Chapter Eighteen - A Whole Lotta Benefits
"So, would you guys like to tell me the whole story?" Shane asked, after their first round of shots.
Mike looked like a lost puppy, and Jared still waited for the good buzz to start. He didn't plan on helping his two friends finish the bottle, but he licked his lips in satisfaction. "The whole story?"
"Mike, why don't you just go for what you want?" Shane was direct, and Jared loved that about him, yet, right now, his protective side surfaced in an instant.
"Mike is shy like that. And such complications -"
"I'm a dumbass and a coward." That was Mike, who took the second shot and threw his head back to make the booze all disappear down his throat.
"Hey, you're not at all a coward. A dumbass either," Jared replied, feeling a familiar sting at the way his best friend saw himself. Mike had always been like this, shy and unsure. Jared had tried to make him think otherwise, but he wasn't sure he was helping much. Adrian tended to be rougher in his encouragement, but that approach hadn't worked too many wonders.
"Yeah, I am." Mike looked down and sighed so deeply that his shoulders slumped.
Jared caressed his back, and a bit of frustration grew inside him. Why wasn't he better at this? Mike had no reason to think badly of himself.
"Why is that?" Shane intervened. He poured another round with confidence. Jared wondered, for a moment, if they weren't going through that bottle too fast.
"Because I should just go work someplace else."
It looked like that particular logic eluded Shane because he looked at Jared, in search of an explanation.
"That would solve everything," Jared said. "Once Mike is no longer an employee working under Ryan -"
"Under Ryan." Mike snickered and hiccupped.
"Easy with the booze," Jared warned. "In a nutshell, no one would have everything to say against them if they weren't boss and employee."
"So, Mike only needs to hand in his resignation, and then that's all. He could go ahead and be with Ryan."
"Yeah, pretty much. But that means a lot to Mike. He worked hard to get where he is now."
"Mike, what do you think?" Shane's attention turned to the person being the main topic of that conversation.
Jared felt a bit annoyed. Was Shane trying to ignore what he said? But, in a way, it was only fair. Mike could speak for himself, and it was only because of Jared's overly protective nature that he often found himself obliged to speak in his friend's name.
"I don't know. I'm afraid to quit my job. What if Ryan's not the one? Then what do I do?"
"You find another job," Shane said promptly. "What's the full half?"
Mike twiddled his thumbs. "I guess it's that Ryan is the one and that I might not be a homeless person for long."
"Homeless?" Shane turned toward Jared, in search of additional explanations.
Still miffed over being ignored earlier, Jared kept his mouth shut.
"If I quit, and I don't land another job soon, I will be unemployed. Then, the months will pass, with me out of a job. I won't be able to pay my bills, and my landlord will kick me out." Mike was talking without pausing for a breather. "Then, I'll be homeless."
Shane's eyes grew wide. "Is he always a worrier like this?"
Jared quirked an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to ask me that?"
A puzzled look welcomed his words. Jared looked away, feeling a bit guilty. After all, Shane was just trying to help. He was the one jaded, trying to jump and notice the slightest sign that he was taken for a fool.
"Yes, I'm always like that," Mike replied, oblivious at the exchange between the other two people at the table.
"You don't mind me saying, Mike, but aren't you too ... What's that word? Self-absorbed?"
"Self-absorbed? Mike?" Jared crossed his arms over his chest. "He's the selfless guy I know."
Shane didn't seem fazed by Jared's display of annoyance. "Then that's the problem. He thinks that he is the root of all problems and the only one with all the solutions."
Jared bit his lips in thought. "Yeah, I guess that's true."
Shane nodded shortly. Jared could swear Shane had stared a bit too long at his mouth right that moment, but it was gone, so it could have been nothing but his imagination.
"Mike, you're not going to be homeless." There was finality in Shane's words.
"I'm not?" Mike didn't appear for one moment, insulted by Shane's characterization of his person.
"If you ever run out of options, which I don't think it's possible, and if you're half the brainiac Jared tells me you are, you'll find a job fast. Also, you can always stay with one of your friends. Jared here cares for you like he's both your momma and papa. Do you see him letting you live on the streets?"
Jared was speechless, and so was Mike.
Shane continued. "Let's play your worst-case scenario. My good guess is that you never really thought of it to the end. So, you're out of a job. For months. You don't have a place to stay. Ryan's not the one."
Each of Shane's sentences was met with exclamations and grumbles from Mike. Jared was still a complete mute.
"Here's the solution. I'll hire you. I don't know as a what, but cross my heart, you won't be out of a job for long. Jared here, I bet he will let you sleep in his bed, you lucky dog, until you're eighty. And Ryan? Well, I'm sure there will be someone else if he's not the guy you think he is. Which, again, I think you might be wrong in worrying about it."
Astonishment was too little a word to describe what Jared felt. That little personal envy that Shane inserted at one point hadn't been lost on him, but that wasn't all. Simply put, things stood like that. Jared was too caught up in helping Mike never feel the slightest discomfort, and now, in a few minutes, he had been proved that he had been wrong all along.
He stole a glance at Mike. His friend was staring at Shane like he had just had the epiphany of a lifetime. "You're absolutely right." Mike's voice was a whisper, but his shock wasn't of the unpleasant type. He grabbed his glass again and downed it in one gulp. "I'll quit."
"Atta boy." Shane smiled, and Jared wanted to pinch his cheek, mostly because he was envious of him and his problem-solving skills than anything else.
Mike sunk into his seat and giggled. "I can't believe I couldn't see it until now."
"You saw it, but -" Jared intervened.
"Not really," Mike replied. "I was too busy thinking of what could go wrong. Just like you, J."
Jared opened his mouth and closed it. Mike giggled again. All right, this one was toasted. "Maybe you just had a shot too many, Mike."
Shane placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "Let the boy grow up a little, Jared. He might puke his guts and curse his life tomorrow, but he'll be a man."
Jared had a mind to argue, but the satisfied smile on Mike's lips convinced him to let it go for now. "Sleep on it, Mike. It's not all bad advice Shane here offers." He turned his head to stare down the imp who was getting his tail in all things that weren't his business. A naughty smile was the answer. No wonder there. "Do you always offer jobs to people you barely met?"
Shane shrugged. "It's a solution. I didn't say it was the ideal one."
"That's not what I asked."
