"Mr. Adams, you aren't paying attention to me," Janice said from the doorway.
"Of course I am. I'm just pretending to ignore you," Avery immediately shot back, turning toward her with a sheepish grin on his face.
"Good! Then you're agreeing to double my salary with a nice six months of vacation every year?" she said, cocking a severely arched eyebrow. He ignored her comment and went straight to his agenda.
"Did you get me bi-weekly reservations at La Bella Luna?" he asked.
"See? You didn't hear a word I said. I move halfway around the world, to the coldest place on the planet, and you pay as little attention to me now as you did before. You don't need me. You could ignore anyone just as effectively," she said, and he could tell she was a little put out as she entered his office uninvited, taking a seat across the desk from him.
"Now, that's not true. You are far easier to ignore than most people I've met along the way. Now answer my question, am I scheduled?" Avery teased, kicking back farther in his seat.
"No, sir. They're booked up solid for several months. The best I could get was to randomly fit you in. I put the dates on your calendar," she said and pointed to his Day-Timer. He rarely looked at his calendar, as it was her job to keep him on task. He never made that easy for her.
"So when's my next reservation?" Avery asked. The twirling of the ballpoint pen came to an abrupt halt as his brow narrowed.
"Not for a couple of weeks. I think three weeks from tomorrow, but you could open your Day-Timer and check yourself," she said, trying for funny and falling short, at least in his estimation, but clearly not hers as evidenced by the big, bright smile she sported.
"Not soon enough. Do you have their number?" Avery asked, opening the drawers to his desk, trying to find the hidden phone book.
"I can get it, but Avery, what are you thinking? You know they said to be discreet. That look in your eye and the way you've been acting is anything but discreet," Janice lectured. She wasn't old enough to be his mother, but she held that motherly tone.
"And how have I been acting?" he asked, not really caring how she answered.
"Preoccupied. Not focusing on work, and if I didn't know better, I'd say perhaps even a man in love," she said, and gave a little chuckle as she tried to get the last thought out.
He ignored her completely.
"Screw discreet! Have you been to this place?" Avery asked, plopping the giant, oversized phone book on the desk, thumbing through the pages.
"No, but a better use of your time might be to go through these case files. You're sitting in on the meetings—" Janice started, but Avery cut her off.
"Stay on task, Janice. We're discussing La Bella Luna. The place has shockingly, unbelievably delicious authentic Italian cuisine. You need to go," Avery said, looking down the long list of restaurants in the city.
"But you've never been a big fan of Italian," Janice shot back.
"It's the atmosphere," Avery said, flipping a page before resuming his search.
"It's a guy," she said flatly.
"He's in the atmosphere." Avery did look up at her, giving her a cheeky grin as he tried to sway her with his charm, but she didn't bend. Besides, he decided a long time ago, it couldn't be easy to sit so straight in that formal business suit, legs crossed so properly, and not be in a bad mood most of the time.
"I knew it! Avery, be careful. You have a serious chance to follow in your grandfather's footsteps…" Janice started with the lecture again.
"That's debatable." Avery stopped her by picking up the phone and dialing the number he'd located in the book.
"So the flowers weren't an apology?" Janice asked in defeat.
"No, they were," Avery said, clearly confusing her. As he waited for someone to answer the phone, he gave Janice his most cocky grin, a very clear watch-me-get-what-I-want expression.
"La Bella Luna, can I help you?" The deep rich timbre turned him on instantly, and his gaze strayed to the corner of his desk, Janice completely forgotten.
"Good Morning, this is Avery Adams. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" He already knew the answer, he just wanted to hear Kane's voice again. Avery thought about Kane's hands and how competently he'd handled that bottle of wine. He imagined them using the same care as he picked up the phone from the cradle. The air in the room sizzled, his heartbeat picked up, and his body grew hard with need. He had never in his life been so immediately taken with another. Avery prayed Kane might be at least bi-sexual. Straight men were much harder to work into his bed—not impossible, but harder—and he definitely wanted Kane Dalton in his bed.
"Hello, Mr. Adams. This is Kane Dalton, would you prefer I transfer this call to someone else?" The soothing voice on the other end of the phone became tense.
"No, you're who I was hoping to speak with. It seems you and I may have gotten off on the wrong foot, and I'd like to set things right between us," Avery said, adjusting his gaze to stare out the open window.
"I have no issue with you, sir," Kane responded back immediately.
"There's a large bouquet of rather expensive lilies sitting in my office that might say otherwise." He cut his eyes back to the flowers on the small conference table. Kane didn't respond this time, there was just silence. Good. Kane got a taste of his own medicine. "Listen, I'd like to book a regular table in your restaurant a couple of days a week. It doesn't have to be the same days each week, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself a few nights ago and got reacquainted with several families from my youth." He was met with more silence, then he heard the rustle of pages being turned.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I just don't have—"
"I'll make it worth your while." Avery cut him off, his eyes still on the flowers, but seeing the man who sent them instead of the lovely blooms.
"It's not that, sir. We're just incredibly booked." Kane started with the excuses again, but Avery wasn't taking no for an answer.
"Please lose the sir. My name's Avery. I'd like you to use it." Avery's voice turned lower and huskier as he spoke from his deepest desires.
"Avery," Kane said as if testing the word. "We don't have the space available. We're booked solidly for several months."
"No one's that booked," Avery called him on the lie, and left it right there between them.
After a long extended pause, Kane finally answered, "You're right, let's get you in Monday and Wednesday evenings. Does that suit you?"
"You sure do," Avery said. Now that he'd managed a firm reservation, it was time to draw Kane in. Not surprisingly, he was met with silence. "I'll take whatever days you offer." In fact, I'll take whatever you are willing to give. As the thought faded, Avery realized those were actually terrible days to be seen out and about.
"Seven o'clock?" Kane asked, ignoring everything he said.
"Whatever works," Avery replied.
"All right, would you like to come in tomorrow night?" Kane asked. His tone was back to all business.
"Absolutely!"
"Great. Thank you for choosing La Bella Luna." Avery could hear the pages turning again on whatever Kane was working from.
"Thank you, Kane," Avery said. There was silence again. The breathing he heard through the phone was the only indication that the other man lingered on the line.
"I'll see you tomorrow night." With that Avery hung up. It took a full minute for him to remember his secretary remained in the office as he rested there with the small smile plastered on his face, still looking at the bouquet. God, it was amazing how badly he wanted this to work out with a man who gave zero indication he was even gay, much less interested. He finally cut his eyes back to Janice, who sat there in her stiff way, a smug look on her pinched face. Maybe her face wasn't pinched, but for this moment, he decided it was the best way to describe her.
"He doesn't know what's about to hit him, does he?" she finally said, bouncing her high-heeled foot.
"It sure doesn't seem so," he said, dropping the phone book back inside the drawer. Now that he had Kane Dalton
within his grasp, it was time to work. He looked down at the stacks of files on his desk.
"Watch yourself, Avery," Janice said. Why was she still in his office? He never looked up at her.
"I always do." He picked the first file of the bunch and flipped it open.
"This one's more important than the others," Janice said.
"Perhaps. Maybe not. We'll see." Avery still refused to look up. Maybe she would get the hint sooner or later. He was done with this conversation.
"That smile you're wearing says it all. Just so you know, I'm with you no matter what. I work for you, not the campaign, not the party." Those words surprised him.
"Thank you. That means a lot. Don't tell my mother," Avery joked.
"Got it, mum's the word." Janice left the office, shutting the door behind her.
Chapter 5
"Fly out this weekend. You have to see this. It's beautiful here," Brian said on a telephone line filled with static. He was a pilot for a private jet charter company that currently worked for a large land developer in Dubai.
"I can't. You're halfway around the world. I can't be gone that long," Kane said, somewhat distracted while working the ledgers from last night's sales. Kane's entire focus shifted as he flipped through the pages, trying to find the to-date annual totals for the restaurant this year. The best he could tell, they were right on course, increasing steadily. If he could keep this pace, the property La Bella Luna sat on would truly be his in a matter of a couple of years. Then Kane could focus on buying the investors out and be truly independent for the first time in his life.
"Did I lose you? Or are you not listening?" Brian asked, irritation clear in his voice.
"No, I'm here, I'm listening," Kane responded, trying to remember what they were talking about.
"No, you're not. Look, Kane, I've been thinking. This isn't working out for me anymore," Brian said. It wasn't the whiney way he normally used when he tried to manipulate Kane.
"Wait, what? You just wanted me to fly out," Kane shot back.
"It was a test. You failed. I'm tired of being alone and you being distant all the damn time. I've followed all your stupid little rules. I've stuck around for years being monogamous and I still can't get you to open up to me. It's too much. You're too much. I think we need to end this and go our separate ways."
"Brian, no. I'll do better. Maybe I can swing flying out next week, during the week." Kane immediately went to his desk calendar, searching the days for a good time to leave. Brian was his first real relationship. His first time at having a regular sex partner, and he didn't want to let that go so easily.
"Don't worry about it. Look, I've met someone. I wasn't looking, I swear, he just came out of nowhere, and I don't wanna string you along. I know how important all your rules are to you. I can't live that life anymore. I don't want to live that life. You need to loosen up, man. I gotta go. Take care. When I get back, I'll pick up whatever I have over at your place. You know what? Never mind, just keep it. You never let me leave much there anyway. Take care." The call ended, but Kane sat there several long minutes before he placed the receiver back on its cradle. This shouldn't have come as a surprise. Kane didn't have time for a relationship, and for those few men willing to take him on with all his religious baggage, it was even harder.
It had been hard reconciling his religious beliefs with his body's most basic needs. At twenty-five years old, Kane had caved and had pre-marital sex for the first time in his life. Emotionally, that act had cost him, but physically it was exactly what he'd needed. Kane wholeheartedly believed in the sanctity of marriage before having sex. Just because you had one sin working for you, didn't mean you had to have two, but it seemed no one else on the planet agreed with him. Desperate need finally outweighed his morals, and as soon as he was alone afterward, he had cried. Like a girl.
"Kane, the flowers haven't been delivered." Paulie stuck his head inside Kane's office door, looked at him more closely, and walked all the way inside the office, shutting the door behind him. Concern was etched on his face. "What's wrong, Son?
"Nothing really, Brian and I just broke up. I'll call about the flowers." Kane cast his eyes down to the ledgers, trying hard to act as if it were no big deal. He didn't really know how he felt about Brian, he guessed he loved him. He'd said he loved him when Brian pressed him to. There was an ache in his heart, and he stopped what he was doing and ran a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes. First his mom, now Brian. Not a good week at all. He hadn't told Paulie about his mother, about the money he sent, or how heavily the problem with Mr. Adams's dinner had actually weighed on him.
Desperate for a mental stress relief, Kane reasoned that things generally happened in sets of three, so he should be done, and he reached for his Rolodex to follow up on the flower delivery.
"I'm sorry, Son, but he wasn't right for you. You know that," Paulie said, taking a seat across the desk. Kane could feel Paulie reading him, seeing straight through his carefully placed omissions.
"I know you didn't like him, but I did." Kane picked up the phone and began to dial. The time had to be near five, the flowers should have arrived, but there wasn't cause for alarm yet. They still had thirty minutes to set the centerpieces and entryway flowers.
"You've had a crap week. First your mother, now Brian. He's a piece of shit for dumping you this week, just like I always said he was," Paulie said, his voice losing the tender quality he'd used seconds before. He jerked off his chef's hat, slammed it against his knee, and scrubbed his hands through his short gray hair.
"How do you know about my mom?" Kane cut his eyes up to the old man as he punched the last number into the dial pad.
"And the money you sent? I have my ways," Paulie said, angling his hat, crooked, back on his head.
"Brian didn't know about my mom," Kane said as the phone began to ring.
"Exactly my point! A man in a relationship shouldn't feel the need to keep secrets. You should have felt comfortable enough to call him and let him comfort you." Paulie was on a roll, pointing his finger, his voice rising. The true, expressive Italian side of his personality always ready to pop out at any given moment. Kane lifted a hand, trying to stop him from turning this into a lecturing rant.
"It's over, so there's no need to keep rehashing." Kane was momentarily interrupted from the conversation when the florist answered his call. "Hello, this is Kane over at La Bella Luna. I'm calling about our flowers for today." He kept his eyes on Paulie as the young woman on the other end assured him they would be there soon, they were just a little behind today. He thanked her and disconnected the call with Paulie still clearly waiting for some sort of response from him. Kane had no idea what to say and finally sat back, again scrubbing the frustration away from his face. Paulie knew him too well.
"They say it comes in threes. That was my third, so maybe it's over," Kane said, peeking at Paulie through the spread fingers covering his face.
"What's the third one?" Paulie asked, speculation on his face.
"I thought you knew everything," Kane teased back.
"I do, but remind me. I'm an old man with an old man's brain," Paulie shot back, and Kane barked out a laugh at that one. Paulie was as sharp as a tack, nothing got past him.
"Sure you did, and whatever, there's nothing old about that brain of yours! The third one was the bad customer experience this week. It stuck with me. It's been a long time since we hadn't met a customer's expectations." Kane was back to smiling. Paulie always had a way of doing this to him. He just eased every burden Kane ever carried.
"You resolved it. Standing reservation, twice a week on our slowest nights doesn't seem too bad," Paulie tossed back, standing again.
"I don't know, Paulie. There just seems something more to it." Kane lifted his arms, pushing them above his head, stretching out the tension of the last few minutes.
"Well, buck up and get dressed. The kitchen's ready, waitstaff's arriving, and the dining room's almost perfect, we just need those damn flowers."
As if on cue, the back door buzzed.
"That should be them," Kane said, rising.
"Get dressed, Son, and let that pantywaist go. You need better than that. I can't die until I know you're taken care of, and you weren't ever gonna be taken care of with that one," Paulie said, swinging the office door back open.
"First, you aren't gonna die. Second, I can take care of myself!" Kane called out after him.
"Pfft," came through loud and clear as the office door slammed shut. His suit rattled on the hook behind the door, reminding him it was time to change for the night. Honestly, if Brian had been so important to him, why had he taken such special care in picking out this evening's wardrobe to impress a man who couldn't even utter a simple acknowledgement? He couldn't deny he'd been attracted to Avery Adams, his hard-on that night spoke volumes, but why should it matter how he looked if he was truly emotionally attached to Brian?
No more stalling. The restaurant would open in about thirty minutes.
It was show time.
Chapter 6
Two brand new designer suits lay on his bed. One, the latest in Yves Saint Laurent's fall collection, and the other, a classic black from Hugo Boss. Avery looked over both of them with a still damp terry cloth towel wrapped around his waist. He couldn't decide which would be better for tonight. The latest casual style or the fallback black he always chose to wear when he wanted to represent well.
Avery padded across the plush carpet to his walk-in closet, pulling out a light purple dress shirt, along with two of the new satin neckties delivered earlier in the day. Both were of the season's most current colors, and on a backward thought, he grabbed a hanger with a solid white silk dress shirt. He carefully paired the shirts with the coordinating suits and laid the ties on each one before switching them, only to switch them back again.
"Damn it," he muttered as he stepped back to look at both designs. He'd never had a problem dressing himself. Frustrated, Avery grabbed his telephone on the nightstand and called his personal designer in California.
Always (With Bonus Material) (Always & Forever Book 1) Page 4