Taming Beasts | MxM | Petshop

Part 30

I strolled around Vince' spacious office, curious and delighted to have a new place to discover. There were so many people's scents, and the second desk in the office smelled strongly of Leah, making me suspect that she spent a lot of time in here. She hadn't returned yet, though.

I thought about asking Vince about it, but he was glaring at his computer screen in this particular way that he always glared at things as if they cared. I decided not to ask, and instead lounged on the leather couch for a while. The sun shone onto my fur, and I purred contently.

When I heard the energetic clicking of heels closing in on the office, I glanced up just in time to see Leah push through the door. She smiled at me, then directed her attention towards Vince. She held out a steaming paper cup towards him. Someone had written "best boss" on it in sloppy handwriting.

He took it with a sigh, and they both regarded each other wearily when he took a sip. Suddenly, the tension dropped from Vince' face. He moaned softly, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply through his nose. "You know how to make my day."

"Of course, I do. Otherwise, none of us would ever survive to see the next day. Or the day after that, or even the next hour, for that matter," she said lightly, "So, what did the vermin want?"

"And you know perfectly well how to ruin, as well," Vince replied over the rim of his cup. He still seemed rather placated, though.

Leah grinned. "Well, your happiness rests in the palm of my hands, then. So?"

"He was just looking out for me, believe it or not."

"I do not," Leah declared solemnly. "I know you guys have history, but Vince, if you ever decide to take my advise on anything, ditch the vermin."

"Anything else?"

She hummed thoughtfully, and her eyes roamed the room briefly before they landed on me. Her face lit up. When she turned towards Vince, she had a sweet look on her face that made his eyes narrow. "Well, Vince my dear, did you two maybe have the chance to discuss our little trip to my brother's estate this weekend?"

"Our? I don't remember me being included," Vince grumbled. Not that he'd ever asked to join, but I kept my mouth shut.

"Yeah, well, the point was kind of to give you two some space, Vince."

"Space," Vince huffed.

When he didn't say anything else, Leah asked again, "So, you two talked about it?"

"Yes, we did."

"And?"

"He wants to go."

"I know, Vince. But I wanted to know if you would be okay with it."

"Why?" he snapped, and finally put his cup of coffee onto the table. "You two have already decided this on your own. Me being okay with it or not is not going to change anything."

Leah heaved a sigh. "No, but it would have been nice."

"Oh, would it?"

"Yes, it would." 

They stared at each other for an uncomfortably long moment that made my hairs stand on end. Glaring, angry, tense Vince was back again, but Leah was unimpressed, like always. She wasn't even the first to look away.

Vince' attention turned to his computer screen, and he muttered, "I'll get back to work now."

Leah shot me a grin, then made her way to her desk as well. While I appreciated her effort in both trying to get Vince to stop hanging out with Joe and in ensuring my freedom and well-being, I wished it wouldn't end with Vince being mad at the world again. Not that he didn't deserve it...

I hopped down from the couch and stalked over to him. He spared me a cautious look from the corner of his eyes while I sat down next to him. When he didn't move, I rubbed my cheek along his thigh to get his attention.

Vince carefully lowered a hand onto my head, and I purred in response. The tips of his fingers drew rhythmic circles, and his heartbeat eased, and I genuinely wanted him to feel better. Not that he didn't deserve it... but it wasn't going to help either, was it?

A window popped up on Vince' screen, and it showed a picture of us in that moment.

"You're a stalker," Vince grunted.

Leah chuckled. "Someday, you'll thank me for it."

I doubted that.

-

This is all I have for now, but since you guys were so excited, I thought I'd share this as well. Next will probably be their trip, and then I will have to decide what's going to happen to them. Still not sure because often, characters and stories turn out differently once they are written.

Let's see whether they will stay together or not and what happiness means for either.