He loved the idea of people knowing Felix was his, but it wasn’t Ryder’s choice to make. They’d only known each other for a short time. He didn’t want to throw Felix into the spotlight like that.
“Or you denounce him, and be seen out and about with other people.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Great, so we’re going with option one. You know, I think this will be good for you, Ryder. You should stay together for at least three months if you can. It’ll be better for your image. We’ll be able to capitalize on the breakup.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not even dating him—not yet anyway. And if I was, the last thing I’d want to do is break up with him.”
“Ryder, you can’t be in a long-term relationship with someone like Felix.”
“Why not? And what do you mean by that?”
“He’s a nobody, Ryder. And you’re way out of his league. Be serious about this.”
He stood up, boiling with anger. How fucking dare she talk about Felix like that. He was tempted to fire her on the spot, but they’d been together a long time, so he’d give her the chance to apologize.
“I’m gonna go. We won’t be going public on anythinguntil Felix is ready. If he even wants to be with me after all this.”
“We can’t leave this, Ryder. We need to talk about these endorsement deals, and they depend on you not being with Felix.”
“I’m not working for any homophobic assholes.”
“This isn’t about him being a man. It’s about him being a nobody.”
“Do not call him that again,” shouted Ryder.
Fiona was unflappable, but even she looked surprised at Ryder’s outburst. She said nothing, but moved back behind her desk. Did she fear him? That shocked him. He’d never lift a finger to a woman. His baby sisters had pushed his buttons enough when he was a kid, but he’d never snapped.
“Sorry, Fiona. I didn’t mean to scare you, but Felix is important to me. I don’t know if he wants any more from me, but if he does, then I’m not giving that up. I haven’t felt this way about someone in years. If people don’t want to work with me because of that, then I don’t care. I expect you to have my back here, Fiona.”
“I’m just making sure you’re aware of the consequences.”
“I don’t care. He’s the only thing that matters.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow.”
“I just said that, didn’t I?”
“Yeah. I don’t even know what to say. Does he feel the same way?”
“God, I hope so.”
Fiona gave him an understanding look, like she knew everything he was feeling. He realized he knew very little about her personal life, and felt guilty about that, but it wasn’t his place to pry. She would share what she was comfortable with.
They spent another ten minutes going through some offers, and he declined anything to do with the holidays—not that he didn’t like that stuff, but he didn’t want to doanything so quickly. There were a couple of options for January, which were not dependent on him being single and were focused on fitness. A few others needed more information, which Fiona was going to gather. He left, knowing he’d have to explain to Felix what had happened, and Ryder hoped he was still in a social media blackout. The last thing he wanted was for Felix to be by himself when he found out. First, he had to meet his friends.
They met near Deacon’s office, which was Sebastian’s company. Deacon had taken over running the North American operation when Sebastian moved to London to expand into Europe. Although being with Charlie was his priority, love didn’t slow Sebastian Steele down. In the last twelve months, he’d opened offices in Paris, Munich, and Barcelona.
Max had his own family law practice which he’d opened in the summer. He’d been a criminal lawyer for years, but had wanted a change when he was reunited with Paolo, the love of his life. Paolo had moved to New York, and now worked at a high-end spa as a sports massage therapist. He was great at what he did, but Max had banned Ryder from getting a massage from Paolo. Remembering their conversation made him chuckle.
“What’s funny?” asked Max.
“Just remembering how growly you got when I asked Paolo if I could book him for a massage.”
Deacon cracked up laughing.
“Well, you’re a man whore. What did you expect me to say?”
