“What?” he barked, causing Grant to chuckle.
“Is he always a grumpy bitch, Eric? Are you giving him enough orgasms?”
Eric went bright red. Grant tossed an envelope towards Langdon.
“You mentioned you wanted to see the northern lights, so that’s a cruise around Iceland and the Norwegian fjords. You’re in a suite.”
“What’s the catch?” asked Langdon.
“So untrusting.” He tutted with a smile. “Call it a Christmas and engagement present rolled into one.”
“Sebastian, you have more money than God, so there’s nothing I could buy you.”
There was polite laughter, but Jason was trying to make himself look invisible. Charlie hadn’t let go of his leg, and it felt reassuring, but he was still praying that Grant would ignore him and focus on the other people he’d come to see. He spent some time with Paolo and Max, but Jason had tuned them out and didn’t know what they were talking about.
“Right, presents are over. Just got a bit of business to deal with. Jason!”
Jason’s head snapped up. It was a reflex. That voice that had commanded him so many times, and made his heart race with excitement, now had the same effect, but it was fear. This man was still his husband, and he was terrified of what he could do to him.
“You can quit trying to make yourself look invisible. You can’t keep ignoring me forever, but you can wait.”
Jason wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but would only do that when Grant had left.
“Gregory. Mr Montgomery has made the initial payment. I trust the rest will be taken care of by the deadline?”
“Oscar... I mean, Mr Montgomery will be taking care of things.”
What the fuck!What was Gregory doing getting involved with Grant? Didn’t he know how dangerous he was?
“Excellent, well, that’s it then. Merry Christmas!” Grant stood up and took his tea from KC, thanking her with a kiss on the cheek, before he left without another word.
It took a few seconds for everyone to process everythingthat had just happened, and then their attention went straight to Gregory. Why were they ignoring Jason and his connection with Grant? Why did he care? He was no longer the centre of attention, and although he usually hated that, right now he relished it.
“Are you okay?” asked Charlie.
Of course Charlie wouldn’t leave him alone.
“I just need to get out of here.”
“If you go now, they’ll ask questions. You know Langdon won’t let it go when he’s dealt with whatever Gregory’s up to.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“No idea, but probably something to do with his brother. It’s related to money, and that’s what Grant is all about.”
“Can you cover for me if I take off?”
“Take off where? It’s Christmas Day. Nothing is open.”
Jason thought of one place he could go where he’d be safe, but he shook that thought away. He wouldn’t be welcome, not after what he’d done with Ryder. He’d heard enough to know how well that had gone down. Jason looked up and saw Langdon looking at him.
“What?”
“Something you need to tell me?”
Jason shook his head.
“I’ll leave it . . . for now.”
