Double Or Nothing

Chapter 1 ~ New Beginnings

'Does it really matter?' I called into the bedroom, where Caleb was dissecting my wardrobe.

'Of course it does!' He yelled at me, astounded that I could think anything different. 'It's your first day of work, you need to make an impression.' He stepped out of the room with a hanger containing plain white shirt, a suit jacket I hadn't worn in 3 years, a pair of plain black trousers and a rather lavish tie that I wasn't aware I owned. 'It's my tie, but you can borrow it.' He winked at me and handed the hanger over to me and pointed toward the bedroom. 'Go, get changed. You can NOT wear jeans to your first day of work. You're an administrator, not a mechanic.'

'Oh relax, they said it was informal.' I told him, though neverless I headed through the door to get changed out of my pale blue jeans and black shirt. 'I guess I'd better wear decent shoes as well, then? My converse aren't gonna go well with this suit.' I laughed.

'If you really think you can wear converse with a suit I am running for the hills. I can not be with a man who would think such a thing.' Caleb laughed, kissing my cheek as I walked into the room. 'Now get changed. You don't want to be late.'

'You know you love how uncoordinated I am.' I told him just as I danced out of his reach and closed the door behind me.

I quickly changed and when I stepped out Caleb was busy in the kitchen.

'Okay, so we have ham sandwiches, a couple of chocolate bars and a bottle of orange juice. Am I missing anything?' Caleb asked, smiling at me.

'You didn't have to make my lunch for me.' I said, smiling nonetheless.

'Actually I did. Go get your coat. I'll put this in your bag. If you don't leave in the next 5 minutes you'll miss your bus. Come on, I'll walk you to the stop. I need to head in that direction anyway, I have an interview in town.'

'I didn't realise I was running that late!' I checked my watch quickly and realised he was right. I ran into the hall and grabbed my coat, shrugging it on quickly and turning to find Caleb stood inches away from me.

'Come on then, we don't want you to be late!'

Caleb walked me to the bus stop and I gave him a kiss on the cheek as we said goodbye. I got on the bus, sat down, and put my earphones in, willing the time away, while he walked to his 4th job interview that week.

The morning went by in a blur of meeting people and learning the ropes. Most of it was pretty straightforward, there didn't seem to be anything I would be incapable of. There were a few complexities but I had someone I could go to with any questions or concerns.

On the afternoon, a guy around my age walked into the office and sat down on the desk nearest mine, which I had assumed was to remain empty.

After a quick exchange, I introduced myself for what felt like the millionth time that day.

'Ryan, Ryan Green. And you?'

'Joshua Spearing. My friends call me Josh.' The guy replied. He was one of the few people who had actually stuck out to me that day, it was a few things that made me notice him. First of all his desk was only a few feet from mine, but he had that morning off, so I hadn't met him until the afternoon. Second, he was the only person in the building anywhere near me age. Everyone was at least 30+ in the office, and at 19 I was the baby of the office, evidently. Josh was 22, and I only knew that because everyone had mentioned how he wouldn't be the youngest any more.

'Oh! I've heard about you. You're my predecessor as the youngest guy in the office.' I laughed, a little nervously.

'You heard about that, huh?' He blushed slightly and scratched the back of his head. 'I was your age when I started, so I've been the youngest for 3 years. It's good to pass the baton, so to speak.'