Page 13 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

CHAPTER 6

Tate

As I strolled into the kitchen I had no regrets of having listened to the conversation between Bryan and Gio. I’d been torn between leaving the two of them alone for a few minutes and allowing them to feel each other out. They were both important people in my life and would eventually have to learn to get along anyway. Gio was the brother I never had, and Bryan was the lover I always wanted.

Hearing the threat that Gio had made to Bryan was on the dramatic side but it was touching to know he still had my back. He had taken my coming out better than I thought he would have. He never judged, never asked me any questions. I could have never asked for a better friend, but I didn’t want him to scare the shit out of Bryan. He might spend most of his time in the kitchen but there was nothing soft about him. While he wasn’t quite as large as me, he was still all solid muscles. Having him against Bryan would just be cruel.

“Hey, where’s my shot glass?” I asked to lighten up the mood. The tension in the kitchen was palpable. “How dare you start drinking without me?”

Gio grinned at me. “Your boy’s still on his first glass so you’re on time.”

I glanced at Bryan and saw him frowning. I liked the sound of Gio calling him my boy, but from his sour expression, he didn’t like it one bit. I slung an arm around his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze while Gio fetched another shot glass. I didn’t wait for him to fill it but confiscated Bryan’s and downed it in one gulp. He didn’t like the stuff anyway.

“Here, let me fill that back up for you, Bryan.” Gio handed me the shot glass then claimed Bryan’s.

“No, thanks,” he replied, getting to his feet. “I think I’ll call it a night. I’ll have to be up early for work.”

“Oh, you got a job?” Gio asked, seeming astonished and I scowled at him to knock it off, but he ignored me. “Let me guess, you’re going to be a go-go dancer. You’ve the looks for it.”

I spluttered the drink on top of the island, shocked Gio would even say such a thing. He had gone too far and the fire burning in Bryan’s eyes said he didn’t take too kindly to it either. Why the hell was Gio attempting to rile him up?

“Knock it off,” I snapped at my best friend. I couldn’t remember the last time I had snapped at him. “He has an Associate Degree in Business. He’s starting a job at Ingram’s.”

“Nice. Congrats.” My frown deepened because I couldn’t decide if he sounded sarcastic to my ears alone.

“Thanks.” Bryan’s own response was dry as hell. Fuck. They were not getting along as I thought they would. “It was nice meeting you again, Gio. Good night.”

Before Bryan could walk away, I tugged him toward me and captured his lips in a hard, short kiss. “I’ll be up in a bit.”

He nodded and left. The second he was gone, I glared at Gio. “What the hell was that about?”

He flung back his drink and poured another glass. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re picking on him. You need to stop. Now.”

“I’m picking on him?” Gio rolled his eyes. “What is this? Third grade?”

“Why don’t you tell me? You’re the one aiming shots at him for no reason.”

“No reason?” His eyes widened in disbelief. “I’m only doing what I can to protect you. You’re not over losing Kathy and Rachel. You’re only using him as your little project to get over the guilt you feel. Admit it, he makes you feel good. You’re even doing a good deed by letting him stay here. But trust me, Tate, he’s going to use this opportunity to get as much out of you as he can. You can tell by looking at him, the sort of guy he is!”

“You’re wrong.” I accepted the next shot that he poured. “You don’t know anything about Bryan and you need to stop making wild accusations when you don’t know shit.”

“Do you think you’re the first guy he’s done this to?” He shook his head at me. “Come on, Tate. You graduated summa cum laude from MIT. I know you’re not that thick.”

I frowned as Keith popped up in my head. I had been too focused on getting Bryan that day I dropped in at his condo, to take everything in. From what I remembered the guy seemed loaded, even though his wealth could not be compared to mine. He had also been in charge of the company Bryan had worked too so I knew for a fact he had money.

“You know of someone he’s done it to, don’t you?” Gio insisted, watching my reaction carefully.

“It’s not like that with us,” I answered.

“I get it that he makes you feel special, Tate, but you don’t want that from just anyone. You want that kind of feeling from someone who genuinely cares about you.”

“And he cares. If you should know, I gave him a credit card and he hasn’t even used it. He didn’t even want to stay here but I insisted. That’s not the action of someone who just wants to take and never give anything back.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s giving you plenty alright. It’s just a pretense for you—”

“Gio, drop it!” I grounded out between my clenched teeth. “Bryan’s different. Leave it at that. It’s my relationship and I love you like a brother man, but you’ve got to back off. I want you two to get along but if I have to keep you apart, it means I will. I don’t want him hurt. Not by anyone and certainly not by you.”

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