Page 51 of Base Block

He took off his coat and hung it up on a hanger. “It was quick because Wendell could only give me a few minutes.” He said something else about the guy and I recognized the name as someone from his client list, one of the Woodsmen defensive players.

“Oh. You were at the stadium?”

“I didn’t see Callum, unfortunately,” he answered. “Did you want to talk to me about something?” He rolled the chair out of his office and we went over the problems I’d been having with the guy who was so upset. Beau told me what to write in the email, which basically said that our working relationship was finished and to have a nice day.

“Thank you,” I told him. “If there are other things, how should we deal with them?”

“What do you mean?”

“I have a few more issues, like if I’m still part-time or not,” I said. “I don’t think so but you’re the boss.”

“I guess I am,” he agreed but he looked very uncomfortable. “I’m not very good at management.”

That was what Heidi had said about him, too. “Maybe we could figure it out together.”

We talked a little, which was helpful for both of us. He probably wasn’t the best manager but he was a basically nice person and he was also patient. It made me glad because he was most likely the same way with his son. He loved to read to him, too, real books about bunnies.

“What are you doing now?” Callum texted as I left the office for the day. “Can you meet me here?” He sent directions.

“Sure, I’m on my way,” I answered and I drove over to the furniture store on his map. It was one that offered Woodsmen discounts, and I wondered if he had remembered. I beat him there and when I saw him, I stared just as hard as the other people in the store. They were excited about being close to a Woodsmen but I was shocked by his appearance.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“I got a trim,” he said, rubbing his beard. “It was too long. I got my hair trimmed, too. What do you think?”

“I love it,” I said. He looked like himself but slightly more refined. Beau Gowan believed that we shouldn’t be trying to change things about people, just enhance them. Callum was enhanced and I told him that, too.

“Now we need some enhanced furniture. I liked the chair with the big arms in the picture that you sent,” he said. “I also have big arms, so it makes sense.” One of his was around my waist as we walked around.

“Think of fabric durability and how this piece will fit into the larger scheme,” I said, because that was something that Beau had told me when he’d examined my portfolio of chairs. “We’re looking for quality, which will give us longevity.” I had also heard that today.

“Hm. How about this one?” He sat in it. “No. I think it was made for a mouse.”

Or a normal-sized person. “Anara would probably have a more unusual animal to use as an example,” I said as we moved on. “No, Callum, you can’t even fit in there.”

“Is that comment about my ass? Are you saying it’s too big?” He got up and stared at me. “Why are you upset?”

Because I had been thinking about my own ass. “What about this gray one? It’s neutral.”

“Let’s try it,” he agreed, and plopped down. The chair didn’t give way but the salesperson looked concerned. “High back, wide arms, seems sturdy. Come here,” he told me.

I sat on his knee and he tugged me until we were seated like we had been the night before, cuddled up. “We fit,” I said.

“I’m very comfortable, except I think that we’re putting on a show for people. They’re taking pictures,” he mentioned and stood up, bringing me with him. “Can we get this delivered?” he asked the salesperson. “Or do you guys have rope? We can tie it to the top of my car.”

They delivered and were happy to do it immediately, with six people tagging along to help out. I guessed that they were interested in seeing the inside of a Woodmen player’s house, but they acted disappointed when they did.

“Is there more to this place?” one of the delivery guys asked. He hadn’t done anything except hold the door open, but they had all come in to look around.

“No, sorry,” Callum told him. “I think that the QB has a mansion, if you ever get a chance to look around there.”

“Is he a dick? That’s what I heard,” another guy suggested, and the girl who’d driven the truck said that was bull. They ended up hanging out with us for a while and made it into a video I posted about our first real furniture purchase.

“This is very nice,” Callum told me later. We were in the chair together, fitting perfectly, as we both did some film study for the next game. “See how I flinched there?” He tapped the orange case. “No good.”

“You played so well,” I answered. “I didn’t notice any flinch at all.”

“Lucky for me, the ref didn’t, either.”