by Jayce Ellis
Yeah, she probably did. Patti knew better than anyone how much it took for Jaq to walk away, and his doing so was a clear sign she’d gone too far.
Jaq turned back, and Matt looked at him. Really looked at him, and Jaq squirmed under the perusal. When was the last time he’d wanted someone like this? Wanted to be laid out for someone else’s pleasure? Even someone he still wasn’t sure he liked as a human being?
Shit, he was growing hard, something it’d be impossible to deny if Matt looked down. Working with this man was going to be a test of all his restraint.
Matt stepped back, and Jaq couldn’t keep his eyes from darting down. He knew when Matt’s eyes caught on Jaq’s erection, but he was busy feasting his eyes on the bulge in Matt’s pants, wondering what it would be like to drop to his knees and have a taste.
“Holy hell,” Matt muttered, and turned around. “Get your jacket on.”
And think dick-softening thoughts, like the green suede pillows a rival had produced that looked like bile. Ugh, that did it. Jaq grabbed his jacket and shrugged it on, then turned to Matt. Jaq didn’t know what he’d done, but his erection had flagged as well.
“All right, let’s go and make this thing happen.” Jaq squared his shoulders and followed Matt out the room.
Chapter Six
Matt groaned and closed his eyes for a moment. Traffic on 95 South was miserable, even after seven thirty. Which probably meant there was an accident up ahead.
He wanted nothing more than to collapse on the seriously upgraded bed in the company apartment, a far cry from the stone-hard couch, but a concerned email from one of his other clients had him sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic instead. Spitfire had nearly clawed him in his haste to leap into Kendra’s arms when she’d arrived to take him overnight, since Matt was fairly sure he’d stay at his house and endure the morning commute, and the faintest hint of blood was peeking through his shirt. Good thing he loved that cat.
An hour later, he pulled up to his building, a stainless steel and glass-front structure that looked wholly out of place with the rest of the brick-façade fronts. But that was Bernhardt for you. It was quiet, dark, almost eerie, as he used his key fob to make his way to the eleventh floor where his offices were located. Total darkness lay ahead.
He navigated the hallways with the flashlight function of his cell phone, then clicked on the light in his office. Try as he might, he had done a shoddy job of keeping up with the other projects. Bernhardt made deals nearly a year before launch, and compressing that much work into three months was taking all his time and energy. Most of the other collections were in a good place before he went up to DC, but of course there were snags. Nichole had promised a computer for him to remotely log on, but the brass was giving her grief about it. He’d driven down every Sunday so far, and now he was here midweek.
Matt pulled up the email from the company, complaining that the final designs hadn’t been approved, and shook his head. He’d asked for modifications, but as of three days ago when he’d last checked, they hadn’t sent new ones. This company was his headache, the one that required more hand-holding than he liked to give. And...nope, they still hadn’t sent anything. This was ridiculous. He couldn’t afford these delays, and he couldn’t drive down here for every minor issue they immediately elevated to emergency status.
Matt grabbed the phone and dialed Nichole.
“Matthew, why on earth are you calling me after eight?”
“I need a computer.” He could do no preamble too.
“You really called me to tell me that? I told you they were giving me issues.”
“Nichole,” Matt said, straining to keep his voice neutral. “I have to call in to check messages daily, and I had to drive down here in the middle of the week to check on Cherrywood because I don’t have a computer for remote access.”
“I know. I’m working on it.” Her voice was soft, almost placating, but that little whine at the end reminded him of Halo, and exasperated him further. It had been weeks, and it was too much.
“Remember when you said Kingsley was about your job?”
She was quiet for a moment, then “Yes.”
“Cherrywood, Garland Expressions, Oceanic Ave., those are my jobs. And I’m not in a position to sacrifice my job for yours.”
Silence, but Matt knew he’d gotten his point across. He could picture Nicki now, her chest expanding while she drew in a breath, her eyes closing, her hands landing on her hips, before she exhaled and let her shoulders drop. She’d look up at the ceiling for a minute before plastering an Oscar-worthy smile on her face and launching into a list of steps to course correct. The boys mad at having a woman in charge had given her plenty of practice at fixing things. The only thing Matt needed to resolve this was a goddamn computer. Then at least he could check in before heading to the office, maybe even take it with him and do some work on the snippets of downtime they had. Which were none, but he could dream.
When the silence ran too long, he prodded her. “Nicki, is there anyone else who can handle my other accounts if you can’t do this?”
“Sure, but the companies won’t work with them. I wasn’t blowing smoke up your ass when I said they’d only work with you.”
“What about Kingsley?”
“Pardon me?”
“Is there anyone who’s capable of taking over on Kingsley?” He ignored the sour feeling in his stomach, the feeling that Kingsley was officially his baby. That he wanted to see JaQuan again. He shoved that thought ruthlessly aside. Someone else needed to step in. “Who do you trust to not screw shit up and use it as leverage against you?”
This time, the pause was longer, more contemplative. “No one,” she whispered, the heaviness of resignation making the words drop like lead.
Which he knew. “Then I need a computer.” He kept going before she could answer. “We need a standing appointment to touch base, but I can’t keep driving down here. It’s too much, and something else will fall through the cracks.” And he’d be damned if his ass ended up on a chopping block alone.
“Fine,” she said, her voice stronger, determined. “I’ll have one couriered to you tomorrow and deal with the brass later. You want it sent to the apartment or Kingsley?”
“Kingsley. With the hours we’re working, I’m dead on my feet by the time I get back to the apartment.”
“How is Kingsley coming along?”
Matt thought about it. They’d been forging ahead until Laurel left, and JaQuan had spent most of the week trying to keep Patricia from worrying about when the next shoe was going to drop. Their productivity had definitely taken a hit. He’d asked them to come in on Saturday, which they had, but as JaQuan said, it was under a standing protest. Nicki didn’t need to know any of that.
“It’s coming,” he offered. “We hit a bit of a snag, and that’s meant some weekends and late nights to make up for it, but we’ll be back on track by next week.” If he could wring another Saturday out of them.
“Okay,” Nicki said, like she didn’t have the energy to press further, “I trust you. Let me know if you have any problems, and Matt? Thank you for this.”
They exchanged goodbyes and hung up, and Matt took a good look at his office. He wanted nothing more than to drive home and collapse on his bed, but he needed to make sure the rest of the accounts were good to go until the computer arrived. He knew better than to assume it’d actually be delivered the next day.
Three hours later he was nearly dead on his feet. No way could he make the drive back to DC tonight, and thank god Kendra loved Spitfire. He left the office, locking it behind him, silently praying this would be his last time here for a while.
He couldn’t help but think about JaQuan as he drove the twenty minutes to his house. The look on his face when he realized he would have to stay on the project, even though he had to be up to his eyeballs in other work. Matt hadn’t truly
appreciated how stretched Jaq had to be, even as he’d inwardly complained about how stretched he was. He’d been irritated when Jaq had left, thinking it had to do with whatever attraction was between them. And maybe that was part of it, but the valid reasons were more than sufficient. Now that he was in the same position, he needed to mirror Jaq’s actions, and keep things as clear-cut and discrete as possible.
A pity that didn’t make him feel one bit better.
* * *
“You gone stare at that thing all day?” Jaq made a playful swipe for Tanisha’s phone and she laughed, darting off to the side of the walkway before jogging back. It was Parents Weekend, and the school had a ton of activities planned. Jaq wasn’t interested in any of that. He just wanted to spend time with his daughter.
“No, but I’m trying to meet up with my girl.” Tanisha paused and typed out a message, her fingers moving faster than should have been possible, then grabbed his hand and started walking. “Thanks for coming out, Dad.”
“You know I wouldn’t miss it. Was hard enough not to hound you every day and see if you wanted to come home on the weekend.” Even if they would spend the time with someone else instead of alone. It was good that she wanted him at all, right? And wanted him to meet a friend? He’d take it.
She nudged him with her shoulder as they walked. “I know it was. My roommate is cool, but she’s started talking to some guy, so I basically have a single for how much I see her.”
“I thought that’s who you were texting with,” Jaq said, pointing to where she’d tucked her phone into her hoodie.
“Who, that? Nah, this is Angela. We’re in the same chemistry class. Lab partners. Her parents are divorced, but her dad’s supposed to be here. I guess her mom’s doing some wedding planning with her older brother’s fiancée or something, I don’t know.”
“You know I’m always down to meet your friends.”
“Yeah, so you can vet them and scare them off.” Tanisha rolled her eyes in what was probably years of frustration, and Jaq laughed. He’d only done that with the boys, and he wouldn’t apologize for it. Though, now that he thought about it, he should have done it for everyone. They hadn’t discussed it, but there was no guarantee Tanisha was straight. She’d been hardcore into her studies and dance classes, and had never brought anyone home who wasn’t strictly a friend.
Her phone buzzed and she fished it out of her pocket, talking excitedly for a moment before she hung up. “They’re by the football field. C’mon.” She grabbed his hand and took off, darting through the thickening crowd in that direction.
Howard was known for many things, but the strength of their football team wasn’t one of them, and Jaq prayed he wouldn’t have to sit through a game. He wasn’t into the sport on his best days, and the idea of sitting in a stadium full of screaming fans for a mediocre squad, just because it was Parents Weekend, held little appeal. But if that’s what T wanted, he’d smile and grit his teeth.
He followed T up the hill—who knew there were so many damn hills in this place?—until she shrieked and waved at someone up ahead. She sprinted the remaining distance, meeting the other girl halfway. They hugged and laughed, and Jaq slowed his steps. His quads hurt.
Jaq had just about caught up when the other girl—Angela, if he remembered correctly—yelled behind her, “Dad, come on!”
And he stopped. Dead in his tracks. Matt Donaldson pushed off the lamppost he was leaning against and sauntered over, his face the same carefully neutral one he maintained at the office. The jeans and T-shirt he wore was frankly boring, but he filled them out and, even though the weather had cooled some, the biting gusts of wind cooling the mid-sixties temp, the shirt clung to him, revealing the definition normally hidden under his work clothes. Jaq filed the image away—he’d make use of it later.
“Dad, what’re you doing? Get over here!” Tanisha waved at him with a hint of exasperation on her face, and Jaq shook himself out of his mental stupor and jogged the rest of the way to her. It was almost second nature by now to focus on how much he disliked this man, but he couldn’t reasonably do that in front of his daughter, right? Either of their daughters.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Matt muttered when he got close.
“You know Angie’s dad?” Tanisha asked. The curiosity on her face was matched by Angela’s. Though on her it looked more like skepticism.
“He’s the liaison for the new project I told you about,” Jaq said, hoping she didn’t mention how much he’d complained about Matt before now. But no, Angela’s face cleared and she nodded.
“Oh, so you’re the reason Dad is living in the corporate apartment instead of at home. Not that I’m complaining, but I thought I’d see him more.” Angela looked up at her father. “I haven’t seen him more.”
Jaq couldn’t tell if that irritation was real or not, but better safe than sorry. “You have to blame my boss for that. She’s under the sadly mistaken assumption that no one has other obligations.”
Matt laughed and Angela’s face softened. Jaq saw the tension in Matt’s eyes, the way he winced when Angela spoke, and knew there was a story behind it. One he was pretty sure Matt didn’t want to get into with relative strangers. Jaq threw an arm around Tanisha and relaxed when she smiled up at him. Matt did the same with Angela, and even though she stiffened at first, she eventually sank into the embrace and tugged her father tight.
“Sorry for being a brat, Dad. I guess I was just kinda hype about the idea of seeing you more.”
The slight shake of his head and wide eyes belied his surprise, then Matt bussed a kiss on her forehead. “If you weren’t being a brat I’d ask who’d stolen my Halo and replaced her.” Angela blew a raspberry at him and they all laughed. Matt turned to Jaq. “What’re you guys up to the rest of the day?”
That Matt asked the question without a hint of mocking or exasperation threw him for a loop, and it took him a second to process the words. Then he snorted and tipped his head toward T. “I’m sure these two have plans.”
Tanisha blushed, a sure sign he was right. “Well,” she said with a hopeful grin, “we were thinking maybe we could go out to eat?” She smiled, her eyes wide and blinking, and Jaq shook his head. She said that like he might deny her. Yeah, right.
“Where at?”
“Ruth’s Chris?” If anything, the smile grew wider.
Of course. They’d taken Tanisha there once, for Gran’s sixtieth birthday, and she’d been angling for a reason to go back ever since. He’d been surprised when she hadn’t asked for it for graduation, but he should’ve known it was coming.
“You game?” he asked Matt, knowing he’d understand the underlying question. Until now, their interactions had been carefully controlled. Because beneath their occasional contempt, there was something. Jaq couldn’t describe what it was, but no matter how hot Matt was, his mouth should have been enough to turn him off. That it turned him on, even when Jaq wanted to muzzle him, had led to more than a few sleepless nights. Here on the campus, they’d at least be surrounded by other parents and students. At a restaurant? Even with Tanisha and Angela there as buffers, it’d be more intimate than anything that’d came before.
Matt paused for what felt like hours before answering, but eventually nodded. “Yeah, I’m down.” He jerked his head again, like he had to convince himself he was ready, and boy, did Jaq understand that feeling.
“Yes!” Tanisha yelled, then fist-bumped Angela, who wore an equally broad grin. “Can we go now?”
Jaq shrugged and looked at Matt. “Did you have anything else planned?”
Matt shook his head. “Nah, let’s roll. I’ll call and see if we need reservations.” He took Angela by the arm and started walking in the opposite direction of where Jaq was parked. “We’ll see you there?”
“Sure.” Jaq and Tanisha walked to his car, and she sighed when they got in and he turned the air up.
“
What’s Angie’s dad like?” she asked the moment Jaq had pulled out of his spot.
What a loaded question. He coughed before answering. “Professional. Kind of a hard-ass, honestly. He’s there to get the job done and keep everyone on task. Why you ask?”
“Like, Angie’s been asking me how to talk to him. I guess when he and her mom divorced a few years back, he came out as bi and she’s been struggling with that. I told her you were gay and she had a million questions.”
Which explained a lot about Angela’s initial reaction to him. If she knew Jaq was gay, and her dad was bi, and they worked together, it wasn’t a stretch to think they might be involved. But Matt was too uptight to go for a workplace romance, even a short-term one. That Jaq increasingly fantasized about riding him like a pony had no bearing on that.
“What’d you tell her?”
T shrugged. “Wasn’t much to tell. It’s not like you ever brought anyone home.”
“True.”
“Why was that, Dad?” T shifted toward him, as much as the seat belt allowed, and leaned against the window. “Why didn’t you ever date?”
Now it was his turn to shrug. “I don’t know. I figured you had enough to deal with without having the gay single father thing thrown in your face.”
“I would’ve fought anyone who said anything,” she grumbled.
“Cuz you just like your gran. Always threatening to fight somebody.”
She snort-laughed, and Jaq grinned. Until she asked the next question.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah, T?”
“How’d you know you were gay? You and Mom must’ve...” Her words fell off and she stared outside the window.
Jaq cleared his throat. Talk about awkward. “Yeah, of course.” He paused, tried to center himself for a conversation he was pretty sure was decades in the making, and started again. “Your mom was—is, I’m sure—a beautiful woman. Sweet and smart as hell. A nerd, and she never quite fit in. I was popular, on the track and field team, and she was one of the stats people for the meets. We both wanted to, I don’t know, belong, in different ways.”