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Souls of the Night – Vol 3
38.
"It's good to have you back," Lavonne said with a warm smile.
"Glad to be back," I replied and, although my stomach was still a little cramped, a big stone fell from my heart when my work clan had settled around me and they began to eat. But - even though I didn't want to talk about the matter and everything concerning it, I still had to ask.
"How's your rib, Chad?"
The tall, muscular blond looked at me with a grin.
"Meh. Not too bad. Alistair totally exaggerated at the company doctor. It's just a very small fissure and I'm not allowed to do any sport for four weeks now."
"Oh, so sorry not to be sorry that I'm worried about my husband!"
"When you were allowed to lie on your back last night and Ali did all the work, there were supposedly no complaints," Lavonne said snippily and Chad gave his wife an artificially venomous look.
"We girls need to talk to each other about our misery," Alistair muttered, poking at her cheese noodle.
"And how are you doing, Nate? Those two assholes were a lot rougher on you," Ant asked over his depressingly large salad.
"I'm doing quite well. No broken bones. Quite a few bruises but ... I'm taking it slow. Except everyone's whispering about me..."
Without meaning to, I sighed in distress.
"And that's just the tip of the iceberg. For almost everyone here, you're totally lit!" whispered Lavonne and conspiratorially lowered her head, which we all immediately imitated.
But Ali spoke first and in a secretive tone. "You're subject number one on the general company network, Nathaniel. I'm surprised the accountants haven't built you a shrine, they brag about you so much. And I'm surprised that the PR bimbos were the first to want photos of you. It's not just in House B that you have a bunch of fans."
"Fans?" I was completely perplexed. It hadn't even vaguely crossed my mind that I might not experience rejection but encouragement and confirmation ... because I had hurt others.
"How can they think that's good? How can you do that? I acted like a lunatic!" I asked, looking around at the others.
My team members blinked in bewilderment or shook their heads in irritation.
"You were defending yourself!" Anthony insisted almost defiantly, gesticulating with his fork on which a large lettuce leaf was hanging. "They clearly had it in for you because, despite his muscles and trainer status, you pulled Floyd around the arena by the scruff of the neck without trying too hard. But they attacked YOU."
"Yeah, you didn't do anything wrong. And you were so cool. Bad ass. You totally slayed in that situation. No one would have thought you could do that and that's why you're swimming on top right now," Lavonne confirmed, looking at me with a pining expression and fluttering artificial eyelashes which made me feel uncomfortable all over again. I should quickly correct her false impression of me.
"I shouldn't get applause for violence," I said, rubbing my frayed ear in stress. Immediately afterwards, I let my hair fall over it again. I wondered if they still bought the biting dog story, or if they never had.
"You didn't hurt them that much," Chad said, waving it off. "It was probably the surprise that fucked them up the most. On top of the crippled pride."
"Don't worry about them anymore. They're both gone and they're not coming back. They had it coming. You were able to defend yourself, but what if they had picked on someone who wasn't as capable as you or someone as strong as my darling," Ali remarked, patting my forearm.
I smiled (no one had ever called me capable of defending myself before) but still felt bad that I had cost the two instructors their jobs. "But... that people here think that's good..."
"Nate, you're looking at it the wrong way. You were the victim. The party that was seemingly weaker. But you fought back and beat the crap out of your bullies. It can't seriously surprise you that you're currently the superstar in a company where 90 percent of the employees are people who have been bullied and harassed since childhood for being nerds, geeks, NPCs, or weak, or anxious, or asthmatic with a limp, or who got gluten-free pumpernickel sandwiches with vegan salami on them for school from their moms," Alistair explained and Chad nodded, chewing. "And accounting, Nate. An accountant like you did that. Accountants are the sorriest little critters in this zoo. They get out the least, do the most boring stuff. Sure, if you like numbers - okay. But really ... accountants! How could your colleagues not love you for this display of strength and agility. It's not ... well, it's not the same as prestige, but it gives the whole standing of the department a boost. You're the idol of accounting."
"Not just theirs, you belong to all of us," Anthony said, nodding rather proudly as if my "achievement" was his achievement.
"Oh, stop it," I huffed, feeling myself blush again. But I hadn't thought of it like that before. I had really stood up to bullies. And although my history with violence was certainly extreme, many here weren't alpha animals who knew how to fight back. How many of the highly paid researchers and technicians here had spent their youth as invisible ghosts or eating dirt at the feet of their tormentors? Of course, I hadn't really scored a victory for all the sad losers of the world-. But ... perhaps a little satisfaction. Had I really managed to get people to look up to me? What a strange, absurd thought.
"You're like Superman," Lavonne said reverently and I stood up and stretched to grab a packet of salt from the dispenser on the table not because my potato salad lacked salt (it was excellent as was the cordon bleu, which had neither been frozen nor come in packs of a hundred - that much was obvious) but to get away from her hand on my knee and sit down ten inches further away without it offending her. Other men would be flattered when such a beautiful, strong, confident woman was developing a crush on them - or had one already? But I only wanted Lexington. My gaze wandered out of the window where the almost full moon wasn't visible due to the clouds, but I imagined I could feel it.
"You exaggerate!" I whispered, but with fondness for my friends. And they were my friends. I could behave SO badly and they weren't repulsed.
"Maybe. But we freaks have to stick together," Chad said and reached for Ali's hand opposite him, who looked at him lovingly while he kissed it in an English noble manner.
"Sooooo, where did this lit shit come from?" asked Lavonne after one minute silence. "The rumor mill is swirling with the story that you're the son of a Muslim martial arts guru ... or that you fell into a vat of Acme acid."
I laughed much more genuinely than before and the others giggled and laughed with me. How strange to infect others with my laughter instead of dragging them down or amusing them with my tragedy and patheticness. I briefly wondered whether I should pull out one of the alibi stories. Then I decided to stay as close to the truth as I could, because I felt really comfortable and safe with my friends. I didn't know if this would cause problems in the near or distant future, but I really trusted them. It was bad enough for my conscience that Lexington had falsified my CV and I now had to rush through my full accountancy training (which had also been fast-tracked with money) so that at least my certificates were genuine. It was just a formality, I had the knowledge, the skills (even beyond that because you had to have a certain talent or the right motivation through the menace of greater violence to smuggle as much money past the tax authorities into Jussuf's pockets as I had done over the years).
"I really have learned these tricks from friends. And ... I didn't know that I would be able to defend myself like that but I think if you do the same exercises long enough then a lot of things go into muscle memory. My friends said it would be good for me to have better control of my body and to get confidence in my ability to defend myself ... after what happened to me. I think..." After sucking in a deep breath, I let it out with a long pffff I said, " My old boss was an asshole. He bullied me for years. I mean ... really ... badly."
Anthony nodded and looked at me urgently as if he knew what I was talking about. Yes ... Anthony seemed like he'd spent a few years hiding in school toilet stalls. "There are assholes like that everywhere. Give them a little power and they-"
"That wasn't all, Anthony. This guy ... was also my sister's boyfriend and fiancé."
"Shit," Ali and Chad groaned at the same time.
"And my parents' favorite," I said, and a sound between laughter and sobbing escaped me. My smile felt strangely painful, and I sensed the other entity inside me stirring up imaginary winds of disgust.
"Fuck, no," Lavonne growled, and from the side it almost looked like her delicate skin was vibrating and wobbling with anger... probably just a twitch or two of the muscles in her face. Then she took a deep breath and it was over. No one looked at me with pity ... only with understanding that spoke of their own old suffering or of being different and misunderstood. They deserved as much truth as I could give them. Especially Lavonne deserved that, even if I shied away from the fallout.
"But ... My friends helped me. They gave me emotional strength when I couldn't muster any. And they gave me confidence in qualities I never knew I had. And I was really devastated when Lex found me and he helped me so much and I love him so much for it."
I poked at my potato salad, which had a fascination all of its own right now, and felt the perplexed silence roll over me, a side effect of intense reflection. No one at this table was stupid. But they only knew Lexington Wywern and not ... my Lex.
"- Lex? Your friend?" Ali then asked. I raised my eyes and she smiled. Now my own smile no longer hurt and my cheeks were warm just thinking about him.
"Um, yes. mine. So Lex Eyrie- my boyfriend."
"So boyfriend like ... lover?" Ant asked and I nodded firmly.
Lavonne's head banged on the table, making us wince and look to her.
Lavonne moaned and it sounded far too pained and upset to be remotely sexual and the others giggled like idiots while she whined and didn't give a shit about her makeup and Ant had to push her tray away from her so her afro didn't rub through her food.
"Nooooooooo! Whyyyyyy? I'm so salty fucked up! What's going to happen to Tiana and Xavier! And OMG, why are all the good ones GAY!" Somewhere across the room a fork fell to the floor and - yes, Lavonne had been heard by everyone here and even if the cafeteria was only a third full I would be known as "the gay" tomorrow (and that term only at the best of times). And a small part of me (maybe muscle memory again) wanted to duck my head and flee because of it but the much larger part let me keep my back straight.
To be honest ... it didn't bother me at all, I realized. A small startle, a blip in my heartbeat. But no paralyzing fear, no constricting panic. It was a fact and I didn't regret a single word. No one here was from my family, no one here knew me beyond what I'd already shown them, and the being in me nodded in approval at the thought that these humans knew THIS gay guy could kick their asses all over the place if they let me experience gay bashing. Not to mention that I knew people in the upper echelons who would fire them for it with or without my consent. They should know that I wasn't a stereotype ... not only. That I was more. That I could be capable of defending myself (physically) and be gay at the same time. Just now I remembered this saying I once read by ... Jason Collins? Yes. Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it's a good place to start.
"Yes," I admitted among humans for the first time in my life. "I'm gay and I'm in a relationship and ... It's not always easy but he loves me very much and I love him. I'm sorry, Lavonne. You're a gorgeous woman-"
She turned her face to me on the table and her smile was terribly pained. "- and someday I'll find someone who deserves my gorgeousness, yes?"
"Yes!" I said at the same time as everyone else and Ant wanted to reach out to Lavonne but she lifted her head abruptly and he pulled it back.
"Okay," she said, pulling out a small flip-up mirror and checking her make-up within three seconds before snapping the mirror shut with a biting click and once again becoming the confident, imperturbable leader of the pack.
"That Lex is very lucky. Does the idiot know that?" she asked coolly and I smiled broadly.
"Yes. He knows that."
"Well hopefully, because you're one of my pups now and even if you can physically kick ass, I'll fuck that guy up if he hurts you," she said patronizingly and we all laughed at that, which made Lavonne pout. She really was a pack mom and I felt so relieved that everyone knew what I was like and that no one disowned me for it. I'd even get through the perhaps uncomfortably snarky whispered comments from other teams with my friends.
Lavonne snapped her fingers.
"So ... cards on the table! We want photos."
"Of what?" I asked with my mouth full because I had thought I could finally eat in peace and got an annoyed look very similar to Tachi's.
"Of what or who, duh! I want to see who thinks he's good enough for my cub."
"We all want to see him," Ali mumbled and even the boys looked extremely curious.
"Uhm I - haha. I ... might have a picture." My laugh was terribly bashful. I didn't think I'd have to show photos so soon. But Lexington had lived up to his casual comment of a few days ago. He'd even had fun doing it, and it showed in the photos. Tachi, who had taken the photos (as she had experience with her camera for the fashion shoots for her website), had also been quite enthusiastic about taking photos of us together in new outfits even as humans. Which had eventually led to a photo session where both of them had stirred up each other's subliminally sadistic tendencies and had had devilish fun making me embarrassed. My phone was pulled out of my fingers as soon as I unlocked it and accessed the isolated photo folder with Lex and Nate's 2022 photos. The four people gathered around and behind Lavonne and I could only see in the distance what my screen was showing.
The first picture was of me and Lex Eyrie (the human of course- always just the human) in front of the Statue of Liberty. A typical, standard shoot but the classics just clicked and it was weird to see us both in front of the Statue of Liberty in the daytime. Like looking into another universe where no one had ever been a gargoyle. He and I, smiling, my arm wrapped around his waist (the only thing I really liked about my human Lexington was that I could put my arms around him) and his head leaning against me because I was slightly taller. And my whole team sighed in enrapture, all grinning or making sounds of delight.
"Ohhh he's so cute," Alistair sighed and Chad, who wasn't at all jealous of the phrase which spoke for their stable relationship, nodded and said;
"He looks young. Younger than you?"
I smiled and lied through my teeth. "He's only two years younger than me. But he looks even younger than that. Good genes I guess." After all, Lex and I had worked out an alibi-story including a script and it would be a waste not to stick to it at least a little. Besides, I had better learn to fib if I wanted to keep up the charade. I knew Lexington would go along if I decided to be more transparent about our relationship - but I didn't want to cause problems for anyone.
"Pretty ordinary, though. You're an eight and he ... at most a six if you like the small, cute ones," Lavonne murmured critically, wrinkling her nose as her eyes darted from me to the photo to assess what I might see in this short, slender, baby-faced fellow.
"He's not ordinary. He's extraordinarily wonderful," I said, trying to stifle my grin because they would never know how extraordinary he really was. I realized that I liked that they knew what my friend looked like (at least this version of him). I wasn't ready to reveal to the world that I was in a homosexual interspecies relationship with a gargoyle because that would have raised too many other questions that the press might end up being interested in like my tragic backstory or why Nathaniel Sharif had "disappeared" for three months but a blue-skinned gargoyle named Nate had shown up and THAT would inevitably raise the question of magic and with our luck Alexander would somehow get caught in the dragnet.
But this ... just this photo - that was safe territory. I wanted to take my cell phone again, but Lavonne had already swiped further. More sounds of delight and a few giggles. I craned my neck and chuckled myself because in the picture Lex had his arms wrapped around my neck from behind, hanging halfway over my back and sticking his tongue out towards the viewer. My facial expression, on the other hand, was hilarious, vacillating between horror (because Lex had really jumped me) and laughter because he had, well, jumped me. We both looked playful and light-hearted, as if there wasn't a single problem in the world for us.
Another swipe and oohs and ahhs were emitted.
"Is that Hawaii?" Ant asked at the same time as Ali and Chad laughed and Lavonne commented that Lex looked like a pale couch potato. And wasn't the photo really predisposed to assume that because it showed me and Lex on our last "vacation (and it didn't matter where it was because Lex had photoshopped it as well as every other background perfectly down to the imperfections like the sand on our legs or my sweaty forehead). We were both standing next to each other in swimming trunks (his with comic bats, mine with flames on it - thanks Tachi - very subtle) in front of a South Sea backdrop with palm trees and azure blue sea and Lex looked chalky pale and terribly dorky with his boyish physique, huge sunglasses, no hair on his chest or legs but a thick white blob of suntan lotion on his nose. And his grin! Yes - he had had a little TOO much fun during the production. But I thought he looked cute. Dorky and cute.
"Yes, Hawaii. And he also works with technology in an office so he doesn't get that much sun." I laughed softly at this particular truth and the others ignored it because they probably blamed my reaction on the fond memory. Another swipe and everyone laughed out loud because I guess the picture that appeared was of the two of us in front of a Christmas tree with phenomenally silly Christmas sweaters (Lexington's even had lights). And Lex was wearing a Santa hat and I ... Reindeer antlers with bells on because Lex and Tachi had agreed that it suited me so well. Which the others probably thought too. I thought I looked infinitely goofy but I guess that was the point, right?
"Ohhh, our baby deer," Lavonne crooned with a delighted grin and finally her ice queen façade melted because yes - the faked Lex and I were super cute in the photos and absurdly ridiculous and visibly "happy" and although I knew that nowadays, especially on the internet, many alleged snapshots were photoshopped for the viewers, deliberately lit and calculated, I felt a brief shiver run down my spine.
Nothing in these pictures was real, they were just meant to give an impression. And I wondered if Lexington had unconsciously composed these pictures this way because he wanted our relationship to be so seemingly easy and fulfilling for both of us. I was nothing like those pictures. Lex wasn't anyway. I would never be the way he perhaps subconsciously wanted me to be. Did I wish it was like that between us? A picture in the sunshine? A picture that everyone sighed about in delight and commented on how perfectly we matched. I looked at my hands while my friends went through the last pictures, made little comments and assumed I was happy.
Was I happy? Or at least content? As content as Nathaniel Sharif could be? Would I ever be, even when the echoes disappeared and my psyche became more stable again, the problem with Jussuf was solved and the level of normality that was possible with a gargoyle boyfriend and a clan set in? Was I enough for Lex? I kneaded my suddenly ice-cold hands, which were far too human, and looked out of the window again. At the moon, which was no longer hidden behind clouds. It wasn't full yet but so beautiful even if my human eyes missed the gargoyle's vision. Yet I felt the pull of the satellite and it beckoned me to glide and then find my mate and wrap myself around him. Suddenly the spot between my shoulder blades tingled, which would have been an erogenous zone if I had still been a gargoyle. And that deep, almost painful longing for Lexington kicked in again, like a drumbeat. A yearning so deep that I wanted to whimper and chirp sadly and grumble in frustration. Longing, yearning, starving. Not for Lex Eyrie from those silly photos, but for my gargoyle Lexington.
And suddenly the spell was broken. Someone cleared his throat behind us and Anthony, who was standing with me but mainly behind Lavonne, which was still sitting, turned around and shrieked.
.
"Oh holy God!" Anthony sputtered, falling backwards against Nathaniel, who grunted in surprise before grabbing his stocky but heavier teammate to keep him from falling to the ground. There would have been a perplexed silence, massively uncomfortable for everyone including Lavonne, had I (the cause and perpetrator of the general shock) who was suddenly standing with them with a tray of the day's normal menu, not huffed with a good-natured smile and hopefully more charming than intimidating mischief in my eyes.
"A bit over the top, don't you think? And even if it's not entirely wrong in this context, I feel a little more comfortable with Mr. Wywern. Although I don't really mind people calling me Lexington. So- I wouldn't be miffed. Old habit. Is there an empty seat at this table?"
I nodded at the empty seat to the right of Nathaniel. And my friend, like everyone else, looked at me wide-eyed and open-mouthed. And probably every person in the cafeteria was staring, because somehow, apart from the distant clattering of dishes in one of the industrial dishwashers, not even the coughing of a mouse could be heard. And because the concentrated attention was on the gargoyle, who rarely showed up in mundane areas like the cafeteria, no one but myself noticed the tiny hint of happiness that flittered across Nathaniel's features to the superficial surprise. Something I couldn't help but teasingly flash a fang at. I was so relieved.
Tachi and Heather had been subtly trying to manipulate me, of course, but what had made me jump up from my executive chair and rush over here was Lavonne's hand on his knee, which had been pretty clearly visible from the positioning of the ceiling camera. I knew Nate was a big boy. I knew he could defend himself against his flirty teammate and say he didn't want to be touched when he worked up the guts. But the way Nate had then jumped up and used the alibi of picking up salt packets to get further away from her had been SO unnerving to me that I couldn't just peep anymore. I had feared, not through words, but through Nathaniel's look and facial expression, that he would feel pestered, patronized and controlled by my appearance. Instead, there was relief and gratitude. I did bend one of our rules (bent it without breaking it) but it was a bend that Nathaniel welcomed.
"You want to join us? At this table?" asked Lavonne, who of course caught herself first, wiped her hands on her top as if they were sweaty, and handed Nathaniel back his cell phone. And I glanced at the screen to see one of our staged photos - a huge rift in the earth behind us, red rock everywhere and a rich blue sky above, he and I in khaki shorts, and Tachi swore we didn't look like complete idiots with the sunglasses, caps and merchandise T-shirts that said Grand Canyon National Park, just like normal tourists. She was evil to the core and I had to retouch Nathaniel in every picture because he was so terribly flushed but of course the real photos were on my phone because he looked more overwhelmed and adorable in every picture and I COULDN'T delete something like that. So now his team knew that there was me (this version of me) and that Nathaniel didn't need anyone else and never would! My friend hadn't required me - he had let the cat out of the bag on his own and quite willingly and my wide grin probably looked a lot like snarling as I regarded Lavonne Smith.
"If I may. A much smarter person than me told me I needed to work on my social skills. I would be an exotic in my own company. And as the saying goes, `If your employees never have the chance to talk to you, be assured they are talking about you.` I intend to change that. So ... am I allowed to eat here or would that make someone feel uncomfortable? I can also sit down somewhere on my own like a pariah," I said, peering into the seat next to my friend.
He blinked, lowered his head in a gesture that was simply humble and sweet and said:
"Well- of course, Mister Wywern. Please, we haven't really started eating yet."
I placed my tray with the standard menu next to his and his teammates took their seats again and, having decades of practice, I found it easy to ignore their stares as I unfolded my napkin and placed it on my lap.
"These cordon bleus look good," I commented as I looked from my plate to his and back.
"They are really good. We're all happy with the cafeteria," Nate said, and I grinned because I guessed he said that because praise for anything in or about the company was probably expected towards the boss. He wasn't much of an actor, but he was trying. Well - then I would throw in my five cents in too.
"Then I will eat here much more often from now on," I promised without anyone other than Nate knowing it was a promise. "After all, it's my company."
"Of course," my beloved replied and took a deep breath before starting to eat himself. Out of the periphery of my large eyes, I saw that the other humans were still looking at me (and yes, I felt the stares and heard the whispers with Gargoyle senses). But I didn't care. It was nice to sit next to my vitreous prince and eat with him. It was nice that he didn't seem to be uncomfortable with having me with him in public, even though we both suspected that our interaction would become conspicuous sooner or later. And ... Nathaniel had told his friends about his sexual orientation AND about his human boyfriend. If he was ready for that ... then at some point he would be ready for the other. How we would then explain that I was his boyfriend ... we would cross that bridge when we got there. Could I fake a love triangle between Lexington Wywern, Nathaniel Sharif AND Lex Eyrie? I almost bit my tongue at the thought.
"So mhmmm," Lavonne said after a few rather mechanical mouthfuls of her own meal and leaned forward to look at the true exotic at the table (me). I swallowed and smiled the most toothless smile I could manage with my underbite.
"Yes, Miss Smith," I said.
Her eyes widened briefly that I obviously knew who she was. I knew who everyone here at the table was because of Nathaniel, of course. I was happy with my choice of team if he felt comfortable and accepted.
When Lavonne remembered what she wanted to say, she smiled too.
"You were there the evening of the fight at the House B mandatory event?"
She phrased it as a question, although of course it was not one.
"Yes. The whole company management regrets what happened to Mr. Kyme and Mr. Sharif. Of course, an incident within the scope of employment is covered in every financial respect and we will deal harshly with the perpetrators. But ... I'm glad that at least it happened to people who were able to defend themselves." I looked at Nate and couldn't help but tease him. "An impressive spectacle. I wanted to glide to the rescue, but it wasn't necessary. Mister Sharif really turned over a new leaf." Nate froze for a second before trying to continue eating unaffected.
"A new leaf from where?" Alistair asked, confused.
Oops. I hadn't said that so cleverly. Now we had to get one of our alibis out quickly and stay sovereign.
"Since his time at university. And especially since last year," I said as I tried to cut my meat neatly but with real focus (damn blunt butter knives - tomorrow night I would send an email to the purchasing department that I wanted proper knives here before I had to use my claws).
"You and Nathaniel know each other?" Anthony asked, flabbergasted to the core, and Nate just shoveled his mouth so full that he could only muster an approving noise. Good - I was better at storytelling anyway.
"Fleeting. We were on a course together in 2008 and Mr. Sharif and I kept in loose contact from time to time. We lost track of each other for a few years, then we met up again at Technicom 2019. I had already told him last year that we were always looking for diligent accountants here, but I didn't even know that he had applied and been accepted. I am glad that he has decided to turn his back on his old bad working environment. And I'm glad that he happened to find such pleasant teammates. It's not enough to have a boyfriend who supports you - the working environment also contributes to your mental well-being. Sometimes you have to be ready for something new."
After Nate could no longer chew his current mouthful, he reached for his glass and drank in the slowest and most time-consuming way ever. But no one was interested in asking him questions right now. I was under the magnifying glass.
"You know his current boyfriend too?" Chad asked hesitantly and I ignored the critical undertone.
Chad and Alistair had been looking at each other for a long time during my story, carrying on a conversation with their eyes alone (a remarkably uncanny skill that Brooklyn and Katana also possessed and that I wanted to have with Nate at some point so that we could stir up others with it.) Did they suspect something? Did they notice that Lex Eyrie from the photos and Lexington Wywern looked a bit alike? Probably not. My skull bone especially as a gargoyle was different because of the larger eye sockets. My jaw was also completely different as a human being - almost surreal for me. Then there was the hair. Humans usually didn't have an eye for that - could rarely compare our gargoyle forms with human ones.
"Of course I also know Lex Eyrie. A fine fellow. Clever head. A little dogged and a little too protective of Nathaniel, but he's working on himself from what I've heard. I wish HE had been on the show to see how heroically defensive his friend can be. Or ... Or yes, I could send him the security camera footage - what do you think, Mr. Sharif?"
Smirking I raised my head to Nathaniel and he choked on his water at that very moment. Patiently but smiling, I patted him on the back while he coughed and recovered from his shock at having to contribute something to my alibi story.
"That - that's probably against data protection regulations," he gasped and I chuckled at that. Not a bad move.
"True," I admitted with a shrug and continued casually. "If he'd accepted my offer to work for us back then, he could have been an eyewitness. Where is he currently working?" Now Nate was a little more mentally with us and could participate in my tall tale. We had practiced - just in case - and it would be a shame if he let this exercise go to waste. And I was pleased to see that he remembered the script.
"At NVIDIA. AI development for 4 years," he said a little hesitantly but not at all shamefacedly. I would make him a reasonably good deceiver - just like the photoshoot thing, I thought it was quite spine strengthening to get him out of his comfort zone. It briefly crossed my mind that maybe I was overdoing it. I didn't want him to think I was punishing him for not wanting to tell the world the truth about our relationship just yet. I really didn't want that. But concealing the truth - as he had often done, did and tried to continue to do - was not far off from actual lying. Nate needed to get better at this. It was a survival skill as a familiar of gargoyles, as a clan member. It was just the way we lived. It was sad, but we had never completely left the shadows. There were and always would be things and happenings that no one outside our circle was ever allowed to know. I really hoped he didn't resent me for that. I nodded calmly and confidently.
"That's right. Competition - but only peripheral. No hard feelings, the pond is big enough. If he was unhappy there, I'd recruit him, but as it is ... "
"I think it reassures him to know that someone like you is running this company. And that I have a good team looking out for me," Nate murmured without looking at me or anyone else, but the little smile that was playing around his lips-. Now HE had caught me cold. I cleared my throat and didn't even know if amazement, embarrassment or pure happiness at his comment was the foremost emotion, which I tried to hide by simply nodding and concentrating hard on my food.
Jesus Christ, this chapter has gotten long. The whole food must have gone ice cold five times already (but cordon bleu tastes good cold too).
Thanks for reading Q.T.
P.S.: I think the next chapter will be another M for disturbing and/or sexual content. I'm not saying it's going to be a Pfefferkuchenhaus (Allegratree's and my code for asshole licking) but I'm not quite sure yet.