(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 218: A fear that lingers

Chapter 218: A fear that lingers

"Okay, what’s up with the guy in a suit sleeping in the office?" Dr. Piper asked as soon as she stepped into the office. She was the next to arrive after Andrew and Richard. Usually Dr. Cox was the last to arrive because she had to drop off her daughter at daycare. "Also, nice to see you again Dr. Nice. Have you been hounded yet?" She asked, a knowing smile on her face.

Richard gave her a look, while Andrew chuckled.

"To answer both of your questions, that is Mr. Newman, Mr. Beckett’s head secretary, and he was waiting for Richard and I at the front desk. Because of that I think everyone was too afraid to approach me to ’hound’ me. Richard did try to warn me, but I am unsure of what that truly means yet. I am sure I will learn as the day goes on." Andrew told her as she took off her outer coat and put on her regular work coat. She pulled her long hair up into a messy bun and glanced over at Mr. Newman.

She was now the closest person to him, and she stared at him in interest.

"He’s small. Is he an omega like Mr. Beckett?" She asked and Richard groaned.

"Dr. Piper! You can’t just say things like that!" She pouted.

"Why not? I sometimes get mistaken for an omega. I think it’s only fair to share this information. I didn’t ask Dr. Nice what he was because you guys briefed me on him, but I don’t know this guy." She gestured towards him. "I’m curious. Is it bad to ask about that? He’s not even awake!" She protested, and Andrew felt his lips turn up before he steeled himself.

"While that may be the case, lots of people don’t have good associations with their secondary genders, Dr. Piper. From personal experience, being an alpha was something I always feared. I can’t say that is the same for Mr. Newman, but I don’t think it would be exactly fair to tell you his secondary gender without his consent." Andrew told her, and Dr. Piper frowned.

"Damn it. You made a good point. I was so disappointed when I was told I was just a beta. I wanted to be cool, like the omegas." She muttered, clearly still jealous that others were something else, while she was ’just’ a beta. Andrew shook his head, chuckling.

She had no idea how lucky she was.

Dr. Piper piped down after that, settling into work like Richard and Andrew had done. Andrew had set an alarm for when he used to arrive to work with Maxwell so that he could wake up Mr. Newman when Maxwell arrived.

Instead, before the alarm had a chance to go off, the door was slammed against the wall and heavy breathing could be heard. Andrew, who had his back to the door, spun at the sudden loud noise, and Mr. Newman jerked awake.

The person responsible for the loud noise was none other than his partner, the man he had seen and made up with only yesterday, out of breath, looking like a jittery mess.

Maxwell seemed presentable, but there were small things that told Andrew that he was still on the edge. His shoes were still not polished, his hair in disarray. His clothing went together, but it didn’t have the Maxwell signature flare to it.

It was muted, dull, and his black hair and bright blue eyes made his skin look sickly.

He also wasn’t wearing his normal layers, which concerned Andrew the most. Andrew got to his feet almost immediately as Maxwell’s gaze jerked around the room before landing on him.

The relief that crossed his face was similar to when he’d seen him in the restaurant yesterday. He didn’t start crying, but Andrew could tell he was emotional.

"You’re here." Maxwell said, and Andrew glanced around.

"Richard, can we borrow the storage closet?" Andrew asked. It was supposed to be Richard’s office, but he didn’t like being away from everyone else so they used the space as extra storage. Richard shrugged, glancing between them subtly.

"Go ahead." Andrew met Maxwell’s gaze, before he took a few steps towards him, took his hand gently in his own and tugged him towards the storage room at the back of the office. He flicked on the lights, illuminating the boxes stacked and pushed against the walls, the labels facing out.

Maxwell hadn’t said anything as Andrew tugged him after him, nor had he made a comment about the fact that Mr. Newman was here. He might not have even noticed, given his unusual behaviour.

Andrew did think it was a little bit odd that he was behaving as if he had it together between the two of them. Then, he remembered that he’d let himself go off the deep end. Maxwell had not given himself that grace, and he couldn’t take the time to do that. It had cost him a contract too, if Richard’s words were to be believed.

Andrew closed the door behind them, locking it as he turned to face the other man. Maxwell was staring at him, his blue eyes bloodshot, and scanning Andrew’s body.

"I’ve never seen this before." Maxwell muttered and Andrew nodded, still holding onto Maxwell’s hand.

"Your Mother insisted on buying it for me. She looked like she was going to cry if she wasn’t able to buy me any clothes. I pointed out that your Father had bought me a whole new wardrobe rather recently, and that you would probably be upset. With that, I was able to negotiate down to two outfits. The one I needed for our date, and what I’m wearing right now." Andrew told him and Maxwell nodded.

"That...makes sense." He blinked a few times. "Wait, you considered your wardrobe that you had at the house?" Maxwell said and Andrew smiled at the man.

"Maxwell, did you think I came to the dinner without my mind made up?" He asked softly and Maxwell swallowed. He squeezed Andrew’s hand.

"Well, if you had made up your mind...I was hoping that I’d be able to change it if you had decided..." He trailed off, sealing his mouth. Andrew noticed how his eyes began to water, but he held it in. "I...I was scared that you weren’t going to be here. That it was going to be a lie." Maxwell said, and Andrew felt his whole body shiver.

Andrew tugged the other man closer to him, carefully placing his hand on lower back. Maxwell stared up at him, his eyes damp.

"Of course I was going to be here. I told you I was going to, didn’t I?" Andrew told him softly and Maxwell swallowed. He reached out his hand, shaking, and gripped onto his sweater with his hand.

"But you weren’t here all week." Maxwell countered and Andrew’s smile was sad as he looked down at the other man.

"Did I say I was going to be there?" Andrew asked and Maxwell shut his mouth. His gaze dipped to Andrew’s chest and he sighed.

"No. You didn’t." Maxwell replied and Andrew pulled him closer so that there wasn’t any distance between them. It was slightly awkward, slightly strange but Maxwell didn’t resist.

"Did you bring your lunch?" Andrew asked and Maxwell flushed.

"About that..." He trailed off. "Amir ate it." Maxwell admitted and Andrew chuckled.

"Well, I brought mine, so we can share it at lunch." Andrew told him and Maxwell tilted his gaze back towards him.

"We’re having lunch together?" He asked, hopeful and Andrew gave into his urges. Bending, watching to see if Maxwell reacted negatively, Andrew lowered his face until his breath fanned over Maxwell’s lips.

Maxwell’s soft inhale in anticipation was all Andrew needed to hear, his hand gripping onto his sweater as he fidgeted another sign that this was okay. Andrew pressed his lips against his and felt Maxwell melt against him. Andrew pulled him closer, tenderly holding the man who held his heart, who had hurt his heart, and had been hurt in return.

It wasn’t a deep kiss in a classic sense. The emotions behind the kiss made it feel all the more serious, passionate, and even without entangling their tongues, both men separated, breathless.

"I thought-" Maxwell began and Andrew cut him off.

"No. No more of that. I’m here, Max. I’m here." Andrew whispered against his lips and Maxwell made a soft noise in the back of his throat before he pressed up, kissing Andrew tensely.

The two remained in the storage closet, kissing and whispering to each other until a soft knock sounded on the door.

"We have a meeting to get to, Mr. Beckett." It was Mr. Newman’s soft voice and Maxwell pulled back from Andrew’s lips, his face slightly flushed, but clear disappointment on his face. In his eyes. Andrew chuckled, pressing a kiss against his forehead.

"I’ll be here, in the office all day. Richard is going to have me continue the logging I was doing before, so if you need a recharge, you can come get some, okay?" Andrew told him and Maxwell nodded, staring at Andrew.

He had a feeling Maxwell would be doing that for a while.

Andrew made sure Maxwell was put together before they left the room, handing him off to a more refreshed-looking Mr. Newman who bid the rest of them goodbye, and Maxwell left but kept looking back at Andrew.

"He’s going to be all kinds of obsessive for a while, isn’t he?" Richard commented once Maxwell was out of earshot. Andrew shrugged.

"Honestly, I’m surprised. He’s actually holding up a lot better than I thought. Considering his family background, he’s doing great." Andrew told Richard, giving him a smile and Richard made a face of disgust.

"I do not want to know. He’d put an ankle monitor on you if he could get away with it." Richard told him and Andrew shrugged.

"Hey, you yourself said that I’m still in danger. I don’t think it’s a bad idea." Andrew said and Richard groaned.

"No. Nope. I don’t need to know anything else. Just...sit down and do your work, would you?" Richard grumbled, and Dr. Cox, who had arrived while Maxwell and Andrew had been in the storage room chuckled to herself.

"It’s good to see you again, Dr. Nice." She greeted and Andrew smiled.

"It’s good to see you too, Dr. Cox."

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