Page 25 of The Chameleon

Isaac was standing next to the pool, chatting with one of their regulars. The man was some sort of a fashion guru or designer. Matteo really couldn’t remember. He did remember that the man enjoyed being spanked and humiliated during sex.

Jared let out a giggle as they watched a beagle—one of the guest's pet dogs—trot up beside Isaac and begin sniffing around his legs.

Matteo watched in confusion as the animal, without warning, stuck its nose right up Isaac’s butt.

Isaac gave a startled yelp before turning and swatting the dog away.

“What the fuck?” Matteo asked, trying not to laugh when the dog moseyed up to Isaac unaffected and went in for another sniff.

“Yo, what’s up, Snoopy?” Isaac huffed, turning around in frustration and trying to shoo the dog away once again.

Again, the stubborn dog trotted right back up to the boy with the “juicy” ass Speedo and began its sniffing campaign once again.

“Like, seriously? What the fuck is wrong with this dog?” Isaac shouted, taking a few steps back and watching in horror as the beast continued to pursue his “juicy” ass.

Isaac turned his butt away from the dog, only to have the persistent creature come after him once again.

“I think the dog likes you,” Jared shouted as his boyfriend, the blue-haired skater boy, took off running around the pool with the dog in hot pursuit.

Beside Matteo, Jared and Diesel burst out laughing.

Seriously, what was wrong with these guys?

“Umm, shouldn’t you be running off to save the man who you supposedly love?” Matteo asked, concerned about Jared's lack of hero action.

“Oh, don’t worry. The pooch is nothing but a little love bug. See how he knows where the magic is?” Jared choked out in between fits of laughter.

At the other side of the deck, Isaac stopped and turned, hoping he had lost the dog. The boy let out another squeal as the dog conducted a sneak-attack poke right up Isaac’s clenched butt.

“Jared! Help!” Isaac called out, letting out another squeal as the dog continued its relentless search. “Fuck, this,” Isaac shouted, turning and running toward the changeroom doors.

“Seriously. Should I be concerned?” Matteo asked Jared, who seemed to be having way too much of a good time.

“No. No. I spent the morning soaking Isaac’s swimsuit in beef juice, then gave it to him when it was dry.”

Matteo’s mouth dropped open.

“It was payback for what he did to me last week.”

Jared and Isaac had this weird fetish where they liked to play pranks on one another. Originally, it had started as a tactic Isaac used to try and get Jared’s attention. Usually, those pranks ended with Isaac on his back and Jared slapping Isaac in the face with his dick.

Seriously. His boys needed major therapy.

“The two of you have issues.” Matteo shook his head, taking a sip of his champagne and watching the “juicy” ass disappear into the men’s changeroom with the dog at his heels.

Three hours later, most of the party had moved into the main hall, with only a few stragglers left lounging by the pool. Matteo took this opportunity to relax and enjoy a little downtime before the madness of a Saturday night began.

Lounging by the pool, Matteo flipped through the pages of Edwin’s journal, wondering how long it would take to go through all the entries.

Last summer, it had been discovered that one of Matteo’s former employees—a man he once trusted—had stolen client information from Matteo’s private files, hoping to use that information to blackmail or extort money from clients.

Using this stolen information, Edwin conducted his own investigations, eventually uncovering unspeakable crimes committed by some of Matteo’s clients or people closelyassociated with them. Edwin hoped to use this information to make some quick money.

Matteo had no idea whether the crimes mentioned in the journal were real. He had asked Chase, the man who was currently dating Levi, to discreetly investigate these allegations and, if true, deal with the client in a manner suitable to the crime being alleged.

He didn’t trust Edwin and worried that Edwin may have added false information to the journal just to cover his ass and throw off anyone who might get in his way.

Each case would be investigated, and each crime addressed accordingly. Those were Matteo’s rules. He had a reputation to maintain, and he wasn’t about to accuse his clients of horrific crimes if they weren’t true. Edwin was not to be trusted. That was a truth Matteo sadly learned the hard way.

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