Page 54 of Need Him
The area manager’s hand was strong but damp, as it had been every time, but it didn’t stop Ben from offering the greeting.
“Afternoon. How are things?” Anthony settled into the sofa, and Ben grabbed some files from his desk before sitting on the armchair opposite.
“Good, thanks. Everything seems to be continuing in an upward trajectory, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned.”
Anthony nodded. “Yes, I’m pleased with the progress you’ve made. You’ve yet to have a dip in your sales numbers in all the time you’ve been here. It’s impressive, to say the least.”
Ben breathed easily, confident that he had the plans to keep that progress. “Thank you.” He passed over a file, wincing when the cage pinched. “Here are the latest reports and also my plans for the last quarter of the year.”
He discreetly checked his phone while Anthony looked over the paperwork, but still no messages. Relaxing against the chair back, a calmness came over him. He knew how to run this business, and he was damn good at it, but did he want to do it forever? It was something he would need to discuss with Gareth, although the ultimate decision would be his. There was a lightness in his body that he could only believe was because he had the confidence of a man he loved.
Ben froze. How had he fallen in love in the space of what, three weeks? How could he not, though? Gareth was an amazing man, an amazing Daddy, and Ben couldn’t have wished for a better person who wanted to be with him as well.
When Anthony began talking, Ben had to work hard to get himself into the conversation and not get distracted by the revelation. The cage was not helping him focus, but he managed. Two hours later, he saw Anthony out and dropped back into the chair behind his desk, staring at the ceiling. He knew he had to write up what they’d discussed and transfer it to the team leaders later that afternoon, but he’d run out of energy already. Checking his phone still showed no message from Gareth, and Ben completely admitted to pouting.
He sat upright when he remembered Gareth should’ve posted on the blog that weekend. Ben hadn’t read it yet. Typing in the blog address, he found his way to the latest article.
What do you do as a Middle? by DaddyG
Following on from my last post about Age Play, I decided to go a little deeper into the potential options for each of the different ages. I would’ve usually started at the Little, but—guess what, readers? I’m in a new relationship!—I thought I would start with what I’m currently experiencing myself.
Ben couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face. Gareth had told everyone about him! He hadn’t expected that. For some reason, it made everything seem more real. He read the rest of the post, taking on board the comments his Daddy had made about being a Middle. For once, Ben was honest with himself and could see a lot of himself in what Gareth had described. He chuckled when he read some of the comments.
“I’m so pleased you’ve met your boy. You deserve it after all this time. I wish I could find my boy. Everyone around me seems to be able to find their forever except for me. Keep your fingers crossed, eh?” D-Mad79.
“You’re basically giving me ideas on how to piss off my Daddy. I love it!” 1Cyclops1.
“Can you tell me how to find a Daddy? I have never been to a club or anything, and I don’t know anyone who would come with me. I don’t want to go to one by myself.” Oh2Bs3xy.
Ben felt for the last guy, especially when his username was “Oh to be sexy.” He’d have to mention it to Gareth and see if there was anything they could do about him. Depending on where he lived, maybe they could go with him. It would be awful to have to attend by yourself when he didn’t know anyone.
He distracted himself by completing the paperwork he needed for the meeting, but his groin tingled with a quiet thrill of knowing what he wore and for who.
“Sir? Ben? It’s time for your meeting,” Lindsay said, popping her head into his office.
Ben rubbed his forehead. “Where did the time go? Okay. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Several minutes later, he entered the meeting room to see the group of fifteen team leaders. “Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for coming. Do you have your drinks and snacks ready? If we can, I’d like to get this done within an hour,” Ben said as he sat at the end of the long table, eyeing the other occupants.
Fifteen pairs of eyes stared back at him, several with mouths open, until Felix piped up, “I’m all set. Everyone else?”
Ben’s confidence didn’t waver, and he was determined to take Lindsay’s suggestion on board and not apologise, just change the way he behaved from that point forward. “If we’re all ready, let’s go through last month’s minutes to make sure we did everything that could be done.”
Lindsay read off the action points from the previous meeting, and Ben was pleased to find that most of them had been completed. They went through the incomplete ones and added them to this month’s actions.
“Now, onto this month. I met with the area manager today, and he had several areas he wanted us to focus on this month.” He pulled out his papers and ran through the items Anthony had brought up with him. They discussed the possibilities, and Ben allowed everyone their opinions, taking on board what each person said. As far as meetings went, it was better than the previous ones.
“Mr Mycroft, can I ask a question?”
Ben lifted his head and glanced at one of the checkout team leaders. “Of course. What’s up?”
The man leaned forward on his forearms, linking his fingers. “What’s different? You’re not the same person who was here last time.”
Ben smiled, resting his pen on his files and leaning back in his chair. “I’ve recently had it brought to my attention that I could be a little more lenient with certain things. I’m trying it out for size.”
“Are you going soft on us? Because from what I see, you don’t seem to want to push us as much as you did before. I’m concerned it will make us less likely to follow your instructions.”
Ben narrowed his eyes at the man. “If anyone doesn’t follow the instructions, I’ll deal with it. Nothing has changed. We still have the success of the company in mind, and I assure you that will not change. If anyone doesn’t like that, it’s something that needs to be discussed between myself and that person.”
