“Dan? It’s Jeff.”
“Hey, Jeff, how are you?” It’s only been a few hours, so Dan expects Jeff is still just fine, but he has to open the conversation somehow.
“I’m tickled pink, Dan.” Dan doesn’t think he’s ever heard a grown man use that idiom, but Jeff seems comfortable with it.
“Oh? About anything in particular?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. A good friend of mine has just gone off to finalize a deal to buy a string of really excellent horses, and I’m excited that I’m going to get a chance to work with them.”
Dan hadn’t realized how tense he’d been about the deal until he feels his body react to hearing the good news. He opens the door of his truck and sits sideways on the seat, his feet still out the door. “Are you serious?”
“I don’t joke about horses, Dan.” Jeff’s voice is warm, as if he can read Dan’s reaction and understand the reasons behind it. Dan may not be pleased with Karl and Molly right now, but he still cares about them and really wants them to be as happy as they can be. He especially doesn’t want any decision he made to be the cause of their unhappiness.
“That’s great, Jeff, really. Thanks for letting me know—it’s really good news.” Dan doesn’t know where the next idea comes from, but he decides to go with it. “Look, Jeff, I’m about an hour out of town, but… would you be free in a bit, maybe to get a drink or something?” Dan panics suddenly. Did that sound like he was asking Jeff out, like he was trying to work his way into whatever Jeff and Evan have going on? “It’s nothing big, I’d just… I’d appreciate a little advice, or… I don’t know, exactly.” He’s just thinking of ways to back out of the invitation gracefully when Jeff speaks.
“Sure. That sounds good. Do you want to meet in the hotel bar, in about an hour?”
“Yeah, or, you know, if it’s a nuisance, don’t worry about it….”
“Dan, it’s alcohol, and it’s right downstairs. Couldn’t be less of a nuisance.” Jeff sounds amused. Dan is getting a little sick of amusing this guy, but he knows he has to blame himself for that, not Jeff.
“Yeah, right. Okay, the hotel bar, in about an hour. I’ll see you there.” Dan hangs up the phone and shakes his head. He doesn’t think he’s ever been less smooth in his life, and he’s honestly not even sure what he’s hoping to get from Jeff.
He’s made the drive back to town so many times it’s almost automatic now, although he does have to pay a little attention to keep the truck from driving itself to the barn. It’s strange to think that he may never go back to the place where he spent so much time over the past five years.
When he gets to the hotel and goes inside, Jeff is there waiting for him. He’s at the bar, but when Dan arrives he stands. “We can get a table, if you like.”
“No, the bar’s fine.” Dan sits down and asks the bartender for a beer. He feels a little awkward, but Jeff seems to be taking things in stride. They sit on adjacent stools and swivel a little in, so they can look at each other if they want to, but not make it obvious if they want to look away. It reminds Dan of standing at the edge of the paddock with Justin, leaning on the fence and speculating about the horses. He pulls himself out of that thought when Jeff speaks.
“So, I got another call from Evan. It sounds like things are going smoothly with the sale. He should have it all wrapped up in time for dinner.”
Dan nods. “That’s great. It’s… I was a bit nervous.”
Jeff smiles. “I would think you would be, playing with someone else’s money like that. But you didn’t let it stop you from making your case, so… unpleasant for you but not something that anyone else has to worry about.” He takes a sip of his drink. “And you impressed Evan, even more than you had before. We went into this thinking you were talented and honest, and now we know you’re smart too.” Jeff smiles warmly at Dan. “It’s made him even more determined to hire you.”
Dan groans a little. “I guess that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I mean… I love the horses, and it’d be great to keep working with them. And it looks like you’re going to be building a top-notch facility, so that’d be good too. And I appreciate that you’re trying to find ways to make it work with… with Justin.” He shrugs. “It just all seems a little… intense.” He thinks about his words. “Evan seems a little intense.”
Jeff nods, and seems to think for a moment before speaking. “Evan’s parents died six years ago, and he had to grow up pretty fast. Had to take over the family business, and take care of his sister. He’s done well by going after what he wants and not letting anything get in his way, but he hasn’t learned a whole lot of subtlety yet. That’s how he is with business, and that’s how he usually is with his sex life.” Jeff grins at Dan’s wry eyebrow. “But he’s a pussycat with his friends, and his sister has him wrapped around her little finger.”
Jeff looks appraisingly at Dan. “When you first met him, in the barn the day we looked at Monty—did he seem too intense then?”
Dan thinks back. “No, actually, he just seemed like a guy. Like a pretty good guy.”
“That’s Evan in family mode—laidback, polite, friendly.” Jeff smiles to himself. “I respect business-Evan, but it’s family Evan that’s the real draw.”
This seems like the perfect opening to ask more about Jeff’s relationship with Evan, but Dan holds back. He and Jeff are friendly, but they’re not really friends. “So, which Evan would I be dealing with at the barn?”
Jeff smiles. “He’s serious about finding a way to make the thing make money, but he’s mostly setting it up as a hobby for his sister. As long as she’s interested, it’ll be family mode. And if she loses interest and it becomes solely a business venture, you’ll rarely see him. The boy’s running a multi-billion-dollar privately held corporation. A few horses are not going to be significant enough for him to devote much time to. He’ll just assign you to some manager at the office, and you’ll see Evan once a year at the Christmas party.” Jeff grins. “And he’ll have too much eggnog and make an inappropriate advance. You’ll shoot him down as a drunk playboy, and you’ll go back to your horses the next day, no harm no foul.”
Dan shakes his head. “Does he not worry about sexual harassment lawsuits?”
Jeff grins. “Actually, he’s usually really good at keeping it out of the office.” Jeff’s grin gets just a little wolfish as he adds, “Can’t imagine what got into him with you.”
Okay, Dan’s going to take that as an excuse to pry a little. “It doesn’t bother you? Him sleeping around?”
Jeff doesn’t look surprised by the question, and just shakes his head. “We both like it this way. We’re… we’re committed, I guess, but… we both travel a lot, and neither of us is looking to be tied down to just one person.” He shrugs. “It works. We get along well, with just enough of a daddy kink to keep it interesting. So no drama lurking there, either, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Strangely, Dan finds that he isn’t curious about the relationship because he’s trying to avoid drama, and he isn’t curious because he’s interested in Evan. It’s Jeff that has him intrigued—Jeff, with his calmness and his compassion, with his warm smile and laughing eyes. Dan isn’t sure what to do with this. He’s had flashes of attraction since Justin’s accident, but he’s never, in the words he remembers from a Catholic family he’d once lived with, entertained the thoughts. Really, Dan’s kept his thoughts more faithful after the accident than they ever were before Justin’s injury. And given the events of the last few days, Dan is surprised that he’s able to feel much of anything other than numbness.
Jeff’s phone rings, and he glances at the call display. “It’s Evan—mind if I get it?” Dan shakes his head, and Jeff flips the cell open. “Hey, kid, how’d it go?” There’s a pause before Jeff says, “Congratulations. They really are beautiful horses.” Jeff smiles and nods at Dan, who smiles in return and then goes back to pretending not to hear the conversation. “Yeah, he’s still here. I dunno, hang on.” Je
ff takes the phone away from his mouth. “Evan wants to know if he can join us for a drink. He’s booked a flight back to California for tonight, so he’d like to check in with you before he goes.”
Dan raises his hands. “Yeah, of course he can.” It’s nice that they bothered to ask, but Dan really wonders how often people say ‘no’ to Evan Kaminski.
“He says ‘of course’,” Jeff tells Evan. “And I’ve been telling him that you’re not a total jackass, so make sure you mind your manners.” Jeff’s laugh is warm and intimate, and Dan has a quick flash of jealousy. He’s shocking himself with this. Two hours ago he’d been crying at his lover’s bedside, and now he’s getting possessive about the affection of a virtual stranger? He’d told Justin he was going to find a way to say goodbye, but this really wasn’t the method he’d had in mind.
Jeff hangs up and tells Dan, “He’s on his way up from the lobby.”
Dan nods and plays with the label of his beer bottle. He’s feeling awkward again, anticipates feeling a little strange around Evan, now that Dan’s realized that he’s got a bit of a crush on the man’s boyfriend.
Evan appears in the doorway, and Dan stands to greet him. They shake hands, and then Evan reaches out and gently grips Jeff’s shoulder. Dan remembers having little coded greetings like that with Justin, and his emotion this time isn’t quite jealousy, but he’s not sure what else to call it.
“There’s a booth free over there… do you guys want to grab it?” Evan is already moving toward the booth, and Dan feels a burst of resentment. He and Jeff were doing fine at the bar, and then Evan had to come along and ruin it. Dan squelches that idea fast—it’s insane to start imagining a relationship between himself and Jeff, and if the new job has any chance of working out, Dan needs to go into it with a better frame of mind. And he knows that three people sitting in a row is not a good conversation layout, so it’s not like he can find a fault in Evan’s suggestion.
Dan stays behind long enough to settle the bar tab, over Jeff’s polite objection, and then the two of them follow obediently in Evan’s wake. Jeff slides in next to Evan, and that leaves Dan to sit on the other side, staring at both of them. He really misses sitting at the bar.
Evan seems pleased with the situation, though. He smiles expansively. “So, everything went really smoothly this afternoon, and I think you’re going to like my new plan.” He looks at Dan as if he expects the admiration to begin flowing immediately, but doesn’t seem at all put out by Dan’s blank look.
“Well, the facilities aren’t totally ready for us in California—the barn’s in good shape, but they’re still working on the new rings and the cross-country course. Apparently getting the right footing is a big deal?” He looks at Dan for confirmation, and he just nods. Hopefully Evan already knows that, or he’s not doing a very good job of supervising construction. “And Karl and Molly don’t think they can be out of their house for at least a month. They’ve got to find somewhere else to live, pack up… whatever. So the new plan is for the horses to stay at the barn for another month or so. I can pay enough in rent to offset the loss from the developers, and you can keep working the horses just like you have been.” Evan smiles. “I mean, I’m hoping you’ll agree to take the job for at least that long. It can be a sort of tryout phase, you know? Tat’ll probably want to fly out for a weekend or two and get some riding in, but otherwise it’ll be just like it always was, but I’ll be signing your pay checks.”
Dan notices himself searching for a flaw in the plan, just so he can have the fun of pointing it out to Evan, but he has to admit he can’t find anything, and he chides himself for being petty. Evan has gone out of his way to make this work for Dan, and he deserves at least a little appreciation. “Uh, yeah, that sounds good, I guess.” He frowns a little. “Are Karl and Molly still going to be working there? If it’s just Robyn and me, that’s not really enough staff for twenty-three horses, not if we’re going to be training them.”
Evan nods. “I mentioned that to Karl and Molly, and they seemed willing to put in some time, but I told them I’d have to discuss it with you, that you’d have final say over hiring. Same with Robyn—she’ll get her severance pay from Karl and Molly regardless, but if you want to hire her again that’s up to you. It’s short term work, of course, unless you want to try to bring them out to California with you….” Evan catches himself and smiles winningly. “Assuming you decide to come. We can talk about that more after we see how this goes.”
Evan pulls a sheaf of papers out of his briefcase and passes them to Dan. “That’s a contract for your own employment, totally open-ended for now—either side can end the contract for any reason at any time. Not that I anticipate having to use that clause, but my lawyers’ eyes were bleeding when I suggested that we put the terms in for you and not for us. And the next sheet has some names you should know. Payroll and purchasing will go through the central office, but I don’t want you to get drowned in bureaucracy, so you can just call that number and speak to Becky, and she’ll take care of what you need. And the other name is Linda Davis—she’s my executive assistant, she knows everything that’s going on everywhere at all times… it’s a bit scary. So if you need something Becky can’t help you with, call Linda, and she’ll either help you herself or put you through to me.”
Dan misses the tranquility of his conversation with Jeff. Evan isn’t saying anything wrong, at all, but he’s just saying a lot. Again, Jeff notices and tries to make things better.
He chuckles, and nods at Dan. “Another victim of Hurricane Evan.” He points to Dan’s beer. “Drink up. I think my liver curses the day I met the kid.” Dan takes a long pull on the bottle, and Jeff continues. “I think the only decision you need to make right now is staffing, right?” He looks to Evan for confirmation, and Evan nods. The guy is trying so hard to subdue his energy that Dan worries that his head might explode. “Robyn is good, right?” Dan nods in confirmation, and Jeff continues. “And she’ll probably be interested in continuing to work there?” Another nod. Jeff pauses for a drink, and to let Dan catch up a little. Even with Jeff’s guidance, things are still happening pretty fast.
“So it’s down to Karl and Molly.” Jeff gives Dan an assessing but non-confrontational look. “Would it be uncomfortable for you to work with them? Either because they used to be your bosses or because of any personal issues?” Dan has to think about that one. He’s been in charge of training the horses for quite a while, so he doesn’t think there would be any change in the day-to-day dynamics of the barn. But he’s less sure about the personal issues.
“How did they seem?” he asks Evan. “When you mentioned them working at the barn—did they seem like they wanted to do it, or were they just trying to do you a favor?”
Evan looks like he’s thinking about what to say, for a change. “Honestly? I don’t mean to intrude on personal stuff, and I’m sure there’s tons I don’t know and none of it’s any of my business.” Evan casts a look at Jeff, as if the older man has had to remind him of these points a few times. “But since you ask… from what I could see, they don’t care one way or another about the jobs. They just seemed to be interested in doing whatever would make things easier for you.” Evan shoots a look at Jeff as if he’s afraid he’s about to cross a line. “They seem like they really care about you, and they seem upset about some sort of rift between you.” Evan seems like he might want to say more, but Jeff raises an eyebrow and Evan reconsiders. Dan notices the interplay—daddy kink indeed.
Then Dan is forced to consider the content of Evan’s appraisal. Dan knows he needs to talk to Justin’s parents. He’s just not sure he knows what to say.
“The deal closes tomorrow at midnight—we made it super fast because the lawyers are worried that some horse could go lame or something and all the valuations will fall apart. So you’ve got tomorrow to figure out staffing.” Evan is back into hurricane mode. “Contact Becky in the morning—I’ll let her know to expect your call. You can set up wage expectations with her—
I’ll authorize a ten percent raise for Robyn… and we could maybe set the Archer pay at halfway between yours and Robyn’s?” Dan nods. He guesses that makes sense. “Or, if you decide not to hire them, you can use the equivalent amount of money to hire whomever you need. If that’s not going to work out for some reason, give Linda a call, and she’ll sort it out.” Evan’s on a roll, and Jeff just sits back and watches him. “You’re welcome to move back into the apartment if you like—I understand that it’s good to have some employee on site in case there’s trouble at night, so if you don’t hire the Archers and you don’t want to move back in, you should find someone else to live there, probably. And you can buy whatever supplies are needed for day-to-day operations; just send the invoices to Becky.” Evan pauses. “What else? Am I micromanaging too much?”
Dan just raises an eyebrow. “No, I guess not. I think I know what I need to do. I just….” Again he finds himself looking to Jeff rather than Evan. “I just don’t have any experience with this side of things. I mean, I know horses. That’s about it. The hiring and supplies and invoices and executive damn assistants… I don’t really know anything about that stuff.” He takes a deep breath, because he finds that when it comes down to it, he really does want this job. He turns to Evan and says, “I think maybe you should be looking for someone else for the job, if you want them to look after all this stuff. I… I didn’t even graduate high school. I’m not saying I can’t learn it, but for what you’re paying, you deserve to have somebody who already knows it.”
Evan looks thoughtfully at Jeff, who just shrugs. Evan grins as he shakes his head. “That damned honesty, again, Dan! I love it! We can train you for whatever you need to know, but we can’t train somebody else to be a stand-up guy.”
Dreamspinner Press Year Four Greatest Hits Page 34