“I’ll see you soon, kitten.” He grabbed his phone and wallet from the dresser and headed out of the apartment.
* * *
“This whole thing is so fortuitous,”Justin said with a laugh, shaking Jack’s hand in the doorway to his office.
“It does seem to be good timing,” Jack agreed.
“Take a seat.” Justin gestured toward a chair in front of his desk. “So, tell me how you know Landon and Gregory?”
Jack sat and smoothed his hands down the front of his slacks. “I met Landon in school, in New York, and Sunday night was the first time I met Gregory.”
“Didn’t Landon go to Columbia?”
“He did. We did,” Jack confirmed.
“So, that’s where you got your PhD?”
“It is.”
Justin flicked his eyes to his computer and scrolled his mouse then shifted his attention back to Jack.
“To be honest, your education and work experience seem to be in order, and if Landon likes you, that’s enough for me. I’ll pass everything up to HR and see if we can get you in.”
Jack smiled, a bit shocked. “That’s the easiest interview I’ve ever had.”
“I’m easy. Besides, I’d rather spend the time I blocked out on my calendar drinking some coffee. Do you want to join me?” Justin pushed back from his desk and stood.
“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”
Jack followed Justin out the door and down to the hospital cafeteria, where they both grabbed large cups of coffee and went outside to a bench in the sunshine.
“So,” Jack began after they’d gotten settled, “can I ask a little bit about you?”
Justin exhaled and glanced at Jack with a raised eyebrow. “You’re curious about what happened on Sunday night, I’m sure.”
That much was true. He was extremely curious; his introduction to Landon’s group of friends had been more eventful than he’d planned. He was helping Verity chop limes behind the bar when Justin and his partner had shown up, and he’d remained silent through their explosive exchange.
“I’ve been with Micah six years now.” Justin stared at a blank space somewhere in the distance and smiled. Jack assumed he was probably recalling some story about Micah that brought him happiness. “We made it official. No one knows.”
Jack raised his eyebrows.
“He’s my submissive. We had a formal collaring thing at Rapture in June. The week after we went to the courthouse alone and made it legal.”
“No rings?” Jack questioned.
Justin shook his head. “It’s for us. We didn’t want to make a show of it or shout it from the rooftops.”
“But a collaring ceremony?” Jack rubbed absently at his neck.
“That’s the more important part of our relationship. We wanted to share that. The legal stuff is just in case anything happens to one of us.” Justin smiled again, probably at another memory.
“That sounds lovely.”
“Mmmn. It was. It is. We brought someone else in shortly after the ceremonies.”
“Problems with that?”
“No, God, no. Keith is, he’s a good kid.” Justin took a drink of his coffee.
