He pushes me toward the door, making a scoffing sound. “Whatever you say,primo. Just know that if all of this generosity is just the result of you having a flu, I’m not letting you take it back in the morning.”
“Fuck off.”
“Oh, I’m about to. Have you seen my new bear daddy? He’s beautiful, and after I close the shop, he’s mine.”
He’s not wrong. The dude is three hundred pounds of muscle and hair and has a gorgeous face.
“Never change, Roly, never change.”
* * *
Elijah
The next day, Roly brings a really nice older-model iPhone wrapped in a tactical case, already turned on and ready to go. I’m not shocked in the slightest by the tactical gear on an iPhone that will be used mostly indoors, but I am once again filled with a mixture of gratitude and humiliation.Like, maybe this is kind of my family now, but also… I’d never be good enough for someone like Nick anyway.
Not that I’ve moved him from the stay-the-hell-away column, because I need this job more than anything. I just… wish it weren’t so far out of the realm of possibility. Skinny, broke-ass losers donotend up with the hot, ripped guys.
Roly pats my arm. “Hey, man, he just had this in a drawer upstairs. You might as well use it. It literally cost him pennies to add a line, and he needs you to have this. We all do. And you know us, we like to make sure everyone on our squad is safe. Didn’t feel right having you walk around without some way to get help. Not on our watch.”
Look, I’m not trying to cry at work, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been on anyone’s “squad” let alone under anyone’swatch. I’m a little croaky as I say it, but I mutter a quickthank youto Roly and take the phone.
He smiles at me and goes to help an enormous man who looks like a professional football player who I think I kind of know from ESPN. I laugh because, in sharp comparison, Morris just showed up, and he’s struggling with that damn leg machine again. I pocket the phone and run over to help him. That goes about as well as it usually does, and I’m grateful for the normalcy of a grumpy old man for whom I’ve come to have a lot of affection.
Later on that morning, I receive a text from Roly:by the way heres my number
I peer across the counter at him and smile and text back:thanks i hope you like emojis and lots of cat memes
I send him a GIF of a cat licking a window, and he laughs, smacking my shoulder. “You’re a good one, Elijah. I’m glad you’re with us now.”
Yeah, me too, I whisper under my breath.
My first call is to Penny, because I’ve never been able to properly thank her for getting me this job.
“Penny, it’s Elijah. Just wanted you to have my new phone number.”
“Elijah! I’m so glad to hear from you. So… it’s working out at Wrecked?”
“Yeah. They’re good people, and the clients are really hot.”Roly smiles at me and points to the big NFL dude, then holds up a five-dollar bill. Yeah, no way I’m taking that bet. Big guy is about to godown.
“Iknewyou’d fit in there.”
I turn my attention back to the call and laugh at the good fortune of being able to make it. “You know what? I think I am a good fit here. And yeah, if there’s anything I can do for you to thank you, name it.”
“No, you don’t owe me anything. It’s my job to find you a job, and I’m so glad it seems to be working out. Though…”She hesitates, but there’s no way I wouldn’t move heaven and earth for her.
“Tell me. I don’t have a car, so I can’t run really run errands for you, but anything else I would totally do.”
“Well, I’m thinking of my wife, Ten. She is a vet, like you. She did a stint in the Air Force, and it’s been really stressful for her lately, and I think that she might enjoy the camaraderie of the gym.”
I’d only met Ten in passing the one time. “I think you’re right, she should come on down. I can get her set up.”
“Would you?”
“Of course! Anything for you, Penny.”
* * *
Tennessee Woodley, a land developer with an office in downtown Austin, walks in wearing a beautifully tailored suit like the business power butch that she is. She’s a little taller than me, broad-shouldered and powerful, with a thick head of blonde-and-silver hair, shorn close at the sides and slightly wavy on top. I’m surprised that she’s looking a bit… sheepish.
