Two Easy Steps
Two Easy Steps
copyright 2010 comidacomida
The morning hadn't been the easiest for Paul. Almost three weeks into the shoot planning and they didn't even have the full set put together. Sometimes it felt like he was running around like a chicken with his head cut-off, and he was only the junior planner. He had no idea how Miranda handled it all, but thanked his good fortune numerous times that she remained on as the head director. It seemed like things had been happening so fast as of late.
The negotiation between Eizenzahn and Mr Aimes had gone well for everyone involved; Mein Hund got Paul on the project full time, AHB got a huge increase in their contract dollars, and Paul somehow managed to wriggle out of being head ANYTHING and took a position as junior planner, co-designer, and second lead. The head director for the shoot was Ben, one of the first hires at AHB who Paul had never worked with before, but carried the seal of approval from all partners; a pleasant beagle named Candy was head designer, and Miranda was, as expected, Lead. Paul was also a few steps removed from the camera, which suited him fine... that task went to Ray and Paul was plenty happy about that.
The first several days of the project were prep. Nothing was expected to be done aside from the project leads getting together to offer up some planning ideas. In the beginning, Paul had no idea why most eyes were on him, until Miranda told him one day at lunch that Eizenzahn had explained that they were supposed to take one of his ideas and run with it. "Nothing like a little pressure to start the job off right, huh?" he remembered commenting. It didn't make him any more comfortable the way Miranda twirled her hair with her index finger and laughed at his comment, leaning closer as she did so. Things didn't get much easier.
Mateo was a constant issue. He had always been good at his job, and confident in his abilities. During the second week of planning and prep Mateo was constantly all over the project leads, throwing out ideas, making suggestions, interjecting, and, in general, making certain he was seen. While Paul liked many of his ideas, Miranda often took it upon herself to push him aside and tell him to go away. She said he was being disruptive, with which Ben was in full agreement. Paul was not always the fastest at being able to read people, but he could tell that Mateo was trying to make an impact-- trying too hard, unfortunately, from the look of things.
To make matters worse, Paul's computer decided to stop functioning. Anytime there was a 'technological complication' at the office Paul's blood pressure tended to increase. He really knew very little about computers and when one didn't do what he wanted to he felt beyond helpless. The fact that he felt 'beyond helpless' during most of his work made it even harder, so he did little more than sit at his desk praying that tech support would arrive before his head exploded. "Migraines suck." he noted as Mateo peeked into his cubicle.
"Ugh... you can say that again." Mateo noted.
Paul put his elbows on the desk in front of him, resting his head in his hands as he rubbed his temples with his thumbs. He heard Mateo unfold a collapsible chair and set it next to him and take a seat. Paul was just about to look up when he heard the sound of a medicine bottle shaking, and a few pills roll onto the desk beside his elbow.
"You really oughta carry some aspirin or something, amigo. In work like this, some people take em like vitamins." Mateo took a seat in the metal chair and put the bottle away.
Paul looked down at the pills, "I really don't like taking drugs."
Mateo laughed in response, "Geez... they're aspirin, bro... it's not like I'm givin you X or something."
"X?" Paul asked.
His coworker rolled his eyes, "Never mind... that's over-the-counter asprin... it's called over-the-counter because you don't need a prescription for it. Can't get much more harmless than that."
"No thanks... my headache'll go away when my computer's working again." Paul noted, sliding the two pills back over to Mateo, "Thanks though."
"Wow... two 'thanks' in one sentence, but I'm still taking em back. You're one weird muchacho, Miller."
Paul just nodded, rubbing either side of his forehead, "So... you come across the office just to offer me some asprin?"
Mateo cracked a wry grin beside him, "Finally starting to figure out the office culture, eh?"
"I'll take that as a 'Paul, I need something.'." Paul noted, "And, yes... after having a dozen or so people 'need something' at the same time, I can kinda tell. So what's up?" he sat up in his chair, pushing his focus on the pain out of his mind so he could pay attention to the newest task at hand... one of many.
"Well... I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I think it's pretty obvious that Miranda and Ben don't really like me."
"Mmm-hmmm." Paul acknowledged noncommittally. He had, in fact, realized that neither of the two project heads cared for Mateo. Miranda had said as much openly, and Ben, being one of the older, more-mature, no-nonsense kind of guy, made it pretty apparent.
"Well... out of all of the project leads, I think you're the only one in my corner." Mateo confessed, resting his hands on Paul's desk.
"Maybe I don't like you either, and I'm just too polite to say anything." Paul offered with a smile. If it was really a problem for is coworker, Paul would certainly not have been joking with him. But if Mateo was really bothered by the fact that his supervisors didn't like him, the tone of the discussion would be different.
"Kulo." Mateo responded with a smirk, and slapped Paul on the back, "But seriously, amigo... I need your help on this."
Paul sighed, "Alright, Mateo... what's going on that you need my help?"
"Well, you know how you guys have your brainstorming group and all?"
"Yea." Paul acknowledged.
"Hold up a minute..." and Mateo quickly stood up and left the cubicle. Just as Paul was beginning to get frustrated with the whole situation, his coworker returned with a small binder. "Here." and he opened it up, setting it down in front of Paul. Mateo pointed to one of the pages.
Paul looked down at a blocked-out section of a page. It was a rough sketch, but it got all the ideas across. Mateo was pitching Paul an idea for the advertisement. From what Paul could tell, it looked like a family camped out on a beach smiling for a family photo. There was a discernible dad, wearing swim trunks and shades. The mom was wearing a wide brimmed hat and a two piece bathing suit. The little girl was wearing a one piece suit and had pigtails. The whole scene made Paul smile. He looked up, and saw Mateo smiling too, "So?" his coworker asked.
"It's a good start..." Paul noted, looking back down at the sketch, and saw the dog panting happily beside the family, "...only..."
"I already checked with staging. They can recreate the beach scene inside, so we don't actually have to do any location work." Mateo quickly noted, anticipating Paul's next objection. He guessed wrong.
"No... that's fine and all... I mean the dog." he tapped the paper.
"Yea... I figured a retriever would work better at the ocean and all... show up better against the sand, right?" he grinned, elbowing Paul lightly.
"Mein Hund already has a model, Mateo, and that's one of the things they want to keep the same. Mr Eizenzahn made it pretty clear that he wants Casey to be the name brand model." Paul noted.
"Yea... well... maybe a dalmatian will work... it doesn't HAVE to be a black lab..." Mateo relented.
"It'd have to be Casey." Paul stated, "They want him wearing their collars."
A frown slowly spread across Mateo's face, "Yea... well I just don't see it. That kinda thing won't work well forever, ya know? I mean... they're getting pretty close to the whole Burb Dog thing... and you know how well that goes."
Paul nodded, "I think that's the point, Mateo... they want to push the envelope... it'll get noticed."
"And make a huge mess in the news." Mateo proposed.
"Well... any publicity is good publicity, I suppose." Paul shrugged, "Our job is to do what they customer wants."
"Our job is to make the customer look good, Paul... and putting up all this Burb Dog shit isn't gonna do nada." Mateo took his folder back.
"Isn't that a double negative?" Paul questioned. It was insensitive, but it was really the first thing that came to his mind. He inwardly winced about his people skills.
"That's how you talk in Spanish." Mateo huffed, and stuffed his binder under his shoulder, "Learn a second language, Dick." and his coworker stormed out of his cubicle.
Paul paused, unsure of whether Mateo was seriously angry or if it was just another one of his dramatic moments. He was beginning to worry that it was the former when he thankfully lost the opportunity to dwell on it. "Excuse me... Mr Miller?" a mellow voice inquired from just outside his cubicle. He recognized it, though he hadn't heard it in over a month.
"TeeSee?" Paul countered.
The Dog rounded the corner into his cubicle. Paul had only ever spoken with TeeSee on the phone. Although he knew the tech support specialist was a Dog, he didn't really know what to expect. TeeSee was a husky. Huskies were a popular pet in his town, so he was pretty familiar with the breed but, just like any other Dog Paul had run into, it was completely different meeting one walking on two legs, wearing clothes, and talking. This particular Dog had his paws full with a cardboard box.
"So... um... my computer's not working." Paul noted.
"That's what the work order said." TeeSee acknowledged, the end of his tail wagging just a little. Paul recognized that it was a friendly gesture, like a fake smile with a human. Though Paul might have been insulted at the lack-luster, in-genuine expression, he found it a little more comforting.
"Oh... go ahead and set that box down... um..." Paul looked around his cubicle, then pointed to the side of his desk, "Right there's fine." TeeSee complied, and turned back to regard him.
"What more can you tell me about the computer? 'It is not working.' is not all that specific." the tail wag became a little more genuine, and the husky looked at him, ears up, full attention focused on Paul. The human paused; all the dogs he'd met up to that point had brown eyes, but TeeSee's were grayish-blue.
"Uhm..." Paul blushed, just a little, realizing that he would start staring if he kept drawing up a mental assessment of the tech, "When it turns on, it makes that whirring sound... then it gets a little harsher. The tv turns on... or at least that light there, " he pointed to the light on the monitor, "turns yellow... then it all just shuts off."
"Mmm-hmm." the tech just nodded, "Well, you're a pretty perceptive guy, I'd say."
"You... what?" Paul asked, "Why?" he found himself blushing a little more.
"Most folks just say 'it shuts off after I try to turn it on'. You bothered listening to the sound it makes, and even noticed that light there on the tv-- which is called a 'monitor'. That light is usually green when it's working right."
"So... what's that mean?"
"It means that you're going to be without a computer for a little while while I look your computer over." the husky smiled pleasantly, tail languidly flowing from side-to-side.
Paul groaned, "But I need it to get all my prep work done."
"Look at it this way: it's a company-paid break." TeeSee offered, rummaging through the box he brought with, "It's not your fault it's not working-- it's our fault. There's nothing you can do about it so just enjoy your break. And, if you can't relax, you can always take the time to do something that doesn't involve your computer... you know... clean your desk... file some reports... chat with coworkers... that kind of thing." the husky smiled reassuringly.
Paul glanced over the Dog's shoulder at the box, "Is that... your toolbox?"
"Something like that." the husky noted.
"I kinda thought it'd be something a little more... I dunno... high tech... surgical... sci-fi..."
"Well..." TeeSee turned around, "My toolbox is really up here." he tapped the side of his head with a single digit, "This stuff," he motioned to the box, "is more a combination of spare parts, and things to help me install them."
"So do you know what the problem is?" Paul inquired.
"Based on what you've said, the light on the monitor means it isn't getting a signal, which means--" at that point, the tech went entirely over Paul's head, mentioning something about 'boot up' and 'BIOS', and any number of technical jargon that was too much for him.
Paul nodded at that, having been entirely lost, "And... um... how long do you think it'll take to get fixed?"
"Hard to say." the Dog noted, "Depends on what the exact problem is, if I have any needed spare parts out in my rig, and whether or not you're going to take your lunch break soon."
Paul looked to his watch, "Actually, yea."
"Then, with any luck, it'll be ready by the time you get back. Go enjoy your lunch, and if everything goes well, you won't see me here when you return." TeeSee smiled, offering out a paw.
Paul couldn't help but smile in return, and accepted the paw, "Thanks."
"That's what we're here for, Mr. Miller." TeeSee nodded, and went back to rummaging through the box. Paul was surprisingly able to leave his cubicle in much higher spirits; he was surprised he had somehow been blessed with tech support that actually worked.
* * * * *
Returning to his cubicle about an hour later, Paul was relieved to see that TeeSee was not there. He took a seat at his desk, and went to turn on his computer, but paused when he saw a small piece of paper taped to the front of the case right over the power button. He pulled the note off of the computer and read it. The tech Dog had to go back to his office to get some needed parts. The husky's penmanship was not the best, but it was legible enough that Paul also understood that the issue was not serious, and that once the part was available it wouldn't be a hard fix.
"Hey, Paul!" Casey's voice broke through the walls of frustration that were just starting to build within him. Going out for lunch and getting back to work was one thing, but having to figure out to spend an entire afternoon at the office without being able to work was another entirely.
"My computer's down for another few hours." Paul grumbled.
"Great! You can go with me to the gym!" the Dog noted, tail wagging. The comment could have meant any number of things, but Paul knew exactly what the dalmatian was implying. AHB was housed in an older office building downtown in the city. Back when the health craze of the early 90s was in full swing, an adjacent half-building was remodeled and turned into one of the anytime gyms that were so popular. Paul remembered Ben having said something about getting the half-building to sweeten the deal when AHB moved in. There was only one problem with that.
"Casey... the gym is for executives and management-- I'm neither... and neither are you." the young man stated. He wasn't sure if being a wet blanket would make him feel better, but, after a few seconds he realized it wasn't working. Casey didn't seem the least phased either.
"Last time I checked you were one of the leads on the photo shoot... I'm PRETTY sure that's a management position." the Dog explained. It took Paul a few moments to realize that Casey was right-- he received a new key card two weeks previous; it was a red one; red ones were management level.
"Uh... true." Paul paused, looking down at the key card clipped to his shirt, "But... what about you?"
"Contract perk. Everyone wants their model in top physical form." the Dog's tail wagged, "And I always have a better workout when I don't have to do it by myself." a combination of the wry grin and Casey's ear position meant that Paul did not miss the double-meaning.
"Thanks... but I really have work to do." Paul hesitated, but to no avail.
"On a computer that won't work? Uh-uh... I won't take THAT as an excuse. Let's go, Paul." and a white paw reached out and grabbed his hand, tugging him out of his seat.
"I don't have any work-out clothes!" Paul complained.
"Corporate perk... they have several sets inside the locker room." Casey dismissed the concern.
"I don't want to wear some other guy's lender set." Paul continued objecting, but followed Casey nonetheless.
"They're for you." Casey added. Paul slowed to a stop, and the dalmatian stopped too, "What?"
"Why did AHB buy me clothes? That's not included in the management perks."
The Dog rolled his eyes, "They're from Mein Hund... Eizenzahn mentioned something about you being too stressed out lately, so he sent his assistant out to buy you some workout gear."
"Somehow that doesn't really make me feel any less weird about it." Paul mumbled, but, by that time, the dalmatian had already pushed him through the back set of double-doors leading from the offices to the entryway to the two sets of locker rooms. Casey guided him into the men's locker room and directed him to locker number two.
"Get changed. If you need anything I'll be out on the treadmill."
"You wanna go for a walk?" Paul asked, and then immediately shut his mouth as he saw Casey's tail pick up speed to near manic levels. "I... meant... on the treadmill." he noted, reddening face betraying his incredible embarrassment. For a moment, he could picture Casey in his dream, in nothing but his fur being-- but he quickly dismissed it.
"You are one cute human, Paul." Casey grinned, tail finally beginning to slow down once he realized Paul's point, "It's a shame you aren't into collars and fur."
"Thanks for respecting that fact." Paul noted, feeling himself sweat uncomfortably.
Casey leaned forward and touched his nose to the top of Paul's head, "You're too good a guy for me to risk being friends with for me to push my luck as much as I'd like to... I'll settle for working out with you... I like your smell and that'll give me the lift I need."
Paul wondered for a moment at what 'lift' the Dog was referring to, but, thankfully, he realized that the word-play was entirely in his own head, and the dalmatian trotted across the locker room to his own locker, thankfully out of view.
He got changed quickly and carefully folded his work clothes, stowing them in his locker, locker number two. Paul wasn't sure whether he was more surprised or concerned that Pascal had somehow managed to size him up perfectly; the clothes fit better than ones he bought for himself. Unable to delay any longer, Paul pulled on a set of new sneakers. He thankfully realized that they were a little tight; it was proof that the pink-dress-wearing Dog was not some kind of psychic. In Paul's dour mood it helped him feel just a little bit better.
AHB's gym was not a huge facility by any means, being perhaps 600 sq feet in total. It was large enough to support a few treadmills and exercise bicycles along with two universal weight machines and a single stair-stepper. The fact that only a handful of employees could use the gym meant that it wasn't as crowded as it could have been, but there were still a few others present.
Casey caught Paul's eye first since the treadmill was right across the way from the door to the locker room. The dalmatian was wearing a simple white t-shirt with a black pair of shorts. He was already part way into a pretty vigorous jog and looking at a magazine spread out on the control panel in front of him. Directly to Casey's right, Eizenzahn, dressed in a light gray sleeveless shirt and a pair of spandex biking shorts was likewise on a treadmill, and to his right, Pascal was hard at work on the stair stepping machine. The poodle, unsurprisingly, was dressed all in pink; this time he was wearing pink sweatpants and a pink jogging jacket.
"Hey, Paul." before the young man got any further into the gym, Ben called to him from off to the left. The big black man was working out on one of the weight lifting machines. When Paul first met Ben, he was reminded of an NBA player. He dismissed it at the time as one of the ignorant, pseudo-racist thoughts that flowed through his head, until he ended up getting surprised when he learned that Ben had almost made it through a draft.
"What's up?" Paul asked, quickly dismissing his reminiscing. Ben was one of the older members of the staff. His short hair was kept well trimmed, more of it was gray than was black. His face held a road map of wrinkles from what must have been a life of constant contention; more of them seemed to be scowl-lines than smile-lines.
"Just strange seeing you in here for once." Ben answered, going through a set of reps, "I thought you were one of those 'progressive office' types."
"You mean the kind who locks himself inside and only gets a tan off the radiation of his computer screen?" Paul asked, leaning against the... well... he wasn't sure what that station on the universal gym was, but that's what he leaned against.
Ben noted flatly, "Yea... kinda like that."
"So it'd blow your mind if I said I didn't know how to do anything with a computer?"
"Not at all... I've seen you try to open your word processor." Ben countered, "Ten." he added, sitting up.
"Uh... thanks." Paul noted, "Enjoy the rest of your workout."
"Yea. Helps get rid of some of the stress. Everyone pretty much figured you'd either end up in here, or explode. Glad to see it's the first-- it's kind hard to replace a back up lead part way into the planning stage." Ben returned to the weights.
"Thanks... I think." Paul noted, standing there awkwardly for a few moments until another shout drew his attention.
"Hey! Dakota!" Ray was on the other side of the small gym, pedaling away on one of the exercise bikes. Paul made his way over to the retriever, who motioned to the spare bike next to himself, "Sit." and Paul obediently complied.
"Hey, Ray." Paul offered a stressed smile. It was halfway genuine, which, in and of itself helped lift the young man's mood just a little. Ray, good as his word, had taken to calling Paul 'Dakota', and had done so for the past several weeks. It was even to a point that many of the other senior members of the project began echoing the nickname and it was quickly catching on.
"So Ben told you about the wager, did he?" the Dog questioned. Considering the size of the gym, it wasn't surprising that Ray had overheard them.
"Oh... so there was a bet, huh?" Paul inquired, feeling even more embarrassed that his stress showed enough that his coworkers caught on.
"Relax." Ray noted, still pedaling, "Everyone goes through something like this the first time they're thrown into the fray... hell... you've pretty much had to deal with two frays in a row."
"Yea... and I suppose you did this bad your first time?" Paul inquired, slowly starting to pedal his own bike.
"Worse." Ray answered back with a smile, "And I had support."
"What? How so?" Paul asked.
"Well... I almost ended up quitting my first professional shoot. 'Course... that was way back when they actually used FILM in their cameras." and the retriever chuckled at his own joke. Paul, despite himself, found that the Dog's upbeat attitude was contagious, and it became less of a chore to pedal.
"Where'd you find YOUR support?" Paul asked.
"My wife." Ray noted. Paul almost expected Ray's mood to take a quick dive but, instead, it only seemed to improve as the Dog continued talking, "See... the thing is, when you're standing alone against the world, the world has a lot more on its side than you do... but if you find that one special person to stand with you... well... the world is pretty damn big, but you only have to take on half of it." the old Dog turned Paul's way and gave a good-natured wink.
The retriever's tail wagged, and Ray let out a sigh, "Yea... Lilly was one hell of a spitfire. I mean... she'd stand right up there with me and demand to take on 3/4ths of the world herself... if not more." the Dog laughed, "Kinda nice having someone like that in your corner." he glanced at Paul for a moment before looking at the wall, reaching a paw up to wipe at the corner of one of his eyes, "God, she was... gorgeous. Long, golden fur... cutest brown nose nose you'd ever seen... eyes that you could stare at all day... but she was even more beautiful on the inside..."
Ray's ears slowly rose up as he looked back to Paul, the wistful memorializing halting in that one moment, "But what I meant to say was that I had Lilly... it's important to have someone you can hold onto when things get bad... when times are tough and you're feeling down. Sometimes I wonder if the only people you ever see are at work. It's important to have a life outside here, you know. Work shouldn't be your life, Dakota."
Paul nodded at that, starting to feel a little uncomfortable where the conversation was going. "Thanks, Dad." when all else failed, there was always humor.
"Alright... alright..." Ray chuckled, "I can tell when I twisted the knife a little too deeply." he offered, holding a paw up in defeat even as he continued pedaling.
"Yea... well..." Paul searched for the right way to veer the discussion away from his personal life, "that's just not the kind of thing I'm used to talking about with a coworker."
"...and what about a friend?" Ray smirked slyly at him, "After all... I think it was YOU who suggested that we're not just coworkers."
Paul chuckled uneasily, "I guess that goes both ways, huh?"
"It's called 'reciprocation'... honesty and openness are good things to share. And that includes opinions and suggestions." Ray noted.
"Well..." Paul noted, slowing his pedaling until the exercise bike wheel came to a stop, "When I find that 'perfect match' I promise you'll be the first to know." he offered a half-hearted smile, wondering if the fact that he was a horrible liar showed. He hated lying, but he also wasn't about to go talking about his relationship with Tanner to anyone at work. He kept his sigh internal, hating himself for being such a hypocrite.
"I guess you're done on the bike?" Ray asked, letting out a sigh and shaking his head slowly, "I'll hang out for a bit... I'm going for ten miles."
"Alright... catch you later, Ray." Paul noted, making his escape toward the treadmill abandoned by Casey as the dalmatian headed over to the spare universal weight set. Paul couldn't get the thought out of his mind that he completely missed something in his discussion with the retriever, but the thought left his mind the moment Casey spoke up.
"So much for working out together, huh?" the dalmatian asked as he passed by Paul, "You're just kinda getting passed around." the Dog chuckled.
"I can always 'spot' you if you want." Paul noted, quickly sliding seamlessly into humor, trying to move past the unsettling discussion with Ray.
"Jackass."
Paul simply grinned, heading to the treadmill next to Eizenzahn.
"I understand this is your first time in the gym." the doberman inquired as Paul turned the machine on and set it at a quick pace.
"Yea... the gym is usually reserved for management." Paul admitted.
"Welcome to management." Eizenzahn responded, "You may feel free to enjoy the company perks."
Paul chuckled uneasily at the doberman's half-grin, "Um... thanks."
"So tell me, Paul... what are YOUR thoughts on the upcoming project?"
Paul let out a deep breath, set his feet on the conveyor belt, and began moving at speed with the treadmill, "It's... a little complicated."
"Nothing worth doing is easy." the Dog commented.
"Yea..." Paul noted, "I KNEW I should have taken some management classes in college."
"You do well when you don't second-guess yourself." Alric offered, "I saw enough of your promise during the first project that I know you have what it takes."
"When were you looking in on the photo shoots?" Paul questioned, almost falling out of rhythm on his run when he heard that the doberman had been watching; it was never obvious. Apparently, despite his high-standing in corporate status, Eizenzahn was good about keeping his presence low-key. Paul thought inwardly that some of the partners of AHB could benefit from that talent.
"Mein Hund always keeps an eye on our investments." the doberman noted matter-of-factly.
"That's a funny way to look at things, but I guess advertisement IS an investment." Paul contemplated, getting into step with the treadmill.
"The advertisement... yes... of course." Eizenzahn noted cryptically. Before Paul could analyze the comment, the doberman continued, "Paul... as with life, managing can be summarized into two easy steps."
Paul looked at the doberman, "Just two? That makes it sound pretty simple."
Eizenzahn nodded, "It can be if you remember them all the time."
"Are you going to tell me what they are, or should I guess?" the comment was out of Paul's mouth before he had a chance to consider the quip. He was relieved when the doberman simply chuckled in response.
"Impetuous and reserved... that is a funny combination, Paul." the Dog noted, and Paul felt his face grow redder. "I will tell you... don't worry. It really is very simple. The first step is to see what it is you want done. The second step is to accomplish it."
"That's... pretty straight-forward." Paul responded
"The majority of managing is." Eizenzahn answered matter-of-factly.
"Except dealing with zee people." Pascal called from the other side of Eizenzahn, "He has never been good at zis part... which is why he has moi."
Paul couldn't help but smile at the interjection, "Well... I think that does sound easy... a little too easy. I mean... it's simple enough to say 'envision then accomplish', but there's a lot more that goes into it."
"At that point, Paul, you are focusing on the small things." Eizenzahn noted, "If you focus on what you want done and then take every step needed to get it done, then nothing will get in your way."
"So the problem becomes what gets in your way." Paul countered.
"No." the Dog answered, "Because nothing will."
"That sounds a little optimistic." the human stated.
"It is very optimistic." Pascal added.
"True." the doberman confirmed, "You cannot spend all your time thinking things will go wrong or you will never get anything done."
"But what if something DOES go wrong?" the young man asked.
"Then you address it." Eizenzahn answered.
"So no pre-planning? No contingencies? No plan B?" Paul questioned.
"Another part of planning... quick thinking." Pascal pointed out.
"I guess you'd need to think fast if you weren't planning ahead." the human agreed.
"If your goal is clear enough and you keep your desire in mind things do not go wrong often." Eizenzahn clarified.
"Unless it was like zat one time in Italy when you thought we should try zee--"
"Halt die schnauze!" the doberman interrupted. Pascal just giggled at whatever was said in German, but he didn't bother continuing the story. "It is about focus and drive, Paul. I believe you have both of those traits." Eizenzahn concluded.
"et la confiance." poodle added, letting the stair stepping machine come to rest before climbing off of it, "Ohh... my legs are all tingly." and he gave a girly giggle.
"And the confidence." the doberman translated, ignoring the second part of Pascal's contribution to the conversation.
"Dentdefer..." Pascal called, "Il est trois l'apres-midi." the way the poodle spoke the words it sounded to Paul like the doberman was being chided or teased.
"Ich weiss. Sei still." Eizenzahn spoke blandly in response.
"At least I can't understand either of you." Paul added.
"Oh... sorry, Paul... I was just reminding Eizenzahn that he has a very important... um... how do you say... appointment." Pascal smiled, tail wagging happily.
"And, I do." the doberman acknowledged, "Do not delay too long here, Paul. We will need to speak again soon."
"Sure... no problem." Paul confirmed, looking down to the control panel of his treadmill as he tried to use the physical exercise as a chance to clear his head.
It was just starting to work when he heard the sound of the second treadmill start up again, "Hey Paul." he heard an unmistakable smile in Miranda's voice.
Paul sighed, but managed to pass it off as a deep exhale during his workout, "Hey, Miranda." He glanced at her. As usual, Miranda had her hair pulled up, though it was in two pigtails. She wore a track suit, with a white undershirt beneath it. She saw him looking, and smiled at him, and he quickly looked back to the control panel of his machine.
He was thankful that she had nothing else to say as they both walked in silence for some time. At one point, Miranda pulled a magazine out from her back pocket, and Paul thought that he might have achieved a battle-free victory... until she started speaking up a moment later, "Did you see the newest spread in the Carl Wickett catalogue?"
"Um... no." he offered hesitantly. As long as Miranda kept the discussion work related, Paul was almost confident that he'd be able to survive the interaction.
"Ben was the lead on it... another really good contract for AHB. We've come a long way." she noted, handing the magazine over to him. Paul looked down at an advertisement for leather sofas.
"Yea... that's some good work." Paul confirmed blankly, honestly having no idea how good it was; to him, one 'spread' was like any other.
"He did a really good job." Miranda noted, taking the magazine back, "He really caught all the appeal of the love seat."
"...Cool." Paul responded, not really sure where the conversation was going, but he was starting to feel even less comfortable being unable to keep up with it.
Two seconds later, he realized he would have preferred to have kept the discussion inane. Miranda looked his way, "I have the full set at my place, if you'd like to see em tonight."
Paul missed a step and sprawled, sliding off the back of the treadmill as it ejected him. The young man simply chose to lay on the ground, face-down, letting the entire red sheen of embarrassment fade from his face before he bothered standing up. When he finally did, a jeering round of applause sounded from the gym. Miranda, still on her treadmill, tittered, just a little.
"It's not every day I see a man get swept off his feet." she winked.
"Okay... okay... enough folks. Performance is over." Casey spoke up. The dalmatian came over and placed a paw on Paul's shoulder, "I think you're at the 'overdoing it' point, Paul. Hurting yourself isn't the end-goal of exercise. Why don't you leave these hyenas to the rest of their work-out." Casey's tail wagged supportively, and the Dog offered him a supportive smile.
Paul offered a hesitant smile back, "Yea... I think getting back to my desk would be a good idea about now."
"Cool." the dalmatian nodded, "I'm gonna finish up here, and I'll catch you later in the studio; I got some ideas to run by you management types." and Casey winked.
"Ideas... sure..." Paul noted numbly, face turning red again as he looked around to everyone in the gym. Thankfully, they had all returned to their work-outs... even Miranda. The young man grabbed a towel out of the bin between the male and female locker room doors and threw it over his shoulder. With a sigh of relief, he left the gym, knowing that the most awkward part of his day was finally over... or so he thought.
The locker rooms were arranged with four rows of lockers: one lining either wall and the two rows of lockers in the middle of the room were positioned back-to-back. This created two aisles. In total, there were probably not even 100 lockers despite all the rows since the room was not very long, but what the rows did to was provide a small amount of privacy. It was this privacy that led to Paul's next greatest shake-up of the day.
Paul's locker was in the row furthest from the wall that housed the doors leading to the gym and the entryway, which meant that it was not visible by casual foot traffic. It also turned out that both Alric's and Pascal's lockers were likewise positioned, and both Dogs were still present. "Ah!" the doberman noted as he saw Paul, "There you are, Paul... come here."
The response was not one that he expected considering the situation. Eizenzahn and Pascal were 'otherwise occupied', both completely naked with their workout clothes tossed haphazardly into their respective lockers. Eizenzahn was sitting relaxed on the bench with Pascal kneeling before him on his knees, muzzle covering the doberman's groin. The human tried not to stare, he really did, but it was all he could do to keep his eyes focused on Alric's.
Dozens of thoughts ran through Paul's mind, fighting to hold onto some semi balance of dignity and impassiveness, "Uh... should... I be here right now?"
"Of course. Come sit." the doberman confirmed, patting the bench next to him. Paul sat down slowly, feeling beyond unease at the situation. "Are you having a good afternoon?" the Dog asked, as if it were the most casual meeting in all the world.
"It's been..." the young man was unable to avoid glancing down at Pascal's head as it bobbed rhythmically in Alric's lap. The poodle had one paw cradling the doberman's endowments, the other gripping Eizenzahn's firming knot, "it's been...a little strange." Paul answered, not-in-the-least trying to hide the understatement. His eyes quickly snapped back to Alric's face. The doberman's muzzle showed the faintest hint of a smile.
"How are things with your Dog? ...Tanner, yes?" Eizenzahn inquired, resting a paw on Paul's shoulder. The young man jumped at the touch, feeling his entire face flush as further embarrassment slowly gave way to distinct discomfort at the situation. He responded with an uneasy smile.
"Tanner, yea." Paul nodded, quiet for a moment. The silence quickly became too much to bear, and he spoke up, "Okay, I guess. We had a nice vacation." Paul rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the blush intensify, "We... talked about a lot of things... and I think I understand Dogs a little better... well..." he glanced at the doberman, who was still focused on him, "some of the time... but I still get surprised occasionally."
"Surprises are what make life interesting." the doberman nodded, then jumped a little, "Kein beissen." and he smacked the back of the poodle's head lightly with a paw... and Paul heard a muffled giggle from Pascal in response.
"Except when the surprises get in the way of your two step plan." Paul, who, despite his unease, could not pass on the chance to call the doberman out on his suggested management style.
Eizenzahn chuckled good naturedly in response, "Not at all. Surprises mean a change of plans or an adjustment to the big picture, but surprises do not always mean an emergency... understanding that is an important aspect of management." The doberman looked as though he were about to say more, but the paw on Paul's shoulder tightened its grip slightly as the doberman inhaled a quick, distinct breath, "Gut... sehr gut..." Eizenzahn crooned to Pascal. The poodle's tail picked up speed, and he continued his work. "You're handling this well, Paul." the doberman noted, eyes focused on Paul again, "I can see it makes you uncomfortable, but you're handling it very well."
"Yea... well..." Paul noted, rubbing the back of his head again as he thought a moment about what to say and how to say it, "Tanner told me a little about how Dogs... um... work, in that department."
Eizenzahn's smile grew, as a chuckle managing to escape him, "Spoken like a true human."
"And what's that supposed to mean, exactly?" Paul challenged.
"It means you 'know'... but you might not completely 'understand'." Elzenzahn explained cryptically.
"Well... I know that Dogs sometimes like having friends around when they... uh... do things."
Pascal snickered, then coughed, pausing in his 'work', "He said 'do things'!" the poodle sputtered, giggling, but quickly went back to continuing his ministrations before the doberman could object.
"Like you said-- this is a little... weird." Paul admitted.
"I understand, Paul... and you may leave if you like. I do not want to you feel uncomfortable around me... or us." he rubbed the back of Pascal's head, "It is a Dog custom, and humans sometimes do not share in its significance when--"
It suddenly hit Paul like a ton of bricks, "Dogs want someone special around... not a business partner... not an employee..." The smile on Eizenzahn's muzzle spread from ear to ear, and Paul realized that he had finally understood what the doberman was not about to say, "Then... talk... gym... friend... project... promotion... investment..." the words came out in a random order.
"You are a good man, Paul Miller... not the best at public speaking... but that is something we can work on." Eizenzahn's smile continued.
"With two easy steps, I bet." Paul ventured.
"You are beginning to understand already." Eizenzahn nodded.
"I thought you said that I was just at the 'know' part, and didn't 'understand' yet." Paul actually managed the quip, humor somehow returning to him despite the awkwardness.
"We can see how well you understand." the doberman spoke simply, leaning forward toward Paul as his paw pulled the young man toward him. At first, Paul thought Eizenzahn meant to touch noses, but he was caught completely by surprise when the doberman's muzzle met his lips. Paul tensed up as the Dog's tongue slid into his mouth. At that very moment, Pascal's work came to its conclusion.
Paul's tongue was pinned inside his mouth as Eizenzahn's tensed. He felt the doberman's paw grip his shoulder tightly, and the Dog's muzzle pressed firmly against his face, breath held as the human heard the distinctive slick sounds of a throat working against a pulsing member. Pascal sat back, licking his muzzle. The grip on Paul's shoulder loosened.
"mmmm..." Eizenzahn finally exhaled at length, slowly drawing his tongue out of Paul's mouth as the stunned young man remained frozen in place. The doberman gently touched his nose to Paul's and breathed, "Danke schoen, Paul.", a genuine smile spreading across his muzzle.
"I... never did know how to pronounce that properly." Paul responded numbly. Strangely, somehow, inexplicably, the non-sequitur broke the tension, and all three shared a laugh. Paul couldn't help what came next, "So... you're going to teach me German then?"
"If you wish to learn." Eizenzahn answered, gently rubbing Paul's shoulder where his claws had dug in, "Why?"
"Because I think that was the first of the 'two easy steps' to learning the 'German tongue'." Paul never realized how wonderful laughter sounded as it finally started to chase away the unease. Eizenzahn had mentioned 'knowing' versus 'understanding'... and Paul realized exactly what that meant. As the two Dogs got dressed, the young man could see how nothing had changed, yet everything looked different.
"We will be gathering the staff together in the studio, Paul. Thirty minutes." Eizenzahn noted.
"Yes, sir." Paul smiled, and began to change his clothes. The afternoon had been one stretch of disappointment, unease, and awkwardness, but the young man began to feel that things were starting to turn out much better.
"It's a different world, isn't it?" Paul almost fell off of the bench when he heard the voice speak up.
"Huh?" he asked, looking to Ray, who walked over to sit down next to him.
"Dog culture. It's different from humans." Ray stated.
"Oh... yea. I've been learning a lot about that lately." Paul nodded, the discomfort closing in again faster than he had expected.
"With Eizenzahn and his aid." Ray nodded, folding his arms over his chest.
Paul's heart nearly stopped, and he worked as hard as he could to avoid shivering in abject fear, "What... what do you mean?"
"Well... I knew that Eizenzahn and his little 'pink poodle pup' had their moments in private, but I didn't know they decided to start including you. Is this something new?" Ray inquired, glancing at him. The retriever's tail was not wagging.
"I... I mean... I didn't know he was... I wasn't expecting..." Paul felt tears coming to his eyes, "This was the first time. I wasn't looking for a promotion or anything and I didn't mean--" He scrambled for an explanation, but Ray interrupted him.
"I don't care about that, Paul... I'm a DOG... i know that doesn't mean anything. I want to know who 'Tanner' is."
"I... he..." Paul didn't have much better luck with explaining.
"The Dog who picked you up from work at the end of the first Mein Hund project?" Ray inquired, ears up, staring at him.
"Yea... he's a... friend." Paul noted.
The retriever growled softly, "You two were kissing on the street outside the building... that's a pretty close friend."
Paul froze in place, unable to speak at that. It was awhile ago, but Paul knew exactly what Ray was talking about; Tanner had only ever visited him once at work, and they HAD kissed out in the street when Paul thought no one was watching. Was Ray spying on him? "Were you... spying... on me?" he asked, having to push the words out of a constricted throat.
"I was looking down at the street from my office window... it doesn't take much observation to see a human and a dog muzzle-to-lips." Ray snorted, the growl leaving his voice. "So I take it the thing you two have has been going on for awhile." somehow it sounded worse without the growl.
"Yea... about eight months." Paul noted, unable to deny it or hide it anymore.
"And you didn't bother telling me?" Ray asked, the accusation clear in his voice.
"You knew, but didn't ask?" Paul countered before he could think of anything else to say.
"You didn't tell me?" Ray repeated the question.
"I was worried what you'd think." Paul admitted.
"If I'm your friend, you should give me a chance to know... and if I'm your friend, then I'd like to think that you'd understand that something like that wouldn't change that fact."
"I... didn't think it was--"
"A big deal? Important? Any of my business?" the retriever finished for him.
"The last one... I guess..." Paul noted, hanging his head.
"I'm trying to remember what it was you said at the Christmas Party about friends talking to one another..." Ray stared toward the ceiling for a few moments, then looked pointedly at Paul, "That's okay... I guess you don't remember either." and the Dog stormed out, leaving Paul to his own thoughts, and a long stream of tears.