Which Way the Wind Blows
folder
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
35
Views:
2,082
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
35
Views:
2,082
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
“So you’ll be responsible for the computers in the human resources division,” Warren’s new boss, an amiable looking middle aged man with thinning blonde hair and twinkling grey eyes who told him to call him Jack, said with a smile. “Okay?”
“Sounds good.” He offered a wan smile back at Jack, not wanting to start off on an unsociable foot. “Will my cubicle be on that floor as well?”
“Cubicle?” Jack gave a hearty bark of laughter at that. “You have an office now, son, and you’re going to need it. I have it fully stocked with all the manuals you’ll need to service the programs used. And, yes, it’s located near HR, as you’ll likely be spending most of your time there.”
An office? Warren gave a large, genuine smile at that. Back in Seattle, his cubicle had been buried under all of the books and papers he’d needed to do his job. And this position promised a lot of additional duties. And boy was he looking forward to it! There was nothing like work to energize him. Plus, it had the added benefit of keeping Chris off his mind. On their way up to his new office, Warren idly wondered whether Chris even knew he was gone yet. If he’d had kept his cell number, would Chris have called? Mindy said he would, but Warren just didn’t think he’d be worth that much trouble to the blonde. After Chris realized he was gone and the initial shock wore off, Warren figured he’d just go out and find himself another man to have a fling with. After all, it wasn’t like Chris ever made him feel loved in all of those years.
He shook his head as they alit from the elevator and Jack pointed things out along the way to his new office. It wouldn’t do him any good to waste time worrying about Chris now when he had a new office to acclimate to. And the last thing he wanted to do was make a poor first impression.
---------------------------------
After spending the weekend tracking down the only two friends, a man and a woman he vaguely remembered going to school with, he’d known Warren to have in Seattle after graduation, Chris was in one hell of a foul mood. Neither of the two had liked him much because they felt he had manipulated Warren into breaking plans and with them over the years, as well as keeping certain days open only for him. The male, he’d originally thought his name was Steve but it turned out it was Sam, was particularly unimpressed with his pleas to give him Warren’s new contact information.
“Why do care anyway, Chris?” Sam, a first-year corporate lawyer, had sneered. “It’s not like you made a lot of time for him while he was around. You could go find just about anyone to take his place, can’t you?”
“He’s my boyfriend!”
“If he was, he certainly isn’t anymore,” Sam shrugged his massive shoulders. He was still built like a bar bouncer, but in a designer suit. “In any event, he specifically told me that he was leaving while you were away to avoid any … drama.” He glowered at the blonde. “And I’m fairly sure this is what he meant by that.”
“I have something he left at my place,” Chris tried again.
“Well, give it to me and I’ll ask him how he wants it sent to him.”
“It’s … um … personal.”
“I see,” Sam gave him a skeptical look. “Well, then I guess it wasn’t something he wanted … or he would have remembered it.”
Chris snorted now as he went over that conversation in his head. The guy was a complete ass to him, and he couldn’t believe Warren had remained friends with him. The woman, he sighed to himself, wasn’t any more helpful. Her name was Chloe … something. But he didn’t have to look far for her, as she owned the flower shop on the corner of a main thoroughfare. He always remembered her as being a bit on the stocky side in college. But now that she was out of school, she was just plain and fat to him. Not that she cared about his opinion, though. In fact, her boyfriend once told him that all he was waiting for was Chloe’s okay, and Chris would be nothing more than a fashionable yet sticky bloodstain on the sidewalk. But Chloe said he wasn’t even worth that much effort.
“I’m not telling you anything,” she sniffed as soon as he walked in the door.
“You don’t even know what I want yet!”
“Yes, I do! You want to ruin Warren’s life some more,” she rounded on him.
“Ruin it!” he cried. “We were together for six years! Would he have stayed so long if I truly was ruining his life?”
“He thought you cared about him!”
“I do! I love him!”
“Oh, really? Well you sure played that one close to the vest!” she shot back. “You kept it such a secret he didn’t even know!”
“He does so! I told him all the time!”
She gave him a pitying look then and shook her head. “You never told him.”
“I did!”
“Not even once,” she sighed. “And I know for sure because he told me you didn’t. Now, if he knew it so much, and you told him so often, why did he feel like leaving?”
“I don’t know!” Chris grunted. “It’s what I’m trying to find out! But I never will if no one will tell me where the hell he is!”
“Chris, if you loved him,” and Chloe gave him a pointed stare for emphasis, “I mean really loved him, there wouldn’t have been a Victoria in the first place, and he wouldn’t have wanted to leave.”
“That’s not …”
She put up a chubby hand to forestall him and glared at him icily now. “There aren’t enough flowers in Seattle to fix this fuck up! Get over it and get lost!”
Chris had angrily stalked off after that. They were both wrong, he insisted. Both of them! He did love Warren, he told himself. And he would find him so that he could tell him and clear up the whole misunderstanding.
---------------------------------
Warren brought his fast food lunch bag back to the office to eat it. He still didn’t know anyone besides Jack right now and his new boss was in meetings throughout the rest of the day. Besides, he reasoned, he should really just keep busy familiarizing himself with the systems. They were different than the Seattle office’s and he had a whole department to care for now. He sat down at his desk and unwrapped his Blimpie’s sandwich, taking a huge bite as he opened the file on his desk. He was just swallowing the mouthful when there was a sharp rap on the door.
“Come on in,” he called, wiping his mouth quickly.
The door opened and a guy probably a year or two younger than he was grinned from the doorway. “Warren Gaits?”
“Uh, yeah?” Warren stood uncertainly and waited.
“It’s great to meet you!” the dark haired man stepped in, followed by two more young guys. “My name’s Pete Gianetti.” He held out his hand and Warren shook it hesitantly. “These others are Jake Swenson and Freddy McKenna. We’re your other IT co-workers.”
Each of the other two stepped closer to shake Warren’s hand as Pete moved to the front of the desk. He gave them all a small smile.
“We came to meet you,” Jake, the tallest of the three and the blondest, palest man Warren had ever seen, said. “Since we all work on different floors, it’s the only way to talk.”
“Yeah, I’m always buried in the finance stuff, so I love to get a chance to get out,” Freddy added. He was the shortest, coming up to about Warren’s chin, and he had light brown hair.
“We thought you’d be an older guy,” Pete grinned.
“Really?” Warren asked shyly.
“Yeah, not too many guys our age named Warren,” Jake chuckled.
“My mom loves Warren Beatty,” he shrugged. “She also loved Mork & Mindy, so I guess it could have been worse, huh?”
“Hell, yeah!” Freddy laughed. “Na-noo, na-noo!”
“That’s what I say to my sister all the time.”
“They named the poor thing Mindy?” Jake asked.
“Uh huh.”
They laughed about that and made small talk for a while about the various systems they were working on. It was good to get to know other IT guys, as he was used to being the sole support person in the office. It made for a lonely and stressful job at the Seattle office.
“Hey, what say we go for a drink after work today to celebrate your first day?” Pete asked, clapping Warren on the back.
“Yeah, sure,” he said in an uncharacteristic display of sociability. “Why not?”
“Great!”
When they all left to go back to work he was still smiling. It seemed a bit easier to make friends here than he’d thought it would be, though he wondered how they would take it when they found out he was gay. It wasn’t as if he kept it a secret. Chris did that, and it was the main reason he felt the need to leave the relationship. And he’d been upfront with Jack about it on the phone interview. The older man had said it wasn’t a problem and that the company’s HR department was headed up by a very open-minded director. But he hadn’t thought to mention it to his co-workers.
Oh well, he decided. They’ll find out about it in time. And it wasn’t like he was itching to go looking for a new relationship right now anyway. All he wanted to do was settle into his new job, make some friends and learn to stop thinking about Chris. After that, then he’d figure out what he wanted to do about it.
Chapter 3
“So you’ll be responsible for the computers in the human resources division,” Warren’s new boss, an amiable looking middle aged man with thinning blonde hair and twinkling grey eyes who told him to call him Jack, said with a smile. “Okay?”
“Sounds good.” He offered a wan smile back at Jack, not wanting to start off on an unsociable foot. “Will my cubicle be on that floor as well?”
“Cubicle?” Jack gave a hearty bark of laughter at that. “You have an office now, son, and you’re going to need it. I have it fully stocked with all the manuals you’ll need to service the programs used. And, yes, it’s located near HR, as you’ll likely be spending most of your time there.”
An office? Warren gave a large, genuine smile at that. Back in Seattle, his cubicle had been buried under all of the books and papers he’d needed to do his job. And this position promised a lot of additional duties. And boy was he looking forward to it! There was nothing like work to energize him. Plus, it had the added benefit of keeping Chris off his mind. On their way up to his new office, Warren idly wondered whether Chris even knew he was gone yet. If he’d had kept his cell number, would Chris have called? Mindy said he would, but Warren just didn’t think he’d be worth that much trouble to the blonde. After Chris realized he was gone and the initial shock wore off, Warren figured he’d just go out and find himself another man to have a fling with. After all, it wasn’t like Chris ever made him feel loved in all of those years.
He shook his head as they alit from the elevator and Jack pointed things out along the way to his new office. It wouldn’t do him any good to waste time worrying about Chris now when he had a new office to acclimate to. And the last thing he wanted to do was make a poor first impression.
---------------------------------
After spending the weekend tracking down the only two friends, a man and a woman he vaguely remembered going to school with, he’d known Warren to have in Seattle after graduation, Chris was in one hell of a foul mood. Neither of the two had liked him much because they felt he had manipulated Warren into breaking plans and with them over the years, as well as keeping certain days open only for him. The male, he’d originally thought his name was Steve but it turned out it was Sam, was particularly unimpressed with his pleas to give him Warren’s new contact information.
“Why do care anyway, Chris?” Sam, a first-year corporate lawyer, had sneered. “It’s not like you made a lot of time for him while he was around. You could go find just about anyone to take his place, can’t you?”
“He’s my boyfriend!”
“If he was, he certainly isn’t anymore,” Sam shrugged his massive shoulders. He was still built like a bar bouncer, but in a designer suit. “In any event, he specifically told me that he was leaving while you were away to avoid any … drama.” He glowered at the blonde. “And I’m fairly sure this is what he meant by that.”
“I have something he left at my place,” Chris tried again.
“Well, give it to me and I’ll ask him how he wants it sent to him.”
“It’s … um … personal.”
“I see,” Sam gave him a skeptical look. “Well, then I guess it wasn’t something he wanted … or he would have remembered it.”
Chris snorted now as he went over that conversation in his head. The guy was a complete ass to him, and he couldn’t believe Warren had remained friends with him. The woman, he sighed to himself, wasn’t any more helpful. Her name was Chloe … something. But he didn’t have to look far for her, as she owned the flower shop on the corner of a main thoroughfare. He always remembered her as being a bit on the stocky side in college. But now that she was out of school, she was just plain and fat to him. Not that she cared about his opinion, though. In fact, her boyfriend once told him that all he was waiting for was Chloe’s okay, and Chris would be nothing more than a fashionable yet sticky bloodstain on the sidewalk. But Chloe said he wasn’t even worth that much effort.
“I’m not telling you anything,” she sniffed as soon as he walked in the door.
“You don’t even know what I want yet!”
“Yes, I do! You want to ruin Warren’s life some more,” she rounded on him.
“Ruin it!” he cried. “We were together for six years! Would he have stayed so long if I truly was ruining his life?”
“He thought you cared about him!”
“I do! I love him!”
“Oh, really? Well you sure played that one close to the vest!” she shot back. “You kept it such a secret he didn’t even know!”
“He does so! I told him all the time!”
She gave him a pitying look then and shook her head. “You never told him.”
“I did!”
“Not even once,” she sighed. “And I know for sure because he told me you didn’t. Now, if he knew it so much, and you told him so often, why did he feel like leaving?”
“I don’t know!” Chris grunted. “It’s what I’m trying to find out! But I never will if no one will tell me where the hell he is!”
“Chris, if you loved him,” and Chloe gave him a pointed stare for emphasis, “I mean really loved him, there wouldn’t have been a Victoria in the first place, and he wouldn’t have wanted to leave.”
“That’s not …”
She put up a chubby hand to forestall him and glared at him icily now. “There aren’t enough flowers in Seattle to fix this fuck up! Get over it and get lost!”
Chris had angrily stalked off after that. They were both wrong, he insisted. Both of them! He did love Warren, he told himself. And he would find him so that he could tell him and clear up the whole misunderstanding.
---------------------------------
Warren brought his fast food lunch bag back to the office to eat it. He still didn’t know anyone besides Jack right now and his new boss was in meetings throughout the rest of the day. Besides, he reasoned, he should really just keep busy familiarizing himself with the systems. They were different than the Seattle office’s and he had a whole department to care for now. He sat down at his desk and unwrapped his Blimpie’s sandwich, taking a huge bite as he opened the file on his desk. He was just swallowing the mouthful when there was a sharp rap on the door.
“Come on in,” he called, wiping his mouth quickly.
The door opened and a guy probably a year or two younger than he was grinned from the doorway. “Warren Gaits?”
“Uh, yeah?” Warren stood uncertainly and waited.
“It’s great to meet you!” the dark haired man stepped in, followed by two more young guys. “My name’s Pete Gianetti.” He held out his hand and Warren shook it hesitantly. “These others are Jake Swenson and Freddy McKenna. We’re your other IT co-workers.”
Each of the other two stepped closer to shake Warren’s hand as Pete moved to the front of the desk. He gave them all a small smile.
“We came to meet you,” Jake, the tallest of the three and the blondest, palest man Warren had ever seen, said. “Since we all work on different floors, it’s the only way to talk.”
“Yeah, I’m always buried in the finance stuff, so I love to get a chance to get out,” Freddy added. He was the shortest, coming up to about Warren’s chin, and he had light brown hair.
“We thought you’d be an older guy,” Pete grinned.
“Really?” Warren asked shyly.
“Yeah, not too many guys our age named Warren,” Jake chuckled.
“My mom loves Warren Beatty,” he shrugged. “She also loved Mork & Mindy, so I guess it could have been worse, huh?”
“Hell, yeah!” Freddy laughed. “Na-noo, na-noo!”
“That’s what I say to my sister all the time.”
“They named the poor thing Mindy?” Jake asked.
“Uh huh.”
They laughed about that and made small talk for a while about the various systems they were working on. It was good to get to know other IT guys, as he was used to being the sole support person in the office. It made for a lonely and stressful job at the Seattle office.
“Hey, what say we go for a drink after work today to celebrate your first day?” Pete asked, clapping Warren on the back.
“Yeah, sure,” he said in an uncharacteristic display of sociability. “Why not?”
“Great!”
When they all left to go back to work he was still smiling. It seemed a bit easier to make friends here than he’d thought it would be, though he wondered how they would take it when they found out he was gay. It wasn’t as if he kept it a secret. Chris did that, and it was the main reason he felt the need to leave the relationship. And he’d been upfront with Jack about it on the phone interview. The older man had said it wasn’t a problem and that the company’s HR department was headed up by a very open-minded director. But he hadn’t thought to mention it to his co-workers.
Oh well, he decided. They’ll find out about it in time. And it wasn’t like he was itching to go looking for a new relationship right now anyway. All he wanted to do was settle into his new job, make some friends and learn to stop thinking about Chris. After that, then he’d figure out what he wanted to do about it.