Page 28 of Kiren

There were others sitting in the room on hard chairs, waiting. I didn’t know what they were here for, but the HR officer saw each person privately.

Max and I had agreed to meet here at 10 a.m. on Monday. Max was late.

I had to ask my boss for permission to attend the appointment. He couldn’t say no. Any HR activity could not be denied.

Max was his own boss. Why was he late? He had texted me earlier, saying he would be here to fill out the paperwork for us to officially be dating. I swung my feet, tapping the soles of my shoes on the floor.

The door opened. Finally. Max walked in, surveyed the room and spotted me. He smiled and came to sit beside me.

“What’s that?” The room was deathly quiet, which was probably why he whispered his question.

“The form to fill out.”

“I’ll need one, too.”

I waved toward the desk where a guy sat rapidly typing on his laptop. “I got it from him.”

Max got up, then came back with his own tablet.

Side by side, we went over all the questions, filling out our answers to match.

As we worked, people came in and out. Finally, someone called our name. We walked into the private office and sat before a big desk.

“Hi, I’m Mackenzie.”

“I’m Kiren,” I said.

“I’m Max.”

“I’m aware. I was getting all your information across my screen as you filled out the forms. Everything looks in order. Except—” She looked directly at me.

“What?”

“Your last name is Dobbs. I did look up your paperwork. You’re the son of Mike and Angie Dobbs.”

I nodded. “Is that a problem?”

“No, but if you are keeping this private, you should know they have access to these records.”

“It’s okay. They’ll be happy for me.”

“But maybe not so much that your partner is someone who works for them.”

Suddenly, I was irritated. “You don’t know that.”

“No.” Mackenzie stared at her screen as she spoke. “But I’m obligated to point out possible conflicts of interest. It’s just a statement and now I’ve made it.”

Max looked at me, eyebrow raised. “Should we be worried?”

“No. My parents want the best for me. They know I’m gay. They know I have been alone for some time, so they’ll be happy.”

Mackenzie finally looked away from her screen, smiling. “That’s good to hear, Kiren.” She turned to Max. “Max, you were informed of this beforehand, I assume?”

“That Kiren is the son of the corporation’s owners? Yes.”

“The rules are that you’re approved unless it appears that this relationship affects your work, for either of you, or you are found somehow to be using the relationship for favors and such.”

“Favors?” Max asked. “Like what?”

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