Page 4 of Something Unprofessional

No.Fuck,no. He stiffened his spine. Gabe. His name wasGabe.Ev took a deep breath and tried to convince his pulse to slow the hell down. Be cool. Act normal. “That depends,” he replied, keeping his eyes on Natalie as she steamed the milk.

“On?” Daddy—Gabe asked, humor in his tone.

“How busy we’re going to be today. I might need the extra caffeine.”

That got him a low chuckle, and Ev cursed himself for making the joke. The last thing he needed was that sound setting off all kinds of pants feelings.

“I may have only known you a few months, but I’m relatively sure you never need more caffeine.”

Ev rolled his eyes. “That’s because you’ve never seen me without it.”

“Fair enough.”

Was this how they were going to play it? Just act like everything was normal and they didn’t do what they did? Like Evdidn’t have some of the best sex of his life with his off-limits boss?

Natalie held out their drinks, and Gabe reached past Ev to take his. Ev let out an annoyed hiss. He’d never actually agreed to give him the drink. Even if he had ordered it for him. He gave Da—Gabe an affronted look, but it was ignored as the asshole took a sip and hummed with pleasure. If this guy could stop making sounds, that would be great.

Ev fought to drag his eyes away from the bob of Gabe’s throat—it was really unfair how handsome Gabe was with his warm, tanned skin, bright-blue eyes, and chiseled features—and caught Natalie watching them, her lips quirking with amusement. He gave her a “don’t you dare” look, and luckily, she kept her thoughts to herself, turning to help the next customer.

Ev took a sip of his own drink, his shoulders unknotting at the rush of chocolate and sweet, sweet caffeine. Fuck, that was exactly what he needed.

“Shall we?” Gabe gestured in the direction of the elevators, and Ev’s gaze caught on his hands. Hands that had been all over Ev’s body just three days ago. His tension came rushing back. Maybe they weren’t ignoring it. Maybe Gabe was just waiting to get him alone. Could Ev get away with taking the stairs to the thirty-second floor? He could claim he was starting a new workout routine. New year’s resolutions and all. Except Ev hated working out, and if he climbed that many flights of stairs, he might die before he reached the top—which would solve all his problems, if he was being honest.

By the time Ev decided he needed a different excuse, they were in the elevator, the doors closing. Ev pressed his back to the wall, his skin heating as he waited for the other shoe to drop.

“How was your weekend?” Gabe asked.

Ev choked. “Good,” he replied in a strangled tone, then cleared his throat. “Yours?”

“Better than I expected,” Gabe said. His eyes were warm, but he wasn’t looking at Ev. In fact, he seemed lost in thought. Huh. Wait. Ev searched Gabe’s face for any hint that he was being teased. Maybe Gabe was testing him?

“Why’s that?” Ev scrubbed his damp palms against his thighs, then hid a hand behind his back and crossed his fingers.Please.

The corner of Daddy’s lips curled into a private smile. He didn’t look at Ev. “Just a very good night.”

Ev stayed frozen for the rest of the ride, his heart pounding in his ears, his mind racing. Was he really this lucky? Did Gabe actually not know? Had Ev somehow fucked his off-limits boss and gotten away with it? Fuck. Maybe he wasn’t going to have to invent a twin brother who lived in Australia after all.

Gabe

It would be niceto know what had his PA so flustered this morning. Admittedly, he hadn’t known Ev long—Xavier had coerced him into hiring the boy a little over two months ago—but it was clear something was off. Gabe eyed the bakery bag sitting on the corner of his desk. Ev had practically thrown it at him with a mumbled “Happy New Year, I guess,” before retreating to his desk like Gabe might snap at him for the gift.

Gabe hoped it wasn’t something he’d done. As much as he’d resisted hiring a PA, Ev had proven to be a needed addition. Gabe hadn’t realized how much he’d relied on Xavier’s assistant, Asher, until Xavier had fucked off to a little mountain town and taken his talented PA with him.

Speaking of Xavier, it was just about time for their weekly check-in. Right on schedule, a video conference notification popped up on his computer. He accepted it, and a momentlater, Xavier’s face appeared on the screen. In the background, the blue-tinted mountain landscape filled the window of his new home office. Gabe was still wrapping his mind around Xavier DeCain, farm owner.

“Happy New Year,” Xavier said, a warm smile on his bearded face. Gabe had to admit, he looked good. He’d traded his neatly trimmed goatee and tailored suits for a more casual look now that he wasn’t in the office on a regular basis. He’d never looked happier, but that was less to do with the mountains and more to do with the boy Xavier had left the city for.

“The same to you,” Gabe replied. “How was the trip home?” Xavier and Finn, along with Finn’s grandfather, had spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s in New York. Gabe had seen them briefly, but Ev had seen them more. Ev and Finn were close friends, which was how Ev had landed his job.

“Smooth,” Xavier said, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands in front of him. “We’ll be back up there soon. Finn wants to visit for Ev’s birthday.”

“Is that before or after LA?” The firm was hosting a client party in the middle of the month. They held one each winter as a thank-you to their current clients and to network with potential new ones. It was timed in the lead-up to one of the large awards shows, when the majority of people would be in town. Asher was handling most of the logistics this year, along with their event planning team, though Ev had some responsibilities as well.

“After. Toward the end of the month. Speaking of LA, Remy changed his mind and says he’ll attend.”

Gabe’s eyebrows went up. That was big news for them. Remy was one of Xavier’s personal clients. A mainstay in Hollywood who’d been through a rough patch recently but had come out more sought-after than ever. Having him in attendance was a great reminder to other potential clients and agents of just what DeCain PR could do for them. “What made him reconsider?”

“You mean who.” Xavier chuckled, his eyes creasing at the corners as he smiled past the computer screen. Gabe knew exactly who had caught his eye.

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