Things like Nolan.
And Ralph.
Zack picked up his phone and dialed the HR extension, then listened through the chipper greeting before responding. “Good morning, Nancy.”
“Mr. Anderson?”
“Yes. You sound surprised.”
“No. Of course not.” She paused. “Are you okay?”
Zack pulled the receiver away from his head and looked down at it for a moment before responding. “Yes.”
“Oh good. You just sounded different.”
“Different how?”
“Ummm, happy. I guess.” She cleared her throat. “Can I help you with something?”
“Ryan Cooper. He’s been on a PIP for about three months. I received another performance complaint.”
“Oh God, not more inappropriate comments.”
“Thankfully, no. He screwed up another deal by missing a deadline.”
“I assume you want to start termination?”
“How soon can we get rid of him?”
“Well, with the performance plan, I’d ideally like to get things documented. I need a few days to do the paperwork. It’s Wednesday and I hate to terminate right before the weekend. Can we do it on Tuesday morning? My schedule’s clear around nine thirty.”
Zack wanted the asshole gone as quickly as possible, but he trusted Nancy to do her job. “Sure. We’ll do it in my office.”
“I’ll get Janice to start the paperwork.”
One more thing done at work. One more problem solved for Compass. One more step away from accomplishing his goal of leaving the company and reopening Ringside. A few months ago, it might have bothered him more than it did today. Back then, he didn’t have Nolan around to make the days manageable, enjoyable.
Not that making him laugh should be part of the job. But something about Nolan felt so inviting that Zack forgot about professionalism around him. Let that guard down, because Nolan wasn’t just attractive but also got him. Still . . . when Zack made himself stop to think about it, was he really any different from Ryan Cooper?
He’d never intentionally said anything to make Nolan feel uncomfortable, and he certainly hadn’t suggested that Nolan’s job depended on anything that fell outside the scope of the written position description. But neither had he really checked to make sure his attentions were wanted. Not in so many words. Nolan had seemed to be on the same page, but maybe Zack was making too many assumptions.
Shit, maybe he wasn’t any different.
Nolan took a pen from Ralph and gave it a little pat on the head before turning to make a note. He was efficient, and could play the serious business professional well, but there was always an undercurrent of something more lighthearted. Whimsy, even. He had been through so much, was still working through a lot of it, but he somehow managed to have a positive outlook. Maybe Max was right, and that was exactly the appeal. Nolan might not be Zack’s usual type, but he could smile and laugh and find the humor in just about any situation. Zack hadn’t realized how much he’d been missing that kind of lightness in his life.
Maybe there was a chance.
Maybe.
He pushed those thoughts away and went back to work.
When Nolan arrived a bit later than usual Thursday morning, the light from Zack’s office was already on. Zack was head down, poring over a number of reports, when Nolan hung up his coat and went to the kitchenette to start the coffee. There were no “good mornings” or heated glances. Nothing to indicate that anything unusual had happened between them. That they hadn’t shared not one but two kisses, plus the exchange of a novelty plush spider. That Nolan hadn’t spent the last two days wondering what it would be like to go to bed with Zack.
He’d been worried things would change after the gym—that Zack, despite his words, would treat him differently. But Zack ignoring him was business as usual, and the tension he held in his shoulders lessened. He knew how to act professional, so if that was how Zack wanted to play things, Nolan had it covered.
He waited for the coffee to finish brewing, filled them each a cup, and went to face the dragon. “Good morning, Zack.”
“Nolan.” He didn’t look up.
“You have an eight o’clock appointment this morning with Jennings and Burk from purchasing, a conference call with the London office at ten, and it’s your mother’s birthday.”
Zack looked up at that. “No, it’s not. Her birthday is in March.”
“Just making sure you’re paying attention.” He somehow managed to not smile. It was cute to see Zack so peeved. “Is there anything I can get for you?” Blowjob? Handjob? Okay, this was going to be harder than he’d thought.
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“I’ll be at my desk if you need me. Ralph and I have reports to read over.” He did smile then, but didn’t linger any longer than usual.
With Zack not needing him to do anything urgent, Nolan set about reviewing their calendars. He had a doctor’s appointment coming up in the next week that he might have to postpone if Zack’s meeting this morning resulted in an updated production schedule. He also had lunch planned with Nancy, and he didn’t want to reschedule on her again if he could help it.
Zack’s agenda for the coming week included all the regularly scheduled meetings, one conference call, and Ryan Cooper’s termination meeting—Nolan probably wasn’t supposed to know what that meeting was about, but it hadn’t been hard to piece together.
And that was it.
Boring for a Thursday morning.
He tried not to look over at Zack, but he could see him from the corner of his eye. Nolan normally didn’t mind the mornings when it was this quiet; the silence was a rare pleasure and usually meant Zack was in a good mood.
He opened his email and looked at the first meeting request. Mr. Chopra again. Yeah, that wasn’t happening until the budget information had been reviewed and Zack had an action plan. He sent a generic response and closed the email. When Zack coughed, Nolan turned his head. For a moment he thought his boss was going to say something, but Zack didn’t look up. Nolan stared at his email, but didn’t open the next one. Zack cleared his throat again and shifted in his chair. Nolan did his best to ignore the fantasies of what he imagined it would be like to have him pressed against his body.
And there was a cock twitch.
Bad times.
Nolan jumped from his chair, and Zack looked up. “You okay?”
Great, now Zack was going to worry that Nolan was about to have another anxiety attack. “I’m fine. Just realized the time. I’m going to be late for some training.” Nancy had been after him to complete the workplace health and safety session since his first week. The weekly orientation session was due to start, so he wasn’t even lying.
“When will you be back?”
Odd, he’d never cared about Nolan’s schedule before now.
“An hour. Maybe more. Not sure how long these HR things go.” Zack held his gaze until Nolan felt his cheeks flush. “Don’t forget your eight o’clock.”
“Say hi to Nancy for me.”
He fled, praying Zack couldn’t see the tented front of his pants.
He stayed away for a total of two and a half hours. It turned out there’d been a large roundup of delinquent employees who’d missed the training that week, and the session was packed. The moment he sat down, he regretted his impulsive flight. Janice was the trainer, and to say she was awful would be generous. Nolan might not be able to lead a training himself anymore, but he still knew how it should be done, so he was keenly aware of exactly how Janice was failing to engage her audience.
To make matters worse, his anxiety made it nearly impossible for him to stay in the room. Instead of sitting, he ended up standing by the door, ducking out periodically when he felt as though the walls were closing in around him. Once the session was officially over and everyone filed out, Janice made him stay and complete the mandatory test in the empty room.
That wasn’t the least bit embarrassing. Not at all.
By the time he made it back to the office, he was drained. For the second time since he’d started working at Compass, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it through the day. Life had a way of making other things happen. He was greeted by the sound of voices as he stepped back into their space.
“Nolan!” The edge was in Zack’s voice. “Come here.”
“Yes, Mr. Anderson.” He wasn’t familiar with the man who occupied the guest seat. “Is there something I can get for you?”
“Your assistant is a man?” The man snorted, making it look as though his horrendous burgundy tie were choking him. “You got shortchanged, Anderson. You don’t even get a nice ass to look at.”
Zack’s face was stone. “Nolan, I need you to get sign-off on the two forms I left in a folder on your desk. Do that now.”
“Of course.” There was something about the way Zack stood, about the aura of disgust and anger that rolled off him in waves, that put Nolan on high alert.
Before he could turn and leave, Zack held his gaze. “Shut the door behind you, please.”
He nodded but frowned. Zack gave his head a small shake, so small that Nolan doubted his guest even noticed. Nolan’s stomach soured as he began to put the pieces together. The door clicked shut, muting the voices on the other side. When he opened the file folder and saw the termination notice, he didn’t need to hear what was being said to know what the words would be.