Chapter 22
Julian started out his day worrying about the cloudy sky he saw out the window. If the weather stayed overcast like that or if it rained, their day of volunteering was going to be miserable. As it was, Julian wasn't hopeful about being of much use.
Without asking, Rico had put down Julian and Rob's names, signing them up to volunteer. Then Lara saw what he had done and called to ask if she should scratch them off the list. Julian couldn't let her do that, and Rob agreed to go along with it too. It wasn't a good idea to let Rico win, but it was for a good cause.
Cramming as much work as he could into the morning hours to free up the rest of his day, Julian had closed himself off in his office. He was on track to finish up soon when he got a call from his temporary boss.
It had been several days since he had to deal with Thayer, but it was still too soon to have to do it again. He had to answer his calls though. Of course Thayer didn't want to talk business. He was more interested in what Julian might be up to in his personal life, but even for him, his lurid imagination seemed to be in overdrive.
After mentioning Rob half a dozen times, Thayer had some unwanted advice. "Just make sure to keep your bad boy on a tight leash. You don't want him forgetting who's in charge," Thayer was saying.
Julian could hear him tapping his fingers on his desk, but he tried to ignore his words. "I'll come up with some alternative renewable energy options for the Hallman portfolio."
Just like Julian did his best to ignore what he said, Thayer did the same to him. "Don't tell me he already has you wearing the leash." Thayer laughed and Julian hung up.
With Thayer's grating laugh still in his ears, Julian hissed in a breath through gritted teeth then let it out slowly. Getting pissed off wouldn't do him any good, but maybe it was past time he started recording his conversations with Thayer. Julian was about to call up his lawyer to get some legal guidelines on the issue when Rob came in. Seeing his cheerful expression, Julian decided to put off the call for later. He saw no reason to ruin Rob's good mood.
"You look cheerful," Julian said to him.
"Check it out. The weather cleared up just in time," Rob said and pointed out the window.
Preoccupied with Thayer, Julian hadn't noticed that the clouds had dispersed. "So you like the idea of volunteering that much?"
Rob shrugged. "Danny can't wait to go, and you know I like to drag you out of the office every chance I get, especially when you're wearing an expression like that one." As Rob gave him a questioning look, Julian sighed.
"Thayer," was all Julian said about his call with him, and Rob's expression darkened right on cue. Getting up from behind his desk, Julian gave him a reassuring smile. "I survived it. Now I want to forget it. Let's get Danny and Lenny and go volunteer."
They arrived outside the Peach Tree Elementary School and joined about a dozen other people who were waiting for their work assignments. Danny and Lenny were both excited to be there. Though the sun was shining, the day was still chilly. Julian was glad when Noreen came to collect Danny and Lenny to join the kids working on some project inside where it was warm.
"So you guys showed up," Rico said as he and Mitch came over.
"Did you know he conscripted us?" Rob asked Mitch, who didn't look surprised to hear it.
"I baited the hook with Rob. And I reeled in this fish," Rico bragged and threw an arm over Julian's shoulders. "I just want to see him do some menial labor. Get all sweaty." While saying that, Rico gave Rob a wicked grin.
Lara showed up just then to hand out the assignments. As she consulted her clipboard, she assigned Rob and Julian to work together helping build picnic tables for something she called a Pilgrim Tavern. Rob might be up for that, but Julian was sure to be out of his element.
"I'm going to be useless," Julian grumbled once Lara was gone.
"Just sweat real pretty for Rob. That's all you need to do," Rico said and slapped Julian on the back. Then he and Mitch went off and finally there was some peace and quiet.
Honestly, Julian was just relieved that he and Rob didn't get separated. Their work was mostly carrying pieces of lumber and holding up various pieces to be cut and joined. Rob wasn't half bad and he even picked up a few new skills. On the other hand, Julian was just as inept as he feared he would be. He did break a sweat, as instructed.
Working alongside Rob at something physical was a new experience. Julian found he liked it, and he wondered if this was why Rico chose to work as Mitch's assistant. Getting to watch Rob show his strength and skill was an undeniable turn-on.
Without meaning to, Julian kept catching Rob's eye and getting a smile in return. In front of all the other people working there, it made him blush a little. Open flirting wasn't really in his repertoire.
When they were done and waiting for Danny and the other kids to come out, Julian was dirty and tired but pretty happy. Rob grinned at him approvingly. "You're a good worker, you know."
"Do you have to sound so surprised?" Julian asked him.
Rob chuckled. "I guess when you put your mind to it, you can do anything."
"It was really good of you to volunteer with me considering that you don't live here," Julian told him. He meant to express his gratitude and how much he liked working with him, but Rob didn't take it that way.
His face fell and he looked away. "Right. I don't," Rob said and he tried to hide how hurt he was.
"No. I didn't mean that. I meant to..." Julian stopped there and then took the plunge and tentatively asked, "Would you want to live here?"
