was the only afternoon I had all week to run errands! I have to pick up my laundry and go to the bank and…”

“Your laundry will be fine for sixty minutes,” Derek said. “You’ve been really busy lately.”

“I have a lot to take care of,” John said.

“You’ve been working a lot,” Derek said. “Late at night, on weekends, over lunch…”

“It comes with the promotion,” John said irritably. “Was it my imagination, or did we already talk about this? I work a lot, my job demands a lot of hours, my promotion came with a lot of responsibility. I don’t know why you can’t understand that, but if I wanted a nagging wife I’d go find one.”

“I’m not trying to nag you,” Derek said.

“Good, then…”

“I’m trying to get your attention,” Derek said.

Taken aback, John tried to remember Derek ever cutting him off before. Derek never interrupted. Maybe John should take this conversation more seriously.

“Get my attention?” he asked.

“You’re killing yourself over this job,” Derek said. “You were before the promotion, and now it’s even worse. You’re neglecting everything else in your life.”

“I’m busy,” John said. “I have-”

“I never see you anymore,” Derek said.

“You’re seeing me right now!” John protested. He tried not to sound frustrated, but irritation was in his voice. “You know how many hours I have to put in. I already told you. What do you want, do you want me to quit my job?”

“I want you to work reasonable hours,” Derek said. “Your job isn’t life or death. No one’s fate hangs in the balance.”

“Mine does,” John said. “If I do well now-”

“You might get another promotion in the future,” Derek said. “Maybe another after that, and one more after that one. That means more responsibility, more work, more hours, and for what? More of the same?”

“For money,” John said. “Stability, job security, a solid financial future. I’d like to be able to retire comfortably someday.”

“And what about right now?” Derek asked.

“Right now, I’d like you to find the keys!”

Derek was unperturbed. “They’re in the kitchen.”

John stared at Derek’s placid expression. “They’re what?!”

“The keys are in the kitchen,” Derek said.

“What about your brother?!”

“I faked the call,” Derek said. “I wanted to talk to you while you were a captive audience and had to listen to me. The last two times, the conversation took a left turn and we ended up having sex, so this time I decided to restrain you physically so you couldn’t distract me.”

“What?!” John almost shouted. Faked the call? Captive audience? The last two times? “If you’re telling me that the elevator-”

“Listen to me,” Derek said, looking firmly into his eyes. “You work too hard. You work too many hours. You don’t have to do all of that.”

“I’m not doing it because I want to do it,” John snapped. “I do it because my job requires it. You set me up?!”

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” Derek said. “I’ve been watching you work harder and harder, I’ve been watching you put more and more of yourself into your job.”

“You knew how hard I worked when