Chapter 34: Survey Sickness

Roxanne could hear the sound of the glass breaking from the truck where she had been watching Tom on a small screen transmitting from Tom’s secret video camera on his shirt. Thanks to Blake, they had borrowed the sophisticated surveillance equipment.
She knew Tom needed help. Everyone had stopped to stare at him, and his blunder proved he didn’t have much construction experience. Nervous he could be exposed, she had to get Tom out of there.
Roxanne rifled through the back of the truck cab, looking for something, anything she could use as a prop to help her. She twisted the side of her shirt into a knot and shook her hair out of its ponytail. Grabbing a folder from Tom’s work bag and finding a pen in the glove compartment, she hurried out of the truck.
“Yoo,hoo,” she said as she entered the building. “Just come to collect a quick survey.” Dressed in jeans with her t-shirt now tight around her chest, she was hoping to at least attract some attention.
She worked her way to where Tom’s glass fiasco occurred, noticing that someone had fetched the mustached man who was on his way. Roxanne jumped in his path, trying to cut him off from Tom.
“Excuse me, sir, do you have a moment for some quick questions? It will only take a minute, especially for someone as handsome as you,” she smiled broadly, standing with her hand on her hip and her head cocked. He turned and looked at her.
“Sorry, miss,” he said, “Now’s not the time.” Roxanne considered whether she should run for it too, but she had to get Tom away. She wasn’t sure what they would do if they found out he wasn’t there for an honest day’s work.
“I’m sure you could spare a tiny moment,” she smiled at him, stroking his shoulder lightly, willing him to stop.
“Oh, okay, whatcha got?” He stopped.
Suddenly Roxanne drew a blank. She had this idea of pretending to attract attention by asking the men about a survey, but she had no idea what to ask.
“It’s about beer,” she said as she recovered. “What kind is your favorite?” she asked, the thought of beer making her feel a bit queasy.
“Uh, I like a good stout.” He turned to walk away.
Roxanne took a step in front of him and touched his arm, turning and smiling some more. “Great answer, but that’s not all. Just a few more questions.”
The man seemed to be flattered by Roxanne’s attention, yet she could see him trying to look behind her at the commotion surrounding the glass. Roxanne could see out of the corner of her eye that the men were starting to point fingers. She needed to hurry.
“Listen, if you get everyone around, I can have everyone answer these few questions, and I promise I’ll make it worth your while.” One of the other men walking by heard Roxanne’s pitch and stopped. She could hear one of the men behind her blaming Tom for the accident.
Roxanne put two fingers in her mouth and gave a loud whistle. “Hey boys,” she called. “Come over here with your boss. I have a few questions to ask. Leave the glass alone. It will still be there when we’re through,” she smiled coyly at the men who started to form a circle around her.
Seeing that she had started to garner some of their attention, partially because they had already stopped work due to Tom’s mistake, Roxanne stood in their circle, beaming at the crew. Her stomach churned a little, perhaps from nervousness.
Like a politician at a charity event, Roxanne plastered a fake smile on her lips and shook some of the men’s hands. “Thanks for your attention. Like I told your boss here,” she squeezed the man’s bicep, “ooh, your strong boss - if you answer some questions on my survey, I can promise, you won’t regret it.”
Tom stood at the back of the crowd, and Roxanne made eye contact with him. She nodded her head toward the door. No one was standing there, but she could see Tom was nervous about trying to make an exit with the mob facing that direction.
“Okay, so what’s everyone’s favorite beer?” The men called out various names of beer brands and Roxanne pretended to write them down in her folder. “That’s great. And how many beers do you drink a week?” she asked, eyeing Tom who was inching along the back of the crowd toward the door.
The men yelled out various answers, and again, Roxanne feigned recording them. “Now here’s a big one, would you,” she tried to think of another question but the mention of beer along with the men staring at her made her stomach feel rotten. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, the men mumbling amongst themselves.
Roxanne could see that Tom still wasn’t close enough to the door. They were clearly losing patience with her, and she didn’t know how many more beer questions she could come up with to keep them interested. Her stomach bubbled over and she leaned over, puking right in front of the mustached man.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m really sorry,” she leaned over again. Some of the men laughed, but the boss looked at her with disgust. “Morning sickness,” she said. “I have to go.”
She looked around and saw Tom was gone. “Thank you, guys. Drink more beer,” Roxanne said as she waved and rushed to the truck where Tom was waiting.
“What was that?” Tom asked as he drove away. “That little performance?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Roxanne said. “I was thinking I needed to distract those guys, get you out of there. If you just ran, I’m pretty sure they would have stopped you. Luckily, our little seedling made themselves known when they did.” She patted her belly.
“That’s the thing, Roxanne. You’re pregnant. You can’t put yourself at risk like that.”
“It was fine,” she waved her hand. “They didn’t want to hurt me. You on the other hand…”
“You have to be careful. No more. I’m not risking you or the baby. Plus, I told you it wasn’t going to work.” He shook his head. “It was pretty much a bust. I didn’t learn anything that could help us.” Tom slapped the steering wheel.
“Oh, no. Actually, I found something we need,” said Roxanne.