Junior couldn’t speak for a few moments, and Tom had never seen him look so shocked.
Tom refused to back down from his threat, glaring furiously at Junior even as his guts began to spin wildly. He’d been letting this man torment him for months, and it was going to end.
It had to end.
He had to be a good boy.
Hearing Cypress’s voice in his thoughts fueled his newfound defiance. He carefully picked a cracker out of the pack and bit down forcefully. He chewed, swallowed, and said, “Did you catch that? Or do I need to repeat it?”
“You’ll regret this,” Junior spat, still angry despite being clearly shaken. His voice got louder and louder, shouting now as he snarled, “I swear to fucking God, Tommy, I’m going to make you fucking—”
“Hey, hey. What’s going on in here?” Aaron snapped, forcing Junior to back into the break room as he came charging in.
“Nothing,” Junior said quickly. “We were just talking.”
“Tom?” Aaron demanded, ignoring Junior. “Is there a problem?”
“Not anymore.” Tom took another meaningful bite of his cracker. “Right, Junior?”
“Whatever,” Junior muttered.
“Well, the Winslow family is here early,” Aaron said sternly. “Chill the hell out and go see them. They’re waiting for you up front.”
“Fine.” Junior looked at his watch and gave Tom a hateful look that made his stomach churn, pushing by Aaron on his way out.
“The fuck was that about?” Aaron scoffed, dusting himself off.
“His usual shit,” Tom mumbled through a cracker. He felt a little shaken, still riled from standing up to Junior. He couldn’t believe he’d really done it. He’d told Junior off, even threatened him.
To see Junior’s usual confidence so thoroughly shattered was an amazing mental picture that Tom was going to treasure. He’d beat Junior at his own game, and he was so proud of himself.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.
“Are you sure everything is okay?” Aaron pressed.
“It’s going to be,” Tom insisted. “I finally told him to leave me alone. That’s why he was pissed.”
Not exactly a lie, though Tom still felt guilty for being dishonest.
“This is why you never date anyone at work,” Aaron said with a long sigh.
“Thanks,” Tom griped. “Lesson learned, trust me.”
“Well, if he starts up again, let me know.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“On a completely random note, do you want a dog?”
“Huh?” Tom laughed, popping the last cracker into his mouth and throwing away the wrapper. “What kinda dog?”
“A Pomeranian,” Aaron replied innocently. “House trained, has all of its shots, very friendly. About ten years old, I think.”
“Is this…” Tom narrowed his eyes. “Are you talking about Mister Doodles?”
“Maybe.”
“He ate that woman’s face.”
