Page 41 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

CHAPTER 19

Tate

“Oh my God, is that come?” Bryan groaned in dismay, as he tried to push me off his frame.

“Only one way to find out,” I told him and used my finger to remove the white stain from his jacket. I sucked my finger into my mouth to his disbelief. “Definitely come,” I replied.

“I can’t believe I let you walk me right into that trap,” he mumbled and scampered off my bed to fix up himself. He had been all innocence when I’d led him from the ballroom and given him a tour of the house which so conveniently happened to end in my old room. No sooner did I have him inside than I’d thrown him onto the bed. I’d sucked him until he’d exploded into my mouth, his legs shaking hard.

With my hands behind my head, I smiled at him lazily as he tried to tuck his shirt back into his pants. I hadn’t given him the chance to undress but had aimed for his pants, the belt and the buckle. He hadn’t even been able to shrug out of his jacket.

“We both needed that after confronting my mother,” I reminded him.

“And your friend,” he added, sneaking a look at me. “I hope you admit now that he doesn’t like me one bit and wants you all to himself. There’s no sense in denying it.”

“He’s just confused,” I told him, choosing to believe that. “I really don’t think he loves me in that way. It’ll all blow over soon, you’ll see.”

His eyes were full of disbelief and he snorted. “I’ll try not to say ‘I told you so’ when the time comes.”

I sat up in the bed and grabbed him by his narrow hips. I pulled him towards me. Sensing what I wanted, he lowered his head and kissed me. I was still rock hard but didn’t want him to take care of it here. I could wait until we returned home in our own little world. There it wouldn’t matter if he screamed and cursed all he wanted.

“Let’s not talk about Gio or my mom for the rest of the night,” I said, releasing his lips. “I don’t want to be here just as much as you do, but it’s her birthday, so let’s just make the best of it.”

A few minutes later we returned to the ballroom, pretending not to notice the curious stares we received. While Bryan had been able to brush his hair back into place, there was little we could have done about the wrinkles in his shirt and jacket. The front of his pants was also wrinkled making it evident that part of his clothes had been handled and not gently either. I refused to give two fucks about it.

I steered him clear of my mother and Gio, which was too bad. What was the sense of celebrating my mother’s birthday if I had to do it several feet away from her? I tried to make the most of the night though. We chatted to a few people I knew from my childhood growing up. At first Bryan was shy but he got more comfortable which put me at ease.

I had no idea how Bryan got me to agree to a dance, but he did, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It felt good to have him in my arms without sex involved. The single dance I had agreed to turned into another and then another. We were about to get some refreshments when I bumped into Uncle Simon’s wife, Susan. I wasn’t surprised to see her. Even though she was separated from my uncle she was always good friends with my mom. They were two peas in a pod except Aunt Susan was more openly affectionate.

“Tate, how are you?” She enveloped me into a warm hug, and I genuinely smiled. Finally, someone I could be myself with.

“I’m good. And you? You look happy.”

“I guess you heard about the separation then,” she remarked, shaking her head. “It was long overdue. I put up with too much from your uncle while we were together. Not that I wouldn’t mind reconciling with him but not in present circumstances.”

“I’m so sorry about that.” But I couldn’t blame her. I had caught him after all in the office with another woman. I wouldn’t advise any woman, anyone for that matter to remain in a faithless relationship.

“The world goes on dear. We love, and we lose, and hopefully we’ll love again.” She glanced at Bryan then. “How rude of me to babble on. Won’t you introduce me to your friend?”

“This is my partner, Bryan,” I told her and pressed a hand to Bryan’s back. “You already met Uncle Simon. This is his wife, Aunt Susan.”

They both shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. I wasn’t surprised that Bryan responded differently to her than to my mother. Aunt Susan had a smiling and inviting personality.

“If you both don’t mind, I need to use the restroom,” Bryan said, and I pointed him in the direction of the nearest one. It bothered me still that he would have to leave the room and my line of vision. I checked the ballroom trying to locate Gio to ensure he didn’t make trouble for me by following Bryan, but he was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully he had left.

“He’s such a handsome man,” Aunt Susan remarked, watching Bryan go. “Nice posture and young too. It’s really good to see you happy again, Tate. You deserve it, and by the way he looks at you he’s so in love with you.”

“Thank you.” The smile I gave her was genuine. “I needed to hear that from a third party.”

“Never mind your mother, dear. Behind all that façade she really does care. She’s just never learned to show it. She cares far more than you would think. We talk, you know.”

I frowned at her. “I honestly don’t know what to make of mother, so I try not to think of her too often.”

“She was worried about you when you left for so long. Didn’t you realize that she’s lost weight?”

I had, but knowing mother, I had just assumed weight loss was her next fad. She had them so frequently I could barely keep up. This week a nose job, the other week a boob job. The cycle never ended for her and those were details I wished not to know about her.

“And how are you truly holding up?” I asked her. Despite her nonchalant attitude about her separation she had loved my uncle and they had been together since they were in high school. That kind of love wasn’t easy to let go. I knew that well enough. Rachel and I had been high school sweethearts and I’d been devastated when I lost her.

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