Page 30 of Just A Little Love

The laugh that escaped Anders’ throat was so brittle, I thought it would shatter him.

“John is being difficult. You know how he gets when things don’t go well at work. His brother is riding him hard at work. He’s been spending more time in business meetings but forgets to schedule through me, so the calendar is wrong and he gets mad since that's my job to handle. I tried to seduce him because who doesn’t like dick, and he laughed.” Anders took a shuddery breath before he continued. “I’m not the important one today.” He reached over and laced our fingers together. “You being so excited is wonderful, and I’m happy when you’re happy.”

Anders sincerely meant every word of the last part, and it made me sad. Here it was Saturday afternoon, and he’d taken a lunch break because he’d been doing the work of multiple people. He’d eaten quickly because he’d had hours worth of work yet to finish today. In hindsight, I should have volunteered to bring him lunch. Damn it.

“I think John being your boss would be difficult for you.” Anders was an executive assistant extraordinaire. His boss was his boyfriend, and they lived together. It was entirely too much power over him, and John, his boyfriend/boss, wielded the power to get untold amounts of free labor from Anders. If he got the overtime he earned, he wouldn’t have to hustle the way he did. As it was, John insisted they split everything fifty-fifty even though Anders made less than half of what he made.

Anders’ wan smile was all I needed to see. “Why don’t you come with us? It would be fun, and I think you’d like Gabriel. C’mon, it’d be awesome! You deserve a night out, especially since I know you and you’re going to go home and work on John’s stuff for the rest of the day. What would his brother do if he knew you were the one doing all the work?”

“I doubt he’d care.” Anders glanced around like a listening device might be in the living room. “There’s a credible rumor the company is in trouble. John doesn’t know it, but I’ve started putting feelers out. I’m an admin clerk on paper, so there’s no guarantee of anything. Thank you for the invitation, but I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

“Shut the front door! I thought you got a promotion. We celebrated your promotion. John was with us when we celebrated!”

Anders looked down at his lap and picked non-existent lint off his pants. “Funny story. His mom runs HR.”

I had a bad feeling I was about to get murdery.

“After all the paperwork was done and signed, his mom decided I didn’t have the qualifications for the promotion. No promotion, no raise.”

“Are you fucking serious? That’s bullshit. Why are you still there? They are taking advantage of you!” Anders hated raised voices, but this situation called for it.

Silence followed Anders’s heavy sigh. “Because I thought I loved him,” he finally said. Anders tried hard to hide the tears, but I could see them gather at the corner of his eyes.

“Anders! Why don’t you move in with me? There’s more than enough space, and the rent is cheap at approximately zero. You can get out from under John’s thumb.”

“You don’t need someone here when you are trying to get with a hot daddy. You need privacy. I’d feel like shit if I ruined something for you because I can’t get my act together and stop letting questionable men get away with shit. I am also bone tired, but I’ll go home after I finish up at work, put on my pajamas, and get some sleep. I’ll figure out all the John stufflater. He’s having dinner with his family, and thank God it’s a family-only. I’ll have the apartment to myself.”

Anders hopped off the couch, gave the biggest fake smile he could muster, and pulled on his jacket. He was in such a hurry to get away he had to come back to me to give me a proper goodbye hug. What was left of our lunch was on the table, abandoned.

I squeezed him tight. Knowing Anders, I knew there was more to the story. It broke my heart that he didn't think he deserved to take up space in the world. One hug wasn’t enough, so I grabbed Anders again and whispered in his ear, “I love you, and you will always have a home with me. Daddy or no Daddy.”

Anders laughed, a real one this time, and headed out the door.

Chapter 17

Gabriel

“How did you enjoy yourself tonight?”

Rory’s only response was to roll his head in my direction and pat his tummy.

My car was like a quiet cocoon where we sat for a minute after we left the restaurant. If I pulled out of the parking lot, it meant our night was nearly over and I wasn’t ready to let Rory go. Every moment I spent with him left me wanting more.

I'd already abandoned the idea of helping him find a different Daddy when this, whatever it was, ended.

It was idiotic.

Fucking dumb.

There was no damned way I would help him find someone to replace me. The obvious question was, did I want to step back from my career enough to let a boy into my life more permanently? Fuck if I knew.

Reed and Jakob had found a balance that worked. They were wildly happy in their relationship, and both of their careers were demanding. Reed, an ER doctor, and Jakob’, a bio-med super genius, both had time-consuming careers. If their text messages and social media pages were accurate, they appeared to manage their relationship as a daddy and boy just fine.

I’d spent considerable time and effort advancing my career and had accomplished a lot, especially at my age. After meeting Rory, all I did was contemplate the purpose of it. Maybe this thing with Rory was a sign from the universe to dial back the intensity a notch. Accolades and recognition were great, but I was fucking tired of being by myself when I got them. Staring at a shelf stacked with awards in my empty apartment was still lonely.

“Daddy, you okay?” Rory's voice jolted me back from the tangent my thoughts had wandered into and brought me back to the here and now. I shook the remaining cobwebs from my mind. My boy deserved all my attention.

“I’m fine, Bunny. I got sidetracked for a moment. We didn’t talk about it earlier, but would you stay with me tonight? I’m not ready to say good night. Unfortunately, I've got an early morning meeting scheduled, and the files I need are at my apartment.” I sounded like some creeper who was obsessed, but the thought of walking away from Rory tonight left a weight sitting in the middle of my chest.

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