“Thank you for coming to dinner with me, Luca. I’m sorry I got so melancholy. You have the most curious effect on me. Now that I know about your sister, I understand why you have such an old soul.” He set down his wine glass and held out his hand. This time, Luca met him halfway. He liked Stephen Auerbach a whole lot. “I’m so happy you indulged me and came out with me. I hope you’ll let me take you out again.”
Luca nodded. “Why not? I like you very much, Stephen and I had a lovely time. Thank you.” Stephen threaded their fingers together and lifted their clasped hands to his lips where he kissed them gently. Luca was charmed by this beautiful creature who was so completely different than the man he knew he’d never have.
It bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
Chapter Nine
After his dinner with Stephen Auerbach and the disturbing kiss from Kane Delancey in the police department’s elevator, Luca was more determined than ever to distance himself from the stunning detective. He wanted nothing to do with a man who was so far in the closet, even though he didn’t seem to know it himself. Kane Delancey might like what he saw when he looked at Luca but no one was going to force him to carry on as if he wasn’t just who he was, an out and proud gay man.
At twenty-two Luca knew what he wanted in life and even if his balls ached every time he saw the policeman, he was ready to accept that they weren’t in the same place in their lives. Kane Delancey wasn’t ready for him and it made him a little sad. As depressing as the knowledge was, Luca wasn’t going to let it bother him. He couldn’t. If he kept hoping Delancey would come around one day, it would only steal his joy and that was something Luca wasn’t ready to give up.
A week after the kiss in the elevator, Stephen called to let him know the store’s diamond cases had been repaired. He didn’t reference the dinner they’d had together or the serious talk they’d had afterward. Luca knew Stephen was trying to stay professional because if nothing else, he understood how uncomfortable Luca felt dating a man who was his boss. He appreciated it more than the man knew. At some point, they might go out again but for the time being, Luca was relieved Stephen was keeping their relationship professional.
As far as Luca knew, no progress had been made in finding the robbers. He hadn’t had any contact with anyone from the police station since the night he’d dropped off the list of stolen jewelry. Kane Delancey certainly hadn’t called him. He probably never would. It was time to buck up and get back to work. Luca called all his employees to let them know that he was emailing the new schedule to them. Sebastian was expected to open the store with him the next day. The man had sniffed in the pompous way he had, and then admitted he was going stir crazy at home and that he “supposed” he would be available first thing in the morning.
Luca was excited about going back to work. He knew that he and Sebastian would be very busy until their night crew—Marilyn and Chris—came in that afternoon to work until closing. When he got to the store at seven, two large men were waiting outside for him to let them in with his keys. They were Rodney and Dog, two armed guards whom Mr. Auerbach had hired to work the day shift. Luca was tempted to bark at Dog but he kept all comments and noises to himself, something that was incredibly hard to do once the man told him his name.
Who the hell names their kid Dog, anyway?
The new diamond cases looked identical to the previous ones, beautifully finished in walnut around tempered glass. The day Luca had come into the store to get the list of stolen inventory for the police, one of the workers had explained that the glass was supposed to be shatterproof but if another smash and grab should happen and it did somehow break, the safety glass in the cases had been designed to break apart in small dull pieces, not dangerous shards the way the previous glass had. Mr. Auerbach had insisted on the design when he’d seen the way Luca had been covered with sharp pieces of glass the day of the robbery.
By the time Sebastian arrived an hour prior to store opening, an armored car was parked at the curb and two men were delivering a large box. Luca was thrilled when he saw the uniformed armed men because he knew a whole new shipment of diamonds had arrived. He signed for the sealed box as Sebastian began opening it and pulling out clear plastic bags with pretty glittery things inside. Luca loved getting deliveries of new merchandise but the arrival of so many diamonds was kind of thrilling. There were so many, he knew it was going to take an entire day to print tags and get the new diamonds in their newly reinforced cases, all the while helping customers.
As four o’clock rolled around and Marilyn and Chris showed up, Luca was grateful for the break. Between him and Sebastian, they’d managed to sell thousands of dollars of jewelry and watches while getting most of their new stock out on display. As Sebastian clocked out, Luca instructed Marilyn and Chris where to display the remaining pieces. Everything had to be logged into the computer as the stock numbers were recorded, and a brand-new diamond book for the counts was readied.
Luca had designed the current inventory control system three years before with the help of one of the IT guys Mr. Auerbach sent over. Whichever employee counted the diamonds at night and in the morning, had to record the counts manually in the book by date and time and then initial their entry. Counts were matched up with the day’s sales so that everyone had immediate knowledge of remaining inventory. There had to be a coinciding inventory log on the computer which all employees were required to use.
If a popular style of ring, bracelet, or pendant was sold, the computer automatically re-ordered it. If a customer wanted something special, it was Luca’s job to call their buyers and find out if they could get such an item when he came in the next day. He knew his inventory backwards and forwards, all the way down to the four Cs of diamonds—cut, clarity, color, and carat weight.
Displaying the diamonds in the new cases was really left to the interpretation of whichever person opened the store that morning. Each of Luca’s sales staff had different styles of display. As long as the cases were neat and clean when they were displayed, Luca was happy. The chains had to be straight, the largest pieces had to be prominently displayed at the front and middle, and everything had to be polished, including the tables of each diamond. Gold had to be wiped of any fingerprints, and the cases themselves had to be cleaned with Windex every morning. The bright lights in the ceiling spotlighted every smudge and Luca was a taskmaster when it came to making certain their cases were clean and gorgeous every day. He truly loved his job. He was sitting in the back office making notes in the computer at the end of the day when someone knocked on the door.
“Come on in,” Luca called out.
Marilyn smiled as she opened the door. “Hey, Luca. I found this at the bottom of the box of new diamonds. It’s addressed to you.” She held out a long, flat, royal-blue box tied with a white ribbon. On top of the gift box, the gold embossed calligraphy stamp of Auerbach’s Jewelers was easy to identify. A small white card was attached. Luca flipped open the card and read the neat handwriting.
“I had a wonderful time, Luca.”
He read the card and then blushed when he realized if the gift had been packed in the diamond box, it could have only come from one person. He glanced up and met Marilyn’s gaze. Her green eyes were dancing with mirth.
“Who’s it from, Luca?”
“Hmm,” he said, tapping his lips with one finger. “You said it was packed in the diamond box?”
She grinned and nodded. “Yesssss,” she hissed evilly.
“Stop that,” he said, chuckling. He tore open the ribbon and then set it aside. Inside the blue cardboard box was a black velvet box which he took out and opened. Inside was a thick, 14-karat gold bracelet, with six large, oval, polished black onyx stones surrounded by small channel set diamonds—one on each link. It was very beautiful and very masculine but had a hell of a lot more of a bling-factor than Luca would ever be caught dead wearing. He pictured a movie star or record executive wearing a bracelet like that, not a young store manager.
&nbs
p; Luca knew the bracelet had come from Stephen but he’d never seen this particular design before. He had a hunch the bracelet had been specially made just for him but after seeing the millionaire come into the store with his previous “boy”, Luca couldn’t help but wonder if Stephen kept gifts stockpiled so that he could give them to his dates. He put that thought out of his mind almost immediately. Stephen Auerbach wasn’t that kind of man, which begged the question as to why he had sent such an extravagant present at all. He’d told Luca he was special but Luca was uncomfortable accepting a gift like this. It made him feel slightly nauseous.
“Wow!” Marilyn exclaimed as she peered into the box. “Who’s that from?”
“You probably know,” he scoffed, slamming the velvet box closed. She cackled evilly and he pointed to the door. “Don’t leave Chris out there alone. You know he can’t count change to save his life.”
“He’s an accounting major,” she said, throwing her hands up as she walked toward the door. When it shut, Luca was still chuckling. He opened his locked desk drawer and shoved the bracelet into it. It was going back as soon as he had the chance to deliver it. He certainly couldn’t reject it by post. He was going to have to hand it to Stephen in person along with an explanation as to why he couldn’t accept it. He hated that kind of thing but he knew it had to be done. The weight of the bracelet alone told him its value was in the thousands—even at cost. There was no way he could accept such a gift. Luca couldn’t imagine having that kind of money. His phone rang and he fished it out of his suit coat, smiling as he looked at the caller ID.
“Corey?” he said, swiping the phone as he put it up to his ear. The thumping beat of techno music was pounding in the background. Luca instantly tried to call up a mental calendar trying to remember if there was some event he was missing.
“Hey, Luca. Get down to The Abbey!” Corey yelled into the phone.
“What’s happening there?” Luca said as loud as he could without shouting so everyone in the store would overhear his business.
“Rock the Vote is in town and there’s a bunch of stars here tonight. I just saw Storm Ellison walk into the bar. Gawd! He’s sooooooo dreamy,” Corey said.
Storm Ellison was beautiful and along with his husband, the pair was a shining example of a happy Hollywood gay couple. The Advocate had published a feature article about Storm and his husband Balthazar-Taz Grant who’d started out as his bodyguard several years ago. The men had fallen in love and gotten married in London during Pride week when Storm was on the set of his latest feature film, The Unwilling Mascot.
The article showcased a gorgeous photo of the big beautiful African-American Taz, lounging with his much smaller blond husband by the pool at their home in the hills. Their three little pampered French bulldogs had been in the photo as well. But the thing that had captured Luca’s attention was the way the two men had been looking at each other. The photographer had captured the moment when they’d been gazing at one another with absolute devotion and love. The unscripted emotions shone through their eyes, clear as day. At the time, Luca had wondered whether he’d ever find a man who’d look at him that way but he’d dismissed the idea as romantic nonsense.
“Okay, give me an hour or so. I need to catch the bus home and then I can walk from my apartment,” Luca said.
“Okay, hurry up, Luca. Someone just said Cher might stop in. SQUEEEEEEE!”
Luca laughed and hung up the phone. He adored Corey. After locking the bracelet away, he counted out the excess cash he’d taken out of the registers and prepared the cloth banking bag, locking it with a key that he always carried. The bank was right around the corner and he did the same thing he did every evening after saying goodbye to his nighttime employees—he walked to the bank and made the night deposit. After dropping the bag, Luca walked to the bus stop and sat on the bench beside Carolyn, a nice woman who worked at the sandwich shop on the corner. She took the bus almost every night and Luca often sat beside her, commiserating with her over their shared customer service horror stories.
The Abbey was packed. Normally, the large gay bar in West Hollywood, only three blocks from Luca’s apartment, was busy. They had a diverse menu but it was also very expensive. The bar was stocked with top-shelf liquor and the mixed drinks weren’t over-poured so Luca could safely drink three or four and not get sloshed. Too many bartenders in town had no idea how to make a good Bloody Mary or a Pink Squirrel. The sexy bartenders at The Abbey had it down pat. Tonight though, wasn’t about drinking.
The circus had come to town.
Bar patrons poured out onto Robertson Boulevard where the bar was located. Luca was usually able to grab a nice table on the patio but tonight, bodies were everywhere. Over the loud music a woman was on the microphone telling tonight’s youthful crowd to “Rock the Vote!”
“How many of you want clean water?” she yelled. The crowd cheered.
“How many of you want health insurance?” she yelled. The crowd cheered.
“How many of you have student loans with no jobs to pay for them? she yelled. The crowd cheered.
“How many of you know an immigrant who is living in fear?” she yelled. The crowd was on their feet, roaring.
“How many of you believe in equality… in your HOMES… at WORK… in your FAMILIES… in your ADOPTIONS… in your MARRIAGES?” she yelled.
The crowd went insane as the band started up again.
“YOU GOT TO GET OUT THERE AND ROCK THE VOTE!”
Luca was pumped as everyone began to dance around him. He tried to look for Corey as he made his way through the massive crowd, heading for the most logical place—the bar. It took him fifteen minutes to get a bartender’s attention and then ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. He figured it had enough booze in it to keep him going until the crowd thinned out a little bit. As he paid for his drink and turned around, he felt a presence beside him. The bright smile of his best friend was a welcome sight.
“Luca! You made it!” Corey yelled over the loud band on the stage. “Isn’t this amazing? Look…” Corey pointed to a table with several men. “That’s Brad Pitt, Matthew McConaughey, and Alec Baldwin! Man, I love my life, Luca.”
Luca laughed and hugged Corey, hooking an arm around his neck and drawing his head down so he could kiss over his hair. The music pulsed through him and he drank his amazing Long Island until the band finished. As soon as they were done, a huge drag queen got up there and introduced the next act. Apparently, they were going to do a truth or dare game.
No. Fucking. Way.
“Let’s get closer, Luca,” Corey said, tugging on his hand.
“I’m not getting any closer to the stage when they play those fucking truth or dare thingies.”
“Thingies? What the hell is wrong with you, Luca? I mean those games are so fucking funny.” Corey looked completely confused by Luca’s resistance to getting close.
“Corey, you have a short memory, my man. The last time one of those games was announced, three guys came out and sat on stage with their three boyfriends. Then, three fathers came out on stage and revealed that they’d slept with the three boyfriends. It turned into the Jerry Springer show,” Luca said seriously.
“The Jerry Springer show?” Corey asked. “They were fighting on stage?”
“It was a free-for-all and I am telling you right now, I have never seen underwear that color before!” Luca said.
Corey laughed. “I swear to God, you slay me, man.”
Luca leaned in and spoke directly in Corey’s ear. “And the pudding? You remember the pudding? Damn! I had banana pudding in the back of my collar that slid all the way down to my butt crack. I mean, I love a good banana pudding but not in my butt crack, Corey. You feel me?”
Corey doubled over, laughing so hard it made Luca laugh. He shivered at the memory. His ass had smelled like banana for a week and that brawl had ruined a perfectly good shirt. When he could finally catch his breath again, Corey turned to look at Luca with his beautiful eyes. He was adorable—in a
twink sort of way—and if that’s the kind of man Luca wanted, he’d be attracted. Unfortunately, fucking his best friend would never do and even if Luca were that sleazy, he doubted Corey could do him the way he needed to be done. For a moment, his thoughts strayed to the huge detective who’d pinned him against the wall of the elevator and ravished his mouth. He suddenly snapped out of it when Corey landed an elbow in the ribs.
“Ouch! What?” He looked down at Corey who was grinning.
“Wow, where’d you go?” Corey said over the contestants on stage. The drag queen was introducing the men’s boyfriends and Luca was pretty sure they were going to do the same truth or dare skit they’d done before. At least he was far enough away from the stage to be out of the line of fire when the inevitable punches began to fly. He looked back at his friend, not wanting to admit where his flighty mind had wandered.
“The fuck? I’m right here, idiot.”
“No, man. You had an expression on your face that I’ve never seen before. What were you thinking about?” Corey asked, still smiling.
“Nothing.” Luca turned away and set his empty glass down before spinning back around and crossing his arms over his chest. He looked over at the stage, leaning back against the bar. “Just watch the show, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, Luca,” his friend said.
Luca looked down and noticed Corey’s pout. He knew Corey was going to try to freeze him out but there was no way he was going to talk about Kane Delancey with anyone, not even his best friend. He put his arm around Corey’s shoulder and pulled him in tight, kissing him on top of his head like he always did. When Corey relaxed his weight against him, he accepted it with a small smile, knowing that at least Corey accepted the fact that he was gay, out, and proud. No one would tuck him away in closet. No one. He couldn’t say the same thing about Kane. That man might never come out of his carefully constructed closet.
Stay with Me (The WITSEC series Book 1) Page 13