“Good morning, Finn,” Gabe called, raising his voice a little. A laugh drifted through the laptop speakers, and a moment later, Xavier’s boy peeked into the frame with a shy smile on his pretty face.
“Morning, Gabe,” he said, then squeaked as Xavier caught him around the waist and tugged him into his lap. He curled into his Daddy with a happy sigh, and Xavier pressed a lingering kiss to his temple.
“So you’re the miracle worker who changed Remy’s mind?” Gabe asked, curious how that had come about. Remy hadn’t been opposed to the party, but he hadn’t shown much interest either.
Finn ducked his head and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Well, I had this business idea,” Finn started hesitantly. “I told Remy, and he said he has people he wants me to meet. AndDaddy—Xavi,” Finn corrected, blushing, “said some of them will be at the party.” Finn shrugged and gave Gabe a pleased smile. “So, I guess Remy’s coming now?”
Xavier kissed the side of Finn’s head again, in a movement that was filled with pride. “You should tell Gabe about your business too,” Xavier said, his narrowed eyes telling Gabe he better be interested or at least play along.
Finn’s shyness vanished as he explained his idea for a service that would use private aircraft to fly unwanted animals from shelters around the country to their new owners in other states. Gabe wasn’t much of an animal person, but he could see how invested Finn was in the idea. And from a PR standpoint, it was an excellent move. People hated the wastefulness of private jets, but people loved their pets. It was actually brilliant, the more he thought about it. He could probably help Finn find some jet owners who would be interested in the social capital.
“Is that Finn?” Ev asked from the doorway. He was on his way in with a stack of mail.
Finn perked up on the screen, having heard his friend’s voice. “Ev!” he called.
Ev bit the inside of his cheek, hesitating, but Gabe could see Finn’s excitement and Xavier’s indulgent smile. Gabe waved Ev over, accepting that he had lost control of the meeting and Xavier would be no help getting it back on track.
Once Ev was in view of the cameras, the boys grinned at each other. “Happy New Year,” Ev said to Finn and Xavier, leaning in with one hand on Gabe’s deskso he could see better. Gabe pushed back a little to give him space, and his eyes caught on his PA’s perky ass. He made a note of how well his pants fit him, then removed his gaze before he got called out for it.
“Why was your phone off all weekend?” Finn was asking Ev. “I called and texted. I was getting worried.”
Ev’s shoulders hunched, and the back of his neck went red. He threw Gabe a look that he couldn’t decipher, then refocused on the laptop screen. “Sorry, man. I was recovering from that party I told you about. I wasn’t up for phone calls.”
Finn wrinkled his nose. “For two days? Maybe you had a little too much fun.”
Ev made a choked sound and shook his head. Gabe couldn’t see his face, but Finn’s eyes flicked to Gabe, and he winced then looked contrite. Most likely, Ev didn’t want to talk about his hangover in front of his boss.
“Okay, fine,” Finn said finally. “But next time, you need to at least text me first. Don’t make me drive up there,” he threatened.
Ev lost his tension. “Like Xavier would ever let you drive. He’d just call the airport and have the jet standing by.”
Xavier looked amused at their banter. “He’s not wrong, sweetheart,” he told Finn, arms tightening around his waist. “But I think we should let Ev get back to work and let Gabe have his computer back. Besides, you and I have plans.”
Finn ducked his head, his cheeks pinking. “Yes, Daddy,” he whispered as he shot a glance at the laptop. “But are you sure you aren’t too busy?”
Gabe bit back a snarky comment about their meeting being overrun. Finn was too much of a sweetheart to tease very hard, and Gabe wasn’tthatmuch of an asshole. “Don’t worry about it. We were done here,” he said, getting a grateful look from Xavier. Xavier was working on his boy’s confidence, but they had a ways to go.
“Bye, Finny,” Ev said, straightening up. “I’ll call you tonight, okay?”
“Bye, Ev. Have a good day,” Finn replied sweetly.
Gabe gave Xavier a nod. They could finish up anything else later.
Xavier signed off, but not before Gabe caught sight of him turning Finn for another kiss.
A pang of want took Gabe by surprise, but he shrugged it off. He might enjoy picking up a boy—like the sexy little thing from New Year’s—at the club from time to time, but relationships were too much work. At nearly forty, Gabe was satisfied with his life. Xavier settling down wasn’t a sign that Gabe should be looking. Despite some kinks in common, he and his business partner were very different people.
From beside him, Ev cleared his throat. His eyes, which Gabe had yet to figure out the color of behind his dark-framed glasses, looked everywhere but at Gabe. “Um. Lunch?”
Back to the flustered avoidance, were they? Gabe glanced at the clock, then arched an eyebrow. “It’s a little early, don’t you think?”
Everett lifted a hand like he was going to run it through his hair, then stopped, lightly smoothing the reddish strands instead before dropping his hand back to his side. “I mean for your eleven o’clock with Robert. Do you want me to order, or are you planning to go out?”
The question was directed at Gabe’s Persian rug, and he wondered again what the hell had Ev so out of sorts. In two months, he’d never struck Gabe as someone capable of being shy or even hesitant. The way he let difficult situations roll off him was one of the things Gabe appreciated about his new PA.
Gabe didn’t have time to ponder it. “No telling how long that will run. Order from Cosmo’s. You know what I like. Robbie will take the Cobb salad. Get yourself something as well. I doubt we’ll get much of a lunch break.”
Ev agreed, then nearly tripped over the rug he’d been staring at so intently as he rushed out of the room.