Page 19 of The Broker

Jared stared at the man like he had three heads. “What the heck does that mean?”

Matteo got up and walked over to his alcohol cart to pour himself a drink. “Want one?”

“No, thanks,” Jared answered.

He wasn’t a big drinker, plus he had to watch his calorie intake if he was going to remain hot as fuck. He didn’t want to spend all day running with Diesel if he didn’t have to. No offense, but the guy always insisted ontalkingduring runs. Jared preferred to crank up his headphones, then run until his legs burned like hell.

Once Matteo’s martini was made, he walked over to where Jared lay sprawled out and tapped his legs.

Jared scooted up and made room for his boss next to him.

“Pulling pigtails. That’s what little boys do to little girls who they like. Or, in your case, immature skater boys and ex-army grunts.”

Jared stared at the Italian Adonis and wondered what he was getting at.

Matteo finally took a seat next to Jared.

“By pissing you off, he’s forcing you to pay attention to him, thereby keeping all your focus solely on him.” Matteo sipped his chocolate martini, giving his words a chance to sink in.

A piece of wood exploded in the fire, making both men jump slightly in their seats.

“No way. He’s just an annoying little shit who likes to piss me off.”

Deep down, Jared wanted to believe what Matteo was saying. That Isaac’s actions were all just a way to get his attention. He’d had feelings for Isaac for a while now but never thought that his feelings would be reciprocated.

Could Isaac actually be into him?

No way.He was just an immature little shit who liked to play pranks on people and annoy the fuck out of them.

No person in their right mind would be into him. Jared was… damaged. His scars were invisible, and his issues ran deep—most of which stemmed from his time in the military and witnessing the atrocities committed by man. He never imagined that humans could be capable of such hate and horror.

Subconsciously, his hand began to shake.

Jared noticed Matteo’s eyes fall to his hand.

Focus. Focus, Jared. You’re safe now. Safe here. You’re never going back to that God-forsaken place, and you’ll never have to watch all those people die and all your friends suffer. Never again.

As if sensing Jared’s internal turmoil, Matteo leaned over and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

The firmness of Matteo’s grip calmed the storm brewing within Jared’s head. The tightness in his chest began to relax, and his heartbeat returned to normal once again.

“You’re safe now. Nothing here can harm you,” Matteo’s gentle, reassuring voice said, bringing Jared back to the safety and warmth of Matteo’s medieval office.

Jared gave him a slight smile. He appreciated Matteo comforting him and was grateful for all that he had done for him over the years.

“Thanks, M,” Jared whispered, watching as his hand finally stilled.

He squeezed Jared’s shoulder one last time, no doubt making sure that Jared was once again relaxed and at peace. When it appeared that he was sure, Matteo stood and walked back to his desk.

“I swear to God, if I ever catch Edwin…” Matteo let his threat hang there as he began searching through his database onceagain. He had been hard at work trying to fill the gaps in his files and make sense of the information Edwin had fucked up.

Edwin was a former dancer and close confidant of Matteo’s who used to work at the club. The two got close over the years, and eventually, Matteo trusted him enough to allow him access to his personal files so that Edwin could update guest files with newly acquired information obtained by his fellow dancers.

Unbeknownst to Matteo, Edwin began developing feelings for Matteo and approached him one night with an outlandish idea. He suggested that Matteo use the information they had gathered to blackmail and extort money from their guests. Why wait months for information to pay off when you could go right to the source and demand payment?

Matteo was horrified at the idea. While he might use this information for his own personal gain, the whole point of this establishment was to build a safe and secure community in which these men felt safe to be themselves and explore their own sexual fantasies and desires. His goal was not to scam these men out of their money.

When Matteo voiced his outrage and shot down the idea, Edwin dropped the issue without another word. All seemed well until a few months later when Edwin made a sexual pass at Matteo. Matteo explained that while he valued their close friendship, he had no interest in exploring a romantic relationship with the man.

---