“Vic! Vic!”
Rob’s voice echoed through the house, and Vic cracked open an eye. The sound of Rob’s heavy work boots clomping around the house, and the strident tone in his voice had Vic wondering what the commotion was about, but he knew that Rob needed a lesson in patience.
“You know, if you stop and think for a moment, you’d know where I am.”
The footsteps stopped briefly, then got louder as they approached the door that led to the backyard and their Zen garden. When Rob opened the door, he stood there, his cheeks flushed and his chest heaving.
“You’re not going to believe this. Even I don’t believe this!” He rushed to where Vic sat, turned, and bent over. “Pinch me.”
Well, now. Vic could never resist an offer like that. He reached out and grabbed hold of the little bit of flesh on Rob’s taut arse and gave it a squeeze, delighting when Rob squeaked.
“Seems real enough, but I can try again, if you’d like.”
Rob turned so fast, it was a wonder he wasn’t making himself dizzy.
“You’re not going to believe it!”
“Yes, you’ve said that already. Now, maybe if you tell me, you’ll find out whether or not I can indeed believe it.”
“What? Oh, I’m sorry.” He stepped back. “I got a call today from Human Resources. They asked me to come in. I kept thinking I’d done something wrong. I mean, why would they want to see me? I went, ready for them to let me go or something. Martha, the lady in charge? She took me into her office and told me to take a seat. My heart was hammering. She picked up a file and thumbed through it, then sat down. She gave me this look, and I was ready to confess to any sin she was going to say I’d done, because seriously? She looks sweet, but that woman was scary.”
“Rob, is there a point to this story?”
Rob cleared his throat. “Anyway, she thanked me for coming, and said she needed to talk to me about…” He wheezed out a breath. “A promotion!”
“Oh, good.”
“Oh, good? Is that all you have to say?”
“What would you like me to say? I knew about it already.”
Rob deflated. “You… Oh, of course.”
Vic stood and stared down at Rob. “Hey, what’s that look for?”
Rob shook his head. “Never mind. It’s not important. What say I go start dinner?”
Before he turned, Vic noted the sheen in his eyes. He grabbed Rob’s shoulder.
“Okay, stop. Tell me what’s going on in your head.”
Rob sniffled. “I just thought… I thought…”
He burst in to tears. Vic pulled him in and squeezed him.
“Thought what? Tell me.”
“I thought I’d finally done something on my own. You know, earned it.”
“I don’t understand. I mean, I’ve told you time and again that you’ve been the one leading on this journey, and I was grateful I got to come along for the… Oh. You didn’t believe me.”
Rob shook his head. “It’s not that. Not exactly. It’s just, every good thing that’s happened in my life? At the root, it can all be traced back to you. You could have put me out, but you didn’t. Why? Not because I deserved it, but because you were a good man. After I got fired, I came here because I couldn’t think of where else to go. Why? Because you were nice to me. You were the first real friend I ever had. You gave me a place to stay. You got me a job. You bought me clothes and my truck. You–”
“You paid me back for those things.”
“Yes, but if it wasn’t for you, I never would have needed them. I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to have them. I found out I love my job. I really like the people I work with. The club? I’ve built a family, just like Alex said I would. But again, all of it comes down to you. Just like this promotion.”
“Have you finished?”
Rob stood. “Yes. I’m going to make us something to eat and–”
Vic put a hand on Rob’s shoulder and gave a squeeze. “No, you’re going to sit down and listen to me, because you’re very wrong on a lot of things.”
“What am–”
“Sit, Rob. If you prefer, I can make you stand in the corner while I talk, but for this, I think you’ll want to see my face because you’ll know what I’m saying is true.”
Rob went inside and took a seat in the lounge. Vic followed, and sat beside him.
“Okay, yes, I knew about the promotion because Martha knows we’re in a relationship. She called to ask if I would have any problems with you working in a supervisory capacity on one of my projects. I told her no, I wouldn’t.” He took Rob’s hand in his. “Now, she told me that your current supervisor came to her and praised your work ethic. She said she was told by your supervisor that no matter how bad the job was, you always had a smile on your face. You never said a harsh word to anyone. You helped, even when it wasn’t your area of responsibility. In short, he said he wished he had a whole team made up of guys like you. It was him who recommended you for the supervisor’s job. It had nothing at all to do with me, Rob. It was all you. Carl said there were some really crappy jobs you got stuck with, but you never once complained. Those days you had to work in the rain? He said you were laughing about it. Did I do that?” He squeezed Rob’s fingers. “Well, I hope I had something to do with your smile, but beyond that? Everything was on you.”
Rob sighed.
“Hey, remember what I told you when we met? I would never lie to you. You need to know I’m telling you the truth now. Everything you’ve accomplished? It’s all been on you. Maybe I opened a door, but you stepped through it and took matters into your own hands. Other than that day I showed up at your worksite, I never followed up on you.”
“You…didn’t?”
“No, and would you like to know why?”
Rob nodded. He wanted–needed–to know.
“Because I had every fucking confidence in you. I never once doubted you could do anything you set out to do. So accept that this is not the first thing you’ve earned, because everything you’ve done has been a product of your total Rob-ness.”
“My Rob-ness?” Rob chuckled. “I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean.”
“It’s the unquantifiable thing that makes you who you are. It’s what drove a cheeky boy to give me a collar to present him. It’s the brat who pushes me every day to be both a better man and a better Dom, because my boy deserves both. It’s what gave Tim a family. It’s that thing that got Ellis to enjoy reading. So when you say you never accomplished anything on your own? Look around you, because those things didn’t happen without you.”
Rob’s chest swelled with pride. “You swear you had nothing to do with me getting this promotion?” Even though he knew Vic was telling him the truth. “Not even a little?”
“Not a jot. I told Martha that I had no problems with you working on one of my projects because you loved your work, and it showed in everything you’ve done. I said if you brought that to my project, then I would be grateful to have you.”
Oh, God. Rob loved Vic. Always there to quell his internal doubts. To let him know he was not only loved, but wanted and cherished.
“I love you.”
Vic grinned. “I love you too. Now, I believe someone said something about making us some dinner.”
Rob stood. “I’ll go start it right away.”
“Start it? I was thinking about ordering a pizza, sitting down with you, and watching a film. I don’t feel like cooking. I want to spend time with my cheeky supervisor.”
Supervisor. Rob bit back a sob. He’d wanted so badly to be someone. To make Vic proud. To be proud of himself.
“And remember what I told you. This path? It goes where you want it to. You could move up in the company, like I did. You could stay where you are, if you enjoy it.”
“Could I open a shop of my own?”
“You could. What kind of shop?”
Rob’s cheeks heated. “I was thinking maybe a florist shop. I have to admit, I’m surprised by how much I love working with plants. And when Alex and Dad came over the day we grilled out? I showed them the flowerbeds I’d done and told me they loved them.” He drew in a breath. “I got to thinking that maybe I could do that for people. You know, flower arrangements, bouquets, corsages. Things like that.”
“You in a flower store?”
Rob was certain there would be teasing about what a gay profession, and how surprised Vic was that Rob would even consider something like that.
“I think it’s bloody brilliant. I told you, you’ve got a good eye and excellent instincts. There are a few places you could take classes, if you want. I know some people who could direct you.”
Rob had worried that he’d accomplished nothing in his life, but Vic had shown him how wrong he was.
“Maybe one day. Right now, I want to take the supervisor’s job and see if maybe I like it enough to keep moving within the company.” He grinned. “Maybe one day you’d be calling me boss.”
“That’s fine. As long as you remember at the end of the day, you still need to call me Master.”
He hadn’t done it yet, but Rob could totally see himself calling Vic Master. One day.
