“It is a game. You have to guess if people in restaurants are secretly sleeping together. I think they are. Or, over there, that man and that woman…What do you think?”
Ben considered them. “No. He’s way too old for her.”
“It is a certainty then. Why else is she here with him?”
“Cynicism so becomes you. What about those two then?”
Nikolas smiled. “Definitely not. She has been staring at you.”
“Well, we’re staring at her, and we’re sleeping together.”
“Good point. I had not considered that. We might be the object of other people’s games. How intriguing.”
“You’re seriously weird sometimes.”
“Hush, child. That’s him. Try to be a little more professional.”
“I was going to be utterly silent.”
“Perfect.” Nikolas stood up and offered his hand. Introductions were made that meant nothing as no one gave their real name. The man took a picture from his pocket of a girl aged about ten. He slid it over to Nikolas who looked at it but didn’t pick it up. “You take her, and she’s delivered unharmed to my client. We have agreed a price, yes?” Nikolas nodded. Ben frowned and began to say something, but Nikolas kicked his ankle.
“We will deliver the girl as agreed when we see the money in our account.”
The man nodded. “I will consult with my client, and if we decide to go ahead, I will send you the girl’s address tonight and the money.”
Nik nodded again. The man stood to leave. He glanced at the photo. “Do you—?”
“No. Take it.”
They watched him walk away, and Nikolas picked him up again in the street and watched until he was out of sight. Ben waited as long as he could then let out the breath he’d been holding. “What was that all about?”
“Custody case. Very lucrative. Who knew how much a child could be worth to a father?”
“Jesus. You’re not serious. We’re not taking a child from her mother and—”
“Touchy subject for you, Ben, I know this. But you have done this and more in the past.”
“That was different.”
“How so?”
“Because that was…I worked for the government.”
Nik laughed. “You worked for me. You still work for me. Do you trust me?”
Ben sat back and studied the beautiful man before him. He didn’t really need to think about it. “Yes. Absolutely.” He saw some quick expression flick across Nikolas’s face and realised Nikolas had been the one with the doubt—doubt about Ben’s answer. Nikolas was more vulnerable than he’d realised. He pushed his foot against the other man’s, out of sight under the table. “You know what the biggest perk of being self-employed is?”
“The tax status?”
Ben shook his head despairingly. “No. The best perk is that you can take your boss to bed and fuck him for the whole afternoon. You ready to leave?”
Nikolas pouted. “There is another benefit, too.”
“What? Better than going home now and…”
Nikolas slid the menu closer. “Tax-deducible lunches in wildly expensive restaurants?”
Ben grinned and took the menu. “Excellent. Free food.”
