Page 18 of Mistletoe and Mayhem
“Yep. Ozen texted me last night. Sorry I didn’t mention it sooner.”
Tony scanned the schedule thoughtfully. “You have a meeting with research at ten. Will you be done by then, or should I delay it?”
Gods, he hoped it wouldn’t take that long. It shouldn’t take two hours to figure out a plan to help his mate, right?
Tony looked up at him, patient as always as he waited for Taron’s reply. Taron wanted to smother him with kisses, but he needed to get to Ozen’s office if he wanted to have any time to talk to his friend without encroaching on his own meetings.
“Nope, should be fine. I’ll text you if that changes.” He leaned over, kissing Tony’s cheek, because he couldn’t help himself. Heknew better than to think he could kiss him on the lips and just walk away, he’d definitely end up making out with the sexy man, but not kissing him at all wasn’t possible either.
Tony’s smile was warm when he looked up at him, and some of the distance Taron had felt melted away when he murmured, “Love you.”
“And I love you, my a thaisce. Be back soon.”
He struggled to walk away, hearing another sigh from his mate as he stepped out of Tony’s line of sight, but he forced himself to keep walking. If he wanted to make Tony feel better, he needed help from his friends.
Skipping the elevator, he took the stairs two at a time up to the top floor, waving at the secretary pool already busy at work. A few of them waved back and smiled, while a couple others gave him exasperated looks, probably assuming he was up to no good. He’d resent that, but… his track record may have enforced that idea. He chose to ignore it.
Collette’s smile when he approached told him Ozen had warned her he was coming, because she didn’t look surprised. “Good morning, Taron. You can go right in. He’s waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Collette. And can I just say how beautiful you look today?”
She snorted, shaking her head. “Flatterer. Go on, then. He’s got a meeting in a little over an hour, so try not to get too distracted in there.”
He gave her a mock salute, heading into the office where Ozen… was not behind his desk. Taron was confused for only a second before he heard voices. Behind it?
Confused, he stepped closer, cautious to listen for noises that said he was walking into something he didn’t want to see and would probably be killed for seeing if he was being honest. That, or knocked unconscious for walking in on his friend andhis mate. But Ozen and Avery weren’t doing anything dirty. They were both seated on the floor behind his desk, wrapping something up in pretty paper.
“Should I come back?”
Avery yelped, having obviously not heard him come in, and he shoved something behind him that made Taron curious. But before he could take a step closer, Ozen fluidly got to his feet and took Taron’s arm, leading him away from Avery without explaining what they’d been doing. Rude.
“Good morning, Taron. Let’s talk over here for today.”
He led Taron to the couch, nudging him onto it and sitting down beside him, his face a mask of innocence that Taron didn't believe for a second.
“What were the two of you doing?”
“Nothing. You said you had something important you wanted to discuss. Is it work related or personal?”
“Personal. It looked like presents, but it’s not anyone's birthday, is it?” Tony would have told him if a birthday was approaching. Taron loved spoiling his friends with birthday celebrations and gifts.
“No, not a birthday. I’ll explain later. What did you need to talk about?”
If he wasn’t so worried about Tony, he wouldn’t let this go. He couldn’t. He loved secrets. Loved to be part of them. Hated to be left out of them. He craned his neck a little to see over the desk, but Ozen grabbed the top of his head, turning him around with a shake of his head and a smirk. Jerk.
“Well, I can’t talk about it without Avery! I asked to speak with the both of you!”
He heard one of Ozen’s desk drawers open and shut, and then Avery popped to his feet, acting as though he hadn’t been doing something secretive and had just been back there to pick up a pen or something.
“Why is everyone acting so odd lately?” he muttered, frowning as Avery came to join them and sat on Ozen’s other side.
“Who’s acting odd?” Avery prompted, successfully diverting his attention like the genius author he was.
Shifting his focus back to his mate and the problem at hand, Taron explained, “Tony. He’s been… sad lately. I’m not sure why. He says he’s fine, but he keeps sighing and checking his phone, and his smile feels forced half the time. Even sex doesn’t distract him for long. I don’t know what to do.”
Thankfully, his friends didn’t argue or tell him he was being dramatic. He appreciated it more than words that they immediately set out to help him.
“Is there an important date coming up?” Ozen asked. “Something related to his time in the military?”
