It's Who You Know Ch. 08

I'd have bursts of wondering why I deserved him. Wondering what exactly I was giving him that meant he kept me around. I mean, yeah, I made him laugh a lot. I enjoyed his company. We usually had the same opinions on things. We had amazing sex. And...?

Did it have to be more? I got stumped by the same question if I asked it of myself. Why did I love him? Because I just... did. Did I need a bunch of reasons to justify it?

He had, essentially, taken me in, let me into his life, slowly and earnestly showed me every inch of him. He had given me what I wanted, what I needed, brought out the best in me, and now I was going to be running this company beside him, and Amelia, and Zack. We were all in this together.

I wanted something to show my dedication. To prove that I was in it for the long haul. I was so grateful for what I had and I needed some way to show it.

I spent a while desperately trying to think of something. I was supposed to be creative, yet I ended up with the most cliche and obvious thing in the world. And I wasn't even sure if it was a good idea, if it would be well received. I was taking a gamble.

*

There was a big company pep talk, to make sure everyone was on the same page with the future, the new directions, the expansions. Things were getting even bigger. It was a glorious thing, every employee crammed in the presentation hall to listen.

Darren was a good public speaker, and I think it was aided by nobody working there having a legitimate bad thing to say about him. Yes, he could be strict and expect sharp discipline, but he treated everyone well. He expected the best of people, but he knew it was important to bring it out of them. I think he knew every person there by name. Nobody was hired lightly and there had been very, very few firings.

He was a man who turned heads whenever he walked into a room, even if he didn't always want to. Everybody knew who he was. The boss, the CEO. That tall, good-looking fashionable guy, with the deep and piercing voice to accompany his steely gaze. A calm demeanour that still radiated passion.

God, I just sat there like a starry-eyed, smitten young boy, watching him. I don't think he had intended to work humour into his speech, but something came out sounding a little too amusing and he was already smirking. The moment he locked eyes with a giggling Amelia he lost it. His bouncing, hitching chuckle sounded out down the microphone and the whole room responded the same. He tried about three more times before he managed to finish the sentence. It was a surprisingly suave ice-breaker that was a complete accident.

He talked about the beginnings, of course. Things already achieved, things to be achieved. New company partnerships. The direction and future. And honestly he was good at doing it without sounding pretentious. He was too much of a grounded person to pull off that overly dreamy shit.

Harry also stood up to talk briefly. Amelia had her own speech. Then it was my turn, because of my promotion.

I don't think I'd have been able to do it two years ago. At least not without stammering and messing it up. I still felt some nerves as I stepped up to the podium. I wasn't used to the top button of my shirt being done up. The damn suit.

I had intended to work humour into my speech. I had a basic outline of what I wanted to say, but once I was getting into it I looked less at the paper and improvised more.

It was a delicate balance of being personal, while not being too personal. I was trying to tell this whole room of people how grateful I was for what I had, while not making myself look a simpering mess who didn't deserve it.

I joked about any complaints of my incompetence to be forwarded directly to Amelia, as I was not asked if I wanted the position, I was told. Anyone who knew her understood exactly what I meant.

"Such is her way, huh?!" someone from the labs called out.

I kept having to wait for bursts of laughter to die down before I continued.

My relationship with Darren was no secret. So, of course, the jokes about sleeping my way to the top had to come out. And then a remark that actually, I wasn't exactly the top. At one point I heard Zack's guffaw ringing out above everything else.

I followed it up with a deeper moment, apologising for how I nearly took Darren away from everyone with my poor driving. The crash had been a renowned event, especially as it had been on local news. It was just the true reasons of why it had happened that nobody knew.

The silence that descended into the room was unsettling. I had to lighten it again. I was so close to messing up.

A part of my speech was dedicated to shamelessly praising what an awesome person and boss Darren was. I was sure to let them know that he'd got me back for putting him through a scare like the crash, because he had convinced me to jump out a plane. I had a photo of us, taken maybe 2 minutes before we took the skydive, courtesy of the company's website, and I brought it up on the screen behind me.

Cue the laughter. It really was a perfect picture of Darren chuckling, and me looking like I was shitting myself.

"Yeah," I agreed into the microphone. "Someone who's a bit brown like me isn't supposed to look that pale."

Darren was clasping a hand to his brow, his whole body bouncing in his seat.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that every person in this room is lucky to be working here. You all have your own stories, and this is mine." I waved a hand at Darren. "Why don't you come up here?"

I'm quite sure his voice, even if it was quiet compared to mine with the microphone, could easily be heard at the back. "Are you going to embarrass me?" There were enough murmuring chuckles to suggest plenty had heard it.

"Yes," my amplified voice replied, "most likely."

The chuckles turned into louder laughter, but Darren got to his feet with a grin and stepped up. He stood beside me on the podium, incredibly close, eyebrow raised in expectance. I resisted the urge to kiss him.

I leant in a little to the microphone instead. "I probably shouldn't be doing this, as everyone knows I'm the 'woman' in this relationship."

I think he realised. There was a flicker in his expression.

I stepped away from the podium, reaching into my pocket. Got down on one knee. The room fucking erupted before I even opened the little box.

"Will you marry me?"

I don't know if he could have even heard me over the racket. There was an insane applause, people leaping to their feet.

Shit. I mean, maybe I really hadn't thought this through. Talk about putting him on the spot if he wanted to say no.

His eyes were wide, darting from my face to the box. Sure, he had realised I was up to something. He was still shocked. His hand clasped at his jaw, fingers tugging on his bottom lip.

---

Darren

I knew he was going to do something soppy. I thought it would be a kiss, declaring his love in front of everyone, making more jokes.

God damn it, Tyler.

I hadn't seen it coming. It didn't seem the sort of thing someone like him would do.

My mind was racing. Did he even know what he was doing? Did he know what it meant? Did he really mean it? Was he just trying to be flashy and put on a show?

My brain might have been screaming but my heart wasn't. His dark eyes were melting me, a little wider than normal as they looked up at me, brows slightly tilted.

I stood there, shocked, leaving him hanging. It seemed so long, in reality probably a couple of seconds.

I didn't even know what to do. How was I supposed to accept this gesture? Leap into his arms and squeal? In front of my fucking company? I was shaking slightly as I reached out, first touching his hands, then moving my fingers to the ring.

It was a thick silver band, engraved, with a single small diamond set in flat. It was beautiful. Tyler was grinning, getting to his feet, taking it from my trembling fingers. The room got louder again. He pushed it onto my ring finger. You know, wasn't delicate or anything. Just shoved it on. I wanted to laugh. My eyes were watering.

God damn it.

I held him tight, hiding my face in his neck. He squeezed me back.

I needed to face this room of people. Do something, other than sway in his embrace. For a moment, I didn't want to. Maybe he had ruined it for himself, that he would never know my true reactions in private. Or maybe this was it. This was exactly what I would have done. I don't think I cared about the spectators.

I pulled back, and kissed him. It wasn't too heavy, but it certainly wasn't chaste. Someone was practically shrieking. Amelia, that was who. I'm amazed she contained herself, and didn't come charging up to tackle the pair of us.

Tyler had that giddy grin. I stepped away and wiped my eyes. He leant in to the microphone again as he passed it back to his seat.

"He said yes."

There was more laughter. I tried to gather my composure as I went up to the podium. Stood there in silence. Cleared my throat. So many smiling faces. I hardly remember what I said, I was simply spewing something out to try and wrap things up as fast as I could. I was half chuckling through it, holding back tears. Then I stood down with a 'thank you'.

They applauded again. Was this really happening? A whole room of people cheering at witnessing a gay engagement? There had to be some there who were grinding their jaws and shaking their heads.

I was straight into Tyler's arms again. The room was dismissed, people were getting to their feet and spreading out. People were coming over to congratulate. It was a blur of conversations. Words. Handshakes.

I didn't like loud, murmuring rooms at the best of times, and I was in a bit of a daze. I wanted to get away, and Zack knew it. He covered me. With my fingers locked in Tyler's we slipped out.

"Where we going?" he asked as I tugged him along the corridor.

"My office. We need to talk."

---

Tyler

He scared me a bit.

I hadn't meant for it all to become such a big fuss. I knew he hated stuff like that. I hadn't thought it through. I'm sorry. Oh God, please don't be angry.

Okay, no. He was kissing me. Was it an angry kiss? My knees were weak and I was fumbling around. He shoved me through the door. Shit. Was he going to fuck me on his desk or something?

No, he just stopped. Stood there and stared at me.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

That... hurt. A surprising lot. I frowned and straightened. "Asking you to spend the rest of your life with me with legal documents?"

He was worried. I saw it now. His gaze moved down to his hands, the ring. It was the way he held the hand in front of his heart, thumb stroking the silver, that it finally hit me how much what I had done meant to him.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I never would have asked you this, I wouldn't want-"

"I know. We could be together ten years and you'd never fucking ask me. So I had to do it. Is two years okay? Is it too fast? I don't see the point in waiting any longer. This is what I want."

"... I love you."

"I love you too."

*

I couldn't think of any reason why we wouldn't last forever. I don't believe in things like soulmates, but as far as compatibility goes, we were pretty good. I couldn't think of a single argument we'd ever had that wasn't resolved within 30 seconds of saying shit at each other. We just didn't have problems like that. I don't hold onto things and Darren always seeks harmony.

I found it absurd that to the outside world, I looked like the one who would instigate a breakup. Were they crazy? Where was I going to find someone better than him?

We didn't get sick of each other. I gave him space if he needed it. The longer I was with him the better I understood him, until something as subtle as the way he touched his brow told me what a sentence of words could. He didn't have much trouble reading me, either.

He didn't get boring. The sex didn't get boring. As far as my sexuality went, I suppose I was choosing a side, and I was cool with that. A lifetime of his eyes, his face, those shoulders and that waist? Yes fucking please.

I loved him. This was what love was to me, and it was an awesome discovery.

---

Darren

Getting rings on our fingers wasn't an ending. It was a beginning. We still had a lifetime to live. A company to run. A war with the black market.

I could face everything knowing Tyler had my back, always.

He told me my life was like a movie. Maybe more like a soap opera. I guess he was right. I didn't manage to be very normal, as much as I tried.

Business life expanded. So did the private.

The inner circle of family was always my escape, and my support at the same time. I was so lucky to have what I did. I don't think everyone had something like that through the hard times that were to come.

I watched it grow. Another child. An adoption. A girlfriend.

Damn. David grew up fast.

---