This was the crucial point in what felt like months upon months of hard, consistent work from Channing. He didn’t want to let himself, or the junior employees who had worked underneath him, down.
I need to nail this.
I have to stay calm and focused.
I wish Max was here though…
Channing sighed and managed to haul his tired body out of bed. Normally, Channing practically bounded up and out of bed, but not on this day. The lack of sleep and sense of doom that was coming over him was hardly conducive to an enthusiastic start to the day.
Channing showered quickly and put on a smart but informal shirt and pants combo. This helped Channing focus his mindinto presentation mode a little bit, but disaster struck as Channing made himself a morning espresso…
‘Oh crap!’ Channing exclaimed, the sight of a dark brown splash of espresso running down the front and center of his white shirt not exactly looking like a good omen. ‘Get a grip, dude!’
Channing finished off the espresso and changed into one of his other shirts. Hopefully this wasn’t a sign that his entire day was going to be cursed, but it was hardly a promising start.
Channing had cancelled his plans to meet with his friends early due to wanting to arrive at the office extra early to prepare. But that decision was beginning to seem like a bad one. In fact, Channing would have done anything to have been with Tommy and Rick in that moment. Their friendly banter and sense of good spirits was what Channing needed more than anything.
Well,almostanything.
The truth was that what Channing required more than anything else in the world in that moment was seemingly out of his reach. He wanted Max.
But in Max’s continued absence, Channing was beginning to wonder whether Max wanted him.
* * *
Channing was feeling just about ready to give the presentation. His assistants and junior staff had left the room and now it was simply Channing alone with his thoughts.
‘Come on, you’ve got this,’ Channing said, the sound of the birds singing outside the room distracting him. ‘Keep your mind on the goal. You can do this.’
‘First sign of madness!’ Kyle said, entering the office with a broad grin on his face.
‘Huh?’ Channing replied, turning to look at Kyle.
‘Talking to yourself. It’s the first sign of madness,’ Kyle laughed, walking around Channing’s desk in one of his passive-aggressive power moves. ‘If you’re struggling with your mental health, why not raise it with our HR department?’
Channing felt a sudden surge of anger. Mental health wasn’t a subject that was appropriate to joke about, especially not in a work environment. Kyle was playing his usual games, but doing so with extra spite because he knew just how important today was to Channing.
‘Do you actually want anything?’ Channing said, failing to hide his irritation and therefore giving Kyle exactly what he wanted. ‘I mean, if you just want to annoy the hell out of me… whatever.’
Kyle laughed.
Wearing a black polo neck tucked into a pair of jeans, Kyle actually looked like the office bad guy. With his perfect fade and brilliant-white smile, Kyle did admittedly look impressively smart and just like the kind of guy who had his own very serious ambitions.
Channing didn’t mind having a so-called rival in the office.
What really hurt Channing however was the way that Kyle would seemingly only use negative, hurtful tactics to climb the ladder. Behind his posturing and snarky comments, Channing didn’t think that Kyle gave a crap about the work itself. It was like Kyle wanted success for success’s sake.
‘Would you just leave, please?’ Channing said, a hint of desperation in his voice. ‘I need to run over some things for the presentation. This is important to me. I actually care about the proposal. You should try it.’
‘Wow. Someone woke up in a bad mood,’ Kyle said, holding his hands up to his chest in a mocking way. ‘Sure, I’ll leave. Just try not to think about me too much during the presentation. Oh, and try not to think too much about your absent boyfriend either. I hear he’s having one hell of a fun time around town…’
On that bombshell, Kyle smirked and turned to leave the office.
Channing didn’t know what to think or what to do. It felt like Kyle had achieved exactly what he had set out to do. Channing couldn’t focus his thoughts and felt full of emotion. This was the worst possible mindset ahead of the presentation.
Snap out of it, Channing.
I need to nail this.
