The Hard Way

by Austin Bates

  He shook off his guilt and his roaming thoughts as the pancake mix started to sizzle in the skillet. Jade drifted away from the couch and bounced around Noah once the smell had wafted through the entire house.

  “Did you make me pancakes, Daddy?” she asked, her face lighting up, sticking her hands above her head for a plate.

  “I did. I made you two big girl pancakes. Daddy has to go to court soon and then to the office. But then I’ll be back to take care of you, okay?”

  Jade took the small red kid plate from Noah and nodded. “Okay. You won’t leave like you did yesterday, right? In the middle of our fun?”

  You’re killing me. He did have to wonder if Cullen would have left Jade for an impulsive booty call. Mom was here, though. Noah pulled together his tightest smile and replied, “Of course not.”

  With renewed faith in her father, she marched back over to the couch just as Denver Dragon had begun flying over all of his newly acquired lands.

  She can have a family unit here with me. Just because Cullen has some charming arm candy doesn’t mean that I can’t be there for her. His phone beeped and he slid it out of his back pocket. A notification was in bold across the top of the screen: Prep court statements, meet with new clients.

  Noah took a deep breath and his eyes were glued on Jade, scarfing down her pancakes as he went to retrieve his laptop. I can have it all.

  Chapter 16

  Noah bent over his new compact space heater; he pushed his chair back with his butt and the chair spiraled across the twenty-year-old tan and burgundy carpet. He bent forward on his elbows as he ran his hand along the wall for the outlet.

  “Mr. Wilson?”

  Noah raised his head from underneath the desk and hopped to his feet, patting himself down for any dust that might have clung to his suit. He gasped and clapped a hand in front of his mouth as his eyes landed on Hugh Walsh standing in front of him.

  Noah had only seen photos of Hugh, and hadn’t had an opportunity to meet the olive-skinned businessman. I didn’t know that he was so tall. I thought he’d be a shriveled up old man by now. He makes seventy look good.

  Hugh extended one of his hands to Noah and Noah shook his hand, cheering himself on as he did so.

  “Mr. Walsh, it’s so great to speak with you. Is there something that you need from myself or Issac?”

  Hugh chortled. “No, I didn’t walk all the way up for the Fitzgerald boy. When I need a favor from the Deputy Mayor, that’s when I’ll come find him.”

  Noah’s fake laugh cut through some of the awkward air left by Hugh’s comment about Issac.

  “Well, what can I do for you, sir?”

  Hugh smoothed the silver hairs of his beard and said, “I wanted to personally tell you how much I appreciate your hard work.”

  Am I dreaming? Is this what happens when you loosen up? “I’m happy to hear that, sir.”

  “It’s as if you’re the only person on the third floor that has a clue what all of this is about. You made the lawyers representing that Cherry Drop Pop CEO look like complete idiots.” Hugh smacked Noah between his shoulders.

  “I’ll have to take you out for a drink sometime.”

  “T-that would be fantastic, sir. I will make sure to keep my calendar open for you.” As he and Hugh wrapped up their conversation, Issac breezed in from a late lunch. Two coffees bounced precariously in a disposable tray and Issac whipped his neck around upon spotting Hugh in the middle of their cubicle.

  “Mr. Walsh! You’re here and on the third floor!” he exclaimed. “Are you here to assign a case to us?”

  Hugh glanced at Noah and chuckled.

  Are all successful rich men just like Dad? Issac wondered.

  “Well, I was stopping by to congratulate Noah on all of his hard work and to ask him to keep up the good work.”

  “Noah definitely knows what he’s doing. Of everyone here, he’s definitely the person I admire the most of all my peers,” Issac replied.

  “Well, that’s great. Maybe you could learn a few things from Noah. He is in the same cubicle as you. Utilize him,” Hugh said and waved goodbye at Noah. “I need to get going,” he declared. “Rhonda’s really packed my schedule today.” He nodded at Issac and turned on his heel and walked out of their cubicle.

  A moment later, Parker from two cubes down could be heard rolling his chair back against the carpet. “Mr. Walsh!” floated from his cube.

  Issac bristled as he set a cup of coffee down on Noah’s desk. “Well, I got you a mocha, babe. Apparently, it’s a present for a job well done.”

  Noah’s eyes widened as he gestured between himself and the space that Hugh had been standing in moments ago. “I’m sure that he just thinks that the whole floor could stand to improve in some areas, so that the whole firm is operating to his standard.”

  Issac’s skeptical glance sent Noah fumbling to open the lid of his mocha. As the smooth chocolate went down his throat, Issac pressed his thumbs into Noah’s shoulders.

  “I guess it doesn’t matter if no one takes me seriously at the firm.”

  “Really?” Noah asked.

  “Nope, because you do,” he said, checking over his shoulder and when no one was coming down the walkway to their cubicle, he nuzzled his mouth against Noah’s neck. Noah swatted him away.

  “Stop. I don’t want to do anything unprofessional while we’re at work.”

  “I don't think that anyone here would believe the story even if you were being unprofessional,” Issac replied. “How long are we going to cover up the fact that we’re seeing each other?” Issac whispered.

  “Until… the timing is right. No one has to know that we’re having fun,” Noah said while he took a stack of portfolios off of his desk.

  “Anyways. I have so much work to do this evening. I think I might have to stay late.”

  Issac had already been to court earlier that morning and won the case despite how Hugh might have thought the case turned out. “I just have to run through the Case Counter one more time today, and I should be leaving on time.” He looked over the pile of portfolios on Noah’s desk. There’s no way that he would push it all off until tomorrow or at least tackle one half of the work tonight.

  “I’ll stay back with you.”

  “What? You don’t have to do that. You should go home and enjoy your night.”

  Issac scoffed. “Please, I don’t have a kid to get home to.” He mentally kicked himself as Noah winced. “The most important person to me is right here.”

  Oh right, I’m kind of the only person he has right now, Noah thought, reflecting on the conversation they’d had when Noah spent the night a little over two months ago. Or as Issac would put it, when they started dating. Noah preferred to think of it as when they started having fun.

  Noah shrugged. “If you want to stay, then you can stay. I don’t mind. Thanks for the coffee.”

  “Of course,” Issac said. They worked in relative silence until it was officially the end of the day and any lawyers at the office wouldn’t receive a judgmental glare from Rhonda. Men and women filed out of their cubicles with suit jackets slung over their shoulders and high heels in hand. While everyone went home to rest up for a weekend of boozing, Issac watched Noah’s hand work across the pages of his legal pad, his wrist never paused for rest, similar to Noah the Biblical legend.

  Parker stopped by their cubicle before he ran off to start his weekend. “Don’t stay here too long, fellas. Don’t let me have all of the fun this weekend.”

  Issac smirked and waved goodbye for the weekend to Parker. “You will not. See you on Monday, buddy.”

  The metal door rattled as Parker left and descended downstairs. Issac peeked over at Noah and he hadn’t even looked up when Parker came in the cubicle. His pen still drifted across the page, writing and rewriting his opening statement for court.

  Issac reached up and peeled the buttons back on his suit jacket. He shook it off and rose to his feet, folding it over the back of his rolling chair. He swagger
ed over to Noah’s desk and rested his elbows on the back of his chair.

  Noah sighed and said, “Knock it off. I’m working.”

  “Time for a break,” Issac said, pressing down harder on the back of the chair. Noah yelped as Issac spun the chair around and knelt down in front of him.

  Noah swatted at Issac’s head and Issac’s hand emerged from his sides and caught Noah’s. “Come on, let’s take a break.”

  In here? At work? The thought exploded in Noah’s head. “Issac, do you have any idea what I have to lose?!” Noah whispered. Issac made a show of looking over his shoulder and swung his arm out towards the empty walkway next to their cubicle.

  “Loosen up,” Issac insisted, sliding his hand in between Noah’s legs, propelling them open in a fluid motion.

  “But… the trouble that I could get in if we got caught…” Noah said, sliding down into his chair and feeling the shiver on his skin as Issac massaged his growing erection through his pants.

  “That’s right… relax,” Issac muttered as he pulled down Noah’s zipper. “You’re already so big,” he said, running his thumb over the soft fabric of the slit in Noah’s navy blue boxer briefs.

  Issac peered up at Noah through his whitish blonde eyebrows. Noah felt an undeniable pull that he hadn’t felt since Cullen.

  “May I?”

  Noah managed a small nod. Issac nudged the folds of the split apart and pulled out Noah’s stiff cock. Issac’s top row of teeth came down on his bottom lip as he felt his own dick hardening, rising against his pants. He hooked his mouth over Noah’s cock, he ran his lips over the salty skin. Noah squirmed, digging his nails into the leather armrests of his chair.

  He ran his tongue around the tip, digging the palm of his hands into Noah’s thighs. Noah’s head fell back against the chair and a low whimper began rising out of his throat. Issac lifted his lips from Noah’s slippery cock. “You gotta be quiet,” he whispered, his warm breath grazed the skin on Noah’s dick. “How do you expect me to get good at this?” he asked.

  He lowered his mouth around Noah’s cock again, the muscles in his jaw strained as he sucked Noah off and into space.

  Chapter 17

  Noah ran his hand along the expensive tailoring of his new suit. He turned around, double checking the fit in the floor-length mirror that he had propped against his dresser. He ran a comb through his hair, which had recently been trimmed and styled into a quiff.

  He double checked the time on his phone, thumping past a message from Issac inviting him to dinner tonight. I can’t focus on him right now. Noah tapped the icon for his work calendar and the meeting time was the same that it had been when he checked it before his shower this morning, and the other time when he checked it as he shoveled his scrambled eggs into his mouth.

  What do they want to talk about that it needed to be an entirely separate meeting? They could always pull me aside before Issac makes it into work, he thought, as he slid his hand underneath his tie, feeling his thumping heart.

  Rhonda hadn’t been in a hurry to be more specific in telling him what this meeting was about.

  “Is it anything that we can address right now?” he asked when Rhonda had traveled all the way up to the third floor to inform him of when she, Hugh, and Noah were going to be meeting.

  She shook her head. “No, not really. We’ll see you at eight on Monday morning.”

  Do they know about me and Issac? How much do they know? Noah slipped into the hallway, keeping his footsteps light so that Jade wouldn’t come barreling down the hall.

  What are they thinking when they send kids on mid-winter break? No consideration for the parents. Noah snorted and lightly patted his knuckle against Madeline’s bedroom door.

  He pressed his ear against the door then pushed it open. Madeline’s bed had been made already, with a five-star hotel’s level of presentation.

  She must be on her run. Madeline had taken to running each morning as a part of her efforts to keep a routine for herself that was separate from Jade’s. Noah crept around to the right side of her bed, only feet from her closet.

  Noah pulled open the doors of the closet and a thick rack of dresses and coats hung from the cream-colored pole in the wall. Noah knelt down and swept away the tails of a few longer skirts and dresses, and the black surface of the top of the mini fridge became visible. He hooked his fingers into the thumb indent and pulled the fridge open.

  A neat row of vodka, scotch, and wine coolers were on the top shelf. Noah reached in and grabbed the scotch bottle and looked over his shoulder before he unscrewed the cap and took two big swigs.

  If all else fails, this will work, he thought, screwing the cap back on the expensive alcohol and placing it back where it was in the fridge, tweaking the placement of the wine cooler next to it and the vodka that had been dangling off of the shelf.

  It’s a shame that Mom feels like she has to keep this separate from the liquor cabinet. Even Jade couldn’t weasel her way into a locked cabinet.

  The alcohol warmed up his veins and he placed his hand against his chest. Okay, it’s going to be fine. He crept past Jade’s bedroom and picked up the pace as her bedroom door remained closed.

  Noah scraped the thin layer of snow off of his windshield and climbed into his car. For once, the chill of the seats was a welcomed distraction from the tangled mess of his thoughts. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of the Law Offices of Hugh Walsh. The rest of the spots in the parking lot were completely deserted.

  He swallowed a lump in his throat as he gripped the door handle of the car. If the worst happens, at least I have plenty of savings. With the exception of handling more than his fair share of expenses at Madeline’s, a hefty portion of his earnings went into his savings every two weeks.

  Noah got out of the car and shuffled into the building. He walked past the empty receptionist’s desk, and headed for the separated offices that were lined along a main hallway. The path to Hugh’s office was decorated with wine-colored carpet and photos of the lawyers that currently worked on the first floor and even more successful lawyers that had gone on to open their own firms.

  As he approached Hugh’s door, a thick, solid oak door with a high quality glossy finish, he slowed his pace. His limbs felt heavy as he urged them to move forward so that he could press down on the silver bar handle of the door.

  I wonder how big it is. Upon being hired, Noah had been interviewed by Rhonda, in her smaller office on the first floor after weeks of corresponding over email. The sound of Noah knocking on Hugh’s door was piercing. It bounced off of the walls of the hallway and from behind the door. “Come in!” could be heard.

  Noah pressed all of his weight down on the door handle and drifted in. “G-good morning, Mr. Walsh,” Noah said, Rhonda was seated next to Hugh behind an oval-shaped glass table. She gestured to the seat across from them.

  Noah slid into the wooden chair as indicated, his hands gripping the curved arm rests. Hugh took a long, excruciating sip of coffee and set his mug down on the table as if he were afraid of cracking the expensive glass. He delicately wiped at the small ring that was spreading out from underneath his mug.

  “Well, good morning, Mr. Wilson.” There was a boyish light behind Hugh’s glossy blue eyes. Rhonda wiped her face clean of all emotion and pursed her lips together as Hugh led the meeting.

  “I’ll be blunt. We’re very impressed with you, and the work ethic that you’ve demonstrated.” Hugh paused and looked to Rhonda. “He’s showing signs of becoming a real leader, isn’t he?” Rhonda nodded.

  “Thank you, Mr. Walsh,” Noah said.

  Hugh went on. “You’ve been with us for about six months now?”

  Noah remembered to nod. “Yes, six months. It’s been a wonderful experience.”

  “We’re glad that you think so. We’re so impressed with you that we’d love to offer you an opportunity.”

  They brought me in this early to talk about opportunities? Noah thought. “An opportunity?” h
e repeated.

  “Yes. How would you feel about moving a little lower?”

  “A demotion? I hardly think that’s fair—”

  Rhonda’s warmer voice cut through Noah’s word vomit. “A promotion, dear. Would you like to move down to the second floor?”

  “The second floor?” he repeated.

  Hugh chuckled. “Rhonda, he’s like a broken record. Yes, Noah. I think that you could really benefit from being around the skill level of some of our guys on the second floor.”

  Noah blinked and the muscles in the back of his neck and shoulders deflated, the tension that made them seize together earlier flowed out of his body. “Of course, I’d love to move down to the second floor. Should I just find an unclaimed cubicle?”