Chapter Text
It’s the kind of day that starts off by letting you know it won’t be easy. Tom trips on his sheets getting out of bed and slams bodily into the floor. He hears his teeth clack.
He pushes himself off the ground and stands up, trying to get his bearings before looking at his alarm clock. The one that runs on batteries, double A to be precise. The batteries which died over night. Tom scrambles to find his phone.
Meeting halfway across town for a job he badly needs in an hour and he still has to get dressed and-
Tom’s eyes catch the window, his ears catch the soft pitter patter of rain. His mind catches the idea that he is screwed if he doesn’t move his ass now.
He needs this job and he needs it bad if he is going to keep making rent. Tom pulls on his suit, gets his umbrella and rushes out the door without a second thought about breakfast.
The subway is packed with miserable soaking wet commuters and Tom is thanking his umbrella for its protection and grace to keep him dry.
Until it promptly turns itself inside out and breaks as he is running across the street against the wind with him, three blocks away from his interview. So that is how Tom arrives late, disgruntled and soaking wet in the lobby of his last and now dubious hope.
“Mr… Thompson, I suppose?” The cool voice speaking belongs to a slender man with shoulder length hair neatly swept to either side.
“Uh… yeah hi, I am so sorry about being late-,” Tom begins.
“If you are apologetic about wasting time, do not waste mine further with excuses, I am Patryk Pattison and I will be conducting your interview today.”
Tom nods dumbly and trots after the man as he turns and stalks off down the hall.
“So you are interviewing for what position again?” Patryk asks, barely glancing his way.
“Personal assistant.”
“Ah, I see, and you think you can handle this job? I’ll have you know it is a very stressful job with a high turnover, and,” Patryk glances as Tom’s sopping clothes, “very little room for error.”
“I assure you today was a onetime thing, I am very good at organization, I have references who can attest to that.”
“Hmm, well we will see,” Patryk stops at a door with his last name embossed across it and Tom swallows dryly as he realizes the person conducting his interview is probably someone very high ranking in the company.
Patryk holds the door and waits for Tom to enter. After a moment of waiting Tom jolts forward and steps in. Inside the room is lined with bookshelves and walks with complex looking schematics in ornate frames. In the middle of it all is a weighty desk with a two chairs on either side of it. Patryk sits in the one behind the desk and motions for Tom to sit in the remaining one.
“So, Mr. Thompson, are you aware of what we do here at Red Armory?”
“You are a defense contractor,” Tom responds, glancing at one of the schematics. It’s some sort of HOV that, by the looks of it, could probably take on a tank if needed.
“Yes and as such, even in a job position like yours, you will be required to have clearance badges on you at all time, no usb’s will be allowed in or out of the building, any computer you put them in will lock and sound an alarm. You get the picture. We need people who are efficient, well organized, and obey the rules here at Red Armory.”
“I am well aware, and if you would like to see my resume I can show you.”
Patryk holds up a hand. “We have your ssn, your full name and your address from the forms you have filled out, turn those into me now and we will run a background check and get back to you.”
Tom nods and opens his briefcase, pulling out the thankfully dry papers and handing them to Patryk.
“I would also like to remind you that we have a strict tardy policy, three strikes and you are terminated. Time is money and anyone who nets a loss for this company will be cut,” Patryk says as he shuffles the papers and puts them away in a draw on his desk. “That will be all for now Mr. Thompson, thank you for your time.”
Tom thanks him and shakes his hand as he is turning to leave Patryk stops him. “Company policy mandates I walk you out, also here.”
Tom looks in surprise as Patryk hands him an umbrella.
“This one shouldn’t break so easily, it’s important to stay dry and stay safe,” Patryk says and the smile he gives Tom is brief but genuine. It takes the tension out of his shoulders a little. Maybe this can work out.
-----------
Things do work out. Kind of. Tom gets the job, he gets the pay, he gets to keep his apartment.
He gets a headache and a nightmare of a boss.
His first encounter with Tord is while Patryk is giving him a walkthrough of the building. Basically a “your clearance lets you go here, and everywhere else is prohibited” tour.
They run into Tord as they are bustling down the main hallway, Patryk taps him and signals to Tom, what occurs is a completely silent conversation of facial twitches, quirked eyebrows, twitching lips. Meanwhile Tom finds himself trying not to bounce on his heels as he realizes the head of the whole company is standing a mere few feet away from him.
Finally Tord turns to look at Tom and with a long appraising look says, “You look like the kind that won’t make the first month.”
Tom’s heart drops from his throat to his lower intestines as he breaks eye contact with Tord to stare angrily at the floor, reminding himself on repeat that he had to make rent.
He got it, really he got it. He was probably hired partially for his looks, he had no skill sets, no formal education, he was basically signed up to be treated like a dog because he needed a paycheck. Great. Good to know this was the guy whose punching bag he was gonna be until he could manage to snag something else passable.
Tord lingers a moment longer and then he is gone and Patryk is ushering him along to the advertising section.
“Hey Pat, hey… new guy, what’s the face for?” A relaxed looking guy with a green t-shirt and jeans pipes up as they enter.
Tom doesn’t bother answering. What is he going to do? Bad mouth one boss in front of another?
“Tom this is Edd, Edd, this is Tord’s new personal secretary, Tom,” Patryk glances at Tom and replies “ And as for the face, he just met Tord.”
Edd rolls his eyes, “That asshole? I swear if we didn’t know each other since we were wearing diapers, I would have probably unloaded a mag on him by now.”
Edd claps Tom on the shoulder, “Good luck buddy, you’re gonna need it. But you look like an alright sort of guy, you got my vote of confidence,” Edd winks.
Tom smiles a little. Maybe everyone here wasn’t so bad.
“Sides, if you are finally the secretary that snaps and succeeds at killing Tord, I get full control of the company.”
Scratch that, everyone here is Satan incarnate, it’s just some of them were the more likeable kind of evil.
__________
Tom’s first day with Tord Thorgunn is a nightmare. He is on time. Arriving promptly at eight on the dot in Tord’s office after waiting for five minute before knocking and entering.
“You’re late,” Tord says as soon as he enters.
“Sir, it’s eight,” Tom says, and he finds his eyes narrowing as he notices the scrutinizing gaze.
“Correct and if you had been here at seven fifty nine and fifty nine seconds, you would have been here on time. But you are late. That’s one strike of three mister Thompson.
Tom’s jaw drops.
He has three chances and Tord is knocking one off because he was attempting to be precisely on time?
Tom’s eyes narrow, “Very well Mr. Thorgunn, how can I be of assistance to you today?”
His boss opens a drawer and slaps out a pile of folders. “Each of these has the operating budget for each department here, I need you to run these to each individual department, verify the numbers, and comeback with the budgets either signed or a proposal for different allowances.”
This is Tom’s first task. It doesn’t sound so bad. Should be easy right? Get a bunch of people to sign some papers?
It’s not easy.
No one wants to agree on budgets, everyone wants to fight for higher figures, so Tom is constantly running files back and forth between offices, handing proposals to Tord, shredding the rejects, delivering notices. He’s handling it until he isn’t.
“You are going to quit by the end of the week at this rate,” Edd says, looking at him disinterestedly. “The worst part is you’re one of the ones actually trying to make things work, huh?”
Tom looks at him with a defeated slump to his shoulders, “Guy’s gotta have a roof over his head.”
“I get that, in fact I got that the minute you walked in the door. Look Tom you seem like a nice guy,” Edd begins and Tom looks up at him, a soft smile in place, “Tom, this isn’t a company for nice guys, it’s for assholes and if you walk into these guys offices wreaking of desperation, they are going to run you until you break and then step on you a few times after.”
“What’s your point?” Tom said miserably. He knew all this.
“My point is, you want the job, grow a spine and stop acting like things are negotiable. Tord is testing you, he knew those guys would fight you on those figures. Those figures aren’t reasonable but that’s how he operates, it’s part of a nasty process he runs hear and he is looking at you to be his arm.”
“He wants me to do his dirty work?”
“He wants you to throw his punches.”
Tom doesn’t know why but that’s the one that gets him. The one line that makes him feel like he can do this. Get paid to be a dick? To trade verbal blows with people who can’t fire him for it.
Tom can do that.
“You can’t do that!”
“You’re right, I can’t, but Mr. Tordgunn said if you don’t file your proposal by the end of the week you’re losing ten percent of your budget,” The face in front of him flushes with righteous indignation.
“You think this is funny you little-.”
Tom pulls out the file opens it and points to the signature on the bottom of the page. “You have an issue, take it up with the person who signed the doc, I’m sure Mr.Torgunn would love to break out of a meeting with the US DOD just to talk to- what department is this again?”
Tom has to suppress a smirk as he watches the face in front of him pale.
“Penetrative armor.”
“I’m sure he would love to take time to talk to your very important sector,” Tom says smiling brightly.
He’s still smiling when he leaves the office with a signed budget.
This tactic gets half his workload cut in half. He gets another quarter by heavily implying that Tord will give additional funds to early signers. Most important lesson in this kind of world. If it isn’t on paper it doesn’t mean shit.
By the end of the week Edd is his only hold out.
“Well, well if it isn’t the little Mafioso himself, word about you is spreading quick,” Edd grinned as Tom entered his office.
Tom smiled, “All thanks to you, now you want to sign the dock? You’re my last hold out.”
“Hmm, nah,” Edd says, leaning back in his chair and putting his arms back behind his head.
“What do you mean, nah? I thought you were trying to help me, and Tord said he wanted this done ASAP,” Tom ground out, brow crinkling in frustration.
“Tord’s last secretary took a month before they quit, you’ve nearly cleared this in a week. And remember what I told you about this business, it’s full off assholes,” Edd said, kicking up his feet onto his desk. They were ratty sneakers and a bit of dirt flaked off them and onto the desk as he did so.
“You’re a dick.”
“I’m Tord’s best friend, you don’t think a normal person would tolerate him that long, now would you?”
“Okay,” Tom sighed, “what do you want?”
“A raise.”
Tom looked at him and Edd laughed at the annoyed expression curdling on his face, “You own, half the company.”
“Tord and his board agree on all salary raises, and it isn’t half, Tord still has a majority share.”
“Have you asked him for a raise?”
“Yep. Denied me every time for the last five years.”
Tom threw up his hands in exasperation, “So you expect me, a fresh grunt to magically change his mind?”
“Not immediately no, but I know Tord and know he sees something in you, so how about this, I sign this doc today, and you get me something I want sometime tomorrow.”
Tom pulls out the file on the desk and opens it to the page before handing it to Edd. Edd is about to sign it when he pauses looking at Tom. Tom doesn’t know how to describe what exactly happens to Edd’s face, but the lazy smile dies and he is looking at these deadest, steady eyes.
“Do not think I am like the others, our rainchecks have consequences should you forget them.”
Tom swallows dryly and nods. The lazy smile is back, the paper is signed and Tom is on his way out of the office before he can really register what happened.
When Tom arrives back in Tord’s office it’s in chaos. Papers everywhere, Tord is on the phone with an agitated look on his face. His eyes zero in on Tom’s face as he enters.
“Hold on a moment,” Tord says and puts the phone down on his desk and then printing a button to mute it.
“I got the docs signed,” Tom said, holding out the files. Tord takes them, looking at them disinterestedly for a moment before tucking them away.
“Good. Alright Pat is on an overseas trip to work out some details with a customer. It’s spur of the moment, but it’s a massive contract, and our competitors are looking to snake it if they can. I need you to do a favor, which you will be compensated for.”
Tom nods, trying to push down his irritation at Tord barely acknowledging his completion of his task.
“Look I…” Tord hesitates, sucking in a harsh breath. “I have a kid and there is no one else to watch her, I know this isn’t what we hired you for, and it’s going to be outside your normal hours, but her daycare had an issue with asbestos, and I can’t….”
It’s the most human Tord has looked the entire time Tom has known him, looking trite as he avoids Tom’s eye contact.
“What about my normal duties?”
“On hold until the situation is settled.”
“And where to I go get her?”
“She will come to work with me. Look honestly, thank you for this,” Tom tries to tamp down the fluttery feeling in his stomach as Tord looks at him. He tries to remind himself that Tord is only being kind because he is getting what he wants.
Tom needs to remember that he is nothing to Tord. And it’s better that way.
“I would be honored to help you Mr. Thorgunn,” Tom says and he smiles tightly at Tord who nods.
“Thanks… and thanks for these, you got them in a lot sooner than I expected. Especially Edd, he’s always an asshole about signing these, always asking for a raise when he has the highest salary in the company,” Tord mutters as he walks away.
Tom spends the entire next morning wondering what Tord’s kid is gonna be like. If she’s anything like her dad, probably a monster. Screaming, tantrums, why did he agree to this again? It’s his boss’ kid, if he messes up he is done. Fired.
Tom sighs, but gets on the train nonetheless, swipes his badges and knocks on Tord’s door at seven fifty five sharp.
The door opens instantly and Tom looks expecting to see Tord, but instead seeing… nobody. Until he looks down. To see a small girl, probably no more than three holding a toy gun. Tom gets a foam bullet to the forehead.
“Bang, you’re dead, daddy needs a new secretary now,” she says and then starts to close the door. A large hand comes around it and stops it.
“Honey did you just shoot someone again, what have I told you- Oh good Mr.Thompson, you’re here, this his Honey, Honey this is Mr. Thompson. You two are going to spend some time together while I am at work, okay?”
Honey nods.
Tord looks to Tom, “Thanks for this, again really.” He smiles at Tom and there’s that fluttery feeling again. Tom just nods and looks away to focuses on Honey instead.
“Hi, I am Mr. Thompson, your dad’s my boss, so I guess you’re kind of like my mini boss, huh?”
“You’re fired,” Honey says and Tom mock gasps, “You shoot me then fire me? Wow Thorgunn, you’re raising a real cutthroat kid.”
Tord smiles, he ruffles Honey’s hair before bending down to give her an honest hug, “Be good for Mr. Thompson, I’ll bring you two lunch in a bit,” Tord looks at his watch. “Meeting in ten, gotta run.”
With that he is out the door and Tom is alone with Tord Jr.
“So Honey, what do you want to do?” Tom asks as he watches the little girl.
“I want to see uncle Pat.”
“Uncle Pat… Mr. Pattison?” Tom asks incredulously. Honestly, what would the girl want with such a stern guy.
“Yeah!”
“Uh, okay, we can try.”
They do try. For over half an hour. Honey gets tired really quick and when she asks for a piggy back ride, Tom obliges. Finally, exhausted, put out, Tom stops for a rest. Until Honey darts off down the hall.
“Honey, where are you going?” Tom cries, getting to his feet to give chase.
“The electric man, I saw him, he always knows!” Honey yells as she books it. For such a tiny kid, she moves fast, and man is it hard for Tom to run in work clothes.
He rounds the corner to see Honey yelling after the supposed “electric man”, who looks like a regular maintenance worker.
“Hey kid, what is it?” He says, before looking up at Tom, one eyebrow cocked.
“’Lectric man, you know where Pat is?” Honey asks, grinning at him to show a gap toothed smile.
The man flushes slightly, “Ah, I think I last saw him in the break room, he usually goes for coffee right about now?”
“Sorry about that, name’s Tom, I’m Tord’s new secretary,” Tom said sheepishly, extending a hand to the man.
“Paul Pauling, nice to meet you, and it’s no trouble, she’s a sweetheart,” Paul said. Tom looked to where Honey had been previously standing to see the space was now vacant.
“She’s a handful,” he groaned. “What direction is the break room?”
Paul points down the hall. Tom thanks him and once again gets his morning cardio.
“Excellent supervision skills, Mr. Thompson,” Pattison said as Tom arrived.
“She’s a bit of a speed demon,” Tom wheezes.
“I am well aware. Honey would you like some hot chocolate?” Patryk says, looking at the girl and smiling softly.
“Yes please,” she shouts, before giving him a grin. Patryk returns the smile in kind.
“So I hear you are Honey’s uncle?” Tom asked curiously.
Patryk’s eyes dart to Honey and then back to him, “No, she just calls me that. Honey’s mom… she’s not in the picture.”
You don’t work at a company like this without hearing a few rumor about the big bad boss. Tom had heard a lot about Tord and very little of it flattering. That he tore through secretaries like candy, was an incorrigible skirt chaser, and only stopped when one of them burned him pretty seriously.
It was just regarded as “That One”.
Tom badly wanted to ask if Honey was the daughter of That One. But the look on Patryk’s face told him that further discussion on this topic while Honey was in the room would not go well. So he swallows his question and Honey swallows her hot chocolate and then they are back in Tord’s office playing board games Tord apparently kept for Honey on occasions just like this.
Tom is learning Honey is a pretty apt chute and ladders player when Tord enters the room with two boxes and a cell phone in one ear. He hand a box to each of them, ruffles Honey’s hair and then leaves the room with only a few murmured “uh-huh’s” into the receiver.
Tom looks back to see Honey looking close to the verge of tears.
“Hey, hey, hey, what’s the matter,” he soothes.
“I thought he was gonna spend time with me,” Honey sniffs, wiping away a fat tear before swallowing. She opens her box and her face brightens a little.
“I’m sure he wants to spend time with you, it’s just he has a lot of things on his plate right now,” Tom soothes.
“Yeah. I know, uncle Pat says the same thing,” Honey says as she takes a bite out of her sandwich. “I just wish Daddy didn’t look so sad sometimes.”
“He looks sad, what do you mean by that?” Tom asks.
Honey shrugs, “He says it’s because he misses me so much.”
“Yeah, he’s your dad, he care about you a lot,” Tom says.
“I think he really cared about my mom too, I think that’s why sometimes he’s sad,” Honey says.
Tom really doesn’t know what to say to that. They continue eating and the rest of the afternoon is pretty uneventful.
Tom arrives the next morning and when he knocks it’s Tord that answers this time. “Oh good you’re here, she won’t stop talking about you, ever since last night, I gotta run again, but I’ll bring lunch,” Tord says and boom, Honey and Tom adventures part two starts.
Honey wants to go visit Edd so that’s how they wind up in marketing. When they arrive Edd is there talking to a slim ginger with a tray full of coffee. Tom thinks he might have ran into him a few times while grabbing coffee for meetings.
“Hey Honey!” the ginger says as soon as they enter. “And you must be Tom, I’ve heard about you from Edd and Tord, nice to meet you, I’m Matt, Edd’s husband.”
“Have I seen you somewhere before, you look familiar?”
Matt thinks for a minute, “Wait, you buy the huge coffee orders at the place down the street right? Matty-B’s?”
Tom nods.
“Well, you’re looking at Matty-B himself, I run the till when someone calls in sick, so we’ve probably seen each other around a bit.”
“So Tom, how’s Honey-Patrol?” Edd says looking at the little bobbing head that approaches his desk. A tiny hand reaches up and snags a piece of candy from the bowl on the edge.
“Surprisingly easier than dealing with you on a daily basis,” Tom snorts.
“You wound me Thompson, might have to have Tord dock your pay for that.”
“If anyone’s pay should be docked Edison, it’s yours,” Tord’s voice makes Tom jump and he turns around to see him leaning in the doorway, three bags in hand.
“My meeting just ended and I figured we could all eat lunch together- ah,” Tord looks at his phone as it starts to ring. “I’m going to have to take this, it’s a customer calling to reschedule an appointment.”
Tom holds out his hand, “Let me take it, eat lunch with your daughter for once.”
He doesn’t register how rude and bold he is being with that demand until the words are out of his mouth. Tom is running through about fifty different acceptable apologies when he looks up at Tord to see him looking surprised, but not angry.
“Thanks Tom,” he says, handing the phone to him. Tom is so surprised by the use of his first name he nearly misses the call. He picks it up on the final ring.
“Hello Red Amory this is Thompson speaking.”
-------------
The rest of the week goes smoothly. Tom gets to know Honey better and really, the kid is great. Going to work didn’t feel like a chore, it wasn’t stressful, and the more he saw and learned of Tord, both from their shared lunches and from Honey’s stories of her dad, the more Tom came to appreciate the guy.
The only hiccup they had was when Tom got distracted while Honey was talking to him. He looked down to see the girl in near tears.
That’s how he learned about Honey and being ignored. He brought up the incident Patryk after.
“Honey… Honey has had a rough go of things. Her mother wasn’t in the picture and a lot of Tord’s past sitters and secretaries have had the patience in dealing with her. I think you’re probably one of the only ones to treat her like she’s an actual person.”
“What do you mean?” Tom asked, brow furrowed.
“I mean, Honey is the key to her father’s heart, anyone can see that. And some people have and have tried to take advantage of that fact. People Honey liked and trusted… and she’s not a stupid kid, you know that,” Patryk sighed. “Tord has really cleaned up his act a lot in that regard though. He used to track relationships into his home life like mud. He stopped after seeing what it did to Honey.”
“And right now? Is he…?”
“Tord hasn’t been in a lasting relationship since before Honey was born. He works, he takes care of his daughter, that’s it.”
“And he’s doing okay?” Tom asked, because honestly, he wants to know.
“He’s managing, which is better than what he was doing. Look, Tord is resilient, field tested, one of the best men I know, he’s just been in a rut for a while. So try not to look at his mouth, look at his actions when you judge his character.”
Those are the words Tom is left with and he does, he really does try. Tord runs him ragged with task and meetings and files. But Tom’s paycheck comes with a bonus and Tord is always there on late work nights, sometimes working right alongside Tom to help push the final paperwork through.
He stops calling him Thompson all the time and when there is a train delay and Tom makes it to work late Tord tells him not to worry about the strike, he’s had a clean record since day one.
Then Tom makes his first honest mistake on the job. He forgets to deliver someone’s files and they lose a sizeable contract. He’s looking the floor while the head of that department screams himself red-faced and he’s thinking about how this is it. This guy’s going to complain to Tord, Tord is going to yell and then Tom is going to be out on his ass scrambling to get a new job.
Back to square one. Tom is trying not to look so miserable because all he can hear is Edd’s voice on repeat talking about how they eat that kind of behavior for breakfast. Then the door is bagging open and the department head’s complexion is going the color of the manila folder sitting on his desk and the hair on Tom’s neck stands at the sound of the voice behind him.
“When you are dealing with your employees, I should never be able to hear your conversation with the door shut,” Tord is now in front of Tom and leaning over the desk. Every muscle, everything about how his body is pose is a testament to how livid he is in the moment. His knuckles grip the edge of the desk so hard Tom isn’t sure what is going to break first, Tord’s hand or the desk.
“When you are dealing with my employee, whose salary you do not pay, who you did not hire, whose opinion actually ranks above yours’ when looking at the overall scale of this company, you will be reminded to keep your tone polite, professional and cordial, as if you were speaking to a customer.”
The man dips his chin down sharply in a harsh nod. Tom can see he has words he is choking on, words he wants to spit out, probably nasty and probably directed towards Tom. Tord opens the late folder, skims it.
“Why was it solely Thompson’s job to look after your department’s biggest contractor, do you not have any safety other than an overworked liaison to keep your house in order? If not, perhaps we should reevaluate your position come midterms. For now, perhaps you should take a trip to HR to learn the difference between proper and improper work etiquette, I am sure Eduardo would love your company.”
Tom notes the man give a minute shudder.
With that Tord’s hand is on Tom’s back and he is being ushered out of the room and there isn’t another word from the man left standing stock still in his office.
“I’m sorry about the doc, it got pushed to the side because of everything and I just didn’t think about-.”
“Tom, I get it, it’s been a long couple of weeks, you’ve had a lot of shit pushed at you, I’m not punishing you for this. If anyone should apologize it should be me for putting you in that position. That guy’s an ass, buck up, you’re doing good.”
Tom offers him a small smile. Tord returns it but then drops it and lowers his voice.
“But if you lose me or my department a contract of that size I’ll have your head on a platter.”
Tom can’t even find it in himself to be that annoyed. And that’s what starts to get him worried. He stops feeling all this resentment, all this anger towards Tord. He starts seeing his goofy little habits, noting how Edd’s ribbing gets him flustered from time to time. All these little things start adding up.
The point is, Tom likes Tord, or he’s starting to. The guy has a nice face when it isn’t scrunched up in anger or agitation. He’s got a crooked smile that’s endearing and Tom is heading into this way too deep. He tries to remind himself of one thing, the very first thing he had in mind when coming here.
Above all else, he is here to make rent.
He need to keep things clean, professional, impersonal, which is hard when your boss is currently calling your personal line off-work hours.
“Hello?”
“Tom?” The soft, giggly voice sounds on the other line.
“Hey Honey, how did you call me?”
“Daddy is looking for his phone, I wanted to call you and say hi.”
Tom smiled and stifled a chuckle, “Hi Honey, how are you?”
“I’m good but I miss you, and I think you should come over.”
“I’m not sure if your dad would like that too much, Honey.”
“Daddy likes you the way electric man likes Uncle Pat,” Honey says and then there is a commotion in the background and suddenly Tord’s voice sounds very close to the phone. Tom hears Honey says something along the lines of “invite him over” in the background. Tord groans.
“Hey Tom, small favor.”
“Yes Mr. Thorgunn.”
“Cute, drop the formalities, and if you are free Friday, come over for dinner,” Tord says without a trace of humor. Tom is waiting for the punchline.
“This Friday?”
“Is that an issue?”
“No….” Tom is trying to think of a reason for it to be an issue but his mind pulls up short.
“Great address will be texted, be there at six pm sharp or you get a strike.”
------
Tom arrives and he’s sweating bullets. He isn’t sure why. There’s nothing intimidating about the little one story house in a quiet gated community. It’s nice, it’s cute.
Tord opens the door and Honey rushes out and practically leaps into Tom’s arms with a cry of “Tom!”
Tom catches her and laughs as he sets her down. Tord lets out a chuckle before moving inside as Honey leads Tom in by the hand.
“She has been on and on about you all the time, I thought she would drop it after a week, but it’s been nonstop,” Tord explained.
Tom lets Honey give him a tour of the house, show him her dolls, show him a stuffed bear with big black eyes she says looks just like him.
Dinner is surprisingly well done. It’s simple, spaghetti and garlic bread, but it’s good. Tom and Tord listen to Honey ramble about her friends at daycare and how much she missed them and what crafts they did today. After dinner Honey is looking like she is going to pass out any moment so Tord takes her to bed.
When he returns it’s just him and Tom, alone in the dining room.
“Hey, listen, I know I haven’t been the best with you. I was really rough the first few weeks, and I am sorry, I know impressions weren’t the best,” Tord said, rubbing the back of his head.
“It’s alright, it’s a high stress job, I get it,” Tom says, and it’s genuine. He’s not mad at Tord anymore, water under the bridge.
Tord smiles, “You say that like your job isn’t the most stressful one at the company. Tom we eat through secretaries and they leave awful reviews on Glass Door. I don’t know how you are managing this and still acting like a decent person, but I appreciate it, really.”
And that’s Tord’s hand on his shoulder and Tom isn’t really think about it when Tord’s lips touch his and he is pushing Tord away almost instantly.
“Company policy states this is ground for firing,” Tom states flatly.
“I wrote the company policy, Tom.”
“So maybe you shouldn’t flagrantly disregard it,” Tom spits and wow there’s that old resentment towards Tord bubbling up again. What an ass.
“Tom, I-,” Tord starts.
“I have to make rent, I don’t make the crazy salaries you and have the guys on your board do. I have to take what you throw at me inside of office hours, but outside, I don’t need you dragging me into anymore office drama,” Tom says, fists curling at his side.
“I swear that wasn’t my intention,” Tord says, hands coming up in a placating gesture.
“You have a reputation Tord, and it isn’t a good one and I don’t want that kind of thing with you.”
Tord’s eyes close in frustration. “Look Tom, do you have a part of you, you are trying to put behind you? A part of you that you don’t want to be anymore?”
Tom thinks about his time as a troubled teen, a street lurker, couch surfing bum, who bailed out of high education because he couldn’t hack it. He thinks of himself back when he had no desire to be anything.
“I am trying to not be that guy anymore, for Honey. I fought so hard for her mom to even have her, and I told myself that I would change everything so Honey would never grow up to be like either of her parents,” Tord looks down. “But maybe that’s a moot point.”
Tom sighs and looks at Tord, “Look. You aren’t a bad guy, and I like you, I like your kid. You are abrasive and sharp tongued, but I get where you come from most of the time. But I can’t date you while I work for you. It’s wrong, it’s too much stress on top of an already nightmarish job.”
Tord looks at him a long moment. “Okay. I understand. Thank you for coming tonight Tom, I really appreciate it.”
Tom smiles, “You got a good kid, you’re doing fine Thorgunn.”
Tord offers him a smile and a sincere goodbye.
---------
Tom gets a notice of a department transfer on Monday. He is apparently working for marketing now. Tom is about to burst down Tord’s door and get into a screaming match when he sees the signature at the bottom.
“Pattison, what is the meaning of this?”
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
“You authorized my transfer, am I insufficient at doing my job?”
“Not at all, we just have other places that can use you more effectively.”
Tom closes his eyes for a minute then opens them, “Is this for Tord? Did he tell you about Friday nights dinner?”
“Tord had nothing to do with this.”
“Okay so you are trying to do his dirty work behind his back?”
“I am trying to help the both of you, since neither of you seem capable of helping yourselves,” Pattison replied.
Tom rubs his temple, “Tord cannot operate without me, and finding him a replacement is going to take a while.”
“So why don’t you go hammer things out with your new boss,” Patryk said.
“My new- you want me to talk to Edd?”
Patryk seems to be barely succeeding in not rolling his eyes, “If the head of marketing has changed since this document was signed, let me know.”
Tom takes the doc, trying his best to keep a sneer off his face. He enters Edd’s office in a huff, slamming the paper on Edd’s table.
“Patryk sent me here to ask the meaning of this.”
“Hey Tom, don’t you owe me a favor?” Edd says conversationally.
“A what?”
“A favor. For signing that doc first week?” Edd says as he puts a finger on the paper and drags it over in front of him.
Tom thinks back. Shit. Edd’s right.
“What do you want from me?”
“Well as your new boss, you will be assisting your co-work Tord Thorgunn in handling paperwork, fulltime pretty much. And I want you to go on one date with him.”
“I turned him down.”
“So go on the date, let him buy you dinner, and turn him down again,” Edd said, folding his hands neatly in front of him.
“You’re a complete scumbag and it’s no surprise you two are best friends,” Tom says as he lets out a long, exasperated exhale.
Edd grins, “Took you a while to get that, huh?”
------
Tom is, once again at Tord’s house. A week from the last time. Tord steps out and waves to a blond girl who is apparently Honey’s baby sitter. Honey rushes out to say hi to Tom and give him a hug.
“Thanks for coming out with me Tom,” Tord says with a nervous smile. It’s an unusual look for him but he is getting zero sympathy.
“Wow Tord, it’s not like my boss literally ordered me to do this,” Tom snipped. “How about we do this. Strike system. You get a second date if you make it through the night with no more than three strikes. Strike one, being late.”
Tord looks at him in surprise, “It’s six on the dot?”
“And if you had been a second earlier you would have been on time, but now you’re late.”
Tord grumbles and opens Tom’s door on the passenger side before climbing in and starting the car. They go to a restaurant, a nice sit down affair with some vaguely French sounding name. And you know? It’s nice. Tord tells childhood stories about Edd, talks about how he met Pat, about how Pat helped him through the long nights trying to care for Honey as an infant.
“So what happened to the secretary?” Tom asks, partially because he is still feeling a bit sore about being jerked around this week and partially out of genuine curiosity.
“She skipped down as soon as she was good to leave and I haven’t heard from her since. I can’t say what was done on either side was right, but it’s how it was dealt.”
Tom looks at him a long moment. “You had feelings for her?”
“I had a lot of emotions at that time Tom, I wasn’t really sure what I was directing where. Honey has helped me sort them out. And if I am being honest, I don’t know. But I do know I like you. So is this… can we continue doing this?”
Tom sighs and leans back in his chair, “You want to give me two more reasons to strike you?”
“Is this going to be a first date thing or an every date thing?” Tord says, leaning his face in his hand.
“Didn’t think of that actually but I like that idea,” Tom says with a toothy smile.
“You’re evil,” Tord groans.
“It’s why I fit right in at Red Armory.”
“I suppose it is,” Tord says with a soft smile.
Tom sits up, “I’ll tell you what Mr. Thorgunn, if Edd writes my paychecks, you cede all rights to fire me, and Patryk takes that nice electrician on a date, we can have a date two.”
“Now tell me how a secretary learned to drive such a hard bargain,” Tord says as he looks at Tom with lips barely quirking up.
“Necessary tool of the trade, along with ungodly amounts of patience. Your daughter may be rambunctious but she has got more charm in her little finger than you have in your entire body. Now do we have a deal, Mr. Thorgunn?”
“Call me Tord from now on and we indeed do,” Tord say extending his hand. Tom meets him half way and they shake on it over the remains of their dinner and empty wine glasses.
Tom thinks maybe this is good, maybe this is alright, to not have to just live to make rent, to have something, maybe even someone, to be passing the time for.