Page 13 of Corporate Bondage

Chapter Six

(Gio)

The first time I visited Keith’s office I didn’t know what to expect. Armed with the information Tate had unknowingly fed me to the destruction of his relationship, I had been excited and eager to engage this man who seemed to have some of my motivation— to rid our world of the misery of Tate and Bryan together. I had been so certain he would have agreed without the need for persuasion. A man didn’t go through the extremes he did with Bryan and then decided he didn’t want him anymore.

I had no idea why Keith wanted me. In fact, I wasn’t certain he wanted me either. He was fucking with me, playing mind games. As I’d gone back through everything Tate had told me about Keith, I’d acknowledged that he was a bit fucked in the head. He had to be with the crazy proposition of his. And, if he was fucked in the head for making the offer, what the hell did that make me for considering it?

Desperate. I was desperate to do something, anything for Tate to see how unsuitable Bryan was for him. The shit face had rubbed me the wrong way at the cemetery with his comments about Tate never loving me back. I was terrified that this was true, especially as I’d expected Tate to call and inform me that he'd given Bryan the boot. I’d expected Tate to kick him out for not being there to support him too much. It seemed I had too much hopes.

What the hell had Keith seen in Bryan that he became ensnared in his trap? Was he that good a lay, and was that all Tate was looking for? A young pretty boy who was able to take dick really well? It made me nervous thinking about it. In the past, the lovers I’d tried bottoming for had been clumsy and inexperienced. I hadn’t enjoyed it. Did I dare think things would be different with Tate? Sometimes I was so confused about what was inside my head. Whenever my mind felt befuddled, I reminded myself that I loved Tate and that was all that mattered. Everything else could be worked out.

As I rode the elevator to Keith’s floor, I contemplated the man. I’d done further research on him, and I had to say I was impressed. At thirty-eight years old, he was the youngest C.E.O ever at Dreams, the cable network company where he worked. I’d found several local newspapers brandishing stories about business awards he won and the charities he supported. He was big on helping veterans and their families. It was reading that information which made me decide, he couldn’t be as bad as he everyone thought.

His secretary was sitting at her desk, wearing a sulk that pushed out her already full bottom lip. She was yammering away on her cell phone, but when she saw me quickly ended the call and tried to muster up a smile that didn’t quite reach her red-rimmed eyes. She had been crying. With a boss like Keith, I could imagine the million and one things he might have said or done to make her cry. I almost had a second thought about coming here today.

“I remember you,” she said. “You were here to see Mr. Eardley a few days ago.”

I smiled at her. “Yes, I was.”

“Do you by any chance need a secretary, PA or whatever?” she asked, looking me up and down. “You look like a businessman.”

I shook my head with a grimace. “Sorry, I’m a chef and already have people who deal with the admin stuff.”

She gave a loud sigh, and her lower lip trembled like she was about to cry again. “Oh, well Mr. Eardley can’t see you right now. He’s quite busy with someone else.” She gave me a strange look I couldn’t read.

“That’s okay. I can wait,” I told her. “I don’t have anywhere to be this afternoon. It’s urgent that I see him.”

“Uh, okay, I'll ring him and let him know you are waiting. Can you remind me of your name?”

“Gio Arcuri.”

“Thanks. You can have a seat.”

I did as she suggested, feeling nervous as she punched in the number to her boss’s phone. I shifted uncomfortably, reminding myself it was just a blowjob. How hard could it be to give one and gain an accomplice who hated Bryan as much as I did? I was running out of ideas to get in the way of Tate’s relationship without being obvious about it. If I meddled too much Tate might cut me out of his life, and that would be making several steps backward. I’d rather Keith do the meddling, which would benefit me, without incriminating me.

“Mr. Arcuri,” the secretary announced my name.

I snapped out of my thoughts and rose to my feet, having a sense of doom. Was Keith refusing to speak to me? The secretary’s eyes spoke volumes.

“Please, call me Gio.”

“Um, Gio, Mr. Eardley says you can enter.”

The tension in my shoulders relaxed. That was easier than I thought it would have been.

“Thank you.”

I started for the door but stopped when the secretary called to me, “Gio.” Her eyes were full of conflict like she wanted to say something but was weighing her mind.

“Yes?”

“Oh, never mind.”

I frowned at her oddity. She hadn’t appeared like the brightest tool in the shed the last time I had been here though, so I dismissed her weird behavior. I knocked once on Keith’s office door then pushed open. My eyes immediately landed on Keith sitting at his desk, his head leaned back in the chair, and his eyes half-closed. He looked extremely relaxed.

“Mr. Eardley, thank you for agreeing to see me,” I announced, closing the door behind me.

“Take a seat,” he panted.

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