Chapter 29 My Boss And I (1)
My boss asked me to stay in late, but I already had a date planned out tonight. And I didn't want to come off as a rude and presumptuous fellow, so I sat my ass down and cumbered myself with the task at hand. Other colleagues of mine had stylishly sneaked in a goodbye before leaving and I was left with my boss.
"Mr. Tesla, how about these nuggets I came up with for the exclusive project?" I asked, coming into his office.
His eyes peered up from his computer. He was quiet for a minute, studying the file which I'd given to him.
"This is nice. Can you make it detailed enough?" His dark eyes shadowed.
I tried a quick smile, nodding my head but as soon as I was out the door. I tore off my necktie. What more did he want from me? I was far spent. He should have asked the rest of my colleagues to stay put if he badly needed suggestions for the forthcoming project.
Hilary's call pierced through the air, I grumbled as I reluctantly picked it up. "And where the hell are you? I've been here for the past forty minutes," she ranted.
"Calm down, Hilary," I said.
"Calm down?" She questioned in surprise.
"You'll blow the roof down," I tried a joke to lessen the tension.
"This is no time for jokes, Jonah. You're mostly muddled up in that new job of yours. And I do not like it," she whined.
I tried a smile. However worrisome her outbursts could be, Hilary could be so sweet. I groaned regrettably. This shouldn't be difficult, I could walk into Mr. Tesla's office and plead with him to put off our presumed work till the morrow.
"You know how badly I'd been searching for a job, baby. We will always have time. I promise you, I'll be with you soon," I assured her.
"Come quickly, baby." She finally huffed before putting off the call.
"Who was that?" A voice spoke from the door.
My head jerked up to the man at the door, my heart racing like a wild dog. Mr. Tesla stood by the door, his eyes had gone menacing dark. When had he walked into the room? Had he been listening to my conversation?
I slapped a hand to my chest, heaving deeply as I tried to calm myself down. "That was a friend," I replied to him.
"Doesn't sound like just a friend," he seemed displeased.
"That was my girlfriend," I answered him, noting the way his eyes bulged slightly.
He was scaring me in a way. Why did he seem so disgruntled facially by the fact that I have a girlfriend? Should that be any of his problems?
"Come with me," he started then paused to look back at me. "Pack up all of your things before you do that. If you don't meet me in my office, I'll be in my Porsche," he told me.
"But Mr. Tesla, what about the detailed....,"
"We will continue as we drive." He interrupted me, giving me a curt nod, and then he closed the door behind him.
That was scary! I admitted to myself. But I had to do just what he wanted, this was my new job and I wasn't ready to lose it.
Minutes later, I scrambled into Mr. Tesla's backseat, rendering an apology.
"Why aren't you in the front seat with me?" Mr. Tesla's eyes caught me in the rearview mirror.
"Ahh..em...I didn't think... I didn't think you wanted me there," I answered him, holding my backpack to my shoulder.
"You shouldn't be thinking, Jonah. You should be doing it. That was one of the reasons I hired you. Be smart like the initial day you had walked into my office," he huffed.
I gulped, nodding to that, scrambled out from the backseat, and got beside him. My boss considered me to be a smart man, that was quite a rewarding compliment - if indeed it was a compliment. Yet, I felt nervous when his eyes raked down my face.
"Jonah, do you live with your parents?" He asked as he started the car.
"No, sir. My parents live in Oklahoma." I replied him.
The car halted at the stop of a traffic light, giving him a chance to look at me again. With a fierce hand, he shoved his fingers through his hair.
My stomach churned, something was wrong from the way he looked at me. But I couldn't fathom what the problem was.
"What about your girlfriend, do you live with her?" He threw in another question.
Why was he interested in my private life? Why was my boss interested in matters that had a "none of your business" attached to it?
I bounced my eyes to the road, pointing to the changed color. "I live alone, sir," I replied to him, clutching my bag tightly to suppress the throbbing thoughts gathering in my head.
"Good. Because I'm taking you home," he smiled a triumphant smile.
My heart lept out of me. "Where is home, sir?"
"My home." He grinned.
My heart began to thump furiously. This wasn't what I was thinking, I shouldn't assume any negative thoughts screaming in my head. They were all just fallacies.
And to confirm my greatest fears, one of Mr. Tesla's hands dropped to my thigh. "And how old are you, Jonah?"
I stifled a gasp, biting the flesh of my lower lip. This wasn't happening. Mr. Tesla was gay! No wonder he had no interest in the women who drooled over him.
Pushing his hand would only signal irritation. It would probably disgust him and make him thrust me out of the car.
He was my boss. So, I had to do whatever he needed. Maybe, he didn't want anything to do with me. I was a straight man after all. His hand skidded an inch towards my groin, caressing the flaccid trumpet while stealing a glance my way.
"I am 25 years old, sir," I told him.
"Good, Jonah. Good," he smiled at me, never letting go of my disgruntled tool.
My phone shrilled out in another call from Hilary, I shoved it out from my pocket and eyed Mr. Tesla.
"Pick it, tell her that you won't be seeing her anytime soon," my boss said.