More Than a Suit Box Set

More Than a Suit: Tobie-4

The next morning, I made it to work with five minutes to spare. Mal was already in his office, making final preparations for the trip. We gathered our laptops and luggage, and took a company car to the airport.

Once we were settled in business class, Mal briefed me on strategy and explained how everything would proceed, referring to the numbers and giving me more background on the Italian merger.

A car met us at the airport that night and drove us to our hotel. We shared a room with two beds. Mal ordered room service while I used the bathroom first to clean up. He did the same once I returned to the bedroom. I felt a little bit more human after the long flight. The meal he ordered was really good and helped me relax some more.

Mal wore an old T-shirt and shorts to sleep in. He could wear a garbage bag and look hot. I coughed to cover up a groan and got ready for bed.

“Everything all right, Tobie?”

“Yeah, fine. Good night.”

“Sweet dreams,” he said. And they were, too.

I learned a lot about Mal over the next few days and found much to admire, aside from his physical perfection. He was firm, exacting, and fair. It was a huge turn-on to watch as he confidently negotiated the deal, working out disputes as they came up and smoothing ruffled feathers. He let me deal with the HR part of things, which was a pleasure to do, since no one was losing their jobs, and I had a hand in that.

When we worked late nights in our shared hotel room going over notes, I had to tamp down my attraction. This probably made our conversations a little stilted, but I couldn’t help it. He was so easy to get along with, and a genuinely nice guy. I caught him staring at me sometimes, like he was trying to figure me out, since I blew hot and cold all the time.

We returned stateside on Friday night and, by then, I was beyond exhausted. Mal had worked us hard, and we’d slept for only a few hours each night. Added to that, trying to keep my attraction to him a secret wore me out mentally.

“Tobie.” Mal came over to where I stood next to the taxi stand outside the airport, bags in his left hand.

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s Mal, Tobie. We’re off the clock.”

“I don’t want to overstep—”

“Relax. It’s fine. If you bend over backward any further, you’ll break something.” He smiled at me. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, starving actually. I was gonna go home and nuke a frozen dinner.” A taxi pulled up, and I walked to the trunk to stow my luggage.

“Hey, not so fast,” Mal said. “I’m starving, too. I was gonna go to Willie’s over on Sixth Avenue near the office. Care to join me?”

Tempting as it was, I knew it would be better to say no, since I could only afford to satisfy one hunger tonight. I was tired, and my guard was down. I didn’t want to do something I’d regret in the morning.

“No offense, sir, but I’m exhausted. I know you want me to come in tomorrow to help you evaluate the two associates for the final decision, so I need to get some sleep, badly.”

“I know you’re tired, Tobie. Hell, I am, too, but I think there’s more to it than that. You’re deliberately keeping things formal between us. Why?” He sounded frustrated.

“You’re my boss, sir. I’m just trying to be professional.”

“We can’t eat out together?”

“Well—”

“Are you afraid of me?” Mal sounded hurt.

“No! Of course not. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Is there a law that says we can’t be friends outside of work, forget we’re boss and subordinate for a while?”

“But, it’s—”

“Jesus. It’s just a meal, Tobie. Nothing nefarious. I’m not gonna maul you just because you’re gay and I’m gay.”

Ah geez. “I just think it would be easier to keep things separate.”

“Separate? What are you—” I saw a light dawn in his eyes. He couldn’t have guessed, could he? This conversation was getting too close for comfort.

Right then, my stomach rumbled. I made a quick decision. “Okay, I’ll eat with you. It’s late and I don’t feel like waiting ‘til I get home. We’ll share a cab.”

Mal looked at me for a moment, then said, “Okay.” He added his luggage to mine in the trunk. We both got into the cab and Mal gave directions to Willie’s.

The meal was hot and filling. We drank a couple of beers each with our meal and I could feel my guard slipping away. Since it was midnight, there weren’t that many patrons, so we had the place mostly to ourselves.

I had removed my tie a while ago, and Mal was in his shirtsleeves, cuffs rolled up. The veins in his forearms made my fingers tingle. I wanted to trace each one, lick them, and follow their trail. Should’ve stopped at one beer. I sighed heavily.

“What was that for?” Mal asked, studying me.

I leaned back and rubbed my hands over my face and hair. I was sure some of the black strands were standing up.

“I’m just exhausted. f**k, it’s been a long week.”

“It has, but you did really well. I sent off the report to my superiors, and they’re impressed.”

“Thanks,” I replied, looking away from Mal.

“What’s that for? Are you blushing?”

“No.”

“You are blushing.”

“God, I’m a dork.”

“No, you’re not. You’re just tired and apparently not used to compliments. Why is that?”

“Never thought about it, I guess. Too busy working to think about things like that.”

“What do you do to relax?”

I finished my beer before I answered. “Watch movies, or read. I like mysteries and suspense or crime dramas. I have a backlog of books to catch up on. I’m in the middle of a Jack Reacher novel right now.”

“Oh man. Which one? I just finished the third book in the series.”

“No way! I’m on book number six. It’s really good. I have to force myself to put it down so I actually get some sleep at night.”

“I’m the same way.”

I looked at Mal and noted the way he watched me, like he wanted to say more but wasn’t sure how to approach it.

“You know, Tobie, I wish we could—”

“Wish we could what?”

Mal sighed. “I can’t go on like this.”

Confused, I said, “I don’t understand.”

He leaned back in his seat. “Maybe it’s the beer talking, but I have to say this. I wish we weren’t working together.”

Oh crap. “Did I do something wrong? I mean, you just said—”

“No! No, I just…How do I say this?” He looked so conflicted, far from the self-assured man I’d gotten to know this past week. I wanted to soothe him somehow.

“Mal, what has you so wound up?”

He looked away for a second, then pierced me with those brilliant brown eyes of his.

“You do.”

I gasped. “No! No way. It can’t be true.”

Mal leaned forward. “Yes, it is true! I can’t fight it anymore, and it’s killing me not to be able to do something about it, because you work for me.”

Okay, that’s—“I…I didn’t know.”

“Well, of course you didn’t. This isn’t all about you, you know.”

Stung, I looked away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mal reach out to touch my hand, but he pulled back at the last second.

“Tobie, look at me.”

Reluctantly, I faced him.

“I’m sorry. I’m tired and punchy.”

I closed my eyes, briefly. “It’s okay.” After I took a deep breath, I said, “Since we’re being honest with each other, and we’ll probably blame all this on alcohol in the morning, you have me kind of wound up, too.”

“I know.”

“What do you mean you know?”

“You try hard to hide it, but I know.”

Damn it.

“What are we gonna do about it? It’s inappropriate, I know, but I want you so bad, I can’t see straight.”

Fuck. Me. “This is too much. I can’t process this right now.”

“Or you’re just afraid to try.”

Nail on the head. I shook my head and got up. Taking out my wallet, I threw some bills on the table and grabbed my luggage. “I need to go.”

“Tobie, come on. Talk to me.”

“No. It’s getting late and I don’t want to do anything I’ll regret in the morning.”

“How do you know you’ll regret it? Maybe I want you to—”

“We shouldn’t even be talking like this! It’ll lead to trouble.”

Mal followed me out of the restaurant and stood on the street beside me. “We’re attracted to each other. It’s not the end of the world. We can find a way to make this work.”

“And what happens if people find out at EnerGen? How would this look to corporate? It’ll be like sleeping with the boss to get ahead.”

“What, you don’t want to even try?” Mal set his luggage down beside him, hands on his hips.

“I just think it’s dangerous. It’ll ruin everything I’ve worked for and—”

Mal took the bags out of my hands.

“What are you doing?” I asked, in a panic.

“I’ve wanted to do this since I met you, wrong or not.”

I looked at him and guessed his intentions. I stepped back. “Mal, no. You can’t…We’re in the middle of the street, damn it! It’s past midnight. I don’t think…mmph.”

He grabbed me and attacked my mouth. And, against my better judgment, I kissed him back. I couldn’t help but allow him inside as my hands crept up to his neck. I’d been wanting to taste those lips for a week, and now I learned their flavor and shape. Tilting my head to the side, I opened my mouth to allow Mal’s tongue to take over. It was everything I’d been afraid to dream of. A car horn brought me back to reality. I was horrified.

“Stop. ¡Basta!” I pushed Mal away and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “We can’t do this. It would jeopardize our work relationship. I don’t want to ruin it.” I took out my cell phone and texted the cab service I always used.

“Tobie, I’m sorry. Please, let’s just talk about this.”

I gathered the remains of my sanity and said, “I’m tired, sir. I need to get some sleep so I can at least function a little bit in the morning.”

He stared at me and shook his head. “It’s Mal, remember?” With a sigh, he picked up his luggage. “Okay. I’ll see you at work tomorrow. We’re not done talking about this, though.”

“Have a good evening.” I grabbed my bags and walked away, heading to the meeting point for the cab. I couldn’t believe I’d let things go that far. My c**k was hard enough to pound nails, and Mal’s had been hard, too. Cabrón. What the f**k have we done?