Page 4 of Obsessed

“Guess who slept with Bryce and ghosted him?” Emma announced as Rain entered the kitchen. Some of the servers and line cooks gave him judgy glances but he expected it, distributing winks as he wiggled his way to the back, where The Pointe’s head pastry chef looked over a three-tier wedding cake.

“How did you know?” Rain curtsied, pulling the jacket of his uniform tux wide.

“The usual.” Nodding with approval, Emma waved at a few of the wait staff, who slowly picked up the cake and headed for the main room. “He came over here about four or five times, sniffing around.”

“And she was mean to him.” Kate popped her head around the corner, wiping icing from her face.

“I wasn’t mean,” Emma sniffed. Almost fifty, she had a wicked sense of humor and less-than-zero fucks to give. Her directness sometimes scared the staff but it was exactly why Rain liked her.

“Really?” Kate put her hands on her hips, twisting her expression in a perfect mimic of Emma. “She was like‘Are you looking for that pretty boy who wore you out? Get in line. He’s not going to call so you can stop looking.’”

Rain laughed so hard that he had to lean on the counter. “Poor Bryce. He’s going to be afraid of the kitchen now!”

“I am too old and too tired to be wasting time on your soap opera of a life,” Emma snorted with a grin, going to the next station and readying the trays of pastries.

“You love it,” Rain stated, smirking when she turned back to him, pinching her thumb and index finger together.

“A little.”

“Rain, where are you? We’re low on people for setup!” Marci barked through the headset and Rain jumped, hitting the button on the microphone.

“Be right there!” With a wave, he left the kitchen, losing himself in his shift until he was too busy to worry about decrepit, moldy apartments or Gage.

In fact, he was so focused that he didn’t notice who the photographer was until after the ceremony, and he almost dropped an entire tray of stuffed mushrooms when he looked out the window and saw Mason taking pictures of the bride and groom.

“I didn’t know he did weddings,” Rain murmured to himself. He’d seen Mason once from afar while helping Ollie move in and his interest had immediately pinged over his friend’s odd landlord.

Close up, Mason was more striking than Rain had expected, with dark brown hair curling over his strong forehead and thick brows crowning brilliant sea-green eyes. Those full lips looked very kissable, and Rain wanted to run his hands over the stubble around them and continue south, down that strong build. Solid, but not overly muscular, Mason was more suited to art rather than sport; however, his biceps stressed the seams of his black dress shirt and Rain burned a hole through the glass with his stare.

“Who?” Passing through the cocktail hour room, Kate stopped beside him, glancing outside. “Mason?”

Rain nodded. “We’re allowed to fuck the vendors, right?”

Her eyebrows pinched together. “You probably shouldn’t.”

“Why? Brief me on him.” Word traveled fast at The Pointe and it was mostly due to Kate. She had an innocent face so people told her everything and Rain used that knowledge wisely.

“He’s strange but he takes amazing pictures, Marci is considering him for her wedding. Some of the couples hate him because he’s kind of grumpy.” She waved her hand toward the front, where Mason took photo after photo with a sour expression. “He’s not nasty or anything, he just keeps to himself. He’s polite enough, I guess.”

“I wonder if he’s gay. I bet he has an enormous dick,” Rain declared and Kate’s cheeks turned pink.

“U-Um, you say that about everyone.”

“Do I?” Noticing that the newlyweds were heading inside, Rain winked at her and raced to the foyer, skulking in the back by the potted plants.

The bride and groom had stopped in front of the stairwell and Mason hovered around them, taking photos while they chatted. Once he was done, he swung his hand toward their suite and they thanked him before heading upstairs, obviously not too put off by his personality.

This was Rain’s chance. Once the bride and groom were out of sight, he strolled over, trying not to look too thirsty.

“Hi.” Tilting his head, he looked up through his lashes, tucking a stray wisp of hair behind his ear. “Do you remember me? I’m Rain, Ollie’s friend.” He held out a hand in greeting.

Mason only stared, eyes flicking between Rain and his hand.

“I remember you.” The timbre of Mason’s voice rippled through Rain as did his touch, for when he finally grasped the outstretched hand in a large warm palm Rain had to bite his lip. Shaking it once, Mason quickly pulled away but there was heat and something else in his piercing gaze, something unrecognizable, and it piqued Rain’s curiosity.

“So, I work here now.” Gesturing around him, he turned his seductive smile on Mason, hoping to have a crumb of conversation, but Mason took a few steps back, hands on his camera.

“I have to take more pictures.” And then he was gone.

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