Randall & Hudson

by M. A. Innes

  It might have come out whinier than I’d intended. I heard a squeak through the phone and I pictured Hudson stretching back in his chair, feet propped up on the desk. “You know, Angel, you don’t have to go to get your master’s if you don’t want to. I think you’d be a good teacher, but if it’s not what you want to do, then you should explore other things.”

  “Like what?” I sighed and sipped my coffee. “I don’t have any other experience in anything. They didn’t even let me apply for any of the teaching assistant positions that were open this year. I have nothing besides, well, you know, to put on a resume. I never even had a paper route or a lemonade stand.”

  I was kind of useless when it came to real-world skills.

  “Hey, take a deep breath for me. You don’t have to decide anything right now. I just wanted you to know that you had options.” Hudson’s voice was soothing, and I had to fight the urge to close my eyes and just soak him up.

  “I just don’t see any.” People flitted in and out of the coffee shop, but they mostly ignored me. Panic attacks over majors and impending real life were too common to be interesting.

  “We are going to find you some.” I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. “What do you like to do? What takes up your free time? I know you work a little and study a lot, but what else? Are you a secret crafter? Are you writing a manifesto to take over the world? Are you building the biggest Lego city ever in your dorm room?”

  “Hudson.” He made me smile and shake my head. “No, nothing like that. I don’t have that much free time. Work is fun and doesn’t take up much time, but I’ve got a list of people whose papers and essays I help edit for their English and history classes. It takes up a couple hours almost every day unless I’m careful and don’t take too much on.”

  “Hey, that’s something right there. I bet you make a good amount doing that.”

  “I don’t really charge for it. Just enough on longer projects to cover expenses for stuff I don’t want my parents to see.”

  He barked out a laugh. “They didn’t even let you have your own bank account?”

  “No.” And that sounded sad, even to me. “I have a prepaid card I load with the money I earn. And Jake isn’t even paying me. I wasn’t willing to give him my social, so I’m only working for tips.”

  Hudson laughed so hard I thought he’d probably fall out of his chair. “The way those dirty old men talk, they should be tipping pretty good.”

  I made about a thousand a month working about once a week. I wasn’t sure if that was good or not. I didn’t have anyone I could ask because then I’d have to explain why. And the range of information when you looked it up online was overwhelming.

  “I think so?” I wasn’t doing it for the money and we both knew it. Hudson just kept snickering, and I could tell he was trying to calm down, but it wasn’t working.

  When he finally caught his breath, he went back to the work conversation. Probably a good idea. “Have you thought about doing that? I know there are all kinds of companies and businesses who need editors. You could even start your own.”

  “Work for myself? Telling people how their sentences should be arranged?” I’d never thought of turning it into a job. English and grammar had come so easily that it had seemed mean not to help other people. When my own papers took a fraction of the time to write compared to other students, the very least I could do was help with reading over it.

  “Why not? You might need a couple of classes to learn specific rules depending on what you want to do, but I don’t think that would be a problem for you. My angel is brilliant.” He had so much confidence in himself and in me, it was overwhelming.

  “I...” With no idea what to say, I just nodded to myself and tried to organize my thoughts into something reasonable. It wasn’t working. “I’ll think about it.”

  “We’ll talk about it this weekend and brainstorm some other ideas. Between the two of us, I’m sure we can come up with some other ideas. And at the very least, I’ll learn more about what you like to do.” The way he said it made me blush. The words weren’t dirty, but something about the way he said it had me wanting to squirm.

  “I’d like that.” It was a weight being lifted off my shoulders.

  Hudson would help. Maybe it was part of being a boyfriend or maybe it was the more take-charge dominant side of him, but either way I knew I wouldn’t have to figure it out on my own. He didn’t think I was pathetic or get frustrated that I had no idea what to do with my life. He just wanted to help.

  I wasn’t alone anymore.

  Chapter 15

  Hudson

  “What do you mean he doesn’t have a driver’s license?” I was at my breaking point with filling the position, and I was ready to throw in the towel and hire someone from outside the area. I’d thought we’d finally found a great candidate. His paperwork had been missing a few things, but half the applications I’d seen were missing huge chunks of information, so I hadn’t been worried.

  When Jefferson Banks had applied, I’d thought we’d finally found someone for the job. He was taking night classes at one of the local colleges and had a good resume of administrative and office jobs that seemed to indicate he’d understand the regulatory side of things. He’d need training, but during his phone interview, he’d seemed like he would be a good fit with the company.

  Wes gave me a look that was too measured and too careful. “It has not been necessary until recently. He said that he can have it in just a few weeks.”

  “Can we wait that long to get him certified? The last time I looked, he had to have a license in that job, not a CDL.”

  “That has not changed.”

  “There’s something you’re not telling me.” I wouldn’t say I was suspicious by nature, but I’d learned to be careful with Wes.

  He didn’t even try to hide it. “Yes.”

  “Lord. What is it? DUIs? Back child support? Jail?” He’d seemed like a decent guy in our phone call.

  “No. Nothing illegal.”

  “Then what?”

  “He is only seventeen and up until recently had not taken the required behind-the-wheel training.”

  Dear god, Wes was serious. “You’re messing with me.”

  “No, I assure you, I am not.”

  I slumped back in the chair and closed my eyes. Fuck. My best candidate was barely old enough to drive. “We verified his references, right?”

  “Of course.” Wes was offended. “I checked with HR about that personally before the phone interview.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “It’s not on the application and never gets asked. His references checked out, and all had glowing things to say about him. We assumed he was on the younger side with the night classes, but we have several employees in that same location who are going to college through alternative means. The company pays for part of their tuition.” Wes seemed like he was getting just as frustrated as I was.

  I’d been at work late all week, and to be able to take off the weekend, I wasn’t going to be leaving anytime soon. Working Saturday or Sunday wasn’t an option, though. Neither my parents nor my boy were people I was willing to put off. Not being able to see Randall the last couple of days had been difficult enough.

  “Is it even legal for him to take the job?” A few months ago, even a few weeks ago, I would have never even considered it.

  Wes coughed. I wasn’t sure if he was covering a laugh or choking in shock. “Not without his license. He can, however, be a trainee in the position without his license.”

  Company policy had always been to hire someone local, as long as it was possible. In some of our international offices that could get interesting as well, but we’d never had a problem in that office before. Considering the low turnover we had, it had been several years since anyone there had been hired. And at that point, it was just a driver.

  “He’s really in college?”

  “Yes.” Wes’s voice took on a more even tone. “He is a
sophomore, and studying business just like it said on his application. What we could not find out on the initial paperwork was that he started taking college classes in high school and graduated early.”

  “There’s no way we could have known.” I took a deep breath. “He’s the most qualified. He had to have started working when he was a child. Hell, he still is a kid.”

  “It seems that some of his initial jobs were for family members, and the age limit for obtaining employment did not apply.” Wes did not like being surprised at work. We didn’t even throw the guy a surprise party for his birthday. He wanted everything planned and laid out. This had to be making him crazy.

  “I don’t have the time to train someone for weeks, possibly months.” I hated admitting that.

  “Correct.” Wes looked like he was ready to draw the line, even if I wasn’t.

  “Let me talk to Dad. Maybe he knows a way around the regulation or...or something.” Maybe I could figure out a solution once I got some actual sleep. “I have to go over tonight and talk to them about the party. That damned barbecue is getting out of hand.”

  Barbecue should not mean having a catering company who came in and grilled steaks and hamburgers for five hundred rich people with more money than sense. “I still don’t know why we just didn’t have the fancy party they usually throw.”

  “According to your mother, who by the way has called twice in the last hour to make sure you’ll be at her house tonight, she had to do something different to stand out from the crowd.”

  “Want to bet how many thousand-dollar cowboy hats there’ll be at that party?”

  “No.” Wes gave me a look like he was done with my shenanigans. “And must I remind you that I am not your social secretary? Your mother is also demanding to know why you were not at brunch last weekend. You will have to explain that to her.”

  I groaned and my head dropped back against the chair again. “Crap.”

  The silence was deafening. I didn’t even have to lift my head to see his disdain, I could almost smell it because the air was so thick with it. “Don’t look at me like that. I am not hiding him. I talked with him yesterday about meeting them next week. I’m going to take everyone out to dinner and show him off. He’s not being kept in the closet.”

  Wes gave a huff, and I knew he didn’t believe me. “Can you imagine his initial impression if he meets them at this party? No, I don’t think the money will be an issue, he doesn’t have much sense with how much things really cost for some reason, but that is not how I want him to meet my parents for the first time.”

  I wanted to show him the nice, funny people who raised me fairly normally in spite of the money. Not the crazy woman who once a year played the millionaire’s version of keeping up with the Joneses.

  It seemed like I was finally getting through to Wes. “I can understand that.”

  “The crazy woman who keeps calling here is not the person I want him to meet.” From what little I’d gathered about Randall’s home life, his mother was insane and controlling, and I wanted him to see that my parents were nothing like that. Right now, my mom could probably give his a run for her money.

  “You must address that with her.” His voice was stern, like a sharp, old-fashioned school teacher.

  “Yes, you’re not my social secretary.” If the words came out dramatically and a bit sarcastic, it was because I’d heard them almost a dozen times this week.

  “Do not miss another meal with them without calling her first.” The firm tone of his voice said he wasn’t going to negotiate with me on that point.

  Ask him to work overtime and crazy hours. Fine.

  Ask him to lie to my mother about where I was. No.

  “I know. It was stupid.” I grinned, and I knew it would drive Wes crazy. “It was worth it, though.”

  The coughing started again. I really needed to work on his sense of humor.

  “I have the reports you asked for about the London expansion, and the numbers for last quarter. Once you have someone reliable in the local office, you will need to start scheduling additional trips abroad. The London office in particular.”

  “I know.” We did our best to run the company like a family, and that meant lots of visits and support to the local managers who ran the offices. There were just only so many hours in the day. “I don’t know how my father did it.”

  “Your father was not running a company this size.” He really didn’t like having the same conversation over and over.

  “But—”

  “No.” I got the schoolteacher tone again. “At some point, you will need to hire a vice president and more corporate staff. I admire your resolve to hire locally and keep the same family culture the business was founded on, but you are doing too much.” There was a small pause, and his voice softened a bit. “Think of it as expanding the family. Not tearing it down.”

  “That’s going to suck.”

  Wes sucked in a breath, and I had to grin. He was so easy to rile. “Hiring a manager is difficult enough. A vice president will make me crazy.”

  “The criteria necessary will narrow the selection down considerably, and we will not be able to hire strictly locally, but I do not foresee the same issues.”

  “As long as the right job posting gets listed.”

  “That was not a—”

  “I’m not mad at anyone. I should have been more specific.” Quite a few of our positions required a college degree. The local office here didn’t because it would have made it almost impossible to fill the position. Once we’d realized that the requirements were wrong in the job details, it was easier to find applicants.

  Easier but not easy. Big difference.

  “Will you call my parents and let them know I won’t make it for dinner, but that I’ll be there for drinks after? I know it’s not your—”

  “Your father. I will not call your mother.” Another line in the sand.

  “Deal.”

  ****

  “I’m sorry I’m late.” I leaned in and gave my mother a kiss on the cheek. “Everything ran behind today.”

  I got a disbelieving look, and she shook her finger at me. “That excuse no longer works. What is going on at work? You even missed lunch last weekend.”

  Shit.

  “Everything is—”

  “No. Your father is in the living room.” It was like I was a teenager all over again. As I walked through the house, I remembered getting a similar greeting one time I’d come home late from a date.

  I hadn’t come out at that point, and they’d been convinced I was seducing some young girl. Instead, it had been an older guy who’d been seducing me. It’d been my first experience topping, and nothing they could have said that night would have made me regret it.

  “That’s fine. I could use a drink.” Heading through the house, I tried to figure out what I was going to say. I needed...advice, but I wasn’t sure how to explain it to him.

  “You’ve had your mother worried.” It wasn’t much of a greeting, but I knew it was his way of saying that I’d made him worried as well.

  I helped myself to a drink from the sideboard and went over to the couch. Settling in, I gave up trying to get it to make sense. “I told you about needing to get someone hired for the warehouse position?”

  Dad nodded. “Yes, it’s terrible about what happened to Albert.”

  I had to agree. “Patty says he’s doing fine now that the stress of work is off him, but I’m struggling to find someone local to fill the position. It’s been one thing after another. Now I’ve found the perfect candidate, but we’ve run into another problem.”

  Dad sighed. “It’s been weeks. No wonder you’ve been overworked. I’d hoped it would get easier to find qualified people in that area, but over the years, it’s gotten worse. Tell me about the new hire.”

  “Not hired yet. The snag is a good one.”

  Now I really had his attention. “What?”

  I teased him with all the good parts first, college, the wh
ole nine yards. “See, he’s perfect.”

  “I agree. What’s the problem, though?”

  “He’s seventeen. Doesn’t even have a driver’s license.”

  “Wow.”

  Mom leaned forward, giving us both a long look. “But initiative like that has to be rewarded. You can’t punish the young man because of his age.”

  “If we didn’t hire him, it would be because of the license issue, not his age.” I took a sip of my drink. “I’m just not sure what to do. The only option would be to hire him as an apprentice until he had his license, but I don’t have anyone to train him or to step in and do the job for what could be months.”

  Just sharing the problem had me feeling lighter. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do about it, but knowing it wasn’t just on my shoulders anymore made it seem less daunting.

  Mom gave us a firm look. “I’m sure we can come up with something. Letting a young man like that go would be a crime.”

  I had to agree, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to work it out.

  Chapter 16

  Randall

  “I’m not really sure this is a good idea, Mother.” I was really going to have to develop a backbone or start dragging Hudson everywhere with me. It was getting ridiculous.

  “Of course it is. At your age, it’s important to be seen with the right people. I’d be giving you the same advice if you were interested in women, so stop shaking your head. Dr. Richards is exactly the sort of husband you should be looking for. He comes from a good family, and that is very important when you start having children.”

  She’d realized I wasn’t a girl, right?

  “If I have kids, I’ll probably adopt.”

  That was met with a scathing look. “Of course not. There are surrogates for that sort of thing.”

  Fuck.

  I was going to be his stay-at-home little “wife,” just one with a dick. Maybe I should get a T-shirt made that said “I’ve got a dick and like dick, so move on.” Probably not helpful. And it wasn’t like she’d let me wear it, anyway.