“Trying to learn our suppliers?”
“He’s doing well,” Maurice said, and I swore if I wasn’t there he might’ve reached out and patted Bern’s head as if he was a puppy. I got it, though. Something about the way Bern stared into your face when he was speaking about projects made it clear he needed gentle encouragement.
The young man in question puffed out his cheeks and nodded. “Yep. There are a lot of them.”
“Indeed.” I stuck out my hand.
Bern shook with me on autopilot, his gaze darting from the stacks of paper resting on the thick black carpet to the form he still held in his other hand.
“It’s well past the time I pay you to be here. Don’t work for free. This can keep until the weekend is over.”
He glanced up at me with a pained expression. “Yeah, but I wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing on Monday morning.”
There was an obnoxious knock, and I stood as a redheaded man stepped through the door with an absolutely outraged scowl. He glanced around, pausing to glower at the painting of a calm lake reflecting a night sky that Maurice had hung opposite his desk. “So, I was told that I could find Bern in here?” He stalked forward like a man who wasn’t about to take no for an answer.
Bern sat up straighter and waved a hand. “Down here, Izzie.”
“What?” the redhead snapped, ripping the sunglasses off his angular face before hooking them into the collar of his shirt. He stomped around the desk and stared down, not bothering to say hello to me or Maurice. “It’s time to leave. It was time anhourago. I’ve been texting you.”
“Yes, I was just telling him that.”
The redhead narrowed his eyes on me, then offered his hand. “Israfel.”
“Wick.”
Bern coughed and nearly choked, and Maurice shook his head at us all.
“You were taking too long. I’m here to pick you up.” Israfel nudged Bern’s leg with the toe of his boot. He looked good, maybe dressed for a night out, but the green button-down he wore over a white T-shirt was about two sizes too big and swamped him.
I laughed. “Mr. Evangelos, go get your weekend started. You clearly have someone waiting. Monday is early enough for this mess.”
“I’ll make sure all the paperwork is organized for you.” Maurice reached down and grabbed one of the piles, then efficiently slid a clip over the top. “I promise they’ll be exactly the way you stacked them.”
Bern stood and gingerly stepped out of the circle of papers he’d made around himself, and Israfel glared. I couldn’t hear what Bern was whispering to Israfel as they hurried toward the door, but it was clear he would have a lot of sucking up to do. He must’ve disrupted plans by staying too long at work.
After they were gone, I chuckled. “Do you think that was Bern’s boyfriend? He doesn’t seem ready to handle him.”
“I think Bern’s the one getting handled,” Maurice said snidely as he continued working.
I snorted.
Maurice glanced at me and bent to grab another pile of papers from the floor.
I squatted down and began handing the stacks to him while he slid on clips.
A pinched smile settled onto his mouth. “Would it bother you if Bern had a boyfriend?” The quaver in his voice had me on edge.
“It would be extremely hypocritical of me if it did.” I glanced at Maurice out of the corner of my eye as I passed him another pile of papers. “Does it bother you?”
Maurice flushed and laughed, running his hand along the dark stubble on his jaw. “No, I would be in the same boat. I would have to call it theDenial.”
“TheDenial? That’s the boat for hypocrites? What if we’ve accepted it and we’re happy about it?” A tidal wave of excitement rolled over me. I’d wondered if Maurice was gay, but I hadn’t known for certain.
Maurice shrugged and smiled.
“Are you ready to go out tonight?”
His brow furrowed and he glanced down his front. I liked what he was wearing—a lightweight long-sleeved mint-green shirt with a white tie. The colors popped and the outfit was tasteful. The black suit he wore complemented his body well. Overall, he appeared professional, and.... Well, since we were going on a date, I could think it to myself. It was a sexy style for him.
