Page 15 of His Middle

Noah blinked several times. “Oh my God. That’s genius. You just came up with that off the top of your head?”

Sawyer chuckled. “Your creativity inspired me. Now I’m ready to see the grand finale. What theme did you choose for the largest room?”

“Come on, I’ll show you.”

Noah could barely keep from skipping down the hall.Oh my God. Sawyer was totally going to save the day. His father’s club wasn’t doomed.

“Ta da!” Noah flipped on the switch of the nursery room.

Sawyer slapped a hand to his forehead as he crossed the threshold. “Jesus, Noah. This is a crime, an absolute crime.”

Noah’s shoulders drooped. “You don’t like it?” So much for unbridled joy.

Sawyer whipped his head around. “Are you kidding? It’s fucking fantastic! You call me genius?” He waved his hands around excitedly. “Was this also you? Not just the murals, but the giant rainbow playpen? The mat with a town and roads and farm that the littles can play on, use for their trucks and cars and animals?”

Sawyer rushed to the collection of toy boxes at the far end of the room. Like the play pen, they were made of the same durable plastic. They were also easy to clean. Adult-sized littles could wreak so much more damage on equipment than their tinier counterparts.

Noah’s joy returned along with a heaping dose of pride. That was something he couldn’t remember feeling in a very long time, probably not since he’d made his first T-shirt sale and gotten his first glowing review. He jogged over to where Sawyer was rifling through the contents of the toy boxes.

“My dad sort of put me in charge of these rooms. Even though I’m not a little, I know what they like. I asked around, too.” Noah pointed to the bookshelf at the end of the row of boxes. “I also have board games and story books over there, and that purple box has stuff for middles, too.”

He glanced around the room, the happiness he’d experienced while designing and painting the space returning. “I know the cute animals, little gnomes and dancing sprites aren’t exactly middle themes, but sometimes middles use this room. Especially if a party is booked where there’s a mixture of littles and middles.” He pointed to the playpen area. “I saved that wall for the ABC’s and cow jumping over the moon themes. We get a lot of ABDL parties.”

Sawyer straightened then faced the open room again. “Wow. Just…wow.” He opened his arms in the direction of the picnic area. “And how cute is that? Picnic benches and a play BBQ set. I freakin’ love it.” He groaned. “I’m dying to get started on marketing this, but first thing’s first. We have to make sure we have a strong staff. No point in bringing in a lot of customers only to piss them off with subpar service.”

A wave of emotion washed over Noah and he tipped back his head, letting the rising tears drain down his throat. When he lowered it, he caught Sawyer’s concerned gaze.

“What is it, Noah? If I’m moving too fast or being too pushy, it’s okay to tell me no. These are just ideas.”

Noah’s voice hitched. “God, no. I don’t think I’d ever say no to you.” He cleared his throat at Sawyer’s startled expression. “I mean, about the business. I’ve been so lost and…” He inhaled a shuddering breath. “Overwhelmed. Like, unable to process anything at all. Total deer in the headlights cliché.” He locked eyes with Sawyer. “Be as pushy as you want. If you weren’t here right now, I’d be sitting in the office staring into the abyss.”

Sawyer regarded him, the hint of a battle in his features as if he were struggling to come up with the right response. At last, he stepped closer to Noah then drew him into a hug. Noah melted against Sawyer’s solid frame, sighing as he gave himself over to the embrace, reveled at being held by someone who genuinely cared.

In a move that happened so fast he almost missed it, Sawyer pressed a quick kiss to his temple then let go. However, he kept both hands resting on Noah’s shoulders as he drilled his stare into Noah’s eyes.

“I’ll keep saying this as often as you need to hear it. You. Are. Not. Alone. I won’t leave you to face uncertainty about your future.” Sawyer pressed his lips together before continuing. “I also need you to consider something. Yes, your father’s club is important to you and important to our community. Butyouare even more important. Your value extends beyond your role as owner of Club Playpen. We can make this business thrive, I’m a hundred percent on that. But I’m more personally invested in guaranteeing that you are a happy, fulfilled person.”

The damn tears filled his eyes again, but this time, he couldn’t stop them from rolling down his cheeks.

“Living my best life.”

Sawyer smiled. “Good.” He straightened then swiped his thumb beneath Noah’s eye, then did it again to the other. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.” He rubbed Noah’s back. “Come on. I want to see the rooms upstairs, then check out the kitchen and bar.”

Noah sniffed loudly then nodded. “Okay.” He sniffed again. “I can’t wait to hear what you say about them. I’ve actually had some ideas on things we could improve, things I’d like as a customer, but was afraid they were stu—” At Sawyer’s disapproving look, Noah clamped his jaw shut. “Uh. I mean, I’m not sure if they’ll work.”

Sawyer winked with a smile. “Good catch.” He jerked his head toward the doorway. “Now let’s finish up before the initial staff arrives. Even if I’m not your manager, I know how difficult confrontation is for you. I’d like your permission to terminate the employment of some of your most problematic people. Then we can do evaluations of everyone else and go from there.”

Noah had a feeling he knew who Sawyer’s main target was.

“You totally have my permission. But who will run the bar?”

Sawyer burst into laughter. “We’ll make sure we have a plan before we let him go. If need be, I’ve had a bit of experience behind a bar in my youth. And in this case, I won’t even have to remember all the ingredients to a Mai Tai.”

Noah pinched his eyebrows together. “What’s a Mai Tai?”

Sawyer groaned. “Uh-oh. I’m showing my age. Let’s just say it’s a drink with too many ingredients that I always messed up and leave it at that.

“Oh. Sorry.”

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