CHAPTER 346: IT’S JUST A LITTLE CRUSH

Monday rolled around and they were supposed to go into work. Maxwell ended up voting to stay behind, pushing his meetings to virtual ones while Andrew had to leave by himself.

Andrew was an emotional wreck having to leave his two omegas at home to fend for themselves. He made a long list of instructions on how to use things in the kitchen, how to warm things up, where all the snacks were.

He had a feeling that Maxwell would have been incredibly offended if he didn’t find Andrew to be as cute as a button, so Andrew used that to his advantage. Richard was even getting exasperated with his behaviour, finally shoeing him into the garage after the third attempt on Andrew’s side to explain how to use the stove.

"Get to fucking work! We’re not stupid, Andrew! The team needs you there more than I need to hear for the third time how to turn the burners on. I have a phone. I can google it." Richard snapped, and Andrew was partially proud that Richard snapped at him, and also a little sad that he was annoying him to this level.

Andrew got into the car, waving sadly at the house as he drove away and off to work. He was a little late getting in, but it was to be expected. He was alone, without his boyfriend or Richard. It was going to take him a while to get in.

The receptionists as he passed seemed surprised to see him alone, as did several of the other employees. Andrew kept his head down, heading down to his department and when he got there he let out a big sigh.

"What’s up?" Dr. Piper asked and Andrew grumbled as he switched into his work clothes.

"Max and Richard are home alone and I got kicked out because I was fussing too much." Andrew told them and Dr. Piper laughed while Dr. Cox looked at Andrew with a warm smile.

"Awe. That’s sweet. They probably just needed some space. How is Dr. Gates doing? Is he alright?" Dr. Cox asked and Andrew began to tell them everything, gushing about how good Richard was doing in the scheme of things, what Dr. Liu and Dr. Spencer had said when Andrew and Maxwell had updated them on his condition.

Both ladies listened intently, watching as Andrew animatedly spoke about the two people he lived with. It was only when he was done and Andrew felt a little embarrassed that Dr. Cox spoke up.

"I think you are going to be a wonderful parent if you decide to go down that route, Dr. Nice. You speak so warmly of others in your care, and it’s clear that you hold great affection for them. You’re also, as far as I’ve seen, good with children as well." Andrew felt his face warm in embarrassment at Dr. Cox’s words. He hadn’t meant to be fishing for anything, but it kind of felt like he had been when she said it like that.

"I-I wasn’t saying these things to get a complement." Andrew said. He was flustered, a little embarrassed. He hadn’t expected her to say anything about being a parent, but then again, she was one to a small and pretty little girl. She probably couldn’t help herself.

Dr. Cox shifted in her seat, her smile growing wider as Andrew grew more flustered.

"Does the idea of being a dad scare you? It shouldn’t. I just said you’d be great at it, Dr. Nice, and I’m not the type to blow smoke up people’s asses." She said firmly, and Andrew knew that she was right. She wasn’t that kind of person.

If Dr. Piper had said it? Well, he might have taken it into more consideration.

"It’s just not something we’re considering right now." Andrew told her, hoping that put an end to the conversation, but it didn’t. Dr. Cox seemed a little surprised.

"I had thought that the reason that Mr. Beckett was putting in a daycare and cafeteria was related to his family planning, so that’s a little shocking to hear." Dr. Cox said and Andrew flushed. Damn it. If she thought that, it probably meant other people thought that as well. Andrew was sure that the reason it had been accepted so easily was probably related to the perception that Maxwell was planning to settle down soon.

That wasn’t wrong. He was settling down soon. With Andrew. It was just strange to realise that the company knew a lot about their life without Andrew really telling anyone just because of a few actions that Maxwell had taken.

Andrew shifted awkwardly, a little unsure now, and Dr. Cox smiled.

"I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable. Just part of the gossip chain, of course. It Mr. Beckett is doing it just because he wants to, that’s fine as well. I’m never going to look at it as anything but a boon for the company. I just made some assumptions, that was wrong on my part." She said carefully and Andrew wanted to groan.

She was just being nice. She thought she had said something nice, and Andrew was panicking about it in front of everyone. They didn’t need to know that Andrew had some issues related to his own childhood. He should have just accepted it as the compliment that it was. Damn it.

"It’s fine, Dr. Cox. You didn’t say anything bad or wrong. I just...we haven’t really made any decisions on that, and we’re in no rush to do so." Andrew said and hoped that was the right thing to say. Dr. Cox smiled softly, turning back to her work.

"Well, that’s good to hear. I just hope that when you do plan to, you let us know. I am more than happy to offer any help that I can, especially after you’ve helped me." She said and Andrew felt his face warm.

She had every right to make that little dig at him. Andrew sighed, sitting down at his desk.

"I’m sure you guys will be some of the first to know, especially if I’m still working here." Andrew told them casually and Dr. Piper let out a small squeal.

"Oh, I can’t wait! I’m sure if you two decide to have kids, they are going to be so stinking cute!" She said excitedly and Dr. Cox threw Andrew a smile as Andrew’s face burned.

"I’m sure they will be. Little hellions too, since they are going to have Mr. Beckett has half of their genes. And probably very stubborn." She smirked as Andrew took off his glasses and covered his face.

Why did he come into work today? Had he made the right call here? He kind of felt like he had made the wrong choice, with the two women smirking at him and laughing.

~

It was a long day, only made longer when Mr. Newman swung by with some documents that needed to get to Maxwell’s hands. Mr. Newman had sounded a little surprised that Maxwell had told him to hand them over to Andrew instead of delivering them himself, but Andrew kindly explained that Richard was still rather unstable and more pheromones being introduced right now wouldn’t be good.

Mr. Newman understood, a look of compassion on his face.

"Is Mr. Gates doing okay?" He asked softly and Andrew nodded, smiling.

"Much better than we thought he would be." Andrew told the head secretary and Mr. Newman let out a soft sigh. He placed a hand against his suit, over his heart.

"Good. When I heard that he had manifested, I was so worried. He’s such a nice man that I don’t want anything terrible to happen to him." Mr. Newman said and Andrew twitched slightly. He stared at Mr. Newman, really looking at him and narrowed his gaze.

That didn’t sound like just concern, but Andrew shouldn’t shove his nose where it didn’t belong. He was sure Richard wouldn’t like it, and he knew that Mr. Newman would be so damn embarrassed if he did. Even if his senses were tingling that something else was going on, he’d just had a talk with Richard over the weekend about how he didn’t really have anyone he was interested in.

So this had to be on Mr. Newman’s side since Richard hadn’t noticed at all. That was a shame. Mr. Newman was cute in that classic omega style. Andrew wasn’t going to stop Richard or Mr. Newman for that matter from liking another omega. Andrew was all about liking who you liked. He just happened to fall into a more traditional relationship.

So, because Mr. Newman was trying to show his concern but in a softer way, he began going through all of the things that he could with the man without breaking Richard’s personal information. Stuff that as an omega Mr. Newman would understand and appreciate.

Mr. Newman was very appreciative of the extra information, and his face was a little flushed as he listened. Andrew could feel that something was brewing there, but he also knew that Richard was as dense as a brick wall. When he finished going over all of the information that he could, Mr. Newman stood there for a second longer.

They were alone in the office, Dr. Cox and Dr. Piper having left when he was speaking to Mr. Newman, which was the only reason that Andrew felt okay saying what he said next.

"Richard is a smart man in all other aspects, except romance." Andrew told the other man softly. "Even friendship is something he’s not that great at picking up on. If you want to get close to him, you’re going to have to be obvious about it." Andrew told him and Mr. Newman’s face bloomed with colour. He began stuttering over his words, shaking like a leaf.

"I-I’m not, I w-wasn’t-" Andrew raised a hand, silencing him with a gentle smile.

"I’m not saying you are or you aren’t, I’m just letting you know more information about him. I love him to death, but he didn’t think we were friends for the first two years of your friendship. He thought we were just hanging out because we were neighbours." Andrew told him and Mr. Newman’s eyes widened. "I had a key to his house by that point." Andrew told him and Mr. Newman covered his mouth as he laughed.

"O-Oh. That’s actually...really cute." Mr. Newman said, and then his face flushed more. Andrew grinned.

"It is, right? And it’s okay to say that it is. Richard might complain about it, but he’s all bluster." Andrew told him and Mr. Newman nodded shyly.

"Thank you, Dr. Knox. Er, Andrew." He corrected when Andrew gave him a stern look. "I appreciate your advice. I just...feel like I’ll have to wait to pursue a...relationship with Dr. Gates until he gets back to work." He said and Andrew scoffed.

"Why wait? You can reach out now. It’s the perfect time. He’s not allowed to work yet, and you can take advantage of the fact that you’re Maxwell’s head secretary. Of course, once his pheromones are more stable. We wouldn’t want everyone to get triggered and go into heat. That sounds like a nightmare." Andrew said and Mr. Newman chuckled.

"You’re a good person, Andrew." Mr. Newman told him kindly and Andrew wondered what was with all the compliments today.