Author's Note: I got a little distracted with what I wanted to do with this chapter and then next thing I knew it was time to wrap it up, so there's no actual incest in this chapter. Just wanted to let you know in case you're only here for the incest!
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"Michael? Are you listening?"
The familiar voice of his boss calling out to him snapped him out of his reverie. Mike had been looking out the window of the office at the passing clouds, not something he found himself doing often, nor the desire to do so, but things had changed so much in such a short amount of time that he realized he hadn't really done any reflection on it at all. The problem was, he had unintentionally chosen the wrong time to do so, and that caught the attention of his boss.
"Yeah, sorry, I've had a lot on my mind recently. I promise I'll focus," Michael admitted, turning his attention back to the table and its occupants. It was all full of people that he knew, some more than others. The vast majority were people he only really knew the names of, and what they did within the little building inspection company he was part of. A Samantha here, a Greg there, all with largely uninteresting, and sometimes unattractive or flat-out boring, lives. The kind of people you avoided at the company watercooler because they always loved to chat about 'last night's game,' or how their kid killed it at the ballet recital the previous night.
There were, however, people he actually knew there beyond first names and job titles. Rachel, his secretary, was there. Normally a bit of a flirt and an unabashed horndog (or horncat?), but now in complete professional mode, writing notes about the meeting for both of them. A good thing too, thanks to my recent distraction. Ryan existed there as well, grinning like a jackal, because I'd been caught by the one guy who would've had anything to say about his bout of cloud watching and would probably tease him about it at some point in the next few days.
"All right. Just don't let it happen again. Where was I?" The man nodded, then continued to go over company growth charts, typically uninteresting stuff that usually ended with 'well, we need more people, we're spread a little thin' and then nothing ever happened to help spare the company's bottom line. Mike generally liked his boss - a man named Cooper - because the guy was at least understanding about minor mistakes and, if you took responsibility, often overlooked them. He was, relatively speaking, one of the best bosses he'd ever had.
Cooper, often referred to as 'Sly' by people that knew his proclivity for women that weren't his wife, was a bear of a man. The sort of person that you'd expect to be pumping iron in a gym to heavy metal music and slapping cardio bunny's asses, and not standing in a boardroom meeting showing off personally created powerpoint slides about company growth and expectations. In his earlier years, the guy was a career weightlifter and professional Adonis. In his later years, he was basically in charge of the entire inspection company, and several others his father had majority control over, having taken them over from his father after the man unceremoniously passed away.
Surprisingly, Sly took to his father's enterprises and didn't run them into the ground. He wasn't quite the shrewd businessman his father was, but where the business would have thrived under his father at the expense of its employees, as it had during Mike's initial tenure, it enjoyed steady growth with happier employees. Thus, employee retention was considerably higher and job quality gradually increased, which meant more money, and so on.
Cooper was a bald man, with tanned skin, almost unpleasantly large muscles, and a considerable lack of body fat. He stood about around six foot three, towering over pretty much everyone in the company, and his gray business suit struggled a little against his body, threatening to tear at any second with little more than a flex. He wasn't sure this was because he purposely chose smaller suits to show off, or because he didn't know any better. He assumed it was simply because he wanted to show off, because 'Sly' was far from a dumb man.
"So in conclusion, we'll finally be moving forward with our hiring initiatives. Expect to have a few new hires in the next several weeks, and they'll need to be trained, so one will be assigned to some of you. I expect you chosen few to prepare for that, and there may be some shuffling of offices. I know Ryan and Mike, you'll both be getting moved to larger offices in the building, since you're our senior inspectors and our most experienced." Cooper pointed to each man as their names were said. "I have a moving company hired to move you all into your new, larger office spaces. Any questions?"
"No," Ryan replied.
"Nope. Clear as crystal, boss," Mike said, a bit surprised at this revelation, but fine with the challenge.
Cooper clapped his hands together, a gesture that would've been just as final but less startling if a literal wrestler wasn't doing it. "All right, dismissed. I know you're all probably hungry, so take an extra thirty minutes for lunch as an apology for the meeting going over time."
This earned noises of satisfaction among the staff there, and everyone seemed to get up at the same time, including Mike. Before he could turn to the door, he felt a hand as big as his head pat on his shoulder. He knew immediately who it belonged to.
"Good work, by the way, Mike. I heard you and Rachel picked up a big round of new government contracts. It's part of the reason why I decided you should help train some of the newbies. I need that kind of negotiation skill and diligence in new employees. I think you'll like who I picked out for you," Cooper grinned, stepping past him. "Oh, by the way." He paused, turning back to face Mike. "You still coming to the party my wife's holding this weekend?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, boss."
"You bringing a plus one?" Cooper inquired with genuine interest, something that Mike absolutely wasn't used to from anyone, let alone his boss.
"Uh." That was a tough question, one he needed a moment to answer. Cooper knew his sister, so bringing her along was probably not the best choice, even if it was the easiest one. Rachel would already be there, her and Cooper's wife got along quite well. Beyond that, he wasn't sure who he should bring, so the easiest response was the honest one. "Don't really have anyone to bring along, but if I think of someone, I promise I'll RSVP them ASAP."
Cooper nodded, giving his back a firm, painful slap. "Good man. We're excited to have you." And with that, the man exited the boardroom, making Mike the last to leave.
Lunch was already on his desk when he'd arrived, a hot meal consisting of a few pieces of fried chicken, a big hunk of cornbread (the best sort, with actual corn baked into it), and a nice cool salad to cleanse the palate. There was also some sweet tea and ice water to round it all out. All things considered, it was a bit of a surprise, enough to make him pause at the entrance to his office.
