“Yup, all done.I got the boss’s signature on things last night, and I’m submitting them in the mail this morning.So expect a packet in the mail soon that’s got your 401k info, your insurance, and all of that, okay?Make sure you don’t throw it out with the junk mail.”
Bobo didn’t have a great track record with employers.He tended to get shuffled between one megalomaniac tyrant to another.Ross was something new for him.And he considered Ross his boss, not Glenn.He’d learned he could ask Ross things and get an answer.But there were moments, like now, when he wasn’t sure where he stood.
Ross was glad Bobo trusted him enough to ask.Bobo didn’t understand that paperwork wasn’t a fast process—it took months sometimes to get it all in line—but Ross was trying.And almost done, really.The retirement plan and insurance were the last of it.And he’d finally figured out what to do with Bobo.Turning the man into one of the groundsmen for the clan suited him well, as he was good at manual labor and preferred working outside, even in the dead of winter.
Relieved, Bobo went back to smiling.“Okay.I’ll keep an eye out for it.”
“Cool.I’m going to shower and get dressed.Thanks for the driveway.”He gave a smile and headed in.
Ross managed to get inside and to his bedroom before his phone went off.He checked the screen before answering, “Hey, bro.”
“Hey,” Levonn answered with a grunt.“I’m on my way to work, don’t have time to really talk, but thought I’d better warn you.Mom’s really not feeling happy with you right now.”
Ross sighed.And that would be the other issue he had to do something about before it blew up in his face.“Yeah, I know.”
“Any reason you’re not wanting her to come over?”
“What?She did come over for my housewarming.”
“You know good and well that’s not the issue.She’s used to dropping by, seeing you.Having you over regularly for dinners.That all stopped when you got the new job.It worries her.”
Yes, he was well aware.Ross had been trying to put her off, just until he got his feet properly under him and could manage the clan well enough that his mother didn’t see something she shouldn’t.He still hadn’t properly gotten that level of control.And now he and Glenn were lovers, and there was absolutely no hiding that.It was in the way Glenn looked at him, as if he were wonder incarnate.Ross had no defenses against that look and basically turned to goo whenever he was anywhere in Glenn’s orbit.His mother, observant woman that she was, would take one look at them and just know.
“It’s…not the job.I, um, got a boyfriend.”
Levonn sucked in a breath.“Oh.Oh, yeah?Co-worker, I take it?”
“Uh, well, he’s my boss.Actually.”
Levonn groaned, loud and long.“Ross, you know dating the boss is never a good idea.”
“Trust me, I know.But I think it was kind of inevitable.Since the day I started, I realized I was attracted.That he was attracted.It’s part of the reason I couldn’t let Mom anywhere near here.She’d pick up on it pretty quickly.Glenn and I have now been dating a solid month and a half, and….”Ross trailed off, not sure how to explain it.He’d dated before, and the relationship always seemed to suffer about a month in.He could tell by that point if a breakup was imminent, and it generally had been.His longest running relationship had been six months, and that hadn’t been romantic, but a friends-with-benefits arrangement.
But for every day he spent with Glenn, Ross wished for even more time.He didn’t see the end in sight.Rather, he felt he solidly stood at the beginning of something amazing.And Ross clung to that hope, as he dearly wished for it to be the case.
Levonn heard something in his tone, and in his silence.“It’s going super well, isn’t it?”
“Amazingly well.I couldn’t imagine a better boyfriend, and he’s very supportive of everything I want to do.He’s changed my work hours so I can go back to college and finish my degree.And it’s not just that.He does little things to help me out.He’s cooked dinner several times when he knows I’ve had a long day.He changed plans for one of our dates and turned it into a home date because I was dead on my feet and didn’t have the energy to go out.”
“Damn.”Levonn let out a low whistle.“So he’s thoughtful.I’m actually getting jealous over here.He got a sister?”
“Sorry, bro.”Ross grinned briefly at just the idea.“But you see why I’m holding onto him?”
“Yeah.Shit, yeah.Even if the sex is not that great, he still makes a great partner.Is the sex okay?”
“The sex is fucking fantastic and hot enough to strip paint from the walls.”
“So, you’re literally sitting on a goldmine over there.”
“Not sure I’d phrase it that way, but basically.And there’s no way Mom can casually pop over here without seeing it.It’s obvious in how Glenn looks at me, how he reacts to me.How I react to him.A blind man can’t miss this.”
“Yeah.Yeah, no, I hear you.But Ross, isn’t it about time you told Mom the truth anyway?”
Ross sighed.“Yeah, probably.She still tries to introduce me to nice girls sometimes.And that’s gotten really old.I just don’t know how she’ll take it.”
“I don’t know either.I really don’t know where she stands.But I do know it’s time to tell her.Because it sounds like you really like this guy.And don’t you want to be with him without constantly looking over your shoulder?”
Now there was perspective for you.And honestly, that was the best incentive ever.Because Ross really did want to live and date and love without worrying about what his mother thought.
