9-to-5 series: Jacob and Craig 02

TRIGGER WARNING: There is some strong language, heavy domination and degradation. There is also a bullying scene which might also have triggers.

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I woke up to a sunny day. The glare was shining between the small spaces between blinds.

Fuck, I thought groaning. I forgot to close them, didn't I.

It was too late to close them and get back to bed. I rolled on my back and rubbed my eyes as I adjusted to the sun in the room. Eventually, once I lived again, I found my phone on my nightstand. It wasn't even 7 a.m., a Saturday, awake for the day.

I was fully aware of the morning wood tenting the thin sheet of my bed. It was throbbing for my attention but left it alone and unlocked the phone.

I read through my emails and saw that there were more work emails than usual, which surprised me. All my projects were done, and the new ones only started Monday. Turns out Trevor botched a job. He made mistakes in what he did and didn't finish on time for deadlines. The Partner messaged me personally to wonder if I could come in over the weekend to help him out and fix some things.

Damn it, I thought to myself. This is supposed to be my weekend to do nothing. Trevor better watch out cause I'm gonna get that bitch fired, especially if that Partner knows what I can do compared to Trevor.

Trevor, the idiot, was not pulling his weight in anything. He doesn't know what he's doing and is an absolute mess most of the time. He misses deadlines and is just overall not meant to work in an accounting firm.

I stared at my shrinking morning wood, knowing my pleasures will have to wait, and responded to the email. Better start getting ready if I want to be there within the hour, I told myself.

48 minutes later, I scanned my keycard for our office door. There were quite a few people. Trevor was here looking a bit distraught and overwhelmed. Tracy was at the coffee machine brewing something. Probably not her first day since she was buzzing full of energy. I assumed she was the senior accountant on the file since there is no other reason to be here this early on a Saturday. Bradley's office light was on further down the office, which didn't surprise me. He was the Partner who asked me for help.

I decided I'd let him know I'm here before diving into the work. I'd probably need to speak with Tracy first for a summary of what needs to get done, but better go talk to the person who asked for you personally first.

I waved at Tracy across the pool of cubicles, and she was able to muster a genuine smile through what I knew was deep frustration at being here on a Saturday. Trevor on the other hand ignored me completely as I made my stroll across the office towards Bradley's door. I breached the doorframe; he was not alone in his office, so I stopped suddenly. No thinking of the added weight of my computer bag, the momentum shot me forward. The clumsy me had to take a stumbling step forward to catch all of the extra weight I carried. I thank to all of the gods for my leg day routines; it wasn't unlike my deep lunges. To recover, I just finished the movement by continuing the momentum and finished with both feet side-by-side.

The deep chuckle made me blush, but I should have expected it. Bradley's visitor was Craig. I hadn't worked with him since he basically used my throat for relief over a month ago. Bradley smiled subtly but pretended nothing happened.

"Too early to think, eh?" Bradley greeted me. "Thanks for coming in, really. I wasn't even sure you had your work email set-up on your phone, but Craig here said you're the only junior accountant to get this done today."

I looked at Craig quickly to see his expression. He was genuine, but turned to Bradley when he said it: "Like I said. The Orion project was very well wrapped up and I was very satisfied with his work."

Satisfied, I blushed at the word. I really hated being a ginger with my cheeks betraying me constantly, but I caught myself.

"Oh! Well, thanks." It was the first time I had heard about the job "satisfaction" since he had never given me feedback for it. Probably because I had swallowed his load the day before, but water was under the bridge at this point.

A notification was heard from Bradley's computer just then and he made his signature one-finger move to tell us to give him a second. It was strange seeing Bradley in a zip-up hoody when he usually wears a full suit. Surprisingly still was the Star Wars logo on it. To be fair, I was wearing my "fancy" blue slim fit mid-thigh shorts and a black slim fit V-neck shirt myself. Maybe my disconnect was not seeing my boss as a person, but only as the boss. On weekdays, he looked like your normal 40-year-old, average built on the slimmer side, but I wasn't really ready to see his lean chest with the 5 inches unzipped below the collarbone. He runs marathons, so he does have a trim body. He has dark blond hair with a little superman curl at the top and buzzed on the sides. His office was very well organized with family pictures on most surfaces. The latest one shows 3 children, probably between the ages of 5-11 years old. There were pictures from before the kids to one, the second and finally the third child in various places and souvenirs. He hadn't really changed, and he was definitely a good-looking man with a good-looking family.

I did my best to acknowledge Craig, but not too much. I noticed he was wearing a casual crew-neck shirt and jeans. The thick beefy hairy arms giving off the stereotypical alpha look. Thankfully Bradley's little distraction didn't last very long and brought me back to the reason I'm here on a Saturday. He asked: "Now, where were we?"

"Well, I assume that Tracy is the senior. Did you want me to talk to her, or should I report directly to Craig instead?"

"Tracy is the one who asked for help, actually, so I'll get you to sort it out with her," Bradley said. He turned to Craig: "Unless you had some other idea of where you need him."

I saw the subtle tension in the choice of words. I know I didn't tell anyone of our escapade, but I don't think Bradley was insinuating anything. I suppose I'm used to the secret encounters amongst people I'm really shouldn't be sleeping with, but Craig really isn't.

"Eum, no." He struggled for a second. When he made eye contact with me and realized I wasn't thinking anything of the comment, he continued with his usual confidence. "Tracy knows best where the issues are, but if the team needs help, I'm here until 4 today."

"Okay, how long exactly do we think this will take?" I asked. I made sure to ask it without attitude, but I gave a hint of impatience to let them know I wasn't happy.

Bradley sighed. "With you here, I think we'll be out of here by 1pm, but that depends on what Tracy finds."

I nodded my understanding. They were basically saying it depends on what Trevor pulls out. "Understood as I glanced through the office window through the office at Trevor. When I turned my attention back to the Partner, he raised an eyebrow and said: "You really don't miss a beat, do you?"

Craig chuckled his growling laughter and waved his head. "He spots the smart ones by their ability to read through the lines."

"Well, the lines are very transparent in this case," I said without missing a beat, obviously showing my frustration towards my colleague.

"Very noted and it's not just you, but right now we have a project and a deadline. Shall we get to it?" Bradley said, dismissing us the way a Partner usually does to get things moving.

Tracy was excited that I was there to help and got me sorted quickly. I got to work. Trevor and I discussed a few items, and I was surprised that he knew things, but he just couldn't execute his projects.

By 1pm, like Bradley had guessed, we were done. Tracy was packing up her things and Trevor was already gone.

"I can't believe it was done so fast!" Tracy said with genuine excitement. "I had plans with friends to go to the beach and thought I wouldn't make it! First beach weather this season!"

Tracy was always the bubbly preppy type, the kind of girl I actually expected Craig to date. She's very pretty and slim, but a hard worker, which I respect completely. She and I get along fine, but she's a little too energetic for my taste.

I heard Bradley's door closing and realised he was coming this way. "Great job everyone! We got it done! Enjoy the rest of the weekend! I'll be back tomorrow to do the final review once Craig is done with it."

Once the office door closed behind Tracy and Bradley, it dawned on me that it was just Craig and I again here. My unattended hormones were still pounding in my body, and I was excited at the thought, but I was about to leave myself, thankfully. Once, we can let it go. Twice, that's the start of a pattern, I thought to myself.

Still, I went to his office with a coat and bag about to leave. Craig saw me coming.

"Am I the last one here?" he asked while leaning back like he usually does. His beefy arms at his side balancing on the leaning function of his office chair. I couldn't see anything past his mid-waist since they were hidden under the desk. For the best, Jacob, I convinced myself.

I nodded. "Yah, Tracy and Bradley just left and I'm on my way."

He smiled a soft one while leaning forward towards his desk again. "Alright. Thanks again for coming in. See you Monday." He gave me a head nod, the kind to say "see ya" and turned to his screen again.

"Have a good one!" I responded, understanding I was dismissed.

I made my way down and outside the building. I was hungry and was thinking of a good light lunch with a drink. Sometimes, some of our colleagues go to this pub just around the corner. It's more of a Sportsbar, but it has some good food and service. Yah, I'm in the mood for that, I told myself. And I made it towards that direction.

The place was packed! Turns out there was this game (don't ask me for what), but it was a big deal. It took 45 minutes for my lunch to get here, and I had had already three drinks by that time. The crowd was filled with the sporty attitude, the testosterone and it was slightly intimidating and intoxicating. Times like this I could be part of something like this. Not because of the men (which is reason enough), but because of the community. I'm too small at 5'4" and 110lbs to be a sports team athlete, and too dainty for those kinds of rugged groups. Most were between 5'11" and 6'3". While they were mostly large built, they weren't all fit and muscular. Some were just overweight duds.

I only had a small table in a corner, but next to me were a group of those overweight duds. They would pretend to be these sports guys, but I could tell they were rejects like me, but on the other spectrum. They were odd straight guys, and I was just this gay guy at a sports joint.

"Fuck that bitch. These feminists are the fucking problem. They'll go for those chads over there, but we're better than them."

"Yah, I saw my hot coworker's boyfriend, he fucking tweezes his eyebrows. They like faggots now?"

I had heard those comments before but being right next to them made me uneasy. What if they decide that I'm a faggot too?

I had only a few bites of my lunch, but it seems the way I ate it got their attention.

"Look at that faggot eating his wrap. It's fucking disgusting."

I heard it. I'm not sure if I was supposed to, but I did, and they knew I did because I froze for a second too long immediately after.

"Hey, you!" he was the most vocal one, hating on women and "chads", whatever that was. I ignored him hoping he would give up, but I heard the chair slide on the floor and looked his way.

"Don't ignore me faggot! Why the fuck are you even in this bar. Don't you have some for your own kind? Stay out of ours!"

I was shocked. My eyes were wide, and I was against the wall, cornered between it and the bigot. He was easily twice my weight. He was overweight but could easily crush me.

I didn't have to think too long. A shadow appeared out of nowhere next to the guy. The next thing I knew, the bully was against the wall opposite me in shock. The rest of the bar had grown quiet before the shadow appeared. The shadow came to and said: "Are you okay? I'll get you out of here." He helped me out of my chair and guided me towards the exit. I noticed when I had left my section, a group of testosterone sporty guys went to the group of bigots and told them to leave.

I didn't even stop when I left the pub. I started walking towards my apartment, like I had planned to after finishing my lunch. It had been a good block before I felt a hand grab at my arm.

"Hey, Jacob," the man said. I had stopped, but only registered a few seconds later that he had said my name. Confused, I turned around. It was Craig.

"Craig?" I said in a little whispered surprise. I took an involuntary step back. It came to me that he was probably the shadow. When I saw my bag in his hands, there was no mistake: he was the shadow who rescued me. I didn't take my eyes off the bag. "Eum."

"Jacob, I'm so sorry about those guys." He spoke softly. His deep voice giving off a completely different vibration.

I looked up at him and put on a hard face. "Thanks, but you have nothing to apologize for. I should have left when I first heard their comments about women and Chads. I just wanted to finish my lunch."

Craig just looked at me with concern in utter silence. He knew I was lying; he saw my face change from vulnerable to hard in an instant. Close friends have told me that they see my expression change and find it fascinating, but he wasn't buying it. The longer we kept eye contact, the harder it was for me to keep my face on. My face was wavering and every time I felt it, his eyes showed hints of pain. I looked away and sighed.

"That was really kind of you. I'm just really small and well, you saw. I basically cowered away."

"Do you want to go somewhere? I can get you to your place if you want." He was genuinely concerned, and I couldn't say no. I always forgot how big he is. He was a few feet away from me and my neck hurt just looking in his eyes. At 6'2, he's a giant compared to me, let alone his width is monstrous compared my 110lbs. He must weigh about 250lbs, at least.

He passed me my bag and I put it over my shoulder. I continued walking in the direction of my apartment, and he followed my lead.

We walked in silence, unsure what to say. The heat was starting to get heavy.

"Are you already done with your review of the file?" I asked him to fill the silence.

"Yah, it was done. You do good work." he responded in heavy breaths.

I looked at him and smiled, he gave me a small one in return. Beads of sweat were filling his forehead. My mind went back to that night. He was sweaty then too. I turned my glance away and ultimately, the awkward silence started again.

At five minutes away from my apartment, I felt better about the situation and the distance to the bar. Craig's presence would have kept the other guys away and wouldn't have followed us. I stopped and turned towards Craig, and he followed my movement.

"Look, thanks. Really, I appreciate it, but I think I can manage now." I told him. He looked at me for a good five seconds to see if I was just putting on a front again then nodded.

"Sure, if that's what you want," he said. "But I am going your way anyways. I think we live in the same neighbourhood." He nodded his head in the direction we were walking.

I don't know why I was surprised. He always came to work on foot. It only made sense that there was a possibility we lived close to one another. "Oh! Well, okay. Sure, let's go." He had already taken a few steps before I started moving. For every one of his strides, I had to take two. Thankfully, he wasn't a fast walker, or maybe he was being considerate; I'm not sure.

"Does that happen often?" Craig suddenly asked. I looked at him, curiously. He was looking at the pavement, probably unsure if he should have asked.

"Eum, no. Well, not since I moved to the city last year. My hometown is a bit small, so I'm used to the names. But my father is well-known and respected back home, so it never went past name calling. That was a bit more physical than I'm used to."

Craig nodded. "I see. I know that my kind -- I mean the sports bros -- have a bad rep with your community. Rightfully so, I'm guilty of some of those in my youth. But I hope that I never gave you anything to be concerned about."

I blushed slightly. I felt safe with him after I realized he came to my defense at the pub, but I never really expected him to talk so openly about it.

"No. No, you're good," I started. I thought about it for a few seconds before I explained to him what he was, to at least reassure him. "You are very masculine and confident. As someone who's gay, that can be even more intimidating because you embody exactly what society dictates a man should be, and while those bigots at the pub were intimated by you -- or people like you -- they would try to compensate. Which is probably why they picked on me: I'm even farther from you than him, which makes him better than me."

"I don't think I'm better than you," he said, taken aback and slightly insulted.

"I'm not explaining myself the right way," I started. "I meant that's what he thinks, and the fact is: you do embody what society deems a man should be. I'm not saying that you're all macho and alpha and nothing else, but on the surface, you represent it. I can't say the same for me and the bigot."

I looked up to see my apartment building two blocks away.

"Macho and an alpha," I heard in a low deep voice. It could have been a question, but I took it at him just repeating what I said. I looked at him and he was starting to form some sweat stains on his chest, back and pits. His face had the same focused look he has at work trying to wrap his head around this new information.

He stopped suddenly. "Sorry, I'm a block that way." We were basically a block from one another. "You left your food at the pub, didn't you?" I stared for a minute at him realizing that yes, I had only taken a few bites. Like clockwork, I felt my stomach growl. I scoffed in amusement.

"Those assholes. I totally forgot I was hungry," I said with a little laugh. Craig gave his first usual smile since the event.

"Well, I also didn't end up grabbing my takeout. Do you want to come to my place? I'll whip something up for the both of us."

I really had to think about it. I had definitely not forgotten that he used my throat a month before, but his invitation seemed innocent enough. He wasn't giving me any of the looks he gave me while I was on my knees.

"Eum, yah, sure. Thanks," I responded. I followed him home.

He lived in a one-bedroom apartment in a semi-new building. It wasn't very big, but big enough for a couple, if he ever had a girlfriend. The best feature was the wall-length windows in the living area and the patio. On the 16th floor, and lucky enough that the buildings in front of his patio were not blocking any views of the downtown, it was fantastic.

"Jesus! That's a fucking view!" It was the first thing I said when I got to his Livingroom.

"Thanks. I was lucky to get it really. I got it with my ex five years ago. When we broke up, she moved back home to be closer with family," he shared with me.

"Was the breakup recent?" I asked. Curious now that maybe his frustration last month had anything to do with her.

"6 months ago," he responded from the kitchen. "It's been an adjustment, but busy season kicked in and kept me distracted. I'm good now."

I made an approving noise, acknowledging his logic. "Good good."

Craig is digging through the fridge. "I think I saw a wrap on the table, or was that my imagination?"

"It was a wrap, but I'm okay with anything you have. I was just going for anything light." I responded, making sure he didn't go out of his way to feed me something too extravagant.