Could what have happened between him and Kaz be considered sex work? Hadn’t Kazimir mentioned clearing the “debt”?
“You didn’t owe that asshole anything,” he reminded himself bitterly. Gambling was gambling. Nate hadn’t made him place that bet.
He pumped way too much soap in his palm at the sink and glared at his reflection in the polished mirror hanging over it. The restaurant was expensive and was paid for by Mit as a “treat for the hardworking people who always came through for him.” Pretty much the only good thing about the millionaire was his collection of hoverbikes and the fact he allowed Nate to touch them.
How a garage like Quartet Air had managed to snag a high roller like him was beyond Nate, but Mit was pretty much the only reason the shop hadn’t completely gone under, so the boss was always willing to drop to her knees and lap at the man’s boots at the snap of a finger.
“Good Light,” Nate squeezed his eyes closed and inhaled slowly, seeking patience, “I fucking hate this job.”
Not even working on those prized bikes was enough to keep him happy anymore. Mit had started to get handsy with him whenever he came around, supposedly to check on the work being done. Yet every time Nate finished work on one, the guy would show up with another that supposedly needed modifications or repairs. It was getting to the point where it was so obvious what was actually happening that even Nate’s coworkers were starting to gossip amongst themselves.
The funny thing was, it wasn’t like Nate was above being bought—everyone and thing had a price and he was no different—but there was no way in hell he’d ever give in to a guy like MitParker. Sure, he was in great physical shape for someone in their mid-fifties, and he had more money than either of them would be able to spend in a lifetime, but he was also a sleaze.
On more than one occasion at these mandatory dinners, Nate had seen the man treat waitstaff like his own personal slaves. He’d snap and yell and belittle them as if they didn’t have feelings. It was disgusting. Having grown up needing to take care of himself and his younger sister, Nate understood the struggle of working a shitty 9-5, and how one bad customer could ruin an entire week just by making a single shitty comment.
People who looked down on those who had less than them were the worst kind.
His multi-slate rang and he actually felt a wave of relief since it meant he had an excuse not to head back to the table just yet. His brother’s name flashed over the screen, and the corner of his mouth tipped up before he pulled the attached earbud from the side of the rectangular device at his wrist and popped it into his right ear. As soon as he hit accept, the soft hum of an engine came through the line.
“Finally headed home from the office?” Nate asked, checking the time. It was late, well past regular working hours. But then, his older brother, or more aptly, his older brother’s boss, had never understood the concept of time.
“Yes, we were busy preparing for the upcoming Midnight Gala,” Nuri’s voice, light and comforting in that familiar way, helped ease some of the tension Nate had been feeling as he spoke. “That’s actually why I’m calling. I reserved tickets for you and Neve. I know you’re always saying you’re too busy, but it would be great if the two of you could find the time to come this year.”
Nate started crunching numbers, trying to figure out if a trip like that was even possible for him.
Though the three Narek siblings had been born on the planet Ignite, after the death of their parents, the oldest, Nuri, had sent the two younger to attend schools on the neighboring planet Vitality. The distance wasn’t too great via spaceship, but it would still take at least a full day for them to make it from one to the other. Then another day in order to make the return trip…
“I don’t know,” he admitted. He wanted to go, mostly because he wanted to see Nuri, but this was reality, where wishes didn’t mean shit. “I have to double-check, but I’m pretty sure there’s no way Sier will approve my time off for that.”
His boss definitely wouldn’t, not when it was Nate who kept their best client coming back for more.
“Well,” Nuri’s disappointment was impossible to miss, “let me know. There’s no need to worry about the cost of the ship tickets. I can purchase those for you if you decide you can make it after all.”
“It’s not about the money.” Nate rubbed at his temple, that stress from earlier slowly creeping its way back in now that the topic had shifted to this. “I have money, brother.”
He wasn’t rolling in it by any means, but Nate had made enough racing on the side for the past four years that he could get by so long as he kept his regular working hours. Of course, most of that money had gone towards his sister's needs while she’d still been in university and to help pay for any of the side bills neither of them had wanted to tell Nuri about. He didn’t exactly live paycheck to paycheck, but there wasn’t very much in the bank as far as savings went. Still. He could afford a single ship ticket.
“Yes,” Nuri sighed. “I forget sometimes that you’re an adult now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nate bristled at the sarcastic remark. “Look, can we not have a fight right now? I’m at this dumb work thing, and I’m mentally exhausted already.”
There was a moment of silence, and then, “You should reconsider—”
“I don’t want your boyfriend's handouts,” Nate growled. He could take care of himself. Hell, he’d been doing it for years now already. The last thing he wanted was to rely on the Emperor. One of the major reasons he’d refused to return to Ignite was to avoid that very thing.
Nuri was pushy on the best of days, but his husband/boss was on a whole different level of controlling and overbearing. No, thank you.
“It’s not a handout,” Nuri argued. “We’re family.”
“Not my family.” As far as Nate was concerned, there was Nuri and Neve and him and that was all. The three of them against the worlds. That was how it’d always been and that was how he wanted it to stay.
Even if both of his siblings had left the proverbial nest and settled down with life partners.
This was the one thing he allowed himself to remain firm on, even at the risk of burdening Nuri. He didn’t hate Silver, per se, but he definitely wasn’t ready to welcome with open arms the guy who’d all but stolen and hogged his brother all these years.
Nate also didn’t fully trust him, despite the fact Silver and Nuri had been together for over a year now. Silver Rien was capricious and selfish. Nothing he ever did for others, aside from maybe Nuri, came without strings, and more entanglements of any kind were the last thing Nate needed.
That wink Kaz had sent him at the end before he’d left Nate on the ground flashed through his mind and he scowled all over again. Even if he’d wanted to press charges against the Brumal member, it wouldn’t work in his favor. People like Kazimir Ambrose got away with murder, let alone taking advantage of a drunk. He’d spin things so it sounded like Natehad wanted it, and then the entire planet would hear. It’d get to Neve and, eventually, find its way to Nuri.
