A Fluffy Tale 2: Warm & Fuzzy by Ann Somerville Read Free Book Online

the Warbell
file and bring it in?”
    Daniel got up to fetch it from his desk.
Alex would never forgive him. Daniel would never forgive himself. But he didn’t
dare risk making Tony angry over this, and especially not when he’d overlooked
what was probably a sacking offence. Alex would understand...eventually.
    ~~~~~~~~
    Julian swallowed the chip he’d been eating.
“So, tell me about the cute redhead who lights up like a Christmas tree when I
say your name.”
    “He does not. That’s Daniel, our enigma.
Genius level IQ, a year short of getting his bachelor’s degree, then his
parents were killed in an accident.”
    “God, really? The poor kid.”
    Spen remembered then that Julian’s husband,
Zachary, had also been orphaned. “Yeah. Left looking after two younger
siblings, I think . I’m not exactly
sure what his home situation is. Kid doesn’t talk about it.”
    “Whatever it is, he’s miserable. And I
don’t like his boss.”
    “I don’t like his boss either, but he’s
supposed to be good at massaging clients. Didn’t work on you? Maybe because
you’re not the real money man?”
    “Oh, he did his best, but he’s patronising,
and he doesn’t like kems. Zachary would write him off for that alone.”
    “It’s not a good sign, no.” Spen patted
Myko, curled up asleep in his lap, his tail coiled around Pyon’s foot, as
Julian’s kem lay on the seat between the two humans. “Daniel’s great at the
job, but the job’s bad for him. I don’t know what to do.”
    Julian grinned as he picked up a bit of
lettuce. “You’re already making him a rescue project. I recognise the
symptoms.”
    “Hah, you’ve known him all of an hour and
you’re taking an interest too. He just has that effect on people. Actually,
Julian...there’s something else I want your advice on. About Noble and his past
PAs....”
    ~~~~~~~~
    Spen returned from lunch with Julian
considerably more sombre and thoughtful than when he’d left. Julian understood
his concern, and certainly didn’t think he was overreacting. He was adamant
that he wanted to help—Daniel’s situation and his husband’s
being so similar, he felt instinctively protective, he said—so Spen had
told him what he knew. Julian said he would check some things out, and ask
Zachary’s advice, as well as that of his boss, Leo Underwood. Spen thought well
of both men, and thought it couldn’t hurt.
    But now he wished he hadn’t deterred Luke
from sniffing around, because while Spen was friendly with a lot of the staff,
he had never encouraged gossip or participated in it. Unfortunately, without
actual facts or access to private HR files, gossip was all he had to go on.
    Well, almost all. Security logs showed that
Daniel was still working overtime at least three nights a week. Spen decided
that he could do something about that at least. He called his mum and told her he’d probably be late home, then
settled down to work on some non-urgent reports that he’d been avoiding. He’d
set up an alarm to let him know if Daniel left the building. Five o’clock
passed. Six o’clock passed, and the alarm didn’t trigger. At seven, Spen
checked the logs, then stood. Daniel still hadn’t
left. Time to carry out a little intervention, but first, he had to check there
was any need for it.
    He strolled up to the security desk on the
ground floor. “Hey, Bob, how’s it going?”
    Bob grinned, and ran his hand over his
short grey curls. “Slow, man, slow. You’re here late. Someone blow up their
computer again?”
    “Not tonight. At least, not that I know
of.” Spen crossed his fingers exaggeratedly, and Bob laughed. “Can you do me a
favour? I’ve got a report for Tony Noble, and I think he’s still in his office.
Do you know if he is?”
    Bob was used to Spen occasionally asking
him to find someone in the building—someone he was chasing to talk to, or
a team member, so he showed no surprise at this request. He fiddled with the
controls at his console, then