Page 25 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

CHAPTER 11

Bryan

The sudden shift in Tate puzzled me. I had at least agreed to think about his offer which was his suggestion, so the fire burning in his eyes, and the anger that caused lines to appear between his brow was shocking. I had only seen him this angry when he had met Keith for the first time and when he’d collected me from Keith’s apartment. I hadn’t seen him like this in a while and the transformation took me by surprise.

“Tate, I said I’ll think about it,” I repeated, but for all I knew, he didn’t hear me. I finally took note of where he was looking, and it was a point behind my shoulders. I was about to turn when I heard the voice from this morning, the last person I would have wanted to run into. But, fate continued to be cruel to me.

“Twice in a day, Bryan!” Keith exclaimed stopping by our table. “I wonder what does this mean? Think it’s fate’s little way of telling us something?”

“Go away, Keith,” I urged him because a vein was visible in Tate’s forehead and any minute now he was going to let out all that anger festering in his system. Keith was like a bad sore that wouldn’t go away.

“That’s not what I remember you saying when you called me this morning, though,” he remarked. “Don’t worry. As I said over the phone, I traded up.”

I hadn’t even noticed the guy by his side until he spoke. I glanced from Keith to the kid who didn’t look a day older than eighteen. Blond hair, blue eyes, the kid could have passed for a younger brother of mine. His eyes looked dazed as though he was on some drugs or something. I didn’t put it past Keith at all. It was one of his fetishes I had absolutely disagreed to.

“Is there something you want here?” Tate finally spoke, the calm in his voice not betraying how upset he was. “If not, I’d suggest you move along. I refrained from mopping the floor with you the last time but don’t believe that I won’t do it now because we’re in public.”

Keith chuckled. “My my. You’re so eager to defend your little over-used plaything.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You’re entertaining my used goods, Rosenbaum. I’d be testy too if I were you.”

“I’ll give you five seconds to get the hell away from our table.”

I glanced around us and noted we had drawn attention from those who sat in our vicinity. “For God’s sake, Keith. Just fucking leave already.”

“Fine, I’ll go!” He made to leave before turning to address Tate in a stage whisper we all could hear. “Don’t let him fool you. He looks like a nice sweet boy but he takes dick like a pro. Whips, plugs, restraints— you name it, he’s never able to say no.” He placed a hand on Tate’s shoulder then and squeezed. “You’re welcome.”

Nauseous at his comment, I had to swallow to keep the food down that I had just eaten. Tate started to get to his feet and what was about to happen next flashed before my eyes. If he got his hands on Keith there was no way he was going to stop until he had Keith fucked over good. While the fucker deserved it for speaking about me like I was nothing but a common fuck boy, I couldn’t have Tate’s name mixed with a brawl and possible assault. He had just returned to the city from a scandal that had driven him away in the first place.

I reached across the table and grabbed his hand. Keith laughed as he walked away, motioning with his hand at his ear for me to call him. I ignored him and focused on Tate. “It’s not worth it. Let him go.”

His hand beneath mine was taut and strained. In the end, he sat back down and pulled his hand away from mine. He reached for his drink and downed the rest of it.

I placed my hands into my lap and willed myself not to feel ashamed. I had been truthful when I told Tate in his cabin that I wasn’t promiscuous. I didn’t sleep around, but I had quite a few lovers in the past, starting from high school. I’d been with the same guy who popped my cherry until we both graduated from high school. The minute he struck greener pastures he had forgotten all about me. There had been two lovers throughout college, but Keith had been the one to really break me into his kind of lifestyle. The whips and all he had mentioned to Tate had been his idea. Some I would admit to liking but others I only did because I wanted to please him. He never loved me, but my quest to have him fall for me had led me to do some unspeakable things.

“You lied to me, didn’t you?” Tate accused, putting down his glass with more force than was necessary. “When I called, you were really talking to that asshole. Weren’t you, Bryan?”

“It’s not what you think.”

“Care to explain? I’m really trying to give you the benefit of the doubt right now.”

Well, that was at least something. “Thank you for giving me a chance to explain. I did call him this morning, but it was with regards to work. I thought he was doing something to come between me and job opportunities. I know it sounds bizarre, but Keith has his ways. Anyway, I later realized how ridiculous it was. Even if he had a connection to these businesses, he wouldn’t know which I applied to. That’s the reason I called him. Not for what he’s insinuating.”

“You didn’t need to lie about it.”

“I didn’t exactly lie. I just didn’t want to talk about Keith. I was already having a tough morning being turned down for two more jobs. The last thing I wanted to do was to show how paranoid I was getting about being unable to find a job.”

“But still—”

“I should have told you. I know.”

He turned silent and I watched him, nervously wondering what was going through his mind. Sifting through Keith’s words, I paled, my heart thudding in my chest. Had my ex’s tirade placed a wedge between us? Did he now disbelieve me that I hadn’t been passed around the block like a joint at a frat party? Even if I had, it shouldn’t matter now.

“Tate, what he said about us,” I started to say before he interrupted me with a shake of his head.

“I don’t want to know about it,” he said on a frown. “I already know too damn much as it is already. Whatever happened between you two, is none of my concern. I’m more interested in our relationship.”

I couldn’t decide if he really meant that or if it was his mechanism to deal with what Keith had mentioned.

“I’ve just one question,” he stated, and I could see him really struggling to formulate his words. “Are those things what you’re really into? Not that I’m saying there’s anything against them. To each his own, but is that what your preference is?”

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