24. Byron Graham
24
BYRON GRAHAM
Don’t panic.
Everything is going to be fine.
Just don’t panic.
I’d been repeating this to myself the entire drive up to Blue Ash. The job interview had come out of nowhere. I’d woken up to a phone call from a recruiter asking if I could head to the Stanton Holding corporate headquarters for an interview for a management position that promised a much higher six-figure salary. The only problem was that I needed to be there in ninety minutes. That gave me zero time to research anything about the company.
I rushed through my morning prep, jumped into a suit, grabbed my briefcase, prepped with my résumé and a stack of reputable references, and raced out the door. Of course, morning rush hour heading north was a bear, and I arrived at the shining glass building with less than five minutes to spare.
As I walked into the lobby to find a receptionist or a directory that would point me to the correct floor, my feet stopped as a barrage of rainbows hit my eyes. And not the typical rainbow flags hanging or draped over random surfaces, but subtle things like several bouquets in crystal vases were arranged to form a rainbow. There were a couple of end tables and a coffee table in the waiting area that had a flourish of pamphlets that were fanned out to form a rainbow.
And it wasn’t even June. It was July. Pride month was finished, and they were displaying rainbows. This had to be more than a simple LGBTQIA+-friendly company.
“Mr. Graham?” asked the woman sitting at the round desk in the center of the lobby with a smile on her lips.
“Hello. Yes. I have an appointment with Mrs. Heather Culver.”
“Wonderful. If you would like to have a seat, I’ve already sent her a message that you’ve arrived.”
I nodded and walked to the pleasant seating area with plush white couches and elegant glass tables. The second the receptionist’s attention was on her computer, I leaned in to take a peek at the pamphlets that were set out. One looked to be for a counseling service that specialized in helping parents of LGBTQIA+ children. Another one was for a program to support homeless LGBTQIA+ kids. I was reaching for another when the clack of heels across the marble floor jerked my attention up to the smartly dressed woman walking toward me.
I stood and ran a hand down the front of my suit while tucking my portfolio under my arm.
“Mrs. Culver?”
“Hi, Mr. Graham. I am so happy you could meet with us on such short notice,” she replied, shaking my hand as she reached me.
“Not a problem.”
She turned, and we walked together to the elevators at the rear of the lobby. “Was traffic bad?”
“Just the usual,” I stated. The traffic had been horrendous, the car was low on gas, and the engine was now making a new weird noise that sounded ominous and expensive. I needed this interview to turn into something big. While I’d been out of work for roughly three weeks, there had been few nibbles on the many résumés I’d sent out. Plus, I was hearing that the interviewing process had grown even longer in recent years, which meant getting hired and receiving that first paycheck could take months.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but the recruiter’s call took me by surprise,” I said as the elevator doors closed in front of us. “I didn’t have the chance to do any research about Stanton Holding to make sure that I’m a good fit for your firm. It would be horrible and unfair to both of us if I wasted your time.”
“Oh, you’re fine. It was unfair of us to spring this on you, but when Danielle saw your résumé, she announced that you’d be a perfect fit. You also come highly recommended.”
Danielle?
Did I know any Danielles? Particularly ones who worked in human resources. No one was coming to mind.
“Stanton is a holding company for three different LGBTQIA+-focused charity organizations to help children, adults, and parents of LGBTQIA+ children safely navigate the world while also providing advocacy for equal rights whether at the city, state, or national government levels.”
“Wow.” I exhaled. “That’s…that’s amazing. And this position that I’m interviewing for? The recruiter couldn’t give me any details. Only that it is management. Which specific charity would it be for?”
“I’m going to leave that for Danielle to fill you in. You’ve been all she’s talked about since her charity fund raiser at the end of June. Your suggestions for the new marketing campaign have lit a fire under our lead designer.”
Her words dissolved into white noise as she said something that called up a key memory.
The charity fund raiser at Sebastian’s parents’ house.
Danielle…as in Danielle Courtland.
Sebastian’s mother.
My brain was still processing this information when the elevator doors whooshed open and I was left staring out at a bright and pretty top floor with another sitting area that reminded me a lot of the top floor for Courtland Enterprises. It wouldn’t have surprised me if the same interior designer had been used for both companies.
All the hope that had bubbled in my veins and danced in my stomach turned to rocks and sank, pulling my organs down to my toes. I didn’t want to move off the elevator. What was the point? This couldn’t be a real interview. This had been Danielle’s way to get me here so she could shout at me over ruining her son’s reputation or using him for money or some other despicable thing.
Heather looked back and smiled at me the moment she noticed I hadn’t moved with her. It was all I could do to paste a matching smile on my lips. She had no idea that this was all a farce. It wasn’t her fault that her boss was pulling some shady shit to make my life hell.
We walked in to encounter Danielle’s assistant, who rose from her desk.
“Good morning, Mr. Graham. I’m Mrs. Courtland’s assistant, Chloe. Mrs. Courtland is ready for you.”
Heather reached out and gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do great. We can chat again after your meeting.”
I wanted to tell her that there wouldn’t be a chat and there was no way I was going to be great, but I swallowed the knot in my throat and nodded. I followed Chloe through the lobby to the nearby office with the door standing open.
Unlike Sebastian’s and John’s offices, Danielle’s was sunny and cheerful, with beautiful flowers in cut crystal vases that reflected the light coming from the wall of windows behind her. She rose from behind her desk the second Chloe stepped into the doorway, not even giving her a chance to knock on the door.
“There you are! Byron, you must hate me for calling you so last minute, but I refused to wait a minute longer. Come in! Come in!” She waved at me with both hands as I stood frozen in the doorway.
This was not the enraged Momma Bear I’d been expecting. She appeared genuinely welcoming and happy to see me. What the fuck was going on?
“Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Water? Tea?” Chloe inquired as I stepped into the office.
“No.” I stopped and cleared my throat when that single word got caught. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“Chloe, could you make some hot tea for us? The one with lemon. Byron is looking a little pale to me.”
“Right away, Mrs. Courtland.” Chloe zipped out of the office, leaving me alone with Danielle in her shining, posh domain.
“Mrs. Courtland…”
She waved at me again, beckoning me to a sofa and two chairs around a coffee table, like we were going to have a chat. She settled in one of the white chairs, but I remained standing beside the sofa.
“Mrs. Courtland,” I started, managing a firmer tone. I understood she was probably upset over her son being hurt by me, but she needed to recognize that Sebastian wasn’t the only injured party in all this. My hands balled into fists at my sides, and I gathered up the last shreds of my courage. “I wish you would have contacted me directly rather than going through this farce of calling me in for a nonexistent job. I would have been willing to meet with you to discuss anything you wish, but when I agreed to this meeting, no one told me it would be with you. It is rather cruel to have gotten my hopes up about nothing, and I didn’t take you for someone who was cruel.”
Danielle blinked at me. “Nonexistent? Byron, do you really think I’m the type of person to mix business and personal?”
“I…” Everything in my brain became a muddled mess, and I didn’t know what to say next. While I didn’t know her well from our one meeting, I didn’t get the impression that she was the type to use her work to settle a personal feud.
“There is a job, I promise. I just told them to not mention my name or the Courtland name. I was afraid you wouldn’t consider it because of my link to Sebastian or even John.”
“I think…I’m confused,” I whispered, feeling very lost at sea.
“Sit down, please.”
My knees gave out, so I wasn’t exactly graceful.
Danielle’s smile remained bright and gentle as she continued, “We didn’t get the chance to talk as much as I would have liked at the fund raiser, but in the time we had together, I was so impressed by all your creative ideas and suggestions. I kept thinking, ‘Here’s a guy who was coming up with all these things off the top of his head with only a moment’s notice. What amazing things could he do if he had days, weeks, or even months to plan?’”
“Thank you,” I murmured, still in awe of what she was saying. “But I know nothing about working for a charity.”
She gave a shrug. “It’s the same as running a business in a lot of ways. Of course, there’s more legal paperwork and tax issues, but that’s why we have a legion of experienced lawyers and accountants on our payroll—to keep us protected.” She leaned forward and grinned. “Do you know why I started the Rainbow Counseling Network? Sebastian came out to his father and me as gay, and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even understand it. Was there something his father and I had done or didn’t do when he was young? I tried to say the right things and be supportive, but I wasn’t even sure if I did that correctly. That bothered me. Not him being gay, but that I didn’t know how to support my child. Before my husband and I came into our money, I worked as a nurse. A nurse with a college degree and countless years of training, and I didn’t know how to help my son.”
“That must have been very painful for you,” I said.
“It was, and I was disappointed in myself. So, I began doing research. I talked to social workers and therapists. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and even pediatricians. Even with all these professionals, there was a lot of bad information out there. I could only do this because I have the privilege of money and time, but there were a lot of families out there without the same resources who are asking the same questions I was.”
A smile spread across my lips while my eyes burned. “So, you created the counseling network?”
She nodded. “It was designed to help people of all ages who are questioning their sexual identity and need mental health help dealing with that. Or even if they just need general information, such as safe places to live and work. Even doctors who are allies of the community. We also offer training and support to families of LGBTQIA+ children, giving them the skills they need to support their children.” She sighed and lifted her hands. “But once we dug in, we uncovered so many other underserved areas. Particularly homeless kids who’d been kicked out after their parents discovered they were LGBTQIA+. So, I created the Hope Bastion and Stanton Law Group.” She paused and winked at me. “Stanton is my maiden name. Stanton Law Group specializes in assisting LGBTQIA+ people who have been discriminated against. We focus mostly on the local level and state, though we are doing a bit of lobbying on the national level.”
“This…this is all amazing, but I’m not sure why you believe I am a fit here, other than the fact that I’m a gay man.”
Danielle made a dismissive noise. “Being a gay man only helps you about this much.” She lifted her hand to show her thumb and index finger held about an inch apart. “It gives you real-world insight that a straight man wouldn’t likely have. No, the main reason I’m interested in you is your college education combined with your experience at Courtland Enterprises.” She leaned forward and picked up a piece of paper that looked like it was a copy of my résumé, but I couldn’t imagine how she’d gotten her hands on it. “You got your bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati with a double major in business management and marketing. Then got your master’s from Xavier University. Both times, you finished with a GPA of 3.8. You had a couple of other jobs for smaller firms working in their marketing department before getting hired on at Courtland Enterprises, where you worked for just over three years. Why don’t you tell me about this proposal that Courtland is implementing to save its ass?”
I had to bite the inside of my cheek at her snarky tone, but I got myself under control and launched into a lengthy description of my process for developing my idea and how I’d worked with the other departments to gather the financial proof I’d needed to show that it was a viable idea.
From there, Danielle ran me through a variety of initiatives that I’d worked on. After a short time, I no longer needed her to prompt me. The interview gremlin in my brain finally fucking woke up and remembered how to sell me and my skills. She’d slipped us straight into an interview without making it feel like I was being interviewed.
Two hours flashed by in the blink of an eye. I stopped only to take a sip of my now-lukewarm tea to wet my painfully dry mouth after so much talking.
“So, what you’re telling me is that you have experience working with multiple departments to organize and spearhead long-term initiatives to meet goals by a set deadline. You can design and stick to a strict budget. And you have no problem dealing with people from all levels of a business.”
“Yes.”
“And since you worked for my son, I know you are an expert at handling frantic, impulsive, idea-driven people who just might have a tendency to flit from one shiny thing to the next.”
“Um…yes.” That was a frighteningly accurate description of her son. However, Sebastian could focus and worked very hard at getting tasks done even when he was haunted by shiny new things.
“Good. I need a COO. We’ve never had one. I’ve overseen everything and I have presidents who oversee the workings of the individual charities, but I’ve come to realize that I don’t enjoy the managing part as much. I am a big ideas and big plans person. What we need is someone to manage the general operations of everything. To direct this giant ship to keep my crazy ideas from steering us toward an iceberg. Someone who will tell me no.” She paused, a smirk growing on her lips. “I know for a fact that you told Sebastian no plenty of times, stopping him from running off with new and crazy ideas.”
Heat burned my cheeks. I had told Sebastian no many times as his assistant, but not nearly enough times as the man he was dating. But I pushed through my embarrassment to tackle something a little uglier.
“Mrs. Courtland?—”
“Danielle.”
I nodded. “Danielle, I don’t know what Sebastian has told you about my situation, but I will freely admit that I need a job. Badly. This would help me out tremendously and I think I would enjoy working here, but I don’t want a job offer that has been made out of guilt or pity.”
“Oh, no, not at all. I asked you here because I think you’re best suited for this position. My charity is important to me, but I’m not about to hand it over to someone to run into the ground because I feel bad for that person.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your honesty.”
Danielle rose and walked to her desk to pick up a thick packet of papers. She brought them to the sitting area and handed them to me. “This contains all the details of the job position. The list of expectations is long, but I am confident that you can handle it. There is also a detailed list of the pay and benefits for the position. I’ve also included an overview of the charities, what we’ve done during the past several years, how they’ve performed, and some rough ideas of how I’d like to expand in the future. My direct phone number and email are in there. Take a couple of days to review everything. Give me a call or shoot me an email if there’s anything you have questions about. We’ll discuss it. If possible, I would love to get an answer from you by Friday about whether you’ll accept my offer.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say that I didn’t need to take any time to think about it. I could accept right this second. I didn’t have to look at the pay offer. There was no doubt in my mind that it was very nice. Throw in that I would be in a position of executive management and working for a charity in an area that was very near and dear to my heart. How could I turn it down?
But she was right. I needed to look over everything and seriously consider whether I was up for the challenge. My college education was in business management, and I’d worked on many projects with different department heads, but it had always been with the feeling that I was Sebastian’s voice, borrowing his power. This would all be on my shoulders.
“Yes, I think I should be able to decide by Friday,” I agreed, my fingers tightening on the packet of information. The weight of it was daunting, but I was sure it held my future. A much brighter future that could not only help me, but also my mother.
“Excellent, and don’t worry if it feels overwhelming at first. I’ll be there every step of the way. I’m not going to just toss you in the deep end with the sharks.”
“Thank you,” I murmured. I stared at the packet and repeated those two precious words a little louder. “Thank you so much for considering me for this opportunity. Regardless of what happens after I leave here today, I am very honored that you believed I would be a good fit for this role. And it would mean a lot to me on a very personal level to help with your charities.”
Danielle’s smile grew so wide that her eyes became narrow slits and sparkled in the afternoon light. “That makes me so happy to hear. You’re very welcome.”
After that, the interview was done. We shook hands and she walked me to the door, but my feet dragged. Now that the business side of things was complete, there was a personal matter that was screaming loudly, demanding that I at least ask.
“Mrs. Courtland?”
“Danielle,” she corrected, but I didn’t change because this was something else entirely.
“May I ask you a personal question?” I stopped walking, and she turned to face me, her expression silently inquisitive. “How is he doing?”
That warm grin became wickedly sly. She returned to my side and slipped her hand into the crook of my arm before directing us to the sitting area we’d just left.
“Oh, that is personal. And how long have you been wanting to ask that question?”
“Pretty much since you confirmed that this wasn’t a job offer out of pity or guilt.”
She chuckled as we sat at the same time. “To be honest, he’s a mess. Does that make you happy?”
“No!” I shouted in her face, but I didn’t care. The idea was abhorrent and disgusting. “Of course not! I’ll admit that I was pissed at him that first day, but I was angry at a lot of things. Mostly myself. But what happened wasn’t his fault. It was mine. He’d made a lot of silly promises that deep down I logically knew he couldn’t keep, but I let myself believe them because I wanted to believe them. I wanted to go out on one date with him. I’d had a stupid crush on him for years, and I thought I could be happy with one date. Afterward, we would realize that we were being silly and return to our normal working relationship.”
“Uh-huh. And how’d that work out?” she teased.
“Like shit,” I muttered. We were talking about personal things now. There wasn’t as much need to worry about my language being unprofessional. “One date wasn’t enough. I needed to see him on the weekend and for dinner during the week. I wanted to know all the crazy things he was thinking. We’d both stopped thinking about the consequences of our stupidity because we were so damn happy.”
“I believe it. I can’t remember a time I’ve seen Sebastian happier with someone. Or more depressed since losing you.” She nudged me with her elbow so that I would lift my eyes to her face. She smirked. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
“I—”
What the hell was I going to do about it?
“Would he even still want me? Asking for space hurt him. My entire world was falling apart, and when I looked at him, I felt anger. I didn’t want to feel angry with him. He didn’t deserve it. At least, no more than the anger I felt at myself. Do you think he’d give me a second chance?”
Danielle picked up my hand and held it between both of hers. “Sweetie, I am pretty sure Sebastian would give you a million chances if it meant having you in his life.”
My heart flipped over and raced faster than it had at the impromptu interview this morning. I had a chance. Even if I had to grovel and beg to win another chance with Sebastian, I was willing.
Even before the news of the trust and the job offer, I’d been weakening, wanting to reach out to talk to him. To ask how he was doing.
Oh, fuck that. I wanted to feel his arms around me and have him whisper that everything was going to be okay, because if he said it, I knew it would happen.
After the news of the trust, I’d almost called him a hundred times, but I could never figure out what to say. I was afraid that if we restarted our relationship then, he would always think I’d made the choice because of the money.
“And you don’t think he’ll believe I’m returning because I’m interested in his money? You see, he set up this trust for my brother?—”
Danielle patted my hand. “I know all about the trust. His father loudly told both Sebastian and me that you refused the money he tried to send to pay you off.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Sebastian laughed in his father’s face and spent the better part of ten minutes crowing about how you couldn’t be bought. John feels terrible about that offer, by the way, and would like to apologize in person, but make him wait until you patch things up with Sebastian. Don’t let him off the hook too soon.”
My lips twitched with barely suppressed laughter at the idea of Sebastian’s dad apologizing to me. I pushed on to more important things. “If Sebastian and I were to date again, it wouldn’t be a problem if I was also your COO? You wouldn’t view that as a conflict of interest?”
“Absolutely not.”
I sat still for three seconds before shooting to my feet, pulling my hand free from hers. “I’m sorry, Danielle, but I need to get going. There’s something important I need to do right now.”
“Go get him!”
Damn straight, I was gonna go get him. No matter what it took, I was getting my Sebastian back.