CHANNING
Nothing.
Zero.
Absolute radio silence.
Not only was the lack of communication from Max hard to process, but work was getting more and more stressful. Kyle Peters seemed to be going into total overdrive with his negative and disingenuous behavior.
It wasn’t anything specific that Kyle was doing, it was more the way he was always dropping in little comments, saying anything he could to undermine Channing in the most passive-aggressive way possible.
Work wasn’t a pleasant place to be.
And without Max, home wasn’t so good either.
As the alarm buzzed for his wakeup call, Channing drowsily opened his eyes and sat up in bed. It hadn’t been a good night’s sleep. In fact, it had been a terrible night’s sleep.
Between worrying about Max and the situation at work Channing had barely gotten over three hours, maybe four max. This wasn’t like Channing at all. He knew how important sleep was to a healthy body and healthy mind, and his lack of recent good sleep was beginning to play on his mind.
Today was a big day too.
Channing was making his formal presentation to the senior staff and Green Sky Future presidents. Although it wasn’t officially a job interview, it may as well have been. Channing knew that a good presentation would almost certainly lead to him being made a VP in the upcoming minor restructure.
This was the crucial point in what felt like months upon months of hard, consistent work from Channing. He didn’t want to let himself, or the junior employees who had worked underneath him, down.
I need to nail this.
I have to stay calm and focused.
I wish Max was here though…
Channing sighed and managed to haul his tired body out of bed. Normally, Channing practically bounded up and out of bed, but not on this day. The lack of sleep and sense of doom that was coming over him was hardly conducive to an enthusiastic start to the day.
Channing showered quickly and put on a smart but informal shirt and pants combo. This helped Channing focus his mind into presentation mode a little bit, but disaster struck as Channing made himself a morning espresso…
‘Oh crap!’ Channing exclaimed, the sight of a dark brown splash of espresso running down the front and center of his white shirt not exactly looking like a good omen. ‘Get a grip, dude!’
Channing finished off the espresso and changed into one of his other shirts. Hopefully this wasn’t a sign that his entire day was going to be cursed, but it was hardly a promising start.
Channing had cancelled his plans to meet with his friends early due to wanting to arrive at the office extra early to prepare.
But that decision was beginning to seem like a bad one.
In fact, Channing would have done anything to have been with Tommy and Rick in that moment.
Their friendly banter and sense of good spirits was what Channing needed more than anything.
Well, almost anything.
The truth was that what Channing required more than anything else in the world in that moment was seemingly out of his reach. He wanted Max.
But in Max’s continued absence, Channing was beginning to wonder whether Max wanted him.
* * *
Channing was feeling just about ready to give the presentation. His assistants and junior staff had left the room and now it was simply Channing alone with his thoughts.
‘Come on, you’ve got this,’ Channing said, the sound of the birds singing outside the room distracting him. ‘Keep your mind on the goal. You can do this.’
‘First sign of madness!’ Kyle said, entering the office with a broad grin on his face.
‘Huh?’ Channing replied, turning to look at Kyle.
‘Talking to yourself. It’s the first sign of madness,’ Kyle laughed, walking around Channing’s desk in one of his passive-aggressive power moves. ‘If you’re struggling with your mental health, why not raise it with our HR department?’
Channing felt a sudden surge of anger. Mental health wasn’t a subject that was appropriate to joke about, especially not in a work environment. Kyle was playing his usual games, but doing so with extra spite because he knew just how important today was to Channing.
‘Do you actually want anything?’ Channing said, failing to hide his irritation and therefore giving Kyle exactly what he wanted. ‘I mean, if you just want to annoy the hell out of me… whatever.’
Kyle laughed.
Wearing a black polo neck tucked into a pair of jeans, Kyle actually looked like the office bad guy. With his perfect fade and brilliant-white smile, Kyle did admittedly look impressively smart and just like the kind of guy who had his own very serious ambitions.
Channing didn’t mind having a so-called rival in the office.
What really hurt Channing however was the way that Kyle would seemingly only use negative, hurtful tactics to climb the ladder. Behind his posturing and snarky comments, Channing didn’t think that Kyle gave a crap about the work itself. It was like Kyle wanted success for success’s sake.
‘Would you just leave, please?’ Channing said, a hint of desperation in his voice. ‘I need to run over some things for the presentation. This is important to me. I actually care about the proposal. You should try it.’
‘Wow. Someone woke up in a bad mood,’ Kyle said, holding his hands up to his chest in a mocking way.
‘Sure, I’ll leave. Just try not to think about me too much during the presentation.
Oh, and try not to think too much about your absent boyfriend either.
I hear he’s having one hell of a fun time around town… ’
On that bombshell, Kyle smirked and turned to leave the office.
Channing didn’t know what to think or what to do. It felt like Kyle had achieved exactly what he had set out to do. Channing couldn’t focus his thoughts and felt full of emotion. This was the worst possible mindset ahead of the presentation.
Snap out of it, Channing.
I need to nail this.
I have to get it just right…
With that, Channing steeled himself and strode out of his office as confidently as he possibly could. It was time to set up the room ready for the presentation.
A lot was depending on this moment.
For Channing it could be career defining, a fact that he was only too aware of…
* * *
‘What… the… hell?’ Channing cried, burying his head into his hands as he sought solace in the large, maze-like Japanese garden at Green Sky Future. ‘What just happened?’
The presentation had been a total disaster.
From start to finish, absolutely anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
If Channing wasn’t tripping over his words, he was struggling to deal with even the most basic of technology.
Channing was usually super-calm and composed when it came to using computer software, but he ran into problem after problem during the presentation.
In the end, it had all gotten too much for Channing.
After a mumbled, borderline incomprehensible apology, Channing simply finished the presentation abruptly and ran out of the room.
Channing knew what it must have looked like to his colleagues. Worse, Channing knew that the senior directors were most likely wondering what the hell they were doing employing him in the first place, let alone considering him for a VP role.
I screwed it all up.
They’ll all think I’m a total joke.
I may as well quit now…
Channing lifted his head out of his hands and looked around the garden. Not even the wonderfully curated bushes and soothing trickle of the mini waterfall were of any solace.
To say that it had been a bad day at the office would be the understatement of the year by some distance. Channing had not only performed poorly, but he had done it right in direct view of Kyle Peters.
Channing knew that Kyle would have relished every single moment of seeing him suffer like that, and it would give Kyle even more fuel to try to undermine him even more.
Things weren’t looking good.
More out of hope than expectation, Channing took his cellphone out of his pocket to check to see whether Max had finally decided to break his silence and get into contact with him.
Sadly, there were no messages from Max.
Max didn’t do social media either, so Channing hadn’t even been able to try to keep tabs on him that way either. As far as Channing knew, Max could have been lying unconscious in a side alley - or worse.
But part of Channing wondered whether this wasn’t just the real Max making a return. After all, Channing had lost count of the times that Max simply disappeared off the face of the earth back in their college days.
Perhaps for all his good intention in the last few weeks, Max was simply too set in his ways to every truly change. It was possible that Max had reverted to type and taken himself out of the heat.
But unlike other times when this had happened, Channing felt like this was the final straw. He may have said similar on other occasions, but Channing truly felt it now. Max had walked out and left Channing hanging during an important period in his life.
Channing wasn’t sure if he could forgive Max this time.
It’s always the same. Max leaves, I hurt.
Maybe a leopard never changes its spots.
Maybe Max was never truly a Daddy at all…