Chapter 10
Life was just... normal after Rhys had the utmost pleasure of running into Handsome Jack that morning. Work continued on as usual, though Jack did pay more visits to Rhys' department, and his home life was relatively calm, too, even with Vaughn insisting every five seconds that they should move again. The accountant was freaking out over the situation more than Rhys was, worried that Jack had seen Vaughn spying on him from the kitchen window or overheard some of the theories the shorter man had come up with.
Rhys was tempted to just tell Jack about those theories, confident that the CEO would find them hilarious and infinitely less insulting than what their neighbors said about him.
Speaking of neighbors, the three roommates soon found out just what their neighbors were talking about when they mentioned the single father. Jack and Angel had yet to leave the suburban home, making it their longest stay at the house since Rhys and Vaughn moved in, and they got to witness firsthand just how nasty Jack could be to the families around them. It wasn't even unusual to them, with the two Hyperion lackeys being used to it after working for the guy for nearly a decade now, but they understood the frustration that their neighbors felt.
The following week, Rhys and Vaughn came home to see Jack arguing with some guy from across the street, the two of them standing in Jack's drive way as they squared off, bickering about the presence of Jack's bees in the other man's yard, which his dog apparently thought were great things to play with and attempted to eat one, resulting in one very swollen snout. Rhys sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers as he got out of the car. Vaughn followed his line of sight and grimaced, quickly shutting his passenger door and rushing inside, leaving Rhys to lock up the car.
Jack's head shot up at the sound of the car door, completely ignoring the other man as he noticed Rhys and waved to him, calling him over with a frown and his Boss Voice, as Rhys liked to call it. There was no ignoring that tone, so Rhys closed his door and walked over to the arguing pair, shoulders slumped and pace sluggish. Jack, noticing his reluctant pace, snapped his fingers impatiently at Rhys and pointed to his side, frown deepening.
"Today, pumpkin. Come here and help me settle this friggin' stupid argument."
Rhys gave his boss a withering glare, but he did as he was told, looking over to their neighbor with a small, awkward smile. Jack clapped a hand onto Rhys' shoulder, making him stumble a little, and waved his other in their neighbor's general direction.
"Rhys, Michelson. Michelson, Rhys." The man-now-known-as-Michelson gave Rhys one stubborn nod as he crossed his arms over his chest and spread his feet a little further apart, widening his stance and puffing his chest out. This gave Rhys pause, and he cocked one eyebrow at the guy. He was clearly posturing in front of them, trying to make himself seem more intimidating. Then again, he was facing two men who towered over him. What was he, five foot even? Hell, he might have been shorter than Vaughn.
Jack continued on like he didn't noticed Michelson's little display (he clearly did, if his amused grin was anything to go by), his grip on Rhys' shoulder tightening.
"Rhysie, babe, tell this man that his dog is stupid for trying to eat bees." Jack leaned more on Rhys, his hand grabbing Rhys' arm and subtly pulling the robotics manager closer to him.
"Um-"
"Tell Mr. Lawrence here that his bees are a danger to everyone. My Snapper had to be rushed to the vet, and I want him-" At this point Michelson pointed a very stiff finger at Jack, expression hard. Jack just smirked back at him. "- To pay for Snapper's bills since it's his fault in the first place. It's not even legal to keep bees in your backyard."
"Well," Rhys was cut off again, this time by Jack who barked at Michelson, his voice ringing in Rhys' ears.
"You wouldn't be complaining about vet bills if your mutt wasn't so friggin' dumb! And beekeeping is perfectly legal here! Show em', gingersnap."
Rhys floundered, wondering just how the hell he was supposed to do that, when Jack nudged him, his eyes still on Michelson.
"Palm ECHO, babe."
Oh, right.
With little hesitation, Rhys powered up his palm ECHO, his left eye glowing a faint blue as it activated the systems in his arm. A holographic screen popped up, glowing the same blue hue as his eye, and Rhys ordered a quick search on urban beekeeping and cross referenced it with their county laws. Within seconds, Rhys had legal documents displaying laws and ordinances passed with the last ten years concerning beekeeping and other environmental movements. The bill that allowed residents to keep bees in and around their home was passed roughly six years ago, with conditions set forth that required potential beekeepers to adhere to certain rules and regulations in order to keep bees on their property. As long as those were followed, it was perfectly legal.
"He's right, Mr. Michelson." Rhys flipped his screen around so that Michelson could read it, allowing him to verify the information with his own eyes. "The bill was passed a few years ago. Mr. Lawrence isn't doing-"
Jack poked him in the side, a slight pout on his lips. "Just Jack, pumpkin. Same at work."
"Uh... right, um, Jack isn't doing anything illegal, and he isn't controlling his bees and telling them to sting your pet. If your, ah, Snapper was injured by Jack's bees, then the fault is on your dog, not him. It's," Rhys swallowed heavily, slightly unnerved by the glare Michelson was now giving him. He powered down his palm ECHO and continued, "A learning experience, anyway. Snapper probably won't try this again, so that's good, right?"
Rhys laughed awkwardly, the tension between them stifling, and rubbed the back of his neck with his prosthetic. Michelson narrowed his eyes at both him and Jack, looking up at them with what Rhys would call an expression of utter contempt. Jack was legally allowed to go about his business however, and he wasn't obligated to take responsibility for the well being of someone else's dog, no matter the consequences. Besides, it wasn't as if Michelson could prove that it was one of Jack's bees that caused the swelling.
"Fine." Michelson finally ground out through gritted teeth. "But one of these days, Lawrence, one of these days I'm getting your pompous ass thrown out of this neighborhood."
Michelson stomped away after one last heated glare, and Jack waved him off with a faux cheerful grin, his other hand still latched onto Rhy's flesh arm.
(What the hell was up with that?)
"Anyway, cupcake, now that that loser is gone, I got something I wanna talk to you about." Jack finally released his arm, though it was only to slide his hand back up to Rhys' shoulder as he came to stand in front of him, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze in the process. Seriously, what was up with all this physical attention?
"Yes, sir?" Jack gave him a look, and Rhys quickly cleared his throat. "Sorry. Jack."
"Right so, Angel is dead set on me getting into the good graces of some of the bozos in this dumb place, and what better ones to start with than you and your..." Jack waved in the direction of Rhys' home, shrugging as he did so. "Band of merry men? So yeah, dinner this Friday, your place. Put out two extra plates, Angel's allergic to shellfish, I don't like cheese, easy on the garlic, and Angel's not allowed soda after six. I like dark lagers and rose wines, yadda yadda."
Rhys leveled Jack with a look of his own, lips set in a thin line as he crossed his arms over his chest. Jack scoffed, rolling his eyes at Rhys.
"What's that look for, babe?" Before Rhys could stop himself, he smirked at Jack, letting his own voice drop into a teasing tone that he usually only reserved for friends.
"Well, Jack, first you invite yourself and your daughter over to my home. Angel is a sweetheart honestly, so I don't mind her. But you? And then you don't even offer to bring something? Never come to a gathering empty-handed, my mother always told me. For shame." Shit. Shit. What was he doing? Was he allowed to joke around with his boss? Was that a thing one did with Handsome Jack?
Jack's eyebrows raised up, surprise clearly on his face, and his smile was gone, replaced by slightly gaping lips. Rhys was sure that his own expression was one of pure terror. Then, Jack did something entirely unexpected.
Jack's hand came down on Rhys' shoulder again, hard, and his expression morphed into one of hilarity as he nearly doubled over in front of Rhys, his other arm wrapped around his middle as he laughed. His only anchor was the hand on Rhys' shoulder, so Rhys shook too with the force of Jack's laughter, his own nervous chuckles completely drowned out by Jack's guffaws. After what seemed like an eternity, Jack came back up, wiping at the corners of his eyes to brush away tears. Rhys gulped, not chancing opening his mouth again until Jack said something.
"Whoooo boy! Oh man, you had me going there, Rhysie! That's good, I like a little spine in guys!" What the hell. "But seriously, must have missed out on that little lesson on account of my old ma being dead and all. Whoops."
Oh god.
The CEO was still grinning though, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did so, his teeth showing from behind his curled lips. Endless mirth was a good look on him. No, wait, fuck, Rhys what are you doing, Jack just dropped a huge bomb on you, get it together.
"Jack, fuck, I'm so sorry-"
"Nah it's fine. Never knew the broad, god rest her soul. She died in childbirth." Jack said it so.... casually, like never having the chance to know his own mother didn't bother him. Rhys was at a loss for words, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth as he gazed at Jack. His boss, being the observant man that he was, noticed this and instantly dropped his grin, frowning at Rhys.
"None of that, pumpkin. It's fine, happens to a bunch of people."
Rhys made to protest, his mouth opening around half formed words and cautious reassurances, but he was silenced when Jack covered his mouth with one of his hands, letting nothing more than a muffled gasp escape.
"Drop it, Rhys." Jack stared at him, hand still covering Rhys' mouth and his eyes set on the amber haired male in an unflinching gaze. Rhys swallowed again, tongue heavy in his mouth, and nodded, Jack's hand moving with the motion. "Good. I'll see you at work tomorrow. Come up to my office when you get there, no rush."
Finally, Jack removed his hand from Rhys' mouth, though he didn't remove it from his person entirely. It traveled down to his neck, Jack's thumb resting right on top of the black tattoo Rhys had gotten when he was still in college. His skin prickled under Jack's touch, flush rising to his face as Jack seemed to focus on the ink, his thumb rubbing lazy circles over his skin. Rhys gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing with the action, and Jack's eyes trained on that instead.
What was happening.
"Um, Jack?"
Just as quickly as his hand was there, it was gone. Jack shoved both of his hands in his pockets, gaze still fixated on Rhys' neck before he snapped out of whatever daze he was in and looked Rhys in the eyes again. His lips curled up in a cruel smirk as he began to walk backwards up his driveway, shrugging.
"Sorry, babe. My mind was elsewhere. See you tomorrow." Jack spun on his heel and marched back into his house, closing his door with a bang.
Rhys stood in the driveway a bit longer, his own hand reaching up to rub at his neck where Jack had touched him. He felt his face get hot again, and his skin broke out in more gooseflesh as he ran his fingers over his tattoo. Rhys let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding, and walked to his own front door and into his home, hand still covering the last spot Jack touched him.