Page 9 of Roommates' Alpha
“Pizza’s hot,” I said to Micah as Ryan pushed me past the reception desk. “Get it while it’s good.”
I heard a chuckle from the other man as we approached Ryan’s new office.
“Ok,” Ryan said, a bit of insecurity creeping back into his voice. “Not all the furniture is in yet… and I haven’t had a chance to decorate… and…”
I turned, set my hands on his shoulders, and smiled. “You know I don’t care about that, Bug. I care that you’re excited about your new office. Show it to me now, and you can keep showing it off as you make it your own.”
He let out a long breath and leaned against me. “Thank you.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “You earned this.”
He chuckled. “Debatable.”
“No. You worked hard for years and do a good job. Your mates see that just as clearly as I do.”
He sighed. “Thank you.”
“Are you going to show me your office?” I teased. “Or are you going to weird out your new coworker by hugging your cousin for way too long in the reception area?”
“Ass.”
I chuckled as he stood and opened the office door for me.
The office was as sparsely decorated as Ryan had warned, but held so much potential. It had the same floor-to-ceiling windows as the rest of the floor, with interior brick walls to separate it from the executive office on one side, and a conference room on the other.
“You’ve got a lot of space,” I noted, turning to see Ryan standing in the door.
He nodded. “It might have only been a waiting area before, but nothing on this floor is exactly small.”
I laughed, thinking of the four huge executive offices and the ‘small’ conference room at the rear of the floor. I’d asked Brendan—the CEO—about it once, and he’d said that once a company reached a certain size, there were expectations about opulence from the C-suite.
Ryan fiddled with a small control panel next to the door, and the internal windows turned opaque. “It’s got the same privacy glass as the rest of the floor.”
“That’ll come in handy,” I teased.
Ryan blushed crimson. “Owen!”
I snickered. “Just try to tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
He flipped me off.
“I’ll let your mates do that, thanks.”
“You’re horrible,” he pouted.
“Only cause I love ya.”
His stance softened. “So… it’s ok?”
I looked around the office again. “It’s great, Bug. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.”
He smiled. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Luckily, there’s no rush. You have as long as you need.”
“Yeah.”
“Come get some pizza,” Alonzo said from just outside the door. “Before it gets cold.”