Giving Notice - Chapter Ten

Hey kiddos. Jesus, but it's been a crazy year. In case you haven't yet heard, I slipped on black ice and broke my right foot in three places, bad enough that I'm having to have surgery on this Monday.

And today I started going to my queer, kink-allied, ABDL aware therapist. I've never done therapy before, but I felt like this time life circumstances warranted it.

But life is full of so many good AND bad things, and in my life I've had a bumper crop of both lately. I really am just so grateful. I feel like the experiences I'm going through now, while immensely difficult and painful, are teaching me more about myself than I ever began to know.

That's called growth. And it sucks, and it hurts like a mofo sometimes. But it's also beautiful. I feel like I'm becoming more "me" than I've been in years.

So, in spite of the chaos and uncertainty on my life, something pushed me to make time to write tonight. And I wrote the money shot, guys. I finally brought everything to its head. And I am SO proud of this chapter. Like me, Max has reached the limits of the amount of bullshit and fuckery he's willing to take.

When you read the chapter, I strongly urge you to listen to "Girl On Fire" by Alicia Keys to really set the mood.

And now I'm exhausted and must rest my foot. I love you guys. I hope you enjoy.

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CHAPTER TEN

Max sighed and checked the time on his phone, anxiety and stress drawing lines around his brow as he did. Only one minute and seventeen seconds had passed since the last time he’d stared at the impassive display. Still no word from Corey, and the ceremony was just minutes away.

Max straightened his tie nervously. New employee graduation day was one of the few times the residents of the manor were encouraged to wear dressier clothes instead of their day-to-day kink gear, and Max had forgotten how itchy the only suit he owned was. It was a charcoal gray coat and trousers, and under it he’d chosen to wear a muted green dress shirt and a coordinating gray tie. He’d hated this suit from the moment he’d tried it on with his mom that day in the dressing room of Gentlemen’s Wardrobe, but she’d insisted they purchase it anyway. Thankfully, he only ever needed to wear it for funerals, weddings, and important work functions like this one.

Max sighed in the relatively quiet of the backstage waiting area. Around the corner, he could hear the low murmur of many voices talking quietly as people began to fill the expansive auditorium. He shuffled uncomfortably in the brown aluminum folding chair he was seated in.

“Five minutes,” Stephen said, appearing at the door. He was wearing a significantly nicer tailored suit than the off-the-rack one Max had worn, and even through his nerves Max couldn’t help but marvel at how handsome the wolf was. “Any word from our ninja cat?” Stephen bit his lip anxiously. He brushed his hands against the legs of his trousers and then strode toward the still-seated Max, impulsively straightening the knot in Max’s tie.

“None. Stephen, what do we do if he can’t find it? I’ll be righteously and eternally fucked if Marcus outs me to my parents.” Max frowned. He could feel a tension headache forming in his temples.

“That’s not going to happen,” Stephen said, shaking his head. He put a hand under Max’s chin, turning the smaller man’s face up toward him. “We aren’t going to let that happen, Max. I promise.”

“Good, because I can’t stand the thought of giving up all of this, giving up my friends or, worst of all, you. I finally feel like I belong somewhere.” Max looked deep into Stephen’s eyes, tears forming at the corners of his own. “I can’t go back to how life was, Stephen. I just… can’t.”

“And you won’t have to, love. Everyone here adores you. StartAgain is your home. That isn’t going to change today,” Stephen said, his jaw tensing. “Besides, your friends would never forgive me if I let you walk away. And Connie scares me when he starts swinging around those huge purses of his.”

“Oh my god,” Max said, grinning in spite of himself. “You know what he fills them with? Food. Little snack cakes, crackers, individually wrapped cookies. Literally tons of them! He’s always offering me something from his purse. I have more packs of gum and cheese crackers from Connie than I know what to do with!” Max’s sides shook with suppressed giggles.

“Does he even eat that much?” Stephen asked, jaw slacked open. “He’s rail thin! I always assumed he was big on dieting so he could fit into his gowns or something.”

Max shook his head. “Stephen, I love Connie so much, so I don’t feel like I’m throwing shade telling you this. But he eats like I used to eat when I was thirteen. I have never seen one single person destroy that many calories at one time before. I honestly don’t know how he keeps his figure.” He laughed heartily, his worries momentarily forgotten.

Stephen, however, was hyper-aware of the time. “Okay, I’ve gotta be out on stage in just a second. I’ll drag out the welcome speech as long as I can to buy Corey some time. The other two new hires should be here in just a minute too. You guys hang out backstage until you hear me call you out.” He searched Max’s face for acknowledgement.

Max nodded. “Got it. I’ll just… sit here and stare at my phone compulsively while I wait for the guillotine to fall, haha.” Max winced.

Stephen, who was nearly out the door by this point, stopped and turned. He closed the distance between himself and Max in three big steps. “Listen to me, Maxwell Covington.” His voice was low and tone serious. “I love you. My life was incredibly lonely, ever since my husband died. But then you turned up in my life, and from the first time we met it was like I was a giggling schoolgirl with a crush.” Stephen smiled softly. “I love you, Max. And I am not going to allow Marcus or anyone else to take you away from me. That’s not happening. If you have to go live in exile and shame out in the boring real world, then I’ll live in exile and shame right next to you. Because nothing, no force or power, not even divine fucking intervention, is going to take you away from me.”

Max gasped. Stephen was generally a pretty reserved guy but, on the rare occasion when he opened up like this, it caused shivers to dance across Max’s spine every single time. His heart felt like it was swelling in his chest. He swallowed but said nothing.

Stephen took Max’s paw into his own. “It wasn’t all that long ago that your resume hit my desk, you know. And when I first met you, you were drowning. You didn’t even know it, but you were drowning in the life you thought you had to live to satisfy everyone around you. I’ve seen you come alive here, Max, and Jesus… it has been the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed. You had never even gotten up the courage to try wearing a diaper before we met. Look at your life now, Max. Look at how God damned immensely brave you’ve been. You’ve stepped into who you are. You’re allowing yourself things that caused you so much shame before, and those things are giving you real joy.”

Stephen sighed and squeezed Max’s paws. Suddenly, the fire returned to his eyes. “Marcus is not going to win the day, Max. I promise.” His paw was growing warmer to the touch as he spoke. The wolf was practically radiating barely-suppressed rage.

Max nodded again. “I believe you,” he said quietly. “I love you so much, Stephen. You’ve given me something nobody else ever could’ve. We’re going to get through this. I’m going to get through this.” Max nodded his head toward the door. “Go knock ‘em dead, Daddy. Oh, but… slowly.” He smiled softly.

Stephen nodded. He stared at Max for a moment and began to say something else, but instead he turned toward the door and went out onto the stage. As he departed, he nodded congenially to the two people who had appeared at the door. Max watched the pair enter. Both were wearing suits like Max’s. One, a younger guy around Max’s age, sat in a nearby folding chair and turned to Max politely.

“You know, it’s so weird wearing clothes again, right? I’m Damon, by the way,” the Jack Russell terrier said, extending a paw. “I’ve gotten just so used to wearing nothing but jock straps and sports gear around here. I work in the pharmacy,” he chattered, filled with nervous energy.

“I’m Max, I work in the library,” he said, shaking Damon’s paw. He nodded to the other newcomer, a middle-aged ermine whose fur had begun to go silver. “And you are?”

“I’m Oliver,” the ermine replied, his smooth, surprisingly deep voice echoing in the tiled room. “Auto maintenance. It’s nice to meet you Max, Damon.” He nodded to each in turn. “Kind of turning into a big production out there,” he said. “I think the whole manor is here.”

“Oh gosh!” Damon yipped. “It does feel a lot like assembly day in high school, doesn’t it?” He wagged nervously. “I’m so relieved they decided to bring me on full-time, though. When I first got hired a few months ago, there was another newbie that started the day I did. He didn’t make it past the first two weeks. His boss caught him swiping silverware. I’m like ‘why would you give up this amazing life where you can just go full on kink freak all day, twenty-four seven, no matter what kinds of crazy stuff you’re into, all for some forks and spoons to pawn’, you know? It’s so dumb. And like, they pay us crazy good, too. I just bought a motorcycle! I’m hoping to learn to ride it soon and get my motorcycle license. Ever since I was a kid I always wanted to be a total badass on a bike. This one time…” Damon showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, his tail had begun thumping faster and faster as he spoke. Max politely cut him off.

“Oh, I think they’re starting,” he said, silently thanking his untrustworthy luck for not betraying him for once. “Let’s listen!” He nodded for Oliver to take a seat, and the trio turned silently to the door. Stephen was speaking.

“...coming out today, on this lovely Monday. Except you, Charlie, I know you’re only here because it’s an hour break from listening to Ed shriek for the billionth time that the soup needs more salt! Honestly Ed, lay off the salt or my doctor is going to come for you,” Stephen said to growing laughter from the crowd.

“But truly, this is a lovely Monday. It’s such a special day when we get to welcome new full-time staff members to our home. Because that’s what StartAgain is. This is home. For all of us weird boys who thought we could never fit in. For all of us who just want to live as our best versions of ourselves, and to experience the things that bring us joy. This is home. And we are more than coworkers, we’re a family. I think I personally hired half the people here today, or more. We have a wonderful chosen family here who accepts us in all our glory, with all our quirks and kinks and questionable clothing choices.” He paused for more laughter.

“I’m just so proud of this place, of this extraordinary thing we’ve created together here. And so, welcoming new members into the family is always such an honor and such an exciting moment for me. Because to truly succeed at StartAgain, you have to want it. You have to embrace the person you are inside, cast away your shame and doubt, and be open to things you spent too long denying yourself. And you have to work hard. The mansion doesn’t run itself, and it takes every single one of us to make StartAgain what it is.”

Max, as enthralled as he was by Stephen’s speech, couldn’t help himself. He checked his phone. Still no word from Corey. Which either meant he couldn’t find the phone or he’d run into trouble. Max swallowed, hard.

Stephen’s sexy baritone voice resonated throughout the auditorium, and despite his fear and anxiety, Max couldn’t help but be swept up in the sound.

“And I especially want to thank all of you awesome folks who signed consent to be filmed during your sexy escapades. As you know, if you’ve consented to be filmed during sex scenes here in the manor, you’ve done so much to help us grow StartAgain Publishing and all of our imprints into a globally respected juggernaut in the queer and fetish porn industry. That in turn allows us to all live in this beautiful mansion, and it allows management to pay you guys the crazy salaries we pay you. Because ultimately, we are one community and we have all earned our places here.” Stephen held his pause for as long as he could until the applause finally died out.

“And that’s why we’re here today. To acknowledge three more incredible people who have truly earned a place at StartAgain.” Fuck, Max thought. He’s bringing us out. Come on, Corey! COME ON!

Max looked at his companions nervously. Both the energetic Damon and the comparatively quiet Oliver seemed both excited and nervous. Meanwhile, Max felt like his guts were imploding.

“Please welcome to the stage, StartAgain’s newest permanent full-time team members: Oliver Wetziel, Damon Armstrong, and Max Covington!” The assembled residents erupted into loud applause as Max and his companions stepped out of the waiting room and emerged stage left. Damon wagged and waved to the audience seated in the bleachers. Oliver was cooler, but he did seem to be holding his head higher.

Max smiled nervously and scanned the audience. His eyes landed on Seventeen near the main entrance to the auditorium. The gecko whooped and threw Max a thumbs-up. Max waived and let his eyes wander again. Finding Connie was easy, he was right up front and wearing a floor-length, sequined scarlet gown fit for a Hollywood awards show. His sweet English bulldog boyfriend, Julio, had parked his wheelchair next to him and was patting Connie’s knee affectionately.

All of Max’s friends were in attendance. Mr. Jennings was waving proudly from the bleachers, looking for all the world like Max’s overly proud older brother. In a different section, Astral was struggling to get his wings under control without bumping them against his seat-neighbors. Heck, even Wild Willy was here, the tiny mouse excitedly chatting to a person next to him. Willy was nearly ready for his own hiring ceremony, Stephen had confided in Max earlier. Max smiled, remembering how shocked he’d been to find out that the mouse had a fetish for being turned into statuary. That first day had really been something. Max grinned.

But then he frowned. Because, although all of Max’s other friends were here, so was Marcus. The donkey was smirking at Max quietly from a middle section. Max shivered in rage and glared daggers at his nemesis.

Stephen noted the look, but as he was the master of ceremonies he had no choice but to continue. “Let’s meet our new team members. Damon, step right over here. That’s right, just there,” Stephen said, gently but firmly turning the Jack Russel to face the audience. “I understand you’ve become quite instrumental as our new pharmacy tech. Your supervisor told me earlier that you’re always the first one to volunteer for extra work, and that you’ve done an extraordinary job during the pharmacy’s quarterly inventory. So, as is tradition here at StartAgain manor during the hiring ceremony… enough about boring work stuff! Tell us what brought you to StartAgain, and what you’ve gained by being here.”

“Oh, sure!” Damon squeaked. He’d spoken too closely into the microphone and had caused a startling whine of audio distortion. “Oh, sorry everyone. Um, hi, I’m Damon and like Mr. Andrews said, I work over in the pharmacy. But like, I did that before I ever came here. Work in a pharmacy, I mean. What makes StartAgain manor really special to me is that I really have this thing for sports gear, right? And I mean, some of you guys are looking fine in your jocks at the gym, right? And I dunno, it’s just really cool to be surrounded by guys who are into kinky stuff too. So I’m really grateful to be here, and I’ll shut up now or I’ll probably keep talking forever, and nobody wants that. Haha!” Damon giggled as the crowd laughed and applauded.

Stephen smiled warmly and stepped closer to Oliver. “Oliver here has only been with us for two months, and in that time he’s already one of the only people I trust with the company car. You guys know how I love that baby. And on top of being a highly trained and skilled auto mechanic, Oliver has also been helping out over in video editing, turning a hobby he’s always had into paid on-the-job training through StartAgain. Oliver, everyone! So tell us, Oliver, what has joining StartAgain changed about your life?” Stephen held the mic forward expectantly.

“Well, I’ve always had a really hard time accepting my kinks. I grew up before the internet, so it’s not like it is today where you can just immediately find your online tribe. So I thought I was the only person in the whole world who was into bondage. Naive kid, I was.” The audience whistled and whooped. “It’s just kind of amazing to me that after forty-three years, I’m still learning new things about myself thanks to StartAgain. I really do love my job, and I’ll keep tuning our cars as long as you’ll have me.” The stoic ermine blushed a little, and it melted Max’s heart.

“Baby, you get a little of that sexy car grease on you, and I’ll have you wherever and whenever you want,” someone called from the audience. The crowd cheered even louder, and Oliver broke into a wide grin, cheeks glowing even brighter.

Max nearly lept out of his skin when he saw Corey tiptoe into the room. He shot the cheetah a long, desperate glance. Corey visibly shrank and shook his head almost imperceptibly. Max felt all the air leave his lungs at once. It was over.

It was over and Marcus had won. They had no way of getting the pictures back, and so Marcus was free to ruin Max’s life without repercussion. It’s all so unfair! Max thought, trembling. He refused to even glance in Marcus’s direction lest he completely lose himself.

Stephen immediately noticed the change in Max and impulsively cast his eyes to the audience. He quickly spied Corey, and the expression on the cheetah boy’s face said more than words would have. Stephen’s eyes flew to Max, and he drew close.

“The show must go on,” Max whispered ruefully. “Introduce me.”

“Max, no. Don’t. We’ll figure something out. We’ll have him arrested and charged with cyberbullying and assault, and we’ll get a court order for the pictures.” Stephen drew his hand to his neck and began rubbing nervously.

“Stephen, by then my parents will have seen them for sure. He won.” Max nearly growled out the last two words. “Introduce me, Stephen. The audience is starting to wonder what’s going on.”

Stephen shook his head slowly, eyes wide with horror. He composed himself as best he could. “And our th-third new hire,” he said, his voice cracking a little before he wrestled it back under control. “Our third new hire, Max. Max has been a key team member in the immense library restoration project James and his housekeeping team have been toiling at all year. And I know a number of you have already met this little guy out and about. Max has a gift for making friends wherever he goes. I’ve seen it time and time again, and I know some of you have already experienced it!” Stephen’s voice hummed with pride, even as Max could see him fighting back tears.

“What I hear, he even melted your frozen heart, Stephen!” The speaker’s voice was mirthful. “Even when all the rest of us combined couldn’t!” A number of the men in the assembly laughed at that.

Stephen nodded. “It’s true, and I’m relieved to hear that the StartAgain Rumor Machine is in peak performance, as usual,” the wolf added. For all the emotions Max could feel coming from Stephen, he was impressed at how well his boyfriend held it together for the crowd.

“Enough about work talk though. Tell us, Max, what has coming to StartAgain meant for you? What’s changed in your life?” Stephen’s voice grew softer as he spoke.

Max looked at the audience. His heart felt heavy, like it couldn’t beat properly anymore. This, he thought. All these people were here to cheer him on, to encourage him, to show him appreciation and acceptance. This was what had changed.

Max’s eyes swept over the people before him. He recognized so many new friends and acquaintances. All of these people had been so incredibly welcoming from the first moment he awoke from a drugged stupor, bound and gagged in the guest quarters on that day that seemed so long ago. And yet, somehow it had only been one month. But that one month had felt more real, more amazing, and more right than all the years he’d spent alive prior. His life was forever changed, in all the best ways.

Max looked at Stephen for a long moment. That’s a big change too, he thought. My boyfriend. My handsome boyfriend. My handsome lawyer boyfriend. My handsome lawyer boyfriend who is also my Daddy. Daddy. God, that’s a beautiful word. Max felt his cheeks growing wet. I love him, so much. And I really think we could have a future together, especially here in this incredible place.

He turned his head and sought Corey out. The cheetah was leaning against the rear wall of the auditorium, his face riddled with guilt and anguish. He blames himself for not finding the phone. It wasn’t his fault, Max thought sadly. He tried as hard as he could. Because that’s what baby bros for life means, right Corey? My cute baby brother who looks so adorable in diapers. My best friend, a role I don’t think I ever really understood before I met you, Corey.

Stephen and Corey were his family. They were his chosen family, and he was so happy they were a part of his life. Everyone at StartAgain had enriched Max’s life so much, but Stephen and Corey had done more than anyone else. They’d helped him confront the ugly, ashamed side of himself. They’d encouraged him to be brave, to try new things, to explore his little side in a way he’d never felt comfortable doing before. He loved both of these men so much, and he couldn’t imagine living a life without them both in it.

“Aww, he’s a shy one!” someone called from the audience. “We already know how much you like the shy ones, Joey!” someone called back. The audience laughed.

Max had drawn this moment out for as long as he could. It had given him time to make an important decision, and his stomach sank with the weight of a stone just thinking about it. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He glanced at the time. Before he put the phone back, he pressed a sequence of buttons.

Max nodded and gently took the microphone from a trembling Stephen. “Hi everyone. I’m Max. Maxwell Covington. And before I got my job here, I was the most boring college student at Bay City University. And before that, I was the most boring high school student at Riverview High. I think you get the picture. Oh, and I didn’t like myself very much either. I’m gay, and in my family that’s not something we’re proud of. So I was very alone in the world, and I basically just threw myself into my classes because I had nothing else going on.”

Max turned toward Stephen. “But then one day, a handsome wolf showed up at my college, in response to my application for a job. And that handsome wolf identified something within me, an emptiness, a need I couldn’t address. And, because it was what I needed more than I could possibly know, he offered me a job. A job with a really killer benefits package.” Max smiled, and the audience cheered.

“And so, yeah, a month ago I came here not knowing what I’d gotten myself into. And instead, I found a bunch of people just like me. People who hadn’t been able to accept themselves or the outwardly strange things they enjoyed in their sex lives. But I found more than that. I found real friends, for the first time in my entire life. I found a community that loves me and supports me, and who accepts me exactly the way I am. My family never did. But then again, that’s a pretty low bar. And this family, my chosen family, has made me feel… alive. You guys have all changed my life in ways I can never thank you enough for.” His eyes brushed past each of his friends in the audience as he spoke. The ones who didn’t know what was going on were grinning at him, but others like Corey and Seventeen looked anguished. Seventeen had joined Corey and was holding him close in a tight hug while the boy cried.

“But unfortunately,” Max said unsteadily. His tongue felt numb and feathery. “Unfortunately, circumstances have taken place that have forced me into a position I didn’t want to be in. And to say words I never thought I’d say out loud.” Max couldn’t help but look over at Marcus, who was grinning a sadistic grin. The donkey was eating this up.

“But you know? Being pushed into a corner doesn’t always completely suck. It gives you clarity that maybe you wouldn’t have found otherwise. Perspective. And so, I’m going to say words that I’ve been terrified of, and this is going to be really difficult. Please be patient with me.”

The audience seemed increasingly confused. Stephen was shaking his head and openly crying. The wolf sat down in a folding chair, looking aghast.

Max reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Marcus is attempting to blackmail me into leaving my job.” The audience gasped audibly, and many heads turned to face the suddenly bewildered donkey.

He looked around, then glared at Max. “What are you doing, Max?” he hissed through clenched teeth.

“Marcus has two phones. One is a perfectly normal phone with the camera suppressed, just like most of us have. The other is an identical-looking phone with a working camera that he smuggled into the manor. He recorded me in a compromising position and threatened to send it to my family if I didn’t agree to quit my job and leave the manor.”

Suddenly, there was a great deal of loud, confused chaos in the audience. Many people were trying to talk at once. Marcus was shouting his head off, calling Max a liar. Stephen was shouting and pointing at Marcus, all composure vanished in a fleeting moment. Poor Oliver and Damon just looked extremely confused. In the back of the room, Seventeen was having to physically grip Corey to keep the cheetah from lunging at the donkey. The din was deafening as over a hundred people tried to speak at the same time.

Finally, willing to take it no longer, Connie stood up and shrieked at the top of his lungs, “SHUT UP!!” The volume in the room immediately dropped as many people drew silent from surprise. “Y’all gotta let the boy finish telling his story. It’s his big day, not yours!” Connie called in his best impression of an angry Southern mother. It worked, the crowd began settling down immediately.

“You are a fucking liar, Max, and you’ll hear from my attorneys!” Marcus called, indignant.

“No, he’s not,” Zane said, standing. He was on the opposite side of the room from Marcus. “Every word is the truth. I’ve seen both phones, and I watched Marcus record Max. I should have done the right thing and said something before. I’m sorry.” The zebra shook his mane out of his eyes and looked across the stage to Max. “Max is a good kid who doesn’t deserve the torture you’ve been putting him through, and I’m done being a part of it, Marcus.”

“Oh yeah?” Marcus called. “Where’s your proof? Where’s this supposed mystery phone I have?”

At that, Corey nearly lunged out of Seventeen’s tight grip. “It’s probably up your fat ass, you piece of shit!’ he screamed at Marcus.

“We weren’t able to find it,” Max admitted. “But it doesn’t matter.” Max grew quiet for a moment. The audience was more than intrigued; they were riveted to Max.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said again, “because I’ve made an important decision.” He held aloft his phone. “And because I’ve got my dad’s voicemail on right now, and it’s recording everything I say. Mom, dad, I like to do weird stuff like get tied up and wear diapers,” he said, now addressing the phone in his hand. “It’s a fetish. Lots of people have them. Also, I’m dating and regularly having sex with another guy. And that’s the least weird thing I’m doing with my life. I’m also running around all day every day, dressed in oversized diapers and baby clothes. And you know what? I’m happy. I’m happy here. Because the people here love me and accept me for who I am. They aren’t disappointed that I wasn’t born straight, they don’t care what stuff gets me horny. They are just good, welcoming people. They’re the family I’ve chosen. You’re the family I got. And if you want to continue to be a family, we can try working on things. But I’m not going to live my life in fear of your judgment. I didn’t want you to know about my kinks, but that choice was taken away from me. So I’m making the other choice, I’m telling you about them myself. Because that’s my right and that’s my power, and nobody can take that from me. You have no right to judge me for living the life I want to live.” Max swallowed hard. He’d done it, he’d outed himself to his family. He’d said the impossible words, and now everything was going to change.

“So, you get to decide how we move forward past this,” he told the phone. “Either you guys can think ‘wow, what a weird son we have’ and you can keep that part to yourselves, and we move forward with the understanding that my choices are my choices, and it’s my choice whether you are even allowed to be in my life, understand? Or, the other option. You choose not to be in my life. And that’s fine too. It’s not what I want, but it’s what I prefer over you judging me and feeling ashamed of me when you have no right or reason to do so.” Max breathed heavily. While it had felt nearly impossible to begin speaking just a moment ago, the words began pouring out of him faster and faster, with more headstrong energy.

“I am a really good guy,” Max said to the phone. “ I work really hard, I’m very loyal. I deserve to be treated with respect. And if you can’t do that, then I hope you and mom have a beautiful life. So you think about that, and then you call me in a few days when you’re ready to talk. Because I am NOT quitting my job here, and I am not leaving my life here.” He disconnected the call just as a message began playing alerting him that the mailbox was out of storage space.

And then, even as his heart was pounding out of his chest, as his hands trembled, as he defiantly smirked down at the stunned Marcus, Max did the only other thing he could think to do; the only other thing that felt appropriate in this impossible, life-altering, triumphant moment.

He dropped the mic.