Giving Notice - Chapter Eight (preview!)

Yes, that's right! I'm actually back to working on the sequel to The New Job again! It's been a hell of a year with everything that has happened, but I'm FINALLY starting to feel like myself again enough to continue working on the novel. I'm so appreciative of your support and patience through this, the most difficult year of my life.

Also, we've hit another milestone, gang! As of today, we've crossed 40,000 words written for Giving Notice! For frame of reference, The New Job (minus the bonus story I added for the kindle/print version) clocks in at 53,600 words. We're getting closer to the end of the book, too, though Giving Notice is still going to end up being longer than TNJ when the dust settles.

And, here's an important update for those of you guys who AREN'T in the StartAgain discord server: the story I wrote last month for you guys had to be moved to my website at www.StartAgainManor.com because it can't be hosted here per Patreon, so if you haven't read it yet please visit the story section of my website and read it there! I told everyone on discord what had happened, but I only just realized that some of you might not have seen that! So, if you like rubber drones, heavy bondage, and super thick AI-powered diapers, check out "DREAMs and Nightmares" on my website!

But that's enough rambling. You're here to find out what's up with Max Covington, so here you go!! <3

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Max slept far later than he had intended; physical and emotional exhaustion had caught up with him and he didn’t rouse until nearly noon. Corey was gone when Max awoke, but the cheetah had thoughtfully left a tray on Max’s nightstand containing a bagel, cream cheese, jam, and a sippy cup of apple juice.

The golden retriever quickly checked his phone, but he was disappointed that he hadn’t received any new messages from Stephen. At least the wolf was due home in a few hours, and then Max could finally tell him everything. He ate his breakfast in silence, his heart heavy with the weight of everything he’d been through the previous day.

Once breakfast was done, Max changed himself into a dry diaper. He debated dressing up in something cute, but his heart really wasn’t in it. Instead, he picked out a pair of relatively normal-looking khaki shorts and a pale blue hoodie, the least babyish clothes in his wardrobe despite the snaps in the crotch of the shorts.

Max ran his fingers through his hair to smooth out his bed-head as best he could, then he gathered his breakfast dishes and slowly made his way to the dining hall to return everything to be washed. He sent a text to his group chat with Corey and Seventeen, letting the boys know that he was up and moving. Both of his friends expressed concern for him, but he reassured them that he was coping as best he could.

Max made his way back to his bedroom to isolate. On any other Sunday, he would have gone to the pool or the garden, or checked in with one of his friends to see if they wanted to hang out together, but Max didn’t want to run the risk of bumping into Marcus randomly. Instead, the canine tried to watch TV, but eventually he gave up and turned the television back off after realizing that his mind couldn’t focus on the plot of the show.

Max laid in his crib restlessly, fully dressed. He didn’t even have the energy to kick off his shoes. The more he thought about the plan he’d tentatively formed with Corey, Seventeen and Zane, the more risky it seemed. So much could go wrong so easily, and failure would cost Max everything he’d come to love in his life.

A knock on Max’s door interrupted his thoughts. “Who is it?” he called out hesitantly.

“It’s me,” Stephen’s voice rang out cheerily.

Max lept from his crib and closed the gap to his bedroom door in two leaping steps, throwing the portal open almost forcibly. “Stephen!” he cried, leaping into the surprised wolf’s arms.

“Hey, hey now!” Stephen laughed. “What’s with the super enthusiasm? I was only gone one night,” he said as he hugged the golden retriever.

Max gave Stephen another tight squeeze before letting go of the wolf. He closed and locked the door, and Stephen could immediately tell that something was wrong.

“Max,” Stephen said curiously. “Has something happened?”

Max looked up at his boyfriend, his eyes welling with tears. He nodded silently before losing all composure. He began sobbing uncontrollably, worrying and bewildering Stephen.

“Shhhh, shhhh, pup. It’s okay. Tell me what’s wrong,” Stephen cooed soothingly, his forehead wrinkled in concern.

It took Max several moments to collect himself, but eventually he found his voice. “Oh Stephen, everything is falling apart! I went to the library yesterday to get a book, and Zane and Marcus were there having sex, and Marcus accused me of s-spying on them and he called me all kinds of horrible names and hurt my shoulder, and then he took a bunch of pictures of me and now he’s th-threatening to send them to my parents and then they’ll never speak to me again, and he told me I have to quit my j-job and go home or else he’s g-g-gonna ruin my life and I d-don’t want to go!” Max’s words came more and more quickly and loudly until he was nearly shouting. Again, the canine threw his arms around Stephen.

Max’s panic was interrupted by a strange sensation coming from Stephen’s chest, a deep rumble that Max felt more than heard. It took the young man a moment to realize that his boyfriend was growling a deep, low, feral growl. Max released Stephen and took a step back, staring at the wolf’s face in wonder. Stephen’s eyes were narrowed and his fangs were bared. Max had never seen his boyfriend look so predatory… or dangerous.

“Max, let’s sit down so you can walk me through every detail,” Stephen said, his voice nearly monotone. The wolf’s face was stuck in a snarl as he spoke, belying the calm in his voice. “I want to know exactly what happened,” Stephen said as he gently but firmly steered Max to his crib. The pair sat side by side, and Stephen held Max close.

Max took a deep, ragged breath before he began his tale again. He spoke slower, this time recounting every detail from his encounter with Marcus, Zane’s offer to help, and the risky plan he’d formulated with his friends.

“...but we’d need your master key to sneak into his room to even have a chance at deleting those pictures,” Max said quietly, “and I know that’s totally against the rules, so I hate to even ask you for that. But I don’t know what else to do. I’m so frightened.” He squeezed Stephen as tightly as he could.”

Stephen held Max silently for a while, Max’s head pressed to Stephen’s shoulder as he stroked the younger man’s cheek reassuringly.

He finally spoke, and his voice still carried that strange sharp edge. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to wait until your one month review tomorrow morning. It’s a big celebration for the manor whenever we offer team members a permanent position, so we hold it in the conference hall over by admin and the whole household shows up for it. That’s the one time we can guarantee that Marcus will be out of his room and there won’t be any risk of him turning up. I’ll give Corey my master key tonight so he can search Marcus’s room during the assembly. If anyone asks, we’ll say he’s not feeling well, but I doubt it’ll even come up.”

“And then he can look through Marcus’s stuff while we’re all in the assembly hall?” Max asked, nodding slowly.

“Yep. Corey’s quick, small and smart, so he’s the best candidate for sneaking in. Meanwhile, we’ll drag out the assembly as long as necessary to give him a chance to look. As soon as he finds the phone, he’ll use the password Zane gave us to break into it and delete the pictures from Marcus’s cloud. You’ll be up on stage with me for most of the assembly, so we’ll need Seventeen to stand by with his phone. As soon as the pictures are dealt with, Corey can text Seventeen to let him know, and he can flash us a thumbs up. And just as soon as we get the signal, I’m going to proverbially shove my foot so far up Marcus’s ass that he’ll be tasting my sock.”

“What happens if the plan doesn’t work?” Max asked nervously.

Stephen shook his head. “Hopefully it won’t come to that. But, if necessary, we’ll take Marcus into custody and take his phone from him directly, and we’ll put pressure on him until he deletes the photos. Not only has he violated a number of house rules, he also assaulted you and is attempting to blackmail you. Hell,we’ll involve law enforcement and get a court order for those pictures. The Master is an extremely well-connected man, and there are even a few sitting judges who are former StartAgain employees. It will be nothing at all to get a court order to have those photos deleted. Though I’d prefer we not involve the outside world if possible, I’m not above seeing Marcus sent to prison for this. But please know this, Max…”

Stephen released Max and met the canine’s gaze. “What has happened here is a violation of everything StartAgain represents. I will not allow this creep to hurt you, do you understand? I wouldn’t allow this to happen to anyone, but especially not you. This is your home, and it will always be your home as long as you want it to be. We will fix this, okay?”

Max nodded slowly, reassured. If anyone could fix this nightmare scenario, it was Stephen.

“In the meantime,” Stephen continued, “I’m going to inform James. You and Marcus are both his employees and he needs to know what’s happening. I will swear him to secrecy,” Stephen said, raising a finger to halt Max’s unvoiced objections, “but there are few people on this earth I trust more than James Warren. I’ll also need to report all of this to the Master… but we can wait for that part until after the deed is done. As they say, it’s better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission, and I’m fully prepared to deal with the repercussions. But I know the Master well enough to know that he probably won’t make much fuss over our actions. He runs a tight ship, and nothing could ever infuriate him as much as someone risking the security of the manor and its residents. Plus, I happen to know he has a soft spot for you,” Stephen said, smiling weakly.

“He does?” Max asked in wonder. “I’m surprised he’s even noticed me!”

“Oh, he’s noticed you. You’ve even met him several times, though you didn’t know he was him, so to speak,” Stephen said. “But you’ll meet him properly tomorrow, so the mystery will have to endure for one more day. After the big assembly, it’s tradition for the new permanent employee to enjoy a fancy celebratory dinner in the Master’s suites. And let me tell you, he’s a hell of a cook when he wants to be.”

Max’s mind raced. He’d met the Master, the unseen owner of StartAgain, several times? Who could it be? Well, that can wait until tomorrow, he thought. We’ve got bigger fish to fry at the moment.

“I’ll text Corey and Seventeen and let them know the plan,” Max said, determination thick in his voice. “I’ll tell Zane to tell Marcus I’ve agreed to turn down the job offer, and then I’ll spend the rest of the evening hiding in my room. That way, Marcus will think he won and hopefully it’ll keep him in the dark about the plan. Yeah?”

Stephen nodded. “I’m so sorry this happened, Max. We try so hard to keep the bad ones out, that’s why the screening process is generally very thorough. But once in a while, we do make mistakes and let the wrong people in. I’m very sorry. But after tomorrow, Marcus won’t be a problem anymore, I promise.”

Max nodded. “Thank you, Stephen. Seriously. I was so sure I was going to have to give up on all of… this,” the canine said, sweeping his arm. “I thought I’d have to give everything up… that I’d have to give you up. I love you so freaking much.”

“I love you too, so freaking much,” Stephen echoed. “Don’t worry, Max. It’s all going to work out okay. He’s only one guy, and you have the entire manor on your side. After tomorrow, Marcus will be gone and you’ll be a permanent staff member.”