Preoccupied

The automatic doors swiftly opened and Alex strided into the SPARROW building. For many workers there, it was just another day. Alex never thought of it that way, though. He preferred to face every day with ambition, and prepared himself for the most efficient work. Not many people acknowledged every day for the value it really held, but Alex saw each day as a chance to move forward. Alex swiped his card and pushed open the ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ door. He smiled as he approached Isaiah at his desk. 

“There was a call for you from Margaret Jones again. She wants to schedule a meeting this afternoon.” Isaiah didn’t look up from his computer as he spoke and continued typing. 

“I’ll check my meeting times. I think I’m quite busy this afternoon, but tell her I’ll try to fit something in.” Alex quickly turned to leave. 

Just as he had made it into the hall, he found himself face to face with… Josh? Both paused in surprise before Alex mentally collected himself again. 

“Joshua! What a surprise! You weren’t scheduled for today. What brings you in here?” Alex grinned, this time from genuine happiness, rather than a convincing display of friendliness. 

“I’m only here to pick up some papers. I just need them for my records.” Josh wasn’t in the mood to talk, especially not to him, but he had to be polite to his boss. 

“What records?” Alex inquired. His response was quick and he stood in the middle of the hall, blocking Josh’s way. 

“Just… for taxes. I need it for later.” Josh attempted to squeeze past him. 

“Already organizing your taxes? It’s a little early for that. You’re quite responsible, aren’t you?” Alex allowed Josh past, but continued to accompany him down the hallway. 

“Um… thank you. Yeah, it’s just to make things easier later.” He wasn’t sure why he was giving away more information than he needed to. Josh felt a wave of relief when he heard Alex’s phone ring. He thought perhaps he’d be occupied and would stop following him around. Alex quickly declined the call and texted Isaiah to cancel his upcoming appointments. At least until 12. He slipped his phone back into his pocket just as quickly and resumed conversation. 

“Sorry about that.” Alex knew he was very booked today and had an upcoming meeting in 15 minutes. It isn’t very professional to cancel at the last minute, but…

Isaiah rung him again. He declined. 

He always felt bad canceling things like this. This might make them lose a couple customers, and it could cost them a couple hundred dollars, maybe even a few bad reviews. But SPARROW was already a multi-million dollar company. Meetings can be rescheduled. Money can be earned back; and with a company as big as SPARROW, a few hundred dollars is barely a loss. However, time with Joshua? That is something valuable and irreplaceable. This is something he needs to take advantage of at this moment. Every second with Joshua needed to be treasured, and their time together was going to be extended as far as Alex could manage it. Sometimes you need to make sacrifices for progress. This is a sacrifice, but it’s one he’s willing to make. 

Josh could only see Alex out of the corner of his eye, but he could feel that ingenuine smile. He just had to bear through this and then get out of it as soon as possible. 

“What have you been up to lately, Joshua? Just discussion of work can be so boring.” Josh swiped into another locked door and Alex followed him in. 

“Um, nothing much.” The shorter he could keep the answers the better. Alex leaned against the wall and watched Josh log into the computer and click through his files. 

“You know, this usually isn’t allowed. Regular employees shouldn’t be able to access our databases.” Josh ignored him. “I trust you, though. Besides, I know you wouldn’t do anything even if I wasn’t here.” Josh hoped that was a sign he would leave. Alex felt his phone’s ten minute reminder for his next meeting go off. He quickly dismissed it. Josh just nodded and continued to print out what he needed. 

Alex was searching for something new to say when Josh stood up with his papers and swiftly left. Alex promptly stood up and followed after him. Even if they weren’t talking, just having Josh near was enough. Josh, however, was walking at a brisk pace, trying to keep himself away from Alex. 

He reached the door in what felt like too long of a time, and was relieved to finally exit the building. Alex stood by the door and waved Josh off with his enthusiastic “I’ll see you Monday!” 

It was never pleasant to watch Josh leave, especially after he got to spend so little time with him. But he knew he would see him again, so even if he didn’t make as much progress as he liked, there was still time. Alex was still lost in thought until Isaiah ran up behind him.

“There you are! I’ve been trying to call you for the last ten minutes. You have a meeting with Mr. Johnston.”

“Oh! Isaiah, I apologize. I’ll be there shortly.” He gathered himself and headed to his office. His mind was still racing with thoughts of Josh, but that had to be dealt with later. Now was the time to handle his other business. Isaiah walks back to his office, still feeling a bit of unease with Alex nearly missing his meeting. He usually isn’t like this. Isaiah was careful to check in on Alex ten minutes before his meetings that day. He was very busy, and he couldn’t afford to miss some of these. 

Alex strode back into the office and sat next to Isaiah’s desk. He started up the other monitor, trying to do any work he could, but ended up scrolling through their database without looking at anything. Isaiah was typing up a report on another patient when Alex finally spoke up. 

“When is Joshua scheduled for the next week?” 

“Um… I’ll check that in a bit, sorry.”

“I’d like to see it now, please.”

Isaiah stopped typing and proceeded to pull up Josh’s schedule. Alex leaned over his shoulder. 

“Less this week.” Alex reached over and turned the computer monitor toward himself. 

“I can’t schedule him for any more. He says he can’t make it.” Isaiah replied, impatiently waiting to get his computer back.

“Alright…” Alex kept up his patient display, but Isaiah could tell he was frustrated. 

“Sir, I think you need to focus on your work.”

“I am.”

“You’ve been too preoccupied with Josh lately. You were almost late to your meeting this morning and you’ve been cancelling appointments just because he comes in. We are going to lose money. You cannot keep this company running if you are barely involved with it.”

Alex felt his heart rate quicken and the room fell silent. He’s never faced any push back from any of his employees before, and especially not from his own secretary. He glared at Isaiah and slowly stood up. 

“Isaiah… I’ve been running this company from the beginning. Remember, I could easily hire or fire anyone. I know what is best for us, and I am making sure we get there. You don’t need to question my actions just because you don’t understand. I know what I’m doing.” 

Alex was never one to snap very easily, and he kept his calm, collected tone and demeanor. Isaiah paused, considering whether to speak up again. 

“Sir… With all due respect, this infatuation with Josh has developed into something very out of control. You cannot be putting him above SPARROW—”

“And I am not. He is a very valued employee here and has helped us make a lot of progress in the past, and he will continue to do so. I am simply making sure that he does.” 

Isaiah opened his mouth to speak, but Alex cut him off. 

“We cannot lose one of our best workers, Isaiah. I suggest that you stay in your place and let me handle this.” Alex’s expression returned to his friendly, customer service smile, but it was anything but comforting. Before Isaiah could respond, Alex returned to the computer monitor to look over Josh’s scheduled times. 

“Send Joshua a reminder about Monday, would you?” Alex said, as he stood up and turned the monitor back to Isaiah. He left and Isaiah heard the door shut as he pulled open a new email to Josh.