Chapter 26 Forest
FOREST
I’d been staring at the laptop screen for hours.
Sheldon offered to put a desk in the apartment and get me a monitor and keyboard so I could dock the laptop.
He didn’t like coming home to find me hunched over it at the dining table.
I refused. Not because it wouldn’t be nice to sit somewhere else.
I didn’t want this to be permanent. Putting in a desk resigned me to working out of here and never going back to the office. I wasn’t accepting that.
He’d told me what happened last week with a package showing up.
I wanted the details, but I didn’t at the same time.
In the end, I told him not to let me in on what it was.
If I didn’t know, I could pretend it wasn’t bad.
It was, of course, but I would rather live in my Sheldon-created bubble than out there where a person was trying to kill me and the man I loved.
In the days that followed, Jordan’s trusted guards went through their entire roster in the building.
Every person was checked thoroughly, their history, what they did outside of here, family, you name it.
They all came up good. Sheldon told me no more gifts showed either.
That was a relief. He could have lied about it, but I didn’t think he would.
Sheldon and I didn’t have a habit of doing that.
A knock on the door pulled me away from staring at the now blurry screen. I’d stopped focusing on what was on it minutes ago. I stood and answered it, finding JJ on the other side.
“Hey,” I said, shocked to see him. “Are you here visiting your dad?”
“Nah, but I’ll say hi before I leave. Got a minute?”
“Sure, come in.” I held the door wider, but before JJ could enter, Sheldon slid inside to stand next to me.
“God, you’re fucking weird,” JJ said. “Seriously, did a beacon go off in your head that alerted you to my presence?”
“Much like Jordan finds out everything that happens in the building, so do I. I might no longer walk the halls at night, but I have many ways to know who comes and goes, especially in our home.”
I turned to face him. “Our?”
He placed a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. “Yes, beautiful. Our.”
“Enough with the sappy shit,” JJ cut in. “Do that after I leave. I actually came to talk about work with Forest.”
“Okay, but I’m not forgetting you said that,” I told Sheldon.
He winked in response.
JJ followed me to the small round dining table where I had set up my laptop and papers. We took our seats while Sheldon busied himself in the kitchen.
“Do you like nachos, JJ?” he asked.
“Who doesn’t?”
“A lot of people. Anyway, do you like the jarred stuff or do you melt your own cheese?”
“Both. Greer can make queso like you wouldn’t believe, but he doesn’t always have time to do it, so the jarred kind wins often.”
“Good. I’ll make a plate.”
“You live in the same building as Vail, a man who had a kitchen built so he could feed everyone, and you make nachos with a jar sauce?”
Sheldon’s lips twitched. If JJ wasn’t here, I bet he’d smile.
“When he found out how much I loved this stuff…” He held up a jar of it.
“He was appalled and insisted on making me some. I tried it, liked it, but told him I prefer what comes in the jar, as long as it’s the good kind.
None of that store brand shit. It’s a comfort food. ” Sheldon shrugged.
“I bet Vail’s was amazing.”
“All you have to do is tell him you like something processed, and he’ll make it from scratch. But don’t abuse that. Vail is a gift to all of us.”
JJ scoffed, “Like I’d do anything to upset Vail. My old man would be all over me for that. No thanks.”
“Work?” I asked, cutting in. We could be here all day talking about the kinds of snacks Sheldon liked. Granted, it was nice to see him speaking to JJ without freaking him out, but my boss came for a reason. Well, one of my bosses.
“Right,” JJ said. “We noticed you got our accounting up-to-date and more organized than we’ve had it in years. Well done. I’d hand our accountant a box full of receipts and tell him to have at it, but you organized everything in a system and gave him access to it. He called me to tell me.”
It wasn’t that the shop’s books were bad, but they were very behind. They also had an old system they were using that, yes, included a lot of paper receipts. My specialty wasn’t in accounting, but put anything in front of me and I’d figure it out. I loved a challenge.
“I was happy to do it. Now everything should run smoothly. When you get an expense, if it doesn’t already get imported in automatically, you can enter it into the system.”
He chuckled. “Not me. I don’t deal with that shit.
Keith is thrilled he doesn’t have to do it.
This is all you. Now that you’ve gotten most of that taken care of, I was wondering if you’d like to help me update another part of the shop.
The mechanics are working with old tools.
That’s not a bad thing at all. They do a damn good job.
But I want to do something for them as a thank you.
I’d like you to ask them for an inventory of their tools.
Tell them it’s for the computer or something.
I don’t care, make it up. Give me the list once it’s done, and I’ll go through each one.
I don’t want Keith to know, so this will just be between us.
It’s way past time for me to say thank you with more than a raise. ”
“That’s really nice of you, but you should know I have no idea what most tools even are, let alone their names.”
“I’m aware. With them making the lists, you don’t have to worry about knowing the names. Just put them in a document for me to look over. Given that each mechanic has a specialty, I’d like to get them what they need to do the best job they can.”
“I can do that. I have their phone numbers. Is there anything else? I seem to have more time on my hands. With minimal interruptions, I’m able to get more done.” That was in between zoning out from sitting in the same place and staring at the screen for too long.
JJ pulled a text message up on his phone and began reading it to me.
It was a list of items Keith wanted me to look into.
I took notes and wrote each one down. There was enough on there to keep me busy for a while.
Nothing was an overly big task, but little things added up.
I was happy to do them. Not only did it keep me occupied, but I also had a variety to do, which I liked.
When we were done, and Sheldon had deposited a plate of nachos on the table for us to share, JJ leaned back in the seat and looked around.
“This is the first time I’ve been in here,” he observed. “I’m waiting for something to jump out and bite me.”
“I can arrange for Barry to come down and scare you, if that’s what you’re looking for,” Sheldon offered.
“Do you think he likes managing my old man’s security? Doesn’t he do most of that himself?”
“Barry thrives at his job. Yes, your father does a lot; that’s mostly with his upper-tier guards or whatever you want to call them. Barry manages everyone else.”
“Makes sense. Do I get to see it?” JJ asked.
“I’m not showing you my cock,” Sheldon said before shoving a queso-covered chip into his mouth.
“One, I never asked for that. Two, don’t imply that I did. Three, you know damn well that wasn’t what I meant. You have a room in here where you hide your deadly shit. I’d like to see it.”
Cocking his head slightly, Sheldon asked, “Why?”
“Because as much as I want zero to do with the life of crime my old man created, knowing you have a closet of poisons is fascinating.”
“If I show you it, you have to stop calling me creepy and accept me as part of your family.”
JJ reared back. “What?”
“I’m in love with Forest. Forest’s brother is in a committed relationship with your father. If Forest and I get married, we’ll be related. Accept your fate, or you don’t get to see my closet of death.”
“Jesus. You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that. Fucking hell, you better be worth all the aggravation you give me. Also, I’m going to need a vial of something to prove I was in there. I bet not many people get to see the inside of it.”
“They don’t. The answer is no to the vial. Instead, I’ll let you stare at all of my babies, but you can’t touch anything. If you’re lucky, you can sit on my meditation pillow.”
Poor JJ didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then… “You have a meditation pillow?”
“And one for Ollie,” I said.
“You have many layers, Sheldon. Way more than I gave you credit for.”
“Thank you. You may see my closet now.”
JJ stood and followed Sheldon into the bedroom. I’d already seen the closet, so there was no point for me to again. It was Sheldon’s safe space, even though if there was an earthquake and the bottles fell, whoever was in there would probably die. At least, that was my best guess.
I started going over the list I’d made to see which items I could get done quickly and check off.
Not even ten minutes later, I heard Colleen’s voice coming from Sheldon’s phone. It wasn’t her talking to them. It was one of her guided meditations.
As slowly and quietly as I could, I tiptoed into the bedroom with my phone out and the video on.
The best sight emerged. Sheldon and JJ were sitting on the pillows, facing each other with their eyes closed.
Sheldon was in a half lotus while they meditated together.
After I got a video, I took a few pictures.
The best part was how calm they were while so many deadly vials surrounding them.
Not just that, but also syringes, weapons, all kinds of things.
They didn’t know I was there, so I crept back to the table without them noticing.
In all the shit that had been happening, I was glad Sheldon had a way to decompress. That he could do so with JJ, a man who used to be completely unnerved by him, was another great moment to witness.
I doubted they’d become close friends, but there was nothing wrong with having allies who could be counted on. JJ didn’t want to be a part of his father’s business. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to be a part of his life. Getting along with Jordan’s guards mattered. Being here did too.
Hartley had told me Jordan and JJ didn’t always have the best relationship. It was nice to know they were able to work it out and make it so they could spend time together.