“No, the worst part is that it automatically refreshes the page about every two minutes and if you can't complete it and submit it in that time, it wipes everything and you have to start over.”

  The disgust over this information was clear on Joel’s face. “That sounds incredibly frustrating and time consuming.”

  “It is. Oh, and it’s unreliable about submitting requests for time off or sending emails to managers when it does get submitted properly.”

  “I'm starting to think I need to have a serious conversation with my CTO when he’s back from leave. If it's that bad, I'd like to know why he recommended keeping it.”

  “One of the programmers told me that he could make something better from scratch,” Hayden offered. “In his sleep.”

  “Do you think he was serious about that?”

  Hayden shrugged as he took a sip of his drink. “Probably not about the sleep part,” Hayden quipped. “But he said he pitched it to his manager all the time. I doubt he’d do that if he wasn't capable.”

  “And, of course, the suggestion stays with the manager.” Joel ran his hand through his dark brown hair as he rolled his eyes. “What is the point of employing the best people when their ideas can't get past their managers?”

  “Maybe you need better managers,” Hayden suggested, a little tongue in cheek. He certainly wouldn’t complain if he happened to get a new manager.

  “I wish I could disagree with you,” Joel said after a long drink on his beer. “But, unfortunately, that is far easier proposed than accomplished. I take it you aren’t a fan of your manager?”

  It took a great deal of will power for Hayden to physically keep his mouth shut. And he had to keep his mouth shut because if he opened it, even a millimeter, his honest opinion about his manager would come tumbling out. But he had just emphasized that he didn’t want to be behind someone being fired and he hated being a hypocrite.

  He could tell when Joel realized that he wasn’t going to respond because the older man’s lips curved into a sinfully sexy, sideways grin. “You’re a good man, Hayden Fink. I wasn’t intending to test you, but you certainly passed.”

  “I don’t want to be a snitch and I really don’t want to be a hypocrite.”

  “I appreciate that in a man,” Joel said. “You know, I might as well admit that I looked at your resumé before you came up here. You have a Master’s degree, what are you doing in the mail room?”

  “Well, my degree is in anthropology where it’s difficult to work in the field without a Ph.D. and I lost the will to go that far. I wanted to be a museum curator for a while, and I applied to any position that I could find anywhere in the country, but I didn’t even get an interview. In fact, this was the only place to call me for an interview at all. That’s why I’m in the mail room.”

  “Ah, it does seem like a waste.”

  Hayden shrugged. “I don’t mind it though. I prefer walking around and interacting with people all day over being stuck staring at a computer screen in a cubicle.”

  “I guess you’re not interested in a promotion, huh?” Joel said with a chuckle.

  Oh God, he hadn’t even thought about that. He was talking to the fucking CEO! But he had promised to be honest and he honestly had no interest in getting another position. “I know it’s unpopular to say that in this environment, but you asked for honesty and the honest answer is no. My goals can’t be accomplished in an office.”

  Joel’s thick, dark eyebrows rose with piqued interest. “What are your goals?”

  Hayden was surprised at the personal turn in the conversation, but he was even more surprised when Joel propped his elbow up on the back of the couch and leaned his head against his fist. It made Hayden’s stomach feel wobbly–something he could definitely live without. Why did Joel have to be the exact kind of man that could turn Hayden’s otherwise hetero head?

  “I’d like to own an art studio and maybe a gallery too. I have a studio in my garage for myself, but I’d like to create a space for multiple artists.” It felt odd to be talking about this with someone like Joel. He felt like a kindergartener showing their painting to the president.

  “Oh, so you’re an artist.”

  It felt even more odd that Joel seemed to be genuinely interested in him. “My entire life.”

  “In that case, I understand your contentment in the mail room. The higher up you get, the easier it is to get stuck, I’ve noticed.”

  “Is that what happened to you?” Hayden asked, surprised the other man would say something like that.

  “No, I built this,” he laughed and tossed back the remainder of his beer. “I thrive on this. It’s genuinely my passion.”

  “It’s no wonder you’re so good at it then,” Hayden said.

  It could have just been Hayden’s imagination, but it looked very much like Joel was...blushing. “Thank you.”

  “Anything else before I head out?”

  Joel’s smile turned wry before he said: “I wouldn’t mind a blow job.”

  Hayden’s heart stopped in his chest as his hazel eyes widened and his mouth gaped in shock. There was no way he’d heard Joel correctly and yet there was equally no way that he hadn’t.

  Subtle terror fell over Joel’s face as he pressed his finger tips to his lips. “I can’t believe I said that to you. I am so sorry, that was an incredibly inappropriate joke.”

  But Hayden, now slightly recovered, just brushed it away. “Don’t worry about it, man. I’m sure you could use a blow job.”

  “You have no idea,” Joel sighed, pinching the bridge of his straight nose with his fingertips.

  “That would be a pretty disappointing experience with me anyway,” Hayden joked, hoping it could cut the tension.

  But Joel looked genuinely surprised by this. “You’re not gay?”

  “No,” Hayden said, shaking his head. “I get that a lot though. Maybe that should tell me something.”

  “Maybe it should,” Joel returned with obvious flirtation. “God, I shouldn’t have had a beer on an empty stomach.”

  Hayden, however, didn’t mind one bit. Not only was Joel obviously interested in men, he also seemed to be interested in Hayden. His heart was going to shatter his ribs and he doubted there was anything he could do to stop it.

  “And it’s just now occurring to me that I had this half an hour free for a reason,” Joel said, glancing at his very expensive looking watch. “I was going to eat.”

  “Delivery?”

  Joel shook his head sadly. “Getting delivery up here after hours is unreliable, unfortunately.”

  “I could go get you something,” Hayden offered without a second thought.

  “Yeah? You don’t mind?”

  “I don’t mind being in your good graces.”

  “You already are,” Joel assured him as he stood up and sauntered over to his desk. “But before you go, I need you to sign something.”

  Hayden wasn’t the least bit surprised when Joel pulled a Non-Disclosure Agreement from a drawer and handed it over with a fancy pen.

  “Anything that happens in here needs to stay between us. Anything we talk about, anything you hear on the phone, even. Keep it to yourself.”

  Without hesitation, Hayden penned his name to the bottom of the document and dated it before handing it back to Joel. “Understood.” He watched Joel file the agreement in a different drawer, one with a lock, and Hayden couldn’t resist asking: “You’re not out, are you?”

  “I am not and I don’t intend to be. Let’s just say that it’s bad for business in certain aspects.”

  Hayden could understand that. Given that there were still countries and cultures on the planet that would much rather harm a gay man than do business with him, it made complete sense. “I get what you mean. Secret’s safe with me.”

  “And if it’s not,” Joel said matter-of-factly as he logged back into his computer. “I now have the right to take legal action against you.”

  Well, Hayden knew that it wouldn’t be an issue. He didn’t care if it was Alex in the mailroom or the CEO, he would never out anyone, period. “I believe that it is morally unconscionable to out someone. Anyone for any reason.”

  A team of butterflies launched inside of Hayden’s stomach when Joel looked up at him through long, dark eyelashes and said: “Something else I appreciate about you.”

  “So what’s for dinner?” Hayden asked. With the steamy way Joel had just spoken to him, he was going to embarrass himself if he didn’t leave soon.

  Joel’s fingers stopped moving over the keyboard at the question and he stood up straight, resting his hands on his hips. “That’s a great question,” he murmured as he thought. “Indian, I think. Are you familiar with the restaurant in this building?”

  “The Naan Basket?” Hayden supplied.

  “Yes,” Joel confirmed, reaching for his wallet. “Get me a double chicken korma and...a mango lassi.” He handed over a crisp, 100 dollar bill. “And get yourself some dinner–as a thank you.”

  God, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten take-out from a restaurant. “Twist my arm,” Hayden joked as he made his way to the door.

  Because there were still other employees on the floor, Hayden managed to keep himself in check until he was in the privacy of the elevator. The moment the doors were closed, he crouched down to the floor as he threw his arms over his head. What in the name of whatever god was happening in his life today?

  He really wished that he hadn’t indulged in a few jerk off fantasies involving Joel because now all he could think about was sucking the man off. And he asked for it! Somewhere in Hayden’s mind he knew that what had happened was wildly inappropriate, as Joel had quickly admitted, and that he could have run his broke ass down to HR or, worse, he could have easily blackmailed Joel instead of signing the NDA.

  But none of that was in his mind as he took a deep breath and comported himself before leaving the elevator on the first floor. No, all he could think about was Joel unzipping his pants and–nope, nope, bad idea, Hayden’s consciousness coached. He was going to have weekly meetings with him, meetings in which he had complete freedom, allegedly, to discuss the problems that he and his co-workers dealt with everyday. This was unprecedented and he refused to mess it up simply because of his sexual curiosity.

  Or Joel’s chest hair.

  ​Three

  “Why do you have weekly meetings with Joel Harrison?” Rudy, the mail room manager, asked the moment Hayden arrived at his small desk the following Friday morning.

  Hayden was surprised that it had taken his manager so long to see the meeting invitations that he had been copied on. This evening he had his second meeting with Joel, which meant that his manager was probably a week behind on his email inbox. “Because he requested them?”

  Rudy, who was most politely described as someone who had peaked in high school, rolled his dull, blue eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me, Fink, why did he request them?”

  It turned out that this wasn’t as fun as he’d thought it would be when Joel told him that he couldn’t discuss the contents of their meetings. He’d gotten a small chuckle over being able to look his bullheaded boss in the face and tell him that he wasn’t allowed to disclose that information. But the reality of it, when said boss was glaring at him, was far less enjoyable. “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

  The bloodshot blue eyes widened with obvious irritation at this answer. “Well, isn’t that adorable,” Rudy said. “Adorable bullshit. Why in the fuck would he wanna talk to you?”

  “It’s not bullshit, dude, he told me they were confidential and he was serious.”

  Pointing an aggressive finger toward Hayden’s chest, Rudy said: “You better not be talkin’ about me in there.”

  If only he knew, Hayden thought, feeling very tempted to do just that today, but he wouldn’t. He refused to be that kind of person. Even though he was an asshole, Hayden also knew that Rudy had a wife and three kids. Being the catalyst for a man losing his means to support his family was not on the list of things Hayden wanted to do in his life. “I’m not talking about anyone. He just realized that I walk around the whole building everyday and then he scheduled the meetings. That’s all.”

  Thankfully, this seemed to deflate Rudy’s anger. “Oh,” he said and then skulked back to his small office without another word.

  The day seemed to pass at half speed as Hayden pushed his mail-laden cart from floor to floor. It wasn’t that he was nervous to see Joel, he’d been seeing the CEO all week, but since he had no idea how long these meetings would go on, he wanted to make sure that he talked about the most important issues first. He’d decided that he would, especially after realizing just how down to Earth Joel was, but he was still nervous to bring it up.

  When Hayden pushed his way into Joel’s office after lunch, he could immediately feel the pervasive tension in the space, even before he saw the state of the two people at the desk. Joel’s assistant, Shelly, had her head in both of her hands as she rested her elbows on her knees, massaging her temples. Joel, in much the same manner, had his entire upper torso slumped over his desk. But they both still had their discreet headsets on.

  “I understand–” Joel mumbled in such a way that it was obvious that it wasn’t the first time. “Yes, I–”

  Hayden could only imagine that whoever was on the other end of the call kept interrupting and, by the looks of things, it had been going on for a while. On second thought, perhaps today wasn’t the best day to bring up the big topic.

  “Are you heading out?” Hayden asked Alex as the thin man shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders. Alex biked to work everyday, but he was one of those people who did it for environmental reasons instead of economic ones. That, and he only lived fifteen blocks away.

  “Yeah, Rudy said I could go. Have a good weekend,” he bid before he headed for the door.

  Unsurprisingly, Rudy was on his heels. “I’m outta here,” he announced. “I’d say you could leave, but I guess you have that meeting. Stuck in the office on a Friday night.”

  Hayden could have lived without the exaggerated, pouty expression that contorted Rudy’s plain face as he followed his subordinate out the door. Was Hayden excited about sitting around waiting for his meeting for the next two hours? No, he couldn’t say that he was. But was he excited about being alone with Joel again?

  That was best left unexamined.

  Hayden wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find when he pushed into Joel’s office for their meeting, but the calm, business as usual vibe obviously wasn’t it. Yet, Joel was sitting at his desk, looking at his computer with a slightly knit brow when he looked up and smiled to acknowledge Hayden’s presence like he did most days.

  But as he walked closer to the desk, the feelings of tension from his lunchtime visit were still lingering around the area. After a couple more typed sentences and a heavy sigh, Joel locked his computer screen and relaxed back into his chair. Even if Hayden didn’t know the other man very well, he could still tell that the day was written all over him.

  “That call earlier was...” Hayden began, needing to distract himself from staring at the other man. Joel’s dark brown hair was charmingly disheveled, probably from running his fingers through it, Hayden thought dreamily. Stop, his consciousness ordered, stop.

  “Don’t remind me,” Joel groaned as his head fell back against his chair. “I got what I wanted, in the end, but getting there was...excruciating.”

  “It looked like it.”

  “You were here during hour three of five.”

  It popped into Hayden’s head and tumbled out of his mouth before he could even think to stop himself: “Bet you really want that blow job now.”

  One dark eyebrow rose as Joel’s smoldering gaze met Hayden’s hazel eyes. “I deserved that,” he sighed. “But it’s not nice to tease, Hayden.”

  Ha! Hayden thought as arousal shot through his body; the way that Joel had just said his name was a tease in itself. He could feel a blush growing on his cheeks and he was actively fighting a smile as he held Joel’s heated gaze. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask who was teasing, but instead he kept himself in check. “I thought it might make our conversation today go down a little easier.”

  “Oh, joy,” Joel said with heavy sarcasm and pushed himself to stand. “Would you like a beer?”

  “Sure,” Hayden said. He was going to need one to get all of this out anyway. “You have eaten today, right?”

  “Are you always this cheeky?” Joel asked as he grabbed two bottles from his stocked mini-fridge, but there was a grin tugging at the corner of his full lips.

  “I’ve been told that I am.”

  Hayden was relieved that Joel looked distinctly amused as he sat on the couch and took a long swig from his bottle. “I believe you were about to ruin my evening.”

  Settling onto the couch, just a little closer to Joel than he had been last week, Hayden poured a quarter of the bottle down his throat before he began. “You want to be a top tier employer, right?”

  “I do,” Joel agreed cautiously. “I want to obtain top talent, and make them want to stick around.”

  One more deep breath and Hayden forced himself to say: “Then your benefits package needs an overhaul. A big one.”

  Unfortunately, Joel’s expression was exactly what Hayden had feared it would be, despite their seemingly casual interaction last week. “I am very confident that my compensation is superior to most analogous companies–”

  “You’re right,” Hayden said quickly, not wanting to lose Joel out of the gate. “You pay very well. I’m still surprised that I get paid what I do in the mailroom. That’s not what I’m talking about. I mean vacation time, parental leave, insurance, perks–which you really don’t have.”

  “Perks?” Joel asked skeptically.

  “Yeah, tuition reimbursement, for example, but for upskill training as well as college tuition. Or employees-only travel packages so we could actually afford to stay at your hotels.”

  Joel’s sigh was drawn out and dramatic and his face looked distinctly unamused, but he surprised Hayden when he said: “I believe the universe has sought to humble me today.”