Teddy (MxM / lgbtq+)

Chapter Three

Five years later

"What do you think this meeting is about?" Sharon whispers to me. I just shrug; I have as much idea as she does.

"Ok guys, I know you're all wondering what's going on," Mr. Leroy, the General Manager of the bank I work at says walking into the conference room where a meeting is being held for the Accounting Department.

"Well as you all know Harold is retiring in a week. In the meantime he will be familiarizing his replacement until the 28th of January and Harold's party will be held on that evening. That's all for now," he says motioning for us to go back to work.

I work as an assistant at Stone's International Bank. Harold is my boss. Ironically he's our accounts manager. We've been working together for two years. We have a good thing going on.

I actually know him before I started working with him. He is the one that guided me on which courses to take and helped me with my application.

"I wonder who I'll be assisting," I murmur loud enough for Harold to hear.

"Don't ask me. I have no clue other than Mr. Leroy will bring him by tomorrow," Harold says smiling.

"I'll miss you, you know," I smile back at him.

"I'll be seeing you every day after work you dolt," he chuckles handing me a couple of files. Yea, he's right. I rent his pool house.

"I need you to call in those clients Lindon. I need to speak with them about making deposits on time to their overdrawn accounts," Harold says picking up the files I slid across the desk to him earlier.

"Alright, I'll set them up for after lunch. We'll do those invitations to the party before and I'll need your signature on the greeting letters for the eight new accounts last month," I say slipping from the chair.

"Okay Lindon. What's for lunch today?" he asks looking at me with a serious expression.

"Turkey sandwiches," I smirk when his eyes light up.

"With the bar-b-que sauce?" he asks with a hopeful expression.

"Yep," he sighs in relief. Harold's wife Joanna and I switch up. She makes lunch for us Mondays and Wednesdays. I got Tuesdays and Thursdays. We buy food on Fridays with a couple of other co-workers.

I make my calls and we finish up the day as usual. I ride home with Harold, stopping at the store for ice cream.

"Hello handsome," is the greeting Harold got and a sweet little kiss. Gosh, these two.

"Hey Mrs. H," I greet her kissing her cheek and accepting her hug.

"Hello my boy," Harold and his wife kind of adopted me. They don't have any kids of their own. Sad really, they would have been great parents.

I put the ice cream in the freezer and go to my place. It's nice and cozy. I love it here. I change and decide on a swim. My only form of exercise. A few laps later and I feel relaxed. Swimming has become my form of therapy. My escape. Nothing else matters except reaching the other end of the pool.

These past five years has been a total head turner for me. I met Harold six months after Theodore left me. I was at the library doing some research on courses I could sign up for when I literally bumped into him. He looked at my brochures and suggested classes to take.

He'd become my go to guy ever since. I met Mrs. H shortly after. She just blew me away. She's the best. Six months after that they saw where I lived and practically kidnapped me the same day.

Since then I've lived with them paying a small rent until I got the job at Stone's International Bank. I pay a little more now but they won't hear anything about light and heat bills. Far less for cable and internet.

I know you're wondering whether or not I completely broke down and all that.

I did. It was ugly. Six months of grieving for Theodore. I stalked every piece of news about him and his whore until their wedding day. He looked happy. And I loved him enough to let him be happy.

The very next day I started picking up the pieces of my life and began planning my way forward without him.

I have my good days and my bad ones. I try not to remember the past. But sometimes I just can't forget. I would pull out that picture of us from the top of my closet and just stare at it. The only piece of evidence that what I had with Theodore was real. A reminder that I was once happy.

I stare at myself in the mirror. Tracing the tattoo on my collar bone.

One Day.

One day, I'll move on.

One day, I could fall in love again.

One day, I'll be happy again.

It doesn't look as if it'll be anytime soon. Seeing as I'm still in love with Theodore. Still crave his touch. Still miss us even though there's no longer an us. There's only me and my lonely existence. I've never so much as looked at another man since Theodore broke my heart.

But through it all I never regret meeting Theodore Halls. Never once regret loving him.

I still grope for him in the mornings. The warmth of his body against mine. Providing all the heat I needed. I hug my pillow as I let sleep take me.

***

I wake feeling like crap. Today is one of those days. The bad ones. Today would have been our eleventh anniversary.

I dress today with an extra umph! Though I feel like crap, no need to dress like it. I don a silk lilac dress shirt and matching tie Mrs. H bought me for Christmas last month, paired with black slacks and black shoes. I comb my hair and style it. I keep most of it short except for the top which is long and drops just past my jaw. Like Justin Bieber's. One of my co-workers, Angie swears the boy stole my hair style when she saw his music video for What Do You Mean.

"My, my, don't you look dashing today," Mrs. H says from the kitchen piling a plate with pancakes and placing it in front of me when I sit at the breakfast bar.

"Thank you," I force a blush down. Harold and I had our breakfast and leave for work but not without thanking the lady of the house kissing her cheek.

I print out the invites to Harold's party and the greeting letters for the new clients. Placing them in two files I log onto the system and print the daily list of overdrawn accounts and call each client informing them that they are overdrawn and ask when they'll cover the excess. Jutting down little notes beside each account based on what they tell me. Gathering everything I need I go into Harold's office to brief him on what today's workload holds.

"Harold, I have the invites and greetings for you to sign," I say as soon as I open the door juggling the files and his coffee, taking a seat in one of the chairs placing everything on his desk.

"Ah, yes. And this is my assistant Lindon Phillips," Harold says and I have this huh? look on my face not noticing the man standing by the windows.

Harold points in that direction and all the air whoosh out of me leaving me breathless.