Dire Consequences

A/N: Sorry it took a long time to update this story. I had been working on my RPFs. This was not beta'ed so do expect some mistakes on grammar and spelling. If anyone would notice the sudden changes in ambiance on this part, this was because I wrote this along with an RPF that required a gloomy atmposhere.


Thanks to those who had left wonderful reviews! vicxn, kylee, Lisa, Sloth, Anise and Erica. I'm still trying to get used to responding to comments. I haven't gotten the hang of using AFF yet. But to answer erica's question, yes, I'm still working on this story, my dear.

---

Chapter 2


~ start ~


Mondays could totally be hellish and this one in particular was such a freaking nightmare.

“You want me to do WHAT?” Brent hadn’t meant to yell. Honestly. But… But surely he hadn’t heard it right. His boss must be having swine-flu-induced hallucinations. Either that or he was under the influence of drugs.

“I’m asking you to turn Sector One over to Josh,” his cool, calm and collected boss, Dwight Achenmyer, syllabified as if Brent was an imbecile who could not understand those simple words. Worse was, Dwight made it sound so simple, like he was asking Brent to hand him a pen or whatever. But the weight of it was like a punch in the gut. And Brent could feel the waves of anger rising from deep within him.

Fuck you, he wanted to say. But of course, he couldn’t.

Sector one was his key project. His baby. His whole life. The latter might be an overstatement. But the point was he had made so many sacrifices for this sector just to get the top projects in. The company would not have survived without it.

Nonetheless, he could only grumble while he listened to a bunch of crap coming from the Regional Vice-President’s mouth. He knew there was no way to interrupt Dwight once he’d started talking. Brent did try to open his mouth more than once but had barely been able to utter a word.

Whatever Dwight had been saying no longer registered in Brent’s numbing brain. So he wasn’t sure what it was that he responded to with, “Yah, sure. No problem.”

“Good,” Dwight said in a condescending manner. “Then I expect the transition would go smoothly. You need to stick with Josh like glue and teach him the ropes for at least a couple of weeks.”

Brent groaned inwardly. He so did not suggest that I’d stick with Josh like glue.

“Is there a problem Ambreigh?” Brent shook his head, wondering if Dwight could sense his apprehension. Maybe he was being too transparent.

When his boss gave him a don’t-fuck-with-me look, he found the need to utter, “Everything’s fine, Dwight,” even though he was half tempted to say, yes, there is a problem. Because you see, I slept with Josh and I don’t think I could ever face him again? But Brent just swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’ll start teaching Josh what he needs to know.” And for some fucking reason, a naked image of Josh flashed in his mind, all sprawled in bed, wanton and—

Brent shook the inappropriate thoughts off of his head.

“Very well then,” Dwight said conclusively, though the look on his face clearly suggested he didn’t buy a single fuck of what Brent had said. But Brent was grateful that he decided to dismiss the issue as Dwight gestured in his usual way to let him know that the meeting had been adjourned.

He barely had turned around when Dwight suddenly blurted, “Oh by the way, you can start moving your stuffs to your new office.”

“New office?” Did he miss a memo or something?

“Of course.” Dwight made a face that seemed to suggest how idiotic his reaction was. “I suppose you would want to get settled in the corner office at the west wing so Josh can move in to your current one.”

“Corner office?” He needed someone to pinch him because this really might be a nightmare. Or he must have been sucked into oblivion, although oblivion would be a milder metaphoric term at this point. “The Director’s office?” The fucking Software Development and Programming Director’s office, more specifically.

Dwight simply stared at Brent like he had just spouted a new pair of arms. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked. Brent was not able to respond immediately but when he was about to speak, his boss was already saying, “Or is it safe for me to assume that you’re still too shocked to hear about your promotion?”

Now he really needed someone to pinch him. Though a slap might do a better job to snap him out of this crazy woolgathering. He should’ve listened intently to Dwight earlier. Stupid, stupid, stupid. But he was too upset about letting Sector One go that he sort of spaced out. Plus the thought of Josh finally getting what he wanted drilled a hole on his brain.

But this? This was definitely something to lift his spirits up. This meant he’d still be able to work closely with the Software Development and Programming team. This meant he would not only be handling Sector One but the other groups of projects as well. This meant he would be rubbing elbows more often with Aaron and Mayden and –

“You wanted to see me Dwight?” Josh.

Dwight gestured for Josh to come in while he nodded at Brent, saying, “Let me know if you need anything,” which Brent knew was his mild way of saying ‘get the fuck out of here’.

He turned to leave, wanting to avoid having eye contact or any means of contact with Josh. But for some freaking reason, he couldn’t help but glance at his direction. And of course, due to some damn luck, Josh did the same and their eyes sort of locked, fucking locked, for a moment and he could feel some thing electrifying course through his body.

Then Josh looked away. And Brent was stung.

The fuck.


*****


It was almost noon when Brent had partially settled into his new office. He stood in the middle of the earth-colored carpet-covered floor, thank God they changed it from that hideous purple ones that the former Director had, and watched the last few people who had helped him leave the room one at a time.

“Lunch?” Aaron came in just as he was about to go around his desk and his friend gazed around, mocking, “I see you’re not too excited to move in here.” He could tell Aaron was noting the empty walls and barely occupied shelves on one side of the room.

“I only had a few hours to get some of the stuffs in here, Aaron. So give me a break,” Brent ground out. He pushed his laptop close, grabbed his jacket and picked up his keys. “At Phil’s?”

Aaron nodded and Brent followed him, locking up the door behind him. One of the perks he’d certainly enjoy was he no longer had to follow that stupid ‘open-door policy’ since he would be dealing with a lot of confidential stuffs that had to be kept away from curious hands.

They met Mayden and Leera from Human Resources at Phil’s. It wasn’t a classy or a fancy restaurant where you’d expect people in managerial positions to dine in. It was a simple diner but it did serve decent food that they didn’t mind being there regularly. The diner was right across the street from their building. It could get too crowded during lunch but thankfully there were lots of dining establishments around the area for people to scamper.

“So what’s with the turtleneck?” Mayden asked as Brent slipped into the booth next to her.

Shit. Busted.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you that since this morning,” Aaron said, taking the empty spot across him. He felt the urge to wipe the silly smirk off of his friend’s face… Literally. But he clenched his hands on the table instead and gritted his teeth while Aaron continued to babble. “It’s not that cold, considering it’s the middle of spring and not to mention the fact that we’re in the sunny state of fucking Florida.”

“I wasn’t feeling well this morning,” Brent lied, naturally, and made a faux cough to add effect. He wasn’t about to tell them that he was hiding around half a dozen hickeys on his neck and his collarbone. Damn that Josh, he could very well be a vampire in disguise or something. He was lucky enough Rielle did not insist on seeing him that morning. Fuck, that would’ve taken one hell of explaining.

“Really?” The alarm in his head went off the moment Mayden raised her eyebrow. She made him feel like he was on a fucking hot seat in the middle of a gossip talk show. Good thing the waitress came with the menu and he hoped the interruption would make everyone forget about his turtleneck dilemma. But Mayden shifted her focus back to him after she had placed her order. “So Josh must have gotten what you have or vice-versa.”

Now, what the fuck? “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Because Brent didn’t, to be honest. He knew Mayden was hell-bent when it came to teasing him about Josh even before the lake resort incident.

The mischievous glimmer that crossed Mayden’s eyes gave Brent chills and all he could think of was running back to his office and locking himself up for the rest of the day. “Well,” she started, dragging the word out in a tuneful way. “I’m guessing Josh might have the same reason for wearing turtleneck today.”

He followed Mayden’s gaze and his heart took a leap of death when he saw Josh sitting on a table not far from where they were and fuck, why didn’t he notice Josh’s outfit earlier? Oh. Of course. How would he notice? He had been trying to avoid the other man like a plague.

Josh was with a guy who he couldn’t identify. Not with the view of the back of his head. He hoped it was the man facing him instead of Josh. God. Why was he worried about Josh seeing him there anyway? It was a public dining place, after all. And why the fuck was that guy touching Josh’s hand? Why the fuck do I care?

It wasn’t until he felt a sharp stinging pain under his rib cage that he tore his eyes away from Josh and his companion. There was no mistaking that it was Mayden who jabbed him and the silly grin plastered on her face was a dead give-away. “Quit staring,” she said and— Wait, what? I was staring?

“I wasn’t staring,” was Brent’s defense and Aaron huffed.

“Yeah right.”

Brent lost his appetite.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Brent discovering a new hobby— stalking Josh Jethrid.

This was Mayden’s fault. It was the most sensible excuse. She had to point out Josh’s outfit, which led Brent to wonder if Josh still had the marks. And this made him imagine Josh taking his shirt off to show him where he had left love bites on his shapely, well-built body. And— what the fuck am I thinking?

It must’ve looked totally bizarre for his people… former people… to see him standing there and staring into space. No wait, he was in fact staring at Josh, who was talking to one of the project leaders at Sector One. And Brent looked like a freaking prowler, hanging around with no business, whatsoever, with this growing bulge taking shape in front of his pants. Oh my fucking nuclear holocaust!

He was doomed. Totally.

“You know,” a voice startled him out of his stupor. He didn’t notice Bridget standing beside him. “It wouldn’t hurt to talk to him.”

“Huh?”

“Josh.” She jerked her head to point at where Josh was. “I thought you were supposed to turn over your responsibilities. How come you’ve left him high and dry?”

“I did what?” Really. Brent’s mind might’ve been sucked into the twilight zone. It must be the new room. People did say that the corner office was haunted.

Josh’s secretary blew out an air of frustration. “Forget it. Are those for Josh?” she asked, pointing at a paper-filled envelope in Brent’s hand before settling on her swivel chair.

“Oh yeah.” Now Brent remembered his purpose for being there. “These are copies of the documents for the Carter Group project.” He partially slipped the documents out of the envelope. “Remind him that the deadline is at the end of the week, so he might need this.”

“Sure thing.” Bridget took the documents and placed it right in front of her.

Brent meant to turn and leave but the sound of Josh’s laughter anchored him on the spot. His eyes seemed to have been magnetized because he was gazing at Josh’s direction once more. Not even someone’s throat clearing was enough to pull him out of his reverie.

Then Josh turned his way.

And for some fuckable reason he quickly ducked behind Bridget’s desk. And the poor girl, who seemed to be watching Josh turned to the empty space where Brent was standing with a where-the-hell-did-he-go expression.

It was an ultimately silly move but Brent couldn’t risk letting Josh know he’d been there for some time so he crawled away from Bridget’s desk. And there he was on all fours when a voice spoke, “What the hell are you doing on the floor Brent?”

Dammit.

“Uhm…” Excuses, excuses. He’d been rather good at coming up with excuses the whole day. “I was, uhm… I was looking for my contacts,” he blurted, twitching an eye as he looked up at Mayden.

“Since when did you use contacts?” Another voice ensued behind him. “Last time we had our annual check up, which was,” Aaron tapped a finger on his chin, “a couple of weeks ago, doctor said you still had perfect vision.”

“Brent?” Oh great. Call everyone on the work floor and ask them to join the humiliate-Brent-party. “Are you alright?” Josh asked, and was that a hint of concern in his voice?

Get up dufus, the voice inside his head berated.

“Yeah.” Brent sprang up to his feet and brushed his hands together. “I thought uhm… I thought I dropped my pen.” He snatched the sign pen that was clipped on his jacket’s pocket and held it up. “But here it is.”

“I thought you said you were looking for your con—“ Brent’s hand flew over Mayden’s mouth.

“Con…tract signing pen.” He fixed Mayden with a shush-your-mouth warning look. “Anyway,” he said, turning back to Josh. “What time can we start discussing about some of the duties and responsibilities that you will need to take over?”

Josh nibbled on his lower lip before responding, “Can we do it after five? That is if you don’t plan to leave early. I uhm…” One corner of his lip twitched, dimpling his cheek for a moment. “There are a lot of things I need to get done by the end of the day, if you don’t mind.”

“No. Of course not. Mind that is.” Brent could feel his face heating up. Damn it, don’t let me blush. Please. There’s a God in heaven. Don’t let me blush. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

A nod was all Josh gave before he rushed to another team of programmers who were calling out for him.

There were hushed remarks and giggling as Brent spun around to return to his office.

“Dork.”

“Wimp.”

“Sissy.”

“Love-struck puppy.”

This was going to be a long week.


*****


The soft fingertips glided across his skin, its touch sultry and arousing. It left a burning trail, setting his whole body on fire. Slender fingers slid down his inner thighs, and with considerate eagerness, pushed it apart. Light brown hair appeared between his legs. Golden brown eyes stripped him bare with an immense hunger. Plump, luscious-looking lips puffing out hot air against his erection. Warm, wet hollow engulfed his cock, a mass of muscular flesh swirling around the head, then his shaft was sucked further into the starving mouth.

The sensation sent shivers that crawled throughout the surface of his body, making his cock harden more and twitch in anticipation. Firm tip of tongue pressed and flicked along the slit of his cock’s head and he couldn’t help but gulp for air. Pressure building up within him like static surging to his core, descending down his belly, tightening like a geyser ready to explode. Then he started trembling, feeling his manhood’s desperate need for release.

“Brent?”

There was a strong grip on his forearm, shaking him with vigor.

“Wh-whut?” Brent bolted upright, and blinked until he had gotten rid of the blur.

“You were having a dream,” a raspy voice said. “I heard you groaning and whimpering.”

When Brent’s eyes could finally focus, he saw Josh by his side, bent over while peering at his face. There wasn’t any vestige of a long day’s stress lining his face. He still looked fresh and handsome. Handsome?

Crap. Something was definitely wrong with him. He never regarded another man’s appearance as he had been regarding Josh all day.

“Brent?”

“Yeah.” What the fuck was it Josh was asking? Oh. “I’m fine. I was having a dream, alright.”

“Uhm…” The tip of Josh’s tongue peeked through his lips, sweeping across the carmine surface. “Maybe you need to go to the bathroom first.”

There was a distinctive change in Josh. His eyes seemed to have grown darker. Or perhaps it was an aftermath of Brent’s dream and he was just imagining it. “No, I’m okay.” Then Josh’s words bounced back to him. “Uhh… Why would I need to go to the bathroom?”

The smile that graced the other man’s lips was almost shy. Timid. “To ah… to take care of your problem.”

“What problem?” If Josh was throwing a hint, then it was unfortunate that half of Brent’s brain was still stuck in snooze land. “I don’t have a problem.”

The curve on Josh’s lips grew bigger before he caught his lower lip between his teeth, his cheeks becoming a shade of poinsettia in December while his finger warily pointed down Brent’s body.

Brent, still somewhere between being disoriented and nearly alert, impulsively gazed down. OH. MY. FUCK! He made a bee line to his private washroom while attempting to cup the bulge in his pants the size of Texas.

With careless movement, “Ow fuck!” he managed to free his erection. His cock was all red and swollen, every vein throbbing, yearning for a sensuous touch. He wrapped his thick fingers around it and started stroking it slowly at first. He was about to pick up pace when—

“Brent?” Josh always had perfect timing. “You need help in there?”

Don’t tempt me, Brent wanted to say. “Go away Josh!”

He could hear the other man sniggering at the other side of the door.

Focus. He needed to focus. His eyes slid close and he imagined his girlfriend, Rielle, all naked and willing, lying on his office couch, with her breast full and nipples pink. Crimson painted nails tracing the delicious curves of her body.

Brent pumped on his cock harder and faster, blood pooling at his groin area. Almost. Almost there. The image of his girl, shiny dark hair fanning out across the navy blue velvet cushion, was driving him to the brink. Almost there. Then the image of Rielle faded. A new form took her place.

Josh.

It frightened him to realize he wasn’t stopping. Brent continued to give his cock the attention he deserved. Almost there. He imagined Josh’s fingers, warm and soft, wrapping around his member, could feel his tongue running along the veins, its tip pressing on the sensitive line harder. There.

Specks of white flashed before him, his body quivered while he continued to spurt his seed all over the tiled floor. He sank on top of the toilet’s cover and stayed there until his legs could move again.

Josh was comfortably sitting on the couch in his office when he returned. The curved lips that seemed to have been permanently etched on the younger man’s face were contagious. Brent expected to feel embarrassed the moment he had to face him. But instead, he felt his lips stretching upward. Contagious indeed.

“Wipe that smirk off of your face or I will,” Brent warned Josh as he dropped on the spot beside him. But he knew Josh would know he was only teasing.

The pink glistening tongue darted out, gliding across Josh’s lips before he said, “I hope you’ll do it with your cock,” as sultry as possible.

Laughter rumbled out from Brent’s chest and burst out through his throat. Josh joined in. Their expressed mirth helped chase down the awkwardness that threatened to form a barrier between them.

“Enough, you’re distracting me.” Brent playfully threw a small pillow over to Josh. “We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

“Okay, okay.” It was apparent that Josh was having difficulty speaking. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, still snickering. “ Let’s get started.”

Time passed without them noticing. They were too immersed on their jobs that they completely lost track. “Are my eyes deceiving me? Or is it past nine o’ clock already?” Brent was staring at his watch with wide eyes.

This made Josh check his own watch. “Are you supposed to meet your girlfriend or something?”

“Nah. She called earlier, said she had to meet some college friends for dinner.” Brent stretched his neck to loosen some strained muscles. “And her name’s Rielle,” he said matter-of-factly

“It’s kinda hard to keep up with the names since you change girlfriends… how many times in a year?”

“Like you do with boyfriends.” Brent playfully nudged at the other man’s arm.

Josh stretched his legs, rubbing on his calves to ease the nerves. “I guess I better head home.”

“Me too. You do have a ride, don’t you?”

Josh had gotten up and was stretching his back. “Actually my car’s at the shop. Needs some paint job. So I’m taking a cab home.”

“Are you serious? I’ll just drive you.” Brent didn’t give it much thought. He just rounded his table and turned his computer off then grabbed his keys and led Josh out.

They were driving along the city, Josh giving directions to where he lived, when Brent caught sight of a familiar figure.

“What the—“ He eased the car near the sidewalk so he could get a better look.

“Isn’t that—“

Josh was cut off by a loud curse from Brent. It was Rielle indeed, hanging by a man who looked taller than Brent, with shaggy blonde hair.

Brent felt like his eyes were on fire as he continued to chant, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“Maybe it’s her cousin? Or a friend?” was Josh’s attempt to console Brent. But his words proved pointless when they saw the man bent down and swoop Rielle up, crashing his lips into hers. “Okay. So maybe he’s that friendly?”

The car swerved away from the scene. “Where to?” Brent was gritting his teeth. Perhaps this was karma. So he shouldn’t be too pissed, right?

“Oh no, Brent. You’re driving us to your place and I can take a cab from there.”

This was the last thing he wanted right now – Josh adding fuel to the fire. “You said we’re almost at your fucking compound, why do we have to fucking drive back all the way to my fucking house?”

“Because,” Josh started resolutely, “I cannot let you drive back to your place alone in that temper.”

“I don’t have a fucking temper!” Brent’s raised voice must’ve reached the next city. Nothing else was said. The only sound that broke through the tension was the humming of the car’s engine and their breathing. “Fine.” Brent finally said then turned to a road that followed the route toward his house.

They drove through an area lined with bars and night clubs. Brent scanned the brightly lit buildings and an urge to drown his sorrows in alcohol nudged at his psyche. “Maybe you can take a cab from here,” he told Josh while easing the car to a parking space. “I think I’ll hang around here for a while.”

Josh raised his brow. “You honestly think I’m gonna leave you here to… well, possible get drunk and then drive later?”

“You’re welcome to join me.” Brent braved looking over at Josh, whose features were unmarred despite of the neon lights casting murky shadows on his face. His jaw were lax, his eyes steely.

“Fine. But I’m not drinking.” Josh didn’t move. He just sat there and watched Brent, as if he was expecting him to start throwing things.

No one made a move to get out of the car. They just sat there, Brent now looking ahead. He could see through his periphery that Josh was still eyeing him. He took a deep breath and loosened his grip on the steering wheel.

“This isn’t a good idea, is it?” Brent realized the absurdity he’d put himself through. He should just talk to Rielle and get it over with. Why should he punish himself?

“If you’re asking for my opinion, yes it is.” A group of men stumbled out of the bar, laughing hysterically. This was a welcome distraction that stole Josh’s attention for a while.

“Let’s get you home.” The vehicle’s engine roared back to life.

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll be fine.” Brent reached out for Josh’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

Apparently, the younger man wasn’t about to be shunned away that easy. He shook his head. “Sorry Brent. Call me stubborn. But we’re driving to your place, then I’ll call a cab.”

With a defeated sigh, Brent said, “Alright.” He released the hand break and brought the vehicle back on the road. “You win.”

It didn’t take long for them to reach his house. But they did spend a good five minutes arguing in the car when Josh insisted that he would just call a cab from his cell phone and stay outside. Brent wouldn’t have it though. So he dragged the other man inside.

“Coffee?” Brent offered. “I’ll fix us a pot.” And Josh nodded in response before placing a call to the taxi company.

“Why don’t you just stay overnight?” It was an innocent offer. Nothing more than an act of hospitality that Brent was inclined to show.

But of course, “Ah…Sorry, I don’t bed on the first date,” Josh had to quip.

“Haha. You’re too funny,” was Brent’s return. “You sure you don’t want me to drive you home?”

“Are you sure you’re way past wanting to strangle your girlfriend?” The glimmer on Josh’s golden brown orbs clearly showed he was teasing.

“I suppose ‘ex’ is an appropriate prefix now.” There was no denying it. His tone was still laced with venom and there was no doubt that Josh had noticed it.

A vehicle later pulled up at the end of his driveway, the sound of its horn reverberated around the property.

“I guess that’s my cue to leave.” Josh ambled over to the entryway. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

The younger man had barely made it down the pathway when Brent called out. “Hey Josh.” He turned, tilting his head a bit. “Thanks.”

Josh huffed, “Puh-lease,” and rolled his eyes before making his way toward the waiting cab.

“Good night.” Brent whispered to no one. He watched the cab drive away until it completely disappeared around the curb.

~ tbc ~

---