“Huh.But why hire you for it?”
“Most of his employees are…interesting characters.Oddballs, really.He likes that I can manage them smoothly and still get the task done.Really, it’s still weird.”Ross shrugged, as there was no pretending otherwise.“But I’d like to give the job a chance.For one thing, it pays well.”
“Yeah, you said, but how well?”
“Salary is seventy-five a year.”
Levonn choked on his coffee and had to pound a palm over his chest to clear his lungs.His eyes bulged, nearly coming out of his head.“You fucking serious?!”
“I promise it isn’t prostitution or drug-running,” Ross said dryly, well able to read the expression on his brother’s face.
“You sure about that?”
“I’m still shaky on the finer details, but that’s what the interview tomorrow is for.But he did mention it came with my own place, because I’ll need to be nearby to run errands and stuff.And he’s sworn he wants me to go back to school, finish my degree.He’s one of those bosses who believes in educating his employees.”
Levonn scrubbed a hand over his face.“I suddenly don’t feel awake enough for this conversation.So, you’d be moving out if you took this job?”
“Yeah.That okay?”Ross had to check, as he did pay the utilities on the apartment right now.His brother didn’t actually need that financial help—Levonn was a welder, so he made good money—but Ross hadn’t felt right with the idea of living off his brother’s charity.Still, a notice to your roommate was the polite thing to do.
“It’s okay by me, as long as you’re not feeling the pressure to move out.I know the place is a bit cramped with both of us here—”
“Two men in a one-bedroom will feel that way,” Ross agreed amiably.
“—and neither of us have exactly an easy time getting lucky because of it—”
Ross snorted.His dry spell had nothing to do with sharing an apartment with Levonn.He just had dismal luck finding men who were both attractive and available.
“—but you’re welcome here, you know that, right?I’d rather you be here than somewhere that’s, you know, creepy as hell.”
“I know.”Did hungover vampires, cheating werewolves, and sleep-deprived wizards fall into the ‘creepy as hell’ category?Ross couldn’t think of them as such.They were just strange and amusing to him.He did appreciate his brother’s support and concern, though.It was nice to be loved.“The interview tomorrow will tell me if this will work out well or not.I’ll need to run the suit to the dry cleaners.Do you have anything that needs to go?”
“Yeah, the comforter could use a wash.”Levonn scraped a hand over his face again, his palm rasping against the morning bristle.“Just promise me if anything—and I do meananything—doesn’t feel right to you, you leave.Don’t be polite, don’t make excuses, just get up and walk out.Promise?”
Ross drew an X over his heart with one finger.“Cross my heart.”
Ross entered the—well, compound, for lack of a better word—and looked about curiously.It wasn’t at all what he’d expected, and yet it didn’t surprise him, either.On the surface, it looked like a gated community.The houses were quite on the upper scale, all two or three stories tall, with a decidedly Victorian flare to the architecture.They weren’t made of the traditional wood siding, though, but brick in various shades of colors.All the yards were manicured to within an inch of their lives, creating a carefully cultivated look of wealth and pristine beauty.
Yes, on the surface, it looked like any other gated community for the upper class to live in.Funny; he’d driven past here hundreds of times without even suspecting anything was different about it.He felt a little like Alice, and had just found the entrance to Wonderland.A strange, out-of-body experience washed over him for a moment before he shook it off.Ross drove his little Honda Civic in, and the farther in he drove, he started catching glimpses of familiar faces.Some of them saw him and waved cheerfully.The whole subdivision was all of Glenn’s clan.Ross would bet his eye teeth on this.
The GPS took him down the winding road to the very back of the community, where a massive three-story house sprawled.It was picturesque—the pale cream brick in high contrast to the rich green landscaping and all the mature trees dotting the property.So, this was Glenn’s house, eh?Somehow, it suited him.
Ross pulled into the driveway and slid out of the car, adjusting his suit coat as he did.He’d bought the suit for a funeral—his grandmother’s—two years ago and hadn’t worn it since.Ross tried not to feel like he was possibly walking into his own funeral by wearing it today.He was unaccountably nervous for some reason.On the one hand, he still felt like this was a good opportunity, and it would be foolish to pass it up just because he didn’t understand it.On the other hand, because he didn’t understand everything involved, he was leery about jumping in.It left him with butterflies in his stomach.
The suit reinforced that this was an interview.It gave him a feeling of normalcy, which Ross needed at the moment.Besides, he looked nice in it.The unrelieved black from head to toe made his average looks appealing.Levonn had assured him of this even as he tried to talk Ross out of the interview.
It was fine.Levonn would likely find this fit his definition of ‘creepy as hell,’ but Ross had more or less known what he was walking into even as he set up the interview.He still didn’t have a rational reason for doing so.Aside from the hefty salary, that is.He felt somewhat obligated to take the job, in truth, because of Glenn’s ride to the rescue.And in practical terms, Glenn’s offer would give him the easiest route to finishing his degree without racking up a great deal of debt in the process.
Ross frowned.No accepting the job before getting answers.
Clearing his throat, he approached the front door and properly rang the bell.It was answered rather quickly by the man of the hour himself.Glenn was in business dress today, although he’d ditched the suit coat at some point.He wore a deep, rich hunter green shirt with a very pale double-breasted vest and pants to offset it.
For the first time, Ross viewed him not as a supernatural being who may or may not give him trouble, but as Glenn.The man himself.He stood in the doorway in a casual stance, his open delight easy to read in his expression and the hand he extended toward Ross, as if inviting him in.The man was always impeccably put together, but today he looked more model than businessman with his red hair styled in a casual wave of soft curls to one side.The freckles scattered across his face only highlighted the unique liquid gold of his eyes.
Ross had known intellectually Glenn was handsome, but for some reason it was now, at this moment, that it truly sank in on a deeper level.Glenn was handsome and Ross was attracted.His fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and touch, which, what the hell, hands?No.
Not knowing what to do with that revelation, Ross set it aside for later.“Glenn.”
“Ross,” Glenn returned with a wide smile.“Do come in.I’ve set out tea.”
