devastating, high cheekbones and changeable eyes, and I could only imagine the toned frame underneath his office attire.
“Is there anything wrong, Mr. Gaudens?”
I sighed. “No…. No, thank you. It’s just… I was wondering, now that you fired me, why the hell didn’t I fall for you instead.”
To my surprise, his lips quirked upward in the slightest hint of a smile. “Because falling for your boss is never a good idea, Mr. Gaudens.” He paused before he exited his office and looked me in the eyes, all serious now. “I wish you the best of luck.”
“ T HE bad news is that this is the last round of drinks I can afford,” I told Reyna. “Pillory fired my ass.”
“No way!” Reyna’s eyes widened, her prominent, plucked eyebrows giving her a fierce appearance. “What for?”
“Because Schiffer from BW&B is sick today and your former boss came instead of him. I was supposed to give him a presentation….” My voice trailed off, and I reached for my beer and took a healthy sip.
“No way! He happened to show up a day after he gave you that bruise? What happened, did you two explode at each other or something?”
“You won’t believe me.”
Reyna took in my miserable countenance with a gaze both protective and incredulous, and her fingers began to twirl a strand of her hair in a gesture of impatient anticipation. A sly grin began to spread slowly across her face. “Try me, you nut!”
“Pillory walked into my office just as I was….” I paused, hesitant to fill the expectant silence. “He walked in just as I was on my knees in front of Azurri, giving him head.”
“Fuck!” Reyna’s mouth was full of beer as I said this, and that was a mistake on my part—I should have waited for her to swallow. Her beer spray covered my good suit and white work shirt, silk tie and all.
Reyna looked at me in outrage. “That asshole forced you to go down on him in your own office?”
I cast my eyes down at the round bar table, studying the scarred wooden surface.
“You don’t have to put up with that kind of shit, Wyatt, let alone be fired for it. I want you to go and—”
“Reyna.” I put up my hand, feeling guilty because she was the best fag-hag friend a guy could ever have. “Reyna, I offered.”
Her look turned from protective to disapproving. “So what’s the good news?” she asked.
“The good news is, you can apply for my old job. Pillory’s a pretty nice guy. He never yells, he gives precise instructions, he’s pretty good-looking….” I sighed. I’d miss good ol’ Pillory.
“So what now? Will you apply for my old job now?” Reyna asked, uncertain.
“No. I thought about it, but no. It’s… I want him for myself. As a lover, not as a boss.”
“What will you do, then? Job hunt?”
“I’ll manage.” Reyna might have been my best friend, but not even she knew of some of my more eclectic skills.
Chapter 4
T WO margaritas, one with salt, one without. Two beers. Nachos grande .
I wrote the order down in shorthand, looked at my party of four, and smiled. “Coming right up!”
I’m sure the smile didn’t go all the way up to my eyes—it was that tired, professional smile waiters got toward the end of the night when their feet hurt and their knees ached and they are thoroughly sick and tired of humanity in general. My body might have been surprisingly beaten down by four consecutive days of waiting tables, but my mind was alert and keen, my ears searching for the right stray bit of somebody else’s conversation.
“So I told them we can’t afford that—that’s crazy. I’d rather save the money for my kids’ college . ”
No use barking up that tree. I moved on.
“Did you call your lawyer? You gotta talk to your lawyer ’bout all this. There’s no way he can do that to ya.”
A tough mother-daughter conversation was taking place in the corner. I felt bad for the daughter. She nursed her strawberry daiquiri and heavy makeup barely covered a
“Is there anything wrong, Mr. Gaudens?”
I sighed. “No…. No, thank you. It’s just… I was wondering, now that you fired me, why the hell didn’t I fall for you instead.”
To my surprise, his lips quirked upward in the slightest hint of a smile. “Because falling for your boss is never a good idea, Mr. Gaudens.” He paused before he exited his office and looked me in the eyes, all serious now. “I wish you the best of luck.”
“ T HE bad news is that this is the last round of drinks I can afford,” I told Reyna. “Pillory fired my ass.”
“No way!” Reyna’s eyes widened, her prominent, plucked eyebrows giving her a fierce appearance. “What for?”
“Because Schiffer from BW&B is sick today and your former boss came instead of him. I was supposed to give him a presentation….” My voice trailed off, and I reached for my beer and took a healthy sip.
“No way! He happened to show up a day after he gave you that bruise? What happened, did you two explode at each other or something?”
“You won’t believe me.”
Reyna took in my miserable countenance with a gaze both protective and incredulous, and her fingers began to twirl a strand of her hair in a gesture of impatient anticipation. A sly grin began to spread slowly across her face. “Try me, you nut!”
“Pillory walked into my office just as I was….” I paused, hesitant to fill the expectant silence. “He walked in just as I was on my knees in front of Azurri, giving him head.”
“Fuck!” Reyna’s mouth was full of beer as I said this, and that was a mistake on my part—I should have waited for her to swallow. Her beer spray covered my good suit and white work shirt, silk tie and all.
Reyna looked at me in outrage. “That asshole forced you to go down on him in your own office?”
I cast my eyes down at the round bar table, studying the scarred wooden surface.
“You don’t have to put up with that kind of shit, Wyatt, let alone be fired for it. I want you to go and—”
“Reyna.” I put up my hand, feeling guilty because she was the best fag-hag friend a guy could ever have. “Reyna, I offered.”
Her look turned from protective to disapproving. “So what’s the good news?” she asked.
“The good news is, you can apply for my old job. Pillory’s a pretty nice guy. He never yells, he gives precise instructions, he’s pretty good-looking….” I sighed. I’d miss good ol’ Pillory.
“So what now? Will you apply for my old job now?” Reyna asked, uncertain.
“No. I thought about it, but no. It’s… I want him for myself. As a lover, not as a boss.”
“What will you do, then? Job hunt?”
“I’ll manage.” Reyna might have been my best friend, but not even she knew of some of my more eclectic skills.
Chapter 4
T WO margaritas, one with salt, one without. Two beers. Nachos grande .
I wrote the order down in shorthand, looked at my party of four, and smiled. “Coming right up!”
I’m sure the smile didn’t go all the way up to my eyes—it was that tired, professional smile waiters got toward the end of the night when their feet hurt and their knees ached and they are thoroughly sick and tired of humanity in general. My body might have been surprisingly beaten down by four consecutive days of waiting tables, but my mind was alert and keen, my ears searching for the right stray bit of somebody else’s conversation.
“So I told them we can’t afford that—that’s crazy. I’d rather save the money for my kids’ college . ”
No use barking up that tree. I moved on.
“Did you call your lawyer? You gotta talk to your lawyer ’bout all this. There’s no way he can do that to ya.”
A tough mother-daughter conversation was taking place in the corner. I felt bad for the daughter. She nursed her strawberry daiquiri and heavy makeup barely covered a
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