out the power structure right away, but he also kind of wants a nap. They walk back to the car and Dan barely notices as Evan opens the door for him, just slides inside and waits for the door to be shut so he can rest his head against it.
When Evan gets in, he nods over at Dan's seat. "It reclines, if you want. We've got a bit of a drive."
"And you like watching me sleep… you creeper."
Evan just shrugs. "Yup, that's me."
Dan gives in to temptation and reclines the seat, turning his head sideways so he's looking at Evan. He lets his eyes drift shut, and he doesn't really plan to doze, but he guesses he does, because the next thing he's aware of is the truck slowing down somewhere with a lot of bright lights overhead. Evan's talking quietly into his cellphone, and then the truck cuts to the right and stops, and Dan lifts his head to look outside. They're at the airport, and Dan's first thought is that Jeff must be coming back early, but that doesn't really make sense. And that's when he sees Chris's smiling face standing at the curb.
Dan turns his face towards Evan, frowning and smiling at the same time. "Chris? What's Chris doing here?"
Evan laughs. "Why don't you ask him , dude?"
Dan hops out of the truck, and this time it's Chris who starts the hug,
On Deck | Kate Sherwood
although Dan returns it enthusiastically as soon as he gets his bearings back. "Chris, holy shit! What are you doing here?"
"Seriously? You didn't figure it out?" Chris nods over at Evan. "Good work, man. I knew I was smooth enough to keep it quiet, but I figured you… well, spending more time with him, and with the pillow talk… I figured you'd crack."
Evan shakes his head seriously. "That's the first thing you're going to have to learn about me, man… I'm excellent under pressure." "Good to know, boss."
Dan is looking back and forth between them with growing chagrin. "What? 'Boss'? Shit, Chris, did you take the job?" Chris raises his eyebrows in agreement, and Dan hits him on the shoulder. Hard. "You fucker! I talked to you three days ago, and you said you were still thinking about it! How the hell long have you been lying to me?"
Chris is trying to pretend his shoulder isn't sore, but he finds time to answer. "Ease off, slugger." He takes a step sideways until he's hiding behind Evan, and then peeks out. "A little while…." Dan's jaw drops, and Chris laughs. "But, you know, it's not like I wasn't thinking about it… I was just thinking about how to do the job, not whether to take the job…." He sees that Dan's looking for an actual number. "Less than a week, dude. The case I was on wrapped up, and I started looking around for the next project, and nothing really caught my attention, and the firm's been laying people off and they were about to do another round, and I just figured, better me than somebody with a family to support. And Evan said I could stay at his guesthouse until I found somewhere to live, so it's not like I needed to worry about that ."
Dan's a little blown away. "Holy shit. It's… it's lucky I'm glad to see you, or I'd be totally pissed off." His eyes shift to Evan. "And you ! What the fuck? You can't lie to me this afternoon in order to pretend that there's no big surprise, but you can lie to me for a whole week about whether my
On Deck | Kate Sherwood
best friend is moving out and working for you? How does that work?"
Evan is clearly pleased with himself. "The ways of deception are not simple, grasshopper." He takes a step closer, bends a little to look into Dan's eyes. "You're not really pissed, are you? We just… we wanted to surprise you." Evan shrugs. "Chris said you'd be pissy about it, but I didn't think you'd mind. And he seemed to think that it would be funny if you got mad, so…."
Dan's still digesting. "Jeff knew?"
Evan nods. "Yeah. He said we should tell you. And he doesn't have my deceptive skills, so that's why you haven't seen much of him for the last few days."
"I thought he was busy
When Evan gets in, he nods over at Dan's seat. "It reclines, if you want. We've got a bit of a drive."
"And you like watching me sleep… you creeper."
Evan just shrugs. "Yup, that's me."
Dan gives in to temptation and reclines the seat, turning his head sideways so he's looking at Evan. He lets his eyes drift shut, and he doesn't really plan to doze, but he guesses he does, because the next thing he's aware of is the truck slowing down somewhere with a lot of bright lights overhead. Evan's talking quietly into his cellphone, and then the truck cuts to the right and stops, and Dan lifts his head to look outside. They're at the airport, and Dan's first thought is that Jeff must be coming back early, but that doesn't really make sense. And that's when he sees Chris's smiling face standing at the curb.
Dan turns his face towards Evan, frowning and smiling at the same time. "Chris? What's Chris doing here?"
Evan laughs. "Why don't you ask him , dude?"
Dan hops out of the truck, and this time it's Chris who starts the hug,
On Deck | Kate Sherwood
although Dan returns it enthusiastically as soon as he gets his bearings back. "Chris, holy shit! What are you doing here?"
"Seriously? You didn't figure it out?" Chris nods over at Evan. "Good work, man. I knew I was smooth enough to keep it quiet, but I figured you… well, spending more time with him, and with the pillow talk… I figured you'd crack."
Evan shakes his head seriously. "That's the first thing you're going to have to learn about me, man… I'm excellent under pressure." "Good to know, boss."
Dan is looking back and forth between them with growing chagrin. "What? 'Boss'? Shit, Chris, did you take the job?" Chris raises his eyebrows in agreement, and Dan hits him on the shoulder. Hard. "You fucker! I talked to you three days ago, and you said you were still thinking about it! How the hell long have you been lying to me?"
Chris is trying to pretend his shoulder isn't sore, but he finds time to answer. "Ease off, slugger." He takes a step sideways until he's hiding behind Evan, and then peeks out. "A little while…." Dan's jaw drops, and Chris laughs. "But, you know, it's not like I wasn't thinking about it… I was just thinking about how to do the job, not whether to take the job…." He sees that Dan's looking for an actual number. "Less than a week, dude. The case I was on wrapped up, and I started looking around for the next project, and nothing really caught my attention, and the firm's been laying people off and they were about to do another round, and I just figured, better me than somebody with a family to support. And Evan said I could stay at his guesthouse until I found somewhere to live, so it's not like I needed to worry about that ."
Dan's a little blown away. "Holy shit. It's… it's lucky I'm glad to see you, or I'd be totally pissed off." His eyes shift to Evan. "And you ! What the fuck? You can't lie to me this afternoon in order to pretend that there's no big surprise, but you can lie to me for a whole week about whether my
On Deck | Kate Sherwood
best friend is moving out and working for you? How does that work?"
Evan is clearly pleased with himself. "The ways of deception are not simple, grasshopper." He takes a step closer, bends a little to look into Dan's eyes. "You're not really pissed, are you? We just… we wanted to surprise you." Evan shrugs. "Chris said you'd be pissy about it, but I didn't think you'd mind. And he seemed to think that it would be funny if you got mad, so…."
Dan's still digesting. "Jeff knew?"
Evan nods. "Yeah. He said we should tell you. And he doesn't have my deceptive skills, so that's why you haven't seen much of him for the last few days."
"I thought he was busy
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