Everything was pressing in on me, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Damon was so freaking sexy and I wanted to go out with him, but my dad would toss me out if he found out. It was beyond depressing. I needed a way out. After a few more songs, I drifted off.
Chapter Six
The next morning, I woke and dressed in the same cheap grey suit, with an almost identical white shirt and a slightly less awful red and blue checkered tie. I stared at myself in the mirror on the wardrobe’s door and sighed. I hated how I looked in suits. It reminded me just how much I was pretending to be somebody I wasn’t. Well, this was life. You would think I would have been used to it by now. Get up, work, eat slop, go to bed while listening to music. What a pitiful existence. Was there more?
Before entering our building, I steeled myself for seeing Damon, but I didn’t, not at all. I did look for him more often than I cared to admit. I worried he was going out of his way to avoid me, but it was far more likely Damon was busy in meetings, or whatever the hell it was department heads did when they weren’t having their dicks sucked by their secret lover.
Without Damon to distract me, I went on autopilot, filing and doing reams of data entry slowly and sadly wasting away in the corner, trying to appear invisible. Why did I have to be such a fucking coward all the time? Why couldn’t I grab hold of something beautiful when it came along and just run with it?
Depression was winning, making me oblivious to everything around me. I didn’t remember if anyone even tried to talk to me. Maybe some random office worker said a few words, and I was almost certain that my supervisor had berated and sworn at me at least twice, but it all passed by with little to interrupt my self-flagellation.
Before I left for the day, a meeting was called. I headed to the conference room to find Damon holding court. No less than four women were flirting with him. Irrational anger filled me. How could he be flirting with those women? My heart squeezed and I realized he owed me nothing at all because I’d told him he didn’t.
I slumped down in a chair at the other end of the table. Damon called the meeting to order. It was just a subset of employees, which I found out had been happening all day long. Maybe that’s why I hadn’t seen him in the office. He introduced himself and asked if there were any questions.
One woman, I don’t remember her name, maybe Brit or Chit or something like that, held up her hand.
“Yes?” Damon asked.
“Will we be having these meetings with you all the time?” She blinked her eyes and crossed her arms, laughing as she angled her head to the side.
The little Chit had worn a low-cut top so her tits almost spilled out as she squeezed them. I wanted to rush over and toss a towel over her.
“This is more of a get to know you session. I’ll be meeting with your supervisors and they’ll be hosting the meetings.”
Chit giggled. She fucking giggled in the middle of a business meeting. I mean I got it, Damon was cute, but why the hell was this woman flirting with him?
“Any other questions?”
I lifted my hand and Damon narrowed his eyes just a touch. “Yes?” His voice was quiet, his eyes warry.
“The chairs in the office, I was wondering if they were going to stay the same or be replaced.”
“Why would they be replaced?”
“Well, you know, they’re a little bulky. They block the view. So, you know, if you go into an office, you can’t see under the desk. There could be paper under there, like files that need to be put away. What if those files built up? You’d go into an office that has one of those big chairs and you wouldn’t see the files. You’d be walking around the office, stumbling all over the place searching for the files. You’d have to get on your knees under the desk to see it.”
Damon’s nostrils flared and I thought he was going to be angry. Instead, his lips turned up and he leaned forward a bit.
“I take productivity in the office very seriously. I haven’t noticed the chairs blocking the view under the desk, but I don’t spend much time crawling around looking for things on my knees. Maybe you need to come by my office and we can further discuss your views on the office furniture. I’m not exactly clear on what you mean, but I’d like to take this up with you after this meeting.” Damon smiled at one of the women who’d been flirting with him earlier. “Any more questions?”
No one said anything. My body heated as I thought of meeting with Damon alone in his office. The day was almost over, and my filing was done, so I was looking forward to leaving, but seeing Damon held appeal.
Damon went on about some other office rubbish and then the meeting was over. Everyone filed out and I followed. Damon called for me, and I turned, seeing him wave me back into the conference room.
He pulled out a chair and shut the door. The room had windows along the wall, allowing the whole office to see inside so I couldn’t drop to my knees and suck his cock. I was very disappointed.
“You’re a cheeky little one,” Damon growled.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. It was a welcome change from these boring meetings.”
“Is this what you’ve been doing all day.”
“God, yes. They want me to put my face in front of all the employees.”
I lifted a brow and shot him a smile. “I guess I got the upgraded meeting with you yesterday.”
He chuckled. The door flew open behind me and I turned, fear pulsing hard. We hadn’t been doing anything wrong, but I’d wanted to.
“There you are, Ridley. Sorry about him, Mr. Martel,” Mary said as she buzzed into the room.
“He’s not a bother. We were just having a chat about office furniture.”
“Really, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Ridley, you have a stack that needs to be filed before the end of the day.”
I couldn’t get out of this, not with her breathing down my neck. Mary must have been hording files for me to have to stay late to complete. I stood and headed out, not at all looking forward to staying late. Damon nor Mary followed me out of the conference room, instead I saw them sitting and chatting. Mary touched Damon’s shoulder and my hackles went up. Why did I care who did what with him? We weren’t a couple.
The next day, Damon wasn’t in the office much, at least, not in my line of sight. I felt his absence even deeper than I had the day before. Just as I was about to leave for the night, he came by and dropped off my check for the week.
“I didn’t know you were bringing pay checks around.”
“I’m a full-service boss.”
I almost choked on his words. I glanced around, seeing that no one was paying us any attention.
“That got your attention,” Damon said.
“I wasn’t expecting you to say that out loud, not out here.”
“Mr. Martel,” Bethanne called out.
“Shit, I have to go.” Damon turned and walked away, not glancing back once.
I wished he’d stayed to chat, but that might make people think we were a couple. I couldn’t be open, not here. I knew people from my dad’s congregation worked here since they’d been the ones to get me this job. It was also why I couldn’t quit. Dad would hold it over my head if I did.
That night, Dad laid it on thick; how he needed money, the church members weren’t giving, tithes were down, they needed stuff for the poor homeless kids at the shelter who had to walk up hill both ways to school. Of course, it was payday and dad knew it. I handed over one-hundred fifty quid, but he kept on about the poor orphans and I gave him fifty more. That left me with sixty quid for the week. Not enough to head to Manchester or anywhere else and have some fun.
The next day, I looked for Damon, but he wasn’t to be found. It was two days later before I saw him. I was picking up my morning cuppa when he bumped into me. Like literally bumped into me.
“Watch it,” I spat out then turned, my body heating at first glance of him
“Sorry about that. I didn’t see you. Let me get that for you in reparation for runn
ing into you.”
“There’s no need.”
Damon handed the cashier a fiver. My whole body heated. I’d not only bought a large cup of tea, I’d grabbed a scone too, wanting to treat myself because I’d felt down.
He grabbed a cup of coffee and a croissant. “Hold up there, young man.”
I froze, worried someone I knew was in the shop. This place was closer to work, further from my house, but near my dad’s church. No one was looking at me funny, so I felt better, but still, it was dangerous being seen with Damon.
“I need to get to work, my boss’ boss is a real jerk.” I met his gaze and saw his eyes crinkle.
“I bet he is. But if he gives you any trouble, I’ll talk to him.”
Though I knew I shouldn’t stand around chatting with him, I stayed rooted to the spot and waited for him to join me.
“Take a seat,” Damon said.
I glanced around again. “I shouldn’t.”
“It’s only tea, not a full meal.”
He had me there. I was finding less and less to make me stay away. I sat across from him at a small table that sat two. Our knees bumped and he smirked. I almost jumped up right then.
“So, Ridley, what do you aspire out of life?”
I took a sip of my tea, thinking about his question. “What do you mean?”
“Surely you have something you want to be.”
I shrugged as depression started to build. “I haven’t given it much thought.”
“When you were a boy running around on the playground, what types of games did you play? Who did you pretend to be?”
“I was Ironman.”
“Well, you probably aren’t going to be Ironman. What would you like to be instead?”
“You mean like when I grow up?”
He took a sip of coffee and lifted his brows. “From what I’ve seen, you’re fully grown.”
“Why all the questions?”
“Just want to get to know you better.”
“I’m simple.”
“You hate your job.”
“Everyone hates their job.”
“No, not everyone.”
I took a bite of my scone and moaned. This place knew how to make them flavorful. Sometimes this was the best part of my day, which I knew was sad, but there really wasn’t much I could do about it.
“Does that taste good?” Damon asked. He took a bite of his croissant and winked.
I glanced around, fear filling me. What if someone came in who knew me?
“Relax, Ridley, no one cares that two men in suits are getting coffee together. It looks like a business meeting.”
I gave him a quick nod, knowing I should get to work. It was one thing to sit in a conference room during a meeting with Damon, but this was too risky.
“Do you come here before work every day?”
I shook my head. “Not all the time, I just wanted to treat myself.”
“Why?”
I heard my name and glanced up, panic racing through me. I recognized the woman but had forgotten her name. She was one of my dad’s biggest followers—not the right word—parishioners. Anyway, she went to my dad’s church and she had for a long time.
“Ridley, it’s so good to see you. I haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays.”
“Hello…” I trailed off, not sure what to call her as I awkwardly stood, dropping my napkin to the ground.
She turned to Damon, and held out her hand. “I’m Amy, and you are. I don’t think I’ve seen you at church.”
“Probably not. I just moved here. I work with Ridley.”
“Oh, isn’t that nice. His father has been so worried about him.” She turned to me and placed her hand over her mouth. “Oops, I guess I shouldn’t have said that. Anyway, I have to run, bye.”
Damon and I sat there, staring at the table. People filed in, purchased tea and left, which is what I should have done. When I stood, Damon glanced up, a little something like desperation shining in his eyes.
“I’ll see you at work,” I said as I took off. I couldn’t believe someone from my dad’s church had seen me with Damon. We hadn’t been doing anything though. I hated feeling like I couldn’t talk to him. I had no hope of life getting better. I couldn’t date, hell, I couldn’t even talk to a guy in public without some busybody finding me.
Chapter Seven
Work was depressing as always. The only upside was Mary wasn’t in the office. She’d stayed home sick.
The weekend came and went, but nothing exciting happened. I missed Damon terribly. He hadn’t asked me for my real phone number, which was good. If he called, it would be too easy to drop everything and go see him.
On Monday, he was in meetings, at least that’s what Mary said to me four or five times, like it was some big deal she knew and no one else did.
That evening, he followed me outside and walked behind me on my way home. I felt odd not acknowledging him, but I wasn’t out and couldn’t be.
A light caught me and I stopped. Damon was right there, I could feel his presence.
“Oh, Ridley, I didn’t realize you were right here. How about we stop in the pub for a drink?”
My dad had taken more money this weekend and I didn’t even have enough to get a pint until our next payday. The offer was too sweet to pass up because I needed something to get me through. “Sure. Just one though.”
We headed to a pub down the street. I was looking forward to talking to him. There wasn’t anyone I could really talk to. Dad wasn’t an option. Another light stopped us and I turned to stare at Damon’s profile. He was very good looking. I liked the way his chin looked with stubble, and he looked good shaved too. He just looked good.
He glanced down and caught my gaze. His smile was wicked and made my insides twist. The door to the pub opened and out stepped my dad, leading a very drunk man from the bar. The bouncer was talking loudly, saying something about calling the cops if he didn’t get the drunk out of there.
The guy dad was holding up didn’t seem interested in leaving. He tried to head back into the bar but my dad tugged him closer. The situation was going to get out of hand. It was right then my dad saw me. Damon was oblivious to my distress. His smile hadn’t fallen like mine had.
“There’s my son. He’ll help,” Dad called out.
I couldn’t say no. I moved quickly, grabbing the guys other side and helping him stand upright. Damon came over, his brows bunched together.
“Do you need help?” Damon asked.
“No, no help needed. We’ve got it,” Dad said.
I gave a quick shake of my head and hurt flashed in Damon’s eyes. There was no way I could include Damon in this. Dad would ask too many questions. Somehow, we got the drunk away from the bar and down a block. Then he decided to throw up. The dude didn’t go straight on, or even towards the street. No, he turned to me and tossed his cookies all over my suit. I groaned, wishing I’d walked the other way, or stayed late at work.
“Oh no, Ridley, looks like you’ll have to get those cleaned,” Dad said.
My heart hurt. That would mean I’d have to cut into the meager savings I had hidden in my room. My shoes were toast, and my suit may not be salvageable. It was a disaster. At least Damon hadn’t seen me like this.
I helped dad get the drunk into a cab and then we headed home. I stank. No question about it. People avoided me on the bus. It was disgusting, and there was no doubt in my mind that my life sucked.
I didn’t have another suit. I found an old pair of slacks but no jacket. I dug through my closet and salvaged shoes that kind of fit, but not well. Anger churned through me, making me wish I hadn’t felt the need to help my dad. He hadn’t explained anything to me after we got home. There was no reason given for us having to help that guy out of the bar and into the cab.
Since I’d had to hunt for decent clothes to wear, I was running late. Mary caught me on the way in, her frown severe.
“That’s a notice on the books,” Mr. Chandler.
I didn’t have the energy to fight her or come up with an excuse. She wasn’t going to listen anyway. I moved past her, ready to get to work.
Damon came out of his office, his eyes narrowed. I didn’t even wave or smile. It wasn’t his fault my night had been ruined. I wished life was different. I could have laughed at the experience if I’d been with Damon, but there wasn’t anything to laugh at with my dad.
I set my stuff under my desk and glanced up, Damon was right there. I may have yelped. He dropped a stack of files on my desk. Previously, when Daniel needed me to put up files, he would send his receptionist over to drop the files or I had to go pick them up, but Damon seemed to be interested in stopping by my desk quiet often.
“No suit today?”
He was teasing, right? Surely, he had to be teasing. “Are you going to write me up?”
“Hmm, if it gets you detention, maybe.”
I wasn’t prepared for that comment. “I need to get to work.”
“You okay?”
I nodded and opened my mouth to say something, but Mary came over.
“Ridley was late.”
Her words pissed me off and I was about to say something. Damon’s eyes narrowed and he spoke up.
“He told me he had an emergency this morning.”
She huffed and I swear she almost stamped her foot. “There is no excuse for tardiness.”
Damon gave her a tight smile. “No, I’m sure there isn’t, but sometimes emergencies happen.”
Marry sputtered before she found her voice. “He isn’t wearing a suit either.”
“No, I’m sure he will be back in his suit next week.”
God, I hoped it was salvageable. I didn’t want to think what I would do if they couldn’t get the stench out.
“Yes, yes I will.” I had no clue if the suit would happen, but I disliked Mary being such a jerk all the time.
“He’d better be,” Mary said before she turned and huffed off.
“She doesn’t like me,” I said to Damon.
Ridley Uncovered Page 5