FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

His First Employee (Part 3)

copyright comidacomida 2025

Nigel had difficulty falling asleep sitting up for as long as he could remember. His governess always used to tell him that he was a fussy baby and he had to be laying flat in his crib or in his bed in order for him to sleep. It was strange for him to awaken in a sitting position, felt incredibly warm and secure in Ron's arms. The young man had to think back to remember that he'd accepted a hug from his bodyguard who, apparently, had fallen asleep with him.

The Wolf's back was resting against the headboard and Nigel was situated with his back to Ron's chest, rump placed on one of the Wolf's thighs, and two large arms wrapped around him keeping him warm better than any blanket in history. The human felt calm, secure, and comfortable-- it was the best sleep he was able to ever remember. Nigel would have gladly stayed like that the entire day but he realized that his own bleary awakening must have also triggered Ron into rousing.

The Wolf slowly unlocked his arms, stretching out one leg, then both arms, and the second leg; his massive jaws parted when he yawned. Ron's eyes fluttered open, settling immediately on Nigel's; the Human didn't miss that the Wolf's inner ears reddened slightly, or the tweak of embarrassment to his usually muted, grizzled features. His bodyguard recovered quickly though, clearing his throat. "Hey kiddo. G'morning."

Nigel smiled. "Morning, Ron."

His bodyguard reached up to ruffle his hair before sliding the young man off of him before standing up. Ron's voice was gravelly from sleep, but it still held a warm undertone. "Looks like we both drifted off."

Nigel went to sit up, but suddenly realized one part of him was already quite up and, at that realization, he quickly grabbed the blanket and folded it over his lap. Offering a lopsided smile, akin to a clumsy attempt at humor while fumbling with the blanket, the young man fumbled for something to say. "Y-yeah... I guess we did. It's okay though... it was... nice. Thanks again for not telling my dad about my fight at school yesterday."

Ron shrugged. "Well, he's gonna find out eventually, so you'll need to think about that for a bit, you know?"

Rather than face the reality of what he knew to be the case, the young Human tried to move the conversation in a different direction. "I think we can go down to the dining room since he's probably already out at the office. Can we?"

A small, stoic nod acknowledges the Human, but the Wolf's eyes betrayed a subtle warmth at a glance. "Shall we get some breakfast then?"

Nigel was surprised when Ron reached out and offered him a paw; it was an intimate gesture... at least in the youth's mind. Before his bodyguard could draw it back again, the young man reached out to take hold of it; Ron hadn't offered him a paw in years and he didn't want to pass up the chance. "Sure. We can have breakfast together!"

The Human had to fight back a blush to his face when his heart skipped a beat; the Wolf gave his hand a gentle squeeze as an almost imperceptible smiled played across his muzzle. "Keep in mind that you'll still have to get some learning done today... just because you're suspended doesn't give you free reign to spend the whole day playing on the computer.."

The Human offered up a theatrical huff. "Exchanging EFTs and exercising stock options isn't 'playing', Ron."

The Wolf rolled his eyes. "Either way, no computer until you finish your lessons."

Nigel was not the kind of student to procrastinate-- his father had very much removed that inclination from him early in life, but he still appreciated the way that Ron tended to look after him. "Sure. I'll get started after breakfast. I'm sure I'll be a lot faster with my lesson plans when I can do them all here at home rather than deal with all of the other students at school."

His bodyguard walked him to the hallway. "You really should learn how to get along with people, Nigel-- it's an important skill."

The Human shrugged. "Why? I can have people to deal with people for me."

The Wolf smirked. "Oh? And won't you have to deal with THEM?"

Nigel grinned. "Nah... YOU can deal with them for me."

Ron out-and-out laughed, eyes glinting glinting with a hint of amusement-- a rare display of playfulness. "I'm not sure your father will approve."

The Human grinned at his companion. "That's alright... you can talk it over with him and convince him for me."

Heading downstairs with his hand still in Ron's paw, Nigel was pleased that his bodyguard chose to laugh rather than say 'no'; that was practically a yes!

Ron wasn't entirely surprised when the two arrived only to find the dining room empty. The Wolf let go of his ward, letting Nigel go to his usual spot at the table. As usual, the place settings were all out-- whether the family ate breakfast or not, the morning setting was left in place until 10am unless used and, at barely 15 past 9, Nigel's was still awaiting him at its chosen spot. One thing that differed from the usual, however, was that an envelope was on his place mat just above his napkin.

Moving to stand beside the young man, Ron couldn't deny a spark of curiosity, especially since Nigel seemed to be actively avoiding it. Ultimately the Wolf would wait no longer, and offered a gentle prompt. "Looks like there's a surprise waiting for you. Who do you think might have left it for you?"

The young man continued to ignore it, but apparently not enough to have avoided noticing something. "Looks like dad's handwriting."

Ron raised an eyebrow; he'd worked for Nigel's father for quite some time and one consistent thing was that Nigel's dad was not an 'on-time-for-a-birthday' kind of guy. Despite knowing better, he still tried to improve the youth's spirits. "Oh? Maybe he wanted to wish you a happy birthday even if you have to wait a week to celebrate."

Several of the serving staff began bringing out food options for Nigel, who focused his attention on that as well, even going so far as to hesitate on making a few selections until the Wolf could wait no longer and waved the wait staff away. "That's enough. He can eat more later if he's still hungry..." then looked to Nigel. "Let's go, kid-- if your dad left you a letter then it's probably important."

Sighing, and looking like he'd been whipped, the teen grabbed the envelope, carefully tore it open, and his eyes began to scan the document. He dropped the letter, letting out a long sigh which turned into a quiet sob as his face ended up in his palms. "I knew it... Abernathy was right."

Ron gingerly reached past the food and drinks set in front of Nigel and picked up the letter. Taking a look at the contents, a low rumbling formed in the back of his throat as a surge of surprise and unease flowed through him. "Well, well well... it seems I have a bit of a situation on my paws..."

The young Human nodded, face still in his hands as he mumbled through his fingers. "See? Dad wants me to terminate your contract before my birthday party next week. He's zeroing out the expense account for your services."

The Wolf attempted to keep his emotions in check, which was strangely easy since they were so conflicted. Letting his pathos wrestle with itself as his responses pulled him in different direction, he forced his logical mind to keep focus. "I see... so he's claiming it's time for me to move on to other assignments, huh? And what do you think about this, Nigel?"

Although he wanted the tone to come across as neutral and professional he realized that he didn't do a very good job of camouflaging his obvious disapproval. Looking to his charge, he saw that the young man clamed up, his face reddening as his shoulders continued to shake; he looked like he was hyperventilating, and his words came out quickly in a huff. "No! Nononononono... you said last night you'd stay!"

Ron kept his voice gentle, reaching out to rest a paw on Nigel's hand. "Calm down, Nigel... we've talked about getting worked up with your asthma... Yes, I said I had no plans to leave, but you know I don't make promises... my line of work doesn't let me make promises I can't keep, and if I can't keep a promise I won't make--"

The young man stood up, knocking his seat back. "Don't leave!"

The Wolf continued holding Nigel's hand, giving it a squeeze to get his attention. "Nigel. Listen. First, you're making a scene..." Ron paused long enough for the Human to notice that the serving staff were staring or, rather, HAD BEEN, until the bodyguard called the young man's attention to them, at which point they began to busy themselves once again. "Now... I have to admit that I'm... invested in this assignment-- in you."

The statement got Nigel to pause, reaching up with his spare hand to wipe at his damp eyes. "My dad says that I have to let you go before next week."

Ron offered a succinct nod. "Right... but let's not jump to conclusions. Next week isn't today, so we have time to think through this."

Part of the Wolf wondered why he was making such a big deal out of being reassigned; it had happened all the time any number of times earlier in his life. Nigel was the most recent of a long number of assignments and, while yes, he had been the longest one, that didn't make the assignment special. Then again, he had to remind himself, meeting the gaze of the young man who was obviously torn up about having his bodyguard uprooted, Ron had never been so fervently demanded by any of his past clients.

Nigel's next action caught him by surprise; the young man, usually so mild-mannered and even tempered, picked up an empty teacup and hurled it across the room. "FUCK HIM! I'm NOT firing you!"

It was the first time Nigel had ever responded to any order from his father with disobedience, let alone virulent denial. Ron realized right away that the paradigm shift was underway and things were going to get 'very interesting' in short order. He was right.