by D K Sutton
“So, we can’t date.”
“No, Chase. That’s not what we’re saying.”
“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” Ben interrupted. “Officially.”
I looked from one to the other, confused. What were they saying?
“Let me be perfectly clear.” Sean stepped forward, glancing back at Ben before facing us. “What happens between you guys is none of our business unless it affects the work that you do. Or unless it’s so blatantly obvious that other people are noticing, and we have no choice but to act. Do you understand?”
“I get it.”
“What that means,” Ben said. “Is no making out in the copy room.”
“No holding hands or kissing at work.” Sean crossed his arms.
“We can spend our breaks together? Lunch together?”
“You guys are friends, right? No problem,” Sean said. “But if you guys have a rough spot in your friendship”—he actually used air quotes around the word—”and ignore each other when you come to work, that’s fine. We just can’t have a loss of production. We can’t have fights or arguing.”
“We can’t have people calling and pretending to be other people,” Ben added with a pointed look at Max.
Shit! I sneaked a glance at Max, but he looked innocent, like he had no idea what they were talking about. Okay. I could do this.
“Do you get what we’re saying here?” Sean stared at Max.
“Yes, absolutely,” Max said. “Chase and I are friends and we might disagree now and then but we won’t bring it to work.”
“Perfect.” Ben smiled at us both.
“So, no one is getting fired?” It seemed too good to be true. I wanted to be sure.
“Not today.” Sean nodded at them.
That nod meant we were being dismissed. I couldn’t wait to get out of the office before they changed their minds. When I reached the door, I glanced back. Sean was in a whispered conversation with Ben. We had already been forgotten.
“Excuse me,” I said. They both looked up, surprised to see us still there. “Do you want the door open or shut?”
“Definitely shut.”
I did as he asked and looked over at Max. “Well, that was weird.”
“I can’t believe it,” Max said. “I was totally prepared to go in there and sign any transfer papers they had.”
“And now you don’t have to go.” I wanted to kiss him, but that was definitely on the Don’t Do At Work list.
“We better get back to work. I’ll see you later, babe.” He squeezed my hand.
The rest of the day rushed by, and I was happier than I had for a long time. I had a job I loved. A man I loved. And now I’d get to keep both. I walked over to Max’s desk after my last call. He was still on a call, so I waited patiently by the desk as other workers filed out. Several of them smiled at me and wished me a good night. I smiled in return. Had it only been a few months ago when no one would talk to me? And I had been afraid to talk to them. So much had changed and although I was the one who’d actually changed, I gave Max all the credit. He helped me feel safe and secure and loved. He helped me build confidence in myself. He didn’t treat me as if I were defective. I would never be the outgoing social butterfly Max was. That was never going to happen. But I no longer had to shrink away and hide from everyone.
Max was still on the call. It didn’t matter how long it took; we had to finish a call. Even if it ran an hour over. Most of the workers had already left. The office had an evening shift, but it was much smaller than the day shift. Silence filled the office except for Max’s voice. Most of the cubicles were empty. I sat in Dylan’s chair and turned in circles, making myself dizzy. Max was agreeing to something and saying that he could send a tech out if needed. He shook his head at me with a smile on his face.
Sean passed by, his eyebrows raised. I stopped twirling. That was probably on the stop doing list, too. “Just waiting for my friend to get done,” I said, not even using the air quotes. “He’s my ride.” I leaned over the desk to watch him walk away. I wanted to see if he was leaving the building. Instead of going right toward the elevators, Sean turned left and went into the copy room and closed the door. That was weird. Of course, he was a sup so he could just ignore the big sign on the door.
“Thank you very much, ma’am for calling Cox Communications. Please stay on the line to take a short survey about the service you received today.”
Max hung up and shook his head. “People over ninety shouldn’t be left alone with technology.”
I laughed. “What happened?”
“I tried to get her to enter a password, and she couldn’t figure out why the letters she was entering were turning into dots.” Max shook his head. “She kept deleting them over and over. I asked if she had anyone who could help her, and she said she did have one friend, but they weren’t talking to each other right now. So, I offered to send out a tech.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, even though I could tell Max was still irritated by the call. “You do a great job,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.
Someone cleared their throat behind us. Oops. Ben was still the building.
“Just a friendly kiss among friends,” I said, gathering my stuff as Max pulled me toward the elevators.
“Are you leaving for the night?” Max asked him.
“No, I still…” He cleared his throat again. “I have some things to finish up.”
“Okay, well, have a good weekend.”
“You guys have a good one, too.”
When we reached the elevators, I glanced back at Ben. He paused in front of the door to the copy room and listened for a minute. Then he went inside.
“Is there something going on with Ben and Sean?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Max said. “I have my own man to worry about.
Once we were alone in the elevator, I kissed him lightly on the lips.
“We’re in public. At work.”
“I’m a rule breaker.” I shrugged.
“Chase Corrigan? A rule breaker?” he teased. “Since when?”
“Since you.” I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a kiss that lasted until the elevator dinged. “I could definitely get used to this.”
Max smiled. “Heck and heck yeah.”
***
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LETTER FROM DK SUTTON
DEAR READERS,
Thank you for reading Talk to Me. It’s the first book in the Sloan Brothers series. I enjoyed writing this story. I appreciate those who shared with me their experiences living with anxiety. It is a disorder that is very common but greatly misunderstood. I also loved sharing Toby with you. He is part of our family and actually does bark at everyone, and the vacuum, and he has a nervous habit of licking everything.
Next up in the Sloan Brothers series, we will have Jamie’s story as he rushes off to Australia to spend time with his boyfriend, only to get dumped at the airport. He explores the country alone determined to enjoy his time ‘down under’ until he meets a gorgeous but grumpy scuba diving instructor who happens to have a dislike for American tourists.
You can follow me on Amazon to find out about new releases and follow me on my Facebook page to get sneak peeks of stories to come.
Hopefully, by the time you read this, my website will be up and running. Check it out at www.dksuttonwrites.com.
Join my Facebook reader’s group at facebook.com/groups/dkcafe/ We have a lot of fun, and I always post my new stuff there first. You can also sign up for my newsletter to get the latest information.
I also have a Pinterest board for my books. You may have to wade through crochet patterns to get to them, but each board is labeled with the name of the book. They contain photos and other things that inspired me when writing. I’m also on twitter and Instagram.
Please consider leaving a review of Talk to Me on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews ca
n really help books show up in Amazon searches so they can then reach more readers.
Thanks again,
DK SUTTON
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
D.K. SUTTON is a social worker by day and author by night. She enjoys writing about slightly flawed characters in compromising situations. She has a passion for writing LGBTQ+ stories, because honestly there’s not enough positive stories in the world. Her Broken series is M/M fiction and full of love and angst. Her other series are all M/M romance. She is also working on a mystery and paranormal/fantasy, both with LGBTQ+ characters. For a list of all her books, please turn the page.
Connect with DK Sutton on Social Media
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ALSO FROM
DK SUTTON
LGBT FICTION (M/M)
Broken Series
Broken Sidewalks
M/M ROMANCE
Trials of Love Series:
Trial & Error
The Virgin Pirate-A Trials of Love Short
Sloan Brothers Series:
Talk to Me
Equal Opportunity Player-A Sloan Brothers Short