“And the last time I checked on you, you’d just spent half your weekend chasing after my two little hellions at the amusement park. Aren’t you supposed to be knackered? How in the hell aren’t you knackered? You got a secret to surviving them, Tanner? I’m your favorite brother-in-law. Don’t you dare hold out on me!”
“You’re my only brother-in-law.”
“So what? That doesn’t change a damned thing. You still need to ‘fess up!”
Tanner rolled his eyes and sipped from his travel mug, filled to the brim with piping hot coffee with a splash of milk—just the way he liked it—courtesy of Lance. He just smiled and drank more of his delicious coffee, as he waited him out.
“Okay, fine! Keep your stupid secrets,” Mark said, waving his hands in a shooing motion. “Thanks though, seriously. A day at the spa really did wonders for your sister,” Mark added, and though Tanner was fairly certain he hadn’t meant anything salacious by it, he couldn’t resist the chance to get in a good dig.
“Oh—dude! Just no! That’s my sister!” he said with a frown of disgust.
Mark’s eyes widened as his mouth fell open. Tanner laughed and walked away.
“That is so not—!” Mark began to yell at him, but Tanner just kept going, laughing all the way to his office.
Tanner spent about half of his time on the road, and the other half doing paperwork and updating client files. Most Mondays started with straightening out the messes he’d dumped on his desk at the end of the day on Friday. Consequently, most of his morning was spent navigating that first circle of hell. By the time he’d organized everything, dealt with dozens of emails, and sketched out a plan for the week, he finally had the chance to check his phone for messages. He had never been one to stay glued to his phone, and nothing detoxed you from social media and screen addiction quite as well as being stuck in a hole for three years. Most days he had to remind himself that he even had a phone. As a result, he was late answering three texts that had come in since Friday evening. The first was from his mother, who wanted to know if he planned to ever visit her again, or if she needed to call out the National Guard. The second was from his sister, thanking him again for babysitting on Saturday. The third was from Lance, date stamped earlier that morning. He flushed from head-to-toe as he opened it. Every time he thought of Lance, he was reminded of his newly discovered taste for hot quarterbacks with huge biceps and generous hearts. He had yet to fully wrap his head around this new sexual preference, but he couldn’t deny it any more than he could deny the tent he pitched thinking about it.
Lance Kingsley
I hate my job. You were right.
I should have gone with the NFL.
Tanner Casey
Obviously.
Why the sudden change of heart?
Bad paper cut?
Lance Kingsley
It’s 10 am, I’ve answered 15 emails, and I still have 20 left.
Shoot me. Now.
If I have to type “Best Regards” one more time,
my balls will fall off.
Tanner Casey
I feel you.
In the office right now, doing the same.
Only reason I’m not jumping out the window
is cuz I’m on the ground floor.
Lance Kingsley
Hahaha! Exactly.
Accountants shouldn’t have to deal with people.
We need laws against that.
