CHAPTER FIVE
Will finished the week with Big Man Tech work, at first keeping mum about the mating agency’s job offer.
When Greg asked him to stay on the line following a video conference with a different client, he fixed his gaze on the screen rather than the pinprick camera above his laptop screen, lest an involuntary anxious expression or sad eyes give away his discomfort.
He’d fretted for a day and a half, unable to find the right words to approach the subject.
Close to quitting time today, he regretted turning down Ray’s offer to roleplay. Even with Ray acting more as himself than Greg, an unknown quantity in the Alpha’s mind, Will realized bouncing off dialogue might have helped in the long run.
“I’m sending over a few RFPs. I want your input on the IT sections, but wait until Monday to open them?
” Greg asked. From what Will saw on his screen, his boss was at home in his bedroom, with his curved cherrywood headboard visible behind him.
Greg was visible from the neck up, but Will guessed he wore a t-shirt and shorts and reclined within reach of a steaming mug of coffee to complement the cool March weather. Ready for the weekend in his own way.
Will planned to spend his time in a marathon of mental anguish, imagining every worst case scenario once he summoned the nerve to…
“Whatcha got going on this weekend?” Greg’s question cut into his thoughts. Will snapped to attention, catching sight of his minimized image in the lower right corner of his screen. Skittish much, Will? He displayed the wide-eyed look of a teenager trying to pass edibles off as gummy bears.
“Oh,” he said, “not much. Prolly stay home for some online gaming.” Much of his social life took place in multiplayer RPGs, and he wanted to try out a new expansion pack to use with his VR headset.
Greg looked into his camera, showing Will a mask of bemusement. “I thought you might go shopping for new work clothes,” he said. A bark of laughter followed, and Will realized the panic the revealed onscreen must have inspired it.
How…? Yet Will knew the answer. Phil must have said something to Greg’s dad, who told Greg. Whether or not Phil put it to his former boss to coax Greg into going easy on Will remained to be seen, but he nonetheless approached the subject with caution. “Why would you think that?” Will asked him.
“Will, it’s fine. I’m surprised I had to hear it from Dad that Phillip Stallworth offered you part-time hours at his new gig.
” Shadows darkened his face now. Greg had adjusted his laptop and the light shifted, but Will took the change as a physical manifestation of Greg’s obvious disappointment in him.
He had ample opportunity to say something.
“What did you think, that I would fire you for wanting to make ends meet?”
“Well…”
Greg dropped his lower jaw, and after a few seconds recovered. “Dude! You’re amazing. You know I’d give you more hours if I could,” he said.
Will felt his anxiety fade. “I do.”
“You don’t need my permission, either. If you want to answer phones for these guys and repeat instructions on how to manage the automated door locks, do so with a clear conscience.
You’re not hurting me or my business.” After a beat, he winked.
“Now, if anybody comes looking for a mate and says something about wanting their wireless or alarm systems set up…”
“I have plenty of business cards.”
“Sweet. Have a great weekend and don’t worry about it.
” Greg signed off the video with a broad smile before his screen turned black.
Will considered waiting until Monday to call Phil and accept the job, since he now wanted to use his weekend to recover from the stress.
He was logging out of his Big Man-related accounts when a text pinged over his phone from a familiar number without contact information set.
Stop in Monday around 10 for orientation.
Welcome aboard. A string of happy emoji followed.
Smiling, Will saved the number to Phil’s name and was thumbing out a question about the dress code when the next message read his mind.
We want you professional but comfortable. Nice shirts and slacks. No ties.
“Well,” Will murmured to himself, pocketing his phone, “that answers that.”
Will woke early on Monday to complete task lists for Greg’s clients, and two emergencies forced him to push back his second job. He reported to the still-unnamed agency at noon for his first shift, thankful Gwen understood.
He agreed upon twenty hours a week to start, and his new bosses offered him flexibility to accommodate his other job. Eight to noon, noon to four, or anywhere in between, so long as gave them a heads-up on his schedule.
He grabbed a parking space on the curb in front of The Daily Bean and used his new parking app account to pay the day’s fee. He spotted Gabe through the cafe window and waved before crossing the street. Time permitting, he’d stop in afterward to say hello.
Orientation passed in a whirlwind of paperwork for taxes and garage parking privileges, followed by an extensive tutorial of the data collection and customer engagement processes, so Will could answer specific questions if necessary. Management of their connectivity and alarm systems, he knew.
“What’s so funny?” Gwen asked in the midst of all the first-day setup. Her tentative smile asked to be included in the joke.
Will shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he said.
“It just hit me that this is the first job I’ve had outside my home.
” After finishing college, he contracted out development work for two other firms before joining Greg, using only a laptop, a WiFi connection, and a mobile phone.
“I’ve never had a company parking pass before, or a work dress code. ”
“Really?” Gwen, standing next to Will at the reception desk, straightened to her full height and folded her arms. “Well, I’m not that much older than you, but even I did time in a drive-thru window while I studied for my first two degrees.
” She drifted back to her cubicle. “I suppose the day of the starter job is over.”
“You think so?” Will turned in the swivel chair, watching as she straightened up her workspace.
“I mean, not all the fast food places have the digital order kiosks installed.” Also, did this position not count?
Will figured he was overqualified to work this desk, but nonetheless grateful they wanted to give him the hours.
Gwen dropped into her chair and rolled it past the wall dividing her space from Phil’s.
“I may have exaggerated,” she said. “It used to be when you were a teenager, you worked nights and or weekends in some kind of customer service. I only see adults at these places now.” She nodded toward The Daily Bean’s storefront.
“The guy who runs that cafe? He used to have four people working under him, now he’s down to one.
If that person is still around, that is.
I only ever see Gabe behind the counter. ”
“I was there Friday morning, and he mentioned how business was declining downtown because of the office closures. I figured he had to let people go.”
“Not that I heard, but the area is transitioning. It will take time to rebound.” Gwen shook her head.
“Nobody coming in to buy coffee at present means nobody’s getting tips.
His staff left for jobs in better locations.
It forced him to close three days when he used to be open all week. Don’t know if you noticed his sign.”
A pang of guilt settled in Will’s chest on hearing that. Scaled back operating hours presented the first sign of a business in trouble. He was long past his teenage era, but even if he were younger he’d still gravitate toward IT or coding.
“He asked me if I wanted a job,” he said. “I didn’t think he was serious.”
“You turned him down?” Gwen scooted on her chair closer to him, mischief in her gaze. “I’m sure his employee discount is much better than ours, since it applies to snacks. Plus, he is quite a snack himself, nice to look at.” She shrugged. “I’m sure he’d make a good match for a local Alpha.”
Will remember Gabe’s ring. Assuming Gwen knew him better, maybe it didn’t symbolize commitment. “Have you asked him over to fill out an application?”
Gwen raised an eyebrow, looking coy. “Phil and I agreed we wouldn’t sell our services to the neighbors just yet,” she said.
“Though if the right Alpha were to walk through that door I might have Gabe deliver us something hot.” She tilted up her head and peered through her lashes at him. “Too bad you aren’t one.”
Will laughed along. He’d said nothing to her about his sexual or secondary identity, though it had come up in the paperwork. His new employers, like Greg, required notice when Will entered his heat cycles so they could adjust their schedules.
“I figured we’d get there eventually, but how can you tell who’s a good match for whoever?” he asked.
“I’m trained for this. Half the battle of matching an Alpha with their ideal Omega is knowing the players right out of the gate.
” Gwen winked, and gestured to Phil’s cubicle.
“When we started moving into this storefront, Phil brought along pictures of himself with Doug. They’re in one of those drawers.
I guess he hasn’t gathered the spoons to hang them, and I understand.
It’s been two years but the absence still hurts. ”
Will listened, his heart aching for the absent Phil.
“I introduced them to each other,” Gwen said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I was friends with Doug first, and we attended the wedding of a mutual friend. Phil was a guest, too, and the moment I saw him I knew he was perfect for Doug. Me being a Beta, I can’t detect scents as well and I’m sure everybody there was on suppressants, but I saw it in Phil’s eyes that day. ”
“You could tell Phil was Alpha?”