The guy with Blue looked at Azazel, and his eyes widened. “Blue, apologize,” he demanded.
“What for? He’s the one in my way,” Blue said, seeming quite indignant. “Doesn’t he have eyes to see that I’m holding a bunch of shit in my hands?”
“He’s the CEO of Valleywood Entertainment Studios and the deputy mayor,” the friend said. "He also owns Abandon Entertainment, or did you forget? So essentially he's your boss."
"I'm my own damn boss," Blue said, glaring at Azazel.
Blue scowled, not looking away from Azazel, and he felt as if the man was appraising him. “So what? He’s just a man, not the god Odin. Besides, I didn’t vote for him and the other one. They seem shady as hell to me.”
Azazel’s eyes instinctively ticked at hearing Odin’s name or being compared to the man, however he focused on one word that came from Blue’s mouth. “Shady?” Azazel would admit the man had a valid point. After all, he and Loki used magic to weave their presence into the minds of the residents, but that was for a reason. “You have a way of judging people you don’t know,” Azazel snapped.
“I said what I said,” Blue countered. “If you don’t like being criticized, tough shit.”
“Fuck, Blue, why must you act like this?” his friend snapped. “Don’t go over the top.”
Blue sighed and glanced at his friend over his shoulder. It was then Azazel noticed that the other one was in a cast. “Fine, I’ll be good.” He turned to Azazel and put on a delightful smile that gave off an innocent appearance. “Mister CEO, I’m sorry. I’m having an unpleasant morning. My friend here was in a car crash and I’m very worried about him. I just picked him up from the hospital where he's been for the past two months, and wanted to get him home so that he can rest. But he insisted on getting some coffee. You ever have that one friend who never listens to anything you say and has to have their own way?” Azazel nodded instinctively. “Well, that’s this guy. We’ve been friends for so long it’s hard to say no to him. So I’m sorry for being rude.” He turned to his friend. “Is that better?”
"Is that really the best that you can do?" the friend asked and shook his head. "And you didn’t have to say all of that. A simple I’m sorry would have sufficed.”
“Yeah… yeah, I was going for the dramatic effect.” He turned to Azazel. “How did I do? Did you buy it?”
Azazel stared at the other man and couldn’t help the draw of his mouth that turned into a smile and leaned in close to whisper in the man's ear. Since he was hiding from the public, Azazel wouldn't reveal his identity. "And you call yourself an actor? No wonder you've never won an award. I suggest you work on it.”
“And I suggest you back the fuck up. I won't hesitate to kick your ass, Mister CEO.”
Azazel chuckled, liking the other man's feisty attitude. "Do you think that's a good idea, to threaten bodily harm to the man who could make or break your career?"
Blue leaned back, chuckling. “Do your fucking worst, Mister CEO. Now excuse me, I still need to get my friend home to rest.”
Not wanting to fight anymore, Azazel stepped to the side and let them out of the cafe.
“I’m sorry for his behavior, Mister King. I’m Khray Wade, Blue Lennox’s manager. I would shake your hand properly, but as you can see...” He looked down at his hand in the sling and the coffee cup in the other.
“It’s nice to meet you, and it’s fine. Word of advice, teach your client to talk to people.”
“Yes, sir.”
They walked away, and Azazel couldn’t stop his eyes from following Blue’s jeans-encased legs, moving up to his pert ass that was quite pleasing to his eyes. Shaking his head, he walked into the cafe and ordered his tea as thoughts of the other man’s legs and ass lingered in his mind. If only he wasn’t still hung up on Uriel he’d give thought to fucking Blue Lennox, even if it was for one night.
* * *
“Didyou have to threaten Mister King? What if he really follows through with his threat and gets Blue blackballed?” Khray snapped the second they got in the car.
“My dude, relax, he won’t do that.” He took off his baseball hat and glasses, putting them in the middle console, then ruffled his curly black hair. As simple as the disguise was, according to Khray it was what Blue wore whenever he left his apartment and didn't want to get noticed.
“How do you know?” Khray glared at him.
“Because I know, all right. Now put your seatbelt on.”
Uriel gripped the steering wheel, trying to calm down his racing heart. They were heading to Abandon Entertainment, a subsidiary of Valleywood Studios, to meet with his team. Uriel mentally scowled. It seemed as if he’d be working more closely to Azazel than ever before. His stomach was in knots with anger after seeing Azazel and wasn’t sure how he'd keep it together when he was around the other man.
Orion was right, Uriel didn't want to admit that one of the reasons for Uriel's reluctance to meet with Azazel was that he still wanted him. Their back-and-forth banter was so reminiscent to their past, as if no time had passed between them. Even after what Azazel did and what Uriel went through, his desire for the other man hadn't waned in the least. Seeing Azazel made Uriel want him more.
When Uriel woke up that morning, he hadn’t expected to bump into Azazel. For the past two months since taking on the Blue Lennox persona, he'd gone from one television show to another. After the two-week preparation, his first television appearance was on the rebooted soap opera Day Break.
Filming took a couple of weeks, and he worked from sunup to sundown. It was hard work, with a lot of lines to remember in a short time, but Uriel didn't mind in the least. He was able to hone his acting chops and add more to his resume. His second appearance was as a judge on a popular cooking show.
Uriel was happy that he didn't have to cook anything, all he had to do was put his eating skills to the test. Luckily the food was delicious. In between his busy schedule, Uriel found time to be there for Kristoph for his first day of school. After seeing Azazel, he wondered what the other man would think when he saw Kristoph.
