Just as Jake sat down for breakfast the phone rang. He answered it then handed the phone to me.

"Hello?"

"Hi Dan, sorry to do this to you but I have just been called into work, and I am not going to have time to take Zack to school. Any chance he can catch a ride with you and Jake? If it is any bother don't worry he can walk."

"Don't worry, it's no bother at all. Jake is just having his breakfast then we'll come and pick up Zack. Do you know how long you're going to be at work? I could pick him up from school if you want."

"Dan you are a total life saver! I'm not sure but I will call and let you know this afternoon. I'll come and pick up Zack when I am done from yours if that is ok?"

"Yeah fine. Have a good day, I hope it isn't too stressful!"

"Thanks Dan, gotta fly. Bye"

I hung up the phone and poured a glass of orange for Jake.

"We have to pick Zack up on the way round so don't dawdle. I'll give you a lift on the way to my therapist's office."

This earned me a raised eyebrow from Cam but he didn't say anything, just finished his coffee and stood up.

"Well better get some work done if we want to make this meeting on Friday." He said putting down his mug and leaving the room.

Jake finished his breakfast then we got in the car and picked up Zack. He was waiting outside for us and jumped into the car as soon as he saw us barely giving me time to stop the car.

As soon as he had got in and closed the door he and Jake were in a full flow conversation as if they had been talking for hours. It always amazed me that they found so much to talk about, especially when they had been together all evening.

I dropped them at school, arranged what time to pick them up and headed off to Dr. Charlton's offices.

"Morning Mr. Wood, you can go straight through."

I walked through to Dr. Charlton's office, knocked and went in.

"Morning Doc." I said sitting down on the couch.

"Dan...Dan... Dan..." He said shaking his head.

"I know I am not supposed to judge, but you have been a bit of an idiot haven't you?" He said after a moment.

"DOC! You can't say that!"

"Well you have. You know that you always have people to talk to when you are feeling like that. You should have come to me."

"Yeah I know but I was kinda messed up."

"Evidently. So tell me what brought you to this situation and don't worry about the time, I have cleared my schedule until after lunch."

I started at the beginning and told Dr. Charlton everything. After all neither me nor Jake had done anything criminal. He seemed to take a lot more notes than normal and was listening very intently; he even stopped me once or twice to have me repeat what I had said.

"So where do you stand now? You have said that this..." He looked at his notes "Jason has intervened and in your own words `almost to the point of annoyance'. So where are things with Jake and yourself?"

"I have decided to treat him as an equal partner. He is not a child and I do not have the right to treat him as such."

"Well that is healthy. This is what I warned you about. I told you to choose a path, and now you seemed to have done that."

"Yeah you're not the only one to have said that to me and I suppose it makes a lot of sense."

"OK so you're going to treat him as a partner. What happens when he is bad?"

"What do you mean bad?"

"Well say, I don't know, he hasn't done his homework, or he stays up all night when he needs to go to school the next day."

"Mmm... Yeah I did think about that, but I am not his dad and it was wrong of me to try and replace his father, he never asked for that. I suppose I would advise him that if he didn't go to bed then he would be tired all the next day but ultimately leave the choice up to him."

"Well that is good. Although the only problem I see is that young people rarely take advice well."

"That is his look out. He can only reap the rewards of the seeds he has sown."

"True indeed. Something you might want to keep in mind for yourself.

So answer me this: what are you going to do when you have an argument?"

"About what?"

"Well anything, who's turn it is to do the washing up! I don't know people have disagreements it is inevitable."

"Well hopefully we will be able to resolve it quickly if not then I would say that we would try and give each other space until it has blown over."

"How much space? Not another country again?"

"We have separate rooms and if it gets that bad Jason and Lee have offered to let us come round and stay if we need to."

"Well you do seem to have thought this all through and I can see you in no immediate danger of hurting yourself which was my main concern.

What we need to do now is make a plan going forward. I think for the next couple of weeks it is important that I see you more than once a week.  How would you feel about that?"

"Yeah I suppose that would be ok."

"I also think it would be a good idea to find you an anger management class and maybe a relaxation class."

"I'm not sure that would be necessary."

"Maybe not but, if you get nothing out of them then it would just be a few hours of your time wasted and if you do get something out of them then I would feel happier that you could develop mechanisms for dealing with stressful situations."

"I suppose."

"Good, well I will have Jane find out about that an email you."

"Email?"

"Yes, the new system is working out very well and it is surprising how useful all this email and internet stuff can be."

"I'm glad I could help."

"One other thing I would like to say, from what I gather you actually get very little time for yourself. Time when you are away from work and Jake and have no one making demands of you."

"Yeah, I have been thinking about that and I think I might have a solution."

"Good. Well keep be abreast of any developments. I am happy that you are making some progress and that you are in no immediate danger, which is what this session was about. Now I would like to increase your medication, at least for the time being and I would like you to steer clear of any alcohol or any substances that could affect your mental state for at least two months."

"OK, but Christmas is coming up."

"I am sure you will have a perfectly good Christmas without alcohol. If you feel the need for it to make a situation happy or bearable then the situation is fundamentally flawed."

"OK. I am sure I can manage that."

"Well I think that pretty much wraps up your session, unless you have anything further that you would like to share?"

"No Doc, you have been great. Thanks for seeing me on such short notice."

"Well then take care of yourself and if you ever need anything don't hesitate to call."

I thanked him again before leaving his office and making another appointment with Jane for later that week.

I sat in my car in the car park and lit a fag. It was only eleven forty five. I thought back over the session and my current state of affairs, I definitely in a much better place than I had been in a long time.

When I arrived back at the house Lee was just making some sandwiches and a salad for lunch. Cam came into the house and we all sat down in the living room having a good break.

After lunch I went to my study and called the hospital to make an appointment to have the dressings changed on my arm.

I then called Cam and asked him to come to my study. He walked in a few minutes later looking a bit sheepish, like a schoolboy sent to see the headmaster.

"Cam, take a seat."

"Thanks, err... is everything ok?"

"Yeah fine. I just wanted to have a chat to you about how everything is going."

"Oh alright then." He replied looking less worried but more confused.

"So how do you find the Job? Everything you were expecting?"

"Well to be honest it is loads more than I expected. I thought I was going to be like your PA or something, I didn't realise I would be doing something I loved just a year out of school."

"Well I am glad to hear it. Have you thought about the future at all?"

"What do you mean, like a wife and kids and stuff?!" he said laughing.

"No, I mean to say, where do you see yourself in say, five years time or ten maybe? Do you still think you will be working here with me?" Cam gave me a worried look again "Don't worry be frank, tell me exactly what you think."

"Well, I don't know to be honest. I mean the job is great and everything, much more than someone of my age can expect but you have always said that this is a small company with small ideas. You pick and choose your clients and your project, there is no real drive to be bigger or make more money. I mean you don't even try make sales, the clients come to you.

I always saw myself eventually becoming someone known in the industry and some to be known by if you catch my drift. I am just not sure I can do that here. If I want to get to the top of a big company I really need to think about joining one in the next few years and working my way up."

"Well that was frank! So let me be equally frank with you. You have more than exceed all my expectations so far more than I could have ever dreamed of. In the last week you have shown yourself to be more that capable here.

But you're right; I have always seen this company as something small, more of a hobby, something to fill the time rather than something to make money from. Which is not really fair to you; so what I am about to say may come as a bit of a shock to you.

I don't want to work full time anymore and I don't want to stand in the way of your career."

"So you want me to leave?" he said suddenly shocked and afraid.

"Well no. I should think not; you are a great guy with almost limitless potential and I would hate to see you go. So you have a choice to make, one which could change your life completely."

"I'm listening."

"OK so to cut to the chase. I think if you are going to leave, now would be a good time to start looking for another position. You would of course have this job up until you found another one and would leave here with a glowing reference."

Cams face visibly fell and his shoulders hunched.

"If on the other hand you would like to try and make the best of this job with us here and see where it can take you, I think a change is in order."

Cam's sat up straight again and looked me directly into my eyes as if trying to catch me out in a lie.

"As I am going to be taking a back step, someone is clearly going to have to step into my shoes.

So how would you feel about becoming Chief Systems Architect?"

"Well how would that change anything? There are still only two of us here; who would I be Chief to?"

"Ah yes the old problem of too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. Well we will have to just find ourselves some Indians I guess."

"So you want to hire someone new?"

"Well that will be your mission if you choose to accept it."

"What are we actually talking about here? You want me to run the place for you?"

"Well yes and no. I want you to run it for us. You clearly want to make a splash in this world and this could just be the ticket for that.

What I am suggesting is that you take this company where you want to take it. I will be here when you want me or need me but other than that it is your direction the company is going to be moving in.

Obviously no one is going to do that without adequate compensation, so we would have to look at your salary again and I think we should have a share option for you."

"What kind of share option?

"Well let's think about this. How about two percent per annum? That way if you make it your life's work by the end of it you will have half of whatever you make of it."

"So I would have to work here for twenty five years for half the company?"

"Yeah I think that is fair. The company is currently valued at over three million pounds. Say you grew the company by a factor of five in the twenty five years, which is not that hard to achieve, you would have a seven and a half million pound stake in the company, which isn't too bad."

"But what happens if I get bored and want to leave or we have a falling out?"

"Well it would all be down in contract so if you ever wanted to walk away you would leave with the stake you had earned up until that point and there would be nothing I or anyone else could do to stop it.

The only issue you would have there is if you did leave then the value of your shares would be in the hands of whoever is running the company by that time.

This is all a big decision and I want you take some time to think it over, talk to your family and anyone else you can to give you some advice before you make a decision."

"OK. But are you really all that sure about all this? I mean I am still only just out of college and I haven't really got any experience."

"But you do have flair, a natural instinct and a willingness to learn and develop."

"I still don't have the technical knowledge you have though."

"Which is why I would want you to get some new certifications. I think it would be a good investment for the company to pay for you to carry on developing your technical knowledge. With time you will gain all the experience and confidence you need."

"So where would we start, I mean if I accepted?"

"Well you tell me. I would say though even if we have a healthy cash flow, I would advise against growing too fast. We would have no short term exit strategy in mind so we would want to make sure that any growth is stable and permanent."

"Well if you are going to be taking a back seat, I would need some help. There is just too much for me to do on my own."

"OK and what bit do you think is the most time consuming that could be delegated?"

"Administration." He said after a moments thought "I spend so long filing and emailing people with not technical issues I have little time to effectively think about taking on more work."

"That's fine. Would you need someone full time?"

"No, with you working part time I think someone part time would be fine for the time being. Why did you have someone in mind?"

"Yeah, what do you think about Jason?"

"Jason? Yeah he seems like a nice guy, he is really intelligent and we get on well. He would work."

"OK cool. Well I am glad all that is sorted out. Take as long as you need and just let me know. I will approach Jas and see what he thinks."

"Cool. So what now?"

"Well I still have some things to sort out and you have an empire to start building!"

The next thing on my list today was to try and sort out this holiday. I called Mary and she picked up on the same ring.

"...bitch, don't you dare hang up on me again! Next time you do that you are going to have my foot so far up your arse you're going to be tasting Italian leather for a WEEK!"

"And hello to you to Mary." I said with a laugh.

"Dan? Shit I am so sorry, my new bitch of a PA is about to get throttled!"

"I would hate to see you in a temper!" I said laughing.

"So what can I do for you today?"

"Well I would like to arrange a short holiday."

"OK and where are we going? Somewhere a bit more interesting than Devon I hope!"

"Yeah, the states if you can manage it."

"Of course I can honey. I can have you on a flight in the morning."

"Oh good, but not so soon. I need to wait for the school holidays."

"Oh?"

"Yeah I will be travelling with the boy I went to Devon with. I have kind of adopted him."

"Oh that's nice, could never deal with kids myself, my life is far too hectic. Well that shouldn't be a problem. When are the holidays?"

"Just under two weeks but he needs to get a passport sorted out."

"How old is he?"

"Fifteen."

"That could be a problem. Has he ever had one before?"

"No."

"And when you say you kind of adopted him I take it is not a legal adoption?"

"Well no not technically but I do have a loco parentis for him."

"Well then it is definitely going to be a problem. You do have his birth certificate right?"

"Yeah."

"OK well that simplifies matters but I am still not sure we can sort it out within two weeks. I would hold off on booking anything until he has a passport. I am sure you are both going to have to go down to the Passport office in London to get him one but as you know they are swamped at the moment. I have a friend there and I will see what I can do."

"I have absolute confidence in you."

"Well. I better make some calls and find out where my damn PA has got to."

"OK well just give me a call when you know."

I hung up the phone and leaned back on my chair with my hands behind my head. Today had been a good day. I had managed to sort a lot of things out and didn't have them hanging over me now.

Just then Lee came into the room.

"Knock knock. Not disturbing you am I?"

"No not at all come in. I wanted to talk to you anyway."

"Thanks, I was just going to ask if you wanted me to sort out some dinner for tonight."

"Oh, err that would be great, I think Zack will be coming for dinner as well and I might see what Cam is doing as well."

"Cool, well I will get that started then. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh it was about Jason actually. I am going to take a bit of a step back from the company and Cam is going to need some help part with admin; I was wondering if Jas might be interested."

"Well I can ask him but I think his plate is a bit full at the moment what with college and tutoring. He was saying the other day that he barely has time alone with me anymore."

 "Oh right, don't worry then it was just a thought."

"Can I suggest someone else?"

"Yeah sure, who did you have in mind?"

"Well, err... me.

I mean, well... I have had experience as an administrator before and there really isn't enough work here for me full time. One of the reasons I came to ask about dinner actually, I have cleaned everything and there is nothing much else to do."

"Err... Yeah that sounds like a good idea. I have to speak to Cam first but I will let you know."

"Cool, well I will get on with the dinner then. Spaghetti and meat balls ok?"

"Yeah that will be great. I better get going to pick up the boys."

We both got up and left the room, Lee heading to the kitchen and I headed towards the office.

"Hey Cam I am just going to get the boys from school. Would you like to stay for dinner tonight? Lee is making meatballs."

"Uh, can't today sorry Dan. Got a hot date tonight."

"Ooh, fine young thing I hope."

"Yeah she is lovely. We have only been out once before so I thought I would take her to that French place we all went to with mom."

"Le petit verger? She must be special. Well, why don't you take the rest of the day off. You need time to think anyway."

"Oh cool. Thanks Dan, I wanted to get her something but I didn't think I would have time."

"That's fine lover boy, I'll see you in the morning. Oh and by the way instead of Jason what do you think about Lee for the Admin role?"

"Err... Yeah I don't mind. He is nice and seems organised enough."

"Well I will let you discuss it with him."

I left the house and went to the school to pick up the boys. When I pulled up outside Jake and Zack were talking animatedly to a number of other boys. They didn't notice me for a minute so I horned and Zack looked round.

Zack tapped Jake on the shoulder and the both of them said bye to their friends and got in the car.

"Good day at school?"

"No! I can't believe how much homework I have got and I forgot my swimming gear and the coach went mad!" Jake said.

"Does that mean you missed practice again?"

"No, he tried to get me to wear the grotty school pair he got out of the lost property but I wouldn't"

"So what you swam starkers did you?" I giggled.

"No! I wore my boxer shorts."

"Well that's not too bad is it?"

"They were white! You know what happens to white pants in water?!"

Both Zack and I started laughing uncontrollably.

"Well at least you had something to show them!" Zack said punching Jake on the arm.

"Shut up you or I'm going to make you eat them!" Jake said joining in with the laughter.

When we arrived at the house we opened the door to glorious smells of home cooking.  This immediately made us all hungry and we headed straight to the kitchen.

"Dinner ready? I'm starved." Jake said sitting on a stool.

"Nope, sorry young man but you will just have to wait. It needs to go in the oven and won't be ready for about an hour. Jason is here though so you should be able to find something to amuse yourselves with."

 "OK, well can I at least have a packet of crisps?"

"If you don't think it will spoil your dinner."

"Nah `course not, I could eat a horse!"

Jake grabbed a couple of packets of crisps and a few cans of drink and he and Zack headed off to find Jason.

 "Dan, Kate called for you. She said that she might get stuck at work for longer than she thought but she will give you a call back when she can slip out of surgery."

"Oh ok."

"And Dan, Thank you."

"What for?" I asked confused.

"Cam came to talk to me. He said we should be able to sort everything out."

"Oh that. That has nothing to do with me. I haven't made any decisions it is all down to you and Cam. "

"No really Dan you insist on always trying to help me and I really wanted to thank you."

"Cool so when do you start?"

"Well. He said that it isn't definite yet. He still has some stuff he needs to sort out first and he said we need to all sit down and work out where I will be working on what days and when before we can talk about money and stuff, but all being well he thinks I should be able to start next week."

"Well that is brilliant. Looks like Cam has made his decision then."

"Decision about what?"

"Oh nothing just something about his job."

I didn't want to come right out and say it. I suddenly struck me that I have let this young guy come into our lives and now I am basically giving him half of my company. I knew that Lee wouldn't say anything but I didn't want him to feel hurt or jealous.

"Well I am going to have a quick shower and change." I said.

"That's cool. Dinner won't be too long."

As I was on my way upstairs I noticed talking coming from my study. I poked my head round the door and saw Jason, Jake and Zack all sitting with their laptops open working.

"Hey guys, everything going ok?"

"Yeah we are just catching up on our homework."

"Cool, how come you guys always work in here now?"

"Jas says we need a non distracting environment to study in or we don't get as much done."

"Oh cool. Well I'll leave you to it then."

I left the room and went upstairs to have a shower and change my clothes. When I got back down Lee was just putting a big pot on the sitting room table next to a stack of plates.

"Ah perfect timing." I said following Lee back to the kitchen.

He was just cutting up a baguette, so I went to get a bottle of coke and some glasses.

"Do you want to get the boys?" Lee said.

I went through to the study and found the boys in fits of giggles.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Just biology homework."

"Well dinner is on the table."

Just as I was coming back to the kitchen the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi Dan, hey sorry about everything today. Everything ok with Zack?"

"Yeah he's great, they are just doing some homework then we are about to have dinner."

"That's good. We are getting swamped here, there has been a big road traffic accident and it is just pushing everything out of whack. I have no idea what time I am going to be back and today is supposed to be my day off."

"Well why don't you leave Zack here tonight then we can get him to school in the morning."

"Are you sure that would be ok?"

"Yeah of course, Zack is always welcome. If we can ever help out with anything don't hesitate to ask."

"Dan you really are a gem. Can I talk to Zack quickly then? I have to be back in surgery in five minutes."

"Yeah hold on a sec."

Just then the boys were all coming into the living room.

"Zack your mother is on the phone and wants to talk to you."

Zack took the phone and walked into the kitchen with it. We all sat down and helped ourselves. Zack came back a couple of minutes later and started tucking in too.

"Mom says that I can stay here tonight." Zack said to Jake.

"Cool! You can help me finish off some of my homework."

"Well get Jake to lend you some shorts and I'll throw your uniform in the wash."

After dinner I switched on the TV and curled up on the sofa. Lee sat with me and the boys headed back to the study.

After about half an hour I was getting bored with the TV.

"Do you want to go to the gym for a bit then relax in the hot tub?" I asked Lee.

"OK but do you have any joggers you can lend me?"

"Yeah you know where they are. I'll meet you in there. I am going to find a CD."

Lee was back a few minutes later wearing a pair of my old jogging bottoms. We went out to the gym and I got on the treadmill and Lee got on the exercise bike.

After a few minutes he took off his t-shirt and hung it over the handlebars.

"Sorry you don't mind do you? I don't want to have to go back all sweaty."

"Nah that's cool."

After forty five minutes, I went on to the bike and Lee started using the weights. I was surprised at just how strong Lee was. He wasn't very well defined but it was clear that he had a lot of muscle.

When we were both exhausted we stopped and went to the kitchen for a drink.

"I am going to need another shower before bed. I must stink."

"Yeah I need a shower too."

"Use the one in the main bathroom if you like."

"Yeah I might just do that. Then I think it is probably time that Jas and I headed off."

"That's cool. I have to go and sort out some paperwork before I go to bed anyway."

Lee headed upstairs and I went to watch the news while I was waiting. After about twenty minutes Lee was back dress again in his jeans and t-shirt.

"Right well I better get Jas."

After a few minutes Lee and Jas came back into the room and said goodbye before leaving. I switched off the TV and went to the study to see what the boys were doing.

"Still working?" I said coming into the room.

"Just packing up. We are both exhausted." Jake replied.

"So what are you going to do now then?"

"Thought we would both have a shower then go to bed. My head in killing me."

"OK, well I have a few things to sort out before I turn in so night night and sleep tight." I said as they left the room.

I sat at my desk and checked my emails. I replied to all of the ones I needed to, than paid all the outstanding bills.

I then yawned and knew it was time for bed. I headed upstairs and was surprised to see Jake in my bed.

"I thought you would be in with Zack tonight."

"Nah I let him have my bed. Told him I wanted to sleep with my boyfriend."

I noted use of the word boyfriend. He had never called me his boyfriend before.

"Oh cool, I just need to have a shower, I really stink."

"I like your stink, just come to bed."

"OK let me just do my teeth then."

Before he could answer I quickly went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and washed my face. When I got into bed Jake leaned over and hugged me.

"Dan?"

"Yeah Jake?"

"I love you, you know."

"I know. I love you too."

Jake kissed me lightly on the lips than laid back down. I started drawing small circles around his chest and torso with my fingers.

"Do you like this house?"  I asked watching his chest rise and fall.

"Yeah, course, it's great. You have everything here."

"No, we have everything here, this is your house too. But I think we could do with a change."

"What like moving?"

"No, I was just thinking that we could get the house professionally decorated, maybe make a few structural changes."

"Like what?"

"Well, Jason is right, you really could do with somewhere you can study. It is going to be more important as you get older."

"Don't you want me in your study?"

"It's not that. I don't mind you in there but wouldn't it be nice to have a place of your own? Somewhere you can be surrounded by your things instead of mine?"

"Yeah I suppose that would be good. But do we have the space?"

"Have you seen the size of this house? A family of ten could live here easily and there are only two of us."

"Yeah but all the rooms are being used unless you want to use a bedroom."

"No, I was thinking about making a new room just for you. I would need to speak to an architect but I think we can steal some space from the gym and the utility rooms. They are a bit big and it is just being wasted."

"Yeah that would be cool. When can we do that then?"

"Well I hate being around while there is building going on so preferably when I am not here."

"How about when we go on holiday?"

"Oh I needed to talk to you about that. I spoke to Mary my travel agent and she thinks it might take awhile to get you a passport."

"Does that mean we can't go?"

"No but might have to wait for the Christmas holidays to go out of the country."

"Oh ok."

"Actually there is one other thing I wanted to tell you. I have offered Cam a better job so he will basically be running the company. He will also be getting some of the company each year. Is that ok with you?"

"Yeah, it's up to you, it's your company."

"Well I want to think of anything I own half yours."

"Does that make me a millionaire then?"

"Yeah I suppose so, but don't shout it from the roof tops."

"So you don't mind Cam running the company?"

"What would you do then?"

"Well at the moment I have a few things to do on a regular basis, but then after that I thought I would get a hobby, like a project or something."

"Will it make you happier."

"Yeah I think I would be less stressed."

"Then I think it would be a good idea."

"Cool thanks." I said kissing him on the lips.

We cuddled close and held each other until we slept.  I woke up the next morning to the alarm at seven. As usual I went to the bathroom and sorted myself out before waking Jake up.

"Come on sleepy head. Time to get up, can you wake up Zack before getting ready? I'll go and start the breakfast."

"Yeah, give me a sec." Jake said sleepily.

I left the room and headed down to the kitchen. I was just frying bacon when Lee came in.

"Morning, this is early for you isn't it?"

"Yeah, just dropped Jas off at college. He wanted to see his lecturer before the start of class so I thought I would head straight over."

"Have you already had breakfast?"

"No, do you want me to finish it off?"

"No, I'll finish it, would you mind taking the boys to school. I think I really need to do some work today, and I have to go to the doctors at some point to have my dressing changed."

"No that's fine, I don't mind at all."

We all finished our breakfasts then Lee took the boys to school and I went out to the office. I was making steady progress though the prep for the meeting on Friday with McMillan when Cam came in looking slightly dishevelled. 

"Oh, Dan sorry for being late. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night."

"Kept you up all night did she?" I said with a laugh.

"No, but you did!"

"Excuse me?!" I said looking round in surprise.

"Not like that, well not you really, the offer."

"Oh right. I didn't realise you would be losing sleep over it sorry."

"No that is ok, but you have given me a kick in the ass to work out where I want my life to go and I think it is what I needed."

"Have you taken advice from anyone yet?"

"Well I tried to contact someone yesterday but they were not in. I think I will probably talk to them today."

I made Cam sit down and have a coffee before we started work. By lunch we were nearly back on track with all the work. Mid afternoon Lee went to pick up the boys from school and I headed to my appointment.

As I was driving I got a call. I answered it on the car hands free.

"Hello."

"Hi Dan it's me Kate." She sounded groggy.

"Hey Kate, what time did you get out of work last night?"

"Nearly midnight. It was what you could call a nightmare day."

"Nine AM until midnight? I would have been dead on my feet."

"Yeah, I pretty much am. I was just calling about Zack, I completely forgot to go and pick him up."

"Don't worry, Lee has gone to pick the boys up. Look why don't you let Zack stay with us for the rest of the week? It really sounds like you could do with the rest."

"Are you sure? I know he is no trouble for you but are you sure I am not taking advantage of you?"

"No Kate, don't even think it. What are friends for if not to help each other out?"

"OK, well thanks Dan. I'll give Zack a call and let him know. Do you want me to bring anything over for him?"

"Yeah, just some clean clothes would do."

"Ok, I'll drop them off later then. Thanks again Dan."

"Do you want to come over for dinner Kate? Save you cooking?"

"Can't tonight Dan, Cameron wants to take me somewhere. I think he wants to talk to me about something."

I had a distinct feeling I knew what he wanted to talk to her about but I didn't say anything.

When I arrived home I expected to find the boys doing their homework in the study but it was empty. I looked all over for them and couldn't find any of them.

Eventually I found Jason, Jake and Zack in the pool and Lee sitting on a lounger at the side reading a magazine.

As soon as Jake saw me he jumped out of the pool and tried to hug me. I pushed him away and held him at arm's length.

"Your sopping wet!"

"Well give me a kiss then!"

I leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips. He grabbed me by the sides of the head and pulled me into a more passionate kiss.

We broke apart and I went to sit next to Lee. Jake followed me and stood shivering in front of me. I handed him a towel from the stack on the table and he wrapped it around his shoulders.

"How was your day then?" He asked perching himself on the end of the lounger.

"Not too bad. How about you?"

"Oh don't ask."

"Not doing homework today?"

"Yeah, I was stressed and couldn't concentrate so Jas suggested a quick swim."

"Well swim away then! I better get back to work or I might get into trouble." I said with a small grin.

"Do you want me to sort dinner out?" Lee asked.

"Yeah if you don't mind, but you don't have to do it now. You relax for a bit, we can have a late dinner tonight."

I went back to the office and Cam and I worked until around six. When he left I went back into the kitchen to find Lee just dish up some lovely looking chicken in a white sauce.  I noticed that he had only served three plates.

"Not staying for dinner?" I asked.

"No me and Jas have plans tonight. He's taking me to a restaurant."

"Oh cool, you should have said, you could have finished early."

"No that's fine. I like cooking for you guys, plus Jas wanted to get some work done anyway."

"Oh thanks, I'll go and get the boys so you can head off then."

"Thanks, you going to eat in here?"

"Yeah thanks."

I walked into the study where the boys were working hard on their laptops.

"Dinners ready, it's in the kitchen when you are ready."

"Thanks we'll be there in a minute." Jake said.

I left and went back to the kitchen and took a seat as Lee started pouring some drinks. A couple of minutes later the boys all came into the kitchen.

"Come on boys before it gets cold." Lee said.

"Oh you're not going already are you?" Jake said to Lee and Jason.

"Yeah sorry bub, we have plans for tonight. I'll stay a bit longer tomorrow so that we can get your homework finished." Jason said patting Jake on the back.

Jason and Lee said goodbye and we chatted about school while we ate.

"Do you want to watch a movie tonight?" I asked after we had finished.

"Errr... is it ok if me and Zack used the Xbox for a bit?"

"Yeah of course, it was just a thought."

I cleared up our dirty dishes then went into the living room to find myself a DVD. Just as I was getting comfortable on the sofa the doorbell rang.

"Oh, hi Kate, come through." I said answering the door.

"Hey Dan, everything ok?"

"Yeah, the boys are just playing a game in the den, come on I'll show you."

"...you tosser, go over the other side!" Zack was shouting into his mic.

"Zackary! If I ever hear you use that word again, you won't be seeing daylight again until your kids are having kids!"

"Mom!" Zack said suddenly jumping up and dropping his controller.

"Is this how you behave in someone else's home Zackary?"

"No sorry mom, I just got carried away with the game."

"Well apologise to Mr. Wood and give your mom a hug."

"Sorry Mr. Wood." Zack said robotically before hugging Kate.

"Well I have just brought you some stuff for the rest of the week. I have to go or I am going to be late meeting your brother. Now make sure your good for Dan and watch your language young man." Kate said kissing his forehead and stroking his cheek.

"Are you sure you don't have time to stop for a quick coffee?"

"No, sorry, I'm running late as it is. I think Cameron wants to talk about something important."

"Oh right, well next time your free, drop by and have a drink with us."

I went back to my film and watched it curled up on the couch. After the film finished I got up and stretched then went through to my study. I checked my email and found one from Mary.

From: mary.d@bbftravel.com

Subject: Bad News.

Hey Dan, sorry got some bad news for you. I spoke to my friend at the Passport office, she said that you will definitely need to come in and the earliest she is going to be able to see you will be the Friday of the school holiday.

She said all being well then she will be able to issue the passport on the same day, so make sure you bring 4 passport sized photographs with you.

Sorry again, I did try my best but she is swamped at the moment. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

Regards Mary.

Thanking Mary for her help I checked my other messages then look around the web for a good architect and interior design company. When I found one I send them a quick email saying what I would like done and asking them to arrange an appointment when someone could visit me.

After that I tidied up my study and headed upstairs. It was still early but I was a bit tired and wanted to have a quick shower before bed.

I undressed and went into the bathroom and had a hot invigorating shower. After I dried myself I came back into the bedroom wearing just a towel.  

"Hey, I thought you would still be downstairs playing. It's still early you know."

"Yeah I know I heard you come up. Zack is still playing for a bit."

"Oh ok cool. I have some bad news for you I am afraid" I said getting into bed next to him and dropping the towel.

"Oh?"

"Looks like we won't be able to go to the states for half term."

"Oh right then." Jake replied looking disappointed.

"We can go in the Christmas break if you like."

"Can we go somewhere else for a couple of days then?"

"Yeah sure, like where?"

"Dunno."

"How about Scotland?"

"Or we could go back to Devon, that was fun and we could take Zack with us."

"It would be too cold to go on the beach or anything though."

"Oh ok. If we go to Scotland can Zack still come?"

"Yeah sure. I'll see if Cam, Lee and Jason want to join us."

"That would be so cool!"

"We should ask if Kate wants to come too."

"Yeah, but keep her entertained or me and Zack won't get to have any fun."

I laughed and stoked his hair. I could feel his hard dick pushing into my leg. He started to move his hips backwards and forwards enjoying the gentle friction.

"Ooh, I have a something for you." He said jumping up quickly and rummaging around in his bedside cabinet.

He handed me a small grubby looking package. It was the one he had tried to give me a couple of weeks ago. It was still wrapped but the paper was a little ripped and dirty.

"Well open it then." He said as I look at his gift in the palm of my hand.

Inside was a thin gold chain with a little italic D pendent on it. It was truly beautiful.

"Turn it over." He said.

On the back in tiny letters across the straight part of the D was the word Jake engraved in the gold.

"It's so no matter how far we are from each other I will always be close to your heart."

"You will always be close to my heart no matter what." I said and leaned down and kissed him.

"And... You...Too..." He said between kisses.

I could feel his hard dick rubbing against my thigh and his hand fondling my cock.

"It's a school night, you sure you have the energy?!"

 "I do if you have old man!" He said giggling and kissing me.

I moved down and kiss down his flat chest and torso. I paused at his belly button and licked around it then submerged my tongue in deep. This made him giggle and writhe.

"Stop it, it tickles!"

I carried on kissing down to his dick, noticing the fullness of his bush. I took his dick into my hand and pulled down his foreskin exposing his pre-cum soaked head. I lick off the pre-cum and gently flicked my across his head.

He was really getting excited; he was pouring pre-cum and squirming around all over the place.

After a few minutes he told me to stop and lay back down.

"I don't want to cum yet. Let me do it to you now."

He replicated my actions perfectly. When he started flicking his tongue across my sensitive dick head I couldn't believe the sensations that were shooting through my body. It was like every nerve was on fire.

I couldn't stop my hips from bucking and trying to get him to take my dick into his mouth, but he knew what he was doing and kept moving his head with my thrust preventing my entry. It was unbearable pleasure the likes of which I had never experienced before. I tried holding off, I even tried thinking about something else but within a few minutes I was cumming all over his tongue and face.

He finally took my dick into his mouth and sucked out any remaining cum before sitting up on his knees.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" He said with a cheeky grin.

"I... I..." I replied not able to speak by lack of breath.

"Could have warned me though!" He said wiping some of my cum off his cheek and sucking it off.

"Sorry... want... a tissue?"

"Nah, I want to fuck you with your cum on my face."

And with that he lifted my knees to my chest and worked a couple of fingers into my hole.

Still trying to catch my breath and with Jake now massaging my prostate I was now in heaven. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take before I spewed again. My cock hadn't even gone soft yet.

Jake lined up his cock and with a quick thrust his head had entered through my ring. It was only a moment of pain but when he had seen my face clench he paused and waited a few seconds before continuing his assault until he was buried to the hilt in my warm tunnel.

He started slow but was clearly as horny as I was because he quickly built up to a fast rhythm. With each plunge I watched my cum slid further down his face until a large glob landed on my chest.  I quickly wiped it up and fed it to his waiting mouth. I was determined not to let a single drop of precious cum go to waste.

Jake took hold of my pulsating cock; it was begging for attention and he knew just what to do with it.

It didn't take long before Jake was grunting a sweating profusely. With a final blow he shot his load deep inside me. Without missing a stroke Jake brought me to my second orgasm with relish. 

 We collapsed back down and both heaving to catch our breath. Jake lifted his head up and kissed me passionately. I kissed him back then held the sides of his face and licked all the remaining cum off him.

***

On Friday morning Cam and I travelled to the meeting in my car. We arrived a bit early so we sat out in the car and had a coffee and a fag before going in.

From the moment we entered the building it was clear there was a change in Cam's demeanour. Throughout the meeting he was far more confident than usual and took the lead with grace.

We finished the meeting at half twelve with Cam closing the deal and up selling the original project so it was now worth twice as much. To celebrate I took him to lunch in a local pub.

"That was good work in there today." I said sitting down with the drinks. (I was drinking coke)

"Nah it was nothing." He said talking a sip of his larger.

"You got a £50,000 job up to a £100,000 job and made it think it was their idea!"

"Well that's what we have to do if we want to grow the business."

"So you have made a decision then?"

"Yeah, I do want to do it but..."

"But what?"

"Well, twenty five years is a long time to wait."

"So what were you thinking?"

"How about 2.5% a year then it would be twenty years instead."

"Or how about after you finish the first year, we give you 7% than 2% every year after that. That way you would have more to work for, you would be working for something you own a bigger part in."

Cam sat back in stunned silence for a few minutes thinking.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, after your performance in there today, I wouldn't want anyone else running the company."

To be continued...