Page 42 of Takeover
He snorted. “Not very starlike. But I’m doing well.”
“I’ll say. I was at your keynote. Same old passionate Randy, making waves.”
Waves? Maybe. He brushed the words away. “What about you? Last I’d heard, you were off getting a PhD. Is it Dr. Bachman these days?”
“That was years ago. But yes.” She studied the front of the room. “I hear you’re bringing Four Rivers to us.”
Us?“You’re with Sundra?” He hadn’t known.
“Director of Quality Assurance.”
Sam shifted in his seat and warmth touched his cheeks. He should have been aware of that. And Greta… she knew a whole host of his secrets. Thankfully, most were inconsequential—stupid college stuff. But he’d been vibrantly out as an undergrad. “You’re here to watch Michael.”
“I’ve heard he’s level-headed, smart, and passionate. Plus he knows his shit.” She crossed her legs. “Kind of like you.”
Time might not have passed at all. All the old rhythms were so easy to resume. “I’m not level-headed.”
She chuckled and dropped her voice to a discrete level. “That’s what all your boyfriends said.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or wince, and ended up coughing. “Shit, I didn’t know any of them talked to you.”
“All the damn time.” Her smile was infectious. “Is it still Randy? I see you’re S. Randell on the schedule.”
“I still answer to anything.” He paused. “But it’s Sam lately. At Four Rivers, it’s Sam.”
“Sam.” She nodded up to the front of the room. “And your test guy? What’s he like, really?”
Perfect. Hot. Demanding in every right way.Sam folded his arms and eyed Michael. “Passionate, as you said. An expert. He’s what makes the whole damn thing work.”
“The router?”
“The company. He’s been there since day one.” Sam felt Greta’s attention shift and looked over to meet her stare. “He can be an ass, but can’t we all? He’s good, G. You’ll like him.”
She studied Michael again. “That’s what I’m here to find out.”
They settled in to watch the presentation. He and Michael had spent the last day in the office going over the slides. Michael had insisted they strip out anything remotely marketing-esque. Sam balked, but in the end, if this were to be Michael’s talk, it had to contain what he wanted, not what Sam thought sounded good.
The resulting presentation—lecture, in reality—was deeply technical. Within the first ten minutes, all the marketing folks slinked out of the room, but Greta leaned forward. She kept nodding her head as Michael talked.
Good.A flood of calm eased Sam’s muscles. Greta would be an excellent ally for Michael, and like-minded when it came to technology. Sam suspected they also had similar thoughts on how to run a team, if his memory of her organizing labs was anything to go by.
Michael would be in fine hands and have a fantastic advocate within Sundra, which is just what he needed. He would be safe and have the room he needed to grow into the leader he could be—that he was—and given a title to match.
Sam’s serenity shattered. He was saying good-bye. To the job. To Michael. Handing him over to Sundra. The realization punched him in the stomach. He nearly bent over and did suck in a bit of air. Not yet. He didn’t want to leave Michael yet.
He couldn’t stay. That was the nature of what he did. He never stayed. Never made attachments to a place. A company. A man.
Staying would mean… quitting. Failing. Leaving his career behind. He might as well come out at that point, the result would be the same. Would that be so bad, though? Sam shivered. For him? Maybe, maybe not. He doubted anyone would take a swipe at him now. And he was so screwed in the head lately, he wasn’t sure he cared.
But for Michael? It might be disastrous. Sleeping with the boss? No one would respect Michael, whether they cared about his sexuality or not.
Michael moved in front of the slide about one of the draft protocols and explained why one implementation was preferable to another. Hands went up—questions. Answers. Small arguments. Michael handled it beautifully. Every so often, his jacket opened to reveal the long black braces Sam wanted to grasp and use to pull their bodies together. A flash of silver glinted at Michael’s wrist when he gestured at a slide.
An exceptional man.
Sam had been lucky their paths had crossed, but if he lingered, if he continued to twist his own rules, he’d break to pieces what they were trying to build at Four Rivers.
Employees shouldn’t get fucked by their CEOs. And that’s what everyone would see if he stayed, even if the reality were the opposite.
