Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Before Elijah could suggest meeting Kian for lunch, Alistair nudged him out the door and across the street to Elijah’s favorite sandwich shop.
It had actually been Isaac who introduced him to the Fickle Pickle, and he indulged in a sandwich from the shop at least once a week.
It was such a regular occurrence that the owners recognized him when he came in.
“Elijah! Welcome back!”
The warm greeting always made him smile. The human owner, Ridley, either didn’t know he was a telepath or didn’t care. He started working on Elijah’s favorite sandwich without even waiting for his order, smiling as he spoke.
“I told Luca you’d come in on my day. He’s been saying he’s your favorite.”
Elijah flushed, wrinkling his nose, but before he could say anything, he felt Alistair at his back, a foreboding presence that made Elijah’s heart skip a beat. Was he… jealous?
Ridley paused his motions, looking between Elijah and Alistair with a frown.
He could see the question in Ridley’s eyes and felt his cheeks burn a little more as he explained, “Ridley, this is my boyfriend, Alistair. Alistair, this is Ridley. He and his wife own this shop, and their older son Luca works here on occasion.” He gave Alistair a reassuring smile.
“I’m here so often, they all know my order by now.
But between you and me, Helen is definitely my favorite. ”
Ridley’s jaw dropped. “Hey!”
A cackle from the back drew their focus, and Helen herself came bustling in, giving Elijah a beaming smile. “See, I knew that was the case, but I don’t get in the middle of their bickering when they’re both wrong. I prefer to watch them both make fools of themselves first.”
The camaraderie made Alistair relax, though his hand didn’t leave the small of Elijah’s back. Elijah wasn’t about to complain about the sexy man touching him. He leaned into the touch, enjoying the connection.
Usually, watching families interact like this made him sad. He was glad to see such strong and happy connections, but it always reminded him of what he couldn’t have. Now, with Alistair pressed so close, it was easier for him to enjoy the conversation.
“How is it that everyone prefers you?” Ridley asked his wife petulantly. “It’s my shop!”
Elijah leaned a little closer to Alistair, whispering just loud enough that the humans would pick it up. “She makes the bread. It’s to die for. And she always puts a cookie in my lunch. If it was a race, she’d win by a landslide.”
Helen shot him a wink, ignoring her mate’s whines about how he put the sandwich together and it was more than just bread that made a good sandwich. She finished up Elijah’s sandwich, then gave her attention to Alistair, her head cocked curiously.
“You’re a new face. Have you been through here before?”
“No,” Alistair agreed with a shake of his head. “But my brother told me this was Elijah’s favorite place for lunch. It’s my goal to spoil him.”
The blush that had just begun to abate returned with a vengeance.
He shot a wide-eyed look at Alistair, who pretended not to notice.
But Elijah could see the little smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.
Now, the big question was if Alistair was just teasing or if he truly planned to spoil him.
Elijah was happy with the teasing, he loved feeling included, but he wasn’t sure he could handle being spoiled.
He already felt he was spoiled with everything Alistair gave him.
Any more, and he’d worry he’d tip the balances of fate and something bad would have to happen to offset all the good.
“Well, that sounds like a good plan for Elijah’s boyfriend. I approve wholeheartedly,” Helen said with a smile. “What’ll you have?”
Alistair picked a sandwich off the menu, nudging Elijah out of the way when they got to the cash register so he could pay.
Elijah tried to argue, but when Alistair smacked a kiss on his lips to shut him up, Elijah could only stare at him in shock.
When he said he wasn’t willing to hide their relationship, he wasn’t kidding.
Elijah never ate in the restaurant proper.
While the owners seemed fine with him, a lot of Spellbound employees came in to eat here since it was convenient and affordable.
With their comfort in mind, he only ever ate in his office or in the breakroom with Brennus.
Alistair either didn’t know or didn’t care as he led Elijah to a table near the front window and pulled out his chair for him.
“Oh, I normally eat in my office–”
“Is that for your comfort or everyone else’s?” Alistair interrupted with a raised eyebrow.
Pressing his lips together, he did his best not to pout. “Is it really so wrong that I want other people to be comfortable around me?”
“No. But does hiding in your office really make them more comfortable around you? They won’t ever get used to you if you’re running away.”
He opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again, frowning.
Did he have a point? Elijah spent most of his time at the office keeping his distance if at all possible.
But that only made his magic more mysterious to his coworkers.
If they spent more time around him properly, would they react differently to him?
A group of interns walked into the restaurant, noticed him sitting at the table, and immediately started shoving each other to get out again.
Elijah’s heart sank. It was reactions like those that made him retreat to his office.
It was disheartening and hard to stomach most days.
None of those interns had ever even worked with him. They had nothing to be afraid of.
Alistair’s hand took his, squeezing gently. “Just focus on me. I want you here. The rest of them are all idiots.”
Forcing his gaze away from where the interns had stood, Elijah shook his head ruefully. “You don’t truly believe that, do you?”
With a shrug, Alistair jerked his chin at Elijah’s food. “I don’t have high opinions of Spellbound right now. It’s their job to change my mind. Eat. I want to know why this place is your favorite.”
Elijah forced himself to take a deep breath, then did as Alistair asked and focused on their meal and his companion sitting across from him. Alistair wanted him here. Elijah was wanted. He could ignore the rest. Maybe.
He did his best anyway. But he got the feeling he wasn’t doing a terribly good job of it, because Alistair was getting more and more frustrated as the day went on.
After the first loyalty interview of the day began about as poorly as the rest of them had, his lover seemed to reach his limit.
His emotions were so strong, Elijah was picking up on them even while his magic was focused on someone else.
The satyr he was interviewing practically ran from the room the minute Elijah was through. Whatever he was worried Elijah would find out had nothing to do with the company, so Elijah wasn’t any the wiser, but he left like the hounds of hell were after him and didn’t look back. Brennus sighed.
“Well, that could have been worse.”
“It could have?” Alistair asked with a scowl. “How?”
Brennus answered before Elijah could warn him against it.
“He could have spent the entire reading throwing as much negativity at Elijah as possible. It happened yesterday. I flagged that interview for further investigation. You said you didn't find anything, but he was deliberately distracting you. I don’t trust him.”
Alistair’s eyes narrowed on Elijah. “What happens to you when they do that?”
Nope. He wasn’t going to answer that. Alistair was already feeling overly protective. If he found out it physically hurt when people did that, he’d lose his mind. This was Elijah’s job, and he knew what he could handle. It would be fine.
“How long until the next interview?” Alistair suddenly asked.
Brennus looked at the clock on the wall, frowning at it. “I believe we have twenty minutes. This interview ended earlier than we’d planned.”
Without a word, Alistair shoved to his feet and came around the table, taking Elijah’s wrist and pulling him out of his seat. Elijah was so stunned by the action, he could only follow blindly, gaping at Alistair as he dragged him out of the conference room, ignoring Brennus’s confused squawks.
They didn't go to Elijah’s office or even to another floor. Instead, Alistair found a supply closet down an empty hallway and shoved him inside it, shutting them both in and flicking the light on. Elijah looked around, confused.
“Alistair, what–”
“You’ve been sad since lunch, and now your boss tells me that your interviews are painful. No more. No one gets to treat you like that anymore. If they try, they have to deal with me.”
Elijah’s heart skipped, but he shook his head in an attempt to calm his frustrated boyfriend.
“Alistair, you can’t get up in arms every time someone’s reaction makes me sad.
You’ll never be able to enjoy life if you did that.
And as the director of SR, I can’t have you threatening staff.
As much as I appreciate you standing up for me–”
“They’re hurting you, Elijah!”
Elijah winced. “They don’t know that. They’re most likely thinking it will irritate me or make it hard for me to concentrate. They don’t know it hurts. Really, Alistair, it’s okay.”
Alistair stepped closer, eliminating the space between them, and cupped his face. “No, Eli. It’s not okay. I don’t care how long it takes, I’m going to get you to realize that at some point.”
Elijah leaned into his palm, letting out a breath. Alistair wasn’t wrong about him feeling sad. It happened when he saw just how afraid people were of him. But being in Alistair’s arms, surrounded by his warmth and the strong emotions of affection and protectiveness, made him feel better.
“Can’t we just stay like this? That’s all I really need. You don’t have to fight my battles for me. Just… stay like this.”
He sounded a little pathetic with the way he was whining, but he didn’t honestly care.
His plea had Alistair pulling him impossibly closer and wrapping those thick arms around Elijah in a comforting embrace.
It was more than he ever hoped for. He could take the rest of it as long as he could keep this.