Chapter 61
61
DONNIE
It’s been a little over a week since we had our twenty four hours of emotional blowout between the three of us. That morning, I had Jessica run the shop while we spent our time really getting to know each other better. Hearing all of the fun stories about their found family at Kink Manor makes me thankful that I got to know them at all.
The soft whoosh of the door opening makes me smile as Matt comes in for his mid-morning caffeine fix. I have to remember to thank Toby for so thoroughly destroying the damn bell at the beginning of the semester.
“The usual?” I ask the harried looking professor as he starts patting himself down frantically.
“Fuck! I forgot my wallet in my office,” he says throwing his head back in exasperation. “Eric is planning three different Halloween parties and he’s been driving me insane by insisting that we not only need to have couple costumes, but that each party needs a different costume.”
Chuckling, I finish making his white chocolate mocha with an extra shot of espresso and double whipped cream. “Do you really care or is his stress giving you stress?”
He laughs as I hand over his drink. We both sit at my reserved table half hidden behind the counter and I yell for the new guy, Sid, to take over the counter if anyone comes in. I ran into him when I was finishing up my morning run a few weeks ago and he asked if I was hiring. I’m glad I gave him a chance because he has definite management potential.
“You know it’s just him freaking out that’s getting me all worked up,” Matt tells me after taking his first sip. “It doesn’t help that he just found out that after the holidays, his room at the manor house will officially have a new resident.”
“You think he’s regretting moving in with you?” I don’t even try to hide the incredulity in my voice. If there was ever a perfectly matched pair of individuals, it would be Eric and Matt.
He gives me a smirk and rolls his eyes. “I’m pretty sure it’s the fact that he loses that security net and it makes living with me real in a way that it wasn’t before. Plus, I think he’s afraid everyone in the house is moving on without him.
“Spencer is busy with Lucky. Shiloh moved in with you, and Toby might as well join him if the last week is any indication. My boy doesn’t do well with big changes.”
Matt and I spend the rest of his morning break discussing the Halloween party being thrown at Kink Manor. It’s apparently going to be a pre-welcome party for the new resident before he officially moves in during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I have to admit, Eric really outdid himself with this one. I’m just lucky that I have a costume that fits the theme and won’t have to go out shopping.
“I’ll let him know you don’t need his assistance with the costume,” Matt calls out before disappearing out the door. Shaking my head, I head back toward my office to try and tackle some of the paperwork to see if I’m any closer to meeting the margins I need in order to secure the funding I need for the expansion. I’d love to turn Walt’s Coffee Shop into a café and offer real food as an alternative to the restrictive hours and limited options of the dining halls.
“What the fuck did you just say to him?!”
Toby’s angry shout has me jumping up from my desk and racing to the front. One thing I’ve learned over the last week is that my pup is very much a guard dog for those who he deems to be his people. He also has a tendency to act first and think later, so I hope I’m quick enough to stop him from killing a customer.
As I clear the corner, I’m shocked to see Sid holding a snarling Toby back from Jessica, my assistant manager. Taking a quick glance around the shop, the students who are in here are all regulars whose expressions range from smug to livid.
What the fuck have I been missing in my shop?
“It’s not worth it,” Sid is saying to Toby while struggling to retain his hold around the smaller man’s waist. “I’ve been called worse. At least the guys in high school were creative in their bigotry.”
Before I can say anything, Jessica snarls out, “I don’t need a fuck toy fairy-boy to protect me from a boy who can’t even stick to his own race. What’s he gonna do? Sic his thug boyfriend and his gangbanger cousins on me?”
I see red. There’s no fucking way that one of my employees, one of Walt’s employees, could be so fucking hateful, but I can’t deny what she just said. My eyes roam the shop and a few students meet my gaze. The looks on their faces show that this isn’t a recent occurrence.
“YOU ARE FUCKING FIRED!”
My words cut through the tension and Toby stops fighting against Sid’s hold to escape. All eyes in the room focus on me. Jessica looks smug while Sid looks like he’s going to be sick as the silence lengthens after my outburst.
“Don’t fire him,” Toby runs up to me pleading. “I’m the one who yelled first. It’s my fault.”
I pull him into a hug and glare at Jessica over his head. “Sid isn’t the one getting fired.”
My manager blanches and has the gall to look surprised.
“I have been the manager since before Walt retired. I’ve been here for years! ”
Ignoring her, I push Toby back to arms length to ask, “What exactly did she say to set you off, Pup?”
“I didn’t say anything to your boy toy!” Jessica cuts in before he can answer me. “I know he and the rest of the trailer trash freaks are off limits.”
Toby turns to face her and I’m almost too slow in stopping him from launching himself at her. Since I restrained his body, my pup takes a deep breath in preparation of what I’m sure would be scathing. Unfortunately, I don’t think the dean will look past another incident with him, so I act quickly.
I barely have my hand over his mouth when Eric’s voice from behind me has me struggling not to laugh out loud.
“Just cuz we get more cock in a week than you’ll get in your life, Sour Patch Tits, doesn’t mean you get a free pass to be a hateful bitch. If you’re an example of what the hetero guys in this city have to choose from, I’m not surprised that the meat market for dick is having a booming expansion lately.”
Jessica’s scream of frustration makes me wish I had my hands free to cover my ears, but she at least takes off her apron and grabs her purse from beneath the counter. When she reaches the door, Eric steps aside with a wave of his hand.
She looks back at me with rage evident on her face, but I will never tolerate bigotry in my shop. I tell her that her last check will be mailed to her and that she is no longer welcome inside my establishment. I guess I’m taking another trip down to the security office on campus this afternoon.