure..."

"He's cute, and he's a real gentleman."

"I'm, umm, I don't really date much, and I'm really nervous..." The poor little thing started to tremble.

"Relax. Nothing to be nervous about," Lani said. "If you don't want to, you don't have to. But maybe you'd like to just meet him first?" She held up her phone and showed a picture of Landon.

"That's your friend?" Minerva asked. "Oh. Oh my. I don't think guys like that need help getting dates."

Lani chuckled. "You'd be surprised. Sometimes he's just as introverted as you appear to be."

Minerva paused. "Really?"

"Really. I think he'd like you."

"Umm. Wow. Umm, okay I guess."

"Okay, you'd like to meet him?" Lani asked, and Minerva nodded. "Can you meet us for lunch this week?"

Minerva went to nod again, then shook her head. "No, I eat my lunch here, in case Mr. Mason needs something."

"Dinner then? Tomorrow night? My treat."

"Okay."

----

Landon and Lani were seated in the restaurant, awaiting Lani's newest friend. "She's cute, she's just really shy, and kind of skittish," Lani was saying.

"So skittish, she might bail on us?" Landon asked.

Lani frowned. "I hope not. I think you could like her. And not just more than Tiffany, I hope."

Suddenly, Minerva appeared almost silently at their table. "Umm, hi."

Landon was a bit taken aback. This creature was almost the antithesis of Tiffany. Her dress was very conservative, covering her shoulders and cleavage completely, and going almost to her ankles. She wore tiny stud earrings. Her demeanor was quiet but kind. And, in her own subtle way, very pleasing to the eye.

Lani was also pleased. Minerva's hair, unlike her usual do in the office, was down, and fully curly. However, her curls and her glasses didn't hide her bright face.

"Minerva, this is Landon. Landon, this is my co-worker Minerva."

Landon shook her small hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Thanks." Minerva sat, next to Lani and across from Landon.

Lani gave introductions for both of them. Her description of Minerva, she realized, wasn't very long, having not known her long or well at all. But she was able to describe Landon more thoroughly. "He's a statistician. He works with sports teams to help them do player analysis. He tried to explain how it works to me once..."

"Multiple times," Landon chimed in.

"...but it's way over my head." Lani finished.

"I like numbers. How does it work?" Minerva asked, her eyes suddenly sparkling.

Landon started to explain it, and as usual, Lani tuned it out. But something more fascinating was happening. She recalled Minerva's keen abilities with math, and saw the woman's attention fully engaged in Landon's jibber-jabber. 'Maybe I'm a better matchmaker than I thought," she pondered.

Landon was also watching her face. Most of the time, when he explained his job to people, their eyes glazed over and their posture showed disinterest. He saw no signs of that from this lovely girl. She was enthralled, even asking knowledgeable questions about his calculations. He suddenly realized how brilliant Minerva was under her quiet exterior.

Minerva also described her job, but also her desire to work in the finance department. Lani had to ask, "So when you talk about numbers, are you like a savant or something? No offense, of course."

Minerva shook her head. "I don't like that word. It makes people think of that movie, Rain Man. I'm not on the Spectrum like that character, or at least I don't think so." She shrugged. "I just see and remember numbers. I've always been good at any kind of math."

Lani explained to Landon, "She spotted an error in my report, and helped me fix it before turning it in."

Minerva shrugged again. "It didn't add up. I notice those kinds of things."

Landon was looking at her like a kindred spirit. "That's great. I've always been good at math too, but not nearly as quick as you're describing."

"I'd really like to see more of your work," Minerva said, blushing a little. "I think it's... really cool."

"I'd love to show you," Landon replied. "Actually, if you've got time on Saturday, could we meet again for lunch?"

"Oh." Minerva blushed more, and looked to Lani, who nodded and smiled. She looked back to the handsome man across the table. "Okay. Sure, Landon. I'd like that."

----

The very next day, Minerva was in Lani's office in the early morning. "You set me up with Landon Carter?" she asked, emphasizing his last name.

Lani blinked at the sudden question. "Yes."

"Oh God. I looked him up last night. He's, like, a millionaire."

"Well, his parents are. I don't know about him."

Minerva was freaking out. "I can't date him! That's a lot of pressure! That's like dating, umm, a celebrity."

Lani put her hand on Minerva's shoulder. "He's not a celebrity. He's just Landon. How he acted last night, that's how he always acts. He's not stuck up, and he's not an asshole."

Minerva was still overwhelmed, but tried to take deep breaths. "I still don't know about this. You're sure? He's not going to make fun of me, or ditch me, on Saturday? This isn't some kind of prank?"

"No, of course not. Why would I do that?"

"Lots of people do that. To me," Minerva explained. "You don't know how it feels to be picked on. You're too pretty."

Lani's heart melted. "Oh, sweetie, you're pretty too."

"No I'm not. I mean, you were probably super popular in school. Like homecoming queen or something. I got ditched on homecoming, it was all a rude prank." Minerva was almost in tears. "Promise this isn't like that?"

"I promise! I'd never ever do that to anyone. Least of all you," Lani swore. Her heart broke for this poor little creature. "But you are beautiful, and really smart. You just need to be more confident."

Minerva sniffed back a tear. "Thanks. It all just seems too good to be true."

"What seems too good to be true?" Tiffany said, standing at the door.

"Umm," Minerva stuttered, "umm, Lani got me a date. Oh, I have to go, bye." She quickly jetted out of the room.

"You got little Minnie a date?" Tiffany said to Lani. "That's cute."

"Yeah, it is. Minnie?"

"Yeah, that's what some of the guys upstairs call her. Minnie the Mouse. Because she's small and skittish." Tiffany said.

"I guess she is that, but she's also really brilliant, you know that, right?"

Tiffany shrugged. "Whatever. Lunch later?"

----

Minerva appeared in Lani's office again on Friday afternoon, the day before her date with Landon. "I don't know, I don't know if I'm ready for this," she said.

"You're ready," Lani said encouragingly, "he likes you, you've got nothing to worry about."

"Oh. Should I, umm, dress up? Or more relaxed?"

"I'm sure relaxed is fine for a Saturday lunch, Minnie." The nickname slipped out before Lani could stop it.

Minerva didn't look pleased. "Don't call me that," she suddenly said, very sharply. Lani flinched at the sudden emotional outburst. Then, back in her normal demeanor, Minerva murmured, "Oh, sorry. You... you don't know."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that was a sore spot."

"It's... it's just, I was called that a lot in school. I don't like being called Minnie Mouse. I know I'm quiet and small. But it's not nice." Minerva looked down at her feet. "I've heard people call me that here too. It makes me feel like I'm back in high school."

"I'm sorry. And I guess, in high school, I would have been one of those mean girls. But I hope that I've changed since then," Lani related.

Minerva nodded. "I don't think you're like that. But I do think she is," she said, gesturing over her shoulder towards Tiffany's office.

"Ah. Yeah, she's a little stuck on herself. But you want to know what?"

"What?"

"She's met Landon. She practically threw herself at him, and he didn't like her."

Minerva was surprised. "Didn't like her? She's sexy, with the big..." she gestured outwards from her own small chest, "and Landon didn't like her?"

"No way! He told me not to bring her around him anymore. But he asked you out. So he likes you much better. Does that make you feel better?" Lani asked.

"A little," Minerva admitted. "It's nice to know that Landon likes me that much. So you think tomorrow will go okay?"

"Definitely," Lani said comfortingly. "He's already interested. So just be yourself, relax, and enjoy each other's company. Okay?"

"Okay." Minerva nodded, then added, "Thanks Lani."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

Minerva headed out the door, then turned back for a second. "I don't like Minnie. But sometimes my dad calls me Min. If you want to call me a nickname, I like that better."