“Yeah.”
I leaned closer and lowered my voice. “How do I meet someone like that? Like Levi?”
“Told you. Come to the club. And hell, you might just make new friends there too.”
That’s what everyone had been saying. I didn’t even know if I had any kinks, though I was intrigued by Levi. More than a lot. He was sweet and playful. And cute. I liked that. And maybe I didn’t know what I wanted, but I’d never figure it out if I didn’t explore.
After everyone left, I called Grant. “What should I do?”
“No brainer, dude. Go to the damn club and find someone.”
“That’s what everyone is saying, but I don’t know about finding someone at a club. I’m not really into hookups. That’s not what I want.”
“I get it. But you put that side of yourself on hold. You’ve never dated. Maybe give yourself time to explore. Go to the club. Meet people. See what happens. It doesn’t mean you have to fuck the first guy who turns your head. But don’t stay locked away either.”
“No. No, I won’t. But I have to get my house sorted first.”
“Plenty of time, dude.”
He was right, and honestly, I was officially out of the rental. I had no job or anything I had to do. Aside from meeting with Larry to talk about some investments next week, I had nothing but unpacking planned. I shouldn’t use it as an excuse. But I probably would.
Chapter five
July
I was deep into building a keyword search for a new product my client was launching soon, when Steve called me. “Joseph. Can you come to my office, please?”
“Uh, yes. Be right there.” He used my full name; this couldn’t be good.
Ben leaned around the cubby wall between our work areas. “What did you do this time?”
“I don’t know.” I hadn’t so much as peeked at my socials, even on my phone, during work hours. My work numbers were all up, keeping me at the top of the leader board. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on, and the only way to find out was to go talk to him.
I knocked on the door. “Steve? You need me?”
“Come in. Have a seat.”
Shit. This was bad. I pulled out the chair and sat in front of his bland desk in his boring office. “Yes?” I clasped my hands together to keep from fidgeting.
“I’m upset. Disappointed and frustrated. Mostly frustrated because there isn’t anything I can do about this. You’re one of our best, if notthebest. But we have to let you go.”
“What? Why?”
Steve sighed deeply, sat in his big office chair, and leaned forward, hands on his desk. “This is why I’m upset.” He flipped his phone around so I could see what was on the screen.
It was that video of my bare ass. How the hell did he get that? “I don’t understand.”
“Someone sent this to HR, claiming lewd and lascivious behavior. It looks bad on our brand, Joe. And if one person can find this and connect you to Digitax, so can someone else. So can a client or potential client. And why I’m upset? I didn’t expect this kind of behavior from you.” He shook his head. “It might take some time, but you’ll get over all this.” He waved his hand over his desk. “I’m sure you’ll go on to better things. It might be difficult at first, but you’re bright.”
I slumped back in the chair. I was being fucking fired. “What now?” The question was actually hypothetical, and perhaps I was asking myself rather than him. Or maybe the universe. Just what was the next shit storm it was ready to crap down on me?
“We’ll pay you through the end of the month and all your vacation time. HR will get you COBRA information and all that.”
“F-Fine…” It was anything butfine. How had this happened?
“Please clear out any personal items from your cubby. Don’t worry about logging off. IT will take care of that.”
There was nothing left to say. I went straight to my cubby and pulled the picture of me and Tucker off the wall. Honestly, I didn’t give a shit about anything else. I turned to leave, but Ben was there with sad eyes. “What’s going on? Are you suspended again?”
