A Fluffy Tale 2: Warm & Fuzzy Read online

  Daniel nodded and took a seat where Spen indicated. “Right. Not sure what Tony told you?”

  “Um, he said Cross-Channel would make it easier to keep track of training projects, and trainees to get feedback and access training materials online. The trainers would build up a dataset of documents, which any of them could edit and refine, and become a resource for the entire company. It sounded like a great idea.”

  “It is, but we’re working with a notoriously IT-illiterate group, not to mention trainees with their own problems. Did Tony mention our target clients?”

  “A bit. You’re working with the long-term unemployed?”

  “And people with drug problems, disabilities, language difficulties—anything and everything. So one,” Spen checked the points off on his fingers, “we have to get our people trained. Two, we have to make sure access and security are as we want them. Three, we have to get the software installed and configured. Four, we have to train the people training the trainees. And five, we must keep Tony’s ego stroked.”

  That forced a laugh out of Daniel, though he looked down quickly, long pale eyelashes brushing reddening cheeks. “He did mention a few times how important this was to him.”

  “Yeah, I bet. But anyway, let me show you a demo. It’s all accessed in a normal browser. Which one do you prefer?”

  “I don’t really have a preference.”

  Spen frowned. “Okay. Which one do you use at home on your computer?”

  “Uh.”

  Jyoti caught Spen’s eye and raised her eyebrows. “You do use the internet at home, don’t you? Which operating system do you run?”

  “Redbird.”

  “Redbird?” Spen leaned back in his chair. “Are you sure? That’s not something you find on most home computers.”

  “No, I know. I was using it in my course at Uni, and I like it. It’s easy to program in.”

  Spen’s brain did a one-eighty. He’d been thinking this kid was too dumb to even operate a simple web browser, and now he found he was comfortable programming in a high-level, highly specialised OS with its own rarefied language and uses. “So the browser...?”

  “Wrote it myself,” Daniel admitted. “I don’t really use the commercial ones, but I know how to,” he added earnestly.

  “I bet. What did you study at Uni?” Spen asked, mentally revising his estimate of Daniel’s age again.

  “Electrical engineering, but I dropped out last year.”

  Something in the set of his jaw as he said that, warned Spen not to ask why. “Uh, right. Okay, then, you might find some of what I’m saying a bit simplistic—”

  “No, no...I mean, you’re writing web applications and interfaces for general users in an open environment and I haven’t done much of that at all. Just treat me like I’m an idiot.” He gave a deprecating smile as he said that.

  “I will if I have to,” Spen agreed, but smiling too. “Okay. Demo.”

  For the next hour and a half, Daniel watched intently, played with the demonstration site under Spen’s supervision, and asked a few but pertinent questions. Maybe he didn’t know much about writing user interfaces, or the database language they were using, but he knew data, and he understood the issues of security and access Spen had to address. Spen gave him the manual, apologising in advance for the simple-minded writing which he’d pitched at the level of their IT-phobic employees.

  “That’s fine. It’ll be a quick read then.” Daniel’s smile had become much more open and ready as the morning had worn on. “I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”

  “Don’t read the damn thing at home. Life’s too short.”

  Daniel clutched the folder to his chest, and his smile disappeared. “Yes. Yes, it is. But I can read it on the bus. Thanks for taking the time. I know you’re busy.”

  “Not a problem. I’ll arrange your ID to have access for this section, and send you an email confirming. There’s a meeting on Thursday at eleven.”

  “Yes, Tony told me. I’ll be there. Thank you.” He bobbed his head and rushed out of the room, stopping only to scoop up his kem and pop him up on his shoulder.

  As the door closed behind him, Luke came over to Spen’s desk. “What the hell is someone like that doing working for a tit like Tony Noball?”

  “I have no idea, but I intend to find out. At least we didn’t end up with a moron as our liaison.” Spen raised his arms over his head and cracked his spine. Myko took that as an invitation to hop into his lap for a petting and cuddle, which Spen delivered without even needing to think about it. “Right. Who’s going to lunch?”

  Chapter 3

  Daniel rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the headache that had been sitting in his frontal lobes all day. He had redone this presentation three times now, and hoped this time Tony wouldn’t decide to radically rewrite it, as he had with the three previous attempts. The presentation was for a key meeting, and Daniel didn’t begrudge the time spent, but he worried it was his own incompetence which made the previous versions so lacklustre. He didn’t want Tony to start questioning the decision to hire him. Not this soon anyway.

  “Got those graphics Tony wanted.” A folder slammed down in his desk as Linda’s sulky voice penetrated his attention.

  He looked up. “Uh, do you have the digital versions?”

  “You mean the original files?” She said it as if he was a total moron for not using the correct office term. “Couldn’t find them. They’re lost, apparently.” The look on her face made Daniel doubt the truth of that, but it also told him it was a waste of time to argue.

  “Okay, thanks.” He made a special effort to smile in as polite and friendly a manner as he could, but Linda sneered and flounced off. Effort wasted, clearly. She didn’t like him. None of the other PAs did. In fact the only people in the entire office who treated him as something higher in the evolutionary scale than bacteria were Spen’s team. Daniel took a guilty pleasure in the frequent visits he had to make to the IT section, and wondered what he would do when this rollout was finished and the meetings with Spen and his people were no longer necessary.

  The printed graphics weren’t good enough to use in a slideshow, so Daniel resigned himself to a couple of hours trying to recreate them using software designed for idiots. No lunch for him again. There was a strict “no eating at the desk” rule, so apart from quick cups of plastic coffee in the kitchen, he had to manage until he got home in the evening. He didn’t dare tell Dee. She suspected he ate badly, and he did. Had done as a student, and now as an office worker. He just did what he had to do, to get the work done. That was what his job was. Bring in the income, keep the family going. There was no one else now to do that.

  At half past two he knocked on Tony’s door. “Finished the redo.”

  His boss smiled approvingly. “Terrific. Let me look.”

  “It’s on the server. I’ll just call it up—”

  “No need. I can come and look on your computer. Let’s see.”

  So Daniel opened the file up again, and Tony leaned over him, his hand casually on Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel didn’t find the position comfortable in any sense of the word, but Tony was a touchy-feely kind of boss, and since Daniel had zero experience with an employer in this situation, he realised he would have to adjust. He did his best not to squirm or indicate in any way that Tony’s hand bothered him, but he wished Tony wouldn’t wear such sickly cologne.

  “Good thing Legal found those graphics.”

  “Uh, they only had print outs, so I remade them. Hope they’re okay.”

  Tony looked at him. “They’re wonderful, but I didn’t realise you’d have to...I mean, those pictures were done ages ago.”

  “They lost the original files, Linda said.”

  “Right.” Tony frowned. “Did you have lunch today?”

  “Not yet. I wanted to finish—”

  “Did you have lunch yesterday?”

  Daniel flushed. “Not exactly.”

  “Rest of the week?”

  “No
. There was so much to do.” He realised after he said it that it sounded like a complaint. “I mean, I’m still getting used to things so I’m slower—”

  Tony held up his hand. “No, this isn’t good enough.” Daniel’s heart sank. He’d failed already. “I don’t want my staff burning out, and I certainly don’t want them starving. Now you go home early, have a good, restful weekend, and I expect you to take a proper break in the middle of the day. Employment laws and all that, you know,” he added, wagging his finger sternly. Kani meeped and patted it with a paw. Daniel hastily picked his kem off his shoulder and set him down on the floor. “Close this down, and I’ll see you Monday.”

  “But what if it needs changes?”

  “I’ll have to ask someone. It looks fine, Daniel. It’s on the server, you said.” He squeezed Daniel’s shoulder, and smiled. “Off you go, and thank you.”

  “Uh...you’re welcome. Are you sure?”

  “Daniel....”

  “Okay. Thank you. See you Monday.”

  Tony smiled again and went back to his office. Daniel did a quick check to make sure he’d left his desk in a tidy state, that the files for the presentation were clearly marked and easily locatable, then he scooped up Kani and his jacket, and headed for the lift. Linda came around the corner, but pretended not to see him. Suited Daniel—he didn’t want to have to explain why he was leaving early because he wasn’t at all sure it didn’t make him look like a lame duck PA. Two secretaries from Dennis Obi’s team joined him in the lift, but ignored him. Maybe they could tell he was gay and disapproved? He had no other explanation to offer himself as to why he was almost universally despised, and he certainly wasn’t going to ask. He just had to do the job. That was all that mattered.

  The secretaries got off at the fifth floor, leaving Daniel and Kani to ride the rest of the way alone. Kani wormed his way back onto Daniel’s shoulder and licked his face, giving out quiet little chirps of concern.

  “I’m okay,” Daniel said, petting Kani’s tail. “Just tired. And starving.” Kani chirped louder. “You’re hungry too, I bet. Sorry, kiddo. You should make more fuss.” Kani responded by sticking the end of his tail into Daniel’s ear, making him laugh as the lift doors opened. An array of bemused and slightly disapproving looks from waiting passengers greeted the two of them. Kani squeaked and disappeared, and Daniel scurried away from the lift area as quickly as he could. He didn’t want a reputation as a lunatic.

  Kani reappeared seconds later, just as Daniel spotted Spen’s unmistakeable figure striding towards them. His heart gave a queer little lurch, half panic, half relief. Since Spen was one of his few allies, Daniel was terrified of doing anything to diminish the goodwill between them, but his growing crush on this handsome, funny, clever...incredibly tall...guy made conversations torture. He lived in fear of opening his mouth and letting some utterly gauche or stupid comment fall out, which would either let Spen know about Daniel’s secret feelings, or make him think Daniel was a total dork. It always took a little while before Spen’s easy charm let him relax and talk normally.

  Spen was dressed as usual in a sharp suit, his slim tie knotted loosely and letting the hollow of his long neck show, the crisp whiteness of his shirt setting off his dark skin nicely. Even in a suit, he looked utterly relaxed. Daniel had no idea how he managed that. Spen spotted them—or rather Myko spotted Kani and the two kems running towards each other gave Spen the tip—and waved. Daniel smiled, but hoped Spen would be too busy to stop and chat.

  No such luck. “Hi, Daniel. Off to late lunch?”

  “Uh, no. Going home.”

  Spen’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you sick?”

  “No, no...just been working through my lunch hours and Tony didn’t approve. He sent me home.” God, that sounded awful. “I mean...he thought I’d been working too hard and wanted me to have a break.”

  “Now that’s something I agree with. You don’t want to burn out. I know all about wanting to impress a new boss, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about there. Shame you’re heading off. I was about to give you a call and ask if you wanted to come along with us to the pub this evening.”

  “Us?” Daniel squeaked.

  “The IT lot. No one scary,” he added with a big grin. He had a lovely smile, Daniel thought. “You still could come along....”

  Daniel was tempted because he hadn’t had an evening out since...well, not since Uni...but put the temptation aside. “I can’t, sorry. I should get home. There’s stuff to do.”

  “Oh, okay.” Spen sounded truly regretful. “Next week, maybe.”

  “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  “See you next week. Seriously, you shouldn’t stress so much. You’re good. You have no idea how much easier having you to liaise with has made my job.”

  Daniel’s face heated up with embarrassed pleasure. “Uh...thanks. I try.”

  “You do. Have a good weekend...and look after yourself, okay?”

  The warm concern in Spen’s voice and his kind brown eyes made Daniel want to cry. “I will,” he managed to say. “You too. Kani, come on.”

  Kani and Myko gave each other one last nuzzle of affection, then Kani bounded over and up Daniel’s body onto his shoulder. He chirped at Spen, and Spen reached over to pat Kani’s fuzzy head. “You look after our boy, squirt. See you both later.”

  Myko climbed his human’s leg and Spen strode off, the only man in the whole company who could make a suit look cool, an imposing sight never likely to be lost in the crowds. Daniel watched until he disappeared around a corner, then sighed. “We better go, Kani. Time to feed both of us.”

  Kani squeaked in delight, and his easy joy put a reluctant grin on Daniel’s face. A kem’s life was so damn simple.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Spen had been looking forward to talking to Daniel outside the office, but it was a lot to ask, expecting him to hang around for hours just to have a pint. Spen couldn’t begrudge him an early start to the weekend. Strange that it was Tony suggesting it, since the guy had a rep for asking a lot of overtime from his assistants and pushing them hard. Maybe he didn’t want to scare the kid off. If Spen had someone on his team as bright and helpful as Daniel, he’d do almost anything to retain them. Damn shame Daniel didn’t have a formal qualification, or Spen would poach him without a twinge of conscience.

  Friday afternoons were for winding down everywhere but in IT, which all too often had to deal with a last minute panic by one or other of the managers over projects for the next week, new employees, and equipment failures. But at six, Spen stood and whistled. “Okay, boys and girls. Close it down, lock it up, and get your party on.”

  “My man Spen,” Luke called approvingly, already logging out and switching off non-essential equipment.

  Ten minutes later they were in their favourite local pub, Spen making the first round of orders as was traditional. Bearing a pint of his favourite real ale, he nabbed prime position in the corner, while his people spread around and took greedy slurps of liquid refreshment. An almost choreographed sigh, and then a ripple as everyone relaxed. “Fuck, this week sucked,” Jyoti said with a groan. Her kem nuzzled her cheek in sympathy.

  “Just like every other week,” Luke said. “Hey, I heard a bit of gossip about our boy Daniel. Seems HR weren’t at all happy about recruiting him, and the prevailing wisdom is that he’ll be gone before his probation is up.”

  Spen frowned, not liking to encourage this kind of thing, but Jyoti had already seized on the morsel. “Why would HR object? He’s bright, really sharp.”

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t have a degree, and there were a few noses out of joint since they had so many internal candidates. Noball really pushed for him. Looked a bit funny, apparently.”

  “Managers do that all the time,” Spen said. “I pushed for you.” He gave his tech a quelling look. “Nothing strange about that.”

  “No, of course not.” Jyoti took the hint, and turned the conversation to suggestions being floated for team building outing
s. Luke didn’t bring Daniel up again, to Spen’s relief.

  But Luke and Spen had to wait at the same bus stop for their ride home, and despite Spen’s distaste for the subject, Luke had something on his mind that he had to express. “It isn’t just Daniel’s recruitment that’s weird, you know.”

  “I don’t think this is a good—”

  “No, wait, Spen. I like Daniel, that’s why I want to tell you. You know how we were all told that Jan left for a better job and that’s why he resigned in such a hurry? Well, Alison in Logistics said she ran into him two weeks ago, and he’s unemployed. As in, still unemployed. He didn’t have a job to go to—he just left without giving notice. Alison’s since found out that HR knew about it but were happy to spread the fake story.”

  “Maybe he had personal reasons. Wasn’t his mum sick?”

  “Yeah. She died a couple of weeks before Jan left. Alison said he was happy to talk about his mum, but clammed up tight when she mentioned Noble. There’s something funny about Noble, Spen. Two males PAs in a row, which is unusual in itself, lasting less than three months each? And now a new one he’s recruited against everyone’s advice?”

  “Sorry, I’m still not seeing why this is a worry. Noball is an egotistical pain in the arse, so maybe people just don’t like working for him.”

  Luke folded his arms and looked seriously at Spen. “Lots of our managers are pains in the arse, and their people stick at it for years. I reckon it has to be something else.”

  “Like?”

  “Work it out. Jan was young, pretty and gay. Daniel is young and pretty, and if he’s not gay, I’m a baboon.”

  “Noble’s married with kids.”

  “Yeah. Perfect cover.”

  “So why does he still have a job? Come on, Luke. You think the company would keep him on if this was true?”

  Luke shrugged. “Maybe Jan didn’t want the hassle. Or maybe the company paid him off. Why would they lie about him? They wouldn’t want word to get out that Noble’s sexually harassing his staff. The work we do, the clients we have? Can’t afford the publicity.”