Echo

by Crafter, Sol

  Cole trailed after him uncertainly.

  He felt as though the entire world was crumbling around him and he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He really hadn't wanted a bunch of people to be fired even if they were jerks to him.

  He sank into the chair he was gestured to while Anderson closed the office door and sat behind the big desk. "What's going on?" he asked.

  Anderson steepled his fingers in front of him. "I had to let those other guys go," he said, sounding regretful. "I really don't like firing people, but what they were doing was unacceptable." He held up his hand to stop Cole. "It wasn't just what they did to you, which was bad enough. They were defrauding the company. They were receiving overtime and bonuses for work they weren't doing. One guy was running an online store during company hours and on a company computer."

  Cole blinked. He really didn't know what to say to that.

  "You are the only one that was doing any real work in this whole department." Anderson shook his head. "I can't believe they managed to get away with what they did for so long. It was criminal."

  Cole licked his lips. "It was criminal. Am I going to get in trouble?"

  "Not by me," Anderson shrugged. "Those idiots took advantage of your newness to the company when you first started, then kept you in a tiny office away from anyone else. They isolated you so you wouldn't find out that what they were doing was wrong, then they cashed in on all your hard work.

  "What they did might not have been illegal in the strictest sense, but it's definitely not something we allow at Bester International. So don't feel like you got anyone else fired," Anderson said. "They can blame their own incompetence and dishonesty."

  Cole's mouth made a little 'o.'

  He felt incredibly small and afraid. Somewhere in the back of his head he thought he could hear the taunting voices of his childhood: "Stupid Cole has no soul, he can't talk, can barely walk, he's so retarded!"

  "Hey, seriously, you're not in any trouble," Anderson's voice brought him back. He looked into Anderson's eyes and they were clear and honest. It made him feel safe.

  "Plus, you get a new office," Anderson grinned. "Do you want to see it?"

  "Do you want to see it? A new office? What's wrong with my old one?" Cole asked.

  Anderson made a face, standing up and walking toward the door. "That wasn't an office. That was a tiny closet. Come on, let me show you your new space."

  He was so enthusiastic, that even with all his doubts about what was going on, Cole still followed him. He didn't even say anything when Anderson rested a hand between his shoulder blades to help move him along. Probably because it felt surprisingly warm.

  The office he was led to was the one right across from Anderson's. It had belonged to Ramona Leech and still smelled vaguely of her orchid perfume. It was about four times larger than his old office and a hundred times nicer. The desk was twice the size as he was used to and the carpet wasn't threadbare and badly in need of replacing. It was basically the office he'd always dreamed of.

  "What am I supposed to do with all this space?" He couldn't help craning his neck around as he tried to see everything.

  "I don't know," Anderson shrugged. "You could store your pewter D&D figurines in here."

  Cole gave him a flat look. "You could store your pewter D&D figurines in here. Sorry, but that's you. I play video games and collect comic books. You make and paint figurines."

  "Hey now, that was a secret told in confidence," Anderson said, mock-annoyed. His eyes laughed though. "So, do you like the office?"

  "So, do you like the office? Yeah, I really kind of do," Cole said honestly. "I just don't think I deserve it."

  Anderson snorted. "Are you kidding me? You were doing the work of fifteen people. And the only reason they got caught is that they stopped reading the reports you drew up. You deserve a lot more than just a new office and a pay hike."

  Cole felt himself blushing under the praise, then Anderson's words sunk in. "You deserve a lot more than just a new office and a pay hike. What do you mean 'pay hike?'"

  Anderson shrugged like it was nothing. "You're getting a raise. You do good work and Bester International rewards that. Honestly, you should have gotten a raise months ago, except Etty probably thought you would be reassigned to a new department. He was probably right."

  Cole's head was spinning. "He was probably right. So I get a new office and more money?" He shook his head. "This doesn't even feel real. Are we sure I'm not dreaming?"

  Anderson's smile was indulgent. "You're not dreaming and this is everything you deserve. You've worked hard for the company, and the company rewards that."

  Cole gazed around his new office. He had a window, an actual window. He could see the outside world or maybe crack it open to get some air.

  It was overwhelming.

  "You're not about to faint or anything, are you?" Anderson asked. "You haven't let the giddiness get out of control?"

  Cole shook his head, then finally couldn't resist and went to sit in the desk chair. It was one of those ones that conformed to the shape of his body, and he couldn't help sighing when he sank into it.

  Pure heaven.

  * * *

  Cole seemed to get cuter every time Anderson looked at him. He couldn't help feeling unbelievably lucky that he'd met the man at all. Especially when he noticed that Cole had a dimple in his left cheek when he smiled widely. He wanted to lick it.

  He could have stood there all day watching Cole practically make love to the desk chair, except his phone decided to go off. "Devil Went Down to Georgia."

  "Excuse me, I have to take this." Cole barely acknowledged him with a nod. He'd discovered the controls on the side of the chair and was trying out the massage function, his eyes falling half-closed with ecstasy. It was an expression Anderson wouldn't mind getting more intimate with.

  Anderson shook his head, but hurried across the hall to his own office before answering. "Hey Dad," he said, closing the door.

  "Finally. What took you so long?" George demanded, then didn't even wait, "Jessica came through with the paperwork. You now have a house. Do you have any interior design preferences?"

  "Care Bears and porn," Anderson said promptly.

  George snorted. "I'll take that as a no. Well, Laura's been dying for a new project. I'll let her handle things. She'll make everything perfect."

  Anderson rolled his eyes, glad his father couldn't see him. "Whatever," he said. "By the way, I've pretty much got the situation here handled. I've got a whole new set of employees working the department and I put the Weinberg account on the priority list. Things should be straightened out by tomorrow."

  "Good. The last thing we need is a total cock-up," George's voice was filled with satisfaction.

  It made Anderson feel good to know that his father had confidence in him. He'd had to work his way up the ranks, though there had probably been more than his fair share of nepotism to help him on his way. Still, hearing that his father thought he would do a good job made him feel like it was all worth it.

  "I'm handling it," he said.

  "I have no doubt," George said. "Now what's this I hear about you giving a young man a fancy new office?"

  "I have no idea what you're talking about." Anderson felt himself flushing to the roots of his hair. He had to be glad that George wasn't right there because with one look the man would be able to read him like a really thin book.

  "Hm," George said with a wealth of meaning. "Well, as long as you have the situation under control."

  "I'm handling it," Anderson said. "Do you have any ideas on who you're going to have replace me when I'm done here?"

  George growled. "That's something that's still being considered. The way things are going right now, you could very well end up staying there for the next couple of months."

  Yes! "Oh," Anderson said, mock-disappointedly. "Well, I'll keep a handle on things."

  "I know you will," George said. "I've gotta go now. Laura has this stupid thing she wan
ts me to go to." There was a feminine yell in the background. "This supremely wonderful and life changing thing she wants me to go to."

  "Well, you go do that," Anderson said. "I'll keep you up to date on events as they take place. Bye Dad."

  "Bye," George said, hanging up.

  Staring down at his phone, Anderson gave a heavy sigh. Sometimes his father's abrupt nature could be a bit aggravating. And now he had to worry that George was going to ferret out all kinds of information about Cole.

  And I don't even know if anything's really going on between us, he thought. They'd shared one meal. That was all.

  Tucking his phone in his pocket, he left his office to check on Cole. He just wanted to be sure the man liked his new office. Or that was the excuse he gave himself about why he wanted to hover around him.

  CHAPTER SIX

  As soon as he got home and had changed out of his work clothes, he was on the phone with Jeremy.

  His cousin was on location somewhere and the reception was terrible, but he managed to get out the news that everyone else in his department had been fired, but that he'd been kept on and had even been given a bigger office.

  "That's kind of great, man. I always felt that they were taking advantage at Bester, but if they're finally acknowledging just how much you do..." Jeremy sounded ecstatic. "I'm so happy for you."

  "I'm so happy for you. And how are you doing?" Cole asked, laying down on the couch. He hadn't bothered to kick off his sneakers, a sin which his mother probably would have murdered him for. "I try to keep up on IMDB and all kinds of online magazines, but it's pretty hard."

  Jeremy laughed. "I'm doing great. The director seems to really like me and I haven't screwed anything up yet."

  "I haven't screwed anything up yet. You're going to be so frickin' famous that we're not going to be able to hang out anymore." Cole had tried not to sound sad about it, but he couldn't quite hide his worry. Jeremy was pretty much his only real life friend.

  "Hey, don't worry about it," Jeremy said. "There's no way I would ever abandon you. You're my favorite, most neediest person in the world. You're kind of stuck with me."

  "You're kind of stuck with me," Cole echoed, feeling like it was true. "I miss you, but I'm glad things are going so good for you. Are you keeping a video log like I asked?"

  Jeremy snorted. "Of course. I do whatever you tell me to do. I've also gotten you autographs from practically the entire cast."

  Cole couldn't help laughing. "I've also gotten you autographs from practically the entire cast. That's so cool! When we go to Comic Con we're going to be the coolest nerds in the place."

  "I don't know where you get off calling me a nerd. I'm Jeremy Heath, dammit. I just got word that I got voted #25 for Sexiest Man of the Year. My life can now begin."

  "My life can now begin," Cole echoed. "Are you going to make yourself a badge or something for your Tumblr page?"

  "Oh shut up," Jeremy laughed.

  Even though they were half a world away, Cole felt as though Jeremy was practically in the room with him. And hearing about all the set gossip and the little anecdotes Jeremy had saved up about the rest of the cast made him feel as though he knew all the people involved.

  It was pretty cool being related to a movie star.

  After hanging up a bit reluctantly, Cole wandered into the kitchen to poke around in his refrigerator, hoping that some food would magically appear. But there wasn't anything he was really in the mood to eat and he was feeling too lazy to take one of his mom's emergency meals out of the freezer and heat it up.

  He finally scavenged up a few slices of Pepper-Jack cheese and a slightly bruised red apple. It was pretty pathetic but he really wasn't in the mood to try cooking.

  He was nibbling on the apple and flipping through TV channels when his doorbell rang.

  He frowned and got up to answer the door. "Yes?" he said, opening it without looking.

  Anderson smiled at him, his hair tousled charmingly. He was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, looking like any random guy on the street. "Hey," he said, "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go eat with me?"

  "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go eat with me? Well, this is a bit last minute, don't you think?" Cole asked. "Why didn't you call or text me?"

  Anderson shrugged. "I tried, but it went right to voice mail and you didn't respond to any of my texts. So I decided to take my life in my hands and come by in person." He looked a bit uncomfortable. "Do you want to go get something to eat?"

  Cole glanced down at his half-eaten apple. He'd been kind of biting around the bruised parts and there wasn't a whole lot that was appealing to it. "Do you want to go get something to eat? You know what," he said, "I think I do. Let me throw this away and grab my keys and we can go."

  Anderson's grin was sudden and bright. "Okay."

  Once he'd washed his hands and grabbed his keys, they were off.

  It was only a little awkward at first, but he could feel himself relaxing as they walked down the street toward the Vietnamese pho place. He could hear his stomach gurgling delightedly at the thought of rice noodles, rich broth, and thin slices of beef. He also couldn't help hoping they were going to serve him some of those little custard filled pastry things they sometimes gave away for free.

  Anderson sounded amused, "You look really happy."

  "You look really happy," Cole echoed. "I am really happy. I love pho. I just don't like going out to eat by myself."

  "Well, I'd be happy to go with you whenever you wanted," Anderson offered gallantly. He was trying to be funny, but there was something in the tone of his voice that sounded serious.

  Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Cole couldn't help the way his lips curved. "Well, I'd be happy to go with you whenever you wanted. I think I'd like that."

  Anderson grinned and bumped their shoulders together.

  His hands were in his jeans pockets and Cole couldn't help the way he kept looking at him. He really was very handsome and Cole couldn't help wondering what the guy saw in him. But there was no way he was going to turn down an opportunity like this.

  "Oh, here it is, right here." Cole pointed at the pho place. It didn't look like much on the outside, and even the inside left a lot to be desired. But the food there was absolutely delicious.

  When he jogged a little bit ahead and opened the door, Cole couldn't help laughing at the way Anderson melodramatically drew in a deep breath, his nostrils flexing. Their shoulders brushed when he went by and Cole couldn't help thinking that it had been on purpose. It made him blush lightly.

  "It smells great," Anderson said in a low-voice when Cole came in and stepped up beside him.

  Cole nodded since the waitress was coming. He could feel his desperate fear of strangers rising up to choke his throat.

  Anderson laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right," he said. His eyes shone with concern, but also a kind of quiet strength.

  Cole jerked a nod. "It's all right." Sometimes someone else's words were the perfect thing to say.

  He walked a step behind Anderson when the waitress showed them to their table and sat down across from him. He felt shy and couldn't help the way his shoulders hunched a little self-consciously.

  "God, you're cute." Anderson shook his head. He was spinning his fork around on the table with one finger, but his eyes were locked on Cole's face. A faint smile curled his lips.

  Cole lifted an eyebrow questioningly.

  "I'm just saying, you're really cute." Anderson barely glanced down at his single-sheet menu before setting it at the edge of the table. He propped his chin on his hand. "I'm glad I met you."

  "I'm glad I met you," Cole echoed. He was a little afraid that his face was bright red and could only pretend everything was normal. "They have some good food here. If you want to come with me again, I really wouldn't mind it. I could eat pho every single day."

  "I think I've had pho like once," Anderson said, then had to laugh at Cole's pop-eyed look. "Hey, so I'm some sma
ll town kind of guy. I guess you're going to have to expand my world."

  "I guess you're going to have to expand my world," Cole said wryly. "Yeah right. You've probably been all over the world and done all kinds of amazing things. I moved fifteen minutes away from my mom's house and she still creeps over to do my laundry for me. I'm a small town boy. You're the worldly one."

  "You make me feel like a small town boy," Anderson said. He bit his lip a second, then reached out to brush his fingertips against the back of Cole's hand on the table. "Do you want to watch a movie with me after this?"

  Cole glanced at his watch. It was 5:30. "Do you want to watch a movie with me after this? Well, as long as it's not too late." He grinned. "My boss is a real slave driver and I wouldn't want to get fired because I woke up late after watching a movie with you."

  Anderson laughed. "If that were to happen, I'm pretty sure your boss would be very awesome and nepotatic." He furrowed his brow. "I don't think 'nepotatic' is even a word, but you get what I mean, don't you?"

  Cole was just opening his mouth to respond when the waitress came to stand next to the table. She was a pretty Vietnamese girl with her hair pulled back in what should have been a severe bun, but was actually nice for her facial shape. "Are you ready to order?" she asked in perfect, but accented English.

  "Oh, sure," Anderson blinked. He looked at Cole, "I'm getting the pho with eye-round steak. Do you know what you want?"

  Blushing lightly, Cole said, "Do you know what you want? Uh, yeah, I'll have the same. Two pho with eye-round," he said to the waitress, "and I'll have an ice tea with lemon."

  "Oh, and I'll have a green tea," Anderson said.

  "Okay, two pho with eye-round, an ice tea with lemon, and a hot green tea. That'll just be a couple of minutes," she said, picking up their menus.

  Cole watched her walk away, his eyes tracing down the seam of her skirt. There was a tear in her pantyhose and he wanted to tell her that the outfit was kind of unflattering to her figure. She was such a pretty girl; she should dress better.

  "Should I be jealous that you're checking out her ass?" Anderson asked suddenly. He was looking right at Cole, a quizzical expression on his face.