Chapter Two
Bowie
The buzz through the building continued with the news about Derick and Lane Starling retiring and their eight sons returning home to pick up the mantle.
Bowie had worked hard to stay away from the office gossips as all the chatter made him feel like he’d put ants in his pants.
Today, Hollis had explained his reasoning behind the allocation of PA roles to the returning alpha sons and how he had a new role.
Thankfully, he was staying as Bowie’s boss.
He really liked Hollis because he explained everything in ways that he understood…
most of the time. He knew that sometimes he got a little confused with the way folks talked about things, but his other PA friends, Frey, Lennon, Monty, Isley, Ziggy, and Wilder, were good at helping him out when it happened.
Not that he couldn’t do the work. He had a degree in advertising.
It could apply to anything, and that was why Bowie had chosen it when he had no clue what he had wanted to do after college.
He'd come across an advertisement for Starling Enterprises just after he’d finished his degree and got a spark of interest from the ad copy.
Intrigued enough to apply, he’d met Lane Starling, the nicest man on the planet as far as Bowie was concerned, and everything had lined up.
Then he’d learned that Lane liked to bake, and Bowie thought he’d landed in heaven.
Lane retiring left him feeling a loss in ways he would never voice to the others when it sounded creepy to say he thought of Lane as his family.
His maudlin feelings, which could creep up on him when he wasn’t paying attention, made him go to the restroom after leaving Hollis and the others.
He hid in the bathroom stall and gave himself a talking to. “This is good for Lane and Derick. Lane assured us he isn’t disappearing, and he’ll still be here if I need to talk.”
He pressed his feverish forehead against the door and released a shuddery breath. “It’s all gonna be okay. Kari is nice.” He was.
He really was nice and kind. Bowie had noticed these things when he had worked on projects with Kari in the past. Bolstered by this, Bowie moved to open the door and leave the restroom, deciding to show some initiative by going to see what Kari needed from him.
It was good to start off on a positive footing, wasn’t it?
Frey always said that, and he was confident and self-assured in ways Bowie wanted to be.
Another thought followed on its heels. Would Kari see this as Bowie being a brown-noser? Not that he knew what that meant, but he’d heard Wilder say it in a context that fitted what Bowie was doing.
Oh…
Now that he thought about it, maybe Wilder hadn’t mentioned it like it was a good thing.
Already in the elevator, he dithered about his decision when it dinged, and the doors slid open onto an empty corridor. Should he just go back to his office and wait for Kari to contact him? But wouldn’t that be bad because it would make him appear as if he weren’t interested?
Second-guessing himself was a habit Bowie had, and nothing ever really changed it unless he was told to behave by anyone that wasn’t him.
His nose wrinkled with uncertainty about where his thoughts were traveling. He blew out a breath and blinked rapidly to stop the thoughts from wandering off without him.
“Bowie?”
As Monica, Derick Starling’s personal assistant, said his name, Bowie’s lips curved into a small smile. Before he realized he remained standing neither in nor out of the elevator, like he couldn’t decide what he was doing. His cheeks heated with embarrassment at getting caught like that.
“You… okay?”
He stepped out of the elevator but remained just in front of the doors. “I came to see Kari.” Why did he sound like he’d asked a question?
She flicked the long strands of her onyx hair over one shoulder. It shimmered like a cape of black silk over her red blouse. Her gaze softened as she walked to him and patted his arm.
“Ah, so he got allocated the cake genius.”
A warmth filled Bowie’s chest, and a genuine smile removed his uncertain expression.
When it came to baking, a hobby he discovered he excelled at, he had all the confidence in the world.
It turned out to be the best distraction from the lack in other areas of his life and made him feel wanted when his friends gushed over what he brought in for them to eat.
“Let’s hope he’s got a sweet tooth.”
“Hey if he hasn’t, you know I’ll be your guinea pig.”
“Aren’t you a vampire bat?” Bowie asked in confusion, frowning when Monica giggled.
“It means I’ll test all of your cakes,” she said through the giggles. Her smile wasn’t mean, so he grinned back at her.
He never got why folks said stuff that made little sense to him. Straightforward was always best, so Bowie knew where he was. He didn’t say that though because he didn’t want to upset Monica, she was nice.
“Okay,” he replied blandly.
She patted his arm once more and strode off in the opposite direction on heels that looked like they’d hurt a person’s feet the way they made them arch.
Alone, it was hard once again not to second-guess himself when he glanced down the corridor towards Kari’s office.
His sneakers dragged on the carpet as he walked in that direction.
He slowed his stride and chewed the inside of his lower lip.
As he passed the secretaries desks, he offered nods if they looked up.
The atmosphere up on this floor was different, more sombre than the floor the PAs were allocated.
On this floor, there were just the sounds of keyboards tapping and the distant noise of phones ringing, which were comforting to Bowie.
It was the sounds of life in a place he’d discovered he wasn’t alone.
This corridor held all the brothers' offices, and though he knew all the personal secretaries, he couldn’t say they were his friends like the PAs he worked alongside.
He eyed the open door at the end of the corridor, which he knew was Kari’s office. A familiar voice carried through the opening.
Kodi was loud, and Bowie was grateful it wasn’t Kodi he’d gotten with how he was always so over the top. It seemed he acted that way, with the shouty behavior when things didn’t go his way.
Bowie hated when folks shouted, it made his belly quiver unpleasantly and made him want to go find his bear to hold. As it was at home—he’d never be brave enough to bring it to work—he opted to rub his fingers back and forth over the soft piece of material inside his slacks pocket.
He heard his name, and he came to a halt. Memories of other times he’d heard folks talking about him made bile rise in the back of his throat as he listened outside the door, color draining from his face.
“Aren’t you a little pissed to have gotten allocated Bowie?”
There was a pause, then Kari answered, “Why would I be pissed about that? As I said, we got those interested in the area of the company we manage.”
Bowie’s lips trembled at how he couldn’t make out if Kari was, in fact, happy or not when Kodi continued, “You got Bowie bro, the one who is always a step behind, fucksake he’ll be more of a burden.”
He didn’t wait to hear what Kari’s response was. Spinning around, he ran back to the elevator, grateful the doors opened immediately when he pressed the button. Inside a second later, he sagged against the wall, sucking in a breath and holding it, hoping it would prevent the tears from falling.
Once, someone had told him that those who listen at doorways never hear good about themselves.
Bowie hadn’t really gotten it. How did they know that was the moment someone was gonna talk about them?
It was confusing right until then, when he was sure that Kodi didn’t know he was in the corridor.
The achy feeling in his chest was proof of that.
Kodi’s words slapped at him, making him feel small.
He sucked back a sob when the elevator doors opened back on the floor where his office was. Bowie didn’t hesitate and walked straight to Frey’s door. The little fox had befriended him on his very first day. He was everything Bowie wished to be. Confident, sassy and pretty.
He tapped at the door and heard Frey call out so he slipped inside and shut the door behind him, not wanting anyone to hear him confess he wasn’t wanted.
“You busy?” asked Bowie, praying that Frey would say no.
Frey gave him a scrutinizing look and, a moment later, pushed the piece of pie that was next to his elbow toward Bowie. “You look like you need this.”
That was Frey all over, caring and able to pick up Bowie’s mood without him having to say a word. As he stepped forwards, his sneakers caught on the rug, lurching him forward. The wide-eyed look Frey had as he jumped up and grabbed hold of Bowie’s arm would have been comical if he weren’t so upset.
“Bowie,” Frey exclaimed, looking a little paler than he had a moment before.
“Sorry,” Bowie mumbled, choking back the tears, wanting to fall at the genuine concern Frey was displaying towards him.
“It’s okay,” Frey assured, even when he still sounded stressed
Bowie went with Frey when he tugged him down into the empty seat, shoving the plate into his hands, minus the fork. “Want to tell me what’s got you upset?”
Frey perched his ass on the corner of his desk.
Bowie felt the weight of his stare as he kept his on the plate he held. He shrugged his wide shoulders. Then, unable to stop himself when he needed to talk, he peeked up at Frey from under his eyelashes.
“I heard Kari and Kodi talking…” He struggled to finish because he’d been listening outside a door and that was bad.
“Were they talking about us? Who Hollis assigned them?”
A loud sniff and nod were Bowie’s answer, the tears getting harder to hold back.
Frey sighed and came off the desk, wrapping his arms as best as he could around Bowie’s broad shoulders, avoiding the plate he clung on to. “What did they say?”
Tension crept through him, and he stiffened in Frey’s arms, willing himself not to lose it. “Kodi said he felt sorry for Kari getting the dumb one.”
Frey jerked back, nearly knocking the plate out of Bowie’s hand. His eyes said exactly how pissed he was, even before he screeched, “He said that!”
“Sort of,” Bowie mumbled, picking up the pie and taking a huge bite, trying to eat his upset. It hadn’t worked in the past, but it didn’t stop him from trying.
Bowie saw how Frey’s eyes narrowed on him, but he asked softly, “Either he said it, or he didn’t?”
“He said I was always a step behind everyone,” he mumbled around the mouthful of pie, hating that it was true. He swallowed the mouthful and continued, “That makes me dumb.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d heard it. He didn’t know how to navigate life the same way everyone else did.
Frey rubbed Bowie’s shoulder as he took another bite of the pecan pie, working on filling the void inside him.
“You go at your pace, you always have. Answer me this, do you get the job done for the alphas in the allotted time frame?”
He considered his reply, chewing the pie, then nodded. He had developed his own way of getting things done to stop him from getting overwhelmed.
Frey gave him a look of approval. “There you go. How does that make you dumb? You’re thorough and definitely a details person. If you don’t keep step with others, is that wrong?”
Bowie stared at Frey, his head tilting to the side as he finished chewing on the pie, considering what Frey was saying. A flutter developed in his chest. “I’ve never thought of it like that.”
Frey grinned at him with approval. “Whatever works. No one way is right for everyone. Be you, Bowie. You’re absolutely adorable.” He came forward and kissed Bowie’s head.
Bowie stiffened when Frey sniffed at his hair. Did he smell funny? He’d bought a new shampoo that he thought smelled great. Had he been wrong?
Bowie touched his head where Frey had been sniffing, trying to sniff without being obvious.
“Your hair smells of bubble-gum!”
Oh, was he… “It’s a new shampoo I found.
” He clutched the plate in front of him and eyed his friend with some trepidation.
“Erm… you aren’t flirting with me, are you?
I like you an all, but… you know… not like that.
” He could feel how hot his face was, but he never could tell if Frey was being serious, and he flirted a lot.
Bowie loved Frey as a friend, and the tiny omega didn’t come across as the type of man who would be attracted to Bowie.
And Bowie had a boyfriend—sort of dating, he supposed—though he wasn’t allowed to mention it to anyone.
Bowie feigned interest in the rest of the half-eaten pie, having no idea what he’d do if Frey was hitting on him.
“Are you sure?” Frey asked, running a hand over the silky strands and making Bowie wish he’d not eaten the pie.
Alarm ran through Bowie as he looked at Frey, his mind unable to come up with a way to let Frey down and not hurt his feelings.
“I’m joking. I like big, hot alphas.” Frey laughed.
Bowie sagged in relief and took a breath he’d been unable to manage a second ago. “Thank God,” he said without thinking.
Frey snort-giggled. “How to make an omega feel unwanted.” Then Frey bent over and giggled in earnest.
Bowie grinned at Frey, giggling right along with him.
The hurt Kodi had caused was, for now, pushed aside with Frey’s logical view on things. He just needed to remember that going at his pace wasn’t wrong so long as he got the job done.
Kari couldn’t find fault in that, could he?