Twenty-Two
Jerry
"A re you kidding me? Please tell me you're kidding," I begged my best friend, my ex-wife, the woman I treasured more than any other woman in the world.
"I'm so sorry," Kat said, and she truly looked apologetic. Her strawberry blond hair was a little more frazzled than usual, like she'd been worrying the strands as she tried to deal with this. I was confident she'd done everything she could before telling me, and that the original deadline the client had suggested before she talked some sense into them had been downright preposterous.
"They're moving up the deadline from six weeks to two ? Are they stupid ?"
Kat winced. "Right? Tell me about it. They were aiming for a week. I told them at least two weeks and we won't charge more than fifteen percent for the rush."
I whistled. Fifteen percent wasn't a small amount, especially not when working with a giant like Hanover's. "And they agreed?"
"Yep. That will dissuade them from pulling shit like this again. I'm sorry about this, Jerry. I know you still haven't found someone to replace that ass."
I sighed, then gave her a smile. "It's not your fault. I'll just need to get a little more involved than I usually do."
"I'll take care of everything with our other clients. You focus on your teams and this project."
I nodded, and she walked around the desk to pop a kiss on my cheek before leaving the room. As soon as she was gone, Eshim walked into my office.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked, because of course he'd heard everything and was ready to help.
Smiling, I waved him closer, and he grinned as he walked around the desk and leaned his ass against it. I wrapped my arms around his middle without getting up, and tucked my face against his abdomen with a sigh. I didn't mind doing the extra work—actually, I was excited about the chance to get a little more involved in the process. It'd been a while since I'd gotten to do something more than working on someone else's designs and ideas—but I minded that I'd get to spend less time with Eshim.
We'd been spending more and more time together over the last few weeks, ever since the day I'd almost told him I loved him at the ice rink. I wasn't sure what had stopped me, what was still stopping me, but Eshim didn't seem to be in any hurry to say or hear the words either. The evening after that, we'd gone to his neighbor's place for dinner, and I'd realized Eshim truly cared about the woman. I'd liked her instantly—especially when I found out she was the one who'd made the cookies Eshim had brought me in the beginning—and she'd spent the whole evening telling me how sweet and kind Eshim was, and how I better not hurt him. I'd agreed with every word she'd said, especially when she told me he was going to pay for her to live in the retirement home of her choice. I knew money wasn't an issue for Eshim, but the fact that he'd offered help at all was still something to admire.
"Okay, I need to go downstairs and talk to everyone. I don't know what kind of assistance they'll need. Kat said she'd look after things on this end," I said as I reluctantly pulled back, leaving my hands on his hips for another few moments.
"I suppose I'll keep you and the teams supplied with coffee, snacks, and meals, and you can tell me anything you need done as and when you need it," Eshim suggested, and I smiled up at him.
"That sounds good."
We made our way downstairs, and I broke the news to the design department. They reacted the way I'd expected. A few of them—the ones I most related to because they reminded me of myself when I first started in this field—were excited by the challenge, while others groaned about the overtime they'd have to put in.
I promised them they'd be fairly compensated and get a bonus, which mollified the reluctant ones, and then Eshim emailed them the new schedule he'd come up with—probably while Kat and I were still talking—so we could finish everything up on time.
While I'd already allotted the project to one of the teams—lead by a brilliant designer named Aubrey Kane—the new deadline meant we needed more than one team, and when Aubrey insisted I should act as team leader, I agreed, but included both team leaders—and Tanya Brown, who was leading Martin's old team since she was the most qualified—in the planning process so we could play to the strengths of every member.
We decided to focus on planning and design this week, and on the production next week. While we usually gave production more time—there were far too many errors to rectify no matter how careful you were—with the crunch, we decided it would be better to focus on having the cleanest design we could to avoid as much revision as possible.
The advertising campaign was for a new hotel launch, and while they'd originally scheduled it for six months from now—giving us enough time to come up with the adverts, and for the marketing team to generate the buzz—they'd moved it up to three months from now for reasons we weren't privy to.
This was our first big project since signing up with Hanover's, and we couldn't afford to back out or cause a delay, no matter how unreasonable the client was being. Kat had made sure they wouldn't pull shit like this regularly by charging them a fair rush fee, and I hoped it would be enough. I was not going to force my employees to work themselves into exhaustion because some corporate idiots don't know how proper scheduling worked.
While I lost myself in the discussion with my team—and realized I knew them far better than I'd thought simply through their work—I was always aware of Eshim. He'd brought everyone coffee and cookies, and he was now sitting in a corner, making notes on his tablet. I trusted him to keep track of things and remind me if I forgot something important, which gave me the freedom to focus completely on the conversation at hand.
What would I do without Eshim? I hoped I'd never have to find out.
Eshim
Jerry stumbled over Tom, and I caught him before he could fall flat on his face. He was running on fumes, and I did not like it one bit.
I'd known he would have to work extra hard to finish the project on time, but this wasn't right. I was going to have to do better at taking care of him since he seemed to have no plans of doing it himself. Humans were fragile creatures, and I was not planning on taking him to Otherworld anytime soon.
Patting Tom on the head, I shifted to my true form and picked Jerry up in my lower arms. Carrying him straight to the bedroom, I held on as he struggled.
"Let me down. I can walk," he grumbled, and I rolled my eyes.
"You just proved seconds ago that you can't. Now let me take care of you, you stubborn human."
Jerry grumbled under his breath but didn't protest as I got him out of his work clothes and into some pajamas as Tom sat at my feet and wagged his tail, his small body full of excitement at having his human home. I wondered if it might be a good idea to take him to work tomorrow. I could take him outside when needed, and it would force Jerry to take some breaks when Tom demanded pets. I liked this plan.
"I'll let you out in a minute, buddy. Gotta take care of your dad first," I said, and he woofed, telling me he understood completely. Such a good boy.
When I led Jerry to the bathroom and started following him in, he turned around and pressed a palm to my chest. "Uh-huh, nope. I can piss on my own, thank you very much. Tom can't. Go help him."
I sighed, eyeing him doubtfully. What if he fell again? He could really hurt himself in the bathroom. The cabinet had sharp edges, and there were so many knobs and taps.
"I'm not drunk, Esh. Just tired. I'll be fine."
"Okay. Shout if you need anything," I warned, and he rolled his eyes. Apparently, tired Jerry was sassy.
"You'll hear me even if I don't."
Smirking because I really would, I led Tom out to the backyard, where he zoomed around for a few minutes to get rid of the excess energy—as I kept an ear on his dad—before sniffing the grass and squatting to do his business.
Once he was done, he raced up to me with a wagging tail, and I led him inside. His feeder was on a timer, so I replaced his water bowl with a fresh one before returning to the bedroom, where I found Jerry lying on the bed on his front, his arms and legs splayed out on either side like a ceiling fan.
Smiling fondly, I reached up and removed the elastic from his hair, knowing he got a headache if he slept with his hair tied up.
I debated over whether I should stay or not. He hadn't actually asked me to, and I was unsure if I was welcome. Sure, we'd spent practically every night together, but I'd never take that to mean I didn't need his permission anymore. Not until he explicitly asked me to move in or told me I was welcome anytime.
"Are you getting in?" he grumbled, face still buried in his pillow, and I grinned.
"Just a minute," I said, then turned down the lights, and climbed in beside him.
Jerry turned on his side to snuggle into my chest. Wrapping all four arms around him, I sighed happily, then snorted when Tom pushed his head between us with all his might, determined to squeeze in.
Jerry moved back with a sleepy grumble, and Tom walked around in circles before settling on a spot between us, a gummy, satisfied smile on his lips.
Snorting, I adjusted him a little so he was perched on the pillow, and he seemed to like it enough to not try to get between us again.
"Better?" I asked Jerry as I pulled him in close again, and he smiled without opening his eyes.
"Very much."
"Good. Now sleep—you need the rest."
"Yes, sir," he said quietly, then fell silent. I closed my eyes as well, soaking in the warmth of him, his presence.
I'd heard my friends talk about their mates so many times, and yet it hadn't prepared me for how good it actually felt to be with your mate. To be in his presence, to have his eyes on you, to feel his touch...it was all so very wonderful.
I was going to do everything in my power to make sure I never lost this.
Mammon and the dark souls had been quiet since their attack on me, and I didn't like it. They were clearly planning something, and we had to figure out what before it was too late.
In the meantime, though, my only duty was to make sure Jerry didn't harm himself by working too much. There was nothing worth doing that, and definitely not a project.
I knew and understood that his work meant a lot to Jerry, but I still wasn't going to let him burn himself out for it. No way.
Jerry exhaled softly, his hand tightening around my arm reflexively, and I smiled. He had no idea how much power he had over me, what I would do for him. It was better that way too, because I had a feeling it would scare him.
Huffing at myself, I pushed away all my thoughts, focusing simply on Jerry's even breaths. I needed to rest too.
Demons didn't really need sleep to survive, but the mental break helped us stay alert like it helped any sentient being, and I needed all my bits about me so I could take care of Jerry.
Pressing a soft kiss on his forehead, I closed my eyes and synced my breathing with Jerry's, letting the soft sound pull me under as I held him close, determined to protect him from everything, even himself.