01

Happy New Years Lovelies!

Introducing:

The CEO’s Addiction

Enjoy!

Xoxo

••

Alex

I flinched as soon as I heard the sound of Derek’s glass shatter from the impact of the floor.

We all stared on at this man that was standing in the doorway of the office. He was directly in front of me, demanding my full attention. I noticed now, what I hadn’t noticed earlier… that his features were strikingly similar to Anna’s.

They both had dark hair which accurately matched the color of Brad’s. As I focused closer on his eyes, I realize those orbs where identical to Anna’s. The feeling this brought on made, me sick to my stomach. I remember what Brad had disclosed about Anna and her relationship to her brother.

Christian was the first to leap into action. “Security!” He yelled out from inside the office.

His voice was so loud and direct, it made me flinch again. Joan reacted next. She stepped in front of Brad defensively. The act was a small one, but I knew Joan was ready to fuck this man up if it came to it. Her and all of her barely five foot self.

Brad placed a hand on Joan’s shoulders, and gently positioned her back behind him.

Not even seconds later, three large men bust through the office door, pushing what’s his face off to the side. I couldn’t remember whether this monster introduced himself as Vadik, or Vidak, or Vildak. Something like that.

“Sir?” The security asked, answering Christian’s call.

Christian raised his hand and pointed to Anna’s brother.

“Detain this man, and bring him around to the back of the building. Do it quietly. Don’t create a scene. Don’t alarm the guests.” The words that fell past Christian’s lips were cold. They sent shivers down my spine as he spoke them.

“Wait!” Anna’s brother started to say something, but security had already over powered him. They forced him up against the wall adjacent to the door, and started to place restraints on his hands. “Wait! Please! Let me explain, please. Just give me a-”

That was the last thing we heard before one security worker slammed his face into the wall, and dragged his barely conscious self out. I guess that was one way of moving him quietly.

As soon as the men had disappeared around the corner, Christian took a few strives to the entrance of the office. “Everyone stay right here. I’m going to grab my father.” He called out before he, too, disappeared down the hallway.

“What the fuck.” Derek whispered under his breath. It was the first words anyone had said after Christian had left. It also accurately described the absolute shock and horror that presented itself on everyone’s faces. I glanced over at Brad, and he too, looked to be in this unavoidable trance. His face was, for the first time, incredibly expressive. I couldn’t depict which emotion he was feeling, within the mix of emotions present on his face.

“How the hell did he even get in?” Joan asked the group.

“A damn good question.” I replied. My words felt foreign even to myself. I was still in shock from what the fuck had just happened. Within moments, the office door we were all staring at aimlessly, flew open again. In walked Christian’s father first, with Christian following not far behind.

“Where the fuck is he?” Slav demanded, as his voice bellowed through the room.

“Security has detained him outside one of the storage spaces downstairs. They’ve already alerted the authorities.” Christian explained.

Slav had this look on his face, that made a whole new set of hairs stick up all over my body. It left me feeling fucking terrified. He looked like he was ready to kill somebody. And I mean truly cold blood murder someone.

Sure enough, as soon as Christian had finished explaining what had happened a few moments ago, Slav exited the room even quicker than he had entered it.

“Dad!” Christian called, leaving the room with him.

We all sort have exchanged looks with each other. There was this feeling that passed through the room, that made us all believe some serious fucking shit was about to go down. As if we read each others minds, Derek, Joan, Brad, and I all left our posts in that office room, to run out after Christian and his father.

The pace Slav was moving at was too fast for even Christian to catch up with. By the time we made it to the basement where the underground parking and storage rooms were located, we were already late.

The security detail were holding Slav back from a now very bloody… Vadik? Vildik? What the fuck did he say his name was?

“Dad!” Brad called out as soon as he processed the scene that was unfolding all around us. Slav was able to push past the security’s grasp, and land another swift and forceful kick to the man’s abdomen. It made him tumble and fall to the ground. Because of the zip ties that were tightly bound around the mans wrists, he was unable to stop himself from toppling over.

That was when Brad reached out to personally hold Slav back. He put him in a tight lock with strength I had never seen Brad administer before. “You can’t kill him!” Brad spoke sternly. “The authorities will be here any minute.”

“I don’t give a shit!” Slav shot back immediately. “The shit he fucking did to my Anna? I oughtta rip cut his dick off and shove it up his own fucking asshole. I want to gouge his eyes out with my own fucking fingers. I want to feel this worthless piece of shit’s life leave his very body by the work of my hands. How dare he breach his contract-”

Slav stopped himself before he could get further.

The room grew silent. Even the security didn’t say a word as they watched this mess unfold. I was absolutely stunned by Slav… mainly because I believed every word that fell past that mans lips. He actually wanted to kill him.

“Contract?” Brad asked Slav quietly, as he released his grip on him.

“I- it’s not- I shouldn’t have-” Slav started. The words he said were incoherent, and far from explanatory. “It wasn’t something your mother and I saw fit to disclose to you.”

“Disclose to me?” Brad’s voice broke.

“We- your mother and I- did our best to protect you. I cannot explain all this to you right now, but you’ll understand soon I promise.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Christian asked his father, stepping up to stand besides Brad. This was getting bad real fast.

This was the first time I was seeing Slav like this. He, himself, looked like the deer caught in the highlights this time. Before Slav was given the opportunity to explain what was going on, two squad cars pulled in to the back entrance of the garage area, right outside the storage rooms. One officer excited the first car, to approach us. His was a large dude. Built sticky like he two security guards.

“Henry.” One security guard nodded at the officer.

“Good to see you again, Dino. I got your message. We’ll keep everything quiet, including…” the cop took a look at the unconscious and bloodied man. “…this. Just help me get him into the squad car.”

Dino assisted the cop… I guess his name was Henry? They both hauled the man off the floor and managed to get him into the back of Henry’s squad car.

Brad, Christian, and Slav were all still standing across from each other. When my eyes caught Brad’s, I noticed something.

It looks as if he had finally decided upon an emotion. All I saw in his eyes that night, was pain.

••

02

Christian

I understood the importance of the cops arriving at the scene, and bringing Vadik in… yet my eyes never left my fathers.

There was a list of many things I could forgive.

Lies and deceit did not make that list.

Especially when it came to family.

I saw the visible pain etched into Brad’s eyes, and I knew there was something here that we didn’t know. Something here that neither my mother, nor my father, bothered to inform us of. There hadn’t been many instances where Brad visibly showed his emotions… but tonight was one of them, and that’s what fueled the disrespect directed towards our father.

“Tell me what the almighty fuck you’re talking about.” I asked Slav.

“This is not a conversation we should be having here. Let’s get through the Gala, and we’ll met at home.” Slav replied. He had this distant look upon his face, as if he wasn’t fully here anymore. It was a look I’d never seen my father present before.

“We’ll meet at my place.” Brad replied with equal harshness. His tone startled me. This was the first conversation in which Brad had ever spoken back to our father. I saw the distraught look in Slav’s eyes, and I knew he was trying to hold it together. I’d never seen my father look so unsure.

“We’re leaving now. We’ll take Alex, his mother, Brad, Joan, and Derek with us. As soon as the main performances are over, I expect both you and mother at Brad’s place.” I spoke up. “But understand that this is the last chance I’m giving you to explain everything. And I mean everything . No half-assed truths this time. No bullshitting us. If I find out there is something either you, or mother are withholding from Brad and I, that will really be it for me. I will won’t hesitate to leave. Leave this company. Leave my position here.”

This was probably the first, and last time I would ever show my father this level of disrespect. I needed him to understand that I was serious. This was serious. Every decision he and my mother had done for the questionable “bettering” of Brad, was fucking serious. We were all grown ass fucking adults here. It was about time we acted like it.

I felt Brad’s hand on my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go.” Was all he said.

As soon as his hand fell from me, I turned around to follow Brad, and left Slav there with those security guards. We lead the group back up to the office we were in earlier. Alex’s mother was still there, hunched over a chair looking just as wasted as we left her.

I wasn’t even sure what to do with this drunk woman anymore.

“Brad, you take Derek and Joan back to your place. I’ll drive Alex and his mother there.” I spoke. Brad gave me a nod back, then showed Joan and Derek to the exit. The rest of us followed close behind.

I stole glances at Alex through my peripheral vision as I drove. He was staring out the window, while his fingers tapped impatiently against his knee. I placed my hand on his to still his restlessness, and he looked over at me. There was a weak smile that formed.

Alex looked fucking exhausted. This whole day had been a mess for him, and I knew I was to blame.

Luckily, the drive to Brad’s wasn’t too far. There were still a few construction dumping bins located in his driveway, but the additional garage he had been building, looked to be completed. The renovations turned out pretty great.

“Jesus, this house is fucking huge.” Alex’s mother muttered. I saw Alex tense up from her words.

I almost forgot his mom was sitting in the back seat for a while there. We hadn’t even found the time to address this woman’s bullshit tonight, with everything else that unfolded.

As I pulled my car into Brad’s driveway, I noticed he had already made it here with Joan and Derek. “Let’s go.” I announced to Alex and his mother.

Alex slipped out of the vehicle first, and made his way up the steps to Brad’s door. Before Vanessa could reach for the handle, I stopped her short by locking the doors.

“Look at me.” I snapped at her.

Her eyes shifted from the door, to find mine.

“There are more pressing matters that I currently have to attend to right now, but don’t think for a second I forgot your actions tonight… or the embarrassment you’ve caused both your son and my family. You’re going to walk into this house, sit the fuck down, and behave yourself or so help me god I will throw you back into the streets from which I found you.”

Her eyes grew wide, and her face paled at my words. She gave me a slow hesitant nod before I unlocked the doors again.

We both joined Alex at the entrance of Brad’s house. The door was thrown open moments later by Brad, as he welcomed us into his newly renovated home. He was still in his Gala attire.

“Please make yourself at home. I know we’re all in very formal clothing right now. If you need to change, I have spare clothing in one of my closets upstairs.” Brad said as we made our way into his home. “The Gala will continue for the next few hours. Help yourself to the bar. I have some coffee going. Everyone is in the living room at the end of this hallway here. Now I think it’s just playing the waiting game until our parents arrive.”

I gave Brad a nod as I lead Alex and Vanessa towards that room. Joan and Derek were already sitting in some of the new furniture, with a drink in hand. I saw Vanessa eyeing the liquor, and when her eyes met mine, I gave her a stern look that let her know I was absolutely fucking serious about our conversation in the car.

The last thing I needed right now was another mess on my hands.

“If you could bring Ms. Hamilton some coffee, that would be appreciated. I’m going bring Alex upstairs to change out of these clothes, we’ll be back down in a second.” I told Brad. Before he could leave us, I whispered something to him. “And keep an eye or Ms. Hamilton for me. If she even looks like thinking about drinking the slightest drop of liquor, you get me immediately.”

Brad gave me a nod, before showing Vanessa to a seat. I lead Alex upstairs.

“I really don’t mind staying in the suit I’m wearing.” Alex told me as we made our way to Brad’s closet room.

“Yeah Magasin De Costume has some seriously comfortable suits. I think it would be best to still change into something more casual. We’ll be waiting here for a few hours. It might be good for you to also catch up on some sleep, love. You look exhausted.” I replied to him.

Alex gave me an appreciative smile.

“That, and I can promise you shits going to hit the fan as soon as my parents arrive. I think being fully rejuvenated for that conversation would be best.”

“Are you sure we should all be here for that?” Alex asked. “This matter seems incredibly personal.”

“If the situation had been contained, I would think that… but now each and every one of you have gotten yourselves a little involved.” I replied.

Alex gave me a small nod.

“I’ve also done more than enough prying into your own personal life.” I added. “I guess it’s only fair you hear about our own dark and twisted past.”

“Something we have yet to discuss.” Alex reminded me. The conversation about his mother was just the cherry on top of this pile of shit sundae.

“Yes.” I replied. “I know Brad appreciates Joan being here. I know I appreciate you being here. Derek has somehow managed to wrap himself up in this fucking mess so I guess he deserves to know what’s happening… and there’s no way in fucking hell I’m leaving your mother alone anywhere again tonight.”

I approached Alex as he stood in the middle of Brad’s closet room. He was fidgeting with the hem of his jacket. My hands reached up to gently slide off the suit he was wearing. I let the material fall to the ground. I then got started on unbuttoning his dress shirt.

“I-I can do this myself.” Alex mumbled as he watched me undo the remaining buttons.

“I know.” I replied with a sly grin, when the material fell back to expose his bare chest. “But where’s the fun in that?”

••

03

Alex

Christian pulled the rest of the shirt down, and it fell to the ground. When he started in on unbuttoning my dress pants, my hands reached down to stop him.

“I r-really can do t-this myself.” I stumbled over my own words. His grin only grew as he pulled me in even closer to him.

I thought he was going to dip down for a kiss, but his lips instead went to the lobe of my ear. “Do you not want me to touch you?” He growled against me. I visibly shuddered. His words alone gave me a complete hard on.

“I-It’s not- that’s not-” I started. When his fingers grazed against my cock, a moan escaped my lips. This was not the fucking time or place for this… and I hated the fact that my body was happily rebelling against my mind.

Before I could do anything further, Christian withdrew away from me. “It’s damn near fucking impossible to tease you when you make sounds like that. I’m one moan away from taking you right here right now in this fucking closet.”

All those words did was make me even hornier.

“However, our of respect for my brother and this situation, that will just have to wait.” He sighed to himself. My eyes disobeyed me as Christian started to pull his own clothing off. He began rummaging through some of Brad’s clothes till he found both him and myself a shirt.

The one he handed me felt incredibly soft to touch. It was a Dropkick Murphy’s band shirt. The shirt Christian slipped on himself had the members from AC/DC on it. It fit Christian almost perfectly, but when I put Brad’s shirt up over me, it was practically a dress on my smaller frame.

“Yikes, I completely forgot Brad’s a fucking giant. I don’t think he has any pants that might fit. Are you okay with staying in your trousers?” He asked me. I gave him a nod.

He then started to unbutton and take off his own pants. He found a set of sweats folded neatly on one of Brad’s top shelves.

With Christian in nothing but boxers, I noticed his own arousal. “Stop looking at me like I’m a piece of meat.” Christian teased. I rolled my eyes at him, and made my past him towards the door. His hand reached out last minute to pull me back towards his frame. That was when he tilted my head up for a kiss. I leant into it almost immediately.

He pulled away seconds later which left me longing for more.

“Let’s make it back downstairs.” Christian smiled.

I gave him a nod in return. “Especially before my mum starts finding shit to pawn.”

“Brad, what is all this green shit?” Derek asked as soon as he opened Brad’s fridge. Brad got up and followed him into the kitchen.

“You mean kale?” Brad asked.

“Kale? What the hell is kale?”

We all looked over at Derek and sighed.

“You’re joking, right?” Joan asked.

“Is it like a boujee lettuce?” He asked in all seriousness.

“If that’s what makes the most sense to you, then yes. Let’s go with boujee lettuce.” I replied. Christian gave me a look, and I gave him one back that said it’s best not to ask.

“Were any of you hungry? I know most of night sort of went to shit at the end there. Did you all eat something?” Brad spoke as we took seats at the kitchen island. My mother had since knocked out on a couch in one of Brad’s living rooms. The liquor finally got the best of her. I was just grateful that I wouldn’t have to deal with the woman till tomorrow.

“Oh yeah, we had more than enough.” Joan replied.

I personally hadn’t eaten anything, but food was the farthest thing from my mind.

“Speak for yourself, Joan. I can always eat.” Derek replied. Joan smacked the back of his head.

“Derek, you practically cleaned out the Gala’s kitchen tonight. What the hell you mean you can still eat?” She scolded him.

“Listen. I’m very stressed right now, okay? Let me stress eat. Let me have this.” Derek whined back. Of all the people who deserved to be stress eating tonight, Derek was at the very bottom of the list. Brad pulled out a bag of something and a jar of dip from the fridge. He set both items in front of Derek, who looked at the food awfully confused. “What’s this?” Derek asked.

“Derek, stop playing. I know you know what carrots and celery look like.” Joan snapped back.

“I know what carrots and celery are, but why? Where’s the tortilla chips? And the Queso dip? Where’s the high cholesterol, and diabetes?” Derek asked.

“Not in this house.” Christian replied. “Brad’s a health nut. The only unhealthy things you’ll find here is this mans suit collection, and porn stash.”

Brad’s eyes narrowed at Christian, before he turned to Joan with a swiftness. “He’s joking. I don’t have a porn stash. I literally have no idea what the fuck he’s talking about.”

Joan’s hand went up to cover her mouth from the explosive laughter I’m sure was threatening to burst out.

“Who even has stash’s anymore? That’s so Stacy’s Mom.” Derek chimed in. “The web is the new wave. Did I ever tell you about the Evolution of the Porn Industry? It’s some fascinating stuff here, Brad. Society has really upped the potential. Let me take you on a journey-”

“This isn’t the time.” I replied quickly, trying to mask my own laughter at this point.

“No, he’s seriously lying. Christian, tell them you’re lying.” Brad snapped at Christian. That made Christian laugh as he swung a hand around his brother’s shoulder.

“I’m joking, I’m joking! I do remember the time mum found a porn magazine in your room, though. That shit was hilarious. She just set that motherfucker right on the dinner table that night and had us eat supper with a playboy exclusive staring everyone in the face. Man, I think I pissed my pants laughing that day.” Christian got out in between laughter.

I couldn’t stop myself from cracking up at that. Brad’s face broke out into a grin himself as he threw Christian in a friendly headlock. “She kept that shit on the dinner table for days. She didn’t let me touch it. We ate every meal those few days with a pornstar magazine right in the middle of us.” Brad explained, full on laughing now. “Man, mum was a whole new breed of batshit fucking crazy.”

I didn’t understand how this could be, but I swore this was the first time I head Brad openly laugh. And He had a really nice laugh. It was wild seeing him like this.

Christian broke free of the headlock and ruffled up Brad’s perfectly combed hair. “She was slightly sadistic, I swear.” He replied to his brother with a grin.

I didn’t get how the laughter in this room could be so contagious tonight. We probably all looked like fucking psychos cracking jokes at a time like this, but it felt good. It felt like, for a few minutes, everything wasn’t completely fucked.

And I decided I was going to enjoy this little moment we had right here, before said shit truly did hit the fan.

••

04

Christian

Derek insisted we watch a movie to pass the time.

Fast forward to about an hour into Ratatouille, everyone had fallen asleep besides Brad and I. I turned to look at him, with Alex snuggled close into my chest, and Joan snuggled close into his.

“They all knocked out like ten minutes into this film.” I commented. Brad chuckled, as his hand gently massaged Joan’s neck and shoulders. She curled up deeper into his side, still fast asleep.

“They should have just laid down in the guest rooms. This furniture isn’t the most comfortable.” He replied. The only person who looked to be struggling, was Derek. He shifted every few minutes to find a better position on the couch he was laying on. Alex had told me about his misfortunate luck with woman.

Maybe I should try setting him up with someone, I thought.

Then I remembered all my previous exes, and quickly expelled that thought from my mind. Plus, Derek was… special. He was really going to have to find someone on this planet to match that weirdness.

Alex seemed more than comfortable against me, and the same went for Joan. Vanessa was still knocked out from her drunken state, which meant she could have probably slept anywhere comfortably, including the floor.

It was now going on one in the morning. We still hadn’t heard from our parents, but I assumed they wouldn’t be there for too much longer. My mother didn’t enjoy staying up late, and my father was due to return to his work soon, so I’m sure he was hoping to find some sleep tonight.

I felt my phone vibrate from somewhere in my pocket. Alex looked to be out cold, but I still did my best not to disturb him as I pulled the device out. When I glanced down at the caller ID, I noticed it was my father.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey. Your mother and I are just pulling up now.” My father replied.

“Okay. I’ll get the door.” I answered, before ending the call.

“They’re here?” Brad asked. I gave him a nod.

“Looks like it’ll be just you and I for this conversation tonight.”

Brad was the first to get up. He set a pillow on his lap, and gently lifted Joan until she snuggled into the soft material. He then slowly shimmied off the couch until she got herself repositioned, and fell back into that deep sleep. I ended up doing the same thing for Alex. He was out so cold, he barely stirred.

Brad was waiting for me at the door when I got to the entrance. We watched as our parents made their way out of their car. Brad didn’t have any caretakers for his property. He didn’t believe in sleeping where you worked, so he preferred to hire maids on a needed basis. Most of the work and cleaning around his home, was done by him.

I could see the disappointment on my parents face as they realized their car wouldn’t be parked in the garage for them. I, for one, liked Brad’s home specifically for this reason. He enjoyed his privacy. He liked the fact that there wasn’t other people around to disturb his peace. Judging by how he looked at Joan, I assumed his views on solitude were quickly changing.

“Hello, my sons.” My mother welcomed as she gave both Brad and myself a kiss on our foreheads.

“Hi mother.” Brad and I replied.

“Let’s go in and get settled. Are your friends here still?” My father asked. I nodded at him.

“They’re all asleep in one of Brad’s living rooms. We can chat in his private study.”

My father gave me a firm nod, and followed us inside. Mother made frivolous comments on how nice the remodel was, but no one really paid those comments much attention. That wasn’t why they were here. Brad was the last to make it into his study, before closing the door behind all of us. He sat at his desk, while our parents and I took a seat across from him.

“So let’s just jump right into this.” I announced. “Tell me exactly why your brother is here, mum, and how he made it into the Gala tonight.”

“That’s what I wanted to discuss with you before the Gala.” My mother replied. “It wasn’t that your father and I weren’t being honest with you…. well, it was, but we were doing it to protect the both of you.”

“Your mother is right.” My father chimed in. “We didn’t do this out of spite. That man is a deranged abuser, obsessed with your mother. When your mother and I founded Ivanov Corp, it took Vadik close to no time to find us. Back then, Russia was different… Pursuing legal action wasn’t something Anna could do without the potential risk of losing her child. She did everything she could to get back to you, Brad. I want you to know this.”

“When Vadik found us, we decided to negotiate an agreement where we would send him a certain amount of money in order for him to keep his distance. We were never aware that he would, at any point, attempt to reach out to you. Our team is currently determining how he made it here, and why he’s here.” Our mother added.

“Well I think it’s quite clear as to why he’s here. He’s here for his son.” I replied. I was doing my best to take into account my mothers own trauma. This must have been the farthest thing from easy, for her… but this also want easy for Brad. I couldn’t understand why they weren’t seeing that.

“You are not his son.” My mother snapped at Brad harshly. “You are my son. You are our son. Cast out whatever nonsense you’ve conjured, because this man is not worth a millisecond of your fucking time.”

“Then explain to me what I’m supposed to do.” Brad snapped back. “He’s here , mum. Here in the states. In fucking county jail right now, being concealed by hush money I’m sure you’ve both bribed the cops with. Fuck me being your son, at this point. As your goddamn motherfucking attorney , what the fuck am I supposed to do?”

This might have been the first time I have ever heard Brad address my parents like this. He had cast aside his emotional self, and presented the cold tactical Brad. He got this way whenever he needed to solve a problem, but I couldn’t help but wonder who was going to tell him that this wasn’t a problem he could so easily fix.

“We honestly don’t know, baby.” My mother replied. Her voice broke at those words, and instantly, Brad’s eyes softened. “At this point, we’re going to do everything we can to keep this quiet. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how that will work if we do end up having to press charges. I don’t know if we can renegotiate the terms-”

“I don’t really think it’s the best idea to keep your rapist brother on your payroll.” I cut in. My parents both turned to me.

“There’s no way this can get out.” My mother replied. “There’s absolutely no way anyone can know that this happened. That will dig up far too many skeletons I rather have remained buried.”

“He fucking raped you.” I snapped. “If you’re worried about business, that should be the farthest thing from your mind at this point. He deserves to serve time for what the fuck he’s done.”

“I can’t possibly expect you to understand this right now, son… but soon, you will.”

I glanced over at Brad. He looked as stoic as he always did, but when I looked down, I noticed he was digging his nails into his own skin.

This is what Brad used to do as a kid, when he needed to keep himself grounded.

••

Hey lovelies!

Sorry I couldn’t update yesterday, work has been the absolute worst. Every day this week has felt like a Monday, and every night, a Sunday night.

I literally wouldn’t wish this upon my own worst enemy.

Maybe Trump though.

Thank you, as always, for reading! The CEO’s Kryptonite is almost at 2 million reads and I want to fucking cry, y’all are amazing- thank you!

How are we liking the new book?

Xoxo

05

Christian

“As of now, we need to work out how to handle this with the least amount of damage. I already had to apologize profusely to the guests at the Gala for both my disappearance… and the scene presented tonight due to your assistants charity case of a mother.” Slav continued.

“Speaking of which, what are you going to do with her?” My mother asked. “I can tell you this much, she is not welcome at another company event ever again.”

“Understandable.” I sighed. “I was doing my best to help her, and to help Alex. Somehow, I think I created more of a problem, than a solution.”

“We Ivanov’s aren’t meant to associate ourselves with this sort of mess. It doesn’t reflect well upon the company.” My father insisted.

“Everyone struggles with an addiction, father. It could be food, or exercise, or even shopping… but we must treat Vanessa’s addiction no different than any others. I think what Christian did was stupid, yes, but his heart was in the right place. If he’s in the position to help, I understand why he would feel such a clear need to. Alex means a lot to him.” Brad cut in.

“I noticed.” Our mother replied. “Tell me more about that. Clearly the relationship between you two stretches beyond the means of strictly professional. Are you two dating? You’ve never dated a man before. That’s pretty far out from your MO.”

My lips parted to reply, but I hesitated at the last moment.

Alex and I hadn’t really had that conversation. I knew I cared for him, more than I had ever cared for any of my previous girlfriends.

Mother always said I was a bit extreme when it came to love, but I didn’t see the appeal in doing something half-assed. In my mother’s own words, if you are to do something, commit to it.

And I could see myself growing old with that idiot.

“I’m not sure how this relationship looks like from Alex’s perspective, but from mine, I am fully devoted. No ones ever made me feel the way he does, as cheesy and unoriginal as that sounds.” I replied finally.

My mother gave me a nod. “You know we’ve already had this discussion about not sleeping with assistants, Christian. Love and work shouldn’t mix.”

Of all the things I could speak with my mother about, my sex life fell at the very bottom of that list.

“Explain to me how you and fathers relationship started again?” Brad butt in.

Damn, Brad was really in my fucking corner tonight.

It was my mother who, now, hesitated.

“You know I’m a hopeless romantic.” Our father chimed in. “If this is who you want to peruse, than there’s no reason for your mother and I to interfere.”

I offered Slav a smile. He’d never been one to judge my relationships, or even my nightly escapades. The way he saw it was, I was experiencing life as it should be. Plentiful. He used to tell me that one day, I’d find someone who would quench every thirst. Who would fulfill every void, and satisfy my soul.

At the time, I was thirteen… so I really didn’t know what fucking void he was talking about, or any of that other fulfillment shit. Fast forward a little over a decade, and woah and behold, the void did indeed exist.

“You’re father is right, I guess. Just don’t fuck this one up. I actually really like the kid.” My mother replied. “He’s got this spunk to him.”

Brad and I groaned immediately.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Please don’t ever say spunk again. That word is so incredibly outdated.” Brad whined.

“Well I don’t know what these young hip kids are saying these days.” Mother replied.

“They’re definitely not calling themselves hip, I can tell you that much.” Brad mumbled. Our mother rolled her eyes at us.

“Oh, whatever. Anyways, your father and I have an awfully long day ahead of us tomorrow. We will keep both of you updated, but for now, go get some sleep.” Brad and I both gave our mother a nod. Slav stood up to follow her and she made her way out of Brad’s study.

Somehow, everything about her had remained as Impeccable as when I saw her at the beginning of the day. Not a strand of hair slipped out of place. My father, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. When his hand went out to hold the door open for the rest of us, you could see the bruises already forming on his knuckles.

I used to watch my father box when I was younger. That was really the only time I had ever seen him punch anything. Tonight was an accurate representation of what this man was capable of. Thinking back to the state in which he left Vadik in, I was surprised he hadn’t killed him.

Every fiber of being in my body told myself that he had wanted to… and if given the opportunity, he probably would have.

When we made it back out towards the front of the home, I noticed Alex was sitting on one of the sofas in the entry of the house. He looked tired, yet alert. Like someone would come out and tase him or something if he dare fell asleep again.

“Oh! Mr and Mrs Ivanov.” He gave both my parents a polite nod.

“Alex.” My father replied with a friendly smile.

My mother ended up pulling him into a small hug. “I’m glad we got to see you before we left.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Alex replied. “I just wanted to personally apologize for my mother’s behavior and actions at your Gala tonight. She’s a recovering addict- well, recovering is being used very loosely here… but I really had no idea she would do something that embarrassing.”

“Stop apologizing.” My mother replied immediately. “You should not apologize for others actions. I appreciate the fact that you are trying to make things right, but the most impactful apology would have to come from your mother herself.”

“Family is family.” My dad chimed in. “You don’t get to choose who you are, or your upbringing. As you clearly saw tonight, the Ivanov family is not shielded from this. Apologizing for something you didn’t do, is useless.”

I took a seat besides Alex, and gently placed my hand over his. “None of that was your fault. It was all mine. I’m learning to put less faith in instability.”

I heard my father chuckle. “We Ivanov’s are the very definition of unstable.”

And he wasn’t wrong. For a while now I’d floated through life disregarding my privilege, but I since decided I’d had enough of that.

Instability was no longer my forté. I was going to have to learn to be here for Alex. Even if it was a major ego death.

••

06

Well hello there lovelies!

Warning:

Explicit Content (;

Alex

Christian lead me to one of the guest bedrooms located on the first floor. Brad insisted we try and get some rest before work in the morning, which reminded me of the fact that tomorrow was in fact Monday, and work was still a thing. I couldn’t possibly fathom going back right now, but Christian said he’d come for my jugular if I skipped out on my responsibilities.

Apparently, regardless of those few mishaps, the Gala went surprisingly well. Christian wanted us to start in on proposals for potential investors.

“Your mother will be leaving tomorrow morning at seven, if you’d like to say goodbye to her.” Christian explained as he followed me into the bedroom, and closed the door behind him.

“Eh, not really.” I replied honestly.

“No problem.” Christian nodded. “The facility isn’t too far away from here. I’ll drive you if you ever want to visit. She’ll be going through a 60 day rehabilitation program there.”

I slipped off the dress pants I was wearing, and climbed into bed. Christian removed his sweatpants, as well as his shirt, and did the same. His arm went out to tug my smaller frame closer to him once he got settled in between the sheets. My fingers started to lightly trail the length of his tattoos.

“Can time stop right here? In this very moment?” I whispered to him. He chuckled lightly.

“You’re just trying to get out of working tomorrow.”

“It’s too soon, Christian.” I whined. “Why can’t we start the work week on Tuesday, or like in 2025?” Christian ruffled my hair with his fingers.

“Because we’ve gotta jump on the momentum from the Gala. If we’re to secure new investment opportunities, we’ll have to act as soon as possible.” His hand dipped from my hair, to the nape of my neck, as he gently massaged the skin there.

“But whyyy?” I continued, full on acting like a little shit. Christian lifted my chin up so that he could look directly at me.

“You’d like an end of the year bonus, wouldn’t you? Cause that shit won’t happen if we don’t secure new investments.”

Damn.

He really had me at money.

I grumbled again, pouting at his words. He tilted my chin up further, to plant a kiss on my lips. He went to pull away, but I pushed myself up to deepen the kiss. I heard him groan against me when my hands tangled themselves in his hair.

The way he molded into my touch, drove me to the brink of insanity.

Christians tongue slipped out to lightly caress my bottom lip, before he tugged on it with his teeth. I let out a strangled moan when he started to tug a little harder. My hands slipped from his hair, to explore the rest of his body. His hands had started massaging my back, until they lowered down to cup my ass. I felt him give it a few squeezes, which in return, made it all the more harder for me to breathe.

When I made it to the hem of his briefs, his hand stopped me from progressing. “We should really get some sleep.” He murmured against my lips.

“And we will.” I replied simply, before dipping my hand underneath the thin fabric of his briefs. His cock was rock hard against the material. When I touched him, I felt his grip tighten on my ass. I took him fully into my hand, and started delivering slow steady strokes.

“Fuckity fucking fuck .” He hissed, moving away from my lips to my neck. I felt my own arousal growing painfully hard when he started nibbling and simultaneously moaning against me. I shimmied further down the bed until I could crawl in between his legs. The light from the lamp on the bedside table gave me a clear view of Christian as he watched me pull his briefs down. When I moved to touch him again, his breathing accelerated.

My tongue slid out and licked the head of his cock, which was already slick with precum. That was when his eyes rolled back. “Sweet fucking god.” He mumbled. His hands gripped the bed sheets tighter. I slid my tongue up from the base of his shaft, to the tip… much like he’d done with me when he had given me a blowjob. His eyes snapped open to look at me again.

It was when I finally took him inside my mouth, that his head fell back onto the pillow again. “Fuck, you feel marvelous baby.” He roughly whispered through his heavy breathing.

I had given blowjobs before, but Christian’s cock was larger than anything I’d ever had. I had to admit, it was proportionate to the rest of him.

I felt like a snake trying to eat a fucking elephant when I tried taking him all the way inside me. His tip  immediately triggered my gag relflex.

Christian’s hands detached themselves from the death grip they had on the bedsheets, and instead, latched onto my hair. “Holy fucking shit!” He moaned, unintentionally pushing himself further inside my mouth. I did my best to ignore the gagging as his deep thrusts quickened. “Jesus,

fuck

baby!“

All those moans and groans were sending me on my own cloud nine. The pleasure of feeling my hair tightly grasped between his fingers, made my cock throb with need. Tonight, however, I wanted to make Christian feel good. I felt his grip tighten as he tried to pull me away, but I started sucking harder. “ Fucking fuck , Alex. Are you sure?“ He looked down at me through his lowered lids. He had such a primal look upon his face, I almost came from that alone.

My hand went out to his abdomen to stabilize myself but I gave him a short nod. That was when he pushed himself all the way inside my mouth again. I watched as his eyes shut tightly. “Shit!” He shot out, buckling his hips up into me over and over. Moments later, warm sweet liquid filled my throat.

His body spasmed as I swallowed the liquid. Just watching him reach his climax, made me want to do unspeakable and unimaginable things. I wanted to see him cum like that again and again and again.

Christian pulled me up into his arms, and immediately planted a kiss on my now swollen lips. “Let me take care of you.” He whispered hoarsely.

“I’m too tired to care, tonight.” I mumbled back to him. “Plus, since you insist we all go back to work tomorrow morning, I’m going to need my beauty sleep.”

“I’ll be quick.” He growled into my neck. That made my already hard cock, even harder. Christians hand started lowering down the front of my body. I swatted it away before he could get any further.

“Go. To. Bed.” I instructed. He breathed a sigh of annoyance, but pulled me closer to him anyways. I could already feel sleep nullifying my senses. The combination of the cool room, and a warm Christian, was the very definition of paradise. Sleep felt like it was getting ready to lay down it’s Mortal Kombat fatality. The words Finish Him echoed through my mind.

Before I could completely fall victim to my fatigue, I heard Christian mumble something against my forehead.

“What?” I asked groggily.

“You were right.” He replied. My eyebrows would of furrowed, if I had the energy to.

“About what?” I mumbled.

“About wishing for time to stop right here. In this very moment.”

That was the last thing I heard before sleep found me.

••

Ahh little late to uploading! I meant to get this up yesterday, and I also meant to get a new YouTube video up yesterday…

I meant to do a lot yesterday.

But anywhooooo, hopefully you all are enjoying the book! I posted a new YouTube video in mediocre quality because I was too lazy to set up this complicated ass camera I bought.

Oh well.

Check it out if you feel like it! It’s kinda long but I thought it would be fun to sort of summarize the things I’ve been watching/working on through our entrance into this new decade. Also sister joined me. And she a whole bitch…

But she made it entertaining.

(Link in bio)

Xoxo

07

Alex

Much like Christian had threatened to do, he had everyone’s asses back in the office by 8:15am sharp. Well, not the whole gang per say…

I had woken up to an empty bed with a little note from Christian that let me know he had already left for some prior engagements. He also reminded me again of the perpetual amount of meetings I was going to need to prepare for on my own, until he could meet me in office.

I had headed down to the kitchen of Brad’a home to see if anyone else was still around. The first person I ran into was Joan. She had looked… different. I peered over at her from her position at the kitchen island. She hadn’t noticed my yet, but as I walked further into the room, Brad suddenly sprung up and appeared from behind the kitchen island with a pan in hand.

He was shirtless.

Before I could stop myself, the phone I had once tightly secured around my fingers, fell effortlessly to the ground. One of these days I was going to break this damn thing , I thought to myself.

Joan and Brad jumped from the sound of it hitting the tile, as they whipped their heads over in my direction. Both their eyes widened at the sight of me.

“Alex!” Joan blurted out. Brad quickly snagged a shirt that was laying on the windowsill bench, and rushed to put it on.

“Alex, good morning.” He nodded to me. “My apologies, you gave me a freight. When Christian left this morning, I just assumed you might have as well. I believe workers from that rehabilitation facility came for your mother not too long ago. Derek must have also gone somewhere because I didn’t see him-”

“Oh I’m right here.” Derek replied, sitting up quietly and revealing himself from behind Brad’s bar. We all fucking jumped at that one. What the hell was going on?

“What the hell are you still doing here?” Joan snapped.

“Well what the hell are either of you still doing here?” Derek countered. I glanced from Derek to Joan, and her eyes met mine.

Derek wasn’t necessarily wrong .

Those words sounded so foreign to even say, but there was a first for everything.

“Touché.” Joan grumbled.

“Did you… did you sleep there? On the floor behind my bar?” Brad asked. Derek shrugged.

“So I had initially gone to bed upstairs last night, but out of all the guest rooms you have in this mansion, I just couldn’t find the bed that was calling to me. I felt like Goldilocks in that bitch. One bed was too firm. One bed was too soft.”

“So… you fell asleep on the floor?” Joan cut in.

“The story isn’t over yet. Let me get to that, jOaN .” Derek shot back. “Anyways, so I decided maybe a good strong drink would give some relieve to my discomfort, and I could try going back to bed. When I made it to the bar, however, there was a shit ton of liquor I had never fucking heard of before in my life. And this is coming from an expert drinker here, may I remind you. I cracked open this bottle of- what was it? Gandhi Spirituality or something like that?”

Joan and I looked absolutely lost. Gandhi what now?

What startled us was Brad’s laughter that pierced through the confused silence. That was what, the second time I had now heard Brad laugh? I glanced around me. Did I enter The Twilight Zone for real this time?

“Oh god, you must mean Gdański Spirytus. No wonder you didn’t even make it to bed, how many shots did you have?” Brad asked.

“Well a few.” Derek replied. “I also tried its sister, Gandhi Rekajhcnanzbhd.”

He had completely butchered the name of that second drink, I was sure of it.

“You mean Gdański Rektyfikowany.” Brad corrected. Your liver must be made out of pure fucking vibranium. That alcohol is usually reserved for my father, whenever he can visit. I hadn’t had it stocked in a few years, but upon hearing of his arrival, I thought it would be best to buy again. I believe it’s one of the top strongest liquor in the world.“

“Jesus fucking Christ, Derek. You can’t just help yourself to someone’s bar like that.” Joan chastised him.

“Well technically, the first few words Brad had told us when we got here, was that we could help ourselves to anything at the bar. And the bottles weren’t even open yet, I decided it would best to try something full.”

If I had seen an unopened bottle of liquor, my first thought would be that maybe someone had been saving it… but Derek’s mind clearing hadn’t gone there.

“Technically, I guess I did say that.” Brad chimed in. “How’s the head this morning? You seemed to be doing alarmingly okay for how much you consumed.”

“Oh, I woke up with a migraine so strong, I thought I was going to fucking die. I’m talking this was some skull splitting stuff.”

“ Jesus , Derek. Should we get you to the hospital?“ I asked. His hand reached forward to steady himself on the bar rail, before he slowly started to stumble towards the windowsill bench. He was starting to look increasingly more… drunk?

“No need, I took a hangover shot. If it wasn’t for how juicy Joan and Brad’s conversation was this morning, I would’ve have gotten up earlier.” Derek replied. All our eyes widened.

“A shot of what?” Brad asked in all seriousness. I noticed how he had completely disregarded the latter information about the juicy conversation he and Joan had had this morning.

“Of the Reknajchancjha.” Derek mumbled before he collapsed on the bench mattress. “You and Joan sounded like you enjoyed yourselves last night. Did you do the old Devils Tango?” He was starting to slur.

“First off: no we did not do the Devil’s Tango, and frankly, I don’t see how that’s any of your business dErEk.” Joan snapped. “Second off: you don’t look so good. Brad- he really doesn’t look so good.”

“Yeah another shot of that stuff definitely isn’t going to sit well. I’ll give my father a ring and see if I should maybe take him to the hospital.” Brad replied.

“No no I’m really okay. I’m just going to sleep this off…” Derek mumbled before completely passing out.

Brad was already pulling out his phone to make that call.

Speaking of calls! I reached down to pick up the phone I had clumsily dropped, and glanced at the time on the screen. It was literal minutes away from right now. “Shit okay sorry to leave you with… this.” My thumb jerked over at the now completely passed out Derek. “But I’ve really gotta run. My car is still at work so I’m just going to request an Uber.”

I tried to explain all this to Brad and Joan in one breath as I was slipping on my shoes.

“Oh don’t worry about it, two of Christian’s drivers are at the front entrance.” Brad replied. “He had sent cars for the lot of you, so you could make it to work this morning. I did find it a little funny there were still two company cars here, because I was fully expecting to take Joan to work myself… and until now, we couldn’t find Derek. I guess it all made sense seeing that the both of you haven’t left yet. Feel free to use the resources.”

I gave Brad a nod. “Okay, thank you! And uh Joan? Keep me posted… on everything .” I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

She immediately picked up a knife, threatening to test out her target practice on me.

I bolted, before giving her the chance to. Joan rarely ever missed.

••

Hey Lovelies! I swear I haven’t forgot about y’all! Work got a little wild this week, but we’re back in business.

Hope you enjoyed!

And thank you so much for reading.

Xoxo

08

Alex

When I made it into work, I realized just what Christian had been talking about. At the last minute, I literally had to full on dodge two workers who were zooming down the hallway with stacks of paperwork in hand.

“Fucking Christ.” I muttered, watching my life flash before my hands.

“Sorry!” I heard Sarah, who worked on the fourth floor, shoot out from behind one stack. I could barely even make out the top of her head as she said a quick apology, and continued on her way. Every floor seemed to be on this whole new wave of hustle and bustle. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen any of our departments working this hard. Maybe it’s because this Maverick’s deal was the first successful deal we’ve had in a long time.

When I finally reached the fifth floor, I noticed that this floor was no different.

“Good morning Mr. Hamilton. Christian has set the new agreement documents on your desk in your office. He told me you’d know what to do with them. I’ll be located just further down this hallway here if you need me, but Christian should be in within the next few hours.” A man spoke as soon as I entered Christian’s office. He directed me towards my own office and pointed towards the paperwork.

I remembered seeing him on this floor every so often, but we’d never spoken to each other before today.

I nodded a thank you his way, and started to get settled at my own desk. There were stacks upon stacks of paperwork covering the surface area of the table. I barely had space for my computer. When the fuck did anyone even find the time to print all this?

A little sticky note was posted right on top of the pile, with Christians handwriting on it. It read:

Please complete the doc prep before John Terry arrives this morning. He should be in by 9:45am. Don’t disappoint me or I’ll have to compensate by buying myself something nice with your bonus money.

P.S. I wish I was joking, but I’ve been eyeing this new watch for a while now.

I knew this asshat was joking because my bonus would be nowhere near the price of any watch that was up to his standards. I skimmed over the note again.

9:45?!

Judging by the clock on my wall. It was about 8:20am now. How the hell did he expect me to read through these documents in such a short amount of time, exactly?

A knock at my office door pulled me out from my thoughts. When I glanced up, the glass door revealed that it was non other than Anna. I immediately sprung to my feet as she entered. She was wearing a beige, black, and white checkered blouse, paired with these crisp white suit pants and some beige red bottom heels. Her face looked void of any sleep deprivation. I, on the other hand, was sure I looked like the corpse groom.

“Alex!” She greeted me, reaching over my sea of paperwork at my desk, to shake my hand.

“Hi Anna, it’s very lovely to see you again.” I smiled.

“I just wanted to pop in. Do you think you have some time to go over something with me?” She asked. I glanced down at the daunting stack of paperwork I had yet to even touch.

Not really.

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

Anna slipped into one of the guest chairs across the table. With one fluid shove, she pushed the neatly stacked papers into a big pile on the side.

Great , I thought. I had no idea what order those were in to begin with.

She then pulled out paperwork from her own briefcase, and laid it out on the table for me. “I’m sure you already know what these are, but they are official non-disclosure agreements. I’m not presenting these because I don’t trust you, or your friends… we’ve just been advised to keep this situation as quiet as possible until we know how to proceed.”

I glanced down at the paperwork. It was sort of flattering to think that she thought I knew what the hell a non-disclosure agreement looks like… but I was just the IT guy. No one had ever served me non-disclosure agreements before.

“These documents just state that you cannot speak about the Ivanov Family’s personal matters to anyone outside the realm of verified persons. Those persons would include the Ivanov Family themselves, and your friends Derek and Joan. It also states that you are not to have any communication between Vadik Ivanov whatsoever, regardless of the pertaining circumstances.” Anna set a pen down in front of me as well, as if she missed the countless pens laying on my desk. I slid the papers towards myself to take a closer look.

Of course I understood why she was presenting these to me… if this situation was to be released to the general public, it could tarnish the Ivanov name. Clearly this woman had put in an unimaginable amount of work for this company, and she wasn’t ready to deal with the fallout from her fucked up past.

But there was still something about this agreement that didn’t sit right with me. When I checked the legal bindings, I almost fell out of my fucking chair.

If this contract was to be broken, I could be sued for one million dollars?! I didn’t even have a million dollars. I didn’t have half of one million dollars. I didn’t even have half of half of one million dollars. I glanced up at Anna.

“I know I know, it all seems a little bit on the extreme side. We just need to tighten up and contain the situation. Whatever proceedings occur from here on out with Vadik Ivanov, should not concern you, or any of your friends. I appreciate everything you’ve done and will surely continue to do for my family… but frankly, this is our situation, and we will handle it. You’ve got your own problems to take care of, so let me lessen your burdens with taking back my own.” She pushed the pen further towards me.

I remained silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. I understood what she was doing, but I also understood my own stance on the matter. These were serious documents. If Christian, or Brad’s safety was on the line for any reason, I didn’t want a legal binding contact coming in between me being able to assist them.

“What if this contact puts me in a situation where I’m unable to help Christian or Brad?” I asked Anna. She smiled over at me, but I knew this one was a less genuine smile than the others.

“I can see you truly care for those idiots, Alex… But I’ve kept them safe all these years. I assure you, if anything was to happen, I would continue to protect them.”

She was being polite, yet I could tell I had offended her in some way. These were her children, and she had already sacrificed so much for them. Who was I to say she couldn’t keep them safe?

In my efforts to avoid any further backlash from Anna, I slowly picked up the pen and scrawled out my signature at the bottom of the last page. When I handed her the paperwork back, she quickly slipped them back into her briefcase. I tried to hand her the pen, but she dismissed it.

“You keep it. It’s part of a calligraphy set we had made when we first launched Ivanov Corp. it’s very fine ink, and I think you’ll find more use for it than myself.”

I gave her a slow nod, and set the pen down amongst the rest. When she sprung to her feet, I did the same.

“Thank you again, Alex, for meeting with me and signing these. Like I said, we would never wish to put you in a position such as this one. I wish it never came to this in the first place.” She shook my hand.

Before her hand could fall from mine, I held on to it a little longer. “What do you plan on doing with Vadik?” I asked.

Her smile faltered slightly.

“We’re still unsure… but don’t worry, we’ll take care of it.” She replied. When her eyes glanced at my hand still holding hers, I quickly let go and muttered an apology. “But you have yourself a good work day, Alex. Don’t let these frivolous thoughts consume you.” She called over her shoulder as she exited my office.

I sort of deflated back into the desk chair, as I let my mind spiral anyways.

We’ll take care of it.

Those words continued to ring out through my mind.

Why had it sounded so sinister when Anna said them?

I was immediately brought back to earth by the sound of someone clearing their throat. When I glanced up to see who was now hell bent on using up even more of my time, I froze completely.

“Well good morning, Alex.”

“J-John.”

••

Hello my lovelies! I’m sure you’re sick and damn tired of my ass but I’m here, back at it again to thank you all

AGAIN

lol.

The CEO’s Kryptonite just surpassed 2 million reads. I’m fucking flabbergasted.

I’m hyperventilating.

I might very well die here.

If it wasn’t for all you guys, this story wouldn’t be possible. So thank you!

Xoxo

09

Christian

“Put your back into it son, this couch won’t move with just my own strength.” Slav scolded me.

“You know, when you said you needed my help with something this morning, this isn’t what I thought you had in mind.” I replied in between my heavy breathing.

My father and I were currently in the middle of moving my mothers heavy weighted Victorian style coach from one end of the room to the other.

“Besides, don’t you guys have people for this? Why the hell are we doing this ourselves?” I added. He gave me a shrug.

“When I do manly shit like this, it turns your mother on. So stop complaining and help me move this motherfucker.” He snapped back. I tried not to throw up at my fathers words. Why did he have to be so blatantly transparent with his and mothers relationship?

“Where is mum anyways? Usually she wouldn’t hesitate to start nagging me regardless of how early in the morning it was.”

“She’s out taking care of some business. I told her I’d get this couch moved before she got back.” Slav started to explain. Before he could continue, his phone started going off in his pocket. “Hold up.” He said, dropping the couch and it’s remaining weight onto me.

“Fuck, dad!” I shot out, as I tried to gently lower the heavy ass furniture onto my mother’s marbled floors. If I fucked either the couch or her floors up, my mother would, in return, fuck me all the way up.

“Hey Brad, what’s up?” My dad asked, completely ignoring my cry for help. “Oh he… he did what? Just hang tight, Christian and I are heading over.”

Those were the last words he spoke into the phone before hanging up.

“That was Brad?” I asked. Slav nodded to me.

“Get your coat. Brad needs my help.”

“Why do I have to come?” I whined. “I just left his place like two seconds ago.”

“Because I don’t feel like driving. And I said so.” Was all he replied with.

When Slav and I arrived at Brad’s, I wasn’t quite sure what we were getting ourselves into… but when I got one look at the completely wasted Derek sprawled out on the floor covered in his own vomit, it all made sense.

“What the hell happened here?” Our father asked.

“This idiot tried some of your lethal ass alcohol. He’s been pretty unresponsive for the last hour or so. I’m not sure if we should take him to the hospital or what.” Brad explained.

“He had some of the Gdański Spirytus?” Slav asked.

“And Gdański Rektyfikowany.” Brad added.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” I muttered under my breath. “A hospital visit might actually be in order.”

“Nonsense.” Our father waved it off. “Help me get the poor lad up and to a bathroom, Christian.”

I looked over at my father. Then down at a vomit covered Derek. Then back at my father.

Motherfucker .

One hand slid under Derek’s armpit as Slav and I hauled him to his feet. He smelt absolutely disgusting.

“What am I supposed to do about the mess?” Brad asked.

“You’re the one who insists on not having any caretakers around. Clean it up.” Father replied. Brad’s face contorted into disgust as he gathered the courage to start pulling out cleaning supplies from the cabinets.

“Man this brings back old memories.” Slav said jokingly while we were dragging Derek to the nearest bathroom we could find on this floor. We barely got him to the toilet in time before he projectile vomited all over again. Slav knelt down besides him and lightly patted Derek’s back.

This was not how I was planning on spending my Monday morning.

“I’m surprised he isn’t dead.” My father joked… except I couldn’t actually tell if he was joking or not.

“I don’t get how you can even drink that stuff.” I told him, taking a seat on the other side of Derek.

“It reminds me of home. That was the drink we grew accustomed to during the military days. A harsh drink for harsh times.” Slav replied. Just as I thought Derek had finally let everything out, he buckled over and continued throwing up.

I said nothing, but nodded to my father. He never spoke much about the time he served, but I had seen the many scars on his arms and torso. It was memories I tried not to bring up, because it always put him in a somber mood. Slav gently continued to rub Derek’s back. It reminded me of what he done for me on my 21st birthday. That might have been the worst hangover I had ever experienced. Slav had comforted me just like this as I spent the next 3 hours near the toilet.

There was, however, a downside to Slav’s sobering tactics. When Derek had finally finished throwing up everything inside of him, I knew we had reached that moment.

Slav helped Derek to his feet.

“Strip.” My father demanded.

Derek was still sort of disoriented from the liquor, but he managed to look at my father like he was absolutely batshit.

“I’m sorry, what? I-I don’t think that’s necessary.” Derek slurred.

“I said strip.” My father repeated himself. There was a harshness the second time he said it, which made Derek cast aside all confusion and start stripping. He pulled his pants down, then slipped his disgusting shirt off next. When he had finally made it down to his boxers, he looked back at Slav.

Slav looked down at his boxers.

“Don’t make me repeat myself again.” My father snapped.

Derek looked absolutely mortified as he hesitantly pulled down his boxers and stood completely naked in front of me and my father.

“Good. Now get in the shower.” Slav instructed. Derek hurried in as Slav grabbed the removable shower head and started running the water. This was where I really did feel for Derek. I knew he wasn’t prepared for what my father was going to do next. Before Derek could even process what was happening, my father switch the shower head feature to jet, and started literally blasting Derek with ice cold water.

The ear deafening scream Derek let out, was what brought back memories, myself.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!” Derek chanted as he tried to shield himself from the water. That didn’t stop my father. He sprayed the literal fuck out of Derek until all traces of vomit was off his face, and out of his hair.

Brad joined me in the bathroom moments later as Derek’s naked self sat there shivering in the bathtub.

“Ah, the good ol’ hose down, huh?” Brad asked. I gave him a nod.

The grin on my fathers face always terrified me. It looked like his sadistic ass thoroughly enjoyed that.

“Alrighty, boys. Stage one and two have been completed, let stage three commence!” Slav said excitedly. Derek’s eyes caught mine and I gave him a look of pity.

He really should have left the Gdański alone.

••

I completely forgot to upload yesterday so I thought I’d get to y’all today. There may be a double upload later since work was incredibly slow this morning, so stay tuned for that.

As always, thank you for reading!

Xoxo

P.S. thank you for ALL the amazing incredibly sweet comments! (I promise, I do read each one) I’m going to get back to every single one at some point today, I promise.

10

Alex

“J-John?” I stuttered out, as Mr. Terry himself walked into my office.

“Alex. You look surprised to see me.” He commented almost immediately

“Hi! Yes, I’m sorry. Hi. Please sit.” I gestured towards one of the guest chairs.

“Did Christian mention I would be stopping by?” John asked, as he took a seat across from me at my desk.

“Yes. He did, yes. However, he told me you would be in at 9:45am.”

John looked down at his watch, then over at the clock on the wall. “Oh you must forgive me, it seems I must have forgotten to change the time zone from my previous trip. No wonder my staff was so confused with me this morning.” He chuckled to himself as he fixed his watch. I gave him an understanding nod.

“That’s quite alright, Mr. Terry-”

“John.” He corrected me.

“John. Right. My apologies, I haven’t found the time to look over your paperwork yet, or prepare anything. It’s all sort of a mess right now.” I tried to explain.

“Oh no worries! Take all the time you need. I’ve got absolutely nothing planned for this morning.”

I glanced over at John as he made himself comfortable in his seat. Then I glanced down at the piles of unknown paperwork that had been jumbled together when Anna pushed them aside. I wasn’t exactly sure where to start, considering I hadn’t even skimmed through them yet.

Christian must had numbered everything, right?

I glanced at the top of the first few pages. The numbers read 123, 124, and 125. Luckily, some of the pages had still stayed together.

“Did you enjoy the Gala?” John asked, ripping me straight out from my concentration.

“I-Yes. Yeah, it was good. How did um- how did you enjoy it? Was it nice?” I asked him in return. I felt his gaze never leave me as I fumbled through papers, and did my best to put them in sequential order. His gaze was intense, causing me to grow increasingly nervous while he watched me work.

“It was very nice, yes. I noticed you and your friends did a disappearing act towards the end of the night there.”

My eyes quickly darted away from the paperwork to catch a glimpse of John’s. Every time my eyes found his, I forgot how picture perfect this man was. “Yes, sorry about that. I needed to get my mother back ho-” I stopped myself short before I could finish that sentence. “My mum needed to leave.” Home would make absolutely no sense. According to the update Christian had given me, it didn’t seem like my mother had a home.

John paused a moment before he said anything. “I understand. Hopefully she’s doing better. She was very pleasant from the few moments I did get to speak with her.”

I gave John a small smile. He was being polite. I knew he was.

I wanted to tell him I didn’t have much fondness for my mother, and it was okay for him to bitch at me about her lack of professionalism and decency… but clearly John was not going to do that. “Yes, she’s better. Did Christian, by chance, give you the Articles of Agreement?” I asked.

John nodded, immediately pulling out some paperwork from his portfolio. I began aligning the documents in the order listed. “This looks… very excessive.” He commented, as he noticed me putting the last few pages together.

“Oh gosh, I was definitely hoping you knew what all these papers were.” I mumbled more to myself.

John chuckled out loud. “Well let’s just run through what we’ve got here. Any time you see a place for me to sign, I’ll sign. I trust Christian, and I’m sure he’ll get a final agreement together for me.”

I gave him a nod. It made me feel far more comforting to know that John wasn’t as concerned with how much of a mess I was right now. I did my best to find the places he needed to sign, as quickly as I could. Although he told me he wasn’t in a rush, I still felt like this wasn’t the type of man to keep waiting.

“So this here are the figures in donations from the Gala, we’ve also kicked off three new prospect agreements for your business. Christian wants to jump right in with promotion while the topic of discussion is still fresh in our investors minds.” I explained to John. He gave me a understanding nod, before signing away at the dotted line below.

“How do you like your work here?” John asked moments later. He had, once again, pulled me straight out from the professional mode I was trying so desperately to get into the groove of.

“It’s good.” I replied simply. “I’ve learnt a lot in the last month or so I’ve been working with Christian for. It’s definitely been unlike anything I expected.”

“I’m sure you expected human sacrifices to take place up here, huh?” John joked. I couldn’t help but laugh at that. He must have known how frightening accurate that statement was.

“Something among those lines. I didn’t expect to even make it this long.”

“I’ve noticed you are the longest assistant Christian has held on too.” He commented. I gave John a nod. From what I had heard through the last few years (thanks Joan’s gossip) was that Christian had ran through assistants faster than Larry King ran through marriages. I didn’t understand how this company kept up with severance pay and unemployment.

“Yes.” I laughed nervously. “I thought I would be unlucky assistant number twenty-something.”

“Oh rubbish. I heard Christian might be in the thirties now.” John replied.

Jesus Christ .

“Yeah, most people don’t count his personal assistants.” He explained.

“There’s a difference?” I blurted out. That caused John to full on laugh.

“Doesn’t feel that way, does it?”

Absolutely the fuck not. I was still picking up this motherfuckers dry cleaning.

“He hasn’t done the best at differentiating between the two, no.” I replied, trying to sound polite. John just laughed harder as I handed him a few more papers to sign.

“It’s crazy seeing how much that man has and hasn’t changed. The professionalism he displayed at the conferences in New York, genuinely surprised me. I’ve held off on partnering with this company for that very reason. My team of advisors had told me it wasn’t a safe bet. I’m glad to see he’s really gotten his shit together where it counts.” John explained with a smile.

I was curious to hear more of Christian’s past. He’d told me some stories of his younger days, but it was nice having his friends offer a different perspective.

“That dipshit didn’t know how to hold on to money for the life of him. He spent most of his college days wasting it. When me and the rest of the gang heard he was to take over Ivanov Corp, we were a little confused… and slightly concerned. His father had retired earlier than anyone anticipated he would, and I’ll be honest here, Christian was not in the best shape when he was handed the company.”

I glanced over at John again. That sounded a lot like Christian.

“Handing that idiot a multimillion dollar company didn’t seem anywhere near like a good idea. Now, getting to watch him become such a fine CEO, is something I’m grateful to be apart of.”

“Me too.” I nodded at John. He slipped his Articles Of Agreement back into his portfolio, as I handed him the last of the documents to sign. “I feel grateful being here.”

“Well don’t let Christian deceive you. You’re not lucky to have him, he’s lucky to have you… and boy, is he lucky.” John added, as he sent me a wink.

My cheeks turned crimson from his words.

••

Thank you so much for being patient with me this week!

Here’s a whole weekend of updates my lovelies!

Xoxo

11

Christian

“Listen, I’m so grateful for everything you guys have done for me here… but believe me when I say I rather die, than eat whatever the fuck that is.” Derek said through his slurred words. He was struggling to pull up the shirt he was wearing when it slipped off his right shoulder again. If I thought Brad’s shirt looked like a dress on Alex, Brad’s clothing looked like a fucking gown on Derek.

The sweatpants I picked out for him, were rolled up about 5-6 times at the waist to keep from dragging across Brad’s floor. I mean, it was either this or he remained naked. Derek didn’t seem to mind the choice he had made.

He was finally reaching a sobering state, but the hangover that came with Gdański only intensified with time.

“Shut up, and eat it.” My father was quick to reply. “You haven’t felt the worst of this hangover yet.”

I saw Derek flinch as he eyed the plate our father had set before him on the kitchen island.

“I choose death.” He confirmed, before pushing the plate back to Slav. I saw Slav’s eye twitch, and I knew it was about time I stepped in before my father ended Derek’s life himself.

“It’s called katerfrühstück.” I explained. “It’s marinated herring, and pickled gherkin which is sort of like cucumbers. It’s then wrapped in onion. Yes, it looks and smells and definitely tastes like complete shit, but this dish will have you feeling better in no time.”

Derek looked up at me, then back down at the plate.

“Nah, the thought of death is growing on me.” He replied simply. That was when my father snapped.

“I just spent the last two hours making you this meal. If I don’t see every last scrap on this plate gone, I will not hesitate to snuff out the last few breathes you do have left.” He spoke with a harsh tone Slav had since been doing well on avoiding. I was surprised he hadn’t already tried to force this food down Derek’s throat, himself.

He’d done that to Brad and I plenty.

Derek shriveled up at my fathers words, as he hesitantly picked up the fork on the table. It was that first bite, that almost made Brad and I piss our pants. We toppled over with laughter when Derek face contorted into the most disgusted expression. He gagged a few times before he finally got the first bite down.

“I think I’m going to be sick all over again.” He mumbled to himself. My father sat across from him with the largest grin on his face, as he watched Derek eat bite by bite.

Slav was definitely a sadist.

This brought on more memories from mine and Brad’s past. Brad rarely ever drank these days, but back when we were in college, he used to kill his liver every night. His iconic phrase to say while we were a few shots away from death itself, was: if we die, we die . There was a particular night where our father had hosted a gentleman’s gathering, and Brad and I were finally invited to join.

Long story short, Brad and I got fucking shitfaced. Brad ended up sleeping with one of my fathers friend’s wife who attended the get together. That caused a whole new set of problems the following years. I, on the other hand, accidentally set my mother’s beloved kitchen on fire when I tasked myself with making appetizers for the guests. Then Brad and I both found ourselves in the backyard the next morning, naked and covered in our own puke.

You want to know what drink had done that to us that night? Gdański, Gdański had done that.

Slav hosed us both down in the middle of our backyard that morning. At least he had given Derek the courtesy of a bathtub today.

“This tastes god awful.” Derek whined. Slav reached across to set his hand firmly on Derek’s shoulder.

“I expect you to lick this fucking plate clean.”

That was the last thing he said to any of us, before excusing himself to make a phone call.

Once Slav had left the room, Derek let out the biggest sigh of relief. He looked up at me and Brad. “Please, for the love of god, please help me finish this.”

Brad and I glanced at each other, then took a large step back.

“I’m sorry, but no can do.” I shook my head.

“That dish made me quit heavy drinking all together.” Brad muttered.

Derek looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“You’d leave a man to fend for himself, when he’s in need? At such a desperate time like this?” He whined.

“Yes.” Brad replied, not skipping a beat.

“When I tell you our father is crazy enough to come back here and smell our breath, I’m dead serious. I’m not letting you take us down like that.” I added.

Derek tried to force another bite of food down. Every few chews, I couldn’t help but grimace myself when I remembered how unbelievably disgusting that dish was. The best way I could explain it would be if someone dumped citric acid in sauerkraut and mixed it with pickle juice. Then wrapped that in onion.

It was a hack my father said he picked up from a few German friends back in his day.

“Please tell me there aren’t any more stages after this.” Derek groaned, holding back tears.

“If Brad or I still weren’t feeling good, my dad would pump us with a shit ton of water. And I mean a shit ton. Then he’d create this detox smoothie. If you think this food is bad, let me just say you do not want to try that smoothie.” I explained.

Derek looked even more horrified.

I pulled my phone out from the jacket pocket I had set it in, and glanced at my messages. I hadn’t meant to be out of office for this long, but Slav derailed my plans by coming back to Brad’s. It didn’t look like Alex had texted me, so I decided it might be best to check up on him.

Hey. How’d the meeting with John go?

It was literal seconds before Alex replied.

It went really well. He came in much earlier than I thought he would, and that definitely threw me off. You didn’t tell me you typed out a fucking novel for the guy to sign.

I took a sharp inhale when I remembered the paperwork I had prepared for him. We didn’t have much time to discuss the agreement, because of how the Gala ended last night.

Sorry. Were you able to get it figured out?

I saw a text come in moments later.

Yeah, John just signed wherever I could find a signature page. The guys got a concerning amount of trust in you.

I smirked at his words. Little did Alex know, I had that same considerable amount of trust in John.

Another message came in.

Seeing your mum then John really threw my morning off. Since you didn’t brief me for all this, I think you owe me Eddie Chang.

My fingers hovered over the keys, as I read that message again.

My mother had paid Alex a visit this morning?

••

12

Christian

“Where’s mum?” I asked Slav as soon as he entered the kitchen.

“She’s just running errands.” My father replied casually. He glanced over at Derek who was actively powering through the last few bites of his meal. “ Good. Good .“ Slav nodded to him.

“Errands?” I continued, before he could try and steer us onto a different topic. “What kind of errands? Because Alex just told me mum stopped by to have him sign a nondisclosure agreement. That doesn’t sound like a casual errand to me. Sounds more like a strategic attack on mother’s part.”

My father hesitated a moment. I could tell he was thinking hard on what to say next.

“It’s just- we were advised that it would be best-”

“Advised by who?” Brad cut in. “Because I’m your lawyer, and I didn’t advise jack shit.”

There was an immediate shift in tension throughout the room. Derek was looking back and forth between Brad and my father as he finished off the last of his food.

“We thought it would be best to hire on a different legal team. I mean, you must admit that this is all a little too close to home. We don’t want you to be anymore involved than you already are.” Slav explained.

Oddly enough, I understood that. I just didn’t appreciate the way my parents were going about it. Clearly, keeping secrets had benefited no one up until this point. Brad deserved transparency.

“Dad, that’s shit you don’t keep from me.” Brad snapped, as he slammed his water bottle on the kitchen island with a loud thud. It wasn’t that Brad never got mad, but he wasn’t one to openly express his irritation. Especially not physically. The sound of the aluminum bottle colliding with the marble countertop made me jump.

Slav took another moment to collect his thoughts before he replied.

“Everything we’ve done. Everything we do… and everything we’ll continue to do, will always be in your best interest.” He settled on.

“I think it’s been established that I don’t need you to protect me. I don’t need either of you guys to protect me.” Brad was quick to reply. “So stop treating me like I’m ten. If you want me to continue to represent this company legally, you’ll hire me on this case. If you decide not to, then consider this my two weeks notice.”

My head whipped around to Brad so quick, I thought I gave myself whiplash.

“Hey- now hold the fuck on a second here. You’re also my lawyer, remember?” I reminded Brad. He gave me a careless shrug.

“You can get yourself any lawyer. You have the resources.”

My eyes peered over at him. Brad and I both knew that wasn’t true. I could barely keep an assistant for more than a few weeks, and he wanted me to get a new lawyer? He was literally the only person who could effectively help me stay out of legal trouble.

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” I replied. “I don’t want just any lawyer, I want you. If you quit, I’ll step down from my CEO position.”

“Okay, now slow the fuck down here. No one is quitting anything. I’ll speak with your mother today.” Slav interrupted. Brad gave our father one firm nod, before he yanked the jacket that was resting on a barstool, and slipped it on.

“Where the hell are you going?” I asked him.

“I’m going to take Joan out for lunch. Then I’ve got some matters to attend to. Show yourselves out when you’re done. I dismissed the drivers that were here this morning so Derek- you’re going to need to figure out how you’re getting home.” Brad spoke as he pulled his briefcase out from one of his entryway closet, and started to slip on some shoes.

“It’s okay, I could Uber-” Derek started, but I cut him off.

“Home? Absolutely not. You’ve got approximately-” I glanced down at my watch, “five hours left of your work day. I expect to see you clocked in at your desk by no later than one this afternoon.”

Derek looked up at me with the most broken expression.

“Y-You’re really going to make me go to work? In this condition?” He sniffled.

“You look fine. If you take the day off, you’ll go unpaid for it.” I replied simply.

“Why are you like this?” He whined. “Who hurt you?”

I heard Brad chuckle dryly from the open entrance of his home. “You two figure it out, but I want my home empty by the time I get back.” Those were the last words he said before stepping out and closing the front door behind him.

Derek sighed heavily before getting up to place the empty plate in the sink.

Out of the goodness of my heart, I ordered Derek a Uber home so that he could change into work clothes and get on that grind with the rest of my overworked employees.

Slav made me drive him home as well. I noticed that my mother must have returned from her errands judging by her car being parked at the front entrance. While I wanted to march in there with my father and confront her on what happened, my need to check in on Alex was just slightly more prominent. So I repressed my anger, dropped Slav off, and made my way into work.

Once I reached Ivanov Corp, I was brutally reminded of the absolute shit show the day after the Gala could be. Marketing was on overdrive with getting the Mavericks promotions running. The sales floor was even worst as they started the pricing for individual items. When I reached the fifth floor, the only thing that managed to calm my nerves was seeing Alex alive and well.

Well… well was debatable.

His tie was completely loosened now. He had a few buttons at the top of his shirt, unbuttoned. The amount of paperwork surrounding him, looked like an impenetrable wall. When his eyes caught mine, you would of thought he had seen the messiah.

“Oh my god thank fucking God you’re here.” He rushed out as I entered his office.

“You look terrible. What happened? Why didn’t you call?” I asked.

“Well see I thought I could handle things on my own… but I’ve got like 30 open IT tickets, every breathing soul in this building has called up at least once asking questions I had no way of answering, and three major sites are down so the marketing department has completely gone to shit.” Alex explained.

I skimmed through some of the paperwork that was on the top of his desk. “Next time, call. You don’t have to take on everything yourself.” I scolded him. “Brief me on the important shit.”

Alex fumbled with a few folders, before he found what he was looking for.

“Okay. Uh- We need to get those sites back up and running so that marketing can continue their work. I took a look at the IT tickets that came through, and the majority of them are just because of those sites. Also, John’s investors called to speak with you about some fine details of the drafted agreement. I told them you’d give them a call before the end of tomorrow’s business day. I think a specialist from HR was also trying to get ahold of you to have you verify bonus amounts and commission.”

I stared blankly at Alex as he rushed all that out in one breath.

“Those are the only things I can think of that are immediate, everything is related to the following weeks.” He explained.

I said nothing as I pulled out my phone from one of the trouser pockets. It took me seconds to find the saved number I was looking for.

“Who are you calling?” Alex asked curiously, as I brought the phone to my ear.

“Eddie Chang.” I replied.

••

Hey lovelies! Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. I haven’t had much down time to check comments and messages, but I promise I will very soon.

As always, thank you for your continued support.

I love y’all so much.

Xoxo

13

Alex

“Do ywu thwink we shwouldmove the lwaunch up a dway?” I mumbled to Christian in between bites of fried noodles.

“Finish chewing your food first.” Christian snapped back at me. I took a few moments to swallow before continuing.

“The initial launch for Mavericks is set for next week Monday, right? Well if we push that launch to Tuesday, we could have an early showcase for the next season designs with Miles’s camping gear. I think it would be a great collaboration with Maverick’s sports-gear. It would also save us on marketing expenses considering we wouldn’t need to host two different events.” I explained.

Christian gave me a nod. “I could work with that, yeah. That would mean crunch time however, are you prepared to put in that overtime?” He asked.

“Well, the money we save can just be added to my bonus.” I replied, sending Christian a wink. He chuckled.

“You fucking wish. I’ll add additional compensation to your next check, after I witness you pull this off.”

I let out a small huff, as I shoved another spoon full of rice into my mouth.

Christian and I didn’t really have the time to take an actual break, so the last half hour had consisted of him and I eating Eddie Chang at his desk, while continuing our conversations regarding work.

Once we were done with lunch, we went straight back into it. I focused on closing out those IT Desk Help tickets. Christian worked on organizing the agreement documents John had signed for us. Occasionally, I would steal glances Christian’s way.

I liked watching him work.

He had this serious yet cute expression plastered on his face as he reviewed the data entry analysis for Marketing. Every time his eyes caught mine, I looked away bashfully. His lips would then curl up into this smug smile. A smile that had once brought me irritation, but now just made me horny.

By the time 6pm rolled around, I was thoroughly surprised to hear we were done for the day. Time had gone by so quickly.

“We’ll take care of the rest tomorrow. I think we’ve done enough today, plus I’ve got to head over to my parents anyways.” Christian announced, as he started to help me put together the remaining work. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been home this much in the span of a few days. Slav was meant to leave this week, but after everything that happened at the Gala, I highly doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon.”

I helped put away the rest of the files, as we got our coats and briefcases together. Christian did one last check to make sure all sensitive information had been filed, then we made our way out to the elevator together.

“How is it? With him being here?” I asked honestly.

“It’s not that I don’t love my father,” he started, “but I’ve for sure gotten used to him being gone. Now that he’s home, memories- both good and bad, have already started resurfacing.”

I glanced over at Christian. It was just now dawning on me that this man probably knew more about my life, than I did about his.

“Slav was a very difficult father when we were younger. My relationship to him was tattered, especially in comparison to his relationship with Brad. They were close, almost inseparable. I always thought Slav was overcompensating with his love for Brad, because of Brad’s childhood… but I’m sure that assumption stemmed from my own feelings of inadequacy and jealousy.”

The elevator descended down to the garage floor, where both mine and Christian’s cars were located. I had almost forgotten I left it here after the night at the Gala.

There was a slight pang in my heart from Christian’s words, as he continued on.

“I would’ve had to of been blind to not see how my mother treated Brad. It wasn’t that she didn’t love him, I think she just found it hard trying to understand how to.” He explained. “There was a particular night where she had gotten a little too drunk, and told me how Brad was a spitting image of her brother when he was younger. I think there was a lot for her to unpack there, a lot of hurt and emotion that she rather of shoved deep down inside of her, then deal with.”

I honestly couldn’t imagine having to handle a situation like that.

“As terrible as it sounds, through most of Brad’s high school and college days, it was almost as if my mother was forced to see the face of her attacker everyday. And it was pain on both ends. I saw how hollowed out it made Brad. How much pain it brought him to see how much pain he inadvertently caused for her. When she handed this company off to me, that damaged Brad in an entirely different way.”

I followed Christian to where our two cars were parked. I didn’t say a thing as I listened to him talk, from fear he would end the conversation short. I craved to learn more about this man.

“Slav being here has been challenging.” Christian admitted. “His expectations of me damn near drove me to a breakdown when he was here last. The pressures he had placed on my shoulders, were pressures I wasn’t equipped to handle. We did our best to mend that broken relationship with phone calls, and letters throughout the following years… but it’s hard for someone so stuck in their ways, to change.

“Now, with everything resurfacing, I think my family is being forced to address things we’ve all kept in the dark. I can’t imagine what’s running through Brad’s mind right now. Slav believes that he is Brad’s father. I don’t disagree with this statement, but Slav has this way of making Brad feel like he is Brad’s only father. I personally don’t think it’s that simple.”

The sounds of Christian unlocking his car, pulled me away from the conversation momentarily.

“As awful as Brad’s biological father is, I know there’s a part of him that wants answers. There’s a part of him that doesn’t want Vadik to disappear again. There’s a part of him that wants to go see him.”

Christian helped me set the remainder of my things in the back of my car, before meeting me at my drivers side door. I glanced up at him, as his eyes gazed back down at myself. Even in the poorly lit underground parking, they were as blue as day. My heartbeat quickened when Christian took another step closer to me.

“Unfortunately, I think that’s the part of Brad that Brad is most terrified of…. The part of him that wants to know his biological father.”

••

14

Christian

Steve was the first to welcome me as soon as I pulled into the grand entrance of my mother’s estate.

“Good Evening Mr. Ivanov, what a nice surprise.”

“Hi Steve.” I gave him a large smile. Steve was one of the few reasons I could stand coming around this place.

“Will you be staying late tonight, sir? Would you like me to park your vehicle?” He asked me.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I won’t be here long.”

“You know your mother doesn’t like any cars parked up front, sir.” Steve reminded me.

“I know.” I replied with a wink. Steve did his best to hide his grin as he lead me in into my parents humble abode.

I wasn’t sure if my mind had been playing tricks on me, but I could’ve sworn the smell of my mother’s famous Pelmeni flooded my senses immediately. There was no way though, right? I thought to myself. It was a dish well reserved for special occasions, such as my birthday, or the holidays. My mother rarely ever made it, because she rarely ever cooked. In her words, We were privileged enough to have people for that.

Pelmeni is a dumpling dish my mother had learnt from her mother before she passed away. My mother usually filled the dumplings with either lamb or venison, depending on the time of year. Judging by the delicious smell that lingered in the air, I knew she had made the filling with venison this time around.

Immediately, I was suspect.

Had I forgotten someone’s birthday? Was someone pregnant? Who died?

“Christian? I didn’t know you were planning on stopping by.” Slav spoke as he entered the main hall of the home. I slipped my shoes off at the entrance, knowing it would piss my father off if I walked around the house with them.

“Yeah. I told mum I was coming. I was hoping to speak with her.” I replied.

My fathers face tensed. “Well this all makes sense now.” He grumbled to himself, as he passed by me. “Your mother is in the kitchen.”

“Where are you going?” I asked, watching him turn the corner.

“To go make me a very strong drink.” He replied, before entering another hallway that lead to my parents bar. All my father had successfully done was increase my suspicion.

When I entered the kitchen, memories hit me like a brick wall. My mother was frying the Pelmeni in one of the large wok pots from the set I got her for Christmas. Technically, I guess I really just gifted her cooks that set, considering my mum entered this kitchen about once a month. She was wearing the same apron she’d worn through most of our childhood. It was the apron Brad and I had made her for Mother’s Day. We had dipped our hands in the acrylic, and painted hand prints all over the canvas material. I was thoroughly surprised to see that she kept it.

“Christian.” My mother smiled, as she turned around to see me. “You made it.”

“That I did.” I replied. “Why are you making Pelmeni?”

She glanced back at the dish that was currently cooking. “I just thought it would be a nice special surprise.”

“You don’t do surprises.” I stated simply. She also very rarely did nice.

“I just thought that it would help to have a good meal to talk over.” She explained.

This was absolutely my mother’s nice way of bribing me.

“Mum, nothing is going to make me any less-” I started, but my mother cut me off.

“Let me make you a plate before we discuss anything.” She insisted, as she reduced the heat on the stove, and scooped some dumplings out for me. She barely had time to set the food down, before I dug in. That first bite nearly brought tears to my eyes, it tasted so good.

Damn, my mother really knew how to play the game.

She watched on in glee as I cleared the meal in minutes… but I wasn’t about to give this woman the break she expected. As soon as I was able to talk without a mouthful of food, I went straight into my line of questioning.

“You served my friends nondisclosure agreements?” I asked her. That was when her smile faltered.

“Christian, our legal team advised that-” she started, but I cut her off.

“I don’t care what the legal team advised, mum. You promised no more secrets. You promised you would keep Brad and I in the loop. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?” I snapped at her. That was when her smile faded entirely.

“We’re just trying to-”

“To protect us.” I finished for her. “You don’t get to make those decisions for us anymore. You don’t get to decide what we can and cannot handle.”

“I know. I spoke with your father, and he explained to me where I went wrong. I shouldn’t have done that before speaking with you first.” She admitted. Her apology held weight for me, mainly because my mother rarely apologized.

“I want those nondisclosure agreements nullified.” I told her. That was when she hesitated.

“Listen, Christian. I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” She insisted.

“So were you apologizing for serving my friends an NDA or were you apologizing for getting caught? Because those are two entirely different apologies.”

Her mouth opened for a quick reply, but she caught herself last minute. I could tell she was starting to choose her words more carefully.

“I just- You barely know these people, Christian. Now they know more about us than anyone should really know.” She explained.

“And yet somehow, I trust them a whole lot more than I trust you right now.” I spat back. “You act as if they asked to be involved in our mess. Let me remind you that it was your brother who hacked our servers. It was your brother who showed up at the Gala. None of that is on Alex, Derek, or Joan. I trust them enough to keep that information confidential.”

My mother went silent as she redirected her focus towards the mess in the kitchen. I helped her by setting my finished plate in the sink, as well as a few utensils she used. The aggressiveness in which she had started scrubbing the empty pan, startled me. Clearly I had upset her, and she was doing everything she could not to say something she would regret.

Before she could ruin her fairly new pot from how hard she was going at it, my hand rested on top of her soapy fingers, to stop her. She whipped her head towards my direction.

“I understand this is the farthest thing from easy for you… but I’m not here to make it any harder. In fact, I’m here to make it easier. Let me do that for you, okay?” I asked her. Those gorgeous eyes softened at my words. “Don’t push Brad and I out like this, especially when this affects all of us.”

I saw tears start to form at the base of her lid. She then did something she very seldom ever did.

She pulled me into her arms.

••

15

Alex

It was safe to say the rest of the week went by faster than Charlie Sheen could say winning after 3 lines of coke.

Christian did his best to hold the fort down. We spoke briefly about the nondisclosure agreement his mother apparently had us all sign, and by us, that would be: Me, Derek, and Joan. Christian said Anna was going to nullify the agreement, and I’d have nothing to worry about. That felt like weight lifted off my shoulders considering I didn’t even have the money listed in the disclosure, if Ivanov Corp decided to sue me.

I mean, my most prized possession would have to be my rock collection I started in the third grade.

Something told me that wouldn’t prove to be of much value to the Ivanov’s.

Anna didn’t stop by again for the rest of this week, and neither did John. I guess that made for a more peaceful workflow on my end. I did my best to keep up with Christian as he flew me through what the rest of the year was set to look like. With the Mavericks deal, our estimated total revenue was destined for a great increase. This meant money for funding on expansive projects, and smaller setbacks. It also meant the Ivanov’s would be getting even richer than they already were.

Crunch time for the Mavericks launch was getting real. By the time Friday rolled around, it was pretty clear I was going to have to come in over the weekend to complete the work. Christian was in and out of meetings for most of the day, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to see him much. He finally settled back at his desk around four in the afternoon.

“How were the calls?” He asked me, entering my office looking as crisp as he did this morning. Instead of his usual suit jacket, he opted in for a vest today, and I literally had to stop myself from drooling. He did that thing where he would curl his bottom lip in to nibble on it nervously. My eyes zeroed in on those lips.

When was the last time I kissed those lips? Felt like an eternity.

If we hadn’t been in a work setting, I probably would of demanded he get naked right here right now.

“The calls were good.” I replied, doing my best to repress my horniness. Christian had a smirk playing on his lips when he noticed I was shamelessly checking him out. “I was able to work out most of the minor issues with Marketing.”

“That’s good. Hows the workload looking?” He questioned, as he took a seat in one of my visitor chairs across from me.

“Lengthy but manageable. I think I’ll come in for a few hours tomorrow to get the rest of the work done.” I explained.

“That’s good.” He gave me another nod. “John reached out this morning. He’s on another business trip right now so we didn’t have much time to work out the details, but he wanted us to come out and meet some other promising partners next week.”

I instantly lit up. “Does this mean another trip to New York?” I asked. Christian shook his head.

“No, this is actually a trip to Hawaii. He set the dates for next Wednesday through Friday.”

Hawaii?

“That sounds exotic.” I whispered to myself.

Christian chuckled. “If you think Hawaii is exotic, I’m really going to need to take you places.” I rolled my eyes at him.

“That sounds great actually, I’d love to go. Should I start looking at places?” I asked. Christian cut in immediately.

“Absolutely the fuck not. The way you planned our New York trip was an entire mess.” He replied.

“Okay I feel personally attacked. It all worked out in the end though, remember?” I gave him a wink, recalling the events of that trip.

“Yeah, I’m starting to think that whole trip was one elaborate plan to seduce me.”

“Oh yes, getting embarrassingly shitfaced moments before I was supposed to show up for that third meeting was actually entirely planned. Puke and all.”

“Is that all I am to you? A peace of meat?” He quipped. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You cannot hate the player, Christian. One must focus that energy entirely on the game.”

Christian chuckled again as he started to help me get my documents together.

“Oh, I was thinking I might stay a little longer.” I explained to him.

“No way. Go home. Especially if you’re planning on coming in tomorrow. Whatever you haven’t finished, can wait.” He replied.

“But I-”

“Nope. No buts. You look like this week has eaten you up, and spit you back out like Jonah and the Whale. Go shower, rest up, and come back refreshed for tomorrow.”

It was hard to argue with that sound logic.

So I let Christian help me pack up, and walk us down to the underground parking.

It felt like we had fallen into this rhythm: he would help me file my work, and walk me out whenever we left together. Unfortunately, it still forced us to remain professional due to the other coworkers roaming around the building. I wanted to tell Christian to come home with me tonight, but I knew he had far too much to take care of on his end.

So I gave him a friendly hug, or at least one that resembled a friendly hug in case any coworkers were still lingering around. What he really did, was slide his hand down to cup my ass and give it a hard squeeze. He was treading on dangerous territory. I wanted more. A lot more…

…But that was all I managed to get out of him before we said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways home.

Christian

Every fiber of being inside me wanted to go home with Alex… but I did what I needed to by cockblocking myself, as I pulled into the entrance of my home. There was a car parked in front that threw me by surprise. I noticed it was one of our company cars… but I hadn’t expected any visitors tonight.

Maybe Nathaniel had drove it back?

That didn’t make much sense to me, considering I let Nathaniel use my other cars whenever he needed to run errands… or he’d make me do it for him. Nathaniel wasn’t very fond of driving to begin with.

As I locked up the vehicle, and headed up the steps to the entrance, I noticed the door was slightly ajar. That was when I went into full on attack mode. I could hear arguing coming from somewhere inside. Once I slowly opened the door and stepped in, that was when the arguing died down and I was greeted with two sets of eyes. Both of which I recognized.

One was Nathaniel, who looked beyond the point of irritation with who our second guest was…. And there was really only one person who had the ability to push his buttons like this…

“Hi Chris.” She smiled over at me.

“Bridge?”

••

This chapter is dedicated to @QueenStarbuck thank you for reading The CEO’s Kryptonite and this book.

I promise not to leave you hanging for too long because I definitely agree- it isn’t good for the heart ;)

Thank you to everyone who’s still following the story! You all are absolutely incredible, thank you.

Xoxo

16

This chapter is dedicated to @ashton-lake. Happy Birthday, lovely. You bday wish was my command.

Also Happy Valentines Day everyone! I was going to sneak in a double update, but I actually made some plans last minute for a girls night so I’m off to get ready for that.

I hope you all get your backs thrown out by your significant other tonight. If you’re single, here is a virtual rose from yours truly. Be My Valentine? 🌹

Christian

“What are you doing here?” I asked Bridge, but before I could let her answer, I turned to Nathaniel. “What is she doing here?”

Nathaniel looked as bewildered and annoyed as I did, which lead me to believe he hadn’t the slightest idea either.

“She just walked in not even fifteen minutes ago.” Nathaniel explained.

I glanced back over at the entrance to my home. This chick just walked? To my home? Like she owned the place? Like she made those mortgage payments?

“I thought you said you’d handle getting those locks changed?” Nathaniel countered. That was when I internally groaned.

He was right.

I had meant to do that as soon as she left that night. Probably even sooner, to be honest. The commotion over the last month or so had pulled me away from getting it done. Obviously, Bridge had still held onto her copy of my house key.

Why had I even made that for her in the first place?

“Listen, Christian, we need to talk.” Bridget spoke, interrupted my thoughts.

“No, we really don’t. There is literally less than nothing for you and I to discuss. I’m going to need you to get out of my house now.” I replied.

“Hold on here, just hear me out. I wanted to talk about trying this again. Us again. I can see where I went wrong, and I want to fix that.” She argued, shrugging her shoulder. That allowed for one of her spaghetti straps connected to her sundress, to fall off her shoulders. It revealed even more of her already very revealing cleavage. When my eyes glanced down to her chest, her lips curled up into a smile.

It made me want to hurl. She made me want to hurl.

“What? Did your account balance go negative again?” Nathaniel butt in.

I was too late to stop the chuckle that fell past my lips. Bridget’s face flashed with anger, but she quickly pedaled back and tried to compose herself.

“No. I’ve just had time to reflect and I really think we were good for each other.” She replied. “Like Bonnie and Clyde.”

Nathaniel scoffed.

I looked at her like she must have lost the last few brain cells she had. “We were in no way, shape, or form good for each other. Literally all you did was spend my money, and give me migraines. We were together because I thought that was what my mother wanted. Now I’ve realized that this was never what I wanted… So with that being said, I’d like you to leave.”

She had this plastic expression on her face, like she was trying to look hurt. It came across as insincere.

“I can’t.” She stated, shaking her head. “I’m pregnant.”

I glanced over at Nathaniel, and our eyes made contact. That was when we both full on laughed.

“Bridge, you are the farthest thing from pregnant. If I could, I would have worn not one, but two condoms when I fucked you… during the very few times I actually did.” I replied with an harshness I didn’t know I harbored. “If you’re pregnant, I would bet my life it was not by the hands of me”

This conversation was no surprise to Nathaniel. We had discussed from the jump that I didn’t trust if she was on birth control. I asked him to look into Bridget’s medical records. He informed me on just how illegal that was. Then re-introduced me to the illegitimate eighth wonder of the world…

A condom. And a very direct set of rules to go with it. Nathaniel was not about raising any more kids. Not in this lifetime at least.

I could see Bridget’s confidence take a nose dive at my words.

“My mother, she’s just very sick right now and-”

“Save it.” Nathaniel stepped in this time, immediately cutting her off. “I did a full background on you as soon as you started seeing Christian. Your mother died over a decade ago.”

I glanced over at Nathaniel. That man probably knew more about Bridget than I did.

That was when Bridge gave up completely. “I just need a little money to get by. I got into it with some bad people and-”

“Bridge?” It was my turn to stop her short here. “I’m going to give you five minutes to get out of my house. Nathaniel?”

“Yes sir?”

“Message me if she’s not out by then, then contact the authorities.” I directed. Nathaniel gave me a firm nod as I picked up the briefcase I had set on the floor, and started to slip my shoes back on.

“Where are you heading sir?” He asked me.

“Yeah, where in the actual fuck are you going?” Bridge added. Her true personality was definitely coming to light. She couldn’t even hold that fake façade for the five minutes I had been home for.

“Anywhere but here, my good man.” I nodded to Nathaniel. He gave me another nod, as he walked me out. I could hear Bridget calling for me stop, and come back inside. I ignored her, jogging down the steps towards my car, and throwing my briefcase into the passenger side of the vehicle.

“I’ll take care of the locks.” Nathaniel told me, as I slid into the drivers side.

“Thank you. Also figure out who the fuck leant her that company vehicle from corporate, and have HR fire them immediately.” I instructed.

“Yes sir.” Nathaniel replied. “And say hi to Alex for me.” He added with a wink. I rolled my eyes at him as he stepped away to let me start the car and close my drivers door.

Then I was off, pulling out of my property, and onto the route I knew entirely too well by now.

As soon as I arrived at Alex’s home, I hesitated. Before pulling up to his place, I had neglected to confirm whether Alex was even home. Judging by how exhausted he looked at work, I would assume he hadn’t made any plans to go out… but I could also be wrong.

I parked my car out front, and mustered up the energy to go in and check. It wasn’t too far a walk to reach his apartment number. My hand barely made it to his door in an attempt to knock, before it was thrust open.

Here I was, staring down at a very wide eyed Alex. He was wearing a onesie, with his hair wrapped up in a towel. He must have just gotten out of the shower. It took him a second to realize that I was, in fact, standing right in front of him. Once that realization settled, a small smile graced his lips.

“Christian?” He spoke.

“Hey.” I smiled back.

“What’s up? Is something wrong?”

I shook my head no. “Just… missed you.” I replied.

His smile grew. He didn’t say anything, as he stepped aside to let me in.

••

17

Warning: Explicit Content ;)

Alex

“Would you like something to drink?” I asked Christian. He watched on as I made myself busy in the kitchen. The kettle had already started whistling, but I was too distracted by Christian’s gaze, to even notice. Christian had managed to distract me from many things… like I almost forgot I was in the process of taking the trash out when I came face to face with him at my apartment door.

Luckily, I washed my face mask off literally minutes before opening that door. My hair was still wrapped up in a towel though, and I had made the very embarrassing decision of wearing a onesie tonight.

“Some water would be nice.” He spoke. I noticed his voice sounded closer than it had before.

I switched the flames off from the kettle, and set it it to the side. As I reached up to get two cups from one of the cabinets, another hand reached up past me. I hadn’t even noticed Christian was behind me until now.

“I got them.” He whispered hoarsely next to my ear. My body shuddered involuntarily when his breath fanned against the skin.

“T-Thanks.” I stuttered out, watching him set the cups on the counter. I could feel him scoot closer until he was flush against me.

That was when I felt how hard he was.

His hands went to my hips. “This man-child outfit is incredibly soft.” He murmured against my neck. My eyelids grew heavy from lust. I could feel myself getting hard from his proximity.

“I-It’s called a onesie.” I replied. When he chuckled, I felt his stubble rub against my bare neck. It made me melt right into his hands.

“It doesn’t have the little flap in the back.” He noted, sounding disappointed. We’ll have to make a trip to the store soon. Get you one with that flap.“

If I had the energy to roll my eyes at him, I would have.

His hands started massaging my waist through the soft material. Every so often, he would get god awful close to the base of my cock, then just continue on. It was driving me crazy. When his hands shifted away, I wasn’t expecting him to push me forward and pin me between him and the counter. I felt him grind against my ass, and it made my dick twitch with anticipation.

“Do you want this?” He growled against my ear. That alone almost made me cum.

“Y-Yes.” I barely whispered. His hand reached up to grab my neck as he arched me back into him.

“Turn around.” He ordered me. I did so immediately. I was met with a set of familiar blue eyes that were quite literally bearing through to my soul. “I don’t think I tell you enough how beautiful you are.” He whispered.

I felt my cheeks heat the fuck up at his words. The things I wanted to do to this man right now. Oh, the things.

“Thank Y-You, I-” I started, attempting to make a coherent sentence, but I was cut off by Christian’s lips on mine. It was a soft, gentle, and quick kiss that drove me to the brink of insanity. He placed another soft peck on my lips, and before I knew it, he had tugged the towel off my head. Those strong hands tangled themselves into my damp curls as he deepened the kiss.

I let out a small moan when he took my bottom lip between his teeth. One hand remained tangled in my hair, while the other hand massaged my lower back. He gave my bottom lip a nibble which coerced another moan out of me.

When he pulled away again, I frowned. I wanted more. Waywaywayway more.

“Those gorgeous eyes.” He murmured as his lips connected with the exposed skin of my neck and shoulders. “Such soft skin.” He continued. His scent filled every available space around me when he pulled me even closer. It was the scent of his cologne… the smell of spice and pine. My hands wrapped themselves around his large frame, trying to steady myself. “A truly perfect body.” Those last words made my cock uncomfortably tight against the thin fabric of my briefs.

One of Christian’s hands unexpectedly grabbed me. I tipped my head back in ecstasy as he started massaging my bulge through my onesie. Moan after moan erupted through me, but Christian stopped almost as suddenly as he had started. “Quiet, baby.” He spoke huskily into my ear. I full on shuddered as his tongue licked my lobe, before taking it in his mouth entirely.

Then he went back to massaging me. I tired to remain quiet, but the waves of pleasure were too intense. “I said quiet .” He reiterated while his other hand moved up to cover my mouth. I stared longingly at him as his gaze bore into mine. He picked up speed with his strokes through my clothing. My eyelids started to lower, but I heard Christian’s words cut straight through the lust. “Look at me.” He demanded.

I was going to cum.

I was definitely going to cum.

“Christian, I-” I started. When my eyes found his again, they were dark. His gaze made my hips buckle.

“Are you going to cum for me?” He asked. My eyes tore away from his as I looked on with embarrassment, but the hand that was keeping my mouth closed, grabbed firmly at my chin to hold me there. His other hand stopped stroking me to momentarily pull down my zipper. When I felt that hand dip inside my briefs, my eyes rolled back in pleasure.

I started to spasm from his touch.

“I asked you a question.” Christian spoke. “Are you going to cum for me?”

I felt that all too familiar feeling build up inside of me. I was dangerously close. “Y-Yes.” I replied with a voice I barely recognized. It was hoarse with need.

Christian dipped down to my ear again. “Then cum for me.” He growled. That was all my body needed as I felt myself climax.

It was chilling. I buckled uncontrollably.

It forced me further into Christians arms as he continued to stroke me. I felt myself shaking against him, whimpering his name. My eyes were shut so tight, little stars had started to form.

As my body worked on collecting itself, I felt Christians hand slow to a stop. He gently pulled me back and slipped his hands out from my briefs. I was going to get him a towel for the mess I made, but instead, he brought his wet fingers up to his mouth to lick them clean. I almost came all over again.

“Delicious.” He mumbled, licking the last of my cum off. “Let’s go to your bedroom.”

“B-But what about the tea?” I asked. Before those words could even fully leave my mouth, I internally face palmed. Who gave a fuck about tea at a time like this?

“Fuck the tea.” He replied, pulling me along behind him.

Right , I nodded to myself. Fuck the tea.

••

Hello there Lovelies!

I meant to also get this chapter up yesterday, but ya know the deal… I took a nap and never woke up last night.

But anyways, thank you so much for reading!

If you do want to see more of me, I did post a new YouTube video. The link will be in my bio!

Xoxo

18

A little late on the upload this week (ya girl got sick) but enjoy!

Warning: Explicit Content (;

Christian

I laid Alex gently back on the mattress.

“Take that man-child suit off.” I instructed him. He did as he was told, shimmying out of the plush material and throwing it off the side of the bed.

I slipped my tie out from its knot, and tossed it on the floor. The shirt and trousers easily came off next. When I caught sight of Alex in nothing but his cum stained briefs, it made my hard on even more uncomfortable.

“Damn, papi. Take it all off.” Alex cheered from his post on the bed. I rolled my eyes at him.

“Should I have gone slower? Give you a little show?” I joked, stalking towards him. He shook his head no.

I hovered over his exposed self. One hand was at Alex’s side to prop me up, while the other gently caressed the edge of his jaw. I could see those intense eyes staring back up at me. His skin was soft to touch. I noticed there was still remnants of a face mask mixed into his edges.

I lowered myself down and my lips connected with his. It was another slow, sensational kiss. One that made my heart hammer ferociously against my chest. One that made my toes curl. One that made me crave this man even more. Alex’s hands went to my sides as he pulled me closer to him. When I felt my cock rub up against his through our briefs, I heard Alex muffle a moan.

That was when I pulled away. He glanced up at me with that slightly confused expression he seemed to always have.

“Turn over.”

It took Alex seconds to comply to my demand. He got himself comfortable on his stomach, pushing a pillow down to lay on. I planted soft kisses along the back of his neck, and down his shoulder blades. My hands gently massaged his sides and lower back. I heard Alex let out another moan.

“Thwis fweels rweally gwood.” He mumbled through the pillow. I let out a chuckle.

“Just relax, love.” His body shuddered when I whispered in his ear. Then I went lower with my kisses, until I reached his dangerously sexy back dimples. My fingers hooked themselves on the hem of his briefs and gently tugged them off. Seeing Alex’s exposed ass was too tempting for me not to slap.

I heard Alex groan through the pillow. The temporary redness it left on his pale skin enticed me. “Get on your knees.” I whispered out. He did as he was told.

I got up on my knees as well, continuing to massage the crevices of his body. I could see his own hard on now. It was rock hard, leaking with precum. When I gave his ass another slap, I saw it twitch with excitement. Positioned right behind Alex, I allowed myself some time to really appreciate this view. He was faced down with his ass up to me.

I’d been in this position with many woman, but nothing looked quite as delightful as seeing Alex this way. I reached under him to grab his cock. He stifled a groan as I started stroking. My other hand went to my mouth. I got two fingers slick before positioning them at Alex’s entrance.

I massaged the area, watching Alex squirm beneath me. When I inserted that first digit, his hands gripped the bed sheets. “Let me know if you’re uncomfortable at any time.” I whispered to him.

“It fweels gwood.” He mumbled. That was when I inserted a second digit. Alex shifted, arching his back further to grant me better access. My own cock was throbbing intensely in my briefs. I was aching to be inside him. My strokes had started to pick up in speed, and Alex’s moans grew loader. The muffling from the pillow made me want to bury myself deep inside him.

I pushed a third finger in, massaging and slowly stretching out his entrance.

“Hwoly fwuck.” Alex groaned.

When I was sure he was ready, I slipped all three fingers out. Alex whimpered from the feeling as I let go of his cock to pull my own boxers down. “Condom?”

Alex shifted so I could hear him better. “Would it be wrong to ask you to cum inside me tonight?”

Both hands gripped Alex’s waist tight. Don’tcumdon’tcumdon’tcum .

“With those words? Babe I’m about to impregnate the fuck out of you.” I whispered hoarsely.

“I- I don’t think that’s how that works, Christian.” Alex replied.

“Shhh, you’re ruining the moment.” I couldn’t see Alex’s face well, but I could feel him rolling his eyes at me.

I barely touched myself. I was scared I would cum from just seeing Alex like this. When I positioned my cock at his entrance, I saw him ready himself. The entrance was still slick, which made it easier for me to push into him. It felt like a fitted glove on my dick, Alex was so tight. The grip I had on his hips kept him in place as I got him comfortable with me being inside.

Alex’s knuckles had started to pale in color. “Please fucking move.” He practically growled at me. That was just the que I was waiting on. I slowly pulled myself out of him, yet this time, I re-entered him with a thrust. “Oh fuck!” Alex cried out.

One of my hands reached around to stroke him again, as I started pounding into him. He kept a hand gripped tight on the bed, but he placed the other hand on the bed frame to steady himself. With each thrust, Alex began meeting me half way. He would thrust his ass back onto me, sending me further inside him. This man was driving me to the brink of insanity tonight.

I’d been close to coming for a while now. Ever since I felt Alex against me in the kitchen. I could tell I was now mere seconds away.

“Fuck, Alex. You’re so fucking tight.” I groaned, feeling the beads of sweat drip down my temple as I picked up my pace. Alex had started to shake below me, which let me know he was almost there himself.

“Christian, I’m-I’m going to-”

“Are you going to cum for me, baby?” I asked him, gripping his cock tighter. He nodded against the pillow. That was when I felt him spasm against me.

“Oh my fucking god!” He screamed, coating my hand with his warm cum. When he came, I could feel his ass pulsating around my dick. That’s when I came. I gripped Alex so tight, he basically molded against me. I felt myself starting to shake, before I collapsed on the bed besides him.

My breathing was labored, and my body sweaty, but Alex didn’t care as he shimmied until he was in my arms. I placed a kiss on his forehead, then his nose, then his lips.

“I should really go clean up.” He mumbled to me.

“There’s time for that in the morning.” I replied, giving Alex’s ass one last slap.

••

19

Alex

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed, and a note by my pillow.

It said:

Good Morning Baby. I got up early because, like always, I got some shit to take care of. You didn’t have anything in the fridge, or at least anything I knew how to make… so I had something ordered to the office. Let me know when you make it in. Don’t worry about a suit and tie today, and don’t work too hard.

That brought a smile to my lips… especially when I glanced at my bedside alarm clock and realized I was running very fucking late. After a very brief shower and a questionable choice of clothing, I was out.

The greatest part about working on the weekend, was the lack of traffic on the road. I was able to zoom down the interstate without any exit back ups, or random ass accidents created by people who wanted to go nowhere fast because we were all bumper to bumper anyways . By the time I made it, I was sure I beat my personal best.

Once I made it into the building, I was quickly alarmed by the amount of people that had come into work today. Here I was, fully prepared to sit in an empty office for the next few hours listening to some podcasts and getting some work done… but instead, I was welcomed by an entire team of workaholics running around the building like it was on fire.

After punching in on the third floor, I made it back to the first floor. The floor I was hoping I could still relate to as the sane floor.

Once I got out of the elevator, I was instantly at peace. All the veterans were relaxed back in their chairs and completely ignoring their phones, while they made the new hires take the calls. Griffin, who was one of the veteran customer service reps down here, welcomed me as soon as we made eye contact.

“Jesus, you still work here?” He gasped, as I walked on over to his desk.

I flipped him off immediately.

“Oh kill the dramatics. I know I haven’t been here a while-” I started.

“A while?” Jillian, another service rep chimed in. I hadn’t even known she was in today until she popped her head up from underneath her desk, scaring Griffin and I shitless.

“Hey there Jillian, nice to see ya.” I gave her a small wave. “Most of my things were moved upstairs when I took the new position so, unfortunately, I don’t have a reason to come down here anymore.” I explained.

Griffin clutched his chest. “Is coming down here to visit your favorite reps, not a good enough reason?”

Okay

touché

, I thought to myself.

The honest to god truth was that, besides Derek and Joan’s presence, this floor made working here far more bearable. The lack of fucks our customer department team gave, was truly an inspiration. There were days I questioned how some people still had their jobs.

“I’ll make it my mission to come say hello to all you unfortunate souls more often.” I told both of them sincerely. Griffin and Jillian cracked up.

“It might be bearable up there during the week, but you’ll be begging to come down here today.” Griffin said in all seriousness.

My eyebrows furrowed at his comment. “How come?”

“Down here, we’re required to work Saturday hours.” Jillian explained. “But up there? Those are all the workaholics who chose to come in today. The difference? The big ass gap in work ethic between us and them. The people upstairs are the high strung overtime regulars who rather complete extra work, then enjoy their weekend.”

“Essentially,” Griffin added, “you’re going to be eaten alive.”

I glanced back and forth between the two of them. They must have been joking… right?

When I made it up to the fifth floor, I realized almost instantly that Jillian and Griffin weren’t joking.

“Alex!” Two coworkers, who I have never seen in my life, bombarded me before I could even make it out of the elevator.

“We heard you were coming in this weekend which makes so much sense because the launch is literally this Tuesday but I’ve got files I need you to look over and approve before marketing can run them into production and-”

That about as much as I could follow from the first coworker. She had zipped through that sentence faster than Christian could zip through traffic. By the time I made it to my office, this woman had rambled off stats I couldn’t keep up with, and programs I had never heard of.

“You can get that done for us today, right?” The second employee chimed in. He looked just as eager as his female companion was, to offload all this work on me.

“Just… run me an email?” I settled on finally. They shared a glance with each other, but I assume that must have been sufficient enough because they each gave me a nod, and saw themselves out.

I had barely made it into the office, and I was already fucking done with today.

Christian

Brad and I drove in silence. Every so often, I would steal glances his way. I knew he saw me see him, but he said nothing as he stared out the window aimlessly.

It was times like these where I wish I could take a peek into his mind.

Hear his thoughts.

Feel his emotions.

All the lovey dovey brotherly shit, ya know?

Brad always grew silent when he was sorting things out. It was a silence I had grown to understand and respect, but it was also a silence that aggravated me in ways I couldn’t explain.

“Not too much longer.” I spoke to him. He nodded, but said nothing.

As the silence fell between the two of us again, it gave me yet another opportunity to let my mind race.

I thought back to the night I had spent with Alex, and that managed to immediately put a smile on my face. The way he felt… the way he tasted. It seriously sucked not being able to wake up next to him this morning. I wanted to take a shower with him… and watch him get ready for work.

Instead, I woke up to a call from Brad.

He had sounded different. Distraught even, dare I say. He asked me to come over, and said he needed my help with something.

When it came to Brad, my ability to say no didn’t exist.

It was because Brad rarely ever asked me for help, and when he did, it was never a small feat.

I had scrawled out a note for Alex, and set it on his pillow. I hated leaving him like that after such an intimate moment, but the most generous thing about Alex, was that he seemed to always understand. I made a promise to myself that I would still make it up to him later.

I also felt pretty shitty about the fact that I had zero clue how to make breakfast with what he had in his fridge. He had bought some complicated shit like salmon and biscuit mix. All I knew how to make, was eggs.

I settled on ordering him a meal instead. One I hope he was enjoying right about now. I never received a text from him letting me know he made it, but one of my aides confirmed that for me. She also confirmed he was drowning in work, so I cut him some slack with the delayed update.

The sound of Brad clearing his throat, brought me back out from my thoughts.

“This is the place, yeah?”

I gave him a nod. “I don’t even want to know how you acquired this information.”

Brad chuckled at my words, as he pulled his briefcase out from underneath the car seat.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked him. He hesitated a moment, with his eyes finally finding mine for the first time since we got into this damn vehicle.

“I’m sure.” He nodded. We both looked away from each other, to stare at the large building located directly in front of us.

In big capital letters, the words Sun County Correctional Facility was impossible to miss.

••

Sorry for the late upload! I’ve got some updates coming up with the next chapter I’ll be releasing here (chapter twenty).

It might be a few days until that chapter is out, but bear with me and I promise you’ll understand why soon!

It will also be one long ass intense ass chapter as compensation.

As always, thank you so much for reading!

Xoxo

20

Christian

I followed Brad as he made his way inside. With every step I took closer to that building, all I could think about was just how creatively our parents were going to kill us, when they found out about this. It wasn’t the possibility of if… but most definitely, rather, the inevitability of when .

Our mother would be the first to have a go at us for this absolutely terrible idea… but once Slav finds out, then it will really be a wrap. Brad looked tense as he walked on ahead of me. I think he was also thinking about our unavoidable death.

The doors to the facility were unnaturally weighted when I pulled on them. I took this as another sign from God, telling me to take our idiotic asses the fuck home. Of course that didn’t stop Brad, and in return, it didn’t stop me either…

… But I got this feeling that it should’ve.

That I should’ve turned us back around.

Then there was also that feeling of understanding. Understanding that this was something Brad felt that he needed to do. He had asked me to be here for support, and I decided that was the least I could do.

We passed through a seriously packed parking lot. For some reason, I expected it to be close to empty this time of day. That assumption made little to no sense considering I had never been to a correctional facility before. I just did my best to follow Brad’s lead.

Once we entered the large building, we were met with an immediate wave of security. There were guards checking in and out of two main doors stationed at the very front of the building. The two doors looked to be heavily guarded by even more security. Some guards stopped what they were doing, to glance our way, but it was only momentarily before they continued on with their work. I was sure not one soul had recognized me here, and my narcissistic self didn’t know how to feel about that.

There was a woman sitting at a desk between the two guarded doors. When she caught sight of us, she gave us a polite smile. “Good morning. How may I be of assistance today?”

I glanced down at the name plate on her desk. It looked like her name was Stephanie. I opened my mouth to reply, but Brad cut in before I could get a word out.

“We’re here to pay a visit to an inmate.” He replied. “I had called in earlier this week to set up an appointment.” My head whipped around in Brad’s direction immediately. When the hell had he done all that?

“Oh I can absolutely assist with that. May I just see a valid ID from the both of you, to get you two checked in?” She asked. Brad and I nodded, digging out our wallets to hand her each our drivers licenses. She got to work, click clacking away as her long manicured nails tapped against the keys on the keyboard.

I glanced around at my surroundings. The building felt very soul sucking, but I guess that was fitting for a prison. Stephanie handed us our ID’s back in what felt like record timing, before she handed us two visitors badges. “You’ll need to be checked in by security, which will be through that door on your right. Once you go through this process, two guards will escort you to the visiting area. It looks as if you are here to see inmate 61846-026- Vadik Ivanov. Is that correct?” Stephanie asked us.

Brad and I both nodded.

“Perfect! Those doors should be open now for you. Have a great day!” She called out. We each gave her a polite smile, before entering the door she had jerked her head in the direction of.

Behind this door, was yet another large room. There were two guards there, stationed with bins on a conveyer belt, as well as a full body security scanner.

“Good morning. Please remove all belongings in your pockets and place them in a plastic bin here. We also ask that you remove your shoes and place them in a separate bin. Next, we’ll have you step right up into this chamber.” The first guard directed. Brad and I did as we were told.

The scan took literal seconds before the second guard directed me gave me the OK, and let me through to the other side. “We’ll hold on to your belongings until the visit is complete. You can place your shoes back on, however. Just walked through this door at the end here and two guards will escort you to the visiting area. They will also lead you back through this way, once the visit is complete. Take care.” The second guard spoke.

“Thank you.” Brad replied. I followed his lead as we made our way through the door located at the end of the security check in. Just like the guards had told us, there were two guards waiting by the door.

“Hello. Just follow us.” One of the guards practically grunted. He was the larger of the two men, and seemed a little rougher around the edges. Nevertheless, we walked closely behind him as he took us down a series of winding hallways and doors.

I understood why we were being escorted there now. This building was practically impossible to maneuver on ones own.

It wasn’t long before we reached another door. This one opened up to a room with tables and chairs. There were a few inmates seated with visitors, speaking quietly. The guard that had lead us here, directed Brad and I to a specific table located towards the back corner of the room.

“Please take a seat. Inmate 61846-026 will be in shortly.” The larger guard spoke. He didn’t even wait for our reply before he turned around and took off the way he came. I glanced over at Brad, as we both hesitantly took a seat.

“What are you…” I started to say, but sort of drifted off. “What are you planning on talking to him about?” I finalized.

Brad’s eyes remained glued to the second door in front of us. It was the door I was assuming Vadik was going to be let through.

“I’m-I’m not sure. Tons of questions have ran through my mind about what I should ask him, but nothing seems right. I guess one could argue that nothing should seem right, in a situation such as this one.” He replied.

I gave Brad a nod. “All I can say is, is don’t hold back. I can promise you this will be the first, and most likely the last time you’ll have this opportunity. Make sure you don’t waste it.”

He glanced over and gave me a small smile. “Thank you for signing your life away with me, my brutha.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Let’s hope Slav makes it a quick death.”

Slav was most likely going to hang us by our own throats.

I felt slightly hypocritical keeping this information from our parents, considering I was preaching about truth and transparency not even more than 24 hours earlier… but I knew our family. I knew there was no way in hell mother and Slav would have sanctioned this visit. My father had been clear on where he stood with Vadik, and all he would see this as, would be some very blatant disobedience.

Before Brad could go in for a rebuttal, the door in front of us opened.

Immediately, we were met with a pair of familiar eyes. The same eyes I saw at the Gala a few weeks ago. The same eyes as my mothers, and eyes strikingly similar to Brad’s. It gave me this almost identical feeling of nauseation. The same feeling I felt the first time I saw him.

Vadik had somehow looked to have aged years since the Gala. His beard had started overgrowing, and the bags under his eyes indicated sleep hadn’t found him for a minute.

I watched as his face went from one of confusion, to realization. It was disgusting how it lit up as soon as he saw Brad. I was doing my best to put myself in his shoes, but all I wanted to do was hurl.

I was starting to second-guess whether me coming was such a good thing. With every breath I could confirm Vadik was taking, I felt my blood boil. Putting this horrendous actions to a face, made wanting to pummel his face into this cement floor, all the more appealing.

“Brad?” Vadik spoke, as soon as those eyes registered who he was staring at.

The door he came through, shut hard as it slammed against the frame. This caused me to jump slightly. Vadik walked hesitantly over to us, and took a seat at the chair across the table. When he spoke, I visibly cringed. It made the skin on my arms crawl.

There was a moment of silence before Brad managed to get words out.

“Hi… dad.” Brad settles on finally.

••

New Book Alert!

I promise I will be continuing other work on here… which is why I decided to publish something out from archive.

If you’re interested, here is the intro to another piece I’ve been working on. Thank you all for the support. As always, love you. Xoxo

Introducing: Fight Club

Dante Harris was running. Running from an abusive past. Running from a messy break up. Running from the life he left in the small city of Round Rock Texas.

Somehow this small town boy has found himself in the busy streets of New York City, and in the arms of one Samuel Deminico (not intentionally of course).

Sammy’s managed to survive in the Big Apple all his life. The city’s brought him major once in a lifetime opportunities, such as opening up his dream boxing gym. He never thought he’d need to use his self defense moves outside of the ring… but one particular crackhead proved him wrong the night of April 15th.

That was when Sammy met Dante.

••

“You ever get punched in the face by a crackhead?”

“No, I can’t say that I have.”

“Then don’t speak on it like you’ve been punched in the face by a crackhead.”

21

I can say with complete and certain honesty, you aren’t ready for this…

just a heads up, nothing has been edited yet lol

But as alwayssss,

Thank you

xoxo

Christian

My head whipped around in Brad’s direction. I hadn’t meant any disrespect by this… but who the fuck was Brad calling dad?

“I’m so happy you came to see me.” Vadik replied. His voice held a thick accent, much like the one my mother had when she was in the comfort of her own home. Whenever we were around company, she did an excellent job concealing it. I never understood why, but she explained that an American accent helped with business. At the time, I just took her word for it. Being much older, I understood now.

I continued to analyze Vadik from head to toe. He was tall. That was probably where Brad had gotten his height. Vadik had this relaxed expression on his face, one that irritated the fuck out of me. It was as if he expected us. Everything about this was making me sick.

“Don’t be.” Brad replied. My gaze turned to him. I felt that coldness to my core, when Brad said those words. It cut straight through the air. Vadik flinched from the sudden hostility. “I’m here to get some answers. That’s it.”

“I understand.” Vadik nodded. “What would you like to know?”

“Why are you here?” I couldn’t stop myself from blurting out completely. Brad glanced my way at my sudden words.

Vadik also turned to look at me. “I’m sorry, but I’ll only answer Brad’s questions. I won’t answer yours.”

Alright.

Okay.

Murder it is.

I was about to leap forward and get his thin neck fitted perfectly between my fingers, but Brad placed his hand on my arm before I could. “Don’t.” He whispered to me. I could feel the nails from my fingers digging into my knee as I resisted the sudden primal urges to kill this man. Brad gave my arm a light squeeze before letting me go, then he turned back to Vadik. “Why are you here, then?” He asked.

Vadik’s lips twitched up into a small smile. “I wanted to see you.”

I leant back in my chair, watching Brad as he processed this information. Surprisingly, Brad hadn’t flinched. He looked calm and scarily collected. I was probably the one looking crazy. I knew for sure my face had gotten red from the sheer amount of anger I had for this monster in front of us. I could feel the vein against the side of my temple pulsating.

“Why? Why now?” Brad asked.

Vadik took a moment before he replied. His expression hadn’t changed, but it was more like someone pressed pause on him. He was just staring at Brad with that small smile. I felt far past the bounds of discomfort. I was officially abhorrent.

“You’re parents and I had reached an… agreement.” Vadik explained. “For a period of time, they assisted with some things that I needed. In return, I kept my distance. Well recently things have really been taking off for myself, and I no longer need to keep the agreement. In fact, this was the best time to come see you.”

Brad leant back against his chair, taking the same stance as myself. Vadik chuckled to himself. “She really raises you two alike. Did a damn good job, that woman.” Brad’s hand returned to my arm before I could even start to run through my murderous thoughts. His eyes pleaded with me to remain seated. I let out a small breath and relaxed myself. “I’ve got a good size chunk of wealth for myself now. I can care for you the same way your mother can. I want you to work for me.”

That was when Brad straightened up. “I think I would rather die than do that.” He spoke honestly. Vadik’s smile faltered for just a split second, before it returned to its stature.

“I want to change all that. I want you to come see what I do. I already know that you’re interested.” Vadik replied.

Who… the fuck… did this guy think he was?

“And how’s that?” Brad asked.

“Three months ago, you were approached by a particular tech agency known as Volodya Kolya. You were approached with one prestigious offer to loan us your law services with compensation. You had scheduled plans to come check out our offices in the next month or two here. That direct request was made by me.” Vadik explained.

I glanced over at Brad, and whispered “You were planning to move to fucking Russia?”

“I wasn’t planning to move anywhere. It was just a trip I was contemplating.” Brad replied with the same hushed tone.

“That is a company I built from the ground up. I’m sure this less intelligent one here has never heard of us… but you, Brad? I knew you had done your research.”

Brad was quiet. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking as he stared at Vadik. I knew exactly what the fuck I was thinking, however. I wanted to see this man in pain. Just pure fucking agony right now. His composure said he knew more than he was letting on. It said he knew things that we didn’t, and that alone terrified me. It was an eerie feeling, but something was telling me he wasn’t going to be locked up for long.

“You know this would be a game changer opportunity. Working for us would probably be the height of your law career.” Vadik continued as Brad remained silent. I hadn’t gotten past the point where he had called me an idiot, yet I hated to admit that he was somewhat right. I had never heard of this company before. A good reason would probably be that up until recently, I really didn’t give a shit about my own company… let alone others.

Brad did, however. He always gave a shit. I could understand why he would at least want to check the company out. I just didn’t get why he never told me about the opportunity.

“I’m not interested in working with someone like you.” Brad finally spoke. “I’d never be interested in working with someone like you.”

“I understand how you feel right now. I’ll need to work on building your trust, which I’m willing to spend as much time as needed to do. I’m confident your opinions will soon change for me.” Vadik replied. I felt my stomach churn.

“And I’m quite confident that will never happen.” Brad replied. “But I do have just one more question.” Vadik leant forward, giving Brad his full attention. “Why did you hurt our mother like that?”

Vadik’s smile dropped completely at that question. “That’s a difficult question to answer. I can tell you know that whatever your assumptions are, are incorrect. I know I promised you that I would answer any questions you have for me, but this question will have to be saved for next time.”

“There won’t be a next time.” I spat at him. His gaze shifted back on me. Every time it did, I could feel his coldness towards me. He looked at me with the same disgusted expression I had for him, and that just pissed me off even more.

“If you want the truth, Brad, you’ll have to come see me again. I won’t be here long, so make sure you do so soon.” Vadik spoke, as he stood.

“There won’t be a next time.” Brad confirmed.

Before Vadik could respond, I cut in. “And I can promise you, I’ll make sure you rot in here.”

That twisted smile graced his lips again. If it wasn’t for the security approaching us, I probably would have lunged at him. “I’ll see you soon.” He said to Brad, before allowing security to walk him out.

And those were the last words we heard from Vadik. He had left Brad and I in the visiting room, staring at the door he disappeared through.

“What the fuck did you think he meant by that?” I asked Brad. “That our assumptions are wrong?”

Brad shifted in his seat again, unable to find a comfortable position. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it Christian. I don’t know how he’s planning on getting out of here… but he was fairly confident that he would.”

My mind started to do that thing where it spiraled. I started second guessing myself and everything our parents had disclosed to us. They were honest about paying Vadik off, but they must have known when he started refusing the money. They must have known what business he was now the proud owner of. There’s no way any of this information would have slipped right by them.

So it now pegged the question, what half truths were our parents telling?

“Is there anything you could think of that would get the case thrown out?” I asked him. Brad shifted in his seat once again. He had been biting away at a nail so vigorously, I thought he would have ripped it clean off.

“There are a few things,” He admitted, “but it’s nothing you’re going to like.”

••

22

Alex

Sometimes I reach a point in my life where I take a look at my 401k to see how long I can actually comfortably retire if I was to quit work today.

This Monday had been one of those days.

In case you were wondering how long that was, it came to approximately a year. Then homelessness, it would be.

Christian looked equally distracted as he entered the office this morning. He had that distant vibe, like something was eating away at him, but I had no idea what. Because of our messy schedules, neither of us had any free time to touch base. I did receive an occasional email that would say cute shit like “you’re looking fine today” and “I know these bitches are crazy but please don’t quit.”

Safe to say that Christian was single handedly keeping me at this company.

Derek has managed to visit me once during the day, just to inform me that the third floor was also quite literally on fire. I knew the money we’d be saving and making with combining Mavericks and the gear launch, but I was starting to deeply regret evening offering this idea. Another email had come in closer to the afternoon. It was just a picture of one gorgeous ass resort. The subject of the email was Hawaii in Two Days.

This motherfucker really knew how to appeal to my senses.

I was surprised to see Joan at the entrance of my office, when I heard a knock. The first thing this woman said once she walked through my door was “Bitch.”

My eyebrows raised in surprise. All she did was repeat the word yet again to me but elongate the last consonants. “Bitchhhhhh.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “What the fuck is up girl?”

“Bitch listen. That motherfucker Jillian in marketing? Yeah she can get it. And as in get it, I mean my fist colliding with that bitches jawline. You know what this bitch has the audacity to do? Switch up the promotional artwork. Like bitch the launch is tomorrow what fucking time do we have to start redesigning shit. God is my witness, Alex. I’m going to kill her.”

I was trying to regain my composure between periods of sporadic laughter.

“Girl I have every bit of faith in the fact that you could take Jillian. All I know is orange is not the new black and you would look terrible in a orange jumpsuit. I love you, but you would look terrible.” By now she had made large strides to my desk, and plopped herself in one of my visitor chairs.

“I think I’m going to have to fake a family death to get out of today. I can’t do this shit. I get why people keep a bottle of liquor inside their desk at work. Like I understand that level of alcoholism now.” Joan’s face sunk into her hands dramatically.

“You could try taking a long break? Maybe step out and get some fresh air?” I offered after my laughter died out.

“I had to negotiate with Derek to cover my work just so I could come up and see you. A break seems like a fever dream now.” She replied.

“Girl legally you are obligated to take a break. Just walk out.” I spoke honestly.

“What I hate the most about companies is the fact that taking a break is never just that easy. I’m going to come back to a shit storm, Alex. A fucking shit show.”

Joan wasn’t exactly wrong here. We were approaching three in the afternoon and I had yet to take a break myself. It felt like my office door had been more of a revolving door by the amount of people who had rushed in to ask me a question. I was genuinely surprised that Joan and I hadn’t been interrupted yet

“I’m sure they could handle you being gone for an hour.” I offered. My words held little to no confidence, however. Joan cracked up.

“You and I both know that’s not true. Missing an important phone call would literally be the end of the word right now. It’s crunch time baby. Last quarter of that match. Needing that final touchdown at the buzzer.”

“You just threw a bunch of sports words together didn’t you?” I wasn’t a sports guy myself but I knew some shit there didn’t go together.

“Yes sir. Indeed I did. Now, judging by how much calmer I am, I’m guessing my therapy session with you is over. Time for me to go bang my head against my desk for the next three hours while we all work that mandatory overtime.” Joan stood with an exasperated sigh.

If this was what therapy looked like, I’d go every day.

“Try not to get physical babe. Not with yourself or someone else. I need you here.”

“Oh my love, I can’t make any promises here.” She blew me a quick kiss as she made her way out of my office. It wasn’t even a second later when I heard another knock. It was Bill from Accounting.

“Hey what’s up?” I glance past my computer screen to look at him.

“Jillian’s pulling some fucking bullshit and I’m done man. I’m so done. Bill strode over to my desk the same way Joan had, and plopped down. My eyebrows furrowed immediately.

Since when did I become this building’s therapist?

By the time six rolled around, most of everyone was still at their desks working. There was another knock on my door and at this point I questioned whether I even wanted to fucking acknowledge it.

“What?” I called out, not even bothering to look up from my computer anymore.

“Well damn, we both had it bad today huh?”

My eyes ripped away from my screen to see Christian leaning against the door frame.

“Babe please fucking save me.” I whined. Christians lips tugged up into a smile.

“I like that.” He spoke.

“Like what?”

“The babe part. And the please fuck me part.”

I chuckled at his sheer ridiculousness. “That’s not what I said.”

“Mm, you sure? That’s what I heard. How strange.” He pushed himself away from his position at my entryway, and made his way towards my desk. “This work day must be getting to me.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Let’s actually talk about that. I don’t know how I ended up becoming everyone’s therapist for the last three hours. First Derek came up here to rant, then Joan did. That was pretty sweet cause I hadn’t seen them all day… but then Bill from Accounting came up here to rant. After that, Emelie and David in customer service popped her head in to bitch to me. They were pretty short sessions, but I think I may have gone into the wrong profession here. Maybe therapy was my true calling. I’m reevaluating everything now.”

Christian’s hand clutched his chest. “Please don’t play with my emotions like that. Quitting is not on the drop down options list. When the going gets tough, come find me. I’ll fire whoever’s giving you a hard time.”

Sometimes all I could do was just look at this incredibly unreasonable man and smile. The part that scared me the most was how he wasn’t joking.

“Christian, I think quitting is something I would decide.” I clarified.

“Absolutely not.” He replied almost immediately. “My heart would give out from the sheer agony of depression. I would fall into despair with quick deterioration.”

What a fucking dramatic.

“But in relation to employees wandering in, that’s on you. You got your door open and shades pulled up. You gotta be ruthless with these motherfuckers baby. When I’m not trying to be bothered, I make my office look like I moved the fuck out. Drop all them blinds. Lock the door. The building would have to be on fire before I opened that shit. Then just throw your phone to “in a meeting” status and call it a day.“

I looked at Christian in complete shock and embarrassment. Why didn’t I think of that? I guess I hadn’t really known the visits would turn into therapy sessions. Here I was, thinking that all those employees had legitimate questions for me.

“These piranha of employees will eat you alive if you let them.”

My fingers moved to massage my temples. “Thank you. I didn’t know it was just that easy.”

“I mean every once in a while, you get the occasional emergency where you gotta open it all up and face the shit show… but that’s just learning to figure out what you can and cannot prioritize. Don’t thank me yet though, I feel like I’m about to make your day worse.”

I peered over at him. I didn’t believe it was possible for today to get worse. “And why is that?”

“I was recently bombarded with a visit from Bridge at the end of last week. Brad and I also went to go see Vadik on Saturday.”

I stood corrected. Today was most definitely going to get worse.

••

23

Alex

I glanced over at Christian nervously as he started to spin one of my desk pens around with his fingers. It was something that always mesmerized me, the way the pen flipped over then under before he spun it on top of the leveled area between the thumb and index finger.

It was something I was positive I couldn’t do. I knew that already because I had tried before. Hard. Countless hours of YouTube videos later, I realized I just didn’t possess the hand-eye coordination for it. Every time I gave it a go, the pen would end up across the room.

I couldn’t understand why it fascinated me so much, but watching Christian do mindlessly do it was starting to turn me on.

“You visited Vadik?” I asked quietly. The pen continued to dance between his fingers as Christian gave me a nod.

“Before you ask, I’ll assure you it went about as well as expected.” He replied. “My blood is still boiling to be quite honest. The fucking dickwad was completely focused on Brad during the entirety of the meeting. Wouldn’t even let me get a fucking word in.”

Christian has started to pick up speed as he continued to flip the pen between his fingers.

“It turns out that Vadik owns a startup called Volodya Kolya.” My eyebrows furrowed slightly when those words left his lips. It sounded familiar. “Brad was approached by this company some months back with a preposition for a job. Brad hadn’t accepted it, but he did show some interest. Vadik explained to Brad that he wanted Brad to work alongside him. It sounded like he knew Brad knew Brad, like he had been keeping tabs on Brad for a very long time. Who’s to say maybe since we were kids even, ya know?”

I gave Christian a nod. This was a lot of information to process straight out the jump. Christian gave me this uneasy feeling that there was still to everything. As my mind started to process the company name, I realized I had heard about them before.

There was a progression in newly developed software from that company, that put them on the map for one of the fastest growing IT businesses. They were responsible for creating security programming, but I wasn’t sure on what specifics. I had actually read about them first in one of the magazines located at the lounge area of the Microsoft Store. This had to have been just a few months back. I’d brought in some faulty items I had ordered online, and the Microsoft team was working on getting those replaced for me. I just skimmed the magazine article, but the name Volodya Kolya stood out. The name had then continued to pop up here and there whenever I listened to the news.

“I have heard of the company before actually.” I admitted to Christian. That perked him right up, yet he managed to keep the cool pen trick going.

“Are you serious? Am I the only one who hasn’t heard of them before?” He asked me. All I could do was give him a shrug.

“I stumbled upon them by chance really. Afterwards, the name may have been brought up in one or two conversations. You’re not involved in the IT scene anyways, I seriously doubted you would have crossed paths with them before.” I explained. Christians tense muscles relaxed a bit as he processed my words. Once he gave me a nod, that’s when he confirmed that my explanation had been sufficient enough for him. I didn’t want to tell him that he just outright never gave a shit about news, and the only magazines he probably read in his entire existence were Playboy Exclusives.

I could see that the whole visit to Vadik took a toll on him and I decided it was best not to kick him while he’s down.

“Is there anything you know about the company that doesn’t seem to be on the up and up? Shady deals, accounting errors, offshores, embezzlement, fraud-”

“Christian.” I cut him off before he could drag out this ridiculous list further. “If I knew this information, I promise you, the general public would first have to have knowledge of this information. I didn’t go undercover at this company, or infiltrate their systems of something. The most I know about the company is what I’ve picked up here and there. Besides that, I’ve got zero idea how they operate business, or whether they’re involved in some shady shit.”

Christian looked over me in disappointment. I knew it wasn’t directed towards me, but rather, the situation. He didn’t work well when he was unable to see the full picture.

“Let’s make sure we don’t run the company bankrupt in the meantime. We still have the launch tomorrow that’s really going to influence everything financial about the company. That’s beyond critical… not saying your brothers position isn’t critical, that’s definitely not what I’m saying like I would never-”

I was about to go off on one of my discombobulated tangents about how everything I say is basically word vomit anyway and he shouldn’t take offense by my incompetence… but before I could get there, it was Christian’s turn to cut me off.

“I know what you meant, babe. I understand that you’ve got me in your best interest. There’s just something about that meeting that’s been sitting uneasy with me.” Christian sighed, finally retiring the cool pen trick he had been simultaneously entertaining me with, and setting the item back in my pen jar.

“What do you mean?” I asked, allowing him a few moments to put together his thoughts.

“I just- he just seemed too sure, Alex…” Christian replied, “and I mean, of everything. Him getting out, Brad accepting this job, and the situation with our mother. I can’t tell what lies and twisted truths are being told, but I’m damn good at knowing when someone believes the words that they are saying. Vadik didn’t flinch when he told us how this would go down.”

The pen hadn’t remained in the jar for more than even ten minutes, before Christian reached back across the table. He immediately started in on the trick with his fingers which I quickly realized was filling his need to fidget.

“Did he say anything else about your mother?” I asked him. Christian leant back in his seat.

“That was the weirdest part. When Brad asked him why he would hurt our mother in that way, Vadik basically told us that we didn’t have the full story. That everything wasn’t as it seems.” Christian picked up speed with the pen again. It got to the point that I could barely follow his hand movements. “Brad and I don’t have the slightest clue what that could mean, but it’s leading us to believe that our parents still aren’t being one hundred percent honest with us. That’s a difficult thing to swallow considering we’ve given these people every chance we could to just tell us the full story.” 

I felt a little tang in my heart as Christian cast his focus to the floor. It was a struggle to see him this way, because I just wanted to make everything better. I think I was understanding more and more as to why Christian did what he did with my mother. He had the resources to make it better for me, unfortunately I wasn’t granted the same luxury to make it better for him.

I pushed myself away from my position at my desk and stalked towards him. His eyes had landed on mine as he followed my movements. What I meant to do was bend down and give him a hug, but when I did, his hands linked themselves behind my things and pulled me on top of him. My blinds to my office were still pulled up, and my door was propped open… yet here I was, straddling my fucking boss. I gently lifted my head from the crook of his neck in which it fell into when he pulled me towards him.

He was now mere inches away from me, staring me straight on. My heartbeat quickened immediately as his cologne scent surrounded me.

“Have I told you how much I appreciate you, yet?” He asked me.

“N-Not nearly as much as you should.” I reminded him. His right hand moved from my thigh, to cup the side of my face. I couldn’t understand how even after all this, one look from him could leave me a blubbering mess. Those eyes pierced through me, pulling me closer to him.

“Hopefully I can show you that and more when I whisk you away to Hawaii in a few days.” He whispered back. His voice went hoarse, which automatically made me hard. His eyes casted down to my growing bulge, before he rubbed my ass against his. My eyebrows would have furrowed at his words, if he didn’t immediately follow them up with grinding against me.

Instead, I released a strangled moan.

“W-We’re still g-going?” I stuttered.

“Yes.” He replied. “You need a vacation. I need a vacation-”

“We need a vacation.” Someone cut in from my door way. I jumped so high in Christian’s lap, I almost fell backwards. Christian caught me in the nick of time and gently set me back on the desk as he stood. We both glanced over to the doorway to find an all too familiar soul.

“Derek?”

••

24

Alex

“Why are you here, Derek?” I asked, doing my best to compose myself after having him catch Chtistiand and I in such an inappropriate position.

“I work here?” Derek answered all matter-of-factly. I rolled my eyes at him.

“Not like that. I meant what are you doing here still? You never work this late.” I replied. And I was right. Generally, Derek was one of the first people out of this building as soon as we were given the okay to head home. Whenever asked to stay and help out, Derek always found a riveting excuse not to.

Last month’s excuse was that he needed to leave so that he could make it to his Aunt Candice’s home in hopes of assisting her around the house. He told the department she was recovering post spine alignment surgery.

Something Joan and I knew that no one else did, was that Aunt Candice didn’t actually exist.

Joan and I reached the conclusion that we really didn’t give a fuck to ask questions. It wasn’t like Derek really did much of anything while he was here anyways. Overtime would have done nothing but be an unnecessary expense for the company. This was why I found it difficult to see this guy here any time after five.

“Have you been downstairs? Damn near half of every department is still working.” Derek replied, pulling out one of the guest seats at my desk, and plopping himself down besides Christian… who wasn’t paying Derek too much attention because he was doing his best to rearrange his erection inside his tight suit pants. Irritation was blatant on Christian’s face, but that’s just how he was with Derek. Christian complained Derek gave him migraines.

My eyebrows raised at Derek’s words.

Was he serious? That many people were still here?

I glanced at Christian nervously. Some doubts had started to fill my mind on whether launching both partnership brands at the same time was a good idea. Seeing the work all the departments had put in on Saturday, then seeing more long hours worked today… it just made me feel like we should have waited.

Maybe it was too much on everyone’s shoulders, to pull together… Had I jumped the gun on this one?

“Bullshit.” Christian announced, startling me out of my thoughts as he pushed himself to his feet. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion because I wasn’t sure who he was talking to. I hadn’t even said anything yet. “This launch will go on as scheduled for tomorrow. I’ll inform HR that we will be paying extra out to our employees for the overtime.” He straightened the suit that I had most definitely messed up by falling into him earlier. “Alex, your projections look good. I trust tomorrow will go well. Stop doubting yourself.” He glanced down at me, and offered me one of those toothy grins. The ones that made my stomach think it was on a high beam in the Olympics gymnastic finals.

I couldn’t help but give him a heated shy smile in return. He was too good at reading me.

Before I could say something, there was another sound at the entrance to my office.

“Well, damn. The whole crew’s staying late, huh?” Joan asked from the doorway. I glanced past Christian to offer her a smile.

Joan definitely looked more overworked today than usual. Her neat everyday bun had since slipped out of its scrunchie from this morning. It looked like she ended up holding most of the loose strands back with a hair clip. Her eyes were also red with irritation. She had a tendency to rub the lids vigorously whenever something stressed her out, or if she had been staring at the computer monitor for too long. I warned her that it wasn’t good for her eyes, and even got her those UV Blue Light glasses… but she was just too stubborn to wear them.

“Hey Joan.” I welcomed her. “You’re here late as well?” I was really starting to hope that tomorrow would make all this extra work people were putting in, worth it.

“Yes, sugar. All the departments are finalizing the last few details for the launch. I just made sure our open venues on the first floor are decorated and ready for presentation. Derek promised the guys he would return with a new pitcher of coffee… but that was a whole goddamn twenty minutes ago. I came up to track his ass down. Looks like he’s been here bothering you two.” Joan stated, shooting her arm out to grab Derek before he could try shimmying past her.

“On your way out, could you let HR know that everyone has been cleared to leave once the essentials are completed? The event won’t be until afternoon tomorrow so they do have the option of putting in some last minute touches during the morning hours as well.” Christian called to Joan, who had since started to drag Derek out by his ear she had twisted between her fingers. She gave Christian a nod before her and Derek disappeared from my office.

I rested my hands on my desk at each side of me as I leant back. From this position, all I could stare at were the ugly ceiling tiles. The color was a light tan shade separated by the silver metal dividers. It surprised me how weighted those ceiling tiles actually were. I hadn’t known that until one managed to fall on Derek’s head while we were in the supply closet. We were getting more ink cartridges for the printer on the third floor, when out of nowhere, a ceiling tile came crashing down on him.

Derek wasn’t terribly injured, but definitely experienced some brief disassociation shortly after the incident. Turns out we had maintenance working on the electric wiring. When they put the tile back in place, one had a large split and wasn’t replaced. That’s the one that caved in and collapsed.

I continued to stare at the ceiling tile, completely lost in thought.

Today has been a long day, I thought to myself.

Tomorrow was going to be an even longer one.

“You should go home.” Christian whispered low. From the sound of his footsteps, I could tell he was approaching my position on the desk. “You look… spent.”

I pushed myself forward, and my eyes slowly wandered away from the ceiling to face his. The look he was giving me made my body hot all over. He was much closer than I expected him to be. So close, I could reach out and touch him… pull him close between my legs. Before I could, Christian beat me to it. His hands reached out to spread my legs that were dangling off the side of the desk, apart.

With him standing, he was still taller than I was while I remained seated. His hand stayed on my knees.

“There’s just one more conversation we haven’t had.” I replied, before I could stop my own words. What the fuck are you doing, Alex? I thought to myself. Christian’s eyes were dark with lust, but they softened from my statement.

“And what might that be?” He asked. His hands drew circles on my knee caps, as they massaged the hard joints.

“Bridget.” I replied. “Well you mentioned Bridge so I’m guessing that’s referencing Bridget.”

If inner me could pimp smack the fuck out outta myself, I would. Christian visibly stilled as he processed my words. I really knew how to ruin the mood.

“Right.” Christian nodded. I expected him to pull away, but he just continued on with his massage. “I had broken it off with her a little while ago. I knew our relationship was already crashing at impeccable speed, so it didn’t take much for me to end it with her. I’m sure you noticed she just sort of disappeared from my life.”

I had. I assumed Christian broke it off, but with everything else that transpired, we never really talked about it. Y’all about what that relationship was. Hell, we barely had the time to talk about us.

“Well I hadn’t seen her since. She came to visit me a few days ago… she was talking about getting back together which is hilarious in itself. While I have no interest in ever hearing that high pitched irritating voice again, odds are she’s going to do something bitchy to try and get her way. I just wanted to fill you in on everything because we haven’t had the time to talk about that… or us.”

My lips twitched up into a half smile at his words.

Us.

Christian hadn’t officially asked me to be his boyfriend.

This was a thought that was lingering in the back of my mind to discuss, but the situation was never ideal for it. I was either dealing with my drunk mother, or Christian was dealing with Brad’s biological father.

I continuously forced myself to comprehend that this wasn’t junior high anymore, and I wasn’t living out some fantasized crush. Being an adult now, I understood that relationships weren’t just black and white like they were in high school, or on tv. There was often a grey area where connections were given space to grow, and feelings began to solidify.

Christian and I were in that grey area… but I wanted so badly for him to choose me.

••

25

Christian

I laid awake at night, staring at the light fixture on my ceiling.

The time on my bedside clock read 3:12 am. In about three hours, I was going to need to get up and start getting things together for the launch, but sleep was the hardest thing for me to find tonight. My mind was running a thousand miles an hour.

I thought back to the conversation I had with Alex just before he left the office. When he mentioned Bridge, that brought on a familiar feeling of irritation. Not towards Alex, but rather the situation. It felt like every time Alex and I were making strides to talk about us, life would throw us another fucking curveball that derailed our chances of having that conversation.

Of course I wanted to make things official with Alex…

…but I wanted to do it right.

I had made many mistakes in my previous relationships, and this was mainly due to the fact that I didn’t give a rats ass about my partners. Everyone I dated had been set up through my mother. She made those decisions based on who would fit well with the company, but never who would fit well with me. Alex was my first real choice I had made in terms of my romantic relationships, and I wanted to make sure he understood how special that was for me… how much he meant to me.

I had something planned. Something special. We just needed to make it through this launch first, then we’d be off to Hawaii. When I discussed that with Alex last night, he seemed surprised to hear I had still kept everything as planned in terms of our trip. I wanted this getaway with him so that we could spend time talking about us. No work distractions. No life distractions.

I sent Alex home around 7 pm last night. I ended up staying at the office until close to midnight to assist in some smaller work that had been missed by Marketing. I could see the visible worry Alex had when he saw everyone working late, and I wanted to make sure that the launch exceeded everyone’s expectations… even his. Plus, Ivanov Corp needed another win.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at my bedroom door.

“Come in.” I called out. Nathaniel entered moments later with a cup in hand.

“Whiskey on the rocks. I know you didn’t request a night cap, but I thought you might need one. Big day ahead and you need every second of sleep you can get, sir.” He set the cup at my bedside table, with a coaster underneath.

“Thank you, Nathaniel.” I gave him a smile. “You always seem to know when I’m having trouble sleeping.”

“You never sleep well before big events.” He replied. “Don’t forget I used to change your diapers, Christian. I know you too well.”

I chuckled at his words. Nathaniel always had a way of making me feel like I could never repay what he’s done for me and this family.

“Don’t overthink it. Drink the drink and go to bed. Whatever will be, will be.” His hand reached up to ruffle my hair a bit, the way he used to when I was younger. I couldn’t help but broaden my smile at the warm and thoughtful gesture. “Goodnight Christian.” He said before he left.

“Goodnight Nathaniel.” I replied to an empty room.

The night cap Nathaniel had brought me, worked wonders. I finally drifted off to sleep around 3:30 am, and didn’t wake up until my alarm went off at 6:30 am. I felt myself jolt awake from the ear deafening tones that blasted through the still dark room. I was slightly disoriented from the drowsiness, and didn’t manage to turn off the fucking thing until an entire minute later. By then, I was sure I woke up everyone in the tri state area.

After that, I did the best I could to pull myself together. I took a piping hot then freezing cold shower. Nathaniel had breakfast prepared by the time I got fully dressed and ready.

“Looking good, sir.” He gave me a nod.

“Thanks, Nathaniel. The event will start a little after noon. It will run officially for three hours, then I’ll need to hang back one extra hour to entertain the remaining guests. Mine and Alex’s flight will be at 10 am tomorrow morning. I booked something at a later time after seeing how disastrous New York went.” Nathaniel had already flipped open his notepad to start scribbling things down. “I’ll be at Brad’s place for the next few hours after the event today because we have some things to run by each other. Alex and I should make it here around 9 pm tonight…. Do you think this will be enough time to get everything packed and ready for me?”

I watched as Nathaniel quickly flipped the page to scribble down more notes onto the pad. “This will be perfect, sir. I’ll make all the arrangements. Should I have dinner ready for tonight when you and Alex return?”

I took a second to pause in the middle of mixing up my protein breakfast bowl. “No, I’m sure Brad will make us something. Don’t trouble yourself with that.” I settled on.

“No trouble, sir. No trouble at all.” He replied with a small grin as I dug into my breakfast.

Alex

“God, I swear I love that business if finally doing well… but if I have to buy another formal suit, I’m going to go into debt.” Derek whined as he began his nineteenth attempt at tieing his own tie.

“First off, that ridiculous neon green suit could not have cost you more than twenty dollars. If it did, I hate to break it to you but you’ve been robbed,” Joan chimed in from her position in the bathroom, “and second, you’re already in debt.”

I looked over at Derek and watched as he dramatically clutched at his heart, before falling back on my bed. “Why must you hurt me with such unkind words.” He whined. Joan rolled her eyes at him through the reflection of the bathroom mirror. She was just finishing up glueing on an eyelash.

“Sit up.” I told Derek, as I made my way over to my bed. He just as dramatically rolled his slumped body up to the edge. I took the tie fabric in my hands and asked “Why do you have a real tie anyways? Usually you just wear clip-ons right?”

“I forgot the clip-on at home and I already made it here and this was the only tie I had in my car so I decided well fuck it it can’t be that hard right? Right.” Derek rambled on. “So I thought I’ll bring it up here anyways and figure out how it goes which meant I had to observe how you tie your tie but when I started watching when you were tieing yours you made it look so easy then I tried tieing mine and that was an entirely different story.” By the time he was done with his long drawn out story, I had already finished tieing his tie.

“All good.” I nodded to him. He glanced at himself through the full body mirror in my closet, and gave me a big thumbs up.

“Thank you my good sir.”

“Pleasures all mine.” I replied sarcastically.

“Y’all are hilarious.” Joan shook her head. “But the time has come, gang. Are you ready to get your party on?”

“Technically, this is a work event.” I reminded her quickly. I didn’t need these two getting shit face wasted in front of our distributors.

“I won’t let you ruin this for me, Alex. I’ve worked too hard not to take full advantage of the open bar.” Joan replied. I mean, she wasn’t wrong.

“A few drinks, just a few. I need you to be able to answer the questions our guests will have today.” I explained to Joan. “ And that goes for you too, Derek. I don’t want to see you held up at the snack bar.“

Derek grasped at his chest again. “Who me? I. Would. Never.”

That got a laugh out of both Joan and I.

When we pulled into the parking of Ivanov Corp, the lot was just as packed as it was on the night of the Gala. The same signs were up, directing us to the side entrance where undergrounding parking was located. A valet driver welcomed us at that entrance. Joan, Derek, and I all climbed out like the three musketeers, before I handed the valet driver the keys to my baby.

Before I could say my iconic line, the valet driver chimed in for me. “No worries Mr. Hamilton, I’ll take good care of her.” He gave me a polite smile. That’s when I realized he was the same valet driver from the night of the Gala.

“Thank you.” I replied with a grin, before I left him to catch up with Joan and Derek. So far, the event signs looked to be set up correctly.

The live music sounded great through the halls.

The building wasn’t on fire yet.

Everything seemed to be going well.

But from what I’ve learnt, only time could tell.

••

26

Alex

“Oh keep them coming, my guy. We got a long night ahead of us!” I heard Joan say to the bartender. She had to raise her voice to be heard over the loud music that was playing through the event room, and spilling out into the bar.

“She’s joking!” I interrupted as soon as I could make it to her side. “We’re cutting her off after three drinks.” The bartender’s gaze ripped away from Joan to glance in my direction. He was an employee I surprisingly hadn’t recognized before.

Usually we booked all our catering and bartending through the same company, which meant we often ran into the same employees. It was sort of fun seeing the same group of guys every few months. We got to know them… They got to know us… and our go-to alcoholic drinks. It was comforting seeing a familiar face around while we were working on networking.

This one, however, was new.

“Are you guys guests or something?” He asked me in a very dull toned voice. He immediately struck me as someone who would have rather been literally anywhere else on the planet right now. This isn’t to say that the rest of his coworkers were excited to be here or anything, but they at least tried to look like they were approachable. It felt like I was wasting his time by making him do his job.

“No, we both work here. No more than three drinks, and if you see a shorter man in a bright neon green suit, don’t serve him more than three drinks either. No exceptions, understood?” I asked him. His eyebrows furrowed slightly at my admittedly odd request.

“I… guess?” He replied.

“And I mean it. They’ll do it all to get to you. Bribes. Tricks. Thievery. I need you to be strong-” I glanced down at the bartenders name tag. Okay, his name was… Thad?

The only Thad I knew was from the show Blue Mountain State. Up until this point, I thought the name was a myth conjured by the writers of one beautiful show.

Yet here I was…

… face to face with a Thad.

“… I need you to be strong, Thad. If I find out these two have gotten far too wasted, it’s your company’s Yelp rating I’m coming for.” I finished. Thad gave me one of his blank stares that was nearly indecipherable, and that was where I decided to leave it at. I dragged Joan away from the bar and back towards the main event room.

As soon as we made it into the main hall, my eyes immediately zeroed in on Derek. With his bright ass fucking suit on, his location at the snack bar was a dead giveaway. He had his hand alternating between the cheese platter, the truffles, and the chocolate fondue fountain. Joan followed as I speed walked towards him.

“You two are absolutely ridiculous, you know that?” I scolded Derek and Joan. “We’re working tonight. This means no stuffing your face with food, Derek. And no overdrinking for either of you two.”

Derek was midway into a bite of a cheese cube when he turned around to look at me. His cheeks were puffed up like a chipmunk, from all the food he had stored on each side.

My eyes immediately rolled at the sight of him. “Derek, there’s no way you can possibly be this hungry right now.”

He tried getting that last bite in before he replied, yet all it did was mumble whatever the fuck he was trying to tell me.

“What?” I asked him. He held his finger up, giving me the signal to wait a moment as he began the difficult process of chewing all that food. The puffed cheeks slowly began to shrink in size, until he had managed to swallow the rest.

“I was saying, this is Wyke Farms Cheddar. The particular cheese usually averages out at around $200 a pound. I’d be fucking damned if I don’t eat what I can while I still can. And I won’t let you take this away from me, Alex. I won’t.”

I rolled my eyes at Derek’s dramatics. Regardless of how much that cheese was worth, the success rate of this launch is worth a lot more. “How about this,” I countered, “I’ll bag some cheese for you and stash it in the breakroom fridge. How does that sound?”

Derek was quick to reply. “No! I don’t trust these fuckers. We gotta stash the goods somewhere else.”

The way in which he was talking, made it sound like the goods we were smuggling were far more valuable than some fucking cheese. But to Derek, cheese was indeed the most valuable. I did my best to think of other places I could put the cheese. It was looking like the best option I could come up with, would be my office.

“Alright, I’ll bring it up to my office and I’ll grab it for you before we leave today, okay?” I asked. From the look on Derek’s face, it seemed as if he was happy with that alternative.

I sent Derek and Joan back out onto the floor to mingle with guests. Derek kept telling me the cheese and wine mixture was making him sleepy. I told him that that was just something he was going to have to deal with today, and if I saw him knocked out anywhere, I would not hesitate to set his entire body ablaze.

That was where that conversation ended.

The hardest part was really just snagging the cheese itself. With an increase in traffic at the snack bar, it was difficult slipping the cheese into a cloth napkin. Joan did her best to block one side of me, while Derek worked on blocking the view from the other. Once the cheese was successfully placed in the napkin, Derek and Joan went back out to do their jobs, and I made my way up towards the fifth floor.

More people were starting to flood through, which was the best news I’d had all day. It wasn’t that the initial crowd was sparse, it just wasn’t the turn out I was expecting when I walked through the event.

I noticed the greeters at the main doors, directing more guests towards the main room. Luckily, I was smart enough to grab my access card to get into my office because I hadn’t anticipated even needing it today. I used the access key to get past the secured check in, then I made my way towards the elevators.

These elevators always took forever to make it back to the first floor, so I wasn’t surprised as I waited there for a few minutes. Once those doors did finally open, my feet hesitated when I was met with familiar blue eyes.

He was wearing a very neat dark blue suit, one I surprisingly hadn’t seen before. The suit included a vest underneath the jacket, with fitted trousers that matched both the jacket and suit color. It was tailored to fit him perfectly. And I mean perfectly. As his muscles flexed against the fabric of the suit, I could already feel my cheeks burning up. The pop of color he brought to the outfit, was the wine red tie he had paired this look with. In his right hand, he was holding onto a Manila founder.

“Christian.” I smiled nervously at him from his position in the elevator cab. He placed his free hand out to stop the elevator doors that had suddenly started to close again.

“Alex.”

Christian

“Brad, you’re a fucking idiot you know that?” I whispered into the phone as I jolted up the last two flights of stairs.

“Listen, I got the main floor fax and your personal office fax mixed up. I can’t even remember the last time I used a fucking fax, man, let alone having to remember your fax number.” Brad countered immediately. I could hear the sound of his vehicle starting up in the audio background of the call.

“Brad. Brad. You sent background information of our mother to the main floor fax. Luckily, I don’t think anyone is up there right now but we’re fucked if there is.” I was huffing and puffing between words as I started to clear the last steps in the staircase. This was a great reminder of why I never took these stairs. They were fucking ridiculous and impractical.

Once I made it out onto the fifth floor, I was greeted immediately by one of our janitors.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Ivanov.” He gave me a nod. I gave him a smile in return, and let him carry on with his work. The company fax was located in an open office supply room. Once I all but sprinted there, I noticed there were papers in the tray. Just like Brad said, the fax had come through already.

I pulled the pages out from the tray and flipped them over to take a look. The first photo was a mugshot photo of a woman. She looked young, still in her teens I’d say. It may have been years ago, but I recognized those eyes anywhere. They were my mothers.

Realizing there wasn’t much time to investigate, I pulled one of those large brown folders out from the storage cabinet, and slipped the pages inside. Right now, I needed to head downstairs and greet my guests. I would have to look over the pages later tonight.

There was another soft thud from the floor, as I made my way towards the elevators. I noticed it was just the janitor cleaning out the shredding bin. Someone from the floor must have jammed old end of month work in there, because when he pulled the top off the bin, pages flew everywhere.

He glanced up from his spot a few meters away from me. “Sorry, Mr. Ivanov. I’ll take care of it.” He rushed out.

“No worries.” I replied with a smile, before disappearing into the elevator. The folder was wedged tight against my arm and side aa the elevator started to descend. I needed to get this paperwork to Brad when he got here, so he could at least take a look before the night got away from us both. Once that all too familiar ding erupted from the elevator speakers, I started to step out onto the first floor.

That was when I was met with familiar hazel eyes.

••

27

Christian

“Alex.” I gave this gorgeous man a warm smile. His face immediately started to heat up when he realized I had caught him very openly and very blatantly been checking me out.

My outfit for tonight was meant to be a surprise for Alex. It was actually a gift given to me by my father. Slav mentioned he had picked up the suit during his short travels around Europe a few months ago. It all made sense now as to why mother had asked for my measurements then. I thought she might have been planning another one of her infamous family photo shoots. The shoots she loved to drag Brad and I to, only to digitally add father in after.

Mother insisted that the company’s investors loved receiving our Christmas cards and New Years well wishes. I was quite certain none of them gave a shit.

The suit was folded perfectly inside a nicely packaged box that Slav left with Nathaniel. I had been so swamped with work and my personal life, I hadn’t really given the package much thought until the morning of the launch. Had I known my father had gifted me a suit, I wouldn’t have wasted my money and time on buying yet another one for the launch. The suit I had bought wasn’t anywhere near as nice as the one Slav gifted, so I decided to go with this one.

Judging by Alex’s lingering gaze, I think I made the right decision. Odds were, I would need another suit for the Hawaii trip anyways, so I packed it in with my luggage this morning.

“H-Hi. Sorry, I was just heading up to the fifth floor to grab something from my office.” Alex explained. My hand reached up to stop the elevator doors from starting to close on us.

“Oh. I just came from there. Do you have your access card? I don’t think anyone else is there right now.” I replied.

Alex gave me a quick nod. “Yeah, luckily I brought it with me.”

My hand reached up once again to hold the elevator doors. Were these things always so goddamn impatient? Alex chuckled lightly at my aggravation. “Would you like some company?” I asked him.

There was a bit of a suggestive tone to my voice. Having seven minutes in heaven with Alex sounded like a nice pocket of bliss before I had to go deal with human beings who were absolutely guaranteed going to bore me. Right now, the only people on that floor were the janitors. It would be almost too easy to have some alone time in our offices.

“Sure.” Alex gave me a smile as he entered the elevator. I couldn’t tell if he had picked up on my provocative eyebrow wiggles.

Alex shifted something, and that’s when I realized he was holding something between his fingers that was wrapped in a fabric napkin. When he reached over to press the button for the fifth floor, I couldn’t stop my curiosity from getting the better of me.

“What’s in there?” I asked Alex, pointing to the little parcel. He had fixed it together by tieing all the edges of the napkin. His eyes glanced down at the napkin in his hands, then they looked back up at me. He looked as if he was going to say something, but then he noticed a thing of his own. His eyes fell from mine, to the brown envelope I still had wedged tight between my arm and side.

“What’s in the envelope?” Alex asked me. I couldn’t stop the grin that quickly spread across my face. Great deflection on his part.

“Just some paperwork for the launch.” I lied.

I decided it wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest to talk about the real contents of the envelope at this moment. I owed it to Brad to speak with him about the documents before I even considered bringing it up with Alex. Alex gave me a slow nod, but I got the feeling that he wasn’t really buying my lie.

“What’s in the napkin?” I asked him again.

He gave me a funny look- one of this goofy grins, before he replied with a one worded answer. “Cheese.”

I glanced at Alex, then down at the small parcel, then back up at Alex.

Cheese? Why would he be carrying cheese around?

I was about to dive straight into an interrogation, but that all too familiar ding cut through our conversation, and the elevator doors opened up. The floor looked just like I had left it mere minutes ago. I glanced over at the shred bin I witnessed the janitor cleaning earlier. It looked like the papers that had fallen all over the floor, were already completely cleaned up.

“That was fast.” I murmured to myself. Or was I just slow?

“Hmm?” Alex asked, leading the way towards his office.

“Sorry, just talking to myself.” I replied. He slid his card into the key insert of the locked door and pushed it open. One hand kept the door open for me as I followed him in.

Alex’s office looked the same as it always did. I was quite surprised by the state of his desk when we walked around behind it. The best way to describe it would be… an organized mess. There were papers shoved into folders and binders that were lazily stacked on the credenza behind him. Post-it notes lined the edges of his work computer and his laptop. He even had some post-it notes on the edge of the desk and on his pen holders.

I got a good look at a few of them, and most of the information jotted down had to do with IT tickets. I had thought about hiring a second IT guy, but just hadn’t gotten around to speaking with Alex about it. I wanted him working with me full time. I didn’t like him juggling both positions.

Alex pulled out a key from his pocket, and unlocked the drawer located at the very bottom of his desk.

“What do you keep in there?” I asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He replied with a grin. I wasn’t really expecting much, but when Alex stood up from behind his desk, he was holding a laptop.

An ultra familiar laptop.

An ultra familiar no longer in pieces laptop.

“Holy shit, did you… when did you…” I asked, staring at the hardware in his delicate hands.

I mean, if I was being completely honest here… I had forgotten all about the damn thing. Brad had only nagged me about it for the first few weeks as he did his best to recreate the developing projects I had kept on there for the following year. With everything going on, I couldn’t even wrap my head around when Alex had the time for this.

“Yeah I’ve been working on it during my lunches, and any free time I find here and there. It’s not finished, I’m still working on redownloading a few more files but it should be done soon.” Alex explained. My hard exterior softened at his words.

“You really didn’t have to.” I spoke softly as I approached him.

“That’s not what you told me the night you ordered me to fix this.” Alex contoured. His words had bark, but the way in which he was trying to force back that grin, gave me every indication that he knew what I meant.

“Touché.” I countered, drawing nearer. My hand moved to take the laptop out from Alex’s grasp.

“Careful!” He hissed at me, momentarily breaking the sexual tension I was working on building up here. “You and your big ass hands and feet just Donkey Konging anything you can get your paws on.” I glanced down at this lovable asshat with an eyebrow raised.

“I’m just setting it on the desk, it’ll be fine.” I shushed him. All I got was an eye roll in return. “Are you excited for Hawaii?” I asked, getting close enough for me to push away a loose strand of hair that had fallen away from his perfectly slicked back style. Alex seemed to lean in, almost asking for more. My fingered ran through his soft locks before settling at the nape of his neck.

“I’m excited for some vitamin D-” he started to say, but caught himself quickly. “Not that kind of vitamin D… I mean I’m also excited for that… but you know the weather’s been shit here lately and some sunlight could really brighten the mood-” Alex started. I shushed him before he could continue.

“I know what you meant.” That final small step I took, put me and Alex at mere inches apart. My hand continued to massage the nape of his neck, but also assisted in tilting his head up slightly towards me. He looked like he was on the verge of saying something stupid to avoid the silence (like he usually did) so instead, I dipped my head down to capture his lips with mine.

His lips were rough. I could tell he had been biting them again. It annoyed me that things were stressful for him right now… but I’d seen Alex work. He and I were more alike than he would most likely ever care to admit. He thrived under pressure. I knew Alex had taken a step back from alcohol. I could tell almost immediately. He started coming in earlier… well… on time really. In comparison to his previous attendance track record however, this was early.

I also noticed how much harder he had started to throw himself into his work.

This launch was proof of that.

I appreciated how much he had put into this, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me.

Was he giving up one addiction for another?

••

28

Christian

I walked with Alex back down to the main event, after he successfully stored his cheese in his office desk.

Of course I had questions… like why did he feel the need to snag a bag of expensive cheese when I could just buy him some? At last, I thought it would be best to address it after the event. Something told me it had nothing to do with Alex, and everything to do with Derek.

Not much time passed before I felt my phone vibrate in my vest pocket. When I took a look to see who it was, Brad’s contact popped up with a message. He was letting me know that he had just pulled into the underground parking. I glanced up from the screen and leant towards Alex.

“I’m going to have to step out for a short while, Alex. I’ll be right back.” I whispered in his ear. He was still pretending to listen intently to the conversation some of our investors were having, but the diversion of his eyes let me know he had caught my words.

“Sounds good.” He whispered to me briefly, before redirecting his attention to the two women.

I slid my phone into my pocket, and began the almost impossible act of getting out of the event. Every two steps I took, it felt like someone had to tap me on the shoulder, or give me a light arm tug. For the first time in what I’d argue ever, I started to recognize more of the investors. Usually, everyone’s faces would all sort of mix together, and Brad would have to remind me of their names. Today, I was actually able to greet a few people by name.

It helped to have Alex by my side. He was a natural when it came to conversation, and his ability to look interested in absolute nonsense was just- more than I could ever do.

I gave one more greeting to a good friend of my fathers who was taking photos for the event. He gave me a quick hug as soon as he spotted me, and complimented me for how well the turnout was. “It was actually all my assistant, Alex.” I told him honestly. Henry gave me a look.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you not take credit for something before. This must be the Alex your mother has been going on and on about.” Henry replied. He shifted the camera to his other hand so he could pick up a glass of champagne that was being offered by one of our caterers. I was going to swat his hand away and remind this man that he was still on the clock, but then I thought fuck it. There was only a little time left of the launch anyways.

Another text came through my phone. I felt the aggressive vibrations in my pocket, but I didn’t dare draw attraction to it. Instead, I did my best to cut this conversation with Henry short. “I’m just going to head out to meet a few guests that are walking in, but I’ll catch up with you before the event is over.” I told him.

Henry gave me a nod. “I’ll try and locate this Alex. Tell him how great a job he did- since you don’t feel the need to take the credit.”

I chuckled at his words as I watched him disappear into the crowd. That was when I got a move on, myself.

The underground parking was almost completely packed. Due to the severe weather warning that was sent out today, we had tried to fit most of the distributor and investors cars here. I even had the valet team drive some of our company cars out to create space.

Luckily, Brad’s car wasn’t an accurate representation of his boring ass personality, and was easier to find. The car wasn’t as extravagant as mine, but he had still splurged in a sports model. The headlights flashed twice to indicate where he was, even though I was already walking towards him. I rolled my eyes his way when he unlocked the passenger door for me.

“Don’t you clean up nice.” Brad said as soon as I shifted into the seat and shut the door.

“I could say the same for you.” I replied, taking in his appearance. Brad was wearing a dark burgundy and grey suit. One I had never seen before in my life. With just a glance at the fabric, I could tell it was expensive and custom made. “Please don’t tell me you bought another suit.”

Brad was quick to defend himself. “First off, I donated quite a few suits because of Joan- so technically, I think I’m deserving of a new one… but no. Much like your suit, Slav had one made for me as well. Kinda nice, huh?” He asked, as he straightened out the fabric.

Our father sure knew how to pick suits. “Looks amazing, yeah.” I noted. We watched as another car made it into the underground parking. The valet driver looked like he was scoping out a spot to put the car. When he glanced our way, he slowed down, giving us an odd look before driving off. “What was that all about?” I asked, glancing towards Brad. He was already sinking further into the car seat like he had enough room for his six foot something build to disappear behind the dashboard.

“I may or may not have taken a reserved spot.” Brad replied sheepishly. “I was driving in circles just trying to find a non reserved lot and after 10 minutes I said screw it.”

I stared at Brad for a moment. “I don’t know who you are but I’d like my brother back.”

Brad rolled his eyes at me. “Anyways, let’s get on with what we came here for. Due to the storm, some people are already starting to clear out. I want to get this over with so we can wrap up the launch and go eat.”

“You got something prepared already?” I asked him.

“Well you and Alex are coming over, and I’ll be taking Joan home with me… so this only leaves Derek who I assume will find his way to my home regardless. Remember the last time he was over? Yeah, I took some precautions this time. For one: all the top shelf heavy hitter liquor is locked up. I also picked up some food from the market that wasn’t kale. Nothing special tonight but I got some things for tacos? I’d Derek has shit to say about tacos, he can eat grass for dinner.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the extent Brad went to. He was sensitive when it came to things like this. I always told him to just hire a cook or something, but I understood his hesitation. Nathaniel had been placed in my house because of my position in the company. He was my caretaker in every sense. When I just inherited the company, Nathaniel whipped me into shape with his harsh words and even harsher punishments.

I would trust this man with anything.

But placing that same faith in a stranger is difficult to ask for or do. Brad was a private man at heart. He didn’t like people putting their noses in places they didn’t belong.

“I’m sure Derek will love tacos. As for why we’re here-” I pulled out the file that was wedged so tightly under my armpit. “This is what was printed.”

Brad reaches out, taking the paperwork. I half expected him to rip through the papers immediately, but he paused before opening it. “Have you seen it yet?” He asked. I shook my head no.

“This is my family, and I love you all… but that’s not my place. I want us to be on the same page with this because only god knows what mum and dad had kept from us all these years.”

Brad gave me a sincere nod at my words. I wanted him to understand that even if he didn’t feel like it, he came first here. What mattered to me, mattered the most to him.

Did it make me feel uncomfortable that I had to run a thorough background on our own mother?

One hundred thousand percent.

But what other option did I have? My parents would take secrets to the grave if they could, and the only way Brad and I had been able to squeeze anything out of them was through the research we did on our end. It was almost like you had to catch our parents in the act before they decided to reveal anything.

Brad’s fingers played with the edge of the folder, as he stared on expressionlessly. It took another few moments before he flipped the tab open. As his eyes scanned the documents, I saw his eyes grow larger. It has the only expression he gave me. No gasp, no words, just pure shock. I looked on nervously, wondering just what information had come to light.

“What is it?” I finally asked, breaking the thick silence that was hanging in the air.

Brad took a second before he replied. “A lot of the text has been blocked out, but from the looks of it… I think Vadik might be right…”

My eyes quickly darted from the papers to Brad. “What are you saying?” I asked.

“It’s no longer about what mother has and hasn’t told us. According to these documents, mum flat out lied.”

••

29

Alex

“This was wonderful, Alex. Well done!” Henry gave me another strong handshake before he made his way through the company doors towards his vehicle.

“He’s a cool guy.” I commented to Christian once he had disappeared in the rain.

“Definitely.” Christian agreed. “He’s known my father for years. He’s been helping with event photography for as long as this company has been up and running.” My eyes grew wide at Christian’s words. “I’m just glad that this event was a success. Truly was a well done job on your part, Alex.”

My body started to heat up when Christian redirected his gaze to focus on me. He was giving me that look. That if it wasn’t for people still here, you’d already be naked look. Before he could expand on that look, we were interrupted by someone quite literally running into us. Derek had torpedoed through Christian and I from behind, momentarily knocking us off balance.

“Alright kids!” He spoke, slamming hands down energetically on our shoulders. “I heard it’s a party at Brad’s tonight!”

Christian gave me a look. I didn’t even have to look his way to know he was annoyed…

But he tolerated it for my sake.

So Brad, Joan, Derek, Christian and I made our way over to Brad’s. We didn’t stay long because Christian and I had the flight in the morning. That, and Christian’s exhaustion was starting to seriously show. He was constantly rubbing his eyes throughout the remainder of the evening, and even temporarily dozed off on me when we were catching up on news with the gang.

I think Brad’s breaking point was when he finished making us tacos, just to have Derek not eat any.

“I’m full!” Derek whined.

“So you’re telling me that I went through all this work to put together something that you might actually like, only for you to be full?” Brad asked. If you looked closely, you could see his bottom eyelid start to twitch.

“It’s not my fault!” Derek insisted, but Joan was quick to shut it down.

“You made love to that snack bar today Derek. This is entirely on you.” She replied. Christian and I got a good laugh in at that. Luckily, I was absolutely starving after the day we had, so that just meant more tacos for me.

When we made it back to Christian’s, it was approaching ten at night. Nathaniel and I said a quick hello amidst the struggle of trying to get Christian’s sleep deprived self to his bed. He was looking at his couch longingly, but I insisted that if he knocked out there, he’d regret it in the morning. By the time we made it to his bedroom, Christian had stripped off completely to his underwear. I followed close behind him, picking up the articles of clothing he was randomly discarding everywhere.

While I would have loved to spend a little more time with Christian tonight, I didn’t complain as he flipped up the duvet cover and pulled me into his arms. He smelt like one of his regular colognes. It had this spice sort of scent to it. I nuzzled my face deeper into his chest as his arms tightened their hold on me.

“Goodnight, baby.” He murmured through his sleepiness.

“Gwoodnight.” I whispered back, with my voice muffled by his chest.

Christian

“Good morning, handsome.” I whispered to Alex, as his body stirred awake. My 8 am alarm had woken him up. I, on the other hand, had been awake for some time now. My body was just too used to me getting up earlier.

“I don’t understand how you can look so dead the night before, then wake up with so much energy the next morning.” Alex groaned as he flipped over to face me. He had sleep lines on his face from the pillowcase, and his voice was raspy from sleep… which only further enticed my already horny self. Unfortunately, I had set an alarm for the latest possible moment I could. What this meant was that Alex and I didn’t even have time for pillow talk.

“Come on, come on.” I coerced this man child into getting up and out of bed. Everything was already packed and ready to go, so all we had to take care of this morning was getting dressed, eating, and heading out that door. Luckily Nathaniel had had breakfast ready by the time we made it downstairs.

“Are you excited for the trip?” He asked Alex while we worked on finishing the last of our food.

Alex gave him an enthusiastic nod in between bites. “Definitely. I haven’t been anywhere tropical before so this would be a new experience for me.”

I saw Nathaniel’s face light up as he sent me a look. “I’m sure this one here will make the trip extra special.” Alex’s face grew redder and redder from Nathaniel’s words. He stood to place the dish in the sink, but Nathaniel got to it before he could. “With you around, I’ll soon be out of a job.” He joked. Alex’s cracked a grin, allowing Nathaniel to assist.

Nathaniel didn’t know too many details about this trip, but he knew I had made some serious special requests for it. Now all I had to do was get Alex on that damn island.

The later flight had proved to be a great idea. By the time Alex and I had boarded, we were awake, full, and ready for the day. He acted like a 4 year old child with his face pressed up against the airplane window while we flew over the west coast. “This is so pretty!” He exclaimed excitedly.

Flying first class was a luxury I would never grow tired of. It came in clutch with this particular flight because Alex was everywhere. Every few seconds he either needed to pee, or needed a drink, or wanted a blanket.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Now imagine how much prettier it will be when we touch down.” Alex’s head whipped around in my direction to give me one of his lopsided grins, before he went back to admiring the ocean. I couldn’t wait to show him more pretty things.

The flight was in fact a bit of a long one- checking in at close to ten hours. I had spent most of the time working on loose ends with the company, while Alex listened to music. At some point, I made him switch with me so he could get some productive things done as well. When we did finally touch down in Hawaii, it was only three in the afternoon due to the time difference, but it would have been eight in the evening back home. I could tell that Alex was tired though. I had taken a bit of a nap on the flight, however Alex had difficulty falling asleep.

“This is gorgeous!” He smiled sleepily at me as I helped pack our luggage into a rental car Nathaniel organized for us. I noticed just how beautiful the day really was, when Alex and I stepped out of the airport. It was hot, but there was a nice breeze that kept the temperature well balanced. It was smart on Alex’s part to recommend we wear shorts.

I kept it casual with a polo shirt and some golf shorts. Alex, on the other hand, looked absolutely ridiculous. He was wearing one of those Hawaiian shirts with funky patterned pants and even funkier shades. I didn’t ask any questions when I got a glimpse of him in the morning, because he seemed far too proud of his outfit. I didn’t have the heart to ruin it for him.

The one thing I probably should have mentioned, however, was who was going to be welcoming us when we reached the resort. Alex was speechless when we pulled into the compound. It was a large villa resort located right next to the ocean. Alex was practically drooling by the time we made it to the entrance. That excitement was quick to die down when he realized who it was we were walking towards.

“Christian! Alex!” John welcomed us with tight hugs and a warm smile. “Welcome to Hawaii!”

Alex immediately went into his self cautious mode. “Hi! Oh gosh I’m sorry. If I knew we’d be seeing you right away I would have worn something more professional.”

He could be so fucking adorable sometimes.

“Nonsense! The crazier the better!” John replied, broadening his smile. “Now come on in, let me show you two around! I know the flight is a long one, and I’m sure you might want to rest before we make any plans.”

John had already started making his way into the resort, so Alex and I followed closely behind with our luggage. The interior was even more divine than the exterior. Marble floors  and large plants. There was a large tree growing in the center of the resort that grew through the three levels. “Your room is one of the vip suites. Here are your key cards each of you will need to have, to make it onto that floor and into your room. We’ll take the elevator up through here.” John pointed to some elevators located further behind the lobby area.

Alex and I each grabbed our own key cards, and I used mine to unlock the third level of the resort. John was right, I wasn’t able to press that floor option until the card was fully inserted.

Once we arrived on the third floor, John directed to our room. It was room 317. When I inserted the key card again, the door not only unlocked, but opened on its own. Alex and I each made little surprised faces. Once we were in the room, however, our jaws almost dropped past our navels.

The room was absolutely stunning.

There were two screen doors that opened up to a humongous balcony overlooking the bright blue ocean. To our left was a king sized bed decorated with rose petals, and two of those swan towels. A large flat screen was located in the opposite direction of the bed, then there was a ginormous open shower on the other end of the bed. “This is amazing John, thank you.” I said, watching as Alex started to wander aimlessly in awe.

“This was no trouble at all! Like I said, take some time to settle in. I’m going to be in the business center here working on a few things. Either of you can join me whenever you feel like it.” John replied. I pulled him in for one more hug, before he left Alex and I to get settled.

“Oh my god this is amazing.” Alex mumbled into the bed. I didn’t even notice him climb into the covers, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he would knock out on me.

“I’m going to go meet with John, then come unpack. You rest up and we’ll go explore in a few hours.” I whispered, as I bent down to give his forehead a kiss.

“Gwoodnight.” He mumbled to me, furrowing deeper into the duvet.

••

30

Christian

“Well well well, if it isn’t the man of the hour.” John beamed as I took a seat across from him. He had set himself up at the far end of the business center, which seemed to be a more private area. I didn’t even know that business centers could look this nice considering all the resorts and hotels I’ve been to. I was quite surprised by how much attention to detail they paid here.

John looked puzzled as he tried to utilize some of the printers hotel management had set up for public use. It made a few beeping noises that seemed to frustrate him. As soon as I got comfortable in the desk chair, John handed me a Manila folder stacked full of paperwork.

“What do you mean?” I asked finally, referencing his earlier words.

“The launch yesterday was apparently more than a hit. My team just sent in projected sales and investments. Dare I say I am pleasantly surprised- I thought you had every intention of bankrupting me.” He joked, taking a long sip from his cup of coffee.

“Oh gosh, it puts me at great ease to know you have such faith in me.” I replied, snagging the mug from his side of the table, to take a sip myself. The coffee looked appetizing, but as soon as the dark liquid touched my tastebuds, I spit it back into the cup almost immediately.

“That is absolutely disgusting, Christian.” John cut in.

“This,” I signaled dramatically to the mug, “Is absolutely disgusting, John! What the fuck is this? Dirt? Is this fucking dirt?”

John was trying to suppress a laugh. “It’s organic coffee you dumbass. It’s supposedly really good for you.”

“Supposedly?!” I looked at John with a ridiculous expression. “You’re telling me you’re drinking this shit on the off chance it might be good for you?”

John gave me one of his why are we still having this conversation looks. “And to think I was going to praise you for all your hard work. Here you are, criticizing a mans coffee-”

“Let me stop you right there, this isn’t coffee. This,” I pointed to the cup again, “This is what my gardener uses on my hedges.”

“You little…” He mumbled, snatching the cup out of my hand and setting it back on the table. “Let’s get back onto the topic at hand here- the launch.” He pointed to the Manila folder he had passed to me, and I promptly started to flip through the pages. “These figures do look amazing. Kudos to both you and Alex for pushing something together so last minute. It gave our investors and distributors a chance to see what our companies are capable of, upon working together.”

As I flipped to the partnership tab, a small smile managed to creep it’s way across my face. John had included Alex on pretty much everything.

“I thought it would be good to give credit where it was due.” He explained, when he caught on to the page I was looking at.

“That’s awesome, John. Seriously. Alex is going to lose his fucking mind.” I replied, setting the rest of the paperwork back on the table. He handed me a pen so I could sign at the bottom of the page.

“Speaking of Alex,” John started. I could see he was wiggling his eyebrows suggestively my way through my peripheral vision, but chose not to pay him any mind, “How is that going? When you requested such an expensive suite, I couldn’t help but be curious.” I pushed the signed documents back his way, and watched as he got up to make some copies. “From what I could blackmail and bribe out of the staff here, it sounds like you’ve called in quite the special requests for these next few days.” He fumbled with a paper jam before he got the next few copies to print correctly. “Look who made a work trip a romantic getaway.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. If anyone was going to take this opportunity to pry into my private life, it would be John. “I wanted to make this trip a little more special. Alex has been working really hard these last few months. He’s really picking up on the work, and I don’t think I’ve seen him touch a drop of liquor since our New York trip. I just want to show him that this job can have some perks.” I replied honestly.

John had this easy going grin on his face, but he took a moment before he responded to that. “I’ve pegged you as many things over the years- many… but I never in a million years would have thought you were interested in men. In fact, I thought you may have just been asexual after your college days. Can you get the sex drive fucked out of you? Who knows. Can’t speak from experience.”

That coaxed a hearty laugh from me.

John was one of the few who witnessed the extent of my early twenties- that consisted of a lot of alcohol and a lot of sex. Once I took over the company, however, all that changed. My mother made it painstakingly obvious that I was the face of the company, and every decision I would make from then on out would not only affect me but the family.

I ended up getting with women she approved of, and started making choices she approved of. Those wild days were promptly put behind me.

“I always thought the gay thing was my thing.” John added.

Anyone who had eyes could see that John clearly had no issue appealing to either gender. The thing that completely blew my mind however when I first met him, was the fact that he liked men. During college, both men and women quite literally threw themselves at his feet, and John had too kind a heart to let them down any way but gently.

This resulted in John literally creating a cult following without him knowing it. People followed him around campus, and offered to do damn near anything he wanted. At the time, I couldn’t understand why he was turning down all these beautiful women. Now, things made a hell of a lot more sense.

“Honestly, I don’t even know what I am at this point. I don’t get attracted to other men, like I do to Alex. I’m not really all that attracted to women as much anymore either… but that may just be due to the ungodly amount of time I had to spend with Bridget.” I replied. John gave me a soft sigh as he nodded understandably. He’d only met Bridget a handful of times, and even John had his limit with her.

“Well clearly you have some serious feelings for Alex. I don’t think I know anyone who’s ever had such an impact on the Christian Ivanov. I’m happy you’ve found someone who makes you want to be a better person.” John gave my hand a pat on the table, as he flashed me his pearly whites.

“And what exactly was wrong with me before?” I asked in a mock defensive tone. It wasn’t even worth it to ask that question seriously. Alex had stripped away my ego just enough to show me how much of my flaws still existed. Safe to say I was mindfully humbled.

“You’re hilarious.” John replied. He handed me the copies of the documents he made from the printer. I slid them into the briefcase I had brought down from the suite. “So you’ve got today, tomorrow, and Friday to enjoy yourselves. I’ll be around the island if you need me, and hopefully once you’re fully well rested, we can try and plan breakfast tomorrow morning. How does that sound?”

I finished zipping up the briefcase, and stood to stand with John. “That sounds like a plan, John. Thanks again for this little vacation.” I extended my hand to give him a firm handshake, but he pulled me in for another hug.

“Think of this like a sign up bonus.” He gave me a wink as we left the business center together.

••

31

Alex

I didn’t necessarily remember drifting off to sleep. One minute, I was admiring the soft cotton sheets and how exquisite they felt against my skin…

The next, I was waking up to a darkly candle lit room, with a sweet melody playing.

Was this a dream? I thought to myself.

Was I finally getting my fantasy with Channing Tatum?

I rubbed my eyes, attempting to clear the grogginess from them as I focused in on everything around me.

Propped up on the mattress next to my pillow, was a little folded cardstock piece of paper. On the front, the words Read Me were scribbled in what I recognized instantly as Christian’s handwriting. My still very sleepy self reached over to take a look at what the note said.

Hi Handsome,

Hopefully you rested well. As you can see, the room looks slightly different. I would like you to join me for dinner tonight. Help yourself to the luxury soaps and scrubs I specially requested for our room. They’re located in the bathroom. When you’re done, I’ve hand picked an outfit for you. It’s packaged in the wrapped box at the edge of the bed. Once you’re all ready to go, one of the hotel associates will bring you to your final destination.

Hope to see you soon,

Christian

I stared at the note, blinking repeatedly to make sure I had in fact read that correctly, and my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. Sure enough, when I looked down towards the edge of the bed, there was a brown packaged box waiting for me. The tag attached to it said the words Wear Me. I glanced over yonder to the open concept bathroom, and there was a large basket on the counter with bottles stacked neatly inside. I slowly pulled myself together, as I mustered enough strength to make it to the bathroom.

Sure enough, there was also little tag attached to the basket that said Use Me. I pulled out a blue bottle that quickly caught my eye. The scent was called Oceanic Mist, and I thought that was only fitting with where we were. I set that in the shower, and started to undress.

The outfit Christian picked out was a crisp button down white linen shirt, and black dress shorts. The shorts offered a snug yet comfortable fit that felt oddly breathable for its material. As soon as I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I almost tripped over my own feet.

“Well goddamn.” I spoke to my reflection in the slightly fogged up bathroom mirror. “Aren’t you one hot smoking son of a gun.” I did that thing you saw in movies where the main actor would throw up some finger gun signs at themselves in the mirror. As soon as I did though, I realized just how truly cringe that was, and made a vow with myself to never do it again.

One last quick glance in the mirror was all I spared myself before I slid the key card into my shorts pocket, and left the gorgeous room.

Christian never specified on who exactly I was supposed to ask about where to go, but it didn’t seem like he even needed to. Once I took that first step out of the room, there was a man already waiting patiently for me right by our door. “Good evening, Mr. Hamilton. I hope Mr. Ivanov’s gifts have found you well. I’ve been instructed to bring you to your destination tonight. If you would follow me.” The man offered a large smile, as he began to lead the way.

I tried to remember the way we first came with John, but it was too difficult to differentiate between the similar hallways. As I allowed the hotel staff to guide me, I made a mental note of each twist and turn he brought us through. I swear this resort was just far too big for my little brain to wrap itself around. I did soon realize we were approaching two twin doors that lead outside.

The sun had set already, but the last few rays of light allowed me to see this particular location better. There was a small balcony of space with no more than four tables set. It looked like a very privately reserved area, and I noticed there was only one person sitting out here. When the hotel staff opened the twin set of doors for me, Christian’s eyes peeled away from the newspaper he was reading, to glance up at me.

He was wearing a button down shirt himself, except he had a few more buttons undone than I did. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled up neatly, which revealed those gorgeous tattoos. I could feel my mouth salivating as his eyes zeroed in on me. His hair looked damp, but I couldn’t tell if it was water or gel. Regardless, it was styled back so perfectly that there wasn’t a single stray strand.

“Hi.” I croaked out. I didn’t even know my throat had gotten this dry. Christian stood as soon as that word left my lips.

“Hello there.” He replied, slowly walking towards me. I heard the glass doors close from somewhere behind us, as the hotel staff left Christian and I alone. “You look… absolutely divine.” He whispered that last part as his hands found their way around my waist. His scent was off the walls tonight. If it wasn’t for this very public setting, I’d demand he take me right here right now.

“T-Thank you.” I stuttered out. “You- wow, you look- jesus.”

Well, apparently we were well past the point of coherent sentences today, Alex. Well done.

Christian chuckled at my comment before he dipped down to steal a kiss. When I felt his lips touch mine, it sent my body into complete overdrive. It was something about how soft he was. How strong his scent was. I wanted more. I pulled him closer, tasting remnants of mint when his tongue prodded against my bottom lip. I let out a struggling moan I didn’t even know I was respressing, and that was when Christian broke the kiss.

“Dinner first.” He more or less mumbled to himself, as he put some distance between us. That made my whole body tingle. I let him lead me to the table that he was first seated at.

“What is this place?” I asked, trying to nonchalantly fix my growing erection as I took a seat.

“This is one of their private seating areas. I rented it out for the evening so it would be just the two of us.” Christian explained. He, too, looked to be dealing with some discomfort in his southern region as I watched him take a seat.

The view of the ocean from here was something I could never grow tired of. There was a seductive breeze that settled through the resort, creating an even more comfortable temperature. Christian’s hand reached across the table to slip mine into his. It was a simple gesture yet my already heavily beating heart did nothing but pick up in speed.

“I wanted some alone time with you. Just us. No distractions. No work. No family drama.” He spoke, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “I want to see where you’re at. How you’ve been with the complete fuckery I’ve managed to put you through these last few months.”

I gave Christian a smile. “I’d say that was a 50/50 effort on both our ends.” That made him crack a grin. “And as crazy as it sounds, you’re not too bad a partner to handle crazy with.”

Christian’s smile grew larger with those words. “I’m glad I haven’t been as terrible as I thought I have. Sometimes it’s hard to separate my work life from my personal life.” He admitted. Getting to know Christian these last few months made that statement absolutely true. It’s insane how not even 3 months ago, I was sure this man avoided work like the fucking plague.

Now, I wasn’t so sure I’d have my head on straight if I was dealing with what he was.

“I wanted to take this trip with you, as a little get away…. but I also wanted to speak with you about us. All this is- well, it’s new territory for me. Being with you is very new territory for me… but it’s something I want to pursue.” Christian took a brief pause before continuing. “Me being who I am, a relationship isn’t one that I can comfortably go through in private, but I don’t want to feel like I’m rushing you to come out to everyone like this. That’s not something I would ever ask for you… I want you to choose-… Derek?” Christian cut his sentence short.

“You…” I slowly spoke, “You want me to choose… Derek?” I asked. There was no way to mask the confusion there.

But before Christian could say anything else, I heard something come crashing to the ground behind us. That was followed by a groan and whine. “Ouchyyyy.”

I whipped my head in the direction Christian had started to point towards, and sure enough, on the floor right behind us was Derek.

••

32

Alex

Christian and I sat in silence as we watched Derek try to pick himself up after crash landing into one of the tables. The condiment sauces that were once perfectly displayed, were now all over the all white tablecloth and the front of Derek’s god awful shirt.

And I mean god awful.

Just as I thought things couldn’t get any more bizarre, the glass doors leading into the resort were thrown open. Joan came barging in with Brad close behind, but he looked more confused than any of us. Joan had this look on her face that I knew all too well. She was pissed.

Christian looked like he was about to say something, but Joan beat him to it.

“What if the fucking fuckery fuck is fucking wrong with you?” She snapped at Derek, stomping over to snag his ear between her fingers, giving it a good twist before she began dragging his injured and condiment covered self across the balcony area.

“I didn’t mean to! I was just trying to get some of that bread! Listen you’ve got to hear me out here. It’s called the Royal Bloomer. It’s made with champagne and fucking gold. You hear that Joan? GOLD! Foodie Exclusive mentioned it in last year’s catalog! When I heard that this resort chef could make it I just- I had to-”

This was where Christian decided to cut him off. “What in all living hell are you guys fucking doing here?” He asked everyone directly. The place grew silent. Joan started to say something, but caught herself before she could.

Brad was the only one who actually gave Christian a reply.

“It’s a long story. John had extended the invite to me to go on my own vacation at the last minute. He’s quite happy with the launch turn out. I wasn’t going to go at first, but then I thought I’d just loosely asked if it would be okay for me to bring a plus one. He let me know that was fine, so I brought Joan… Joan and I… I- um, we- uh-” This was where Brad went from a professional to a blubbering idiot. “Well, you see- uh-”

“It’s a romantic getaway package. We are here doing romantic shit together.” Joan simplified. I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. What mischief were these two love birds getting into in Hawaii? And how could Joan not have called me immediately after she found out?

Then I thought about the fact that I had been on a plane for 10 hours, and everything made more sense.

Brad’s face got increasingly red as soon as Christian and I started the wiggling of the eyebrows in his direction. It was the absolute cutest that his thought immediately went to Joan. And don’t get me wrong, besides the few loosened strands of hair from grabbing Derek, my girl looked a goddamn ten. Even during this insane run in, it looked like Brad couldn’t stop himself from stealing glances her way.

She was in a long sundress that had a tropical print design. Her hair was pulled back into a perfect pin up style with a brooch I bought her as a Secret Santa gift. It was supposed to be a joke because she once made a comment on how brooches are for old people. Her birthday just so happens to land around Christmas, and I’m her asshole best friend, so… yeah. It was crazy how great it actually looked on her.

Man, this girl even busted out the eyelashes.

“That sounds like something John would do.” Christian admitted, as he gave us all a slow nod. “But Inviting Derek, however, does not sound like something John would do.”

“Yeah.” Joan sighed. “You remember that thing Derek was going on and on about last year? Some hot dog eating competition he was selected for?”

I leant back in my chair a bit. I could vaguely remember a conversation about that. “I think he mentioned it?”

“Mentioned it?” Derek asked, grasping at his heart. “I’ve downloaded 6 different countdown apps for this day! You told me if I won you’d name your first kid Derek. And you!” Derek pointed at Joan who still had his ear between her grasp.“You said you’d name your first kid Hotdog!”

“Derek, I’m pretty sure I did not say that.” I shook my head at him. “And I would bet the air I breathe, that those words never left Joan’s mouth.”

There weren’t even words to describe the way Joan was looking at Derek right now.

“Hotdog?” She whispered fiercely to him.

“Okay okay maybe I’m exaggerating a bit here… and come to think of it, that particular conversation may have happened at Tully’s after a fifth shot of whiskey… so really, my accuracy to that memory is seriously invalidated…” Derek drifted off for a moment. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I mentioned this to you two before! The PTO is even logged in the employee calendar!”

Joan and I both gave him a look. Of course we saw the PTO entry.

“You entered that in last week… and the memo was for your Great Aunts burial.” I replied.

“We all know the process for PTO at Ivanov Corp is harder to get through than fucking taxes- no offense Mr. Ivanov sir.” Derek was quick to add.

I looked over at Christian, but he just shrugged. I had already explained the bullshit with PTO to Christian the night he hired me on as his assistant. He was well aware.

“We’re working on it.” Christian assured Derek.

“Then you can imagine my surprise when I come here to meet the great chef who makes this exquisite… exquisite bread, and they tell me that he’s been booked for the evening! Is that even legal?” Derek added.

My eyes grew wide, as I glanced over at Christian. “You did that?”

He gave me a sheepish grin.

“I wanted the best of the best for you.” He replied.

I felt my heart get sucker punched, but in the best way possible.

We’ll call this one a love tap.

“That is so cute, and I’ll like so be there at the wedding, but let’s not stray from the fact that I’m here and I’m hungry.” Derek reminded us all… like he usually did.

“Are you even staying at this resort, Derek?” I asked him. Right now, he was the only one here who hadn’t been delivered an all expense paid trip to Hawaii.

Derek scoffed. “This is a hot dog eating competition, Alex, not The Oscars. With my pay, of course I’m not staying here.”

We all turned to look at him.

“How did you-… how did you get in here?” Brad asked.

“Like… through security?” Joan added.

“Listen,” Derek sighed, “I think you’re all asking the wrong questions here. What I really want to know is have we ordered yet?” He managed to slip out from Joan’s hold, and staggered closer to Christian and I. “I have saved all year for this one meal tonight. I worked tirelessly on a plan to be here at this exact moment. Please Christian, please let me have this.”

Derek dropped to his knees.

If this wasn’t the most batshit scenario, some would say this was quite passionate.

“Derek, what the hell. Get up.” Joan hurried over and tried to nudge his shoulders with her hand.

“I love you Joan, but this is something I must do. I won’t let this moment slip between my fingers. I have worked too hard not to have a taste of Chef Antoine’s Foie Gras-”

“Get off the floor and pull up a chair.” Christian sighed, as he scooched closer to me to make room. Derek looked up at home longingly for so long, I thought he fell in love. I was almost getting jealous.

“Are you sure?” I asked Christian. He shrugged.

“The surprises aren’t over just yet.”

That made me blush crimson.

Derek dragged a nearby chair up to our table with incredible speed, and took a seat. Christian handed him his menu, and Christian and I shared mine.

Moments later, I heard the sound of feet shuffle closer to the table. When I glanced up, it was Joan and Brad peeking over Derek’s shoulder at the menu.

“I just- I heard Foie Gras and forgive me but I believe that’s duck. I just wanted to investigate that a little further-” Joan started, but Christian was quick to interrupt her with another sigh.

“Would you two like to join us?” He asked the pair.

It was like Brad and Joan magically made chairs appear out of thin air. “Well, if you insist.” Brad replied with a grin.

••

33

Christian

“Well that was quite the night.” I called out to Alex, as I started slipping my pants off. He had entered the bathroom area to brush his teeth.

“I am so sorry you can no longer escape my crazy friends.” Alex replied as soon as he had finished rinsing his mouth. “I’m also sorry for ruining a special night. I really had no idea that any of them were here. Especially Derek, that fucking blind sided me.”

He emerged from the bathroom in nothing but his briefs and I couldn’t help myself as I quickly pulled him closer to my side of the bed.

“It’s okay.” I replied simply. “I’ve still got a ton of shit planned for just the two of us.” He was standing in between my legs, which put me at eye level with his torso. My hands had already started massaging his upper back down to his lower back and sides. He leaned a little further into me.

“Do you like my food baby?” He joked, rubbing his clearly bloated stomach. He had really feasted tonight which in return made me happy. Regardless of having all those extra people join our intimate moment, tonight had been a success. I’d say one for the books. I’m sure my Accountant would say the same, considering this meal may have broken my previous record of most expensive dinners I’ve ever paid for.

To my surprise, Derek hadn’t been joking. He really did save up just for this one meal, and he even covered his entire order once the check came. I insisted it really wasn’t necessary considering I was already paying for Joan and Brad, but he replied with “it’s about the principle, Christian.”

It did make me feel a little better having him join us, though. He really showed me how much that food had meant to him… he just did so in a really Derek fashion.

“It’s beautiful.” I whispered, laying a light kiss on Alex’s stomach.

“You shouldn’t have gone out of your way like that, Christian… but thank you.” He whispered that last part. “Chef Antoine’s Caviar has made me question my religion. My existence. Why they cancelled Firefly. Everything.”

I didn’t get that Firefly reference, but that didn’t stop the chuckles as I shifted aside so he could join me in bed. I wanted my hands all over all of that. The body wash had made his skin even softer than usual, which up until this day, I did not think was possible. His hair smelt like lavender, which was absolutely delightful. I missed his usual scent of roses, but the new aromas really made it feel like we were away from our typical day to day life… and on vacation.

Once Alex’s body touched the soft mattress, I knew it was a wrap. He immediately took his sleeping position by snuggling further into my chest. I thought he was going to fall asleep as quickly as he did earlier in the day, but I felt his lips move against my exposed skin. The words came out in a murmur.

“What was that, baby?” I asked him. He had to physically peel his face away from my chest so I could hear him.

“Do you think Derek is going to win the hot dog competition tomorrow?”

“Hmm…” I replied, trailing off to think for a second.

From the way I saw Derek pack food like that tonight, every ounce of fiber in my being told me his competition didn’t stand a chance. “There isn’t much I’m positive that Derek is good at… but eating? Eating is that man’s specialty.”

I could feel Alex lightly shake against me as he laughed. “You’re right.” He whispered. “He’s got this in the bag.”

It took Alex a total of maybe five minutes before he was out cold for the night. I was also hit with a sudden food coma, and joined him in sleep shortly after.

Unfortunately, my internal alarm clock was quick to wake me up in the early hours of the morning the next day. When my eyes adjusted to the light rays of sun which were coming through the doors to the private balcony, I could see Alex laying next to me. He was still deep in sleep when I gently separated his freakishly tight hold he had on me.

He held me like a stuffed animal for the majority of the night which encompassed the feeling of absolute heaven… but was joined with just a dash of discomfort. This guy had a fucking death grip when he wanted to.

I placed a small kiss on his forehead, then nose, before I left him to get ready for the day.

Brad had let me know that he was already in the business center just taking care of a few things. I told him I’d be down in a moment to join him, but I was just going to need to get some coffee in me first.

So that was where my initial destination was for the day: The resort’s restaurant.

Once I made it down, there was already a few hostesses prepared to seat me. “Hi, sorry, I was wondering if I could actually get two cups of coffee to go? 2 sugars, one cream for both?” I asked the first lady who approached me. She was actually quite young. I noticed most of the staff was in their early to mid twenties. The impeccable customer service surprised me.

“Oh yes sir, absolutely! Give me one moment and I’ll get that prepared for you. Feel free to take a seat at the bar, or in the lounge area in the meantime.” She gave me a very warm smile, and I nodded a thank you in return.

I was going to pull out one of the bar stools to take a seat, but something stopped me mid stride.

It was a sound.

A laugh to be precise.

A laugh I knew very well.

I curiously peeled around the fire place that was positioned in the center of the restaurant, and sure enough, seated at a booth next to the glass windows was John. What threw me off the most, was who was seated across from him.

“Derek?” I called out questionably, as I made my way around the fireplace. Both Derek and John had stopped their conversation to glance over at me.

“Christian!” John beamed almost immediately. “Good morning! How was your night?” I heard Derek also wish me a good morning. They both looked to be in high spirits.

I glanced down at my watch.

Yep, it was still seven in the morning.

I just had to check, because these two looked like they were hyped up on either Espresso or alcohol. It was definitely a shot of something.

“Good morning. Uh- yeah yes thank you. Yesterday was really nice. I was just wondering what you two- well like why you two-… do you two know each other?” I settled on finally.

John chuckled. “Actually no. I had originally come down for some breakfast because you know, I like to eat early.” John wasn’t lying. He was always the first one up cooking breakfast for the rest of us hungover guys back in our college days. “And I bumped into Derek.”

Derek nodded in agreement. “After Chef Antoine’s cooking, I was completely stuffed last night… but I’ve found that whenever I go to sleep full, I always wake up hungry.”

“You know- I’ve found that to be the same for me too!” John chimed in. I looked back and forth between the two of them. “But you know how I was telling you I was here for a little business and pleasure?” John added, turning to me.

I gave him a slow nod. “Yeah I remember you mentioning that.”

“Well, the pleasure part was actually this hot dog eating competition they host annually. It’s kinda a big deal on The Big Island. Isn’t it fucking mental that I’d run into one of the contestants? This is amazing!” John beamed.

Before I could even start to think about a way to reply to that without insulting either of these two, I was saved by a waitress.

“Here are your two coffee’s sir.” She smiled, handing the to-go mugs to me.

“Thank you.” I returned the smile. She gave me a nod and made her way back to the kitchen. “Well uh-” I paused briefly as I glanced back at John and Derek. “Have a great breakfast. I guess I’ll see you all at the hot dog eating competition.”

I never thought I’d hear those words leave my lips.

“See you later!” John replied right before I made a quick 180, and shuffled out of the restaurant the way I came.

This was making for a very strange morning.

Brad was seated at the same spot John had been the previous day. It was the nice little more secluded area of the business center. As soon as he spotted me, he gave me a small smile.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.” I nodded in return. “I got you coffee.”

“You know I prefer tea, Christian.” Brad replied.

“Drink your coffee, Brad. We need to talk.”

••

34

Christian

“I could write an entire monologue on why tea is better than coffee.”

“No one wants to hear it, Brad.”

I was now seated across from Brad currently looking through some documents he had prepared for me, and Brad had been staring down at his untouched coffee for the last 10 minutes.

He gave me his ten thousandth sigh. “I would’ve taken water.”

“You’re so ungrateful.”

Most of the documents I was looking at were just random plans he thought we should address ahead of time. Leave it to Brad to bring work on a leisure trip.

“Sorry for crashing your romantic dinner last night.” He said after some time. “We ran into Derek on the way to the restaurant and it looked like he had somehow gotten the information of who reserved Chef Antoine’s time. Derek was already halfway to you guys before we could even spring into action.”

Well that explained why they busted through moments after Derek. I still didn’t understand why he was climbing the terrace.

“I was going to shoot you a text to let you know we landed, but I- uh…” that was when Brad broke away. “I wanted, you know, like some time- alone time… with Joan… in Hawaii…”

Brad sounded like a 13 year old boy.

But I found it adorable nonetheless.

“So I guess you could say both of our romantic nights didn’t go as planned.” I replied. Brad gave me a nod. “Were you and Joan planning on doing the old Devils Tango on this trip?”

Brad immediately started choking.

On what you ask?

I could not tell you. I knew it wasn’t the damn coffee.

“Oh my god Christian, no. First of all- we basically kinda just met.”

I glanced up from the paperwork to give him a look. “Brad… this is rich coming from the guy who I’ve personally seen sleep with women he’s met within the first five minutes.”

Brad gasped at me. “I am no longer that man, you know that.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Anyone who knew Brad ten years ago, knew that. To put it simply, Brad used to be confetti… now he was packaging peanuts. “Please tell me you guys have at least kissed?”

Brad suddenly fell suspiciously silent.

That was when I set all of my paperwork down. “Brad. Brad, look at me.” I spoke sternly. He was avoiding my gaze like the plague. “Please tell me you’ve at least kissed this poor woman.”

“Christian you can’t- you can’t rush the process.” He tried to rebuttal with. “Plus, how long was it before you and Alex kissed?”

That one threw me off for a second there… but I managed a quick save.

“He was my assistant, Brad! Lord forbid I try to keep things professional. Plus I didn’t even know what his sexuality was- actually, fuck that, I didn’t even know if this guy liked me in general.”

Brad reached for his coffee for the first time this morning, to take a sip. He was really just trying to buy himself more time.

“I just- I have a 6 month plan and-”

“I ought to slap the shit outta you.”

Brad took another large gulp. At least this conversation meant my money wasn’t being wasted.

“If you do not kiss this woman tonight, I’m going to pull the Mr. Twigs card.”

Brad’s body stilled, as his eyes finally found mine. “You wouldn’t.” He whispered. I gave him a sly grin.

“I would, and I will. A soon as we make it back, I’ll pay a little visit to Ms. Anderson and let her know just who killed her beloved Parrot fifteen years ago.”

“That’s fucked up, Christian. You know she was my favorite eight grade home room teacher and you know it was a fucking accident.” He whispered aggressively at me.

I just shrugged. “Mr. Twigs did not deserve to go out that way. You knew what you were doing with that BB gun.”

“I visit her almost every day out of guilt!” He snapped back.

“And everyday, you live a lie.” I retorted.

Brad took a moment before he replied again. He looked to be contemplating things.

“I just- I just don’t know how to, you know, advance us there? I feel like I constantly say all the wrong things when I’m around her. It’s fucking embarrassing.” He sighed.

“Oh Brad.” I joined in on the sigh. “I say stupid things all the fucking time in front of Alex. No one says the right things all the time. Just tell her how you feel. Be yourself. Be genuine… that one’s key because I’ll tell you right now, Joan can smell bullshit from a mile away.” That made Brad chuckle as he nodded in agreement. “I’m glad you’ve found someone who makes you sound like a fucking idiot. It was time someone did.”

That part made Brad turn red.

But it was true. For someone who always seemed so composed, it was a breath of fresh air to have someone else knock him off balance a bit. He needed a good shake up.

“It doesn’t need to be anything over the top. Joan definitely isn’t that kind of woman. I think she’ll appreciate something a little more heartfelt.” I ended with.

Brad smirked. “You know, I think the same could be said about Alex.”

Once I made it back to our suite, I was excited to see Alex up and getting ready. His sleeping habits were something I was still trying to grow accustomed to.

He just- he just slept so much.

“Good morning.” I grinned, as I watched him dry his damp hair with one of the resort towels. He was already in a different Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts, so it looks like all that was left was the hair. The shirt he picked out today was a little more dialed down than what he was wearing yesterday.

It was actually, dare I say… nice?

“Good morning! I got your text that you were down in the business center with Brad. Did everything go okay?” He asked. I grabbed a second towel off the shower rack, and walked over to help him dry the back of his head. His cheeks grew rosy, but he allowed it.

“Just some loose ends but we’re all up to speed now. I ran into Derek and John together downstairs, too. Super weird.” I added. Alex’s eyes had started to drift closed as I continued to massage his scalp with the towel.

“Anything involving Derek is bound to be weird. I’m sure he’s super excited about the hot dog eating competition, though. Thanks for going with me today. I know it’s probably the last place on earth you’d want to be.”

That wasn’t entirely true, I thought. Fry me up and call me a cheese curd but I couldn’t fathom being anywhere with Alex and thinking it’s the last place on earth I’d want to be. Most times I often think it’s the first.

“I’m kind of excited,” I lied, “I’m sure it will be entertaining.”

Alex laughed. “Don’t worry, as soon as the first person pukes, we’re out of there.” I let out a sigh of relief at his words.

Once Alex was finished getting ready, I brought him down to the restaurant for breakfast. He was hesitant to order anything in case this hot dog eating competition got less entertaining and more gross. I thought that was very justified. He settled on something light which was one pancake and a fruit cup. I ordered some oatmeal to keep things healthy.

Working out and I had recently been on an on again and off again relationship, and I didn’t really want to lose my healthy eating regime too. This body wasn’t going to take well to that.

We had to rush through most of breakfast because the competition started at 11. Luckily, the location of the competition wasn’t too far away from the resort. John had actually arranged a driver for Alex, Joan, Brad, and I. When I messaged him about Derek, he let me know that he was personally driving him there.

This day just kept getting weirder.

Both Joan and Brad looked stunning. Brad was in something I never thought I’d see him wear. It was this light cotton sort of bohemian slightly oversized short sleeve shirt. The front was a deep collared V neck. It went well with Joan’s light green floral dress.

Somehow, Alex had convinced me to buy one of the Hawaiian shirts they sold at the resort’s gift shop, so we could match. Everyone’s outfit on this trip made me wish I had hired a camera man to come with. We just looked so out of our element.

It was nice though.

I was unexpectedly surprised when we made it to the site of the competition. What I expected was maybe a small tent for the main event, and a couple food stands up or something…

What we were met with was not that.

Not that at all.

••

35

Alex

The entire beach was packed.

And I mean packed.

There was a large crowd gathered around this ginormous tent which was pitched a couple hundred feet from the edge of the ocean. It looked like hundreds had gathered and were enjoying the live band that played on stage as the music carried across the beach. The crowd all looked to be dressed in the same colored clothes and hats, but we weren’t close enough to see what the design was.

“Is this… is this the right place?” Christen whispered to me as we drew nearer.

That was when we could finally make out what everyone was wearing. They were in bright yellow t-shirts that had a large hotdog picture on the front with the words Annual Hotdog Eating Contest on them. Some even had a matching hotdog hat to go with it.

“I would say so, yeah.” I whispered back.

All any of us could do was stare.

From the looks of things, I wasn’t too sure we would even find a good spot to cheer Derek on.

“This is- wow.” Joan commented when her and Brad caught up to us. “I did not expect this.” We had gathered in as close as we could possibly get to the stage, but even through that, I had to stand on my tippy toes to catch a glimpse of the main event.

“I didn’t think it was going to be this big of a deal.” Brad added. “Should we find a place to get these shirts everyone’s wearing?”

“I think that sounds like a cool idea.” I nodded.

Joan and Christian stared over at Brad and I like we just agreed to go sacrifice a puppy.

“Do you know how long it took me to find the most perfect dress? This,” she waved her hands vigorously around the gorgeous floral print, “will not be covered up by that.” She jerked her thumb over at another tent nearby that was selling the printed shirts and hats.

“I’m with Joan on this one. I just rather die before being seen in something like that.” Christian jumped in. Brad and I gave them both a look, yet decided we would remain here in our commoner clothing for the sake of time. The line at the tent was growing longer and longer as more people arrived on the beach.

I wasn’t sure why, but I was a little bummed about not getting a shirt. However ridiculous they looked, they would have made a nice souvenir for the trip.

There wasn’t much time to dwell on that though, because seconds later, someone took to the stage.

“Welcome to the Ninth Annual Hotdog Eating Competition. I just want to thank everyone who’s come out in support this year, and thank you to all the artists that have come up to perform. Without further ado, let’s get this competition started!”

I had to bob my head a little to see better, but it looked like the contestants had started to line up in front of a table. All I could see were the tops of the piles of hotdogs that were stacked.

Derek was the second contestant from the left. When I caught a glimpse of him, I couldn’t help but smile. He had styled his hair back for the event, and even wore his lucky shirt. It was the shirt that he wore when the vending machine gave him two zebra cakes instead of one. Every time he wore the shirt, it would happen. It got to the point where HR forced him to keep a once a week policy.

He was gleaming from ear to ear as the spokesperson informed the crowd on the rules. “You know the deal folks. These six contestants have 10 minutes to eat as many hotdogs as they possibly can. If they win, they will take home the title as Champion, with a lovely bonus of five thousand dollars. If any contestant throws up, they will automatically be disqualified. The contestants must retain the food in their stomach for an additional 5 minutes in order for us to count the score.

“But let me stop wasting your time here folks, and let’s get ready to eat!” The spokesperson finished. A humongous digital timer was then switched on stage and there was another brief pause before an unexpected blow horn was blown.

The timer started.

Brad, Joan, Christian and I all watched on with an unexpected amount of excitement as Derek started to inhale those hotdogs.

And I mean inhale.

It felt like time was moving at the speed of light as we watched the piles of hotdogs quickly decrease in size.

“Derek is fucking killing it!” Christian exclaimed with excitement I never thought I’d see from him at a hotdog eating competition.

But he wasn’t wrong.

As the last few minutes came up on the clock, two contestants ended up backing out. The first contestant ended at 23 hotdogs. The second contestant was only at 20.

Derek looked like he was doing nothing but picking up the pace. There was another contestant who looked to be moving at the same pace. This one was a woman. I’d reckon everyone took maybe two or three bites before the next hotdog was shoved into their mouth. Two more contestants backed out moments later, each with a total of 26 hotdogs and 30 hotdogs.

There was only one minute left on the clock, and we were down to Derek and the other woman contestant. I was surprised by how much her small frame could handle, and I noticed that she kept stealing glances at Derek and his count. Derek, however, was fully focused on the hotdogs in front of him. Our boy was in the zone.

Christian’s hand grabbed hold of mine and gave it a hard squeeze as the last few seconds ticked away. The count was hand in hand, with both contestants at 42 hotdogs. When the horn was blown again, these last two were just shoving down their 43rd hotdog.

The spokesperson was quick to grab the mic. “This is unbelievable! We’ve got two contestants tied hotdog in hotdog, but you guys know it’s not over yet! Set the timer for five minutes Kailani, let’s see if they can hold it down.”

The large timer went from zero to five minutes, then started to countdown.

This was when we really got to see everything unravel. Both Derek and the female contestant looked to be struggling. Derek was doing a few huffs and puffs, while the female contestant had tried a few stretches. Every now and then one of them would look like they were about to throw up, but they managed to withstand the urge.

I thought they were both going to hold out, as the timer dwindled to the last remaining seconds, but just before that horn was blown, the woman buckled over and threw up into one of the trash bins located at the end of the table.

Christian and I were quick to look away as the rest of the crowd exploded in cheers and groans.

“Is that our cue?” He whispered to me. I gave him a fierce nod as we started to wiggle out of the crowd. Joan and Brad decided to follow us out.

“Holy fuck that was way more fun than I thought it was going to be!” Joan said, as we all glanced back over to the tent.

“I swear I didn’t think Derek was going to be that good but… wow!” Brad agreed.

From the corner of my eye, I could see someone waving us down.

“Is that John?” I asked the group, pointing to the man in an Hawaiian shirt and bucket hat.

“Yeah I think it is.” Christian nodded. “Let’s head over.”

John was standing behind the large tent, with a cool drink in hand. As we got closer, another man joined him.

“Derek!”

“Joan!”

They both rushed each other for a hug. I couldn’t help but join in.

“You were amazing!” She beamed. Derek’s cheeks grew red.

“Oh stop it, you.” He replied bashfully. “I just went out and did what anyone who was me would do.”

We all laughed at that.

“Well I’m proud of you.” I told him. “You’re also five thousand dollars richer so this means you can pay off your back dated student loans.”

Derek sighed. “You always have to go and ruin things.” He still had that goofy I just won grin plastered on his face, and I couldn’t help but smile. “John and I were actually going to go meet with the other contestants. I’ll be leaving the island this evening so I wanted to see everyone before I left.”

I glanced over at John who also had a goofy grin plastered on his face.

“Well that works out! Joan and I were going to take a little stroll through the markets, and see where we’d like to eat for dinner. Are we okay to leave you two alone?” Brad asked Christian and I.

“You four are literally the only reason Alex and I are not alone- so yes, I think we’ll manage.” Christian was quick to reply with. Brad just chuckled, giving Christian a solid pat on his shoulder before he and Joan were off. John and Derek also gave us a wave before they disappeared back behind the tent.

“This just leaves me and you.” I smiled up at the Christian.

“The way it was supposed to be.” He replied with a grin. “And this time I think I’ve managed to plan a Derek, Joan, John, and Brad Free Date.”

••

36

Christian

Before I could whisk Alex away to our final destination for the evening, I walked us down to the second tent that was selling those incredibly tacky ass shirts.

I thought they looked like an absolute abomination on the eyes…

… but I could tell that Alex really wanted one.

He had a smile from ear to ear as the vendor swiped my card for the twenty five dollars and thirty six cents. It was pocket change though, and especially worth it for the abrupt embrace I received from Alex.

“Thank you!” He gushed in my arms. “I’ll pay you back as soon as we make it to the resort, I promise!”

“No you won’t. Shut up and enjoy your stupid shirt.” I told him sternly before giving him a light kiss on his forehead. “Now, let’s head to our final destination shall we?”

Alex tangled his fingers with my own as we walked.

That brought a smile to my face.

I kept thinking about what I had said to Brad in the morning- about making a gesture that was genuine. It wasn’t that I didn’t think Alex appreciated or enjoyed the expensive lavish lifestyle I came with… but I was starting to see how money could be a cop out. I wanted to do something for Alex that didn’t always have such a pricy price tag attached to it- something more meaningful…

Like Eddie Chang.

I lead him to a more private area of the beach. It was still a place open to the public, but scarcely anyone knew about it.

We watched as a small group of women gathered at the edge of the ocean. They were wearing traditional skirts and tops with colorful lei’s and gorgeous ankle bracelets. Alongside each woman was a large surfboard. Alex began to slow to a stop.

“Who are they?” He asked me.

“They’re Hula dancers.” I replied. “This date marks the passing of one of the community’s leaders- Kahawai Kahikilani. They bring their boards out to the water as part of a ceremony to honor his life. I know it’s a little sad, but their singing is so beautiful, I thought you would like to sit in for the ceremony with me.”

I pointed past us to a place ahead. Alex turned to where I was pointing, and sure enough, just a little further up the beach was the little spot I’d prepared. It was just a blanket on the sand with a few candles around, but it was right next to the shore of the ocean. The spot was also surprisingly secluded. A large rock structure that merged with the mainland, had created a barrier around the area. This made this particular location all the more romantic.

On the blanket, I had set a bottle of sparkling juice, along with two wine glasses and a tray of treats.

Alex whipped his head around to face me again. I couldn’t read his expression at first… but then the largest smile graced his lips, and all that worry left me. “Do you like it?” I asked.

“I love it.” He replied, not skipping a beat. “This is beautiful, Christian… and so unlike you.”

I chuckled at that, as I helped him get comfortably seated. The wall of rock behind us made for a nice place to lean back against, as we watched the dancers take to the ocean.

They pushed their boards out against the current of the water, as their leaf like skirts grew damp and heavy. The woman had come together in a circle, with the waves gently passing through, but never breaking up the group. This was when they started to sing.

Alex held my hand tight as he watched. He was so invested in the ceremony, yet I couldn’t help being a little more invested in him. I had witnessed these women down at this part of the beach for many years. It was when I had found the opportunity to sneak out past Slav during his business meetings. But this time it was different.

I got to share one of my own intimate memories with Alex.

The heat of the sun had made the skin just below the frame of his glasses, slightly red with sunburn. It looked like he had remembered to spread sunscreen everywhere but on his face, which sounded like typical Alex behavior..

I was just glad we had less skin reactions on this trip, than we did on that camping trip I forced Alex on.

The memory of that trip made my lips twitch up into a smile.

That was the first night I had quite possibly ever cared for someone like that. Or at least someone who wasn’t family. At the time I couldn’t understand why.

Sitting here with Alex now, I did.

His eyes grew wide as he watched the women lay hundreds of flowers on the water. They had glossed over so finely, I thought he may have been on the verge of crying. I just held his hand tighter. The women then used the currents their hands created to break the circle and push the flowers out into the ocean. I couldn’t help but watch this last part.

The ceremony was over before we knew it.

The sun had started its descent on the horizon, as the woman pulled their boards in and began the walk back to the mainland. Alex nuzzled into my side to watch the sky change colors.

“That was one of the most beautiful things I think I’ve ever seen.” He whispered nonchalantly. That made my skin tingle.

“Would it be too cheesy for me to say that you’re the most beautiful thing I think I’ve ever seen?” I asked him.

His face immediately got red. “I- I mean-”

I started to chuckle at his loss for words… but then allowed that chuckle die out, as we continued to watch the sunset. The sky that was once the most gorgeous blue, was now split by streaks of vibrant gold and yellow hues. It had cast a gorgeous light against Alex’s overly sun kissed skin, and in this light I could see the hazel in his eyes like I hadn’t done so before. They were focused on the beauty ahead of us.

I let some time pass before I decided to say anything next, but after a while I whispered “Thank you.”

Alex’s eyebrows furrowed at my words. “For what?” He asked.

“No reason in particular this time. I just don’t feel like I say it enough.” I replied. I know I had told Alex this before, but it rang true again today.

Alex ripped his eyes away from the setting sun to look at me.

“And I truly am-… thankful, I mean. These last few months have been unexplainable. You- wow.” I chuckled. “You really came through and knocked me on my ass.”

A small smile formed on Alex’s lips.

“You started it with that laptop you just had to go all wrestle mania on, remember?” I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Oh I remember.” I replied. There was another pause before I found the words to continue. “But I dunno. Sometimes I wonder whether I’ll look in the mirror one day, and seem unrecognizable from how much I’ve changed… but now I realize how ironic and idiotic that thought is.” I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I’m not afraid that one day I’ll catch a glimpse of me and not recognize myself, I’m ashamed of all the times I looked in the mirror these past few years and thought I did recognize myself.

“You’ve made me value everything more. My family… My work….” I took a brief pause, “And You.”

Alex was silent as he listened, but I could see his face had started to heat up feverishly at my words. His tongue went out to lick his bottom lip, which momentarily distracted me, but I forced myself to continue.

“I spent this entire trip thinking of ways I could show you how much you mean to me. Ways I could show you how much I cared about you. I even rented out a whole fucking chef, and look how well that went.”

I couldn’t stop the memory of Derek falling over the terrace, from resurfacing. Last night was about as crazy as crazy got- even for this particular group of individuals.

“You’ve taught me that all my outlandish spending and planning- however pleasant, means close to nothing. Cause you, Alexander Hamilton? You’re not someone who’s love can be bought… and forgive me for being blunt but I’ve only ever been in relationships with women who’s love could.”

Alex was the one to give my hand a tight squeeze this time.

“I have never been with someone where every topic of discussion is so unrestricted and unconditional. I’ve never met someone who could truly encompass the meaning of the word beautiful so wholesome and perfectly. I have never wanted to give so much of myself to another soul, Alex… before your sarcastic witty ass entangled itself in my life. I understand that what I do isn’t a run of the mill job, and I can’t promise that there won’t be times during this public relationship, where you’re going to have more eyes on you than you’re used to- both good and bad… but I can promise that I will do everything in my power to make this easier on you.

“You’ll have to forgive me for my lack of direction with my words, because this is still new territory for me.” I took another brief pause to collect my thoughts. “But It’s territory I want to grow accustomed to… with you… because although I may have never experienced this particular feeling with anyone before, I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen madly in love with you Alexander Hamilton.”

••

37

Alex

I didn’t know what to say at first…

For starters, I was currently doing everything in my power to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

Christian had such a grip on my hand, the mere thought of blood still circulating to my fingers was impossible to fathom anymore. I was sure they must have been turning a pale blue in color.

“Christian…” I whispered, trailing off…

Words weren’t finding me easy tonight.

“Shit, I’m so sorry!” Christian was quick to rush out. I could see worry flash across his face and it was mixed with that look of pain and rejection. It made my heart feel like it had just been ripped straight out from my chest. “I shouldn’t of rushed things, or said something like that-”

“Would you shut the hell up?” I snapped on him almost immediately.

Christian’s lips shut closed just as quickly as they parted.

“You make me wish I had planned out what I was going to say tonight… but I don’t think there’s anything I could say that would even begin to top your words.” I explained to this man. Christian remained silent as I spoke. “It’s crazy to think that here I am feeling this heavy guilt for how much you do for me… when you’re seated right here entertaining the thought that you possibly haven’t done enough.

“However terribly you went about it, Christian, you did save my mother’s life. Whether it was a life worth saving is still to be determined, but you did that… and you did that for me. I thought the only eternal debt I’d have to work off in this lifetime would come from my student loans.” That made me chuckle. “What you did, Christian… That’s something I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to repay.”

I felt myself relax when I saw Christian’s tense shoulders soften. He no longer had that daunting look of worry etched into his face, as he continued to sit still and listen.

“The way you handled my alcohol abuse… The way you handled the Gala…” I could feel that familiar stinging in my nose as my eyes began to tear up.

Just the thought of that that night at the Gala.

Having to see my mother.

Having to watch as my mother embarrassed me for the nine gazillionth time in my life.

Seeing her at my place of work amongst my coworkers and our clients- it felt like everything I had been working so hard to distance myself from, had come crashing down all around me….

And there was a part of myself that was still angry.

Angry at the fact that Christian had thought it okay to do something like that.

Angry at the fact that he thought he had any right to.

But there was another part of myself… a small part of myself that felt proud. Funny isn’t it? Even through all that trauma, there was a part of me that was proud at the fact I had got to show my mother all I accomplished without her help.

There was a part of myself that felt relief when Christian stood up for me in a way that I couldn’t do for myself. When Christian imposed true Ivanov fear into her.

Having any type of relationship with my mother had always felt crippling.

Suffocating, I would say.

Knowing how strong a hold she had on me made me feel powerless against her words. Against her pleas. Against her. Christian had in some way managed to regain that independence for me. Instead of dreading my mother’s sporadic calls, I got to enjoy every day without thinking something may happen, or something may already have.

Christian had also set some strict rules for my mother in terms of her stay at the facility.

He let her know it was entirely my choice on when or if I wanted to reestablish a relationship with her.

He let me know that she wasn’t allowed any visitors who weren’t cleared by him or Brad personally.

And lastly, he let her know that this really was her last opportunity.

Past this, all ties will be severed with the Ivanovs and Christian’s family will put her back on the streets.

Christian, in addition, had also made sure to be transparent with everything after the blow up at the Gala. He gave me all the information on my mother’s stay, and allowed me full rights to her treatment regime. I felt my heart swell as I thought about how much he truly has done for me.

Then there was my alcohol abuse.

I glanced over at the sparkling juice Christian had chosen in light of my abandonment to alcohol. I hadn’t brought it up with him, but clearly he had picked up on my recent change in habits.

“You’ve done more for me than I could possibly put into words.” I was really biting back the tears now. A few were dangerously close to falling. “I came into this position thinking there was no possible way I was going to learn even a scrap about love or compassion from a man such as yourself- but you’ve proven to be far more complex than I’ve given you credit for… I’ve been so used to handling things on my own-” I felt my voice break, which then forced me to break eye contact with Christian.

This wasn’t where I had necessarily wanted the conversation to go.

I hadn’t meant to get emotional.

I hated how sensitive I was to any topic involving my mother, and some days, I envied how stone cold Christian’s exterior could be when he wanted it to.

I wished I had been born with that same ability.

I was so used to bundling up all my emotions, and jam packing them into a convenient box that I only allowed myself to unpack alone… because crying in front of anyone was such a soul bearing thing to do.

“That can be so lonely.” Christian whispered to me.

His words only amplified my thoughts, and after some time, I slowly nodded my head.

“You’ve made me realize that sometimes, it’s okay to not have it together. That sometimes-” I felt my words choke up for a moment. “Sometimes it’s okay to ask for help.”

I still couldn’t bring myself to look Christian in the eye… but there was no way to avoid him when I felt his hand suddenly pull me forward. It resulted in me tumbling into his arms. I thought the impact would be hard and clumsy, but instead it was warm and welcoming. My legs almost instinctively wrapped themselves around his torso as I comfortably rested my head against his shoulder.

Christian’s hand had started to massage the middle of my back. With his other hand, he softly kneaded the area where my shoulders connected to my neck. I tried to stifle the moan that had erupted from my lips, but his body still stiffened from the noise.

I pulled away slightly so I could get a better look at him. His eyes were pure gold from the sunset in front of us, as he stared up at me.

“To summarize my very long answer to your unspoken question…” I whispered to him. Christian shifted beneath us, which resulted in our cocks accidentally grinding together. Another soft moan left my lips, and that made Christian pull my lower half even closer to him.

I felt my grip on his shoulder tighten as I strained to get the rest of my words out.

“Christian fucking Ivanov… I’ve fallen madly in love with you, too.”

Being so close to him made it possible to see every emotion jump across his face. I couldn’t possibly imagine what words would fall past his lips…

But no words did.

Instead, Christian’s hands slid from the nape of my neck, deep into my brown locks. They entangled themselves there as he brought my lips down to his.

This kiss was more.

It wasn’t just a slight peck or a hasty attempt driven by lust- this kiss was all passion. The way he held me made me feel completely secure in the embrace. It made me want to stay here. His lips lightly tugging on mine as his free hand explored the now exposed skin of my chest.

I wasn’t even sure when Christian had unbuttoned those buttons… but time during this exact moment had stopped almost completely for me. When his hand reached the hem of my shorts, I broke away from the kiss.

“Maybe we should…” I started to murmur. Then Christian attached those devilish lips to my neck, and I began to unravel in his hands.

His fingers dipped below the band of the boxers to cup my exposed self entirely. I let out a struggling moan when I felt the electrifying contact. He started giving me light squeezes, which made my hips buck into him… then he graduated to full strokes. “C-Christian.” I moaned when I felt teeth nibble at the sensitive skin on my collarbone.

I already felt sexually deprived, but Christian had begun the unspeakable act of setting my body on fire with his touch.

“I love the way my name sounds when you mumble it unconsciously through your moans.” He growled against my ear. That made my body outwardly shiver.

I was very positive that this man may have just made me pregnant- right here right now.

His hand picked up in pace as it stroked my cock faster. The fingers I had latched onto Christian’s shoulders went from a firm grip, to a death grip. “I love the way you react to my touch…. Every touch.” He whispered low as he nibbled on my lobe again.

That feeling was the most unexplainable feeling alone. I was like a gust of hot air fanning against my sensitive skin, while his sharp teeth lightly grazed over the surface area. It made me want to do things I didn’t even think I was that into up until now.

I felt that familiar feeling start to build up inside of me.

“C-Christian, I-” I whispered to him.

Christian

Every ounce of fiber in my being was on fire right now.

I watched as Alex started to lose resolve within my grasp. I wanted to taste him tonight. Every last inch of him. When I heard my name fumble past his lips again, I realized I may not have had the self restraint I thought I did tonight.

I didn’t want to wait until we got to the hotel.

I wanted Alex now.

Before I was able to slip his remaining garments of clothing off, I felt something start to vibrate hard inside my back pocket.

I ignored the first call, as I laid Alex back gently on the blanket… but the second call was what made me break away.

When I pulled my phone out, I noticed the caller ID said it was Brad. That made me sigh heavily.

“Brad listen- I know I’ve told you plenty of times that right now isn’t the best time… but please hold these words true and dear when I tell you that right now really isn’t the fucking time-”

“I need you and Alex to start packing.” Brad interrupted. “You’re on the next flight out with me and Joan.”

My hands froze mid stride into slipping Alex’s shorts off. “What are you talking about?” I asked him through the line.

“We gotta head home, Christian… Slav just dropped all charges against Vadik.”

To Be Continued…

••

Book Three is Out Now!

The CEO’s Desire

(boyxboy)

Christian has finally done it.

Made things official.

But it wouldn’t really be their love story if one of their families didn’t cut that budding, love filled trip short.

What Alex and Christian will return to, will have these two questioning everything… like whether blood is really thicker than water.

And how soon is too soon for marriage.

••

Book Three (Finale) in The CEO’s Trilogy

Bonus Chapter: Brad & Joan

Bradford Ivanov

“Oh my gosh that Lobster Frittata was incomparable. Like I think it may have just transcended my soul.” Joan moaned with content as we walked hand in hand down a trail path that led away from the restaurant.

She was practically skipping with delight after our meal, and it made me smile seeing how happy the food had made her. I hadn’t ordered nearly as much myself, but that just allowed me more time to watch Joan enjoy herself. Every bite evoked a new expression from her. When she got a mouthful of the linguini, I swear her eyes rolled back. My eyes darted to my plate as I quickly became interested in my salad… the moans and groans she was making were starting to sound slightly sexual.

It was turning me on a little too much.

She speared one of the roasted potatoes with her fork and leant slightly across the table to offer me a bite. I could feel my cheeks burning up when her eyes made direct contact mine, but I leant forward myself and accepted the bite.

For most of the evening, Joan entertained me with all types of conversation. She had this thing about her… I couldn’t really place it, but she always created such a comfortable environment for me to speak in. I was indisputably a quiet one by nature, and that was mostly because a lot of the things I was passionate about weren’t anywhere near exciting for most people… but Joan seemed genuinely interested in all of my passions.

“Okay I think I’m following here. So with that case, most of the affidavit was thrown out due to enormous amounts of hearsay and non-credible sources, but the jury was hung because of the prosecution’s inability to prove beyond a reasonable doubt? You mentioned that that burden lays entirely on the prosecution, right?” She asked me as we walked.

My feet slowed to a stop to look her way.

“Y-Yeah that’s right. You got it.” I gave Joan a nod.

The amount of information Joan had paid attention to and retained from my rambling during dinner, had surprised the completely hell out of me.

“Shit, I fucking nailed that.” Her mouth twitched up into a large smile. “You know, this stuff is actually pretty interesting. Sounds like there’s a ton more rules in law than Judge Judy and Judge Brown led me to believe all those years ago.”

That one made me openly laugh.

It was cute that she thought any part of those law shows resembled even a shred of accuracy.

“I’m not sure if it’s allowed, but I would love to sit in for one of your court cases.” Joan added. My head whipped back in her direction.

I couldn’t help having this feeling of discomfort. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t have loved to see this gorgeous woman seated in the audience, watching me work… because I most definitely would. It was just difficult for me to comprehend why Joan would wish to spend her time in a courtroom.

“Are you sure?” I asked hesitantly. “Usually um-” I stopped myself short, unsure of how to put this. “Well usually most women I’ve met really weren’t into that sort of thing. I just- I don’t want to bore you.”

And I didn’t.

My mind traveled back to what Christian had said to me earlier this morning. It was some cheesy bullshit about being my genuine self and all that. I wasn’t sure if I was even ready to start a conversation such as this one, but then I thought back to Christian’s very real threat about Ms. Anderson’s parrot, Mr. Twigs… and I decided tonight was just going to have to be the night.

I took another deep sigh.

“In comparison to you, Joan, I have the personality of a rock.” I admitted. “I mean you just- you light up the room. Every room. You know a little bit about everything, and watching you strike up a conversation with someone just showcases your real charm and vast levels of knowledge. You talk about the universe. You talk about psychology. You talk about conspiracy theories, and cults, and damn near everything in between. I can safely say I don’t know any other grown adult who still owns a Furby, but you do.”

Joan’s smile grew as she listened.

“You’re so vocal about what you believe in, it’s fucking inspirational…. and downright sexy. Sometimes I think getting into a disagreement with you is futile, yet I love to instigate it because I get to watch all that fire come out. I absolutely loathe texting, yet texting you is like the next tier down from getting to physically see you. And emoji’s! I think they may have been the cringiest thing ever created, but whenever you send me that cute smiley face one with the blissful smile and closed eyes, it makes me all giddy inside… And I’m a firm believer that the word giddy is the second cringiest thing ever created, and should never fall past anyone’s lips… yet here I am saying it.”

I hadn’t noticed myself getting closer to Joan until now.

“You’re phenomenal. I’m not too sure how you can even tolerate someone as boring as me.” That last sentence was almost a whisper.

Joan’s smile slowly faded at my words.

“You could never bore me.” She spoke seriously. “I’m not sure who came along and made you think that what you do is boring, but it’s not. It’s not boring because you’re not boring. I love it when you FaceTime me during your late work nights. You’re in your fifth stage of coping with work overload, which is just full on delirium, and you’re going on and on about how much bullshit you’re going to have to make up on. You’ll look up at me through your laptop camera every so often, with this goofy I might jump off a building soon smile.”

I couldn’t help the smile that had formed, and started to grow.

“It’s those moments when you become passionate about a tv show or a specific court case, and your eyes light up when you talk about it. I could hear you talk about Star Wars for years. Did the franchise necessarily appeal to me? No, not at surface value… but you appeal to me, and whatever makes you excited appeals to me. You are witty, and charming, and such a gentleman. Some days I feel like I’m a whole basket case and a half in comparison to you. Your responsibility doesn’t make you boring… some would say it’s downright sexy.” She finished, quoting the words I hadn’t meant to say so bluntly.

I was now the closest I may have ever been to Joan physically, besides the times she’s cuddled into me when she’s fallen asleep. My heart beat had begun to pound through my chest as I allowed my eyes to hover over every inch of her skin. If perfection had manifested itself in a person, I’d say that’s how good she looked tonight. Her richer than sunkissed melanin skin was damn near glowing against the golden hues of the setting sun. Her large eyes were staring back up at me, almost to ask what I would do next.

I asked myself the same question.

But when my eyes cast down to her plump lips, that question seized to exist.

“Joan,” I whispered, watching as she moistened those perfect lips with her tongue, “Would it… Would it be okay if I k-”

Joan didn’t allow me to finish. Instead, she got up on the tips of her toes and placed her soft lips against mine.

I wasn’t sure how to react at first. My body froze when I felt her.

She moved her lips against me slowly, almost hesitant at first. I was so stunned I hadn’t realized I wasn’t kissing her back until she started to pull away.

That was when I pulled her back into me, and I made sure this second kiss was the farthest from hesitant. I made sure she knew I wanted this- have been wanting this. My hands wrapped themselves around her waist, and held her closer as her lips touched mine again. I let out a soft moan when her flowery aromatic scent filled my surroundings. She tasted just like her dessert order when I parted my lips to grant her tongue access. It was a sweet chocolatey flavor that made me lean into her.

I hadn’t even noticed I had pinned her against the trail railing until I felt the hard wood against the back of my hand.

Her hands had just started to slip into my hair, but was cut short by the sound of my phone going off. She pouted when I had to reluctantly pull away, and that made my already big ass goofy grin, even bigger.

I was still riding on cloud nine, I had barely even been paying attention to the words on my screen so much so that I had to read them again.

The sound was from a text alert. It looks like Slav had sent me a message.

All it said was:

Come home.

Your mum and I need to talk to you and Christian… I wanted you to hear it from me first, but we’ve dropped the charges against Vadik.

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