Out of Order | ONC 2022

7

Logan deduced that the rumors of Callum's hostile and standoffish personality couldn't have been further from the truth. Sure, awkward, and at first glance, Callum wasn't someone he'd see anybody approaching for small talk, but from what he gathered so far in the thirty-two minutes he spent in his second elevator ride with him, his boss was nicer than he had expected.

Not that he'd ever fully be comfortable with being in small cramped spaces with the CEO, but he could attribute the nerves more to his claustrophobia than Callum himself.

Callum stretched his neck, pulling his jacket off and loosening his tie. His hands fidgeted as if resisting the urge to pick up his phone from the center of the floor. "How much longer must we wait?"

"Twenty more minutes?" Logan muttered, tapping the screen on his phone. "Give or take."

"I sure hope so. I'm sweating in this suit, and I think I need to use the bathroom."

Logan grimaced. "Gross."

"Don't worry, I can hold it." Callum pointed to the opposite corner, where his papers had been. "Worst case, I've decided I'd use that corner."

"Please don't." Logan made a face that Callum laughed at. He couldn't imagine his CEO deciding to relieve himself in this situation, even with the only light being from his cell phone.

"I'm joking. I am starting to regret that extra coffee, though." Callum clenched and unclenched his hands. "Probably should've eaten more than just half of a salad."

"Can't handle caffeine?"

Callum shrugged. "Among other things. My body's decided to break down already."

Logan wasn't sure if that was a joke, so he nodded and pulled out his phone. There was no service, but Logan still went through the typical routine, checking his messages and emails, which hadn't loaded. The texts from Chris were still there left unresponded, and he was sure once those doors opened, he'd get a bunch of texts and calls from him again. He'd remind himself to block him once he got home.

Logan's nose flared at the messages from earlier before flipping to another app, which wasn't up to date either without the service.

"So," Callum drawled, pointing at his phone. "Boyfriend?"

"Huh?"

Callum blinked before raising his hand to press against his forehead. "I didn't mean to read the message. I just saw—"

"Oh," Logan exclaimed, glancing down at his phone, flipping it over instinctually. "No."

"No?"

Logan almost laughed at the confusion on Callum's face. "Uh, ex-boyfriend."

There was a blank expression on Callum's face. "Oh."

Logan nodded slowly in confusion, to which Callum attempted to hide his face again.

"Forget I asked. Sorry."

Logan was more amused than anything, shaking his head. When Callum finally looked at him, Logan bit back his grin. "Is that a problem, having an ex-boyfriend? Or a boyfriend in general?"

"What? No." Callum frowned. "Why would that be my problem—I mean, having a boyfriend isn't a concern. Or the company's or mine. We're accepting of everyone around here; after all, if we weren't, that would be pretty hypocritical, granted the scandals I've been through. Regardless, I shouldn't have read it. I just saw it earlier too, when I bumped into you."

With the tilt of his head, Logan recalled dropping his phone earlier. "Oh, right. I wasn't looking where I was going either, so it's not entirely your fault either. And it's fine. Just some ex."