Office Politics (Chapter 10)
Summary - AU/AU Jack is a trainee architect at a company owned by Mitchell Del Mar and his cousin Ennis. A light hearted office romance - nothing too angsty or dark in this establishment.
Big thanks to hesamathgeek for the sterling beta :)
Feedback and A/N - I love love love comments, but I'm having a baby on Monday, so doubt I'll be able to reply to them this time... This may also be the last chapter posted for a while, so please bear with me! Happy New Year to you all :D
Last chapter recap - Jack and Ennis had something close to a friendly chat in the kitchen, Jack met architect big shot Avery Brice and was offered a short term placement at his firm...
On with the story!
****
“Avery Brice? Avery fucking Brice? How the hell did you pull that one off?” Scott was incredulous as Jack broke the news to him back in their office.
Jack shrugged. “The hell if I know. It’s only a short term thing, couple of months or so, I guess.”
“Man, you are one lucky son of a bitch. I’ve heard of people doing placements at other firms, but you’ve hit the jackpot there.”
“I know,” Jack nodded. “I still can’t quite believe it myself.”
“Damn, knowing my luck I’ll end up in some crappy back street practice, sharing an office with roaches.
Jack laughed, “Don’t be so damn stupid! They wouldn’t do that to you, you’re too good. I know I was lucky. Both Mitch and Ennis know I want to do commercial stuff; I made no secret of that, so me and this opportunity just seemed to fit, I guess.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Scott agreed grudgingly. “It’s perfect for you. You’ll ace it. Talk about being in the right place at the right time, though.”
Jack swung back and forth in his chair. “I know. Makes things a little easier for me right now. Gives me some time and space to get my head together. Work out what I’m gonna do in the long run.” He swung in a full circle and couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face. “Man, I can’t wait!”
“Go get ‘em, tiger,” Scott said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Avery Brice, watch out.”
****
Jack left work a couple of hours later. Following a second brief chat with Ennis and Mitchell, it had been agreed that Jack would start work with Avery a week from Monday. Most of the staff had already gone home by the time he was leaving the office. Candy was packing up her things for the night in the reception area.
“So, the going got too tough for you here, huh?” she said, shoving items into her red patent purse with a humorless smile.
“What do you mean?” There was certainly another advantage to leaving DMC for a while-no Candy to deal with.
“Couldn’t stand the heat so you’re jumping ship?”
“That’s kind of a mixed metaphor, Candy,” Jack said, not even trying to hide a smile.
“Yeah, whatever, Jack.” Candy snapped her purse shut. She mumbled something unintelligible.
Jack paused for a moment, watching her blonde head dip down behind the desk. “Why don’t you like me, Candy?” he asked seriously.
Candy’s blonde hair re-appeared and she eyed Jack critically. “What makes you think I don’t like you?”
“Oh come on. The constant comments, snipes and digs. Any and every way to put me down. I can’t imagine you’re like that with everyone. You’d be fired in five minutes if you were.”
Candy’s lip curled and she stood with a hand on her hip. “You’re right. Maybe it’s just you I don’t like.”
“Why? What did I ever do to piss you off?” Jack glanced around and lowered his voice, “Does it have something to do with Ennis?”
Candy’s eyes flashed. “Why would you say that?”
Jack shrugged, “You don’t have to worry if that’s it. I’m outta here for a few months next Monday. End of story.”
“You think so?”
“What?” Jack’s brow furrowed in confusion.
Candy sighed dramatically and flung her purse on the desk. “Three years, Jack. Three years I’ve been here and I don’t think he even knows my name.”
“I’m sure that’s not true, I-”
“-then you come along, and BAM, it’s Jack this, Jack that. ‘Come work with me, Jack’ or ‘Let’s go out to site, Jack’ or ‘What are you eating for lunch today, Jack?’”
“But I-”
“-he never once talked to me the way he talks to you-”
“-he doesn’t really talk-”
“-oh, he so does. For Ennis, anyway. And that guy? You know, the blond one you plastered yourself all over at that club? That was my cousin, Matthew. He told me how you’d only made out with him to make another guy jealous. He admitted it was his idea, but whatever. He described the other guy, too, and how he had stormed off. Didn’t take much to put two and two together. I know what goes on at that kind of club. What the hell, Jack? How could you do that in front of him? How does that make me feel? Three years of emotion wasted on someone who’ll never look at me twice ‘cause I’m packing the wrong equipment. And not a damn thing I can do about it.”
Candy stopped her tirade and grabbed up her purse again.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say…I didn’t…” Jack was taken aback.
Candy held up her hand. “Don’t Just don’t. Get your skinny ass out of my way.” She stormed around the desk and pushed past Jack to jab at the elevator buttons.
“Candy-”
Candy didn’t even turn around. “Save it, Jackie boy. It is what it is. Nothing you or I can do about it now.”
The elevator pinged open and Candy disappeared through the doors, leaving Jack staring after her in stunned silence.
****
The following week, Jack hardly saw anything of Ennis at all. He was all kinds of confused. Ennis had almost treated him as a friend the last time they had spoken, in the kitchen, but now he seemed to be avoiding him. Jack also mulled over Candy’s little outburst. It didn’t come as a big surprise that she liked Ennis; Scott had already voiced that thought, but it did surprise Jack that Candy knew Ennis was gay. At least she had kept that to herself and not spread it around the office; he had to give her some credit. Gay or not, Ennis was still out of Jack’s league and Jack still didn’t know what Ennis’ feelings were-or if he would ever act on them. As a boss, getting involved with one of your employees, male or female, was only asking for trouble.
****
“Everyone, this here is Jack Twist,” Avery introduced Jack to his new work colleagues for the next three months. “We’ve borrowed him from Mitch and Ennis Del Mar at DMC for a while, so treat him nice and hopefully he’ll only have good things to say about us!”
Jack looked around the room nervously and raised a hand in greeting. “Hi.”
It was his first morning at Avery Brice. There were four other people in this particular office, the one he would be working in. They all looked at him curiously and the one girl replied with a “Hi, Jack.” The three other guys all smiled.
The offices of Avery Brice were about twice the size of DMC and they employed nearly one hundred people over two floors of the big, shiny sky scraper. Jack definitely felt like a small fish in a big pond-not that he’d been a big fish at all at DMC, but the pond had been more manageable. Needless to say, the place had a friendly buzz about it and the people he had met so far seemed very nice. Professional but happy. Even the two girls on reception had given him a genuine smile. Made a nice change.
Avery clapped Jack on the shoulder and made to leave the room. “Well, Jack. This is where I drop you off. The folks in here will look after you for a while, get you set up on everything. We’ll have a chat later about what we expect and who you’ll be working with, ok?”
“Great, thanks.” Jack nodded.
“Excellent, excellent. Brian?” Avery looked at one of the guys and jerked his head, “Over here, man.”
Brian jumped up and came over to Jack. He was tall and skinny with spiky blond hair. “Hey,” he held out his hand and Jack shook it.
“Hey,” Jack replied.
“Brian, will you get Jack set up with all his IT stuff? He needs to see Marie in admin and also ought to meet John and Clive. You should take him to lunch with Tina and Derek, somewhere like The Orchid Diner would be good, then bring him back to me and Ty around 3 o’clock, ok?”
“Sure,” Brian nodded as Jack’s mind whirred, trying to store all the names for future reference.
“Good. Well, get back to it, you slackers. Later, alligators!” And with a bright grin, Avery swept out of the room with a flourish.
Jack couldn’t help but stare after him. “Is he always like that?” he asked Brian.
“Who, Avery?” Brian said. “Oh, yeah. He only has two speeds, full throttle and sleep.”
Jack laughed, “He makes my head spin.”
Brian chuckled and patted Jack on the shoulder. “You wouldn’t be the only one, Jack, not by a long shot. Let’s get your computer set up, ok?”
****
A few weeks later, and Jack felt like he had come home. He loved working at Avery Brice. He loved his new colleagues, his new bosses, and above all, he loved what he was doing. The thrill of helping out on such major projects gave him a real adrenaline rush and he thrived on the pressure. After the first month was up, Jack was struggling to see himself returning to DMC. It was a great place, but it just wasn’t right, and not just for the obvious, Ennis-shaped reasons that had affected his concentration.
Avery popped his head into Jack’s office one Friday afternoon. “Jack!” he boomed. “My office. Thirty seconds. Get your ass in there pronto!”
Jack jumped at the volume of Avery’s request, knocking some drawing pencils onto the floor with a crash. He wasn’t the only one. He noticed that Brian had slopped coffee down the front of his shirt and was quickly mopping it up with paper napkins.
“Damn, do you have to be quite so loud?” Brian said, rolling his eyes.
“Guilty conscience, huh?” Avery raised an eyebrow and grinned.
Brian muttered something under his breath and Avery just laughed, turning to Jack. “Chop chop, Mr. Twist. Can’t hang around here all day.”
Jack scrambled to his feet and followed Avery down the corridor to his office. Once inside, Avery shut the door and gestured for Jack to sit.
Avery sat behind the desk and laced his fingers behind his head. “So, one month down. How do you like working here, Jack?”
Jack nodded enthusiastically, “I like it very much.”
Avery leaned forward and steepled his fingers under his chin. “We like you working here, too. You have a quick mind, a good attitude and show some real flair.”
“Thanks.”
“Hmm.” Avery shifted again and drummed his fingers on the desk. “This is kind of unorthodox and I feel bad for throwing it out there; no doubt Mitchell will skin me alive, but, would you consider moving here permanently?”
“What, work for you full time?”
“Yep.”
Jack blinked. “You’re offering me a job?”
“Yep. You’re good, Jack, and I like good people. I need them.”
“Oh, wow. I’m flattered.” This was the last thing that Jack had expected.
Avery waved a hand. “It’s a big decision, so I don’t want an answer now. Go home, think it over, and let me know on Monday. We can discuss details then.”
“I will, thanks.” Jack’s mind was in a whirl as he stood to leave.
“No problem,” Avery replied with a grin, “and don’t worry about those Del Mars. If you decided to stay with us, then I’ll let Mitch know. I’ll take the heat for poaching their staff.”
Jack smiled back. “That’s alright. I don’t mind talking to them.”
“Let’s worry about that next week, ok?”
“Ok.”
****
That Friday night, Jack hit the bars with Scott and Ella. Things were going better between Scott and his girlfriend, so much so that Ella was actually pleased to see Jack and gave him a friendly hug when they met.
“Jack! How are you?” Ella exclaimed, almost shouting over the loud thumping bass music. She perched elegantly on a bar stool and flicked her long red hair over her shoulder. “It’s been forever.”
“Yeah, guess so,” Jack shrugged and signaled to the bartender.
“How are things going at your new place? Scott says they’re bigger than DMC?”
“Well, I actually wanted to talk to you guys about that.” Jack ordered beers for him and Scott and a G&T for Ella.
“Really? Why? What’s up?” Scott yelled over the din, his mouth an inch from Jack’s ear.
Jack winced. “Can we go somewhere a bit quieter?” He pointed to a booth away from the dance area and bar. “There?”
“Sure,” Scott nodded.
Sliding across the red leather seat, Jack continued. “Keep this to yourselves, guys. Avery called me into his office today. Offered me a permanent job. I’ve got to let him know my decision on Monday.”
“Oh, wow, Jack, that’s great!” Ella said, clapping her hands together in excitement. “Congratulations!”
Scott gaped for a moment. “You’re shitting me!” he burst out. “You’ve only been there a couple of weeks. Oh, man, that’s heavy duty. Can Avery do that? Mitchell’s gonna flip if you leave. And as for Ennis…” Scott stopped himself when Ella dug him in the ribs.
“Ennis?” Jack queried, trying to act casual. “What about him?”
“Oh, yeah, he’ll be mad too,” Scott mumbled.
“He will?”
“Hmm.”
“Scott?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! He’s been going around like a total grouch ever since you left,” Ella sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Who? Ennis?” Jack asked.
“No, Frank the cleaner. Of course, Ennis, you moron,” Ella said. She took a quick sip of her drink, “I hear that he’s practically a hermit these days. Never comes out of his office. Snaps at everyone. Candy told me that he’s become obsessed with work-not that he wasn’t before, but, you know, he’s gotten worse.”
Jack looked at Scott. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Scott nodded, “I wasn’t gonna say anything ‘cause I figured you’d be back in a few weeks anyway, but the guy has definitely changed.”
Jack’s breath caught in his throat. “Changed?”
“Uh huh. On the occasions I see him, he gives me a funny look as if he wants to ask me something, but doesn’t know how. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that he’s missing you.”
Jack snorted, “Don’t be so damn stupid. He wouldn’t miss someone like me… Would he?”
Ella raised her eyebrows. “You asked.”
Scott took another swig of beer, shrugging his shoulders. “Oh, and another thing, you know that blue shirt you’ve got? The one you wore the day Avery offered you the placement? Well, I swear our Mr. Del Mar seems to have acquired one very similar. Wears it a lot, too.”
“What?”
Ella smiled and nodded. “I’ve seen it.”
Jack was stunned. This was news which hit him straight in the gut. Was it even remotely possible that Ennis had missed him? Jack hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on his emotions with regards to Ennis, and had thrown himself into his new role at Avery Brice. He had ignored his libido, hadn’t gone out at all and had let his head take the lead for once. He was worried that if he opened the box on his feelings then he wouldn’t be able to close the lid again. Some things were better left unexplored in the hope that they would eventually go away. However, Scott’s words had pried open the lid a crack and Jack could feel all those old emotions bubbling up under the surface, threatening to explode out and drown him. He didn’t want to think about Ennis like that again. It was safer that way.
“So anyway, what are you gonna do about Avery’s offer?” Scott said.
Jack swirled the beer in his bottle, watching the foam rise up the neck. “I’m going to accept it.”
TBC
Big thanks to hesamathgeek for the sterling beta :)
Feedback and A/N - I love love love comments, but I'm having a baby on Monday, so doubt I'll be able to reply to them this time... This may also be the last chapter posted for a while, so please bear with me! Happy New Year to you all :D
Last chapter recap - Jack and Ennis had something close to a friendly chat in the kitchen, Jack met architect big shot Avery Brice and was offered a short term placement at his firm...
On with the story!
****
“Avery Brice? Avery fucking Brice? How the hell did you pull that one off?” Scott was incredulous as Jack broke the news to him back in their office.
Jack shrugged. “The hell if I know. It’s only a short term thing, couple of months or so, I guess.”
“Man, you are one lucky son of a bitch. I’ve heard of people doing placements at other firms, but you’ve hit the jackpot there.”
“I know,” Jack nodded. “I still can’t quite believe it myself.”
“Damn, knowing my luck I’ll end up in some crappy back street practice, sharing an office with roaches.
Jack laughed, “Don’t be so damn stupid! They wouldn’t do that to you, you’re too good. I know I was lucky. Both Mitch and Ennis know I want to do commercial stuff; I made no secret of that, so me and this opportunity just seemed to fit, I guess.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Scott agreed grudgingly. “It’s perfect for you. You’ll ace it. Talk about being in the right place at the right time, though.”
Jack swung back and forth in his chair. “I know. Makes things a little easier for me right now. Gives me some time and space to get my head together. Work out what I’m gonna do in the long run.” He swung in a full circle and couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face. “Man, I can’t wait!”
“Go get ‘em, tiger,” Scott said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Avery Brice, watch out.”
****
Jack left work a couple of hours later. Following a second brief chat with Ennis and Mitchell, it had been agreed that Jack would start work with Avery a week from Monday. Most of the staff had already gone home by the time he was leaving the office. Candy was packing up her things for the night in the reception area.
“So, the going got too tough for you here, huh?” she said, shoving items into her red patent purse with a humorless smile.
“What do you mean?” There was certainly another advantage to leaving DMC for a while-no Candy to deal with.
“Couldn’t stand the heat so you’re jumping ship?”
“That’s kind of a mixed metaphor, Candy,” Jack said, not even trying to hide a smile.
“Yeah, whatever, Jack.” Candy snapped her purse shut. She mumbled something unintelligible.
Jack paused for a moment, watching her blonde head dip down behind the desk. “Why don’t you like me, Candy?” he asked seriously.
Candy’s blonde hair re-appeared and she eyed Jack critically. “What makes you think I don’t like you?”
“Oh come on. The constant comments, snipes and digs. Any and every way to put me down. I can’t imagine you’re like that with everyone. You’d be fired in five minutes if you were.”
Candy’s lip curled and she stood with a hand on her hip. “You’re right. Maybe it’s just you I don’t like.”
“Why? What did I ever do to piss you off?” Jack glanced around and lowered his voice, “Does it have something to do with Ennis?”
Candy’s eyes flashed. “Why would you say that?”
Jack shrugged, “You don’t have to worry if that’s it. I’m outta here for a few months next Monday. End of story.”
“You think so?”
“What?” Jack’s brow furrowed in confusion.
Candy sighed dramatically and flung her purse on the desk. “Three years, Jack. Three years I’ve been here and I don’t think he even knows my name.”
“I’m sure that’s not true, I-”
“-then you come along, and BAM, it’s Jack this, Jack that. ‘Come work with me, Jack’ or ‘Let’s go out to site, Jack’ or ‘What are you eating for lunch today, Jack?’”
“But I-”
“-he never once talked to me the way he talks to you-”
“-he doesn’t really talk-”
“-oh, he so does. For Ennis, anyway. And that guy? You know, the blond one you plastered yourself all over at that club? That was my cousin, Matthew. He told me how you’d only made out with him to make another guy jealous. He admitted it was his idea, but whatever. He described the other guy, too, and how he had stormed off. Didn’t take much to put two and two together. I know what goes on at that kind of club. What the hell, Jack? How could you do that in front of him? How does that make me feel? Three years of emotion wasted on someone who’ll never look at me twice ‘cause I’m packing the wrong equipment. And not a damn thing I can do about it.”
Candy stopped her tirade and grabbed up her purse again.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say…I didn’t…” Jack was taken aback.
Candy held up her hand. “Don’t Just don’t. Get your skinny ass out of my way.” She stormed around the desk and pushed past Jack to jab at the elevator buttons.
“Candy-”
Candy didn’t even turn around. “Save it, Jackie boy. It is what it is. Nothing you or I can do about it now.”
The elevator pinged open and Candy disappeared through the doors, leaving Jack staring after her in stunned silence.
****
The following week, Jack hardly saw anything of Ennis at all. He was all kinds of confused. Ennis had almost treated him as a friend the last time they had spoken, in the kitchen, but now he seemed to be avoiding him. Jack also mulled over Candy’s little outburst. It didn’t come as a big surprise that she liked Ennis; Scott had already voiced that thought, but it did surprise Jack that Candy knew Ennis was gay. At least she had kept that to herself and not spread it around the office; he had to give her some credit. Gay or not, Ennis was still out of Jack’s league and Jack still didn’t know what Ennis’ feelings were-or if he would ever act on them. As a boss, getting involved with one of your employees, male or female, was only asking for trouble.
****
“Everyone, this here is Jack Twist,” Avery introduced Jack to his new work colleagues for the next three months. “We’ve borrowed him from Mitch and Ennis Del Mar at DMC for a while, so treat him nice and hopefully he’ll only have good things to say about us!”
Jack looked around the room nervously and raised a hand in greeting. “Hi.”
It was his first morning at Avery Brice. There were four other people in this particular office, the one he would be working in. They all looked at him curiously and the one girl replied with a “Hi, Jack.” The three other guys all smiled.
The offices of Avery Brice were about twice the size of DMC and they employed nearly one hundred people over two floors of the big, shiny sky scraper. Jack definitely felt like a small fish in a big pond-not that he’d been a big fish at all at DMC, but the pond had been more manageable. Needless to say, the place had a friendly buzz about it and the people he had met so far seemed very nice. Professional but happy. Even the two girls on reception had given him a genuine smile. Made a nice change.
Avery clapped Jack on the shoulder and made to leave the room. “Well, Jack. This is where I drop you off. The folks in here will look after you for a while, get you set up on everything. We’ll have a chat later about what we expect and who you’ll be working with, ok?”
“Great, thanks.” Jack nodded.
“Excellent, excellent. Brian?” Avery looked at one of the guys and jerked his head, “Over here, man.”
Brian jumped up and came over to Jack. He was tall and skinny with spiky blond hair. “Hey,” he held out his hand and Jack shook it.
“Hey,” Jack replied.
“Brian, will you get Jack set up with all his IT stuff? He needs to see Marie in admin and also ought to meet John and Clive. You should take him to lunch with Tina and Derek, somewhere like The Orchid Diner would be good, then bring him back to me and Ty around 3 o’clock, ok?”
“Sure,” Brian nodded as Jack’s mind whirred, trying to store all the names for future reference.
“Good. Well, get back to it, you slackers. Later, alligators!” And with a bright grin, Avery swept out of the room with a flourish.
Jack couldn’t help but stare after him. “Is he always like that?” he asked Brian.
“Who, Avery?” Brian said. “Oh, yeah. He only has two speeds, full throttle and sleep.”
Jack laughed, “He makes my head spin.”
Brian chuckled and patted Jack on the shoulder. “You wouldn’t be the only one, Jack, not by a long shot. Let’s get your computer set up, ok?”
****
A few weeks later, and Jack felt like he had come home. He loved working at Avery Brice. He loved his new colleagues, his new bosses, and above all, he loved what he was doing. The thrill of helping out on such major projects gave him a real adrenaline rush and he thrived on the pressure. After the first month was up, Jack was struggling to see himself returning to DMC. It was a great place, but it just wasn’t right, and not just for the obvious, Ennis-shaped reasons that had affected his concentration.
Avery popped his head into Jack’s office one Friday afternoon. “Jack!” he boomed. “My office. Thirty seconds. Get your ass in there pronto!”
Jack jumped at the volume of Avery’s request, knocking some drawing pencils onto the floor with a crash. He wasn’t the only one. He noticed that Brian had slopped coffee down the front of his shirt and was quickly mopping it up with paper napkins.
“Damn, do you have to be quite so loud?” Brian said, rolling his eyes.
“Guilty conscience, huh?” Avery raised an eyebrow and grinned.
Brian muttered something under his breath and Avery just laughed, turning to Jack. “Chop chop, Mr. Twist. Can’t hang around here all day.”
Jack scrambled to his feet and followed Avery down the corridor to his office. Once inside, Avery shut the door and gestured for Jack to sit.
Avery sat behind the desk and laced his fingers behind his head. “So, one month down. How do you like working here, Jack?”
Jack nodded enthusiastically, “I like it very much.”
Avery leaned forward and steepled his fingers under his chin. “We like you working here, too. You have a quick mind, a good attitude and show some real flair.”
“Thanks.”
“Hmm.” Avery shifted again and drummed his fingers on the desk. “This is kind of unorthodox and I feel bad for throwing it out there; no doubt Mitchell will skin me alive, but, would you consider moving here permanently?”
“What, work for you full time?”
“Yep.”
Jack blinked. “You’re offering me a job?”
“Yep. You’re good, Jack, and I like good people. I need them.”
“Oh, wow. I’m flattered.” This was the last thing that Jack had expected.
Avery waved a hand. “It’s a big decision, so I don’t want an answer now. Go home, think it over, and let me know on Monday. We can discuss details then.”
“I will, thanks.” Jack’s mind was in a whirl as he stood to leave.
“No problem,” Avery replied with a grin, “and don’t worry about those Del Mars. If you decided to stay with us, then I’ll let Mitch know. I’ll take the heat for poaching their staff.”
Jack smiled back. “That’s alright. I don’t mind talking to them.”
“Let’s worry about that next week, ok?”
“Ok.”
****
That Friday night, Jack hit the bars with Scott and Ella. Things were going better between Scott and his girlfriend, so much so that Ella was actually pleased to see Jack and gave him a friendly hug when they met.
“Jack! How are you?” Ella exclaimed, almost shouting over the loud thumping bass music. She perched elegantly on a bar stool and flicked her long red hair over her shoulder. “It’s been forever.”
“Yeah, guess so,” Jack shrugged and signaled to the bartender.
“How are things going at your new place? Scott says they’re bigger than DMC?”
“Well, I actually wanted to talk to you guys about that.” Jack ordered beers for him and Scott and a G&T for Ella.
“Really? Why? What’s up?” Scott yelled over the din, his mouth an inch from Jack’s ear.
Jack winced. “Can we go somewhere a bit quieter?” He pointed to a booth away from the dance area and bar. “There?”
“Sure,” Scott nodded.
Sliding across the red leather seat, Jack continued. “Keep this to yourselves, guys. Avery called me into his office today. Offered me a permanent job. I’ve got to let him know my decision on Monday.”
“Oh, wow, Jack, that’s great!” Ella said, clapping her hands together in excitement. “Congratulations!”
Scott gaped for a moment. “You’re shitting me!” he burst out. “You’ve only been there a couple of weeks. Oh, man, that’s heavy duty. Can Avery do that? Mitchell’s gonna flip if you leave. And as for Ennis…” Scott stopped himself when Ella dug him in the ribs.
“Ennis?” Jack queried, trying to act casual. “What about him?”
“Oh, yeah, he’ll be mad too,” Scott mumbled.
“He will?”
“Hmm.”
“Scott?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! He’s been going around like a total grouch ever since you left,” Ella sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Who? Ennis?” Jack asked.
“No, Frank the cleaner. Of course, Ennis, you moron,” Ella said. She took a quick sip of her drink, “I hear that he’s practically a hermit these days. Never comes out of his office. Snaps at everyone. Candy told me that he’s become obsessed with work-not that he wasn’t before, but, you know, he’s gotten worse.”
Jack looked at Scott. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Scott nodded, “I wasn’t gonna say anything ‘cause I figured you’d be back in a few weeks anyway, but the guy has definitely changed.”
Jack’s breath caught in his throat. “Changed?”
“Uh huh. On the occasions I see him, he gives me a funny look as if he wants to ask me something, but doesn’t know how. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that he’s missing you.”
Jack snorted, “Don’t be so damn stupid. He wouldn’t miss someone like me… Would he?”
Ella raised her eyebrows. “You asked.”
Scott took another swig of beer, shrugging his shoulders. “Oh, and another thing, you know that blue shirt you’ve got? The one you wore the day Avery offered you the placement? Well, I swear our Mr. Del Mar seems to have acquired one very similar. Wears it a lot, too.”
“What?”
Ella smiled and nodded. “I’ve seen it.”
Jack was stunned. This was news which hit him straight in the gut. Was it even remotely possible that Ennis had missed him? Jack hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on his emotions with regards to Ennis, and had thrown himself into his new role at Avery Brice. He had ignored his libido, hadn’t gone out at all and had let his head take the lead for once. He was worried that if he opened the box on his feelings then he wouldn’t be able to close the lid again. Some things were better left unexplored in the hope that they would eventually go away. However, Scott’s words had pried open the lid a crack and Jack could feel all those old emotions bubbling up under the surface, threatening to explode out and drown him. He didn’t want to think about Ennis like that again. It was safer that way.
“So anyway, what are you gonna do about Avery’s offer?” Scott said.
Jack swirled the beer in his bottle, watching the foam rise up the neck. “I’m going to accept it.”
TBC