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    Andr0gene
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Confounded: Part II - 51. Chapter 51

CHAPTER 51 --==Kit's POV==--

"Alright, spill; what is up with you. You're supposed to yap it up and I'm supposed to be the brooding little shit," Tom said, as we sped down the highway. At the current pace we'd just make it in time before Duncan opened up the warehouse.
"But I'm in the mirror universe, doing all the yapping and you doing the brooding."

Shaken out of my thoughts, I glanced sideway to find Tom's annoyed gaze on me. I sighed.

"Sorry. It's just...Dad intercepted me in the kitchen, when I was getting coffee. Told me some things I hadn't realized, is all."

"And that's got you all in a funk?"

A little bit, yeah. I knew I'd been a shit to the guys and before we'd start to help out today, I'd have to make sure to tackle both Duncan and Danny and apologize. That wasn't the part that had me in a 'funk', as Tom put it. It was the other bit, about evolving in our relationship. I hadn't realized that things had gotten so out of hand and actually carried over into other things.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I then briefly told Tom the gist of what'd happened.

"So Dad thinks that I might be...umm...well; the way you and I, or actually I am, when I'm with you is carrying over to when I'm not with you."

"Mr. Bossy Top with a God complex?" Tom snickered.

"Hey!" I protested, hitting his arm. He sent me a 'Dude...seriously?' look. "Okay, fine. But I don't have a God complex."
That elicited a grin.
"Dad said I need to keep it in check. Private."

"You better!" Tom laughed, hitting my arm. "I'll get really angry if you do to others what you do to me."
He winked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't do anything to you that you don't want. Or ask me to do. And you love it."

"Lies!"
We both knew better so I grinned but then a thought hit me.

"Wait; are we so different from, you know... regular..."
Tom seemed unconcerned about it and shrugged.

"I don't care. Neither should you. We're doing nothing wrong. Why do you care so much, what other people think? It's not like they are there."
I hadn't quite looked at it that way. It made sense.
"So that's it? You were getting a bit too cocky? And he called you on it?"

"Yeah."

"Easily solved. Get worked up, bring it home and take it out on me."
The look he sent me was downright mischievous.
"I promise I won't object," adding a second later, "much."

That made me laugh out loud.

"Deal!"

**********

We arrived at the warehouse with exactly one minute to spare. Duncan was already there and behind us, a few more cars were arriving.
Getting out, I immediately walked over to Duncan.

"Mornin' boys," he greeted us, his eyes curiously glancing at Tom.

"Hey Duncan. We've come to help out today..."

"I heard; your dad called me a few minutes ago. And who's this?"

"Duncan, meet Tom. Tom, this is Duncan, our foreman here."
Tom extended his hand and he took it, introducing himself.

"We sure can use your help, guys. What with the mishap, yesterday."
He winked at me and I felt my cheeks flush.

"Yeah, about that..."
I swallowed.
"I'm sorry. I was being a jerk. The whole thing was my fault to begin with and I didn't have the right to get angry."
Duncan waved it away.

"Already forgotten. It happens more often than you think. Relax. We'll get this sorted in no time. Hey Danny."
Behind us, Danny walked up, still looking very sleepy and I felt even more guilty now.

"Hi Danny..." I began, cautiously.
He greeted me no different than usual; hard slap on the shoulder and a little punch on the arm.

"Kit! No suit? I hardly recognize you! Oh I'm sorry, I can touch you, no? There's no label on these, right?"

He pinched my thick blue-white chequered shirt: the warehouse could be cold at times. His grin took the sting out of the comment but his meaning wasn't lost on me. My cheeks heated up another degree.

"Sorry 'bout that, man. I didn't mean to be such a jackass about it."
I got a poke in the ribs for it.

"It's alright, kiddo. All good. See you brought help?"

And quick introduction round ensued for Tom, who shook the hand of each and every one of them, and we headed inside.

**********

The BSL warehouse was huge. Measuring 350 by 500 yards, it contained rows upon rows of shelves going way up to the rafters. The guys, when fetching or storing something way up high, called it 'putting it up in the steel' and used forklifts to get them there.

Everything we distributed came through here at some point, delivered and departing by truck through the five loading docks.

At all times of the day, except at night, a crew of 30 worked here in two shifts (15 per shift) and I'd spent many a summer here, getting dirty, greasy and having a load of fun. Especially standing on the fork of the truck and being raised way up high when a box or pallet got stuck. Dangerous and very illegal (luckily Dad never found out), but never had we had any accidents. Well...once, but nothing really bad; after that, though, whenever we had to go up there, we'd be tethered with a safety line.

I knew the main office was working on a more automated system with overhead cranes, robots in the aisles and such. It would cost millions to install and work on it would start later this year. We'd have to divert to another location for temporary storage, while this building would be worked on. It was exciting to see the work progressing at the office and I remember very well the conversations with legal about job losses here, due to automation and Dad's concern about them.

Some of these guys had been with BSL for years. The solution was one Dad dreamed up not that long ago, where he proposed going over to a 24 hour schedule, needing less people in a shift yet retaining all of them. I'd been at that meeting. It seemed so simple, yet no one had thought of it yet. We'd still need people loading the trucks for transport all over the west coast and further inland, right? And, as employees got older, or moved on to other companies, we'd phase out to the correct amount and return to different scheduling.

"Jesus," it sounded beside me as Tom craned his neck to look way up. "This is all your dad's?"
I felt my chest swell with pride.

"Ahuh. Big, huh?"

"Damn...I didn't realize BSL was such a big company."

"Oh yeah, we distribute all over the place. Most of it on the west coast, but we ship to Japan, China, Australia as well. Up and coming market for us. Last year we moved about 2.5 billion."
His eyes widened.

"Profit?"

"Nooooo," I snickered. Hah, if only. "Value moved around. Moving boxes, basically. We store for other companies as well. And we're working on making it all automated. It's a big project at the office, right now, you'll see on Monday."

"Wow."
I could see he was impressed. Mr. Not-Easy-To-Impress.
"I didn't know this was what you guys did. Not at this scale, fuck. Alright, go get very worked up today and you can be Bossy Top as much as you want, tonight."

I grinned. Oh, I would want.

andr0gene 2005-present
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

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Chapter Comments



Hullo! Read Confounded and all you had for Confounded II in one go. It was really cool. Then I got my reward for doing so by receiving the above new Chapter.

I am sorry I didn't comment or tag all the chapters. I got so engrossed, then by the time I remembered I had read so many chapters already. Really like this story. Of the two, I think I would prefer to be a Slattery :D 

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LOL! Why thank you for your comment. I appreciate it. And you can see it's taken a VERY long time for this story to continue, so you've arrived at the right time. I am determined to finish this. Might I also point to THAW (The House Always Wins)? It's my personal favorite. :2thumbs:

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3 hours ago, Andr0gene said:

Might I also point to THAW (The House Always Wins)? It's my personal favorite. :2thumbs:

 

I'm am so freaking happy to see new chapters, I can't even remember how many times I've read both stories...

I love the house always wins J.J. is such a great character.

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I like that Mitch wants to keep his faithful employees but asking them to do night shifts is perhaps not so hot an idea. Research shows working at night increases the risk of various health problems. I bet Tom would be the clever know-it-all who points it out. :whistle:

Expanding the business by building a second warehouse with all the automated stuff and then refitting the old one might be a better idea. 0:) 

Kit is so innocent and good-hearted, but Tom will spice his life up and he has a point about not caring what other people think.

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Oy, I'm a nurse and only work nights. :P 

Building a new warehouse and then refit the old one would more than double the cost. :*)

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Two chapters! We're getting spoiled. I like it! Kitt and Tom are a lot of fun now that they've worked things out. The banter is great. Cheers... Gary....

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On 3/17/2018 at 6:29 PM, Andr0gene said:

Oy, I'm a nurse and only work nights. :P 

Building a new warehouse and then refit the old one would more than double the cost. :*)

Yeah. I've been working night jobs for over 3 years now. I'm a night owl and I don't particularly like people. Being awake during the day is actually MORE dangerous for me as I tend to hurt myself in stupid ways.😝

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Thank you. Once I finish The Butler, I will resume on this one and also finish it. The end is not far off. :)

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This is great.  I really enjoy Tom and his brooding emo sulks.  But he seems to be maturing a bit now.  Awesome 

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I read and thoroughly enjoyed Confounded I and II a long time ago, as far as the second book went.  So happy to notice that you’re back on this story again.  True to my bad habit, I had to binge read both books again to refresh my memory.   I think we’re all so looking forward to more.

 

I loved the Butler and only later realized you wrote Confounded, as well!   It gives me such pleasure to witness the deepening of Kit’s and Tom’s relationship. Can hardly wait for a happy ending for those two.

 

i’d also like to see that little shit, Jay, dealt with.  I could see Military School or jail, but the former might just encourage his homophobia, and the latter could harden his criminal path.  Still, those FB messages were scary and threatening.

 

You keep your readers so invested in your characters.  Great job.

Edited by tesao
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Well I just finished reading all of your stories and I'm excited for whatever else you decide to write! I'm glad I didn't start this one sooner because I see you had some... not so small breaks between chapters :)

Anyways, I think Confounded I and The Butler are my favorites, but THAW is also amazing. I wasn't a big fan of Colorado Games by the end, I think it would've been better if it was shorter.

And pls hurry up with new chapters for this one!!

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I found Confounded yesterday and binge read all day, falling asleep last night, finishing up reading Confounded II this morning. I have gone through a kaleidoscope  of emotions, thoroughly  enjoying every moment I spent reading this wonderful story.  I love each and every character. With your writing style, you have managed to bring them to life in such a way I feel as if their friends and neighbors. I am so hoping that you continue writing this amazing story. I so look forward to reading more of their adventures. I am definitely  going to go and check out your other stories on the site. Thank you for sharing your amazing talent with us all.

 

Charlie

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1 hour ago, believein_u said:

I found Confounded yesterday and binge read all day, falling asleep last night, finishing up reading Confounded II this morning. I have gone through a kaleidoscope  of emotions, thoroughly  enjoying every moment I spent reading this wonderful story.  I love each and every character. With your writing style, you have managed to bring them to life in such a way I feel as if their friends and neighbors. I am so hoping that you continue writing this amazing story. I so look forward to reading more of their adventures. I am definitely  going to go and check out your other stories on the site. Thank you for sharing your amazing talent with us all.

 

Charlie

 

Yes, i am going to continue. But with this current heatwave in Holland, 30+ expected, i don't feel like sitting indoors in a hot room, clobbering on a keyboard. Nor do I have the inspiration to write atm. ;)  But I've not forgotten. :) 

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Going through my favorite saved stories and read this back to back with “Confounded” (“Confounded” being first obviously, 😊).

I was reminded why they were saved as favorites, they are a great family and this is a great story, would love to see new chapters, soon (this year? 😶)

Next is either “The Butler” or “Colorado Game”;  Probably will be Butler, I haven’t read it as a whole story yet,  just in installments.

Edited by FanLit
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Hope all is safe with you and yours.


It would be wonderful to see the continuation and conclusion of this story.

3 + years….😕

 

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Just finished Binge reading both Confounded and this one Great Stories.  Hope to see this one continued soon.

I saw in previous comments you are a nurse Thanks for service in helping patients in this difficult pandemic.  I hope you are well and staying as safe as you can.

 

Q

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