Page 113 of Necessary Time

“Your boyfriend,” he said.

“Grayson isn’t my boyfriend,” I told him, brows pinched. “You were at my birthday party, did you not see…”

Rob cleared his throat, expression clearing. “Not Grayson.”

“My boyfriend’s name is…” I trailed off as the doors to the lobby opened, revealing my brother.

Rob, ever attentive and astute, followed my stare. “He looks old to be a boyfriend.”

“That’s my brother,” I corrected, immediately aware of how unkempt I must look with my recently relaxed tie knot. “He’s my boyfriend’s friend, though.”

“Older?”

I nodded.

“Hey, Wes,” Hendrix greeted, coming up to stand beside Rob.

“Henny, this is my boss.” I didn’t want Hendrix to cause a scene, and I didn’t want him to stay. Rob and I hadn’t talked about having visitors at work, but I didn’t think it was smiled upon when my whole job was to pay attention to the people who lived in the building, not my own friends.

“Henny?” Rob chuckled, again extending his hand, this time to my brother.

“Hendrix,” he corrected, returning the gesture. “Hendrix Sutton.”

“Rob McAvoy. I’m Wesley’s boss.”

“And Grayson’s.”

Rob smiled, but it fell flat. “Guilty as charged.”

Hendrix made a noise in the back of his throat that I couldn’t’ make sense of, then turned to me. “I don’t know when you’re off, but wanted to come see if we could get dinner after. And talk.”

I wouldn’t have gone as far as to say I’d been avoiding my brother since Saturday. It wasn’t like we talked every day since I’d moved or anything, but I hadn’t really answered any of his messages either. Sunday, I’d spent the day with Grayson and Colin, so I’d been busy. David’s flight back to Brixton was at lunch time, so even though we hadn’t seen each other again, we’d left things in a good place. Not what they’d been before the kiss, but better than they were when I left town.

Hendrix was the only open end.

Rob glanced down at his watch. “You can take off now if you want, Wes.”

“I don’t mind staying the whole shift,” I said. “That was part of the deal. My brother just has no sense of personal boundaries when it comes to things with me. He can wait.”

Hendrix sighed audibly.

“Twenty minutes isn’t going to kill us on your first day,” Rob said, waving off my protest. “Besides, with that tie on, it must have felt like twelve hours, not eight.”

I loosened the knot more and popped the top button on my shirt. “A bit,” I agreed.

“Tomorrow, then.”

I logged into the time clock system on the laptop behind the desk and punched out for the day, saying goodbye to Rob and then narrowing my eyes at my brother. “I can’t believe you.”

“I said I could wait,” Hendrix protested.

I ushered him out of the lobby and down the street. There was a small coffee shop on the corner, and that was all I wanted to give Hendrix for now.

“If it could wait, you should have,” I said, pulling open the door to the shop. Instantly, my nose was assaulted by the lush and vibrant smell of whole coffee beans and sugary syrups. It felt warm and wholesome, a relief from the way Hendrix was currently making me feel.

I ordered and Hendrix ordered after me, paying for us both.

Another overbearing mark for him, but I let that one slide since my finances had dwindled to a state of absolute misery. My first paycheck from Rob couldn’t come soon enough. I knew Grayson wasn’t going to let me start paying rent, but it would be nice at least to take Colin out sometimes instead of always being the recipient of his welfare.