Yes-Man

Monday morning, 5:45 A.M.

The moment the alarm clock buzzes, Bryce Howerton is up, turning it off before the sound can wake his lover still slumbering beside him. Despite the early hour, Bryce is wide awake, his mind already reeling off the things he has on his schedule today.

Two interviews this morning for customer service reps,he thinks, carefully slipping out of Tim’s arms to stand beside the bed they share. He stretches his arms to the darkened ceiling above, feeling his muscles come alive all along his bare torso. The files should be waiting for me on Alecia’s desk when I get in, I can look them over then. Need to have Alecia call the coffee service, see if they can restock before tomorrow’s staff meeting. Phone meeting with the Japanese rep at one this afternoon. I’ll have to read through the account when I get a chance and review it with Eckhart over lunch. It’ll have to be over lunch because we have an eleven o’clock conference…

He glances at the clock—a minute has passed, and already the weight of the day is beginning to sink down on him. When he left the office yesterday, he’d forgotten about the phone call today, so he didn’t get the account files in order, which means he’ll have to rush to do that between the interviews this morning. Or get Alecia to do it for me,he muses as he pads barefoot into the bathroom. He waits until he closes the door behind him before turning on the light so he doesn’t wake up Tim.

Yes, he’d definitely get Alecia to work on the Japan account while he’s in the interviews. He’s probably the only executive assistant with his own secretary, but some days, he doesn’t know what he’d do without her.

Eckhart feels the same way about me.

The thought makes him smile at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. Actually, no. He’s pretty sure he’d neverfeel for Alecia the way he knows his boss feels for him. Sure, she takes his calls, juggles his calendar, and maintains his files, all the same things he does for Eckhart, but there are things in his job description that separate his position from hers. There’s a reason his business cards say executiveand hers simply say administrative. She does the paperwork, while he…well, he does everything else.

There’s a reason Eckhart calls Bryce his “yes-man.”

* * * *

By the time he’s showered and dressed, Tim is just beginning to rouse. Bryce pauses to plant a quick kiss on his lover’s forehead and whispers, “See you soon.”

“Drive safe,” Tim mutters sleepily.

With a grin, Bryce lands his next kiss on Tim’s lips. “Yes, sir. Don’t go back to bed.”

Wearily Tim waves him away. “Yeah, yeah, I’m up.”

As he heads for the door, Bryce calls over his shoulder, “I’m going to call you in ten minutes to make sure.”

Though they both work downtown, they don’t share the commute. Bryce likes to get to the office before anyone else; he’s the first one every morning, unlocking the door and disabling the alarm system a good half hour before anyone else shows up. Some days that quiet time between seven thirty and eight is his only chance to think.

Today he makes the last of the coffee and leaves a note on Alecia’s desk about calling the service. There, on the corner of her desk, are the files for the incoming interviewees, right where he expected to find them. While the java brews, filling the office with a warm, rich scent, he flips through the files, familiarizing himself with the potential new hires.

Eckhart Incorporated is a logistics firm specializing in moving high tech products to influential clients around the world. They don’t just ship computers; no, they ship whole information systems worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, mostly to universities and governments who can afford their services. A typical order may include two or three onsite servers, twenty or thirty personal desktop computers, twice as many laptops and tablets, and the software needed to integrate everything together. They include installation and setup, too, and provide round the clock customer support. Unlike other companies that do what they do, Eckhart insists on support run out of their Richmond, Virginia, office, which costs much more than farming it out to subsidiaries in places like India or China. But their clients appreciate the extra effort, and their billing department pads the invoices to recoup the cost.

The two interviews Bryce has scheduled are to fill representative positions. Customer service has a high turnover rate—no one wants to be a customer service rep when they grow up. No one wants to be an executive assistant, either,he tells himself, suppressing a grin. Most exec assistants probably don’t do what it is he does that makes him so great at his job, though. That makes him indispensable, as far as Eckhart’s concerned.