The Boss in the Bedroom (MxM)

8. Not this Again

On the following Monday, Damien returned to work as if nothing had transpired between us, plunging me into a whirlpool of confusion and exasperation. The sense of déjà vu was maddening, leaving me both bewildered and irritated. Damien's interaction with me was limited to a mere greeting, and he remained reticent throughout the day. Even when he stepped into my office, a glimmer of hope ignited within me, only to be extinguished as he presented documents for approval, accompanied by only the barest of remarks.

It made no sense at all, and I yearned for someone to enlighten me on why Damien was pretending that Friday night had never occurred. I really believed we were on a promising path, so where exactly did it go wrong?

To complicate matters further, Ethan's behavior had taken an odd turn since Friday night as well. Back then, I dismissed it, hoping the unease would dissipate, but it had persisted. Ethan continued acting all shifty at work, as if he were hiding something from me.

Finally deciding that I'd had enough of everyone hiding things and acting wierd, I decided to just straight up confront Ethan when he came into my office to run over the day's schedule with me.

"Alright Ethan spit it out, whats wrong with you"

"Excuse me?"

"Why have you been acting all strange? you left the club without a word on Friday, you were acting all distant when I called you and after that, you didn't even bother to pick up any more of my calls for the entire weekend. whats up with you? did something actually happen to you in the bathroom that day? you were gone for quite a while"

"You're overthinking things Lukas. I already told you, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? you know you can tell me anything Ethan, I promise I won't laugh or judge you."

"I'm serious Lukas, theres really nothing."

"Fine then, since everyone suddenly want to keep secrets from me," I grumbled under my breath.

"Quit acting like a baby Lukas. Fine I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to make a big deal out of it."

"Don't you trust me, Ethan? I'm the king of neutral reactions," I said, causing Ethan to narrow his eyes at me.

"Alright, so, um... I have this friend..."

"Okay first off, so that's clearly a lie. We both know I'm your only friend, but I'll play along for now."

"SO, I HAVE THIS FRIEND," Ethan repeated more loudly, ignoring my comment.

"Got it, your 'friend'," I replied, playing along.

"So, this 'friend' is curious... about how it feels to, you know, be with a man. And also, how did you figure out you were... interested in men?" Ethan asked, his gaze awkwardly shifting away.

I was caught off guard, but I fought to conceal my shock to spare Ethan any discomfort. "Wow, Ethan, your 'friend' has a crush on a guy? Do I know him? Is he someone from the club?"

"Forget I said anything. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned it," he muttered, moving to walk away.

"Wait calm down, I'm not going to judge you, Ethan."

"Of course you won't, considering you're the poster child for the LGBTQ+ community in this city, that's not the problem here."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said, feeling a bit proud.

"Here's the deal—this 'friend' had an encounter with a man that stirred some feelings."

"But did you dislike how it made you feel?"

"I didn't... I mean, he didn't. My friend says he didn't exactly hate it."

"Alright, well then maybe you should tell your 'friend' to give this man a chance and not let gender come between him and his happiness. And I just want you to know Ethan, it's perfectly okay if you're also attracted to men."

"I DON'T LIKE MEN, AND I'M NOT... GAY!" Ethan's words exploded, as if being gay was a forbidden notion, prompting me to involuntarily retreat in my seat. "I'm really sorry, Lukas. That wasn't my intention at all. I didn't mean to react like that. I'm just trying to navigate a lot of confusion, and it's getting to me."

"Clearly."

"I apologize, Lukas. I genuinely didn't mean for it to sound that way."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's move past this, okay? We have work to do. Let's go over today's schedule," I said, deciding it was best to conclude the conversation there, despite the barrage of questions that still swirled in my mind. I also decided to let it go before he said anything that could be even more offensive.

"Sure, alright. We're scheduled for a meeting with the Marketing and Advertising departments to discuss the rollout of our new clothing line."

Fantastic, that means on top of all this, I'll also be condemned to spend the next two and a half hours in a meeting room where I'll be forced to lock eyes with Damien as well.

As I navigated through work, the hours seemed to stretch endlessly, each tick of the clock echoing in my mind. I tried to immerse myself in tasks, to focus on anything other than the unspoken tension between Ethan and me. But it was hard to ignore, the weight of it hanging heavily in the air.

Eventually though, the dreaded meeting time arrived. Contrary to my initial apprehension, the meeting room was abuzz with activity as the Marketing and Advertising teams gathered. Presenters went through their slides, discussing strategies, timelines, and market trends. I listened, or at least tried to, my attention drifting in and out as I sifted through the papers before me.

Damien, to my surprise, seemed more engaged than usual. He was asking pertinent questions and offering insightful suggestions. In the midst of all our erotic encounters, I had actually almost forgotten that Damien did have one of the highest qualifications amongst all the staff that worked in our company. Each time his voice broke through the haze of my thoughts, I'd find myself involuntarily glancing at him. However, he was always engrossed in his own world of analysis, never meeting my gaze.

The meeting pressed on, a blend of informative discussions and sporadic humor, yet all I could really focus on was the churning atmosphere. The unspoken tension between us lingered, exacerbated by the close quarters we found ourselves in. The minutes felt like hours, the strain of keeping up appearances gnawing at my patience.

And then, it was over. The staff members shuffled out, chattering about lunch plans. I declined, opting to remain in the room, hoping that some solitude would grant me a moment of respite from the confusion.

"Sirs, the meeting's concluded. We're heading out to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Would you like to join us?" one of the staff members offered.

"No, don't worry about it. I think I'll stay here and review the proposals once more, see if there's anything else I need to add," I replied.

"Well, look at you, being all competent at your job," Ethan chimed in mockingly.

"Haha. You guys go ahead without me. I'll catch up in a bit."

I buried my head in the papers, engrossed in my task, when the sound of the door opening caught my attention.

"I already said I wasn't hungry, Ethan," I mumbled, not bothering to lift my head.

"Are you really sure you don't want to eat anything?"

"Damien."