himself.
Picking up a highlighter, he got to work marking the most relevant information. Once he was done with that, he would compile all the information in a summarizing report of just the important bits.
He sunk into his work and went into that mindset where he completely closed out the outside world. So it was a surprise when he looked up and found Anderson sitting in the chair in front of his desk, one leg crossed over the other as he flipped through a magazine.
"Took you long enough to realize I was here." Anderson grinned at him.
Cole blinked, then glanced at his watch. Without even knowing it, he'd been working for close to two hours. " Took you long enough to realize I was here . I didn't even hear you come in. I must have been in the zone or something."
Anderson laughed. "Or something. You didn't even hear me close the door behind me." He stood up and jerked a thumb toward the door. "You wanna go get some lunch?"
" You wanna go get some lunch? " Cole could feel himself flushing. "Um, I don't really know how to say this, but I'm not one of those people that are willing to try anything at work. Ever. I just feel like work should be for work, and after-work is for... well, you know?"
"It's nothing like that," Anderson excused. He probably thought he was being really smooth, but Cole could tell that he'd semi-hoped Cole would let that kind of thing go on. "I just thought that maybe you're hungry. We can be friends at work without everyone thinking that we're something more than that. Plus, everyone needs to eat sometime, so what's the big deal about us eating together?"
" So what's the big deal about us eating together? Relax, guy," Cole said, standing up. "You're getting all defensive and there's no reason for it. Let's go get something to eat, that's fine. I just thought that I'd mention that I wasn't going to do any kissing or making out or anything at work." He hoped he sounded as worldly as he was trying to come across, and not like some cringing virgin.
"Come on," Anderson said, opening the door. The line of his shoulders was still a little tense, but relaxed as they walked down toward the cafeteria.
That was one of the good things about Bester International--to ensure that their employees were kept satisfied, the cafeteria was set up like a nice restaurant and had professional chefs on staff. It also lowered the percentage of employees that even left the building on their breaks.
Cole blushed lightly, but he let Anderson buy him a club sandwich and Greek summer salad. The cafeteria served hardier foods, but sometimes he just wanted a sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk. Anderson got himself the prime rib with mashed potatoes and gravy.
"How do you stay so fit if you eat like that all the time?" Cole asked, watching Anderson dip a large chunk of meat into a healthy amount of horseradish and au jus. "And I thought you didn't like spicy food?"
Anderson chewed quickly, then took a gulp of his drink before answering, "I have good genes. So as long as I do some exercising during the week, I can pretty much eat whatever I want whenever I want. And prime rib is always delicious, but it's better with a little bit of kick. I just don't like the horseradish too hot."
Using just the first finger and thumb of each hand, Cole carefully disassembled and ate his sandwich in pieces. A piece of toast with a clump of meat. A tomato wrapped up in lettuce. A slice of cheese by itself.
"I can't believe you're mutilating that sandwich like that," Anderson said, sounding shocked.
Cole glanced up at him. " I can't believe you're mutilating that sandwich like that . If you think this is gross, then you really don't want to see what I do to spicy chicken wings." He licked his fingers then wiped them on his napkin so he could take a drink of his milk. "I'm not allowed to eat chicken wings around my cousin anymore. He says it's the most disgusting thing he's ever seen."
Anderson looked at the pieces of sandwich spread
Picking up a highlighter, he got to work marking the most relevant information. Once he was done with that, he would compile all the information in a summarizing report of just the important bits.
He sunk into his work and went into that mindset where he completely closed out the outside world. So it was a surprise when he looked up and found Anderson sitting in the chair in front of his desk, one leg crossed over the other as he flipped through a magazine.
"Took you long enough to realize I was here." Anderson grinned at him.
Cole blinked, then glanced at his watch. Without even knowing it, he'd been working for close to two hours. " Took you long enough to realize I was here . I didn't even hear you come in. I must have been in the zone or something."
Anderson laughed. "Or something. You didn't even hear me close the door behind me." He stood up and jerked a thumb toward the door. "You wanna go get some lunch?"
" You wanna go get some lunch? " Cole could feel himself flushing. "Um, I don't really know how to say this, but I'm not one of those people that are willing to try anything at work. Ever. I just feel like work should be for work, and after-work is for... well, you know?"
"It's nothing like that," Anderson excused. He probably thought he was being really smooth, but Cole could tell that he'd semi-hoped Cole would let that kind of thing go on. "I just thought that maybe you're hungry. We can be friends at work without everyone thinking that we're something more than that. Plus, everyone needs to eat sometime, so what's the big deal about us eating together?"
" So what's the big deal about us eating together? Relax, guy," Cole said, standing up. "You're getting all defensive and there's no reason for it. Let's go get something to eat, that's fine. I just thought that I'd mention that I wasn't going to do any kissing or making out or anything at work." He hoped he sounded as worldly as he was trying to come across, and not like some cringing virgin.
"Come on," Anderson said, opening the door. The line of his shoulders was still a little tense, but relaxed as they walked down toward the cafeteria.
That was one of the good things about Bester International--to ensure that their employees were kept satisfied, the cafeteria was set up like a nice restaurant and had professional chefs on staff. It also lowered the percentage of employees that even left the building on their breaks.
Cole blushed lightly, but he let Anderson buy him a club sandwich and Greek summer salad. The cafeteria served hardier foods, but sometimes he just wanted a sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk. Anderson got himself the prime rib with mashed potatoes and gravy.
"How do you stay so fit if you eat like that all the time?" Cole asked, watching Anderson dip a large chunk of meat into a healthy amount of horseradish and au jus. "And I thought you didn't like spicy food?"
Anderson chewed quickly, then took a gulp of his drink before answering, "I have good genes. So as long as I do some exercising during the week, I can pretty much eat whatever I want whenever I want. And prime rib is always delicious, but it's better with a little bit of kick. I just don't like the horseradish too hot."
Using just the first finger and thumb of each hand, Cole carefully disassembled and ate his sandwich in pieces. A piece of toast with a clump of meat. A tomato wrapped up in lettuce. A slice of cheese by itself.
"I can't believe you're mutilating that sandwich like that," Anderson said, sounding shocked.
Cole glanced up at him. " I can't believe you're mutilating that sandwich like that . If you think this is gross, then you really don't want to see what I do to spicy chicken wings." He licked his fingers then wiped them on his napkin so he could take a drink of his milk. "I'm not allowed to eat chicken wings around my cousin anymore. He says it's the most disgusting thing he's ever seen."
Anderson looked at the pieces of sandwich spread
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