Page 18 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

CHAPTER 8

Tate

Distracted from the company reports, I checked my phone to see if Bryan had sent me a message. Still nothing since he had texted me this morning. I scowled at my reflection in the blank computer screen before me. I had been staring into space for so long that the screen had timed out on me. I shouldn’t be so preoccupied with Bryan when I had two years of information to soak in. Bryan was a grown man and could take care of himself, but I saw the vulnerabilities in him sometimes. It made me worry, and I had the urge to protect him from all the Keiths in the world. I would never forget the way he had looked bruised that day I had picked him up from his ex.

I wanted him to trust me wholeheartedly, and sometimes he looked too skittish as if he hadn’t made up his mind about me. This was the real reason I hadn’t fucked him last night at the poolside although I had wanted him something awful. It would have been easy enough but afterward, he would regret it, and I didn’t want regrets between us. The next time I was inside him it had to be because he was a hundred percent sure that he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

For some reason, he was holding himself back from me. He didn’t think I noticed, but I did. I might have been a demanding boar at times, but I wasn’t as dense as he thought I was. I saw the worry in his eyes at times, worry that I would kick him out or that he was taking too much from me, and not giving anything back. I didn’t know how to make him feel that he brought as much to my life, just by being there with me when I woke up in the mornings. I was never able to vocalize these feelings to him either, so until then, I had to hope my gestures were enough for him to see how much he meant to me.

At least he now had a job and since he received that call he had lightened up more. I was looking forward to hearing about his day later and spending some time with him. His main concern had been getting a job so he didn’t have to be dependent, and now he had it, he should be more relaxed about us. Somehow, I would have to find a way later to have him use my car permanently to transport himself around. Delving back into the business of my company, I didn’t have the time to usher him around and calling a cab every minute was a waste we could both avoid. Knowing him though he would protest the gesture.

Keith must have fucked him over really good for him to be so skittish about accepting things from people, especially someone who cared about him as I did. Did he think I would ask for favors in return for these gifts? He would see soon enough that they were given without any expectancy.

A knock sounded on the door and dragged my attention away from Bryan. “Come in.”

The door opened, and a young man stepped into the office. I blinked at him in surprise because he wasn’t anyone I had been introduced to yet. Tall and athletic in appearance he had short brown hair and gray eyes. I couldn’t determine his age but would have guessed him to be in his late twenties. A self-assured smile tilted the corner of his lips, and he closed the door behind him.

“Mr. Rosenbaum, I’m Vaughn Parker,” he introduced himself and extended a hand toward me. I rose to my feet and shook the outstretched hand. “Your uncle, Mr. Rosenbaum, assigned me to work with you in answering any questions you may have about the company during the last two years.”

I frowned at him and pulled my hand away from his when he seemed to have forgotten it wasn’t an extension of his. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Parker.”

“Please, sir, call me Vaughn.”

I nodded. “And, call me, Tate. I can’t abide formalities.” I waved him to sit and resumed my seat. “What’s your title with the company, Vaughn?”

“I work in Accounts,” he replied. “But my official title is Project Manager.”

“I see, and you’ve been here how long?”

“Sixteen months,” he answered. “Mr. Rosenbaum hired me shortly after he was made C.E.O.”

“I see.”

“I’m the person to help you to get up to date with all that we have been doing, Tate. You’ll find that the company has been doing quite well in your absence.”

I nodded. “I agree. I’ve been looking at the financial reports and they’re amazing. Even better than when I took over the company.”

“Great. Where do you want to start? I’d suggest the Holland-Berry project.”

I could see he was eager to discuss the information, so I allowed him to. For the rest of the morning, I pored over reports and was fascinated with what Uncle Simon had accomplished in such a short amount of time. We only took a break for lunch, and even so, Vaughn invited himself along so we could continue discussing the company. I still couldn’t get through to Bryan, so I invited the other man along. The quicker I was up to speed, the quicker I could really delve into projects.

After lunch, I allowed Vaughn to get back to work, mainly because I started to lose focus and wondered why Bryan wasn’t taking my calls. I would go from worrying to shrugging it off and chiding myself for behaving as though Bryan was a child. He could take care of himself. I then thought of how little I still knew about him. He never mentioned his family, not once. He at least knew a little about mine. The only person we hadn’t talked about in detail was my mother, which reminded me that I needed to call her one of these days to let her know I was in town. More than likely Uncle Simon would have already told her. Aunt Susan and my mother were close friends.

I finally gave up the pretense of working and thought about what I could do that night for Bryan. The first idea was to take him out, but he appreciated a quiet evening alone more than fancy restaurants. Maybe I could have a nice dinner for just us. If I left work now, I could gather everything I needed.

With a plan firmly in place, I was able to get back to work. Before, I called Gio and asked him to have a gourmet meal ready for us. I would pick it up on my way home from work.

“For God’s sake Tate, are you trying to buy his love or what?” he asked after I made my request.

“Save the comments, Gio. I thought we agreed you wouldn’t give me any grief about this.”

“Yeah, but first the car this morning and now this.”

“It’s just dinner. Plus, the car was sitting there. I can only drive one at a time. Will you have everything ready or not?”

“Pick it up at four.”

“Make it five. He gets off work at six. That should be plenty of time to arrange everything.”

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