Daily Dose Short Story
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Blurb
Fifty-one-year-old Jonathan Allen is watching his friends sign domestic partnerships left and right, and for the first time considers how lonely his future might become. His last boyfriend was a parasite, hurting him in so many ways, and he’s beginning to believe living alone with his cat is a better option than chasing shadows.
When Jonathan starts working for Tricorp, a multinational construction company dealing with conservative religious countries in the Middle East and Asia, he connects with CEO Blake Carter on all levels. But the company is antigay and forces its employees to sign a reticence clause, which puts the company on the LGBT-blacklist, and Jonathan back into the closet. He knows fantasizing about Blake is a pointless endeavor. But life throws them a curveball when Jonathan’s ex and a man from Blake’s past come together to destroy both their lives.
Review
This was a frenetic explosion of a short story! We burst in the scene when Jon’s presentation to a group of very conservative businessmen is interrupted by a display of pictures showing him having sex with his boyfriend.
His boss, Blake, is quickly corralled into the mess by a member of the board with a vendetta against Blake.
In no time at all, both Jon and Blake are being escorted by security out of the building, threatened by Jon’s ex-boyfriend, the father of one of Blake’s ex and facing unemployment to boot.
Luckily, they have each other and it turns out they’ve both been harboring feelings for one another for some time.
**
This would be a great novel – it was way too much for a short story. There was too much drama covered in too few pages with a conclusion that (though very happy) felt way too rushed to feel natural or authentic.
I also didn’t bond with either MC as well as I wanted. Jon was an unreliable hero who never redeemed himself for having a relationship with someone as evil as his ex. Blake seemed all over the place, flighty, insecure, then bossy and commanding. I didn’t get a feel for him as a person very well. Beyond the sexual, I didn’t see their attraction in the other. The relationship, though born in crisis, moved way too fast to feel comfortable and therefore the HEA didn’t feel organic either.
I think this has potential, but it didn’t quite make it as a great short story.
2.75 of 5 hearts
