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EPISODE 19 - SECOND THOUGHTS.

All right, apparently fantasizing about sucking a c**k—and even wanting to suck a c**k—was fairly normal for straight guys. At least that was what he found out after his research. That claimed his craziness. That was a little reassuring. His circle wouldn't allow that, except Britney. His people would curse against it. Hopefully, Brandon convinced himself that he wasn't attracted to men. The idea of having s*x with men, kissing them and getting naked with them was just… odd. He didn’t think he was attracted to men. It was just the idea of sucking a hard, thick c**k that got him all hot and bothered. And if the c**k in his fantasies was shaped like his horrible ex-boss's, it was probably totally normal, considering that it was the only c**k he’d ever sucked—besides his own. So, what did that mean? Apparently, he was just a straight weirdo brainwashed into wanting to suck c**k.

Britney laughed at him when he told her that. “I think you just need to get out and get laid,” she said, grinning. “By a woman with a c**k, if that’s what you’re into.”

Brandon frowned. “I don’t like one-night stands. You know that.”

The look Britney gave him was something between fond and exasperated. “Then don’t make it a one-night stand. You don’t have a job yet —why don’t you use that spare time to get a nice girlfriend—or a nice someone.”

“I’m not into guys,” Brandon said with a chuckle, shaking his head. “I’m serious about it, Britney. I’m not in denial. I can’t imagine wanting to kiss another man.”

His sister’s expression was full of scepticism. “You won’t know until you try it. Seriously, get out and get laid. You’re starting to depress me too with your constant moping.”

“I’m not moping.”

“Oh, really? Please. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were fired from your job instead of quitting. You’re totally moping, dumbass.”

That was the thing about living with a sibling: they knew you too well to buy your bullshit.

Brandon sighed and leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his face. “All right, yeah,” he admitted quietly, looking at the cake he was baking. “I feel so down, and f**k, I’m not even sure why. I should be happy, right? I won the bet, I proved him wrong. But I feel…” He shrugged, unable to articulate it.

Brandon wondered while he was baking all sorts of things that they didn't really need that much.

Britney smiled crookedly, raking her fingers through Brandon’s hair. “Ever thought you might have actually liked your job?”

Brandon laughed, but it sounded shaky and unconvincing even to him. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said faintly. “I’ve never wanted to be a PA. I’ll find a new job soon—a better job—and I’ll get over this. I’m sure of it.” Except finding a new job turned out to be much harder than Brandon had expected.

Over the next few weeks, he applied for job after job, without any success. On the rare occasion that he was called for an interview, they seemed to like him well enough during the interviews, but he hadn’t heard back from any of them. Brandon couldn’t deny that it was very disheartening, and his mood hadn’t been exactly improving as weeks went by.

His phone rang two weeks after he’d left the EW Group.

“Hello?” Brandon said dryly, yawning and trying to blink himself awake.

“Hi, Brandon. It’s Brenda Alex, the EW Group’s HR assistant. How are you?”

Brandon sat up, all sleep gone in an instant. He thought he said something, but he wasn’t even sure, his heart beating fast and his pulse thundering in his ears. He suddenly felt alive and wide awake. The EW Group. What did he want?

He must have asked that because Brenda didn’t waste time on small talk. “I wanted to inform you that the position of Mr. Wilson’s PA is open again, in case you were interested.” Her voice was full of scepticism—she clearly didn’t believe that anyone would be eager to return to that job—and yet, she was still calling him.

“Did he tell you to call me?” Brandon said. “Wilson?”

“Well, yes,” Brenda said. “His new PA, Ariel, quit yesterday—”

“I thought her name was something-”

“She was fired a week ago,” Brenda said, a grimace in her voice.

Brandon didn’t feel bad for her. Did that make him a terrible person? It probably made him a terrible person. Maybe his ex-boss’s horribleness had rubbed off on him.

“So Mr. Wilson told me to call you and get you back,” Brenda said, her tone a little apologetic. “I told him that you’d likely found another job already, but he seemed so confident that you haven’t. I’m sorry for bothering you. I’ll tell him no, obviously.”

Brandon zoned off into thin air, trying to analyse what Brenda had just said. It led to an outburst. “That son-of-a-b***h,” he hissed, his disbelief mixed with rising anger.

“Excuse me?” Brenda said.

“Sorry, just thinking aloud,” Brandon said, his mind racing. Now, all of these rejected job applications made a horrible amount of sense. At the same time, they made no sense whatsoever. Why would Wilson even bother ruining Brandon’s job prospects? Edward Wilson was a very important man. He was the COE and owner of EW Group, a man with a ridiculously busy schedule—Brandon knew that better than anyone.

Brandon couldn’t understand why the f**k the asshole had bothered to make sure Brandon couldn’t get another job. Was it out of hatred? Just because Brandon had won their little bet? Or, was Brandon truly terrible at his job? Wilson was a d**k, but Brandon hadn’t thought he was such a low life.

“What do you want me to tell him?” Brandon said.

“That he can kiss my white ass,” Brandon said.

“I… I can’t tell him that, but I’ll tell him that you said no.”

Brandon glowered at the wall. No, that wasn’t satisfying at all. “You know what? I think I’ll drop by and tell him what I think of him in person.”

Furthermore, Brandon f*****g deserved an explanation, and then Wilson deserved a fist to his face. Brandon wasn’t joking about lashing out on that d**k that made him seem like he was not good enough.