Page 7 of His Middle

Sawyer regarded Noah. “Would that be acceptable? I apologize if I overstepped my boundaries with your other employee, but his behavior was out of line.”

Arlen piped in, “He was born out of line and has been treating Noah like shit.”

The corners of Sawyer’s mouth quirked. “I remember you from before.” He gestured between him and Noah. “You two have been friends for quite a while, right?”

Arlen nodded with a smile then stuck out his hand. “Yeah. My name’s Arlen. Nice to meet you, Sawyer. We were never formally introduced.”

Sawyer took Arlen’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “No, we weren’t. Thanks for having Noah’s back.” Sawyer turned to Noah again. “Can Arlen leave for lunch, or would you like him to stay?”

Noah sat up straighter, only just realizing he’d been slumped in the chair. “He can go to lunch, that’s fine.”

Arlen gave a thumbs up with a grin behind Sawyer’s back. “Awesomeness. I’ll see you guys later.”

As soon as Arlen left, Sawyer turned back to face him, advancing with his arms stretched open. Once he reached him, Sawyer leaned down and wrapped Noah in an embrace.

“I’m so sorry, Noah. This must be so tough for you.” Sawyer gave him a hearty squeeze before rising again. He gazed down at Noah, his eyes filled with compassion, a small glimmer catching the light. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

That was all it took. Noah broke down into big, ugly sobs, covering his face with his hands as all the stress, sadness and hopelessness unleashed. He barely registered Sawyer enfolding him in a hug again, but no longer had the strength to fight, to keep it together for the sake of the business, those around him and his own sanity.

At first, Noah tried to resist the closeness. His embarrassment over losing control in the first few minutes of Sawyer’s arrival was huge. While he didn’t think there was anything wrong with his feelings, or in finally giving into them, he could’ve at least tried to hold it together until he was alone. Now Sawyer would see what a true mess he was and that his best friend had raised a weak son, one who was incapable of protecting his legacy.

But as the minutes passed and Sawyer held on, Noah relaxed in the comforting embrace and rested his head on Sawyer’s shoulder. His loud sobs gradually diminished to hitched breaths and obnoxious sniffling. Noah rubbed his shirt-covered arm under his nose. He mused that he’d better invest in some more professional looking shirts. The one he was wearing was the end of his minimal button-up collection.

“Hey, let me grab you a tissue.”

Sawyer gave him one last squeeze, then rose. Noah couldn’t make eye contact, so he kept his gaze pinned on his lime green Chucks. He’d wanted to dress nicely for his first meeting with Sawyer, and the high-tops were the only pair of shoes he had left that didn’t have scuff marks or holes. Upon reflection, however, his choice seemed less mature than he’d been aiming for.

His dad had always come to the club in silk shirts and dress slacks, the consummate businessman. Initially, Noah believed that simply changing from a T-shirt to a long-sleeved button-up would be enough. But the truth was, his choice of apparel wouldn’t magically cure his inability to run a kink club.

“Uh, Noah? Do you have any tissue in here?”

Noah gave another hearty sniff, his voice cracking as he spoke. “Sorry, no. There’s a roll of paper towels on the file cabinet, though.”

He pointed to the one across the room, next to the door. The lone cabinet held all the member files. Unfortunately, Noah couldn’t find the key to that one, so had no idea who’d paid their dues and who hadn’t.

Sawyer returned with a sheet from the roll and handed it to him. Noah accepted the offering but wouldn’t meet his gaze. While he swiped at his cheeks then blew his nose, Sawyer perched on the edge of the desk right next to him and folded his hands.

“Take a few deep breaths, Noah. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Noah peered up at Sawyer, calmed by his soothing voice. He was met with Sawyer’s soft smile.

“Thanks.”

Noah sucked in a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. He could do this. He could move forward. Hope had once again blossomed inside him. Sawyer was a smart, successful businessman. He was a Daddy, loved the lifestyle and wouldn’t make Noah feel like a loser. Sawyer was a good man.

And what this club deserves.

Noah held a trembling lip at bay. The club certainly didn’t deserve his sorry ass.

“I can tell you’re beating yourself up, Noah. It’s written all over your face.” Sawyer sniffed as well, and Noah was reminded how much his dad’s death must be affecting him. “His passing is such a shock. No one could’ve done any better than you have under the circumstances. I know you’ve had no guidance, otherwise you wouldn’t have asked me here. You need to cut yourself a break.”

Noah hugged himself. Sawyer was such a nice person and seemed sincere. Maybe hehadbeen blaming himself too much for the state of the club.

“Thanks. I have a feeling I’ll be telling you that a lot.” He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I guess I have been getting pretty down on myself. But I just don’t understand why he left the club tomeof all people. It’s not as if he didn’t know I was clueless when it came to business things. I used to have to ask him for help all the time when I did my taxes or needed to handle the more boring parts of my business.”

“That’s right,” said Sawyer. “You design T-shirts? Am I remembering that correctly?”

“Yeah.” Noah snorted. “Wellusedto design T-shirts. I had to put my online store on pause. I haven’t exactly been feeling all that artistic lately and anyway—who the hell has time?”

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