Best Friends 19
{Best Friends is partly fictional. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere.
This is a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.
Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.
This story cannot be distributed in any way; shape or form without the author's expressed written consent.}
Written by Romeo
Edited by Trish
Here is the link to all my story where you can find future chapters before their posted on Nifty:
Chapter 19
When Tyler woke up the next morning his head was hurting. He couldn't understand why it was hurting; all he knew is that it was hurting. He thought that maybe it was from all the stress he's been under lately. He lay in bed for a few minutes wondering if maybe he should stay in bed until the headache goes away but decided against it. He had a lot of work to do at the office.
He groggily got out of bed to take a shower alone. He wanted to give Christian more time to sleep before waking him. He felt like Christian deserves the extra time. When he finished showering and dressing, he went to wake Christian only to discover that Christian wasn't in bed at all. Tyler started to wonder why Christian wasn't in bed. Then he realized something, the alarm didn't wake him this morning. Tyler walked over to the nightstand and pressed the button on his talking alarm clock to check the time. It read 7:15 am, which meant Christian was already awake. Tyler wondered why Christian didn't wake him, so after going back into the bathroom to take a couple of extra strength Tylenol for his headache, he went downstairs to find out.
Carlos saw him walking into the kitchen and nodded in that direction to let Christian know that Tyler was coming before getting up to warm his breakfast in the microwave while Mark poured him a class of milk and orange juice.
Christian got up from the table and walked over to Tyler to give him a hug good morning. As he was hugging Tyler, Christian could tell that Tyler wasn't feeling well. "What's wrong?" Tyler told him that nothing was wrong which Christian knew wasn't the truth. "Ty, I can tell that you're not feeling well." He felt Tyler's forehead. "You feel kind of warm. Are you coming down with something?"
Tyler shook his head no. "No, I'm feeling fine. I just have a little headache is all." He smiled to soothe Christian's worries."Don't worry; I just took some Tylenol for it so it should be going away soon."
Christian wasn't buying the phony smile but he knew Tyler wouldn't admit to not feeling well. Tyler wouldn't admit to feeling weak from anything, much less being ill. "Well okay, but I want you to promise me something." Tyler hesitantly asked what that was. "If you start to feel worse at the office, I want you to come straight home and rest."
Tyler didn't want to do it, but he couldn't have Christian worrying about him. "I promise." Christian accepted that and led Tyler to the table. Tyler wasn't that hungry but he ate all of his food anyway. He didn't want Christian to worry any more then he already was.
While they were eating, Tyler asked Christian why he didn't wake him when the alarm went off this morning. "I thought you needed your rest, and it looks like I was right. You slept through the alarm and didn't even stir once when I got out of bed." As usual, Christian didn't mention the nightmare that Tyler had during the night.
Tyler could tell that Christian was holding something back from him and pretty much knew what that something was, but didn't say anything about it because he still wasn't ready to talk about it yet. "Thanks baby. I could still use a little more rest, but I have a lot of work to do at the office."
"Okay, but if you start to feel worse at the office, then I want you to come straight home and get into bed!" Christian told Tyler in a strong caring but commanding voice. He then looked at Carlos and Mark. "I want you guys to keep an eye on him. If he starts feeling worse and doesn't want to go home, call me and I'll come and drag him home myself."
Tyler grumbled and Carlos and Mark nodded with a smile. Tyler knew Christian was serious because Christian rarely speaks to him in a commanding voice. And when he does, Tyler knows that Christian means what he says and no one will be able to talk him out of it. Tyler didn't mind though; he loves when Christian takes control sometimes.
After breakfast, everyone helped with the cleaning of the kitchen before leaving for the office. Before they left, Christian gave Tyler a hug and kiss goodbye and reminded him of his promise. Tyler reluctantly agreed and they got into their cars and headed out. Everyone except for Travis that is; he had to be on base early today, so he was gone before Tyler woke up.
This morning the drive to the office took longer then usual due to an accident on the freeway that had them sitting in traffic for twenty minutes. As they sat there waiting for the traffic to move, Carlos looked in the rearview mirror. "It looks like we'll be leaving the office early today." He whispered to Mark and nodded his head toward the back.
Mark looked towards the back to see that Tyler was asleep. He then looked at Carlos with concern. "Do you think we should turn around and take him back home? It's obvious he's not feeling well. I don't want him to make himself even sicker. You know Tyler; he isn't going to tell anyone if he's not feeling well."
Carlos shook his head. "No, I think we should continue on with the day as plan. Tyler wouldn't break a promise he made to anyone, much less Christian. We'll just keep a close eye on him throughout the day to make sure he's okay."
Mark agreed and they left it at that. The traffic started moving then and they continued on to the office. When they arrived at the office, Mark had to wake Tyler because he was still sound asleep. Tyler let the others get out first while he stretched and unbuckled Terry from the car seat. When they walked in the building, everyone in the lobby said good morning to them as they walked towards the elevators and they all said good morning back. While on the elevator, Carlos and Mark kept glancing at Tyler and saw that he was functioning well but still didn't look too good.
When they reached the office, Tyler said good morning to Janet as usual as he headed straight for his office to settle the boys. Janet returned the greeting then looked at Carlos and Mark with a questionably look. Mark mouthed the words he's not feeling well and Janet nodded in understanding and got up to get Tyler some orange juice from the refrigerator in the lounge room.
After settling the boys, Tyler started checking his e-mail. There was only one which was of importance and that contained the new children's department that he's starting up with Craimer Agency. All the others he deleted because they were just junk mail. When he was just finishing that, Janet walked into his office and sat his cup of coffee on the desk. "Here Tyler, drink this." She handed him the cup of orange juice.
Tyler took a sip of the orange juice. "Thanks Janet. I guess either Carlos or Mark told you I wasn't feeling well huh?" Janet just answered yes. "Well don't worry, I'll be okay. It's not anything major. It's just a headache, that's all. It's nothing to worry about."
Janet knew that wasn't completely true from the way Tyler looks, but didn't press the issue any further. Instead she went over Tyler's schedule for the day with him. Tyler made some adjustments to his schedule and inquired about the floor for the McDonald's corporate office. Janet told him the furniture will be delivered and set up today. All he needs to do now is hire someone to run the office and inform the store managers about the new ownership.
"Okay, I'll take care of that today." Tyler confirmed. "I need you to contact Ray Edmonds and set up a meeting with him to meet with me in my office tomorrow. I need to get the construction work started on the cafeteria so it can be up and running soon. If things go as I hope, then it won't be long before this building is full to its capacity."
"Sure boss, anything else?" Tyler asked her if she could get him some more orange juice when she had the time. "Sure I can. I'll be right back." Janet left the office and returned a couple of minutes later with the orange juice. Tyler thanked her again and Janet went to her desk to contact Mr. Edmonds while Tyler got started on his reports.
While driving to work Christian couldn't stop thinking about Tyler. He wondered if Tyler was coming down with something, or if this was just a twenty four hour virus. He hopes it isn't something bad because that would put a damper on Tyler's birthday and his surprise he has planned for him. Christian wanted Tyler's birthday to go smoothly with no mishaps occurring.
Alex noticed the concern look on Christian's face because he was sitting in the front seat and knew why he was worried. He didn't think there was anything that he could say to get Christian to stop worrying so he kept quiet. Only Tyler feeling better would stop Christian from worrying and Alex knew that.
When they reached the base, Christian went straight to his office not saying a word to anyone. Not that it matter; everyone could see the look on his face and thought it would be best to stay away from him for now. They knew Christian wasn't in a talkative mood and no one wanted his mood to get worse. Everyone rather have an open cut and pour peroxide over it, than to have Christian in a bad mood!
Not long after he entered his office, there was a knock on his door. "Come in." Alex stuck his head in and informed Christian that the base commander wanted to speak with him. "Send him in please."
The commander walked into the office and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Christian's desk. "I understand from talking with Mr. Jackson yesterday that the models for the calendar will be using clothing items from your stores." Christian nodded in confirmation. "Then you will be the person to go to for the fitting?" Christian nodded again, wondering where his commander was going with this. "Well, as you know, he asked me to participate in this project so I need you to fit me for an outfit."
"That's no problem sir." Christian answered. "Just give me your measurements and I'll select something for you to wear. I'm not sure what you'll be wearing yet, but I'll pick something that will make you look sophisticated but hot!"
Christian smiled at the last statement which made the commander laugh. "I'm not worry about what you will pick because knowing you; I know it will make me look like a stud. You wouldn't pick out anything that will make this project look bad. Especially with whom it involves."
Christian agreed with a smile. "You better believe it! Not only that, this project will be good for the base as well. It can lead to future projects with Jackson Agency. I'm sure Tyler is already thinking of a female calendar to do as well. I'm surprise no other agency had thought of this idea before."
"Not many businesses think about the military. Not until their love ones go to war that is." Commander Smith replied sadly. "Everyone thinks that since we work for the government, that we're being taken care of by the government. They don't understand about all the paper work we have to go through in order to get the funding we need and that process can take a while to get approve. By Tyler donating the proceeds from the project to the base, we won't have to fight so hard to get the funding."
"I agree with you, that's why I want this project to succeed." Christian stated truthfully. "If it does, then maybe more businesses will be willing to help with funding other military bases. Not only that, but I'm sure this project will put a little fun in military life. I'm positive the marines will enjoy modeling for Tyler."
The commander agreed with everything Christian said. The two Generals talked a little while longer before the commander said he better get back to work. Before he left, he made sure to give Christian his measurements. Once he was gone, Christian got started on his own paper work.
After finishing some reports, Tyler contacted all the McDonald's in Malibu to arrange a meeting with the store managers. He wanted to inform them of the new ownership and corporate office. He figured he could also use the meeting to select someone to run the corporate office. Once he got an agreement from everyone to attend, he called Christian to ask if he could attend as well.
Christian said he could attend and Tyler gave him the time and location of the meeting. "That's perfect. I can stop by my office and check on everything there. I'm sure Trish got everything running smoothly, but I just want to make sure. Besides, I need to go over the books anyway."
"Okay, I'll see you then." Christian then asked Tyler how he was feeling. "I'm fine; I just have a little headache, is all. I'll be okay once it goes away. It's really nothing to worry about." He tried to assure Christian.
There was silence on the other end for a minute before Christian spoke. "Ty, it could be more then just a headache. You did feel a little warm this morning." Once again Tyler tried to assure Christian that it was nothing but a headache. "I'll be the judge of that! I'm not going to let you pretend that it's nothing and it turns out to be something more then a headache. After all, your birthday is coming up, and you don't want anything to put a damper on your plans, do you?"
"No I don't." Tyler groaned in frustration. He didn't want Christian worrying about him. "Alright, I will go home if I start to feel worse, I promise. I'm pretty sure it's just a headache. Plus Janet has been checking on me all morning and bringing me orange juice too, so I'm being taken care of."
That eased Christian's mind some. "Good, I'm glad she's looking out for you, but I'm still going to check you when I get there. I want to see for myself how you're doing and if you're really okay." Tyler tried to protest but Christian wouldn't let him. "No buts! That's the only way I'll be convinced."
Tyler groaned again. "Okay, okay, I'll let you check me over. I'm telling you there's nothing wrong with me besides a headache. But if that's the only way to put your worries to rest, then I won't fight you on it."
"It is." Christian insisted. "Until I see it for myself, I'll always be worrying about you. I can't take someone else's word for it, I need to see it for myself and witness it first hand. I love you baby, and just want to see you well and happy."
"I know, and I will be." Tyler smiled. "I will always keep myself healthy, and as long as I have you, I will always be happy. That's something you can bank on, so don't forget it."
Christian could hear Tyler's smile through the phone. "I won't forget it." He smiled back. "I need to get off the phone now so I can finish some work before I come to the meeting. I'll see you soon baby. I love you!"
"Okay, I love you too gorgeous." They disconnected the call and Tyler went to check on the boys. Jeff was fine but Terry needed his diaper change. After changing Terry's diaper, Tyler went to lie on the office sofa to rest until it was time for the meeting.
Christian also did some paper work until it was time for him to leave for the meeting. Seeing Christian locking his office door, Alex and Matt knew to follow him. On his way out, he stopped by Travis's office to let him know that he wouldn't be able to have lunch with him. "No problem man, I'll just call Kevin and see if he's able to have lunch with me today."
"I'm sure he will be." Christian replied. "It must be very lonely for him to be in the house all day with barely anyone to talk to. I know he has the other security guys, but they're always in the security room watching over the property."
"Yeah, I'd been meaning to talk to Tyler about that." Christian raised a questioning eyebrow. "I been wondering if there was any extra work that Tyler could give him. I don't know what, but anything will do so he's not bored out of his mind sitting around the house all day."
"I'm not sure if there's anything at the moment, but I'll ask Ty when I see him." Travis thanked him and Christian left for Tyler's office and Travis took out his cell phone to call Kevin. He hopes Kevin is available to have lunch with him because he hates eating alone.
On the way to Néné Incorporated, Christian stopped at a gas station to fill the tank. While he was there, he went into the little convenience store to buy a bottle of ginger ale for Tyler. He was hoping that will help him feel better. By the time he got back to the SUV, Matt had the tank filled and was sitting inside with Alex. Christian gave him and Alex the coke he brought for them which they thanked him for and they continued to Néné Incorporated.
When he got there, he found Tyler asleep and decided not to disturb him. Christian put the ginger ale in Tyler's office refrigerator and went to check on the boys. Terry was asleep and Jeff was playing video games. Jeff put the game on pause when he saw Christian walking in and went over to hug him. "Hey Daddy Chris, what are you doing here? I thought you were working on base today."
"Hey there little man." Christian hugged him back. "I'm here for a meeting that Daddy Ty and I have concerning the new business. Here, I got you something." He gave Jeff the orange soda and bag of chips. "How long has Daddy Ty been asleep?"
"Thank you Daddy Chris." Jeff smiled graciously. "Daddy Ty has been asleep for about an hour or so. No one had disturb him, but Ms. Green has been coming in and checking on him every now and then along with us. What's wrong with Daddy Ty? Will he be okay?"
Christian looked down into his son's face and could see that Jeff was concern about his Daddy Ty. He reached down to pick Jeff up and held him in his arms. "Don't worry little man, Daddy Ty will be alright. I'll see to that personally. You just worry about being a kid and let us grownups worry about everything else."
Jeff hugged his father around the neck and held on tight. "I'll try, I'm just scared of something happening to one of you, and me and Terry gets taken away. I don't want to lose my family. Please, please, please don't let that happen!"
Christian could feel Jeff start to shake and knew he was beginning to cry. He held Jeff tightly in his arms as he walked over to Tyler's desk chair and sat down, letting his son cry all of his worries out. After a few minutes of crying, Jeff started to calm down. Christian reached for some tissue on the desk and wipe Jeff's eyes of the tears. "Listen to me little man, Daddy Ty and I aren't going to let anything happen to you or your brother, so stop worrying about that." He whispered. "All you need to be concern with is being a kid. Let the adults deal with everything else, okay?" Jeff softly nodded. "Good, now go back to playing your game. Daddy Ty and I need to get to our meeting."
Jeff hugged Christian once more. "Okay." He held the hug for a couple of minutes before letting go and going back to playing his video game. Christian made no attempt to rush him either; he knew Jeff was fearful of losing his family and wanted to relieve him of that fear.
Before waking Tyler, Christian made a call to JR. He wanted to speak to him about something personal. After six rings, the call ended up going to voice mail so he left a message for JR to call him back when he had the chance. He then went to wake Tyler even though he didn't want to. Tyler looked so peaceful when he's asleep.
He knelt on the floor and leaned over, placing his lips upon Tyler's lips. He got no response from Tyler so he deepened the kiss. A minute later Tyler moaned softly, and his eyes began to open. He reached up and ran his fingers through Christian's hair as they continued kissing. Knowing they didn't have much time Christian reluctantly broke the kiss.
"It looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally awake." Christian smiled at Tyler as he felt his forehead. "Do you feel any better or worse? I can conduct this meeting myself if you like to go home. Just say the word, and it'll be done."
"No, I'll be fine." Tyler stretched and yarned. "I need to be in this meeting for them to meet the new owners. Plus we need to decide if any of those managers will be a candidate to run the corporate office. If none of them are suitable for that position, then we need to find someone that is."
Christian gently stroked Tyler's forehead. "I'll do a little observation and make a list of any potential candidates. If at any time you start to feel worse, I want you to let me know, okay? No playing the tough guy act! I'm not taking any chances with your health."
Tyler groaned but agreed to Christian's condition because he wasn't feeling up to an argument. Christian stood up and pulled Tyler up from the sofa and they walked to the board room to meet with the restaurant managers. Both guys were hoping the meeting will go smoothly but was prepared for any trouble that may come up. As they past Janet's desk, she handed Tyler a folder containing information on each manager and their store. Tyler thanked her for getting that done and asked Janet if they had any diet ginger ale. Christian remembered he brought some with him and told Janet that it was in the refrigerator in Tyler's office. Tyler thanked Christian for bringing it for him and asked Janet if she could get him some. Janet said she'll bring him some and they continued on to the board room.
They confidently walked into the room and took their seat at the head of the table. No one said a word; they waited for Tyler or Christian to begin speaking first. Christian took a few moments to casually look around the room. He wanted to memorize each face and see if he could detect which one will most likely give them trouble in the future.
While Christian analyzed each face in the room, Janet brought Tyler his ginger ale. Tyler took a sip and thanked her once again before Janet left. After five full minutes of complete silence, it was Tyler who finally began the meeting. "Some of you may know who I am, and some of you may not. For those of you who don't know who I am, let me introduce myself. My name is Tyler Jackson, and I am the new owner of all the McDonald's in Malibu. The person sitting beside me is Christian Michaels, the co owner." Christian nodded in a greeting. "You were all called here to be informed of some new changes that will be occurring within the next couple of weeks.
The first I had already spoken of, which was the new ownership that will go into affect immediately. The second change will be the location of the corporate office. That office will now be located in this building on the seventeenth floor where all employee files will be moved to. The third is the corporate president. That person will be hire by me and Mr. Michaels to run that department."
Tyler took another sip of his ginger ale. Christian used that time to add his own contribution to the meeting. As he spoke, he looked directly into each manager's eyes. "You're all welcome to apply for that position, but we will be considering other candidates as well before a decision will be made on that." He got a nod of understanding from each manager so he continued. "Also, this is a high position, so a thorough check will be done on all applicants no matter what. That's something we refuse to bend on."
"How will the applicants be judge?" One of the managers asked.
"They'll be judge based on their experience, work status, and customer relation." Tyler took another sip of his drink before continuing. "We're not hiring anyone who doesn't have a clue to what their doing. This person will be running the whole company so they should at least have the managerial experience needed. We won't have our company in a shamble."
The meeting went on for another hour with Tyler and Christian answering any questions that were asked of them. Once the managers understood where everything stood, Tyler and Christian adjourned the meeting to let the managers return back to work. The two of them on the other hand, stayed in the board room to go over the files that was handed to them before the meeting. Mid way through reading the files; Christian noticed that it was lunch time. After talking it over with Tyler on what they wanted to eat, he went to ask Janet to place their orders.
Five minutes had past and Christian hasn't return which made Tyler start to wonder what was keeping him so long. After a couple more minutes, Christian returned with Terry in his arms. Tyler asked him what took him so long and Christian said he went to check on the boys and to change Terry's diaper. Tyler simply nodded and they continued reading the files. Thirty minutes later Janet came in to tell them that the food had arrived and they thanked her for letting them know. Tyler picked up his cup of soda and they went to the lounge for lunch, leaving the files on the board room table. Along the way, they stopped by Tyler's office to get Jeff.
At Christian's invitation, Janet joined them for lunch. Before starting on his own lunch, Christian fed Terry while discussing with Tyler on hiring a corporate president. Once he was finished feeding Terry, Christian dug into his own plate of food that Janet had made for him while still continuing the discussion with Tyler. Every now and then Janet would throw in some suggestions which she thought might be helpful. Some of the suggestions they liked and they told Janet they will consider it. That put a smile on Janet's face.
Once that conversation was over, the rest of lunch went by with just engaging in casual conversation. Half way through lunch, Christian got a call on his cell phone from JR. Christian asked JR if he could meet with him in his office to talk. JR said he could meet with him in an hour and Christian agreed with that. Christian told JR he'll see him in an hour before hanging up and finished eating his lunch.
After lunch, Janet insisted on doing the cleaning so Tyler and Christian could get back to work. Tyler went to his office to work on some more reports while Christian went to his office to meet with JR. When he walked in, Trish was surprise to see him but quickly recovered and smiled. As far as she knew, her boss wasn't expected in the office today.
"Good afternoon Trish." Trish returned the greeting still smiling. "Can you follow me to my office please? There're some things we need to discuss regarding the company."
Trish was nervous but she didn't let it show outwardly. "Yes sir." She got up from her desk and followed Christian to his office. Christian asked her to have a seat which she did, still not showing her nervousness, she kept the smile on her face.
Christian sat behind his desk with a serious look. "Now Trish, the reason I called you in here is to discuss a change with you." Trish just nodded. "It's obvious that due to my military career and the company Ty and I just obtained that I won't be able to give my company as much attention as I used to.
So here's what I decided to do. I'm going to hire a president to run this company. You will work for me and that president, but the only one who can fire you is me. Since you'll be working closely with that person, you will be assisting me in the selection. I want to find someone that you will feel comfortable with. Also, your job description and salary will stay the same and pay raises will be as we discussed when I hired you. Any questions so far?"
Trish let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Only one sir, will he or she be able to replace me? I know I won't be fired, but that doesn't mean that I can't be replaced with someone else if he or she wishes to."
Christian understood what Trish was asking. Just because her new boss wouldn't be able to fire her does not mean that she can't be replaced by someone else. "No Trish, I'm not hiring another secretary. There's no need for me to do that. That's why I want your assistance with hiring someone. I want the assurances that you two will be able to work together."
Trish's worries melted away and she smiled. "Thanks Mr. Michaels." Christian asked her to call him Christian. "I don't think I can do that sir. It's not professional." Christian didn't relent on it one bit. In fact, he insisted. "Well in that case, thanks Christian. Is there anything else you need to discuss with me?"
"Actually yes, there is. I'll be going to the shops some time tomorrow and bringing the employees personal files here. I like for you to organize them in alphabetical order so I can file them away in here. I won't be going to every shop because I have some other things to do, but by the middle of next week every file will be here."
"Sure boss, I don't mind taking care of that for you. It will actually give me something to do." Christian thanked her with a smile. "Is there anything else that needs to be taken care of? The office is running kind of slow today so I have time if there's anything you need me to do."
"No, that's all for now." Trish nodded and got up to leave. Before she did, Christian informed her of his appointment. "I'm excepting JR Craimer shortly. When he gets here, please show him to my office."
Trish nodded once again and left the office. When she was gone, Christian started doing some of the paper work he brought with him from the base. An half an hour later Trish knocked on his door. When Christian looked up from his desk, he saw JR with her standing in the doorway. "JR's here to see you Christian."
Christian thanked her and waved JR in as Trish went back to her desk. He then stood up and walked around his desk to give him a hug hello. "Nice to see you again JR, how is everything going?"
JR hugged him back. "I'm fine Uncle Chris. How's everything with you and the family?" Christian said everything was fine and asked JR to have a seat. Instead of sitting behind his desk, Christian sat in the chair next to him. "What do you need to talk with me about?"
"Well, it's about something personal and you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." JR nodded curiously and Christian continued. "Someone asked me if I could speak with you about something he's been trying to do." Christian went on to tell JR what he knew about the situation to get his opinion on it. He wasn't sure how JR would feel about it because he didn't really know how he felt about it himself; but he gave his word to try and that's all he really can do. In the end it will be JR's decision on what he wants to do.
Back upstairs, Tyler was going over more reports when he thought he should visit his grandmother in the hospital. It's been a while since he visited her and he also thought it would be a good time to introduce Jeff to her as well. Tyler walkie talkie Carlos to have him bring the truck out front. Carlos said he will and Tyler got the boys ready to go. On his way out he told Janet where he was going and to let Christian know if he comes back up. Janet said okay and told him to say hello to his grandmother for her. Tyler assured her he will and walked out.
When Tyler reached the truck he informed Carlos of where he wanted to go. Once everyone was buckled in, Carlos started the truck and drove to the hospital. Luckily traffic was kind of light so it didn't take them long to arrive. As usual, Tyler and the boys were surrounded by his security when they got out of the truck which left everyone in the lobby wondering who they were guarding as they walked to the elevators. Some tried to find a crack to sneak a peak but couldn't find one anywhere. Not even when they stepped onto the elevator did anyone get a peak.
They got off the elevator on the fourth floor and walked toward Mrs. Lopez's room. When they walked passed the nurse's station, all the nurses at the nurse's station wondered who this large group of people were also. When they recognized Carlos and Mark, they knew it had to be Tyler Jackson. They all said hello to Tyler and Tyler stopped to say hello and to get an update on his grandmother's condition.
"Is my grandmother okay?" His grandmother's nurse replied that his grandmother was doing fine and is being well taken care of. "I'm glad! Thank you so much for taking such good care of her. I really appreciate it."
The nurse smiled gratefully. "It's our pleasure Mr. Jackson. She's actually an easy patient to wait on. She doesn't ask for much, and she's not difficult like some of our other patients. Some of them just make you want to pull your hair out."
That made everyone laugh. "Thank you anyway. I better go see how she's doing. I promised her I would bring the boys to see her soon but I just didn't have the time until now. Thanks again for taking care of her."
The nurse told Tyler he was welcome and they headed for Mrs. Lopez's room. Mrs. Lopez was sitting up in bed watching television when they walked in. When she saw Carlos and Mark walking in she knew Tyler was with them and smiled happily. Her smile grew even bigger when she saw Jeff and Terry with him. Just when Tyler reached the bed, Mrs. Lopez reached out for Terry. "Give me that gorgeous baby!"
Tyler handed Terry to her. "You remember my son Terry, don't you grandma?" Mrs. Lopez smiled down at Terry. "Of course I do Ty Ty." Tyler then pulled Jeff in front of him gently by the shoulders and kept his hands there. "Well, this is my oldest, Jeff."
Mrs. Lopez smiled at Jeff in a grandmotherly way. "It's nice to meet you Jeff. How are you doing?"
"It's nice to meet you too Mrs. Lopez. I'm doing fine." Jeff answered with a smile. "Daddy Ty and Daddy Chris are taking good care of me and my brother."
Mrs. Lopez patted the spot on the bed for Jeff to sit. When he did, she put her arm around his shoulder. "You can call me nanna little one." She said warmly with a smiled. "I knew they would take very good care of you." Mrs. Lopez then looked at Tyler again. "How did you get him back? How did you also end up with Terry again as well? I thought his mother wouldn't let you see him."
"Before I get into that grandma, let me introduce the other guys with me." Tyler went around the room introducing everyone to Mrs. Lopez except for Carlos and Mark whom she already knew. "Hey kiddo, how would you like to go get some ice cream?"
"Yes!" Jeff answered enthusiastically which made everyone in the room laugh. He loves ice cream; he would eat it all day if he could. "Do you want me to bring you some back also?" He asked in a more mellow tone.
"No thanks kiddo, but you can bring me back some orange juice." Tyler pulled out his wallet and handed Jeff ten dollars. "Do you want anything grandma?" Mrs. Lopez asked for some jell-o. "Okay, you got that kiddo?" Jeff said he did. "Okay, don't forget to stay with your security."
Back at Néné Incorporated, Christian was sitting at his desk thinking about the talk he had with JR. Christian wondered if he'd done the right thing. He could tell that JR was still unsure on what to do when he left Christian's office. No matter what happens; it's all up to JR now. He knows JR will make the right choice for himself. That's all anyone can do in this situation, is make the right choice for themselves.
Since he couldn't concentrate on his work, Christian decided to head back to the base. Maybe the drive would clear his head so he can focus on his work. He stopped by Tyler's office on his way out to let him know he was leaving but Tyler wasn't there. Janet told Christian that Tyler went to visit his grandmother in the hospital and should be back in about an hour. Christian asked her to let Tyler know that he's going back to the base. Janet assured him she'll let Tyler know when he gets back. Christian thanked her and left for the base.
Back at the hospital, Tyler was about to explain to his grandmother the story on Jeff and Terry but they was waiting until Jeff was out of hearing range. Jeff's security surrounded him and they left the room for the cafeteria. No one said a word until they knew Jeff was far enough away not to hear anything. When they were sure he was out of hearing range, Tyler sat on the bed next to his grandmother. "Well grandma, it went like this. We got some information on Mrs. Dunbar..."
For the next twenty minutes Tyler told his grandmother the story of how he and Christian came to have Terry and how they got Jeff back from the Donavan's. Tyler also told her what happened to Jeff while he was in the Donavan's custody and the attempted kidnapping of Jeff when they went to pick him up from the Donavan's house which led to an high speed chase on the freeway that resulted in the Donavan's car crashing. Finally he told her about the break in of his house by Mr. Donavan attempting to eliminate Jeff so Jeff wouldn't be able to testify against him in court.
Mrs. Lopez was stunned. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only that Mr. Donavan tried to molest Jeff, but he actually tried to kill Jeff so he wouldn't be able to testify against him in court. "Where is Mr. Donavan at now? I hope he's in jail and stays there until his trial."
"He's in jail, but I don't know if the judge will keep him there until the trial." Tyler sighed in discuss. "The judge should have held him without bail the first time he was arrested because of his criminal record alone, but they let him go anyway." Tyler voice grew dangerously cold when he spoke his next words. "Even if he does get bail, he won't be able to get near Jeff again. I gave his security pacific instruction not to let anyone near him no matter the cost."
Mrs. Lopez became concern by the dangerous tone in Tyler's voice. "Don't you dare do anything that will get you into any kind of trouble Tyler Jackson!" She warned him. "I know you need to protect your son; but you don't have to go too far in order to do it."
Tyler looked at her apologetically. "Sorry grandma; but I have to go against your wishes this time. I will do anything, and I do mean anything, to keep my family safe. If that means going further then I usually do, then so be it."
By the look on his face and the sound of his voice, Mrs. Lopez knew she couldn't change Tyler's mind this time. Instead Mrs. Lopez asked for a promise. "Then promise me that you won't get into any trouble or make things worse then it is? You can't protect your family from behind bars. They need you around out in the open in order to protect them."
Tyler gave her his promise and nothing more was said on the subject. Just then Jeff and his security walked back into the room. Jeff sat on the bed and handed Mrs. Lopez her jell-o before handing Tyler his orange juice and change. They both smiled and thanked him. Jeff told them they were welcome as Todd handed him his ice cream.
They visit for another thirty minutes before saying goodbye. Tyler told Mrs. Lopez that he'll visit her again soon but it won't be until some time next week because he was going to Atlantic City for his birthday for the weekend. Mrs. Lopez wished him a happy early birthday since she wouldn't be seeing him until after his birthday. Tyler thanked her with a smile and once again assured her that he'll see her next week before leaving.
When Christian got back to the base, he was able to focus on his work. The drive really did help to clear his mind. Since he had to pass one of his shops to get back to the base, he decided to stop and get the employee's files. While he was there he also started selecting some of the clothing for the models of the project.
Now that his head was clear, Christian put himself into his work. He had to catch up on it so he will be able to leave on time. Christian hated working overtime just to catch up on paper work he fell behind on, and he doesn't like taking them home either. Christian likes his home life to be just that, his home life. He spent the rest of the work day focus on getting them out of the way as quickly as possible.
On the way back to the office, Tyler also made a couple of stops. He wanted to get started on moving the employee's files to the corporate office. Janet called him when he was at the hospital visiting Mrs. Lopez and informed him of the furniture arriving and being set up, starting with the presidential office. Now that he has the furniture Tyler figure he better get the corporate office up and running.
Once he got back to the office, Tyler used his cell phone to call upstairs to ask Janet to come down and help him. He'll have to call and have the phones connected tomorrow. When Janet arrived, Tyler explained what he needed and Janet understood. Once Janet understood, Tyler started pulling out the files and handed them to Janet and Janet put them in the filing cabinet in alphabetical order. When they were finish with the first box, they repeated the process with the second box. Only this time the files went into another cabinet. Tyler wanted each restaurant to be separate so there will be no confusion on which employee works for which restaurant.
"I'll label the cabinet before I leave today. I'm already putting the restaurants in chronological order now, so that it would be easier to know which restaurant is which. That way there will be no mix up in the restaurants."
"Thanks Janet." Tyler said sincerely. "That will make it easy for the president once we hire one. I'm sure he or she will appreciate the work you're doing just as much as I do. Remind me to put a bonus in your paycheck this week." Janet started to protest to the bonus but Tyler stopped her. "No arguments Janet! You deserve it. You've gone beyond your duties lately and you deserve a bonus for that."
Janet tried to protest once again but Tyler still wouldn't let her. He told her to accept the bonus with his gratitude for her hard work. Knowing she didn't stand a chance against Tyler; Janet accepted the bonus with appreciation. "Thanks Tyler, I accept. Not that I need the money because you pay me well enough, but I could use it towards my wedding."
Tyler looked towards Janet with a surprised expression plastered on his face. This was shocking news to him. He had no idea that Janet was even engaged. "When the hell did Brian propose?"
"He proposed on Monday night when we went out to dinner." Tyler knew Janet had a dreamy look in her eyes and wish he could see that look. He could sense the glow in her face and the stars shining in her eyes. "It was so beautiful Tyler. He took me to Karmyn's Place where he reserved a private room. Brian had the ribeye steak and I had the chicken parmesan. Dinner was great and the conversation was superb. The champagne was nice as well. All through dinner though; Brian couldn't stop smiling. I knew he had something up his sleeves but couldn't quite figure out what it was.
After dinner, I excused myself to go to the lady's room. While I was in there, Brian ordered us a chocolate soufflé with raspberry sauce. As you know, Brian doesn't make much money at the firm he's with so I was starting to get worry that the whole dinner was costing a fortune. Brian said not to worry and he had everything covered." Janet paused in the story and the filing to gain Tyler's reaction to that statement, but Tyler showed none, he just continued to listen intently to the story so Janet continued with both. "Anyway, before we started on the dessert, Brian made a toast which sounded like a proposal."
"Here's to the most gorgeous woman in the world!" Brian smiled lovingly. "A gorgeous woman who I love deeply and would love to spend my life with and cherish forever. To wake up every morning looking into that beautiful face and know that I'm the luckiest man to have such a funny, caring, intelligent, and gorgeous Woman by my side for the rest of my life. Here's to one year together, and hopefully many many more years to come."
"By the time he finished, I was just speechless. It was just so beautiful and compassionate and I could tell he meant every word of it. We clinked our glasses together before taking a drink. Before I got my glass up to my mouth I saw something sparkling on the bottom of the glass. I couldn't tell what it was, so I asked Brian. He just told me to drink my champagne and I'll find out, so I did.
I downed the whole glass in one gulp. When I looked in the glass again, my mouth just fell open! There in the bottom of the glass was a one carrot diamond engagement ring. I was so surprised I couldn't say anything or even move. Brian had to take the glass from me to get the ring out to wipe it off. He then got down on one knee and slipped it on my finger.
When he did, he told me I was the one he had been waiting for all his life, and now that he have me, he never want to let me go. Then he said those magical words I'd been waiting to hear ever since I met him. "Janet, will you marry me?" I just sat there stunned! I never expected it. Once I was able to talk, I told him yes and he kissed me."
Janet knew Tyler was happy for her from the smile on his face. "That's great Janet, I'm happy for you." Tyler gave her a hug. "Don't worry about the money. You and Brian just plan the wedding and I'll take care of the cost. Consider it a wedding present from me."
"I can't let you do that Tyler." Janet protested. "That's way too much money to spend on someone. I know you can afford it, but I can't ask you for that kind of money. It wouldn't be right. Brian and I can wait until we have the money saved up."
"You're not asking Janet, I'm offering." Tyler softly rebutted. "What is money for if you can't spend it on your family and friends? Besides, with the kind of money I have, paying for your wedding wouldn't even put a dent in it."
Seeing that she was going to lose another argument with Tyler, Janet didn't put up a fight this time. "Fine, but I'm going to find a way to pay you back, and I'm not going to make the wedding to extravagant. It will be elegant but not extravagant."
By now all the files was put away. "I expect nothing less." Janet hugged him warmly with love and gratitude. "Thank you for helping me to have my dream wedding." Tyler returned the hug with the same warmth and love. "You're welcome Janet. If it wasn't for your assistance, I wouldn't have the money to help you. You keep me on track with everything concerning my corporation."
They held the hug for another minute before pulling away. "I better get upstairs to make those labels before I leave. Thank you again for helping me to have my dream wedding. You'll never know how much that means to me." Tears were starting to form in Janet's eyes from Tyler's generosity. Tyler just showed her again just why she loves him so much. When Tyler loves, he loves with all of his heart.
Once again Tyler told her she was welcome and she gave him another hug. Janet went back upstairs with tears in her eyes and Tyler went to get the boys from the lounge to go home. Carlos and Mark saw Janet crying when she was leaving, so when Tyler came into the lounge, Carlos asked Tyler why she was crying. Tyler told them the reason and they smiled both for Janet's happiness and Tyler's generosity. Soon as everyone was ready, they headed down to the garage.
Christian had just completed his work when it was time for him to leave. After shutting everything down and locking his office, he headed out. He met up with Travis at the elevators and they talked about what they needed to do tomorrow as they rode down in the elevator and walked out to their vehicles.
When they reached their vehicles they told each other they will see them at home. On the way home, Alex and Matt asked Christian what he and Travis were talking about and Christian told them. Alex and Matt then volunteered their assistance as well and Christian accepted.
"Thanks guys, I really appreciate that because I'm going to need all the help I can get. I need to go to some of my shops tomorrow to move the employee's files to my office so I'll have to step out a couple of times."
Alex and Mat told him it was no problem and they'd love to help. Christian said he still appreciated their help. When he stopped at the seven eleven to get some ginger ale for Tyler, Christian asked them if they wanted anything. Alex and Matt said no but they will go in with him. Christian grumbled but didn't say anything. He knows they're just doing their job. Once Christian had the ginger ale for Tyler they continued home.
When Tyler and the others arrived home, Tyler asked Mark if he could put Terry in his highchair for him so he can change clothes. Mark said he will and took Terry from Tyler and continued on to the kitchen while Tyler went upstairs. Not long after, Christian, Alex, and Matt arrived home as well.
When he walked into the kitchen and placed the ginger ale in the refrigerator, Christian looked around and saw everyone there but Tyler. "Where's Tyler?" He asked no one in particular. Mark told him Tyler was upstairs changing. "I'm going to go and check on him." He then just walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs, not waiting for a reply from anyone.
When he walked into the bedroom, he didn't see Tyler anywhere so he checked the bathroom. Not finding Tyler in there either, Christian went to check Tyler's closet. When he walked into Tyler's closet, he stopped in his tracks at what he was looking at.
To Be Continued...
Writer's Corner:
Welcome back one and all to another chapter of Best Friends. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it. Now let's get to the summary of this chapter, shall we?
Christian let Tyler get a little extra sleep this time. When Tyler went to the kitchen Christian noticed Tyler wasn't feeling well. I hope it's not anything more then just a headache.
Christian also put his foot down with Tyler for the first time in their relationship and made Tyler promise to come home if Tyler started feeling worse. I'm glad Tyler gave Christian his promise on that. You never know; sometime a simple headache can turn out to be something much more.
Janet, Carlos, and Mark kept a close eye on Tyler throughout the day. I wish I had friends like that who will have my best interest in heart even when I'm acting like a tough guy.
It looks like Tyler and Christian is setting up their new company. What do you think; will they have any problems with some of their employees? I don't know who will be the corporate president as of yet. Whoever it will be, I hope Tyler and Christian won't have any problems with them.
I think Tyler and Christian both have a good idea with moving the employee's personal files to their corporate offices. They will need them if any problems should come up. They really don't know anything about the employees.
Christian had a talk with JR in his office. Hmm, I wonder how that meeting turned out. You'll have to read Malibu Hearts to find out, and what JR will do about it.
Janet had lunch for the first time with Tyler, Christian, and the boys in this chapter. I hope there are more lunches like that with Janet. Maybe there should be a time for everyone to have lunch together.
Mrs. Lopez met Jeff for the first time and the two hit it off. There's more in Jeff's background involving grandparents, so keep reading the future chapters to find out what that is.
Janet told Tyler about the night Brian proposed to her. How did I do with that story? Let me know what you think. Did Brian have any help from Tyler like Janet suspect he did? Maybe you'll find that out in another chapter.
Tyler offered to pay for Janet's wedding as a wedding present to her. Janet tried to protest but Tyler wouldn't let her. Finally she gave up protesting and accepted Tyler's offer with gratitude. What do you think is the wedding of Janet's dreams? Give me some ideas and I'll try to write them into the story.
When Christian got home he didn't find Tyler in the kitchen with the others and asked where he was. Mark told him Tyler was upstairs changing and Christian went to check on him. What made Christian stop in his tracks when he walked into the closet?
If I had missed anything in my corner, I hope my editor will catch it in her corner. I need to get started on writing the next chapter for you guys to enjoy reading.
So much is going on and not enough time to write it all out! New plots are going to open and some will close. Keep reading the future chapters and enjoy! Please let me know how I'm doing. I look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions at {romeo.jacobmillertex@gmail.com} thanks.
Editors Corner:
Another great chapter; a lot going on with Christian and Tyler trying to start the new corporation and a up and coming trip for Tyler's birthday. Will the trip be put on hold with what seems to be some health problems with Tyler?
I was expecting Tyler to say he would hire Brian, but paying for the wedding was a good present in my book.
Who will Christian and Trish hire to fill the void of Christian being gone? Hope they will find someone who will work well with them.
As always I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Drop Romeo a line and let him know what you think. It does do an author good to get the email letting him know you are enjoying the story. Come back for more, I do believe there is a lot to tell.
Till next time...
Trish