BOSS

by Ashley John

  He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Joshua’s tongue running along the body he had spent hours perfecting in the gym. The dark blonde stubble on his jaw grated against his soft skin, sending a hot shiver running across the surface.

  He was so in the zone, he ignored the sound of a door opening and closing. He heard laughter and giggles but he convinced himself it was coming from the street.

  When two figures burst into the room, locked in each other’s arms, Joshua collapsed onto Ezra’s body and his hand clamped over his mouth. Ezra tried to look, to see who it was but Joshua’s hair obscured his vision.

  He heard a girl giggle and a guy with an American accent whisper something. Light filled the room and Ezra noticed that Joshua was clenching his eyes shut.

  “Joshua?” the American accent cried, “What the-,”

  Joshua quickly jumped off Ezra, but that probably wasn’t the best idea. He awkwardly smiled up to Levi as Levi’s eyes danced across his chest and down to the solid mass snaking in his trousers.

  “I can explain,” Joshua mumbled.

  The week passed by and Friday came around but Joshua didn’t have that Friday feeling people always talked about. He was dreading the weekend because it brought Violet’s wedding. It wasn’t the wedding he was concerned about, it was what happens afterwards.

  Levi was less concerned about what Joshua and Ezra were doing and more concerned that it put their plans even more at risk. Along with Ezra, he hadn’t stopped asking him ‘what’s your next step.’

  As he pulled the hood over his hair, he lowered his head to keep the rain from extinguishing his cigarette. When he was outside Silverton Tower, he quickly puffed as hard as he could to get his nicotine intake before he had to face the day.

  Ezra was throwing work at him from every direction and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t finding it difficult to keep up, even if he was enjoying the new challenges. He never thought work could be something he enjoyed – But maybe that’s because I’m doing it with Ezra by my side.

  He was about to pull down his hood and head into the tower, already fifteen minutes late but he saw Tobias running through the rain towards him. He had his briefcase over his head, not that he had any hair to protect anymore. His trench-coat was already soaked through.

  Can I get away before he sees me?

  Tobias wasn’t going to let that happen. When his eyes met Joshua’s, he gave him a look that said ‘don’t you dare fucking move’.

  “Tobias, what are you doing here?” he cried over the rain, glancing through the revolving doors to the safety of the inside – Who thought I’d ever feel safer in this tower than outside?

  “Looking for you, of course,” he cried back, “you won’t answer my calls so I had to come and see you. Lucky that you’re here.”

  “Tobias, I can’t talk now,” Joshua looked to his wrist but he wasn’t wearing a watch, “I’m already late.”

  “There’s a coffee shop on the corner,” Tobias was already walking away, “if you know what’s good for you, you’ll follow me.”

  He was torn between the lawyer and the building. I’m already late, what does another ten minutes matter? He knew Ezra would he waiting for him but he’d been avoiding Tobias long enough. He must have rejected at least one hundred calls from him over the last week. Tobias had even come around to the house a couple of times but Violet had reluctantly lied for him, saying that he wasn’t in, when he was really hiding in the bathroom under the stairs.

  Running after Tobias, his mind was running overtime and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what he had to say.

  “Is there a coffee shop on every corner now?” Joshua pulled down his hood as he adjusted to the cosy warm heat of the already full coffee shop.

  “What do you want?” Tobias pointed to the counter.

  “Erm, whatever,” he shrugged, not knowing what was ‘the in thing’ to drink.

  Tobias unbuttoned his coat, dumping it on the back of an overstuffed armchair. Joshua sat in the chair opposite, wondering why the table’s surface was made up of pictures of cats.

  In typical lawyer fashion, Tobias returned with two bland black coffees. Joshua slurped the hot drink but it was bitter and devoid of any flavour.

  “You’ve been a difficult man to reach,” Tobias settled into the armchair with his briefcase on his knee, “I was beginning to think you didn’t want to talk to me.”

  He shot Joshua a stern look over the top of his briefcase before looking back down at the papers he was rooting through.

  “I’ve been busy,” he decided to keep it simple, “it’s not easy to adjust.”

  Tobias pulled a thick slab of paper out of his briefcase. He dropped it onto the table between them, narrowly missing the cups.

  “It seems that Mr. Steele is a persuasive man. First your father, now you -,”

  “What’s this about?” Joshua cut him off before he could finish his sentence, “Like I said, I’m late.”

  Tobias didn’t like being interrupted. He was a typical lawyer in that he liked to control the conversation but Joshua wasn’t in the mood to play along. They had spent enough years in courtrooms together to know that it was difficult to offend the other but he could see the shift in Tobias’ eyes. He doesn’t trust me anymore.

  “You told me to dig, so I did,” he pushed the paper towards Joshua, “this is everything I could find on Ezra Steele. Once I started looking, things fell easily into place.”

  Joshua flicked through the paper. The first one was a copy of a birth certificate. His mother was listed as ‘Chantelle Steele’ but there was no father. The rest of the papers were more difficult to understand. He flicked through them, waiting for something to catch his eye. He stopped when his eyes landed on the flames. It was a news article pulled from the Hackney Citizen website, dated 2010:

  FLAT BLAZE KILLS TWO YEAR OLD

  Local residents are distraught after a fire broke out yesterday in flat 4b in the Winston Block of the Trelawney Estate, killing two-year old Lily Steele.

  He scanned through the article, skimming over a statement from Jade, saying how devastated she was. He waited for his eyes to land on Ezra’s name:

  Lily’s father, Ezra Steele, was unavailable for comment but it is believed that he wasn’t in the flat at the time of the fire. Jade and Ezra Steele have been questioned about the fire but it’s too early for police to comment on the cause of the fire.

  He stopped reading. Joshua had never doubted Ezra, it was just a shock to see it in print. He scanned over the words again.

  Jade and Ezra Steele.

  They were married?

  Had Ezra told him that? If he had, he couldn’t remember. Dropping the papers onto the table, he sat back, still clutching the newspaper article. He wasn’t sure why it was making him feel so uneasy.

  “What does any of this have to do with my father?” Joshua asked.

  Tobias gritted his jaw and snatched up the papers.

  “Do you know how difficult it was to get hold of this stuff? I’m not charging you for my time, Joshua. I’m doing this because I’ve known you your whole life.”

  “Sorry,” Joshua passed the article back.

  Tobias snatched it and slotted it back in with the pile. He sipped his coffee and settled back into the chair.

  “It might not seem like a lot but this is the kind of stuff we use to damage his character in court. His grades were terrible in school, he has a couple of petty crime charges and he even has an ASBO for smashing a woman’s plant-pot when he was thirteen.”

  Joshua didn’t want to damage Ezra’s character.

  “There’s also the fire. Did you know he had a daughter? It’s all rather suspicious. We can definitely use that and kick -,”

  “We’re not using any of this,” Joshua interrupted, “nobody is taking anybody to court.”

  Smoke practically billowed out of Tobias’ nostrils, “What has he said to you? What does he have on you? You can tell me.”

  He
leaned into listen to Joshua’s secrets but he didn’t have any to share.

  “You’re barking up the wrong tree,” Joshua shrugged, “there’s nothing. I don’t deserve this inheritance anymore than he does, but at least he was here. Where was I?”

  Tobias let out a deep sigh and planted himself back in the chair.

  “I don’t have a good feeling about this guy,” he mumbled, “maybe it wasn’t a good idea getting you close to this guy. It appears he’s a master manipulator. If he can manipulate Bill Silverton-,”

  “He’s not manipulating me,” he snapped.

  “Are you engaging in,” Tobias coughed, “sexual relations with this man?”

  “What?” Joshua laughed.

  Glancing uncomfortably around the busy coffee shop, he couldn’t remember where the exit was.

  “It’s just something Violet said,” Tobias waved his hands, “if it’s not that, he certainly has some hold over you.”

  “There’s no hold!” he cried, standing up, “Thank you, for everything you’ve done, Tobias. I appreciate it but I’m not taking this any further. It’s dead and done, so let’s leave it that way.”

  Yanking his hood over his head, he hurried through the coffee shop, not giving Tobias a chance to say anything else to him. He tripped over a girls bag and screamed out at her, making her drop her cup. It smashed and the coffee doused her lap.

  “Shit, sorry,” Joshua mumbled, not sticking around.

  He burst into the rain, running until he reached Silverton Tower. Standing outside Ezra’s office, he let his clothes drip on the tiles for a minute before he knocked.

  “Where’ve you been?” Ezra’s face lit up when he walked in, “I was about to send out a search party.”

  Joshua pulled off his hoodie, tossing it over a plant. It was like he was being drawn across the room to Ezra and he couldn’t avoid it. When he straddled Ezra in his seat and kissed him he couldn’t stop thinking about Tobias’ words.

  ‘He certainly has some hold over you.’

  “You’re up early for a Saturday,” Felix exclaimed when he stole a piece of Ezra’s toast, “you usually sleep in until noon on the weekends.”

  That’s usually because I’m out until the early hours most Friday nights.

  “I’m going to a wedding,” he nursed his coffee as he leaned against the counter.

  The tie holding his bathrobe together was starting to slip open but he didn’t have the energy to rescue it.

  “Who’s getting married?” Felix wrinkled up his nose.

  “Joshua’s cousin.”

  With a smirk and a suggestive look, Felix let Ezra know exactly what he was thinking, “A wedding date? Shit. It must be serious.”

  He didn’t have the energy to deny it. He didn’t know if they were serious or not. There was no label on things and they hadn’t talked about exclusivity, not that Ezra had been going near any other guys. He won’t even tell me if he’s sticking around.

  “It’s just a wedding,” he stretched out, “it’ll probably be dull.”

  “Try not to catch the flowers,” Felix called after him as he headed into the hall, “I know gay marriage is legal now but you won’t suit the dress.”

  Ezra turned around, flashing both of his middle fingers to his little brother. He had to admit, he liked having Felix around, even if most of the time he was a pain in the arse. It was nice knowing there was someone there after spending so many years living alone.

  After a quick shower, he jumped into the new suit he’d bought specially for the occasion. His closet was already filled with designer suits but he’d been in the mood for something a little different. Glancing at the charcoal grey suit in the mirror, he turned to catch a glimpse of his ass, the pearlescent finish on the fabric catching the early Saturday light as it filtered through his linen drapes.

  Just as he was heading out of the door his phone beeped. That’ll be Joshua. He clicked his car keys, unlocking the BMW 3 Series, wishing it were his Lamborghini.

  He opened the message but it was from his assistant, not Joshua.

  ‘From: Becky

  I left my gym stuff at the tower so I swung by and noticed that the board of directors were meeting without you. Just thought you should know. See you Monday. Becky.’

  She always signed off her messages with her name, as if she didn’t expect him to have her number saved. He jumped into his car as he read the message over again. He was so close to texting her to tell her that he was busy but a niggling voice in the back of his head forced him to head into the city centre instead of towards Hammersmith.

  ‘Send To: Becky

  Checking it out now. Just so you know, you should be enjoying your boyfriend, instead of working out on the weekends. You work too hard.’

  She sent back a laughing emoji but that was all. She was always treading the balance between trying to keep things professional and keeping the boss/assistant relationship ticking over. She’d started under Bill, not long before his cancer diagnosis, so she was used to being ruled with an iron fist.

  He swung into the car park and headed straight for the smokers fire exit. He didn’t have his keys but one of the cleaning ladies was having a cigarette as she leaned casually against the wall with her foot lodged in the door.

  It was that crazy woman who’d tried to convince him there was a crack in his window. What was her name? He knew it was along the lines of Constipation.

  “Constance,” he read her nametag as he walked towards her – Thank God for my long distance vision.

  “Shit,” she stubbed the butt under her foot, “Sir, I was just -,”

  “At ease,” he tried his best to look kind and gentle but it was a stretch, “I’m not working today, I just want to slip in and pick something up.”

  She kicked the door opened, stuffed her hands in her apron and nodded inside with a wink. She must be edging towards retirement but she was the best cleaner they had, or so he’d heard.

  “What floor are the directors meeting on?” he clicked his fingers as he spun around.

  “Third, sir,” she followed him in, “that Graham was acting so shifty earlier if you ask me. Looked like he didn’t want to be seen as he sloped through the building with his mates. That man gives me the willies. Bill never even liked him, he just felt sorry for him because his son was such a basket-case.”

  Constance carried on chewing his ear off until he was inside the lift.

  “I better get back to work,” she puffed out her chest and headed towards the reception desk.

  The doors closed and he jammed the button for the third floor. The third floor of Silverton Tower usually housed the human resources team but the offices were being renovated after a water leak in the bathroom on the fourth floor flooded through the ceiling.

  The doors slowly opened onto the dark floor. It seemed pretty lifeless and it made him wonder if Constance had got it wrong. The corridor was filled with plastic sheeting and tools so he crept forwards slowly, not wanting to make noise.

  Whatever Graham was up to, he didn’t want to be found and Ezra wanted to know why. Turning the corner, he started to hear the instantly recognisable and smug tone of Graham. It was the voice of a man who probably had a tiny cock so he acted like the big man to make up for it.

  He made his way to the end of the corridor and stopped outside the door where he could hear the voices. Plastic covered the window but he could see a lump of a shadow passing backwards and forwards against the light of the window.

  “Are we all agreed?” he heard Graham say, “We target Joshua as soon as possible?”

  “What if he doesn’t want to do it?”

  “He will,” Graham laughed, “he’s Bill’s son. The sooner we get that Slimy Steele out of his company, the better.”

  They’ve given me a nickname, how sweet.

  “You know Steele will put up a fight.”

  “I know,” Graham pondered, “but there’s more of us and with a Silverton on our side, he’ll be over powered a
nd out numbered. I remember that Silverton kid. He’s easily suggestible. Always been a bit of a sheep. We just need to make sure he knows we’re the shepherds.”

  It was like listening to somebody with a god complex. Ezra wanted to interrupt their little meeting but he knew it was better to have them believe he knew nothing.

  “This is what Bill would have wanted,” somebody chipped in.

  “It is,” Graham agreed, “he was adamant Joshua was going to do this. He was convinced he was going to step up to the plate and then Ezra somehow wormed his way in. I don’t know what he said or did but he must have manipulated Bill. The quicker he’s gone, the faster we can get back to running this company the way Bill would have wanted.”

  “Joshua will be the perfect puppet,” somebody laughed.

  “Let’s hope so, John, let’s hope so.”

  He listened for a couple more minutes but the conversation quickly turned to golf and money. When he heard movement, Ezra jumped into the shadows, pressing up against the wall. They all milled out one by one. He watched each pathetic middle-aged man head towards the lift, full of their self-importance. Graham was the last of them to come out. Behind him, he locked the door and dropped it into his pocket.

  “Oh, John,” Graham called after John, “I forgot to mention, we’ll meet the same time on Wednesday. Pass the message around. I’ll try and get the kid to join us.”

  “Sure thing,” John nodded as he dabbed a tissue along his wrinkled forehead, “when is this floor going to get finished? It’s roasting without the air con.”

  “Just another reason Ezra needs to be gone,” Graham laughed as they walked away, “can’t even sort out a simple renovation.”

  The bastard! Ezra had to clench his fists because he could feel he was about to launch for the back of Graham’s head as he made his way through the tools. The only reason the renovation was taking so long was because the contractors Graham had insisted they use had botched the job and they were waiting for the new ones to finish their existing job so they could start.