8
Jack
Sam gaped at me when I approached him at the main bar of The Lodge.
“That’s a good look for you, boss,” he remarked. There was something about the way he scanned my body that made me feel self-conscious. I glanced down with my brow furrowed. Granted, it was unusual for me to come to work dressed in casual attire, but I was heading straight from here to Slade’s place, and he had made it apparent he wasn’t a fan of my bespoke wardrobe. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’d been abducted by aliens.”
“Come on now, Sam. Surely it isn’t that strange for me to dress down. Believe it or not, I don’t wear suits seven days a week.” Now I wondered how others saw me. Did everyone think like Slade, assuming I was a pretentious asshole who dressed to flaunt his wealth?
“I know you don’t, but I’ve never seen you dressed down when you come in here,” he pointed out. “And the entire time I’ve worked here, I can’t think of a single time when you called to say you were coming in later than you’d planned on. The only real options are a mid-life crisis or alien abduction.”
“I apologize for rescheduling, Sam. Something came up last night that needed my immediate attention,” I explained.
My phone buzzed but I ignored it. I had notified Slade that I would be unavailable for part of the afternoon. Whatever it was, I would wait until I wasn’t in the middle of a conversation with Sam to attend to it. It would be far too easy for me to shift my entire focus to helping Slade get back on his feet, but that would do neither of us any good. Still, the sooner we got this meeting started, the sooner it would be over, and I could head over to see how Slade was doing with his chores.
I wasn’t sure if I hoped he’d completed his chores so I could reward him, or that he’d fallen short so I could punish him. Slade made it obvious hewantedto be disciplined, but I was much more a fan of rewarding positive behavior. Preventative discipline was something we could address in the future if things progressed.
I hadn’t realized how worried I’d been about how Slade would react until he’d sent me the first picture of his laundry piles. He’d have been well within his rights to ignore me and pretend he wasn’t home. I probably would have if the roles were reversed. I’d crossed lines this morning, and even if they weren’t sexual, I should have respected him more and asked for his input without charging in to take control.
I owed Slade an apology. It seemed I was doing a lot of that today.
“You okay, boss?” I blinked a few times, realizing that I had zoned out, thinking about Slade and how lucky I was that he hadn’t laughed in my face.
“Yes. I’m fine. Why don’t we head back to my office so we can take a look at the proposal you put together?” The staff would start wandering in soon, and I didn’t want them eavesdropping or interrupting us.
“That sounds… Uh, yeah. Okay.” Sam leaned against the bar, closing his eyes, and taking a few breaths. I watched for a full minute while he muttered something under his breath that sounded like a pep talk. When he opened his eyes and looked up, I noticed his cheeks were flushed, and he quickly averted his gaze to the bar.
“Everything okay, Sam?” I stifled my laughter, not wanting him to feel any more insecure than he already did. He had nothing to fear; he was a brilliant kid with a bright future. I could only hope he meant it when he said he wanted to stick around The Lodge. Having someone like him as my right hand, would allow me the time to devote to…other pursuits.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he responded quickly. “Just a bit nervous, I guess. I really didn’t think anything would come of me telling you about that project.”
He grabbed himself a bottled water, holding it up. “You want one, too?”
“That would be great.” My phone buzzed again. I decided it would be better to check in with Slade now, rather than give him an opportunity to think I was playing mind games with him. Something about his defensive walls told me that was what he expected. I didn’t do head games. Psychological domination was a hard limit for me. “Why don’t you meet me in my office? I need to make a quick call. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, boss,” Sam flashed me a brilliant smile. “I’m just grateful, and a little bit stunned, that we’re having this conversation at all. Don’t mind me, I can wait as long as you need. Would it be better for you if we did this another day?”
“Absolutely not,” I insisted. “I haven’t gotten as far as I have by blowing off meetings that I’ve set up. I’m not about to start now.”
I wasn’t sure if the speech was meant for his ears or mine. It may have been a reminder to myself that I wasn’t going to get lost in the lusty fog of my attraction to Slade. “Just give me a couple of minutes, and I’ll meet you there.”
“Sure thing.” Sam bounded down the hall.
There was nothing alarming about Slade’s first message.
You better have one hell of a reward for me tonight, Daddy.
I smiled at the screen like an idiot. It was too soon for there to be any significant meaning behind him calling me Daddy, but I loved seeing it, nonetheless. He was such a cheeky little brat when he wasn’t stressing about where his life was headed.
The second message wasn’t nearly as optimistic.
I lied. I am never going to get some of this shit done. It’s too much. I can’t believe I let it get this bad.
My phone buzzed with, yet, another message.
Maybe you shouldn’t come over tonight. If you give me another day or two, I might be able to get everything done.
And another.
