Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
CHARLEY
The first person I see on Monday morning is Julia, looking bright, cheerful, and very well. She appears at my desk as I’m taking off my coat.
“Thank you for doing my report, Charley. You really helped me out,” she gushes, as if it had been my idea.
“Always happy to help a colleague when they’re sick.” I see her eyes narrow slightly, and I get the feeling she wasn’t actually ill so I press on. “What was it? A twenty-four hour bug?” She hesitates for a brief second as if working out how she can make use of the lie I’ve just given her.
“Yes, it was awful. I spent the day with my head down the toilet.” She rubs her stomach for good measure.
The performance certainly isn’t Oscar worthy.
I glance over the large open-plan office to where the commercial department sits and see her colleagues are all watching us, their faces telling their own story.
Any one of them could’ve picked up her work, but all they had to do was tell Miles they were too busy and he’d listen to them.
“You’re pathetic,” I say, sitting at my desk and turning my back on her.
“Worked, though, didn’t it?” Her voice is smug and I clench my jaw.
I have no doubt she’ll try that tactic again when she’s behind on her work.
I can almost see the rest of them deciding which jobs they don’t want to do that they know Miles will give to me.
As she walks off back to her department I put my head in my hands.
My work, and my life, has just gotten worse.
I reach into my pocket and pull out Gabriel’s letter.
I’ve thought about it a lot over the weekend, mostly reliving some of the memories of my childhood.
His offer of Silver Arrow is very tempting, and I can’t say I don’t miss the horses and playing polo.
But I can’t take a job just because of a horse.
It’s not rational, and my sensible side kicks in.
The same part of me that reminds me we’re not kids any longer, and if I go back, nothing will be as it was then.
The thought of seeing Gabriel every day is bittersweet.
I don’t think he married Celeste like he said he was going to the night of his eighteenth birthday.
I can’t find any evidence of him being married or in a relationship, even though I searched over the weekend.
But he’s straight, so being so close to him and also so far away would be like a thousand knife cuts every day.
But would it be better than this existence?
That’s the question that’s been eating me all weekend.
I work on my own projects all morning and then take my allotted time for lunch in the cafe where I met Gabriel. A sense of dread fills me as I walk slowly back to the office, more than the usual heavy feeling I have every day when I enter the building. I find Miles waiting for me at my desk.
“Where were you?” he demands.
“At lunch, which I am still at for another minute,” I say, looking at my watch.
“Don’t get smart with me, Marshall,” he growls. “My office, now.”
I groan inwardly and trail after him, feeling every eye in the room on me as I walk into his glass office. I wouldn’t be surprised if they gathered round to watch whatever new hell Miles has thought up for me.
“I need you to work late tonight,” he says, sitting at his desk and gesturing for me to take a seat.
“What for?” The dread I felt before chills me. It’s not a big company, so there’s no HR department. We’re supposed to report any problems to Miles directly. What a joke.
“I need you to do forecast sales for the rest of the year, with growth profiles for the next five years.” I stare at him.
This is way above my pay grade and not something I’ve done before.
The work he’s put on me has been escalating for the last week or so.
I don’t know why, but I can’t see a way it’s ever going to stop. Something inside me snaps.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I ask. “Why are you giving me extra work, other people’s work, and making me work late for no overtime? What have I done?” His face twists. He wasn’t expecting that from me. I’ve always capitulated previously.
“It’s more than people like you deserve,” he sneers.
“People like me?” I ask as pure hatred takes over his face.
But it’s not all for me. I can see it now, he’s fucking homophobic and hates that side of himself.
He can’t come to terms with the fact that he might find men attractive.
All the hatred and bullying towards me isn’t just because I rejected him, it’s what I represent.
He’s directing everything he hates about himself towards me.
Now I can see it, some of the fear and dread drops away. I’ve had enough.
“Are you talking about queer people? You want to try looking in the mirror sometime.”
His face goes an angry red and the veins in his neck pop out.
“I am nothing like you,” he hisses.
“Didn’t feel like it when you were thrusting your cock down my throat,” I say, and I swear he nearly bursts a blood vessel. It gives me a small sense of satisfaction, though my own heart is pounding from the exhilaration of finally standing up to him.
“Get out,” he screams, rising and leaning forward on his desk. His spittle arcing out of his mouth makes me recoil from him.
“Gladly. Don’t bother firing me, I quit.” I rise on unsteady legs.
“You won’t get work anywhere in this city. I’ll make sure of it,” he says as I reach the doorway.
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning to.” I wrench the door open and leave, trying not to show how much I’m shaking. Julia is standing just outside, and I’m not sure how soundproof his office is. She might’ve heard every word.
“Looks like you’ll have to do your own work from now on,” I say as I push past her.
I quickly gather my coat, bag, and the few personal effects I have on my desk, and within a few minutes I’m walking out through the front door for the last time.
I keep moving until I’m a street away, then I stop and lean against a wall and take a shuddering breath.
My heart is still racing. I can’t believe I just did that.
I stood up to Miles. Before the adrenaline coursing through my veins dissipates and I reflect on how foolish I’ve been, I pull out my phone and call Gabriel’s number.