‘I love you, Channing,’ Max said, his voice tender and sincere. ‘And I want to be your Forever Daddy. All the way. No holding back.’
‘And I love you too!’ Channing replied, the quiver in his voice one of excitement. ‘And want you to stay and be my Forever Daddy too! And I want it to be forever too. Iinsist, in fact.’
‘Well, seeing as you put it like that,’ Max replied. ‘Nothing would make me happier than to stay with you, boy. I know I fucked up.I should have talked to you. But I’m back. And I want this time to be the real thing.’
Channing and Max looked at one another for a moment before leaning in and kissing. It was a kiss full of passion, love, and carried the kind of intensity that Channing would remember for the rest of his days.
‘Okay, I think it’s time we talked, don’t you?’ Max said, breaking away from the embrace and holding Channing’s hand. ‘Any chance of a cup of that herbal tea for me too?’
Channing chuckled.
‘If you’re asking for herbal tea, then I know something’s different!’ Channing said, smiling. ‘I’ll make you all the herbal teas you want if it means we’re together again.’
Max smiled and walked over into the kitchen with Channing.
Channing made the tea for Max and the pair of them sat down at the table together and began to talk. The conversation flowed back and forth as both Channing and Max got some things off their chest and laid out their truths as they saw them.
Fortunately, both Channing and Max were now very much on the same page.
To Channing’s great joy, it turned out that Max wanted exactly the same thing as he did. But Channing still had some questions he needed answering…
‘But… why not just tell me about Judd, I could have helped?’ Channing said, a slight hint of frustration in his voice. ‘I’m actually kinda smart, you know?’
‘Of course. I know you’re smart,’ Max said. ‘You’re smarter than me, that’s for sure. But I know how important your work is. The last thing I wanted was for you to jeopardize your career. I could never have lived with that.’
Channing was about to answer Max, but paused.
I don’t know what Max will think of me if I explain…
He thinks I’m a highflier.
But the disastrous presentation has probably changed all of that.
Channing needn’t have worried.
After explaining the situation with Kyle Peters and how it had gone from bad to worse, Channing went into the details of the presentation disaster and didn’t hold back. It felt good to get it off his chest, and Max listened attentively and without judgement.
‘Okay, the first thing is that everyone screws up sometimes,’ Max said, taking a sip of his tea and putting his hand on Channing’s. ‘Even the smartest boy in San Frisco has a whoopsy sometimes. Screwing up is how we learn. You’ll do better next time. You’re going all the way to the top, I know you are.’
It felt so comforting to hear Max talking like this. Max may not have operated in the corporate world, but his life experience was invaluable, Channing knew that.
But that still didn’t solve the issue of Kyle Peters.
For all of the positive talk, Kyle would still be at work the following day.
And the day after.
And the day after that.
Kyle was a problem that wasn’t going to go away in a hurry, and unless Channing did something the situation wasn’t going to get any better.
‘Bullies like Kyle never win,’ Max said, his voice carrying a hint of stern authority to it. ‘As long as you stand up to him, he will fold in the end. If I know the kind of man he is, and I think I do, then you’ll beat him. But just to be on the safe side, I’m going to come to work with you tomorrow just to cast my eyes over him.’
‘Thank you, Daddy,’ Channing said. ‘I want to sort it by myself, but that would mean a lot to me.’
‘Good. That’s agreed then,’ Max said. ‘Now, if we go to bed now and get straight to sleep, you should still get a decent amount of down time before work.’
‘But I want to stay up and talk!’ Channing protested, stifling a yawn.
