Page 3 of Salacious

“I’d like to change the subject please,” Leo said. “I really don’t want to fight with you, Dad.”

“Then don’t,” his father simply said. “Go see Ross and help him sort out his father’s affairs. He just lost his dad and that should make you want to help him. Have some compassion,” his father hissed.

“I have compassion,” Leo insisted. “I just don’t think that Ross and I should work together. The last time I saw him, things didn’t end well between us. We had a—” He wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. “We had a disagreement.” That was partially true. Ross and he were hanging out, as they usually did every weekend, and things got out of hand. He knew that Ross was gay. He might not have fully come out, but Leo always knew the truth about Ross. The problem was—Leo wasn’t out yet. Hell, he never planned on coming out, and when Ross made his move, kissing him the way that he had, only forced Leo’s hand. He told Ross that he wasn’t interested in him in that way, but that was a bald-faced lie. Leo had wanted Ross for as long as he could remember and denying it wouldn’t change that.

“I don’t care what the disagreement was about. You go to him and fix it, Leo. He needs our help and you’re going to give it,” his father insisted. Arguing with his old man never ended in his favor, and Leo knew better than to waste his time.

“Fine, I’ll go over to help Ross, but I’m not extending the olive branch that you want me to. He’ll have my help, but that’s all he’ll get from me,” Leo said. He sounded like a petulant child, but he didn’t really care. He wasn’t going to fall for Ross’s charms again. He’d made that mistake before, and Leo promised himself that it wouldn’t happen again. He’d forget all about Ross and the kiss that they shared if it was the last thing that he’d do.

Leo parked in front of the Ballerini office building that he’d always found pretentious. It was fifteen stories high, which in their small town, made it one of the tallest buildings for a thirty-mile radius. The windows were reflective, something that Leo always thought trashy, and he knew that at the top of the gawdy building, he’d find Ross. He had probably moved into his father’s office before his body was in the ground.

Ross seemed to be the perfect, dutiful son—willing to take over the family business at the drop of a hat. Leo never understood anyone who wanted to go into the kind of business that their families were involved in. Leo dreaded the day that he’d have to take over for his father, but Ross seemed to jump right into his responsibilities and never looked back.

“Shit,” he shouted into the air. He cut the engine of his car and took a deep breath before getting out to head into the building. The sooner he got in there, the sooner he’d be able to come up with an excuse and leave. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to be able to decipher Ross’s father’s handwriting when his own son couldn’t. And he really didn’t know much about the Ballerini family’s holdings. Well, except for two of the businesses that they shared. One was a local gym that most of the town used, and another was a kink club on the outskirts of town. God, telling Ross about that one wasn’t something that he wanted to do face to face. With any luck, Ross already knew about that business and wouldn’t ask him a million questions about that place.

Leo rode the elevator to the top of the building and got off in the reception area of Ross’s new office. “Can I help you?” a woman asked from behind her desk.

“Ross is expecting me,” Leo insisted. “I can show myself in.”

“May I tell him your name?” the woman asked, effectively ignoring him.

“Leo Capo, but I can tell him my own name, thanks,” Leo said, walking past her desk and straight into a hard wall of a very angry-looking man.

“It’s fine, Helen,” Ross said as he took a step back from Leo. God, he smelled just as good as Leo remembered. “I’ll handle Mr. Capo.” The thought of Ross’s hands on his body made Leo hot and that was the last thing he needed right now.

Ross moved to the side of the doorway and motioned for Leo to go into his office. Leo cleared his throat and walked past Ross, trying not to look him in the eyes. If he did, he’d cave and do all the things that he had promised himself on the ride over that he wouldn’t do.

He sat down in the chair in front of Ross’s desk, waiting for him to join him. “So, your father sent you over to help me with this mess.”

“What makes you think that he sent me?” Leo asked.

“Because I couldn’t imagine you volunteering to come over to help me, Leo. You haven’t talked to me in over a year now,” Ross said.

“I’ve been busy,” Leo lied. He knew how stupid his excuse sounded, but it was all he could come up with on short notice. Sparring verbally with Ross was never his strong suit and from the smirk on his handsome face, he knew it. Leo rolled his eyes, crossing one leg over the other. It was his go-to move when he felt completely out of his league.

“You’ve been busy for a year?” Ross asked, calling him on his lie.

“I have, now how can I help you?” Leo drawled.

Ross walked around to the front of his desk and sat down. He handed Leo a pile of papers and sighed. “I have no idea what most of that stuff is,” he admitted. “My father has so many business holdings, I’m afraid that I might never get caught up.” Leo thumbed through the papers and noticed that one of the businesses in question was the kink club that his father was part owner of. Explaining that wasn’t going to be fun, but he knew that Ross was going to be just as uncomfortable as he was going to be, and that at least gave him some satisfaction.

“Well, this is a club that both of our fathers own together,” he said, handing Ross back the paperwork.

“A club?” Ross asked. He looked over the paper, trying to figure out what kind of club and Leo knew that he was going to have to explain everything to him in detail. “What kind of club?” Ross asked.

Leo couldn’t help his smile as he said, “A sex club.”

“A what?” he asked.

“Our fathers went in on a sex club. Apparently, they both are more messed up than we could have ever imagined. Your father found the old gentleman’s club and turned it into a sex club.” Ross still looked clueless. Or maybe he was dumbfounded by the truth.

“Our dads own a sex club?” Ross asked.

“Yes,” Leo repeated. “Actually, you and my dad own a sex club together. I’m sure that will be fun for you, but I’m not sure if my father will feel the same way about it.”

“You don’t think that our fathers actually went to the sex club, do you?” Ross asked.

“God, I don’t want to think about that. But I can tell you that my mother would have my father’s balls if he stepped foot in a place like that,” Leo assured.

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