Chapter Four
#5 of The Roommate
When morning arrived, Xaver could barely open his eyes because they hurt so badly from exhaustion. He had had a restless night and hadn't accomplished very much sleep. While lying in bed the night before, his imagination kept running away with him and he kept expecting Hiro to rabidly break into his apartment wearing ripped-up pantyhose over his face and start beating him with a golf club.
Of course that was ridiculous. His boss didn't even know where he lived. Xaver's crazed imaginings about Hiro eventually died away, but were soon replaced with worries over what would happen if he lost his job.
He could lose his home and would be forced to live out on the streets, where he could be overwhelmed by cockroaches and males could come up out of the sewer and get him. He would have to sleep in a cardboard box next to a trash heap filled with dead meat that would breed maggots.
All in all, Xaver didn't sleep much. He kept himself up all night with his far-fetched ideas, and now that it was morning he really didn't want to get up. His alarm was still on the floor where he left it the previous day, but its distant beeping could be heard.
Xaver tiredly forced his sore eyes open and tried his best to sit up in bed. His hair felt dirty and stuck out in random directions and his mouth felt horribly dry. The need to groom himself motivated Xaver to kick his blankets away and get up. The sunlight coming in through the window was painfully bright and Xaver kept his eyes half-closed as he headed out the bedroom. That wasn't a very smart tactic because he ended up walking right into the door.
"Ow!" Xaver rubbed at his bruised body and opened his eyes all the way so he wouldn't trip over something on the way to the bathroom.
He gradually woke up as he took a shower and felt much cleaner and healthier after he dried himself off and got dressed. He would dearly love to crawl back into bed and just sit there all day, but he needed to make an attempt to save his job. He sadly ate his breakfast and got on the bus, prepared to fear the worst when he arrived at work.
Kyle made sure he got up nice and early so he would have time to get ready and would show up at work before Hiro did. He knew his boss enjoyed getting as much sleep as he could and was usually in a bad mood when he awoke. Surely he would be too irritable to make himself look good.
Kyle was determined to win the competition. He had taken an interest in Bel first and therefore had a right to have the pretty rabbit before anyone else. Hiro was much too bad-tempered for a nice bunny like Bel and would only frighten him.
After taking a very thorough shower in which he washed his hair three times and scrubbed himself down with scented shower gel, Kyle put a towel around himself and looked for the perfect thing to wear. He often wore a skirt to work but remembered what Hiro had said about him being too feminine for Bel. He chose an outfit that made him look pretty but not in a transvestite way.
Once he was dressed, Kyle spent about fifteen minutes fixing his hair so it looked just right. After making some more adjustments to his appearance, he took one last look in the mirror and deemed himself perfect. There was no way that Hiro could even come close to looking as good as he did. The short retriever would be jealous.
Feeling extremely proud of himself, Kyle left his home to get into his car.
Hiro was surprised at himself for getting up earlier than he usually did. He was motivated that morning and wanted to get to work early so he could get the best of both Kyle and Xaver. He could already tell that it was going to be an interesting day and didn't feel quite as agitated as he normally did in the morning.
He knew he looked damn sexy all the time but couldn't help feeling slightly self-conscious because of his competition with Kyle. He didn't want that stupid, slutty secretary to look better than him.
He bathed himself with extra care and put on his best, newest suit with his favorite tie. He admired himself in the mirror. Nobody could possibly resist him, not even Bel.
Hiro combed his hair one last time, left his apartment, and drove to work. Luckily for him, there was very little traffic and he soon pulled up in the parking lot of his work building. Just as he got out of his car he was annoyed to see Kyle stepping out of his own vehicle. Hiro wasn't going to let the other canine get inside the building first. If he wanted to win the major prize, he needed to accomplish smaller victories first.
Going as quickly as his vertically challenged legs could carry him, Hiro made his way to the front doors at approximately the same time as Kyle. Thinking fast, he spied a rock on the ground and kicked it towards the wolf. It struck Kyle's foot and the tall wolf stopped walking to see what had hit him. That gave Hiro the opportunity to walk past Kyle and triumphantly go through the doors.
The taller canine came in a couple of seconds later with an unhappy look on his face. "I didn't even know you were behind me. Damn you, Hiro. I was so close to being here first!"
"Too bad." Hiro couldn't resist flashing a self-satisfied smile. "I beat you, which is only the start of my winning streak."
"This has nothing to do with anything, idiot! Bel doesn't care who arrives at work first!"
"I know. But my little victory has probably jinxed you. You're a loser this morning right from the beginning."
Kyle shook his head. "You're an insane bastard."
"Shut up and get to work," Hiro growled. "You submit to me in both your sex life and your business life and that makes you inferior and unsuitable for someone like Bel."
Kyle was so shocked by that remark that he nearly smacked the small retriever in front of him. Instead he kept his temper and merely glared at his boss. "We'll just have to wait for Bel to get here, and then we'll see who the inferior one is." He stormed off to his secretary desk.
Hiro wasn't worried about his fight with Kyle. Under his personality Kyle was really a nice person and relations between them would go back to normal soon.
The front doors of the building suddenly opened up and Hiro forgot all about Kyle and Bel. He went up to greet the male who just arrived, glad of the perfect timing. "Xaver, you're here early."
Having his boss say hello to him as soon as he walked through the door made Xaver immediately put up his guard in suspicion. He looked at Hiro as if the shorter male was a spare piece of trash that the wind had blown through the doors. "I didn't sleep a lot," he muttered. He looked away from Hiro and started walking.
Hiro obnoxiously followed him. "Why didn't you sleep? Scared you're going to get fired? You still haven't given me a good reason to keep you."
Xaver felt sick. He was sure his job was doomed then. "Maybe if you charged Kyle for every private office session you have with him, you could pay all your workers easily and wouldn't need to lay anyone off."
Hiro twitched. Did everyone in the building know about him and Kyle? "You keep your mouth shut and respect your boss."
"Are you even still my boss?"
"I haven't officiously kicked you out yet, so yes! Now get to work before I pick you up and literally throw you out on the street!"
Xaver made no replies and unhappily trudged to his desk. He didn't know why he couldn't ever just keep his mouth shut, but Hiro angered him so much that he couldn't help speaking rudely to his boss. It didn't matter how he spoke to the canine anyway. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be losing his job soon.
Kyle knew Bel's whereabouts better than Hiro did and as soon as Bel arrived at work, Kyle was there to immediately greet him. "Hi Bel. You look beautiful today!"
Bel was easily the prettiest male in the building, wearing a dress that fit his masculine frame perfectly. He looked startled at the compliment. "Thank you."
"I often wear a skirt too, but today I decided not to," Kyle said. "What do you think?"
Bel quickly glanced over Kyle's attire. "You look good."
Kyle almost leaped in the air with excitement. His first victory. "Thanks, Bel!" You're so nice!" He briefly hugged the rabbit and then grabbed onto Bel's paw. Bel looked slightly uncomfortable but didn't pull away.
"Let's walk together," Kyle decided. "I'll escort you to your workstation!" Feeling happy and triumphant, he walked through the building holding Bel's paw and hoped that Hiro would see. The short canine was the real loser that morning. As if Kyle's thoughts had come true, Hiro suddenly appeared around a corner. He took one look at Kyle and Bel and immediately approached them. "Kyle, why the hell aren't you working?"
The secretary grinned. "I'm being a good person by helping this kind, beautiful bunny to his desk. He's still new here and he needs me."
"If Bel needs help then he can ask his boss. You're supposed to be working, Kyle. Don't forget that I can fire you."
"But you won't ever do it!" Kyle shot back. "I'm too important for you to just throw away!"
Bel said nothing and watched the two canines, wondering why they were fighting over such a small, unimportant thing. He really should start doing his job, as he didn't want the boss threatening to fire him too. He pulled his paw out of Kyle's grasp.
"Bel, what's wrong?" Kyle asked.
"I need to get to work," the rabbit replied.
"And so does Kyle," Hiro said. He stepped forward and put an arm around Bel's waist. "Come on, I'll escort you instead. I've got plenty of time to spare." He shot Kyle a malicious smile and walked away with Bel before the secretary could do anything about it.
"This isn't necessary..." Bel began. Hiro and Kyle were behaving strangely and he couldn't decide why.
"I don't want to be a stranger to any of my employees," Hiro said, tightening his grip just slightly. "You've been here several days and the only things I know are your name and that you're the prettiest thing I've ever seen."
"Thanks," Bel said awkwardly. That was the second time that morning his looks had been complimented. He supposed it was his own fault by accenting his feminine appearance.
Hiro honestly didn't know where Bel's desk was and decided to use that lack of information as a stalling device. "Let's just take a nice walk together. I'll give you a break and let you work later." Bel merely nodded and Hiro kept up the conversation that was mostly one-sided. "You know that Kyle guy is an idiot. You shouldn't let him bother you all the time."
"He's nice enough," Bel said with a shrug.
"True, he's nice, but he's also annoying. You would do better to avoid him." Being close to Bel's nice body was filling Hiro with waves of arousal. He subtly let his paw slide down off Bel's waist and rested it on his ass. He couldn't resist squeezing just a bit.
"What was that?" Bel asked, his eyes going wide, his large ears perking up just slightly.
Hiro removed his paw, his urge having been satisfied for the time being. "My paw must have slipped."
"Oh." Bel moved a few inches away from Hiro, suspecting that the short man's paw had not merely moved by accident.
"We ought to have lunch together." Hiro said, picking the conversation back up. "I'll take you out somewhere and pay for it. And you're always free to come to my office. I can give you a better time than Kyle can."
"I'll think about it," was the only answer Bel would give.
"Good. I'll come find you at lunchtime. See you later." Hiro left the other man knowing that he had probably made more progress than Kyle had. He would be nice and fair-tempered, he would take Bel out on a few dates, and soon the other fur's body would be his. There was nothing more fun than taking someone's virginity and Hiro was sure that Bel had never had sex. He appeared too cute and innocent.
At the moment though, Bel was to be a secondary concern. If Hiro was going to spend his lunchtime with Bel, then he needed to find Xaver early and break the news to him about his job. The sooner he made Xaver suffer, the more fun he would have. He went into his office to summon his employee.
Shit. Xaver had been dreading the moment all day. Now it had come and he couldn't avoid it, since that would merely make things worse. Hiro had finally called him to his office to fire him and since there was nothing Xaver could do about it, he got up out of his seat and started walking, his head hung low, and his tail wrapping it's way around his waist the tip of it twitching nervously.
He hated meetings of any kind, as they always made him feel like an idiot. His heart was beating rapidly with nerves by the time he arrived at the door of Hiro's office and it took him an effort to knock. He managed it and desperately wished he could just suddenly disappear.
"Xaver, it's you, isn't it?" Hiro said from inside. "Come in!"
Xaver said nothing and walked into the room with as much dignity as he could, trying to hide how unnerved he was; he had unwrapped his tail from his waist and it was lying behind him limply, the tip of it still twitching.
"Sit down, Xaver." Hiro gestured at the chair in front of his desk.
He would have rather ripped his tie off and choked his boss with it, but Xaver obeyed and took a seat. "What did you call me here for?"
Hiro smiled, and it was really rather cute looking because it radiated his feelings of excitement. It appeared creepy to Xaver. "I don't like you at all and I know you don't like me, and it's really better for us both if you're out of here. A conflict like ours will only cause problems."
It sounded like the beginning of a dismissal speech. Xaver wished his boss would just hurry up and say "You're fired" already.
"But," Hiro continued, "because I'm an angry man who needs entertainment, and also simply because I don't like you, I'm willing to make a compromise. If you do as I say, you can keep your job. If you don't agree to my proposal, then I'll fire you and spread the word that you're a bad employee so no one will want to hire you."
Xaver interpreted that as having an unpleasant choice and an even worse choice. At least he got to pick how miserable he wanted to be. "All right, Hiro. What's your compromise? What do I have to do?"
Hiro smiled wider than before. "There's a deer working for me in this building named Oscuro. He isn't very good at following orders, he goes through men faster than Kyle does, and he's exactly the type of person who will drive you insane. You're going to live with him for a month. Oscuro needs a constant sex partner, and if he wants to have his dirty way with you then you have to let him."
Xaver certainly was not expecting a proposal anything like that. He gaped at his boss in shock. "You want me to do what? Explain it again, slowly!" Perhaps he had heard incorrectly. Or maybe Hiro was simply teasing him.
The short canine repeated himself carefully and in detail, and by the time he was finished Xaver felt dread. He was being asked to do some of the things he hated the most. He couldn't possibly live with another person, especially a stranger. And as for the sex... he couldn't even bring himself to think about it. "Why?" he demanded. "Why do I have to pay such a high price just to keep my job?"
"I already told you, because it will amuse me. I need happiness just as much as everyone else does."
"Your happiness is sadistic!" Xaver argued, his ears perking up, folding back on his head. "And your idea is completely crazy! How the hell can you expect me to do that stuff?"
Hiro shrugged his shoulders. "I thought the need to retain your job would have made you agree to my plan immediately. I guess you don't want your job that badly after all." He picked up the phone on his desk and brought it up to his ear. "So this means I have to fire you and call up as many people as I can to tell them what a terrible worker you are. I'll be writing that on your record too."
Just as Xaver thought, he had two options. There was the bad option, which was going along with Hiro's insane compromise, and then there was the even worse choice. Xaver didn't want to get fired, especially if Hiro made it impossible for him to get a new job. He knew he was completely crazy, but he reached over and took the telephone out of his boss's hand. "Wait a minute. I'll do it."
"Good." Hiro put the phone back in its place on the desk. "I promised Oscuro a bitch and he would have been disappointed if I failed him."
A twitch of annoyance ran through Xaver, and his fur stood on end. What had he gotten himself into? "I'm not going to be anyone's ‘bitch'. I'm an independent man and even though I'm agreeing to your stupid proposal, you can't force me to follow all the rules."
"I figured that after finding out what a rebellious bastard you can be. If Oscuro can't take your virginity by the end of the month, I'll just make you have sex with me instead."
That sounded even worse than having sex with a complete stranger. "You can't control me," Xaver said. "You may order me around and pay for my survival, but you don't own me."
Hiro was no longer smiling and looked annoyed. "Quit sounding so indecisive. Are you agreeing to my plan or not?"
"I'm agreeing against my will. If my boss wasn't such a heartless bastard then I wouldn't have this problem in the first place."
Hiro ignored him. "I suggest you start packing up your stuff soon, gathering anything from your home that you'll need for a month. You're moving into Oscuro's place in a few days. Maybe you'll be like a temporary wife to him."
Xaver glared. "Shut up. It's not going to be like that."
"Whatever, Xaver. You're free to go now."
Increasingly unhappy by the second, Xaver nodded and left the office. His situation had ended up turning into something much more unpleasant than merely losing his job. He would most likely be mentally insane by the end of the month.