Page 50 of Convenient Rivals

Did they look cosy? Oscar wasn’t sure, but he felt all tingly to think someone had seen them and thought that.

“Yes, I’m spending the day with him. We’ve known each other since we were kids.”

“So, he gets the whole silver-spoon thing?”

“I’d forgotten how blunt you are, but yes, he gets it.”

“Well, if you need an ear to bend, just call me. I’d never turn down an evening with a hot guy.”

Oscar wasn’t sure what to say to that and found himself unable to form words. Daniel’s laugh boomed through the phone.

“Relax, Oscar. I know you’re smitten with someone else, but anyone seeing us might assume I’m taking you home to give you a good railing, and it would look good for my reputation.”

“Jesus Christ! Do you have an off button?”

Daniel laughed again. They wrapped up their call and agreed to meet for a drink later in the week. Oscar wasn’t sure why, but he had the feeling Daniel could become a good friend. Not what his mother wanted when she’d set them up, but why had she done that? It didn’t fit the narrative he’d formed in his head to explain her actions. The only way he’d know what she was up to would be to ask her outright, but he wasn’t ready for that conversation yet... if he ever would be.

CHAPTER13

GREGORY

Gregory opened the door to Oscar. He was wearing jeans and a tight jumper, which showed off his muscles. Fuck, why did the guy have to be so hot? It was distracting. Gregory met his eyes and saw the pain in them. Perhaps leaving him on his own for an hour had been a bad idea; Oscar would have spent the time trying to make sense of why his mum had done what she had. When they’d been friends as kids, he’d always been curious about why things happened and wanted to make sense of someone’s motives. Gregory was only interested in facts; Oscar wanted to know about someone’s feelings. They were opposites, but had been inseparable until the day they weren’t. Even after their friendship ended, Gregory still dreamed of Oscar as his knight in shining armour, but as he’d learned more about himself and started experimenting with guys, Oscar had become a faint memory. Once he knew what he liked in the bedroom, he never imagined Oscar could be the man Gregory needed him to be, and now he knew that assumption to be wrong. He wasn’t sure how to separate young Gregory’s fantasy from the reality that they could never work as a couple. There was too much against them, and not just their families.

“You okay?” asked Gregory.

“I don’t know, if I’m honest. I just... You know what, let’s just forget about all that crap. What have you got planned for us?”

Gregory hadn’t had time to arrange anything; he’d not been back long enough. Langdon had tried to talk him out of spending the day with Oscar, and had even invited Jason over to give his view. Jason’s office was just over the road, in one of those buildings with sixty floors that was full of financial-services companies, and his new boss, the Chief People Officer, had started this week, so Jason was in the office each day to help him settle in. He’d agreed with Langdon, and didn’t trust Oscar, which stemmed from Gregory sharing what life at school had been like for him. Gregory argued against getting Charlie and Paolo’s view on the situation, opting to assume they would be on his side, so he had the numbers. It was rare for Jason to agree with Langdon on anything, but Gregory chose not to see that as the red flag it should be. Even if Jason agreed with Langdon, he would often go the other way just to wind him up, so to have those two aligned was a historic moment – one Gregory wished wasn’t about him.

“Come upstairs to my office and we’ll book a few things. I don’t do queuing.”

Oscar smiled and followed Gregory upstairs. He turned right into his office, away from his bedroom and the temptations that would bring. His attraction to Oscar hadn’t gone away, and knowing how willingly he gave up control for Gregory to use his body was a heady feeling.

Gregory’s home office was a good size, with his desk and chair, and a two-seater sofa in the corner where Oscar took a seat, his ample frame leaving no room for a second person. Gregory woke up his laptop and pulled up a ticket site to find something they could do today. There were lots of package deals that included lunch or dinner, but he wasn’t interested in that. They were always restrictive, and he liked to order what he wanted, not from a limited menu designed by people with bland taste buds. He might not cook, and rarely left the country, but he had an eclectic palate, in part because of his upbringing, and also from living in the centre of one of the most multicultural cities in the world.

As he perused, he glanced over at Oscar, who was staring into space, completely in his own head. Gregory left him to it as he used the filters to shortlist his options. It had to be something indoors, and not overly educational. He suspected Oscar would want to talk at some point, which ruled out the cinema and theatre. Nothing too daring, because although Oscar would probably be up for something sporty, Gregory didn’t want him to know how unfit he was. Besides, most sporty things were outside, and that was just madness for January.

Gregory was so engrossed in applying filters it took him a while to notice the noise coming from Oscar. Glancing over, he could see he was crying. Feeling uncomfortable and unsure of what to do, he sat there watching the giant of a man looking like a frightened little boy. Gregory knew he needed to comfort him; he just didn’t know how to do it. He had to do something. Sitting here watching him cry was becoming creepy, but sometimes people just needed to be left alone. Should he go downstairs and make hot chocolate? His brothers had called them legendary, so it’s what he always did when one of them was upset.

Before he could go downstairs, another idea popped into his head, but he shook it off. That wasn’t a path he wanted to go down with Oscar Montgomery. It was a side of himself he only shared with strangers, not his... What even was Oscar now? He couldn’t think of him as an enemy anymore – not after the last few weeks and what he’d done to help Gregory. Were they friends again? They had been twenty years ago, but a lot had happened in that time. They were more than acquaintances or fuck buddies. Okay, now was not the time to be analysing this in his head. He was itching to go back to his laptop and start doing research, but in this moment, he needed to act on instinct, not logic.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he stood up and walked over to the wall on the right side. He pushed against the side panel and it opened the hidden door. Even his brothers didn’t know about this place. It was his little secret and had been awkward when he’d had the valuer round recently. He’d made the observation that the upstairs footprint didn’t match the plans. Thankfully, Gregory had predicted it and had been able to hide things away before he showed it to anyone.

Gregory turned to look at Oscar, who was looking at the floor, lost in his own head.

“Come with me,” he said, his tone more commanding than he’d intended.

Oscar jerked up, his eyes wet, with pain radiating from them.

“Where?”

“To get you out of your head.”

He held out his hand. Oscar hesitated for a moment, then stood up, taking hold of it. Gregory pushed on the door and walked inside. Oscar was close behind him. Once he was fully inside, Gregory felt Oscar’s grip tighten on his hand.

“Is this a playroom?”

Gregory smiled. “Not quite. I’m not into anything that extreme, but sometimes you need a bit of privacy, even from your well-meaning brothers.”

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