It is hard to put into words just how horrible a certain feeling is. That very relatable one where your friend finally gets you a job when you have been slacking off for a couple of years, and now you're really grateful to him for what he did, but the people above you are just so stuck-up and boring that you kinda hate your job. Unfortunately, you can't get angry at them or feel too bad for yourself because you feel like you're letting your friend down like that. Yeah, I know. We all feel that some day or the other. Fucking sucks.
So, when I was asked by the head receptionist that the two owners of the hotel - friends who had started the business together - wanted to meet me, I wasn't exactly thrilled. There was also the question of why exactly they wanted to do that in the first place. It could always be about how I was doing, since one of them was my friend's relative, but I had a lot under my belt that they could get angry for. Whether it be that random two hour absence on one of the first days of my job, or the working during late night and accidently misplacing a guest's swim briefs (look, I couldn't resist her smell, ok? I've disposed of it by now, promise. I feel like a jerk too.), or that one time I was about to fuck a guest and made her vomit instead. The last one was not my fault, but they could rip me a new one for any reason they wanted.
"Do I really have to? I could always, you know, get sick all of a sudden."
The old dude laughed. He was cool, so I listened, "They aren't as bad as you think. Probably won't be firing you anytime soon. You do your job well."
Hey, come on, now. I'm not at all that!
Aren't you proud of me for not having bragged about all the work I actually did over the time I had been employed and how effectively I had been doing it? It's cause you don't need to know, of course. I love showing myself as a comic, perverted screw-up who can't think of anything else. It is a hobby of mine. Nothing to do with the fact that I had absolutely zero idea that I had worked enough for the hotel staff to actually notice that I had been making an impact.
Eventually, after he convinced me that nothing could go that wrong, and that it would probably be alright, I started to head into the conference room. The two of them usually didn't come to the hotel, but they had been here for the last two days due to some deal that had to be signed with a business partner. Something to do with the brand of air conditioners they used. Due to that, the entire place had been quite well-kept the entire time, and I had barely had time to think about Yumi or Van because of all the work that had been piled up on me.
Right as I got close to the room, though, my phone started ringing. I was ready to brush it off as unimportant and someone I could call later, but then I remembered that I didn't have that luxury. I rarely got any calls, so the fact that there even was one was big. Huge. Massive. I needed to check it right away.
It was Liam. I picked it up immediately.
"Heyy, what's up?"
"Wassuppp?" He trailed his voice off, "Just, uh, I'll probably be there tomorrow night. Talked to couple of guys and they're cool with hanging out there. One of them says he will be genuine and strict with all the service, so you'll also get an objective review, I guess. Wanted to know if you're alright with it? Not booked out or anything, right?"
"Pffft. Booked out? Never. Come whenever you want, dude. There will always be a room. So yeah, tomorrow's great. See ya!"
"Mm hmm. Done, then. See you then. Also, just in case you wanted to know, I did also ask Nao. She is just not feeling well right now, so she won't be able to join."
"Oh. That sucks." I tried my best to not let the actual disappointment of that revelation shine through, "But it's ok. No point in coming if she won't have a good time. Don't get why you singled me out to tell me, though."
He laughed and I felt my heart get pierced by a million needles at once. Such embarrassment hadn't coursed through my body before. And this came from the man who fucked someone he just met in the middle of a hundred unknown others, while walking and talking with someone else. That should have triggered my nerves and it didn't. This, for some reason, really made me want to crawl into a shell and never come out.
Liam stopped and spoke, "Whatever, man. I'll find a way to make you both talk again. Trust me. Not gonna let you down."
"Yeah, fuck you and your overactive imagination, too."
I cut the call. No better way or time to do it.
Standing in front of that door, I didn't feel like going in right away. Just Liam bringing up Nao, and me seeing myself react like that had me upset. It wasn't like I didn't think she was cute and attractive, but was I really the correct person to be blushing over her even being mentioned? The second time with Yumi had happened just recently, and that still had me satiated in terms of sex, but it hadn't reduced just how horny I could be at times. The swim brief incident (which shall forever stain my legacy, for fuck's sake) had told me that already. And that made me scared to think about her.
I didn't want to look at someone like Nao and have sex be the first thing on my mind. She needed more, much more, than someone plainly lusting after her. Yumi and Van were different. They were monsters who didn't mind things like these. Though they rejected their nature and tried, they were still made to be overly sexual creatures. Nao was...a human. As much as the differentiation disgusted me, it was true. And she was a fragile human, on top of that. Despite having no idea what happened in her past, I knew it could not have been good. That was why I just wanted to be a good friend to her, as the bare minimum.
Everything with the succubi was making that impossible. If I didn't get to meet any of them for a while, and then suddenly saw her, what would stop my brain from conjuring her up in a fantasy? Even if it wasn't real, it would hurt me. To even use her like that. To see her as nothing more than her body. And right now, I didn't trust my brain to be able to stop myself from doing that.
It was for the best that she wasn't going to be able to come with them. I liked the girl. I really, really did. I wanted to talk to her about random fantasy shit. My favorite films, my favorite books. Her favorites. Know what she'd think when she found out that dragons weren't even real. Every time I remembered her, it was difficult to stop the urge to contact her. But that would have to do, somehow. Nao deserved better than that.
"Ok, stop. Fucking stop." I whispered.
How long had it been since my brain went on a tangent like that? I had promised that I wouldn't get like this again. If I knew something was the right thing to do, I'd do it. That's what I had decided
I took a deep breath, slapped my face to bring myself under control and smiled. It would be alright, eventually. Whatever happened, I'd do my best to make sure Nao didn't get dragged into any of this. Indirectly, of course. Because I don't know what I'd do if anyone I knew directly got involved with that world.
I opened the door and stepped in.
Edward Bell, the first friend. A man who managed to quit university and still work hard enough to be able to achieve his goals and create his own hotel. Even if it wasn't the most successful place in the world, or even the city, it still turned a small profit. And to him, just keeping this business afloat was a source of happiness.
Lucas Lee, the second friend. Edward's cool friend who helped him out.
If you can't guess, Edward was my friend's relative. Did you think I did all that research on my own? Have some expectations from me. And by that I mean none.
"I agree, I agree. She's good. I still remember the day she first gave me head." Edward spoke in the most serious tone I had heard all day, "But damn, head does not compare to good old ass. And this one right here has one of the best I've ever seen!"
"Shit, you hype her up all that much, and it's still 'one of the best', huh? At least I am a man of my word. That one gives the best head in the entire world, and it's a fact." Lucas retorted just as seriously.
His friend disappointingly shook his head, "You do not understand your mistake, do you? It's a fool's decision to declare any head to be the best. You're just setting yourself up for disappointment. When I say it is just one of the best asses I've ever laid eyes on, I keep myself open to the possibility of a better butt. I look forward to finding a better butt. It keeps you on your feet, always looking for the perfect cheeks, and never settling for what you have."
It felt the perfect moment for Edward to take out a cigarette and smoke it. It was only right after dropping such widsom.
Never again would I say that Van had the best pair of tits, or Yumi's ass was the greatest. They were just some of the best. What an important distinction to learn. Of course, you could apply that to things beyond tits and ass, but fuck that. Who wants to think that much or that deeply? Those two things mattered more than any philosophy you could cook up. And that was the only fact to take away from this conversation I had chanced upon.
If only I too, had a mic to drop and dunk on Lucas' shortsightedness.
For now, I cleared my throat.
"O-OH!" Edward hurriedly shuffled himself on his chair and corrected his position to be more professional. It look Lucas a second to remember just what they had been talking about just now. And so, when Edward was already in business mode, the embarrassment finally set in on his friend and he coughed before sitting in the same important manner.
"Uh, good morning, Mr. Bell. Mr. Lee."
"Oh, call us Edward and Lucas. It's alright. Not like we're running the greatest hotel on the planet or something."
The two of them looked at each other and started laughing. I brushed off all the discomfort and also started laughing, trying my best to make it seem like I understood just what was so funny. Self-deprecating humor sucked.
Oh, wait. Never fucking mind.
"What are you laughing about, huh?" Lucas straightened his face.
I quickly shut up, "Sorry, sir. I just...I thought you..."
Edward shook his head, "This is why we can't grow. Because you all can't even think for yourselves. Just because I call our hotel stupid and start laughing, you will too? What if I was some customer complaining about how bad this place is. What would your instinct be? Nodding along?!"
Eh? Ehhhhh? The fuck?
"I..."
Didn't know what to say.
The two of them waited for a reply. A million things went through my mind once more. Every reply I could give, every reply that reply could get. I tried to calculate what the best response would, what it could lead to, why had they called me here in the first place. If they were gonna fire me, then nothing I could say would help. It was a game of chan-
They started laughing again.
This time, I couldn't laugh along.
What a goofy pair of bastards. Talking about women so indecently in front of your employees, then scaring them to death with a joke only you found funny. There are people out here who get heart attacks due to shit like this, did they not know that? What the hell? This wasn't even that funny. Just slightly funny. I had to agree.
"Ehh, it's alright, kid. We're just fucking with you. My nephew told me everything about you, so don't worry. You can work here for as long as you wish. We aren't gonna mess with you." Lucas laughed, "Trust me, I know what it feels like to be in the same situation. The fact that you're here and trying is good start. Keep at it, yeah?"
It was a shame that one of the kindest things I could have heard today was said right after that stupid prank of theirs. Left a very weird taste in my mouth. Not words I thought I would say. Words I would hear, maybe. But not say. It was all because of them, these middle-aged jokers.
"Thank you." I managed to reply.
"You must be wondering why we called you here." Edward said, "That was meant to be it, really. Just wanted to know if you were doing better now. We want to make sure the people who work here aren't uncomfortable in any way. I know it might not be a huge position, but I really can't put the others at a disadvantage just because they don't have connections, you get me?"
"Oh, yeah, absolutely. I don't have any issues with this. It's cool. It's...kinda fun too. Carrying bags up and all that. Beats doing nothing and rotting away in your house anyways."
Lucas laughed once more and banged his hand on the table out of happiness, "That's the spirit, kid. Well, that's it...is what I would have said until five minutes ago. But right before you walked in, we got an alert of quite a big booking just now. Seems like they're planning on spending quite a bit when they get here."
Liam, I guessed. He worked fast. If I knew him at all, he was probably already on the website with the booking ready when he called me, and just finished the payment when I said it was cool.
"And, funnily enough, I know Liam. Because of my nephew again, obviously. I know the lot of you are good friends from school. So, uh, do you have a hand in this?" Edward asked.
Would it be ok to tell them? It might feel like I was bragg-oh, who cared.
"Yeah, actually. I just...thought it would be nice for the hotel if they were to come here. He's got good reach and might be able to spread some positive word of mouth. An overall benefit."
"Someone can think ahead. I like to see that, kid. Good job securing that booking!" Lucas smiled.
"Exactly. Just...thank you for that." Edward added.
It wasn't the truth, but after hearing them, I felt like I would have done the same for this reason too. So, I told it to them, "You've done a lot for me, sir. To you, maybe it seems like nothing more than handing some dude a small job, but this has been really fun for me. Really. I haven't been able to live this well for a while now. The least I can do is help the two of you out in return. It's the smallest of gestures. I plan on trying to do much more. Anything to make sure I feel like I can pay you back."
"Oh." Edward wasn't smiling anymore, just quietly happy. I could see it in his eyes, "Well, that's very nice of you. I'll honestly try to see if I can bump you up in position a bit. Might not happen immediately, since it's a bit finicky, but I'll see what I can do. Put your skills to use if this is how much you're willing to do."
And that's that.
"Take care, kid. We'll ask you to come in again if need be. Good luck." Lucas smiled and gave me a fist bump.
I shook Edward's hand too, and left the room, taking deep breaths so as to not lose my composure. Once I got out, I let the entire situation sink. It had been very fast, and very weird, but I liked it. The old man was right. They weren't bad people at all. I'd just been trying to write them off as boring, normal bosses because I hadn't talked to them properly till now. I took my words and feelings back.
Praise be to the succubi for everything.
But even as I thought that, I knew a simple thing. It might not have started without them, but if they were to disappear now, I'd still try to help them grow the hotel. That feeling of honest gratitude towards these two men hadn't properly sunk in until I put it into words, but I had become aware of it now. It would hurt like a bitch if I lost the succubi. A massive hit to my brain and heart. But maybe I'd still keep going after what had happened today.
Help came in mysterious ways.