Father And Son Episode Twenty-Seven: The Lover's Gambit
Hey guys. It's James again. With dad gone home, and with Lars still on break while they fumigate the school, I don't know what I'm going to do at work...Whatever it is, I know for sure that my son is going to be there with me now more then ever.
* * *
Monday. James was sitting in a big board room meeting with his superiors. He felt nervous as hell on the inside, but on the outside he was calm, cool and stoic. He looked around at all the higher-ups that were discussing the bank's goings on.
"And so even with that little hiccup last week, we're still doing better than ever. We thank you Jameil for coming back into the office and taking charge on such short notice. I can tell you that we wouldn't expect most Productivity Supervisors to be so dedicated and quick to respond."
"It was no problem sir. I thought the interns were ready for some solo work, but I was clearly wrong. It was me who dropped the ball so of course I'll make it up." James smiled, his confidence coming out.
"Good, good. Oh, there is one last thing Jameil."
"Yes sir?" James nodded.
"We got a few reports last week from the interns about you and your son."
James' heart froze for a moment. "Larson? What about me and him?"
"Well, it was reported that multiple interns saw you engaging in inappropriate workplace activity with him. They didn't specify what, but it was apparently severe enough for a report to be filed."
"I see..." James nodded. "Me and my son are very...affectionate. He was just giving me a goodbye kiss after bringing me lunch. We got a bit carried away, but we were in the courtyard at the time. I can't be held responsible for the interns spying on me during my break time."
"Aah, I see. Well Jameil, we suggest you explain this situation to your interns so that there aren't any more misunderstandings. One of us shall return tomorrow to see how it goes."
"Y-yes sir." James nodded obediently.
* * *
Meanwhile at the AlphaMuscle Gym, Lars was on an exercise machine when Darius happened to walk by.
"Oh, hey Lars." Darius went for a fist bump.
"Hey Darius." Lars shrugged, seeming to be in deep thought.
"Something bugging you Lars?" Darius raised an eyebrow and motioned for Lars to follow him.
"Well..." Lars got off the machine and walked with Darius. "For the past few months, I've been looking for a job. But I can't seem to find ANYTHING. All the places I go to are either not hiring or are looking for someone older....or younger...The fuck does an eighteen year old gator have to do to get a job!?"
Darius shook his head. "Lars-"
Lars shrugged. "I mean really! It's not like I'm untrustworthy. And I've got a great body, so I can definitely do heavy lifting!"
"Lars-" Darius started to speak up.
"When I can't even get hired at WacDonalds, you know it's a sad situation!" Lars huffed.
"Lars!" Darius cut Lars off. "I think you're not seeing the obvious solution to this problem."
"What? You know where I can get a job!?" Lars' tail started to wag as he smiled up at Darius.
"Dummy, why not just work here?" Darius flicked Lars on the nose.
"Work here?" Lars thought it over.
"Sure. I'm sure Omar could find something for you to do. " Darius nodded. "Why didnt you come here?"
". . . . I'm a dumbass...." Lars face palmed. "Of course I could work here."
"Haha, don't beat yourself up too hard over it." Darius patted Lars on the shoulder. "I'll ask Omar about it later."
"I knew I'd find you here." James stepped in, still in his work clothes.
"Dad? What are you doing here? You can't be done that early, can you?" Lars' eyes lit up at the sight of his father.
"I'll explain later. Right now, we gotta talk." James grabbed up Lars under his arm and started to head out. "Oh, hey Darius." James waved to Darius and continued on his way.
"Hey....James..." Darius could only stand there dumbfounded as James whisked Lars away.
* * *
A bit later back at home, James had finished up explaining his situation.
"And that's it...So what should we do kid?"
Lars thought hard. "So they want you to say something about it tomorrow....Well, why not just come clean?" Lars nodded.
"Come clean?" James raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. You said it yourself, we don't have anything to hide from. We love each other and we're getting married. They'll find out one way or another, so just telling them about us seems like the cleanest way to go about this." Lars gave his father a thumbs-up.
"Your right Lars. It's just like with Latriana. We just got to explain ourselves straight up." James smiled and hugged Lars tightly. "Man, sometimes you're just too fucking smart kid."
"Well what can I say?" Lars blushed a bit. "I learned it from my big daddy husband."
* * *
The next day, James was getting ready for work with Lars getting ready right beside him.
"You ready for this Lars?" James straightened his tie carefully.
"I'm more worried about you dad." Lars had on a pair of khaki slacks similar to his fathers, a white short sleeve dress shirt and was just putting on a pink tie. "You tend to get worried over things like this."
"Oh right. Because I was the one who was running holes in the carpet when Latriana came over." James rolled his eyes at his son as he brushed his hair.
"Whatever dad. I got a good feeling about this." Lars smiled as he combed his hair into a more orderly style. "Mostly because I finally get to use this outfit for something!" Lars looked himself over as he continued to comb. "It's not an interview, but I'll take it."
"You do look pretty smart in that outfit son." James patted Lars on the shoulder. "So Darius is going to try and hire you to work at the gym?"
"Yeah." Lars lit up. "He said that he'd talk to Omar about a job for me.
"I don't know why you didn't go there right off the bat." James shrugged. "I mean it's an obvious decision."
"I wasn't thinking..." Lars shook his head, giving himself one last look over. "There....You ready to party dad?" Lars headed for the door.
"Sure Lars." James grabbed his briefcase on the way out. "Let's get this done."
* * *
It was a bit later at the bank. James and Lars stepped into the office, looking proud and confident. Waiting for them was Kamile and one of James' superiors.
"Good morning Jameil." The superior shook James' hand. "I'm here to oversee how you talk to your workers. This is simply procedure and I'm simply going through the motions, so don't let me intimidate you."
"It's no problem sir, you don't. James smiled confidently. "I would like to properly introduce you to my son, Larson Alexander. He's here with me today so that we can both explain ourselves."
"I'm pleased to meet you sir." Lars shook the superior's hand firmly.
"It's a pleasure Mr. Larson." The superior shook back back and then let James and Lars continue into the work area.
"Good morning kids! I have some things to explain about last Friday and a BIG announcement for you all!" James rounded everybody up into the center of the office.
Kamile snuck through the crowd and nudged James. "James, just what are you planning to announce?"
"Something that I should have said before now..." James smirked at Kamile and she disappeared back into the crowd. "Now then, I'm sure you've all met my son Lars, right?"
"Yeah. I've seen you guys before." Lars nodded.
"And I've gotten word that last week, some of you were spying on me during my lunch break and saw me getting rather close with my son." James shook his head. "I should remind you all that it's very rude to spy on people in their leisure time, especially if said person happens to be your superior." James looked around at all the sorry faces in the crowd. "But that has ended up being a good thing, as it has pushed me to finally make an important announcement."
The supervisor raised an eyebrow at James, just as curious as the rest of the crowd. "What would that announcement be Jameil?"
"Well..." James blushed a bit. "I'm currently engaged. i have been for a few months now." The crowd broke into a small clap.
"Well that's wonderful Jameil!" The supervisor clapped. "Who's the lucky girl?"
"There is none." Lars spoke up. "You see, he's engaged to none other than me!" Lars pointed to himself and smiled.
". . . . . . .What?" The supervisor was shocked. "Is this some sort of joke?"
"No it is not sir." James held onto Lars. "I am currently engaged to my son Larson." The crowd of inters and workers all started to gasp and murmur around the two,
"So he finally went through with it..." Kamile smiled to herself, happy for James and knowing what he was trying to pull. "Gutsy move James."
"Now I know that this may be a bit...strange to some of you, but I assure you me and Larson love each other VERY dearly and more importantly, no laws are being broken." James nodded. "Last week, me and Lars were sharing a tender moment as lovers usually do. I'm sorry if we offended any of you and I will work to avoid such amorous moments in the workplace in the future, but a kiss between lovers is not anything to be reported for." James looked around, knowing full well that everyone's perception of him was irrevocably changed. "So, any questions?"
". . . . . .You're kidding, right?" Eugene spoke up. "Married to your son?"
"I'm quite serious Eugene." James nodded. "You know how serious I am, so you know I wouldn't be making an announcement like this as a joke."
James' superior held onto James' shoulder. "Jameil, can I see you in your office? RIGHT NOW!?"
"Sure thing!" James and the supervisor left into James' office, leaving Lars by himself with the rest of the crowd.
"Was your dad serious!?" Richard eyed Lars. "He's really got something going on with you!?"
"Yup!" Lars held up his ring hand. "He got me a ring and everything." Lars smiled brightly.
"I never knew Big Daddy Alex was such a freak..." Eugene tried to hide a smirk by looking serious.
"Hey, don't talk about my dad like that!" Lars sneered at Eugene. "He loves me as a man, not as his son. There's nothing wrong with our love."
A few minutes later, James and the supervisor stepped out of his office. James looked VERY irritated and the supervisor seemed to be a bit shaken.
"Dad!" Lars ran to James' side. "What's up?"
"Well, in light of this development-AHEM..." The supervisor collected himself. "We have decided to put Jameil on unpaied suspension until we are able to iron out this situation with the higher-ups."
"What!?" Kamile was shocked. "You're not going to fire him, are you?"
"Yeah, would you do something like that to little old me?" James sneered at the supervisor, pumping up his muscles.
"Heavens no!" The supervisor shook his head. "It's just that this is a...delicate situation and we need to see what corporate wants to do with this."
"Why do you even have to do that?" Lars spoke up. "This is his personal life. He never brings it into the workplace. He's not doing anything illegal. what's the big effing deal!?" Lars huffed a bit.
"Larson, quiet!" James barked at Lars. "We just have to let this play out however it will." James growled at the supervisor. "And hope for the best..."
"Y-yes....Now, if you would be so kind, I think it'd be best if you called it a day." The supervisor nodded sheepishly. "We'll get back to you by next week and I'll remain here to supervise the interns."
"Yes, of course." James held onto Lars' hand. "Come on Lars."
". . . Yes dad..." Lars followed his father out of the bank quietly and submissively. The two walked in silence to James' truck, slowly got in and headed off for home.
". . . . . Well Larson. . ." James gave his son a sinister smirk. "We really got 'em by the balls now!"
"Huh?" Lars was completely lost. "I...don't follow. What the hell just happened? You're suspended from work, how is that good?"
James ran his hand along Lars' chin. "My beautiful boy...you didn't see what happened in my office.
* * *
James' superior held onto James' shoulder. "Jameil, can I see you in your office? RIGHT NOW!?"
"Sure thing!" James and the supervisor left into James' office. Once inside, James sat behind his desk and the supervisor was leaning on his desk.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM!?" The supervisor lost it.
"I don't know what you're talking about sir..." James sat in his chair cockily. "Aren't you happy for me? Happy for my son?"
"I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play here, but I'm not going to stand for it!"
"Stand for WHAT!?" James stood up, meeting the supervisor's eyes. "As far as I can see, there's nothing wrong going on here."
The supervisor growled. "You're engaged to YOUR SON Jameil! How can you POSSIBLY think that's anything resembling right!?" The superior pointed to James threateningly. "I'll have you out of this company SO FAST, your disgusting head will SPIN!"
"I'd like to see you try." James gave the supervisor a dangerous grin. "Until this very moment, I have been nothing but the model employee. Larson and me getting married isn't interfering with my work and, as I said before, nothing ilegal is going on between us and we're not breaking any company policies that I know of, and I've read the company policy front to back." James sat back in his chair, a devious look on his face. "To be frank, if you try to remove me from my position for a reason such as this, I am fully ready to sue this company for gross discrimination. Do you know how much money this company would loose? I've done the math, and a settlement like this would NOT be pretty."
"You fool. It's not that cut and dry around here. What makes you think that the courts would even LISTEN to disgusting individuals such as you and that son of yours?" The supervisor challenged James.
"First of all, me and my son are both upstanding citizens. Second of all. . ." James reached inside his shirt and set a tape player on his desk. "I don't think such hateful talk will help your case in court." James smirked a VERY evil smirk. "You know how sensitive discriminatory language is in the court of law..."
". . . . . . . You motherfucker." The supervisor tried to snatch up the tape player, but James caught his hand.
"Up-bup-bup! No-no. Even my son knows not to take things that aren't yours." James bared his teeth. "Especially when they belong to a three hundred pound alligator."
". . . . . This isn't over Jameil."
"Not by a long shot." James smirked.
"I can still suspend you without pay!"
"Fine, but anything worse aaaand...." James waved the tape player in the supervisor's face. "You know, I think a lawsuit like this would grab the attention of local gay pride groups. And you know how persuasive they can be..." James smirked.
". . . . . Let's just go." The supervisor went for the door. "I hope that son of yours is worth throwing away eighteen years of work for."
James smiled widely at the numerous pictures of Lars he had on his desk. "Believe me, he is."
* * *
Lars' jaw dropped. "You really did that?"
James pulled out the tape player and it played back their entire conversation clean and clear. "Lars, part of being married is putting your relationship above your work." James held Lars close. "You can't be afraid to play a little hardball son!" James laughed.
"Haha, dad, you evil son of a bitch!" Lars chuckled at his father.
"What was that?" James looked down at his son with an serious look.
"N-nothing?" Lars smiled sheepishly.
"That's right." James went back to smiling. "Hahaha, nothing at all!" James snuggled Lars close. "How about we get some lunch kid? I'm feeling a bit hungry."
"Okay dad..." Lars hugged James back. "Dad. . . ."
"Yeah Lars?" James gave Lars a loving squeeze.
". . . . . You . . . don't have to do this for me...."
"Do what?"
"Risk your job for me. Throwing away eighteen years of building your way up the ladder just for me-"
"Shut it Lars." James smiled warmly. "I told you I have pride in our relationship. There isn't anybody in this world I love more than you Lars. And I would gladly give up ANY job in the world for you." James nodded. "You've been so strong...so brave....so upfront and unwavering about our relationship thus far, now it's my turn to be brave."
"Dad...." Lars could feel the tears welling up in his eyes.
"You're going to cry, aren't you Lars?" James hugged Lars.
"I'm....I'm just....so happy to have you in my life dad...Fuck what anybody says about us! When the man you love is willing to put everything on the line, you know that his love is true!" Lars nuzzled his father's chest. "Those fools don't know just what two motherfuckers they're fucking with!" Lars smirked cockily.
"Yeah! You come between us, and there WILL be blood!" James laughed heartily. "Hahahahahaha.....seriously though, cut down on the swearing or I'm taking away your games for the week."
"Sorry dad" Lars blushed. "I got caught up in the moment."
* * *
"That...actually felt kinda good, being able to just send that place a big FUCK YOU! The money is good but GOD, working there is TORTURE! I'm good at being a supervisor, but I'm a numbers man at heart. The only thing that made me feel good about working there was Lars, and if I can't be with my boy the way we both want, then they can just go fuck off."
