Spark & Stone - Ch. 09

Chapter Nine - When Will You Be Home?

"So, was no one else available to take care of all these?" Aidan questioned while pointing with a pen at the huge stack of folders on his desk.

One of the promises he had made to himself was to be more assertive. At least, that was one of the things the motivation audio books he was listening to on his way to work every day tried to teach him. 'Tried' being the operative word since Aidan had proven to be nothing but a mediocre student in that respect. No matter how much he wanted to impose himself, especially at work, he seemed to do an abysmal job.

The female colleague leaned against his desk with the same coffee cup that seemed glued to her, in one hand. "It is your job," she said matter-of-factly.

"I see," Aidan replied, pursing his lips.

He could not fathom why his colleague wasn't moving away, now that she had unloaded on his desk enough files to keep him busy until he was grey.

"So how is he?" the woman eventually asked, seeing how Aidan had grabbed one of the folders and was getting ready to get to work.

"Who?" Aidan asked, without looking at her.

The woman leaned over like she wanted to share some secret with Aidan. "Heathcliff Stone, who else? I wish I had your job," she said under her breath with a small grimace.

"By all means, I can share," Aidan put one hand over the stack of folders.

The woman almost took a step back as if she had been burned. "I meant looking after Heathcliff," she said and shook her head.

Aidan could say he was a tad annoyed by how his colleague was talking about Heathcliff. Like she was entitled to say his name like that.

"He's gay," he blurted out.

It wasn't like him to act like that.

"And?" the woman shrugged. "I bet it's amazing to work with someone like him," she said dreamily.

Aidan sighed. "He's actually ..." he began but stopped.

"Yes?" the woman's eyes lit up.

"He's an awesome person," Aidan said. "Quite nice."

And he was doing that in all honesty.

"Ah," the woman seemed disappointed. "Okay. If you say so, I mean. He has quite a reputation."

"Well, it's no one's business what he does in his spare time," Aidan retorted.

"Of course," the woman said in an exaggerated, empathic voice. "But it must be torture for him not to be able to go as wild as he likes, now that he's signed with us."

"What do you mean?" Aidan looked straight at her.

The woman balanced the coffee cup in her hand like it was some circus act. "You know, we don't just endorse anyone," she added like Aidan must have been hearing that for the first time in his life.

"He has two million followers," Aidan pointed out. "Of course we do not endorse just anyone," he said, emphasizing the 'we'.

"I was talking about, you know, his rather loose ..." The woman stopped, apparently trying to find her words.

"His followers don't care about that," Aidan said sharply. "He does a great job at giving fitness advice. He has a positive impact on people's lives."

Aidan was getting a little worked up. But it wasn't fair that people were judging Heathcliff based on what he did in his free time.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," he set his hands on the keyboard, looking determinedly ahead, at the screen, "I need to take care of all these unless I want to end up sleeping here."

The woman scoffed, but added nothing, and began walking away. "Put those extra hours in, Aidan," she called over her shoulder. "They will pay off, eventually."

Something was foreboding in how the woman spoke those words. And how she looked at him as if she knew something he didn't.

With a shrug, he decided to get back to work. And, while he was determined to stay away from Heathcliff and remain strictly professional in their dealings, he was not going just to let random people gossip or speak ill of him. The guy was more than just his image, and, as Aidan knew well, a good person.

***

"Is the boss in?" Aidan asked the secretary.

Part of his assertiveness training involved reminding his boss, with some frequency, that he was very much interested in a creative position. He was efficient, he was doing his job, day by day, and he had not much else to learn from his current situation.

The secretary placed one hand over the phone with a bored expression. "Let me check if he can see you."

Aidan remained standing. It was three hours after what was supposed to be closing time, but his boss was still at work, and he was keeping his secretary from leaving home, as well. Of course, that meant his boss was busy. But Aidan wasn't going to take much of his time.

The secretary spoke perfunctorily over the phone and then gestured for him to go inside.

"Spark," his boss boomed, "good job on the photo and video shoot!"

"Thank you, sir," Aidan said. "What do you think of the results?"

"Sit," the man ordered, looking at him over his glasses.

Aidan sat on one of the little chairs available. Having his knees up almost to his chest was making him feel awkward. It was not the ideal position to ask for a promotion, but he needed to make do with what he had.

"Is Heathcliff Stone behaving?" the man asked.

Aidan knew what his boss was asking, and it was making him grind his teeth a little.

"He's on his best behavior, sir," he murmured.

Being part of this charade was making him feel bad, even if he wasn't the instigator, by all means.

"Good. Now, can I help you with anything?" his boss asked, still looking over his glasses, and visibly not in the mood to extend this visit from an employee for too long.

"I have a few ideas about how to make this campaign have an even bigger impact," Aidan said.

"Creative input is not in your job description," the other cut him short.

"About that," Aidan started and licked his lips nervously. "I think I could serve the company better if I were -"

"Are you unhappy with your current position, Spark?" the man asked, in the same booming voice.

It was annoying how he could not see his boss's entirely while speaking especially since he liked to talk in that loud voice from behind the curtain of his hands.

"I wouldn't say unhappy, sir, but -"

"No 'buts'," the man interrupted him. "Do you have any idea how many employees in this company, employees who have been with us for years, wait for a creative position?"

"I can't say that I do, sir," Aidan answered when he noticed that his boss was actually waiting for an answer.

"So you don't know. What makes you think you're better than these people who have been serving under my wing for years, if not decades?" his boss slammed both his palms against the desk, startling Aidan.

He had to say he preferred when his boss was seated and hid half his face then when he was standing up, hovering over his desk, like he was trying to reach Aidan and do something strange and most probably illegal in a typical office environment. Leaving aside considerations related to workplace conditions, Aidan knew what he had to do.

He stood up, too. "I finished in the first 5% of my class, I have a portfolio that HR, not only here, but at three different companies, decided it was enough to qualify me for immediate employment, I always put in the extra hours, I have been involved with five different creative projects so far, and I have been serving under your wing for one year, too, sir!"

He was almost out of breath when he stopped that tirade, but chose not to flinch. His boss was looking at him, his eyes out of his sockets, and, not quite so briefly, Aidan wondered what the punishment was for insubordination.

"Very good, Spark!" the man yelled at him.

Was it a good idea to add anything else? His time to decide flew out the window, as his boss sat down and gestured for him to do the same.

"Your work on this campaign with Heathcliff Stone has been exemplary, soldier," the man said, seemingly now a bit more appeased than before.

Soldier? No wonder he thought the guy was ex-military. He needed to ask one of his older colleagues about that.

"Not once had he made the headlines with some misconduct," his boss added. "So keep up the good work. Dismissed!"

Aidan stood up, feeling a bit confused. Had he made any progress regarding the creative position? He couldn't tell. But, apparently, there were many things he wasn't well aware of in this type of environment. After one year, he expected to have already gotten the lay of the land, but, still, he couldn't figure out his boss. Or his colleagues.

He did not exactly drag his feet as he made his exit, but he was feeling far from being the winner. His boss was as impenetrable as ever, and Aidan wasn't sure if it counted that he had stood his ground, almost yelling back.

At his desk, he took a few minutes to recollect himself. Had he chosen poorly when he had gone with this company? Almost mindlessly, he began browsing through his social media. These days, he was more often than not stalking his friends, rather than picking up the phone and talking to them, asking them how they were and all that. It was like they were all trapped behind the shiny screens of phones and computers, and their existence seemed a little bit like from a reality show.

"Living the life," he mumbled under his breath, as he read the latest post from one of his besties.

So the guy was somewhere on an exotic island, researching turtles and whatnot. He was looking good, all tanned, wearing a rather stupid hat and crocs. With a sigh, he moved on. Another friend was bragging about his work, at some big company.

"I always knew I would land my dream job," Aidan read out loud.

He was now alone on the entire floor, so he could do that without drawing unnecessary attention. "Dream job, my ass," he said to himself.

Was he jealous of his friends who had ended up in much better places than he had? If that was the truth, it was only his fault that had happened and no one else's. He needed to think about this. Leaving his current job was not an option. Not until he had at least a few years of experience under his belt, and he could get references.

Maybe he was too impatient. Maybe he had imagined his 'dream job' completely different, with challenges, excitement, rewards, both financial and intellectual, not a string of boring days where he needed to organize files and do whatever crossed anyone's mind, seeing how everyone else was above him and believed themselves entitled to push him around.

And, of course, he had his student loan to repay, and he was too proud to ask his mom and dad for help, as he could not declare himself defeated after just one year as part of the working class. He needed to soldier on and get that creative position he craved.

The playful chime of his phone interrupted his thoughts. Ah, damn, it was Heathcliff, he sighed, as he looked at the screen. What was he going to do? How was he going to let the guy down gently? Wait, was he even considering that he was someone Heathcliff Stone was going to lose sleep over? Nah, most probably, he was going to move on ... Again, he was absurd. There was nothing to move on from, regardless of how Aidan liked to think it was. Heathcliff Stone was the kind of guy who forgot the next day from a definitely much hotter encounter than what the two of them had had.

Still, Heathcliff was calling. And, by the looks of things, he had no intention to give up.

"Yes," he eventually answered in a meek voice.

"Are you trying to stand me up, bunny boy?" Heathcliff's energetic voice came through.

"How impatient can you be? It's only ..." Aidan looked at the clock on the wall and cursed under his breath.

"Only a little over 10 pm. You know, I was only joking when I told you to go slave your life away. You didn't have to take it literally."

"Haven't you heard of extra hours?" Aidan asked, feeling a little snappy.

"Haven't you heard of having an actual life besides work?" Heathcliff replied in kind, but he seemed amused.

"You're kidding me, right? For me, you are work, too, you know?" Aidan said.

"See? I'm helping you get more extra hours. Also, you're getting blowjobs in the process. I don't remember any complaints," Heathcliff pointed out.

Aidan was thankful for being alone. He was sure he was as red as a beet. And there was also a part of his body that was reacting to Heathcliff's voice and choice of uncouth words, without giving a damn that Aidan had a frigging career to worry about.

"Listen," he sighed, "I ... I am certain that I'm a somewhat decent distraction for you ..."

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like what you're going to say next," Heathcliff interrupted him. "So stop talking. I don't appreciate the snappiness of your tone. Come straight to my place as soon as you're finished. You can take a shower here, and I also have dinner ready. It's a little late, but I bet you're famished. I'll warm it up for you."

Aidan wanted to say that wasn't the case, but his stomach made a sound of protest to remind him that he had been neglecting his hunger for too many hours now. Maybe for tonight, he could postpone thinking about his career and go and eat real food for a change, and enjoy whatever came after.

Heathcliff woke him up from his musings. "I'm not hearing what I should hear."

"I'm coming," Aidan sighed.

"Come on; it's not like I'm inviting you to walk the plank. I have grilled chicken with vegetables. Everything made outside, on a real grill."

Aidan was sure his mouth was going to water if Heathcliff told him there was nothing but stale bread for dinner. He could not say 'no' to such an invitation. And Heathcliff was going to get bored with him anyway by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or next week.

"I'm coming," he said, with determination this time.

"Atta boy," Heathcliff replied, and Aidan could picture him smiling.

It was a comforting thought to go home to someone. It wasn't his home, and that someone was just a guy who he was happening to work with, but, all in all, he felt a bit of warmth, right in the middle of his chest.

Damn, he thought, as it struck him. He missed his parents. They had always been so close, maybe a bit too close at times, but he was thankful for their love and care. Now, that he had to live far from them, and there were days when he forgot or didn't have time to call them, he realized how much he was missing everything, from his mom's cooking to his dad's gentle guidance.

He shook his head. It was late now. But tomorrow, he was going to call them for sure.

***

The bunny was looking a bit worse for wear, but he was too young for that tiredness to take its toll on him. His face was a little drawn, but somewhat that was making him a bit more attractive. Maybe because the usual mask was slipping off a little, and that without Heathcliff going on a full-fledged campaign to make the young man show his true colors.

"Come on in," Heathcliff gestured for Aidan to walk inside.

Aidan's eyes were a bit sad, he noticed. Heathcliff placed his hands on his shoulders and squeezed in sympathy. "Rough day?"

"Just the usual," Aidan smiled.

"Good. Hit the shower. I let a change of clothes there for you. Then come down so that you can put something in your stomach."

Aidan just nodded and began climbing the stairs. For a few seconds, Heathcliff watched him. It was so unlike him to have someone in his care at home. Well, he was interested in the young man sexually, so nothing was that different. He was doing all that for his selfish self, after all. There was no point to worry that there was something else there, he thought, as he moved the plate filled with food just one-quarter of an inch to the left.

Aidan was back in 10 minutes, and he sat gingerly at the table. "You're not eating?" he asked.

"I never eat so late," Heathcliff explained. "I wouldn't recommend it to you, either, but seeing how the alternative is you losing that gorgeous ass ..."

It was so nice to see Aidan blushing. Who was still blushing in this day and age?

"Dig in. Don't worry about a thing. Now, tell me, who's responsible for keeping you so late?"

"I am," Aidan said with a soft sigh. "I need to put in the hours if I want to get ahead."

"And ruin your health in the process?" Heathcliff asked.

"Well, not everyone's a winner at the lottery genes like you, Mr. Gorgeous," Aidan babbled.

"Mr. Gorgeous?" Heathcliff chuckled.

"Forget I said that," Aidan cast his eyes down.

"Impossible," Heathcliff teased his guest. "Now, bunny boy, you know that I work hard for this body."

"How could I not know?" Aidan stole a furtive glance in his direction. "I mean, I'm sorry. Of course, you work hard. I was out of line."

Heathcliff wanted to reach the guy across the table and ruffle his hair."Your mom and dad must be so proud of you," he said. "You're well behaved for the times we're living in."

"I hope they are," Aidan said as he dug into his plate.

The fact that Aidan had a healthy appetite for food pleased Heathcliff. Usually, that was a sign of an equally healthy appetite in other areas.

"I'm sure they are," Heathcliff replied.

Aidan drew one long sigh. "I took a student loan, I believe I struck a bad deal, so I'm overpaying, and I'm caught in a job that doesn't seem to take me anywhere right now while all my friends are living the life," he said with a grimace. "Sorry, too much info, right?"

"What's that about your job?" Heathcliff asked.

Aidan shrugged and, for a while, he seemed too busy eating. Heathcliff decided to offer him a bit of a reprieve.

"Thank you. It was delicious," Aidan said while patting his lips with the napkin.

"My pleasure." Heathcliff watched the young man closely. "I'll leave you off the hook for now, but you'll have to tell me all about your job."

Aidan threw him a much sincere look of gratefulness. So, bunny boy was trapped like a hamster on a wheel. Heathcliff could tell that was the case. All vulnerable, dressed in clothes that were a bit too large for him, Aidan had no reason to lie about a serious thing like that.

"I guess I should get going now," Aidan said as he stood up.

Heathcliff frowned. "Seriously? Don't you forget something? I'm not the Salvation Army, bunny boy. I only cook for guys who give me blowjobs."

Not really. He could not remember when he had cooked for one of his sex partners. Serve them a healthy drink, maybe. But they were usually out the door too quickly for Heathcliff to include meals on the house with the horizontal action. Or vertical, depending on the mood, and the physical prowess of the said partners.

Aidan was making such a face that Heathcliff found it impossible to keep up the charade. "You're so easy to tease. I'm joking. But really, spend the night. I promise I'll be good and not pester you about that BJ you owe me until morning."

"Spend the night? Like in sleeping?" Aidan's innocent eyes were as big as saucers now.

"Yeah, I do that sometimes, too," Heathcliff joked. "Regardless of what the tabloids might have told you," he added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Aidan snickered and shook his head. "Doesn't it bother you that I'll have to wake up early so that I can get home and change?"

"No," Heathcliff replied. "I'll set the alarm for the time you want."

"Hmm," Aidan smiled. "How come tabloids picture you like this frivolous playboy who only cares about one night stands and whatnot? When you're such a nice man."

Heathcliff smiled sweetly. "I have no idea, really," he joked.

"Okay. Where will I sleep?" Aidan asked.

"What kind of question is that? In my bed, of course."

***

Aidan was sure he was making a pretty funny face that very moment. "It looks like I need to take back what I said about you being a nice guy," he mumbled.

"Hey, I promise I'll keep to my part of the bed."

"I bet you say that to all the guys you seduce in your spare time," Aidan said, but his lips were twitching.