Page 4 of Havoc and Humor
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
I stormed through the apartment, went into the bedroom, and slammed the door. Grabbing a bag, I began stuffing it with my clothes.
“For fuck’s sake,” I grumbled as I packed. “Of all the things…”
After a few moments, the door pushed open and Jeremiah leaned on the doorframe. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I really didn’t expect you to be home.”
“Sorry that it happened? Or sorry I caught you?”
“Come on, Sawyer.We weren’t going to work out anyway.”
“No, we weren’t. In fact, I planned on breaking up with you tonight. I thought we could have an amicable discussion. We would shed some tears, but we’d be adults about it. I could figure out how I was going to move out or whatever. I did not go pick up a rando, bring him back here, and fuck him on our couch.”
“That’s not exactly what happened. And you were supposed to be working late.”
“Where did you get the idea I was going to be working late?” I scoffed. “Actually, that’s irrelevant. Cheating is never okay, Jeremiah.This is bullshit.”
“Oh, like you’re not cheating on me with your boss?” He crossed his arms over his chest that he hadn’t bothered to cover with a shirt. At least he’d put pants on.
I rolled my eyes. “There is nothing going on with Mark.”
“Maybe not physically yet, but emotional cheating is way worse. You have feelings for him.”
I couldn’t deny I had feelings for Mark.Complicated ones. Whether that was “way worse” than actual cheating, I wasn’t going to entertain that argument.
“I’m leaving, Jeremiah.I’ll be back for the rest of my things some other time. In the meantime?” I grabbed my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and stepped past him. “Fuck off.”
Chapter 3
Mark
Being that it was Friday, the office cleared out pretty quickly after five. Soon, it was just me alone in my office. One by one, the motion-activated lights in the office clicked off. Eventually, I just sat there, my office illuminated only by the glow of my laptop and the click of my keyboard the only noise besides the hum of the fluorescent lights.
I liked the work. It kept me busy and kept me from thinking about what Sawyer was doing. He hadn’t mentioned anythingabout hanging out with Evan and Gregory, and it wasn’t karaoke Friday. That didn’t mean they weren’t going to the bar, though.
Whatever he was doing, Jeremiah would be with him. The two of them had been together for a while now. They lived together. It was clearly a serious relationship. Sawyer didn’t talk much about it, but I was his boss, so why would he talk about his boyfriend with me?
I shook those thoughts away. I should not have been preoccupied with thoughts of my employee. This obsession I had with him was out of control. Not only was he my employee, but he had a serious boyfriend. I was not a cheater, nor was Sawyer. I wouldn’t put it past that prick Jeremiah, though. The few times I’d met him, he’d left a bad impression. Sawyer deserved better.
Even if I resolved the work problem, there was still the boyfriend that stood in the way.
I had a thought on how I could resolve the work problem. But was I really ready for that? A new role sounded amazing. I was more than ready for a new challenge. But if I moved to a different division, I would never get to see Sawyer. Without working together, we would have no reason to interact, and I wasn’t ready for that. Of course, if we didn’t work together, I could ask him out… except he still had a boyfriend. Even if that boyfriend was a douchebag, I still had to respect their relationship.
I leaned back in my chair, letting those thoughts run through my mind. Clearly, I wasn’t going to get any work done right now. There was no reason for me to work late on this report anyway.It was practically done, and we’d been granted an extension, so it wasn’t even due on Monday.
Lights clicking on in the open area startled me. It was a little early in the evening for the janitor to be coming by. Then Sawyer came into view. He pushed open my office door. The light clicked on because of the movement. He stopped suddenly when he saw me.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d still be here,” he said.
“I live here? I mean, not here. I live— Never mind where I live. What are you doing here?”
Sawyer still wore the suit he’d worn today, but the tie was undone and the shirt untucked. He had with him his regular work bag, but also a duffel that was barely zipped up. It looked to be filled with clothes haphazardly thrown inside.
His face was red and blotchy, like he’d either walked here quickly or he’d been crying.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
He tossed his bag down onto the couch, then flopped next to it.
