Spencer: I got sent home from work.
Elliot popped up first:Why? What happened?
Spencer: Some assistant got mad at me for not ordering his designer’s line and bitched that I sexually harassed him. An associate who’s hated me forever backed him up, saying I crossed the line with staff and customers. I’ve never done that. Ever.
Elliot: That’s terrible. Why would he say that?
Spencer: Jealously. I’ve told you people will say and do anything to get ahead in this industry.He huffed out a breath.I’d never sleep with him or any client. That would be incredibly inappropriate.His fingers flew over the phone screen.Contrary to popular belief, I don’t fuck everyone I meet.
Wolf: Good to know.
Spencer: Obviously, I have standards.
Wolf: I used to think breathing and with a pulse was all that mattered.
Spencer: If that were true, I wouldn’t have wanted you for years, Wolfie. You weren’t exactly Mr. Fun.
Wolf sent a middle-finger emoji, and Spencer snickered.
Chess came on the chat:That sounds unfair to you. Didn’t you tell him you didn’t do what that person accused you of?
Spencer: There’s more. Seems my darling father called me the other day when I was out to lunch, and when Christo discovered what he’d done, he said it reflected poorly on Maximillian’s image.
Wolf: The fucking hell he did. Bastard.
Upset as he was over being sent home, it made him feel good to hear Wolf was on his side. But was he talking about Christo or Spencer’s father?
Spencer: I’ll be okay. Just figuring out what to do with myself.
Wolf: Why did your father call?
Spencer’s stomach clenched.Don’t know. Don’t care. Fuck him.
Wolf: I have to go. Talk to you later.
Much as he wished Wolf would at least pretend sympathy, Spencer knew he wasn’t like that. His work was too important. But Spencer understood, and it was part of what made Wolf so fucking sexy. All that intensity and focus. A thrill ran through him, knowing he was the beneficiary of all that now.
Spencer: Going to veg for a while. TTYL.
The guys said their good-byes, and Spencer stretched out on the couch again. He ordered breakfast for lunch from his favorite diner and waited for them to deliver it. Comfort food was what he needed, and that meant pancakes, waffles, and bacon. His stomach growled.
For a crazy minute he wished Wolf were there with him. He hadn’t been alone during the day with nothing to do or any demands on his time since…he couldn’t remember when.
He hated it.
Too much time alone meant dwelling on the past. From his wallet, he took out the picture of him and his mother. It was one of his favorites, taken at one of those cheap mall machines when he was only five, and he sat in her lap with his arms around her neck. The love and trust they shared in their eyes shone through on the photograph. On the back, he’d writtenMommyin the crooked print of a child learning to write.
All his accomplishments would’ve been so much sweeter if his mother had only lived to see them, and Spencer felt the sting of tears. He also knew she would’ve been thrilled he’d found love with Wolf.
Imagine that, Mom. He really cares about me. Me. In spite of everything.
No, baby. Because of who you are.
Thinking of Wolf made him smile, and he stretched and yawned from lack of sleep after the night they’d shared. He closed his eyes.
A buzzing sounded, and Spencer groaned, his body twisted in an uncomfortable position. He cracked open an eye as the ringing grew more insistent. It took him a moment before he realized it was the front door, meaning his lunch was there. Damn, he’d fallen asleep for almost an hour.
“Coming.” Barefoot, he shuffled over and opened the door…to a brown paper bag. Wolf’s face popped up from behind it.
