Havoc and Humor

Chapter 1

Mark

I held a paper plate and plastic fork in my hand. On it was a slice of decadent chocolate cake with buttercream frosting thicker than I liked, but apparently everyone else enjoyed it that way, since we always seemed to go to the same bakery for these office celebrations.

My cake had an uppercase letter “C” on it.

It was a congratulations cake. Somebody’s birthday, or maybe someone was becoming a grandparent?

I couldn’t remember the occasion. It was probably buried in one of the thousand unread emails I had left waiting for me back at my desk.

Either way, I was here for the party and the cake, along with the rest of my team.

By the looks of it, several other teams from different floors also came for the cake.

Sawyer, my faithful employee, stood with a group of our colleagues.

Laughing, smiling along with everyone else.

He was good at this sort of thing. Being the center of attention, getting everyone to rally around him, building camaraderie.

This celebration, whatever it was for, was probably organized by him.

His dedication to his teammates was why he’d been so successful at the company and why I’d hired him for my team to begin with.

With him around, any project, no matter how big or daunting, seemed feasible if we just worked hard and kept a positive attitude.

“You know, you really ought to work on being more discreet.”

I startled, nearly losing the half-eaten cake left on my plate. Even if the frosting was too thick, that would be a tragedy.

My friend Gregory stood at my side. “Where did you come from?” I asked.

“I heard there was cake.” He smirked. “And Evan and I were just about to leave. He wanted to grab some.”

“Do you know what this is for?”

“Cynthia’s birthday.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” So it wasn’t a congratulations cake. The “C” was for Cynthia.

Gregory gave me a pointed look. “Seriously, man, your emotions are all over your face. If you don’t want HR breathing down your neck and separating the two of you, you need to rein it in.”

“I don’t know what or who you’re talking about,” I said and took a bite of my cake.

I nearly had to spit it out, though, because across the room, Sawyer picked up his fork and licked the frosting off it, his tongue darting out and wrapping around the tines.

His eyes fluttered closed, and no doubt he was experiencing the same burst of sugary goodness I just had.

Only he looked like it was an orgasmic experience for him.

I choked and reached for the cup of coffee I had filled nearly an hour ago. It was cold now, but I didn’t mind. I need to snap my focus away from Sawyer.

Gregory patted my back. “This is what I’m talking about, man. Come on, let’s go into your office. We need to talk.”

Fuck.

I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say. Gregory and I were both VPs at the company, however Gregory was a founding member along with our other colleague, Greg. If he had an issue with my behavior, then I was in trouble.

The situation was even more complicated since Gregory and I were friends, and Gregory’s fiancé Evan was friends with Sawyer.

How much longer could I deny how I felt about Sawyer?

The man was one of my direct reports and had been for years.

The feelings I had snuck up on me, and now that I recognized what they were, they weren’t going away.

Sawyer sparked a fire in me that I’d never felt before.

I wanted to both protect him from the world and spank his ass until it was red from my hand.

And was it really that clearly written on my face? Shit. I was in trouble.

We stepped inside and closed the door. The frosted-glass windows allowed me to see just enough of the outside office to know who was out there but at least gave me a hint of privacy. They were the type of windows that, with a quick tap of the settings, would go dark.

Gregory crossed his arms. “Seriously, man.”

I groaned. “I know, I know. He has a boyfriend. I have a crush. It’s not a big deal. It’s fine.”

“This is way more than a crush, Mark. You’re half in love with him. You don’t just find him attractive, you want way more than that, dude. It’s amazing more people aren’t talking about it.”

I scoffed. “Since when did my friend, the proper Gregory “Don’t call me Greg” Alton, use the word ‘dude’?”

His mouth twisted. “Evan and Sawyer are rubbing off on me. I think I’ve spent too many nights at karaoke. And the situation called for it. You’re a mess.”

I loved going to karaoke with them. It was on one of those nights several months ago that I realized the desire I had to be near Sawyer all the time wasn’t just friendly and not something a boss should be experiencing.

I had stopped going, though—because I couldn’t bear to see Sawyer with his boyfriend, Jeremiah. His boyfriend who did not like me even a little bit. Probably because I had kept Sawyer working late one too many times.

“I’m serious,” Gregory said. “Is everything all right?”

I shrugged. “It has to be. He has a boyfriend. I am his boss. He has never given me any indication that he’s interested. And even if he did, what could I do about it?”

Gregory shrugged, mimicking my gesture from a moment ago. “The same thing I did when Evan showed interest in me.”

I shook my head. “That was different. He was not your subordinate. You and Evan didn’t have any issues with HR because you aren’t in the same department. Sawyer reports directly to me. It would never work. I am his manager. And he is damn good at his job. This department can’t lose him.”

Me, on the other hand? I wasn’t the type who thought the VP was some be-all, end-all. I knew who did the real work around here, and it was not me. Sure, I could steer the ship, but I was not rowing.

“Maybe it’s time for a change,” Gregory said. “You’ve been in this position… what, ten years?”

“Twelve,” I corrected. “And if I leave and he’s not interested? Now I don’t get to see him at all.”

“You’re torturing yourself.”

“No shit,” I muttered.

I plopped down in my chair.

It was going to be another long night for me.

I had zero desire to go home, even though it was just across the street, to be alone in my misery. I think I had slept in my office more in the past month than I ever had before. All because this crush was becoming uncontrollable.

“Why don’t you come out with Evan and me? Let loose a little bit. Maybe you’ll meet someone else.”

I shook my head. “I mean, maybe. But not tonight. I need to finish up this report. I was supposed to have it done yesterday.”

Gregory grimaced. “When is Claire going to split this department in half so you guys have someone else doing the work? You’ve been pulling double duty for a long time. You burn yourself out with these kinds of late nights.”

“I know. She and I have talked about it. We have some ideas. It’s not the right time for a re-org.”

“It’s always time for a re-org. Let’s talk about it next week. I don’t want to think about work for the rest of the night. We’ll talk soon, okay?”

Easy for him not to think about work all weekend. He had the love of his life on his arm. They two lived together now and were blissfully in love. Lucky bastards.

A discussion about our workload would be good, though. My department had taken on a dual role slowly over the years, and we were drowning in work some weeks. In the meantime, I tried to pull as much weight as I could so that the work didn’t land on my employees’ shoulders.

A knock sounded at the door, and it pushed open.

Sawyer stuck his head in. “Hey, I just remembered that the Simps report is due tomorrow morning. Do you need me to stay and help with that?”

God, he was gorgeous.

And helpful.

And amazing.

I cleared my throat. “No, I have it well in hand. Thank you. Go ahead and go. You did a great job getting the information I needed.”

Sawyer’s eyes lit up, and a light blush swept over his cheeks at the praise. I’d noticed it months ago, that anytime I gave him a compliment, he positively shone. “You sure?”

“Absolutely,” I said.

“All right. Hey, Gregory.” Sawyer gave an awkward wave. Then he was closing the door behind him.

Gregory looked back at me, shaking his head. “Dude, you’ve got it bad.”

Didn’t I know it.