Page 4 of Need Him
His parents were over the moon, and although Ben had wanted the job, he wasn’t as happy as they were. They threw it in everyone’s faces whenever they could and made sure he was front and centre at their events, much to his consternation. Which was why he never attended unless he received specific instructions to. Unfortunately, it happened more than he wanted.
He loved his job, but something was missing in his life, and he didn’t know what it was. He could do his job with his eyes closed and doubted many people could do it better, but he didn’t do well with changes. When things didn’t go according to plan, it irritated the hell out of him, which was a problem because things often didn’t go his way, despite trying to think of every contingency. Lindsay, his assistant, was invaluable, and he refused to even contemplate her leaving. She was one of the few people who could withstand and break through his moods. If he could do the job without interacting with anyone else, he would.
Climbing out of the car, he locked it and wandered back into the store about six hours after he left it. He strode through the front doors, nodding at the security guard and drifted along the aisles, repeating his route from the night before. A voice stopped him from continuing.
“Mr Mycroft? What brings you back so soon?”
He glanced over his shoulder and got caught in the golden eyes of the new employee. What was his name again? “Good morning, Gareth. Someone has to keep this place running like clockwork.”
“Don’t you have underlings who can take over from you for more than a few hours? You look like you’ve barely slept.”
Ben wrinkled his nose, wondering why Gareth was debating his sleeping habits, and glared down at him when he regained his brain function and realised the man had no right to question where he went and when. He might have sneered a little.
“I don’t think that’s any concern of yours, is it, Gareth?”
Gareth shrugged, those muscular arms holding onto a box as his body moved beneath the standard navy blue uniform every employee wore. “I was just trying to show some concern, but message received and understood.”
He scooted around Ben and over to the cage, piling the box on top of the others. Pulling out another one, he retraced his steps, and Ben watched as he crouched, opened the box and began stacking the shelves with the bottles. Ben twitched his nose, trying to understand why his palms were clammy and his heart raced. There was something about that guy. He needed to keep an eye on him.
Ben shook his head and continued his routine, then went to find Felix.
“Good morning, Felix. How have things been?”
Felix was a stout older man whose ruddy complexion made him look three sheets to the wind. Ben knew he didn’t drink on the job, but he’d been concerned when Felix had first started. The man had proven himself several times over, though. Another positive was that Felix had no complaints about working a continual night shift. His wife had passed five years previously, and they’d had no kids. Felix had told him many times that getting himself out of the house almost every day was a good thing. Gave him something to live for. Ben could’ve thought of better things to get up for every day, but each to their own.
“Same old, same old. Nothing to report. Shelves are being filled as they should be, and the bakery staff has already arrived and is working on getting the first loaves and cakes out of the oven within half an hour. All usual.”
Ben clapped him on the shoulder. “I didn’t believe you’d have it any other way. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
“Sure thing.”
Ben aimed for the back of the building, pushing through the double doors to the employee area, and turned right, jogging up the stairs. Lindsay wouldn’t be in for another hour, so he could check over his work from the previous evening and make sure it was all ready for her to distribute to the relevant people.
When he sat behind his desk and fired up his computer, he stared at the image that appeared. It was of a stone bridge over water, and the photographer had stood in a place where the edge of the bridge had met the water and created a perfect circle. Didn’t that hit close to home? He was going round in circles. Working, sleeping, eating occasionally and drinking his weight in strawberry milkshakes, though he hid that weakness from everyone. As far as Lindsay knew, he consumed coffee, which he did a little, but not as much as the milkshake. There was a reason he had a lock on the lower drawer of his desk. No one would ever know about his drinking habit.
He stared at the picture a moment longer and clicked to log in. By the time Lindsay had arrived, Ben had a pile of documents waiting for her, and he had already polished off one glass of milkshake.
“Would you like anything from the bakery, Ben?” Lindsay asked as she stood in his doorway after their morning meeting.
“No, I’m fine, thanks.”
“That’s what they all say.” Lindsay smirked.
As she walked away, he called her back. “I want someone to monitor the new employee, Gareth.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Just a feeling.”
“Okay. I’ll mention it to the team leaders.”
Ben nodded and focused on his computer. He had work to do. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as enthusiastic as he should be because his mind couldn’t let go of the image of the flash that went across the golden eyes when Ben had shut down his concern. He shouldn’t be worrying about upsetting employees when they cross boundaries they shouldn’t have.
For some reason, he hated that look in the man’s eyes.
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Chapter 3
