Chapter 5
The rest of the week passed by like a blur, with snippets of conversation floating over the departments, each one describing Jack's visit to each floor as it happened. More people were fired and just as quickly as they were gone, someone new was there to fill the space. Each of the new employees had that freshness to them, all giddy smiles and excitement from being able to work at the Hyperion Corporation, home of the latest innovations in weaponry and robotics.
Rhys gave them a week before their spirits were broken.
He gave the new interns in Vaughn's department three days.
Athena moved in that weekend with the help of her new roommates, who had each begged off of work to do so. Now that she was with them, they could each afford a few extra vacation days without worrying about having enough cash to last the month. Already, they felt the stress of bill-paying leave their shoulders, and they never wasted a second to tell Athena how grateful they were to have her there.
Athena, for what it was worth, handled it all with grace and a sly smile playing on her lips. They were already growing on her, despite their rather dweeb-ish ways, and Janey was always eager for more stories of her girlfriend's new roommates. She came over to meet them too, and Vaughn roped her into the mystery of their neighbor, who was once again out of town. So far, their theories on who Mr. Lawrence could be ranged from the President of the United States to a hermit who lived in seclusion with his daughter to hide from aliens.
Yeah, so Rhys wasn't giving them alcohol anymore.
Yvette and Maya came over once too before the weekend ended, along with Fiona and Sasha. It was their idea of a supreme house warming party now that Rhys and Vaughn found someone to help them, and the sisters took care of most of the planning while Yvette roped Maya into helping her with food. August dropped by for an hour or so, most likely forced into making an appearance by Sasha.
It was a good party all in all, and they kept the noise level to an acceptable amount, even when Maya and Athena proved to be bitter rivals in Mario Kart. The living room was quickly filled with expletives flying between the two, while everyone else was barely holding back peals of laughter.
Wine may have been spilled on the couch, and Rhys may have snorted while he laughed, much to the amusement of Janey, who insisted on capturing the snort-laugh on her phone when it happened again.
By Monday, the house was thoroughly broken in by its residents and friends alike.
The morning commute at the start of the week was always hell, so Rhys and Vaughn got up extra early to beat the morning rush. Athena was still sleeping by the time they left, not expected to report for work until whoever she was guarding that week decided they needed to go out in public.
They were able to successfully avoid the early morning rush hour and arrived at Hyperion with plenty of time to spare, so they hung out in the lounge on the ground floor, which was decorated more than any other lounge in the building aside from the executive ones. It was meant to be pretty and tasteful to guests, to give them a good first impression of the company.
After seeing it for five years though, Rhys was tired of all the damn yellow.
It was one of their company colors, changed from the old red and black after Handsome Jack took over the company from Tassiter, and that meant that it was everywhere. Not so much that it blinded people with the sheer amount of it, but enough to make sure nobody questioned what their signature color was. It lined the desks, the coffee tables, the trim of the walls. There were hexagons everywhere, too, even on certain Hyperion-issued uniforms.
All the interior design was done tastefully, Rhys had to admit, even if the color and honeycomb details were seared into his eyeballs.
Oh, right. Honey. Rhys made a note on his ECHO to thank Angel for the gift properly next time he saw her. It was a huge hit at the get-together they had over the weekend, even though Rhys didn't have cheesecake to put it on. They made toast instead, and Vaughn invited people to dip into his tea collection if they wanted some. It worked and it was a nice to get everyone calm after the last game of Mario Kart devolved into Yvette threatening to shave Maya's head as she slept.
But back to the lounge, where Rhys and Vaughn were able to talk over coffee and snacks from the vending machine before they had to report to their respective departments. Their conversation was more along the lines of apologies and Vaughn making Rhys promise to never let him drink that much again, but it was conversation nonetheless. It was interrupted with a beep from Rhys' ECHO device just as they went to throw their styrofoam cups away.
"What's it say, bro?" He tried to lean over to get a peek at the screen, but that was solved when Rhys shoved it in his face.
"Read that and punch me in the face so I know it's real and not a dream." Rhys really wanted to wake up after being punched in the face. There was no way he was surviving this if it was real.
"Okay, ummm," Vaughn adjusted his glasses and took Rhys' ECHO, reading over the short message a few times to himself before he read it out loud, his voice shaking as he did so.
"Holy shit, Rhys- Handsome Jack would like to see you in his office first thing in the morning, no later than eight o'clock," He read, eyes flicking up to Rhys who was biting his nails. "Failure to appear means automatic dismissal from Hyperion. Signed, Stacey M., Secretary to Handsome Jack. Bro, what happened last week?"
"I don't know. Punch me in the face, Vaughn, please."
"No, I'm not punching you. Dude." Vaughn handed back his ECHO, which Rhys took with a quick swipe of his hand to reread the message, hoping the words would magically rearrange themselves to something that wasn't a death sentence. They stayed the same of course, taunting him from the screen in their neat, Times New Roman font.
"Bro, I know."
"If you die, I get your stuff, right?"
"That is so not funny, Vaughn-" Rhys looked at the time on his ECHO, his stomach dropping not even seconds later.
"It's ten till' eight! I gotta go buddy, uh, if I don't come back, just like, let my family know I love them okay? And get Athena to rope Janey into moving in to pay my part of the bills, and plant that vegetable garden I wanted in memory of me, and-" Vaughn put his hands on Rhys' shoulders and pulled his friend down, closer to his eye level to talk to him. He squeezed Rhys' shoulders as the taller man gulped heavily.
"Bro, just go. I'll make your eulogy real nice."
"Thanks, bro. You're the best." Rhys didn't wait for another response as he sprinted off in the direction of the elevators, jamming the call button with his thumb until it finally chimed and opened its doors with a quiet hiss. There was no one else inside, so Rhys pressed the only button marked with a huge, glowing H and the button to close the doors at the same time, hoping the little trick worked. It was something he learned back when he started at Hyperion. If you pressed the buttons for the floor and doors at the same time and held them there, the elevator would take you to your desired floor without stopping for other passengers. It worked in the past, so Rhys hoped it would work right now, too.
He panicked when the elevator slowed to a stop just three floors below Jack's, but the doors didn't open and it resumed its actions, stopping at the top floor with a soft chime. Rhys finally let the buttons go and rearranged his clothes as the doors opened, running a hand through his hair as he stepped out and walked to the secretary's desk.
"Can I help you?" Stacey, apparently, looked at him from her desk, somehow making it seem like she was looking down at him even though he had the height advantage. Her voice implied that she had much better things to do than speak to likes of him.
"Uh, yeah. I was told that Handsome Jack wanted to see me? I'm uh, Rhys, from Robotics on floor twelve." Rhys nervously adjusted his clothing again as Stacey examined him, her eyes narrowing at him like she didn't buy it. Then, the soft crackle of static came on over her intercom on the desk, followed by Jack's voice.
"Hey babe, is that kid here yet? You know, the really tall lanky one with the arm." Stacey glared at Rhys, then shot a pointed look at his arm, as if she was confirming that it was in fact a prosthetic and not some imitation. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, Stacey huffed before answering Jack.
"Yes sir, he just arrived. Shall I send him in?" Rhys can't help but notice that her voice seemed to be coated in sugar as she spoke to the CEO.
"No shit, princess."
Stacey waved Rhys in with a scowl before looking back to her computer screen, acrylic nails typing away at the keyboard. It was a wonder they didn't snap off with how hard she was typing.
Rhys entered the CEO's office, shutting the door behind him with a quiet click. The sound seemed to echo off the walls as if the room was a deep cavern, and Rhys never felt so small in his life. He actually had to put effort into keeping his teeth from chattering, and to keep his eyes trained on Jack's face. There was nothing worse than disrespecting your CEO by refusing to make eye contact with him.
"So, Riley? Randy, was it?" Jack wasn't looking at him yet as he stood in front of his desk, leaning against it with one hand braced against the dark wood and another holding what appeared to be files. They were Rhys' employee files and records, though he didn't know that yet.
"It's...Rhy-"
"Rhysie! Right, anyway, do you know what we do here at Hyperion?" Jack looked up at him and Rhys contained his gasp at having the CEO's full attention. His mismatched eyes seemed to bore into him.
That was a trick question, right? Why would anyone work at Hyperion if they didn't even know what the company did? Jack was clearly expecting an answer though, if his expression was anything to go by. And it was, especially with it getting steady more pissed the longer Rhys took to answer. The programmer cleared his throat before answering, his hands sweeping down his shirt in a display of nervous fidgeting.
"We're a weapons and robotics manufacturing company, sir. We design, build, and sell the latest in technology, including other products such as cellular devices." If Rhys was surprised by how even his voice came out, he didn't show it.
"Good, except you got one thing wrong, pumpkin. We're the biggest company to haul out those products, and the most successful. I need the best of the best when it comes to what we make here, which is why I'm wondering what the hell you're doin' here-"
Oh god. Here it came. Rhys was going to be fired. He was doing shit work. He probably wrote faulty code that ended up in a final product and caused someone to lose a limb or three. Holy fuck, okay. Breathe, Rhys, breathe. That's it, in and out.
"Stuck as some code monkey when you should be somewhere else."
Wait, stuck?
"Like, let's say, Head of Robotics." Whoa hold up. Back that up, put it in reverse, park it. What did Jack just say?
"Judging by your expression, you're trying to figure out which is a more appropriate way of thanking me: getting on your knees and suckin' my dick or giving me some gold tributes, like one of those ancient gods or some shit. I'll accept either one."
Jack continued after it was clear that Rhys was too shell-shocked to even blush at the implication of sucking Jack's cock, spreading his arms wide while his mouth split into an even wider grin.
"See, kiddo, the thing is, your current department head? He's like, way under qualified for the job. I don't even know how he got it. Plus he has hair extensions. I don't trust anyone who uses good, Hyperion given money for fuckin' hair extensions.
"You, on the other hand. Well shit, your other hand is Hyperion made! And you got the ECHO eye, which could use an upgrade, no offense, and a neural port right there on your noggin'. You're practically a walking Hyperion poster boy already. What's even more is that once code passes through you, the rest of the department doesn't even need to look at it because it's already fuckin' perfect."
At some point during Jack's spiel, he had walked up to the man while Rhys' mind left him completely and slung an arm over his shoulder, pulling him close and dragging Rhys over to the gigantic window in his office. It overlooked the entire city and Rhys vaguely registered seeing cars down below on the street.
"What I'm saying, buttercup, is that Wallet Head is already packing his shit and you got a promotion. Hooray, hurrah, oh thank you Jack, you're the best I can't believe this! Oh my god, I could kiss you, you handsome sonovabitch!" Jack's voice rose a few octaves at that last part, making a poor imitation of Rhys' own voice. Rhys, for all the cognitive strength he apparently had, could only question the use of wallet head. Jack noticed his employee's complete lack of well, anything, and snapped his fingers in Rhys' face.
"You in there, kiddo? Come on, I'm offering you a prime seat. Real nice real estate in the company, a chance to get a leg in the door and your voice heard."
Rhys looked at him, his own mismatched eyes blinking owlishly at Jack, who scowled.
"Alright, I get it. Offer's going once, twice-"
"Punch me."
"I don't usually do that without a safeword." Jack grinned wolfishly at him, even going as far to lick his lips. Rhys didn't notice or if he did, he didn't care.
"Hit me or pinch me or something, please, this is like-" Jack rolled his eyes and drew back his hand, delivering a hard, open palm slap to Rhys' cheek.
The sound bounced around the office and Rhys was sure Stacey heard it even outside the room, but it served to prove to Rhys that this still wasn't a dream, and that Handsome Jack had actually promoted him to Head of Robotics. His cheek stung from the impact, and he knew there was probably an angry red mark blossoming on his skin. Rhys rubbed it gently with his robotic hand, the metal cool against his cheek and soothing the pain.
Then, despite the ache, Rhys grinned at Jack, the rest of his face flushing in excitement.
"Sorry sir, I was just shocked, you know? This is- God yeah, this is great, Jack! Er- Handsome Jack, sir. This was the last thing I expected when coming up here. Hell, I thought I was doing so bad that you wanted to personally fire me and like, flay me alive or something. How insane is that?" Rhys realized too late that he was rambling, and quickly shut his mouth when he saw the glare Jack was giving him. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
The silence between them was tense as Jack continued to stare him down, and Rhys could feel beads of sweat rolling down his back. He gulped, his throat feeling tight and dry, and screwed his eyes shut. He didn't notice that Jack's eyes followed the movement of his Adam's Apple, nor the downward tug at Jack's mouth when the CEO realized he was staring at his underling's neck of all things.
What the fuck.
But the silence was ended when Jack slapped Rhys on the back, barking out harsh laughter at the cybernetic man.
"Hooooly shit, kiddo! You shoulda seen your face!" Jack apparently thought it was funny enough to actually slap his knee, which Rhys filed away to tell Vaughn. Their CEO was a freaking nerd.
"You need to relax, pumpkin. I ain't gonna fire you for running your mouth like that. Anyway," Jack stood behind him, using his hands on Rhys' shoulders to steer him towards the door.
"I got other important boss things to do, so go down to your new office and get whatever shitty knick knacks you have set up. I'll have someone email you a list of your new responsibilities, yadda, yadda. I expect you to be fully set up by tomorrow and ready to take on your new job with extreme enthusiasm. Make that job your bitch, is what I'm saying."
Jack didn't give him a chance to answer before he shoved Rhys out of his office, shutting the doors behind him with a slam. Stacey glanced up at him, eyeing the red mark on his cheek with distaste.
Rhys didn't let any of it bother him, not even the barely restrained sneer Stacey gave him with he grinned down at her and left for the elevator. His mood was only further lifted when he arrived back down on Robotics, passing by Vasquez who held his belongings in a cardboard box. When Vasquez saw Rhys gathering his things and saunter in his old office, he let out an agonizing shriek that was muffled by Rhys' new office doors as he closed them.
Oh yeah, he could get used to this.
News about Rhys' promotion traveled fast, and even Vaughn heard about it by lunch time, where he met Rhys in the employee lounge on the Accounting floor to scream about it. Not actually scream, but Vaughn's excited rambling was loud enough to catch the attention of people all the way across the room.
"Rhys!"
"Vaughn." Rhys eyed his friend with a smile, resting his chin in his hand as he watched Vaughn try to wrangle words out of his own mouth.
"You! Vasquez! Head of Robotics." The last part was spoken in a harsh whisper, but Rhys knew Vaughn wanted to scream it from the top of a mountain. He was feeling much the same way, but he chalked up his more reserved approach to still being in shock from it even happening.
"We've been over this like fifteen times, bro."
"Yeah but it seems like I have to have enough enthusiasm for both of us since you're all silent and calm. How can you be calm about this?!" Vaughn looked ready to pull his own hair out as he collapsed on the table, looking up at Rhys with something akin to awe.
"I think I'm in shock. That's possible, right? I should probably leave early and go to the ER or something. I mean, I don't even feel pain from this," He gestured to his still-red cheek. "But I'm pretty sure Jack slapped me hard enough to knock something loose."
Vaughn honestly didn't doubt it, though he did feel worry at the fact that Handsome Jack literally hit Rhys across the face. That was cause for alarm, right? Sure, Rhys asked for it, but what kind of CEO actually physically harmed their employees? As soon as he thought that, Vaughn slapped himself lightly on the forehead, causing Rhys to look at him questioningly. This was Handsome Jack they were talking about, after all. It was a stupid question.
"Okay, just don't ask him to do it again. I don't need a brain dead roommate."
"Your compassion and love for me is astounding."
"I know. It's a miracle I even put up with you."
By the time Rhys and Vaughn were ready to take off, Rhys had gotten more congratulatory pats on the back than in his entire life, with certain members of the Robotics department near tears with their happiness at having Vasquez gone. Everyone was incredibly helpful with getting Rhys situated in his new office, even the people he had never talked to, and he had emails and messages from other sections of Robotics with more congratulatory comments. He supposed all the ass kissing was to be expected. He was their boss now, after all, and everyone in Hyperion wanted some way to rub elbows with the higher ups to save their own asses from extermination.
Rhys liked to think that some people were being entirely sincere in their comments, though.
Either way, by the time they got home to find that Athena ordered Chinese take out for all of them, Rhys was on cloud nine. He seemed to float through the house, munching on Chinese food and adding his two cents to the conversation when the other two participants came to lull in the flow of things. Rhys sat there quietly, watching whatever shitty sitcom they put on and laughing at the jokes along with the laugh track. Nothing could bother him. Nothing could touch him. Nothing could-
His ECHO went off, the standard ringtone shattering the easy noise of the living room with precision. Dread started to fill Rhys' stomach again. Was that Jack? Was it from from Human Resources? Were they calling to tell him that they made a mistake and he was expected to clear out his office by tomorrow? Vaughn stared at him until he answered it, and Rhys waved him back towards the TV as he got up and went outside to take the call.
"Hello, this is Rhys speaking."
"Christ, gingersnap, could you be any more dull? Answer with a little more pizzazz next time, yeah?"
Rhys pulled the ECHO anyway to look at the screen, squinting at the unknown number flashing across it. Who the hell...
"Uh, who is this?"
"Did you forget lil ol' Jack already? I didn't hit you that hard, Rhysie."
"J-Jack? How did you get-"
"Asked Stacey to pull up your number for me. Anyway, just letting you know that I'm going down to the labs tomorrow and I want you there with me. Your input could be valuable and I wanna see about upgrading your tech. Can't have my Robo-Boy walking around with old ass hardware, got it, sweetheart? If you don't show up, I'm taking that as a refusal to work and firing you, soooo yeah. See you bright and early, like six. Bye!"
The line went dead, beeping in Rhys' ear until the call ended on his side too. He stood out on the porch a little longer, wondering just what the hell he had gotten himself into by accepting that job offer.