Page 19 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

“Fine, five it is.”

As soon as it was five, I powered down my computer. I was shrugging into my jacket when a knock sounded before the door opened. I glanced up to find Vaughn there.

“You’re leaving already?” he asked, sounding disappointed. “I thought we could go over more of those projects together. I don’t mind staying behind. We could even order in and get some serious work done.”

I frowned a little as I wrapped my tie around my neck without bothering to knot it. “I can’t. I’ve a little surprise for my boyfriend. It’s his first day on the job.” I didn’t need to tell him all that, but with the little vibes I kept getting from him, I’d rather be safe than sorry. If he was as gay as I thought he was, he would know to slow his roll before he made working here awkward for the both of us.

“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

He disappeared, and I left the office without another thought of him. Since being with Bryan, no other man held my interest. I wasn’t blind, and I could appreciate seeing a good-looking man— Vaughn was a good-looking man— but looks couldn’t hold my interest. Not when I loved that blue-eyed blond who still hadn’t called me since the text this morning.

Holy shit, it felt good to admit it to myself. I was grinning from ear to ear when I stopped at Gio’s to collect our meal. The restaurant was already busy, so we didn’t get to speak which was just as well. If he told me once more that I was doing too much for Bryan, we were going to argue. I paid for our meal and hopped back into my car, driving carefully but taking the shorter route home. Given that he would be driving through the worst of the traffic, I would have sufficient time to have everything prepared before he arrived home. I’d leave the food in the oven to stay warm and have a bath waiting for him.

Once at the house, I parked at the front close to the steps instead of the garage. I would put away the car later, but for now, I wanted to transport everything from the car to the kitchen. The shortest distance to the kitchen was through the front door. I unlocked the front door and brought everything into the kitchen in three trips. I pre-heated the oven, keeping the temperature low and stuck the braised chicken and potatoes inside.

“What’s all this?”

At the sound of Bryan’s voice, I almost jumped out of my skin because I didn’t expect him. I spun around to find him standing just at the entrance of the kitchen gesturing to the dishes on the counter. He was wearing a T-shirt and sweats that hung low on his hips. His face looked pale and his eyes hooded, secretive, shutting away his feelings from me. I hated when he did that.

“Bryan, what are you doing home already?” I asked him. It didn’t make sense for me to try and hide the evidence of what I was up to from him. I was busted.

“You first,” he replied. “What did you do?”

I felt the color rising in my face and wondered if I had made a mistake by making a big deal about this. Gio had tried to warn me that I was doing too much. Was he right?

“Um, I thought we could have a nice dinner home just the two of us,” I replied with a shrug like it was no big deal. “You know just to celebrate your new job and all.”

He looked stricken at the thought, and if it was possible, his face paled even more. “You shouldn’t have bothered.”

“It was no bother at all. I picked up the meal from Gio’s.”

“You don’t have to keep making grand gestures, Tate. I’d have preferred if you hadn’t gone to all this fuss.”

Hurt by his response to my gesture, I felt my anger rising. “I thought you would appreciate it but no worries, I can easily throw it out.”

His eyes widened. “Tate, I’m sorry. Shit. I didn’t mean—” he paused and swallowed hard, his eyes dropping to the floor. “I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I didn’t get the job.”

I frowned at him. Did he mean he got fired on the first day? “What?”

“It’s exactly what I said,” he answered and walked over to the wet bar. If Bryan was driven to drink this had to be bad. I stood still, waiting for him to expound as he poured himself a glass of scotch of all things. “Can you believe the damnedest of things happened to me today?” He took a swig of the drink and blinked at the taste before he coughed. I couldn’t watch him fall apart like this anymore. I walked around to him and took the drink from his hand.

“What happened?” I asked, pulling him against me. He tried to resist but I wasn’t about to let him go. “Tell me what happened, Bry.”

He gave a mocking laugh. “Today when I arrived at Ingram’s, they advised me that they had made a mistake. Somebody else got the job and I was called in error. I guess I should have taken it well because they at least volunteered to pay for the gas wasted to get there and back.”

“Oh shit.” I couldn’t imagine how he felt having that happening to him. “How the hell did they make a mistake like that?” I hadn’t said anything to Bryan before because he had been so enthusiastic about the job, but what if Ingram had found out the link Bryan had to me? What if that was the reason he had rescinded on the job offer? But would he have held a grudge for so long? On his first attempt to erect his new building I’d beaten him to getting the property he had wanted. Now I felt I should have told Bryan about this before so he didn’t get his hopes up but how would I have known Ingram would find out about us? For all I knew, it was exactly as Bryan had claimed and Ingram really had made a mistake. I just found it hard to buy such a colossal mistake being made by a man as experienced as Ingram.

Bryan shrugged. “I don’t know, but anyway it’s back to job hunting. Sorry you went through all this trouble for nothing and that I let you down.”

When he would have pulled away, I prevented him by tucking him into my arms. I felt him shudder against me and knew this had affected him far more than he was willing to admit.

“I’m not disappointed in you.”

“You were happy about me getting that job.”

“Because you wanted it. I was happy for you. That son of a bitch Ingram needs to explain what the fuck went wrong. In fact, I’m going to find out what the hell happened.”

He gripped the front of my shirt. “That’s not necessary. I would rather put the whole bad experience behind me. I’ve already sent out some résumés today.”

Even though his eyes were sad he managed to smile, and this was what I fucking loved about him. He tried to make the best of any situation. He hardly ever whined, and it could not have been easy showing up for a work that he didn’t have, but he was not letting it get him down.

I cupped his face and kissed him. He clung to me and kissed me back. I gave him the comfort he sought, nursing the hurt he was feeling. “I swear I’m not disappointed in you,” I told him again because I needed him to know. “You did a good job in that interview. I know you did. Ingram was a fool for letting you go and I’d hire you to be my PA in a heartbeat.”

He nipped my bottom lip with his teeth. “I can’t let you do that. I won’t know then if you hired me for my skills in the business or the bedroom.”

I chuckled at that. “Or maybe it’s the both that makes you such a valuable asset.” I sobered and stared him square in the eyes. “I mean it, Bryan. If you get tired of sending out those résumés or doing the interviews, I’ll hire you.”

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