CHAPTER 446: ANDY NEEDS TO GET GOOD AT ACCEPTING GIFTS

Time continued to march forward, and September was the month where the daycare was going to officially open. Maxwell delayed it because he’d never run a daycare before, and because neither him, nor Andrew, nor anyone they had in their inner circles really knew how to run a daycare, it took more care selecting someone.

They also had to add the finishing touches to the place, and test run the daycare to see if it was fun with Maria’s and Dr. Cox’s kids help.

They liked the space. A lot.

The day they tested was full of kids laughing and screeching. Dr. Cox was a little embarrassed with how her daughter behaved, but at the same time, she looked relieved.

Being with Maria’s kids had really helped little Belle. She had been shy, scared, and scarred by the daycares that she had been in before. Now, she was able to run and play like the other kids, all big smiles, dirty clothes, and normal kid behaviour. Hewie was just a sweet kid to see around, squealing as he chased his siblings, hands out, with his sweet, squeezable cheeks.

Lots of the employees who could swing it came by to see the kids play at the daycare. Researchers and sales reps alike wanted to see how sweet the kids were, and lots of them spoke to Maria, Dr. Cox and Andrew about how excited they were for the daycare and how much it would help them. They didn’t speak to Maxwell, but spoke near him.

That was an improvement in Andrew’s books, and Maxwell also seemed pleased with it as well. Previously, while everyone always idolized Maxwell, they would scatter like scared animals when he would approach, or would fall silent if he was nearby. Now, they were behaving like kids who wanted the older, cooler kid to hear them talking.

It was cute, and made Maxwell’s chest puff out.

Andrew had softened his image a little in the company, but not enough that people stopped respecting him. If anything, they seemed happy that their boss had someone next to him that supported him and cared for him. That, and Andrew was a big softie. He always made sure to speak to those who he knew, asked how people’s days were going, that kind of thing.

Things that Maxwell couldn’t get away with. Like the social butterfly Andrew was, he was able to get the pulse of the company without others thinking anything of it. Well, some of the sales reps seemed to know what he was doing, but they just gave Andrew a knowing smile and helped him out.

It was one of the reasons why the company was glad that Andrew was becoming part of the face of the company with Maxwell. He at first made others worried because he was a true alpha, but by the time that Andrew had attended his fourth big important party with Maxwell, the board of directors had relaxed.

He did not take away from Maxwell’s power. He behaved like a softener. A breath of fresh air to Maxwell’s more serious personality. He was able to converse with the partners of the very big important men and women who Maxwell was courting for business purposes, and often Andrew would end up invited to dinner parties.

He was Luis to Maxwell’s Thomas. A great companion that others could recognise. A good man, a smart man, who saw value in others.

The other thing that Andrew going around with Maxwell was doing, was rubbing in the Abraham’s face what they had lost. Andrew had been like this before he was a true alpha, and Maxwell had already said, publicly, that he didn’t care that Andrew was a true alpha now. He would have loved him if he was still a beta. Had planned to.

His ability to calm others down, make them feel comfortable, show the connections that he had built on his own, without anyone else’s help was far more important than where he came from. People saw it in real time, and told Maxwell that he was lucky that he was going to have a husband like Andrew.

Maxwell liked those compliments very much.

Andrew’s school was going well. Surprisingly well, considering how long it had been since he had been in school. With his more flexible schedule because he was out of the alpha department as a normal worker, he was able to attend labs, but did the rest of the coursework from the office. Or home.

Andrew had worried that the other students would hate him especially since he was older, but for the most part, they were relatively understanding. As soon as he showed up, it was like they were star-struck. They understood why he couldn’t attend school with the rest of them.

Some had even whispered that it was probably a security issue.

Andrew had laughed at that, but when he told Maxwell about it, he had not laughed. Maxwell had to be the one to point out that Andrew had legitimately been kidnapped before, so yeah, it was a security issue for Andrew to attend school full time.

Andrew had felt a little sheepish after that.

~

When the daycare opened, it was like the floodgates opened. Of course, Maxwell sent out an email two months prior to let the parents know it was happening, and to get in contact with a particular email with a form attached for them to enroll their kid(s) if they wanted to.

The spots filled up quickly.

Maxwell had predicted low, thinking that his people wouldn’t want to pull their kids out of their previous daycares because he didn’t think that they would all be in situations like Dr. Cox’s. He forgot that his people loved and trusted him, plus the childcare was ’free’ for the company.

Of course people were going to jump on it.

Maxwell thankfully had a month and a bit to hire more people for the daycare, with the head of the daycare’s help. He had planned to open it up to the public, minus Maria since she was already promised spots, but with how high his demand was, he was now considering going into opening daycares as a side business for his company.

Andrew laughed at the thought. Maxwell Beckett, drug company owner, and day care supporter. It was a cute image, and unintentionally, played into his ’omega’ status. Just a supportive man all around, and he was one of the hardest businessmen to negotiate with.

Andrew loved that about his fiancé.

Andrew also put the brakes on his thoughts. They didn’t even know if the daycare was a success yet, so give it a few months, maybe a year to see if it was viable. Maxwell had nodded at that, and then smiled at Andrew in that way that had him a little suspicious.

He then told him it could be his first venture after he was a married man, and Andrew just melted.

How could he argue with him after he said something like that?

~

Like Andrew had thought, the daycare was a success. By October, everyone wanted to be in the daycare. The food was good, the teachers were great, and the kids came home happy and excited to go back the next day.

When Andrew went to check on Dr. Cox, Richard, and the rest of the alpha research department, Dr. Cox broke down and hugged Andrew. He didn’t know why she was crying right away, but he hugged her back and supported her.

She finally brought up the change in Belle in just a few weeks and how happy she was that she hadn’t torn a strip off of him when he’d pretended to go looking for a daycare for Maxwell’s brother. Andrew flushed at that, but Dr. Cox just smiled at him, her eyes watery. She was grateful that she had taken his hand, because her daughter was so damn happy.

Andrew was glad that she was happy, but he felt like he couldn’t take full credit for what was going on. She wouldn’t let him retract it, because she knew that without Andrew around, Mr. Beckett would not have even considered a daycare.

Andrew couldn’t exactly deny that because...maybe he would have, but it would have been months to years later. Amir would have probably changed his mind on not having a daycare, but he had a feeling Mehar would have to be...2? 3 before he considered it?

Andrew was awkward accepting her praise, but it was Richard who came over and slapped him on the back, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

"Just let the woman thank you, man. Honestly, you need to get more comfortable with it. I hear there is a whole army ready to thank you for this. Lower and higher levels. Dr. Liu is also part of that list." Richard warned and Andrew felt his face warm.

"They should be thanking Maxwell." Andrew tried to say but Richard just shook his head.

"They thank Maxwell by doing a good job. They can’t do that for you. You benefit from it, but not completely. I was hounded by a few of the researchers asking about what kind of things that you like. Expect hand made goods, Andy. I know you hate being thanked for doing ’what a normal person would do’ but you need to get better at it." Richard used a mocking tone when he said the last part, his fingers up and quoting. Andrew flushed more, because he was quoting Andrew.

From when he was younger.

Andrew hunched his shoulders, Dr. Cox having released him to step back and clean up under her eyes. Richard smirked at him before he began to rub his hands together.

"Oh, and I hope you’re prepared for what I’m going to get you." Richard said and Andrew’s eyes went wide.

"What?! No!" He protested and Richard tossed his head back, giving him an evil smirk.

"Oh hell yeah! You can’t stop me! Unless you plan to uninvite me from your wedding, there is no way you can stop me." Richard warned and Andrew felt a sense of helpless wash over him. He had no idea what Richard was planning, but he didn’t like it.

He didn’t help Richard to get something out of it, and Richard knew it. Which was why he was so excited to fuck with him. Andrew almost wanted to cry.

"I didn’t help you to get something out of it." Andrew muttered, and Richard grinned widely. Even Dr. Cox smiled softly, while Dr. Piper was grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, which makes this even sweeter. You don’t even expect anything for your good deeds, so just sit back and take it, alright? I’m sure that’s not the first time you’ve heard that." Richard added with a laugh and Andrew hit his shoulder with his fist. Richard laughed loudly, as did the rest of the office.

That was so mean of him.