I felt the touch of his lips against mine, and I kept my eyes closed as we kissed gently until laughter made Vane jerk away. Turning to look at where it came from, I frowned at the sight of the mayor standing at the bottom of the stunning central staircase directly across from the doors, his usual pressed white shirt untucked and buttoned up wrong, with no tie.
Vane raised his eyebrows. “You could have at least dressed better, Ross.”
Mayor Midberry shrugged and leered at me. “I’ve never seen you around before. Maybe I’ll have to enjoy your services one night.”
My mouth dropped open and I chuckled after a moment. Vane didn’t seem to find it as funny because his jaw tightened and he went to step in front of me again, like he did with Roberts, but I put a hand on his arm to stop him.
“Jaxsonis not a courtesan, Ross, he’s my… employee.”
Mayor Midberry’s eyes widened and his stare flipped back to me. “Employee… that you were kissing just now?” His gaze narrowed. “Explain.”
Vane straightened his shoulders and touched my arm, leaning in closer. “Listen, there’s a bar through there.” He pointed toward the area I’d already noticed through the archway, but he directed my attention to a bar against the wall with a silver top and a wooden base. The bartenders hustled under the dreamy glow of blue lights, handing out drinks and taking cash and cards as payment. “I’ll meet you in there after I have a talk with Ross.”
“I could stay,” I said because I wanted to be here for the conversation. “I work for you, and as such, I signed a privacy contract. I have an obligation to the Midberry team.”
Vane laid his hand on the back of my neck and squeezed. “I know, and I’m not blocking you from doing your job. This is a conversation between friends.”
“No, I agree with him, Vane. Let him stay.” Midberry crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes on me thoughtfully. “This conversation will be about him also.”
“Ross—”
“Let him stay.” Midberry grinned and stepped closer to us. “Because you wouldn’t risk our mayoral run for just any piece of ass, right? Because you know that if this gets out, we’re done for.”
Vane raised his chin, and Midberry’s eyes widened.
“Fuck, what happened? Did your affair leak to the media?” He stepped closer and kept his voice low, his glare settling on me as though it was all my fault, even though he had no idea what was going on.
“Roberts came to my apartment building about other issues and saw us. I wasn’t going to hide myrelationshipfrom him.”
“So you told him about it?” Midberry snorted and ran his hands over his face. “Fuck, Vane, I thought you were smarter than that.”
“He asked if I was gay, and I never confirmed or denied it in the past. I said that Jaxson was my boyfriend, and the bastard started on a tangent about the motorcycle clubs.” Vane shrugged.
“And that makes it okay?” Midberry cursed under his breath. “Our future mayoral campaign relies on our image as straight men with moral fiber. Having a boyfriend who also happens to be your employee isn’t the way to get reelected.”
“How do you know, Ross? There’ve been gay mayors before. Trans, too. Maybe not here, but oh well. The world is changing, and I’ll be damned if I hide who I am to appease the homophobes.” Vane got in closer to Midberry, and I let go of his hand. “I always told you that I wouldn’t pretend to be a straight man, but I wouldn’t announce I was gay, either. Roberts caught me with Jaxson, and I’m not going to deny he’s my boyfriend.”
Midberry scoffed. “Boyfriend? When did this happen? You don’t do relationships.”
“Maybe I’m doing this one.”
My heart catapulted against my ribs and something indescribable wormed its way inside me. Warmth spread through my chest.
Midberry stared at him as though he’d grown a second head. “Okay, so why are you here?”
“I wanted to warn you that Roberts saw us.” Vane took a step back until he was beside me again and grabbed my hand, entwining his fingers in mine.
“And the other thing,” I whispered to Vane, who smiled tightly.
“What other thing?” Midberry crossed his arms and a twitch started in his jaw.
“I might have smashed Roberts’ phone.” This time, Vane did wince.
“What?” Midberry’s mouth dropped open and he turned red in the cheeks.
“Complete accident.” Vane waved his hand, and I didn’t believe it, and I was sure Midberry wouldn’t either.
“You’re such a liar, Vane.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “So how are we going to fix this? You’re usually the one who deals with these kinds of problems for me.”
