AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Me, too, kid. I had no idea.” Conover paused. “Is there anything I can do… to help?”
Avery was silent, unsure there was anything the alpha could do.
“Oh hell, I didn’t mean it likethat.I would do just about anything outside ofthat.”
Embarrassment flooded Avery. “I didn’t think that’s what you meant. Not at all,” he remarked. The thought of having sex with the much older alpha hadn’t even entered his mind.
“I just didn’t want you to think that’s what I was implying,” Conover said, his voice reed-thin.
“I didn’t.”
“Good.” Conover sighed on the other end of the line. “Be careful. You’ve worked too damned hard for this to get botched by nature.”
“I know. I’ll figure something out.” He lifted his gaze, noting Melvin watching him closely. “I appreciate your call… but I need to go back to work.”
“Which job did you ultimately take?”
“J&A.”
“Coward,”Conover quipped. “But I understand why. Maybe more so now.”
“Yep. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Conover said his goodbyes, and Avery hung up.
“You okay?” Melvin asked hesitantly.
“No…” Avery murmured, shoving the phone into his pocket. “But I will be.”
Later, after the lunch he barely tasted and the mental math figuring out when his next heat would be… he realized he needed to ask his new boss for a couple of days off. Before returning to his desk, he knocked on Mr. Hardwick’s office door.
“Yes?”
“Mr. Hardwick? Um… I just found out about a… medical issue that I have to take care of. I’ll need to take a couple of days off.” Thankfully, it would hit just before a weekend… so he wouldn’t need more than that.
His boss glared from behind the desk. “I sensed you’d be trouble.” He crossed his two thick arms over his chest. “Just because you’ve got a connection to the top floor doesn’t mean you can come and go as you please.”
“I don’t expect special treatment. I just found ou—”
“No. The answer is no. You have accrued no sick or vacation time yet, so you’ll simply have to reschedule thismedical issue.”
“I can’t do that,” Avery said.
“Too bad,” Hardwick replied. “Either you come to work or you don’t have a job.” A slow, twisted smile crossed the man’s lips. “Then I can hire who I want for that position, as it should’ve been in the first place.”
Avery sensed it was impossible to argue with the man. He returned to his desk, worry filling every pore.
“You okay?” Melvin asked.
“Yeah, of course,” Avery lied. He perused the piles they’d left behind, trying to get his bearings once more. It would not be easy concentrating, given his bad news.
“If you need help, all you have to do is ask.”
Avery smiled at Melvin. “I’m fine… but the thought is much appreciated.”
Melvin grinned a tight little smile before diving back into their mess. After the second half of his day, he’d forgotten his troubles, so focused on the chaos before him. He sensed Melvin would be a good co-worker and perhaps even a friend. The days that followed proved him right.
It took them a full two weeks to sort the mess from before Avery’s arrival, and by the end of that, he’d gotten into somewhat of a rhythm. Several nights were spent at the restaurant, too, guiding Brett through the rigors of the bookkeeping. His days weren’t as exciting as they’d likely be working at Reece and White, but he had the daily wonder if he’d spot Wilder in the halls or outside the doors before or after his shift.
