Page 104 of Counterpoint
Adrian’s grin sent a shiver through Dom. “A little roleplay, Dominic? You are full of surprises.”
“Hey, baby, I’ll file your folders.” He waggled his eyebrows at Adrian.
That got Dom a laugh. “I don’t even know what that means.” Adrian grabbed his tie, suit jacket, and messenger bag. “But yes, let’s get out of here before the rest of your band leaves and you’re found out.”
Dom retrieved his backpack and they both said their goodbyes to Ray, Zavier, and Mish before heading out. The crowd of fans in front of the building was pretty thick, but given that he wasn’t in Domino’s gear, had his glasses on, and walked out with Adrian, he didn’t care. Plus, Adrian was describing his weird day at work, which sounded hellish and awful.
One more reason he was grateful for being a rock star—even if he weaved through his fans undetected.
“It’s hard to be a team player when you don’t know the rules.” Adrian twisted his face. “Three months ago, everything was great.”
Interesting. “What happened?”
They made it to the subway station, and walked down to the platform in tandem, pausing only to swipe their cards. “I have no clue.”
Weird. “There’s gotta be something that happened. Like, did someone new come in, or like someone get a promotion or something?”
Adrian peered down at the tracks, his brows knitting. “Maybe. Jackson thinks I’m up for promotion, but the only thing that happened was that I was chosen to work at a customer site for two weeks. It went fine, though. The install was a success. The customer was as happy as customers ever get.”
“So you made waves.”
“I did my job, and did it well.” He paused, and the silence was filled with the rumble of an approaching train. “But I suppose that might have been enough to make waves.” He shook his head. “Anyway, it’s just an annoyance.”
Seemed like a little more, but Dom wasn’t going to argue. He slipped his arm into Adrian’s as the train—the one they needed, thank fuck—came to a stop. “Got dinner plans?”
Oh, that smile. Part happiness and part seduction. “How about something simple like spaghetti, and we crack open that bottle of wine you brought the other day?”
Sounded promising. They flopped down on the plastic seats. “Can I make you late for work tomorrow?”
Adrian’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment, then pinned Dom down. “Yes. I think that’s very much in order, as well. We have some catching up to do.”
“Anything you want, Adrian.”
A nod. “And everything you need, babe.”
Fuck yes. Dom leaned back in his seat, pressing against Adrian, who knew him in totality now. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Life was grand.
Chapter Nineteen
Despite Dominic spending every evening with Adrian since he’d attended Twisted Wishes’ rehearsal, Adrian hadn’t been late for work once. He’d even made his workout sessions with Jackson.
Hell, at this point, he really ought to give Dominic a key to his place. Watching him head back to his own place in the morning, bleary-eyed, was rough. Almost as rough as watching Dominic, sleep-and sex-mussed, lounge in bed while he picked out his suit and tie.
“This is becoming a habit,” he’d murmured this morning.
Dominic’s smile had been part yawn. “I like this habit.”
So did Adrian.
He’d also gotten an email from Ray the day after the rehearsal, introducing Adrian to their band manager, and asking questions about the website and social media. During down times, while tests ran on his code, he started compiling a list of issues on his phone, then turned them into a return email. Hadn’t heard anything after that, though.
As forwork—well, he’d gone back over his email during the business trip he’d taken, from the correspondence with the customers to those with Russ and Russ’s boss, and couldn’t help but think that maybe Jackson and Dominic had been onto something. His being chosen for the customer job and having executed it well may have been seen as some kind of threat by William. An indication that Adrian might be promoted.
Part of him seethed with anger. He’d worked hard and, yes, deserved to be rewarded. But a larger part didn’t care anymore. He was burning out. Too much corporate culture. Too many suits. None of it had any soul.
And there was the drop of envy for Dominic’s life. Passion and love. Talent. The ability to make a difference. Turned out Twisted Wishes wasn’t at all silent about equal rights, especially for queer people. Even Domino, who was usually flippant in many of his interviews, fell into serious Dominic mode when that was brought up.
It was heartening, but also came with that pang of regret. There were principles that had fallen by the wayside because of convenience and a paycheck. Maybe it was time to consider other avenues.
