by Max Hudson
I wasn’t much of a crier. But the tears that welled up in my eyes were warranted. I was out of my chair and pulling Izzy into my arms in seconds. She wrapped her arms around me and placed her head on my chest as I held her.
I’d never called her mom. Not because I didn’t see her as such but because a part of me always felt like I was betraying my actual mom. I was young when they were taken from me, but I remembered her. I remembered how much she loved me, and I couldn’t seem to force myself to call Izzy anything other than her name. It didn’t mean she meant any less to me, but it was just something in my head that I couldn’t seem to separate.
I finally released her before I kissed the top of her head. “I love you, Iz,” I said, and she smiled up at me before she patted me on the cheek.
“And I love you, mi hijo.”
Just then my phone rang, and I rushed over to answer it. My heart leapt into my throat as I looked at the name on the caller ID. I glanced at Izzy who gave me a knowing smile.
I swiped at the screen and sighed in relief as I heard, “Hello, Mr. White. My name is Tisha Wallace, I’m Mr. Carter’s secretary. I’m calling on behalf of Mr. Carter to offer you a position here at Carter and Banks, are you available to come in this morning to discuss your contract?”
The answer was hell yes.
Chapter Four
William
I tried to pretend as I wasn’t aware that Riley was in the office. Tish had come into my office as soon as she’d gotten off the phone with him to tell me he was coming in to discuss his contract. A member from the HR team would go over his contract with him and would give Riley some time to look over if further before he signed.
I hated to admit that I was paying him well above when I normally would for a new hire, but I was the boss and could do whatever the hell I wanted. Yes, that was childish but again, I didn’t care. Riley wouldn’t know it wasn’t standard salary for beginners unless someone told him which I doubted they would.
It wasn’t long after Riley arrived did Aaron breeze into my office. He has a grin on his face that made me groan out loud. The day I’d spoken to him about hiring Riley, he’d been all for it, for all the wrong reasons. Aaron made it no secret that he was attracted to Riley and that bothered me more than I wanted to admit. Riley was gorgeous, just like his father had been but with his mother’s features mixed in, he was a complete and total knockout.
I hated thinking that way about him, but I couldn’t lie to myself and pretend not to notice. Add in the fact, I knew he was gay, and my dick completely ignored the fact he was my dead best friend’s son.
“Guess who I just ran into in the hallway,” Aaron said, and I sighed. “He looks good in a suit but fuck me, he’s edible in his business casual wear.”
“Need I remind you that we take sexual harassment very seriously. Don’t give Riley a reason to quit before he even begins,” I said with a pointed look. Aaron’s grin only grew wider.
“Don’t worry big daddy. I told you I’d keep my paws off your boy.”
“He isn’t,” I began but Aaron cut me off.
“Your boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s what your mouth says. I get the whole guardian thing puts a damper on the love train, but you technically stopped being his guardian when he graduated. So, I’m just saying, if you wanted to make him your boy…”
I groaned and forced myself to shake away the images of Riley on his knees for me, looking up to me and obeying my every command. I wasn’t big on daddy kink and I hated Aaron for putting it in my head. Riley wasn’t a little man. He was almost as tall as his father who was only an inch or two shorter than me. He was broad and would likely match me in a fight. He wasn’t what I pictured as a submissive boy but then again, neither was Aaron and he was all for the daddy kink.
“Non-fraternization policies were created with you in mind,” I said to Aaron who only laughed.
“I flirt, that’s it. You know I’d never take it too far.”
Which I did. He was also good and picking up vibes. If he knew his flirtations were making anyone uncomfortable, he would stop. He was a flirt, not a perv.
“Did he seem okay?” I finally asked and Aaron’s smile widened.
“He looked pleased as punch. Like he was living out a dream. I’m sure that salary had a lot to do with it.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Sure, it’s a great salary but I doubt it’s what’s driving him. He knows what it’s like to have money. He could probably live the rest of his life off the trust fund his parents left behind for him. It’s been accumulating interest since he was ten. Riley definitely isn’t hard up for cash,” I said, and Aaron frowned.
“Then why did you offer him so much?”
“I called around after his interview and he hadn’t been lying about his job offers. Nearly every firm on this side of the state wants him and they’ve been offering him a lot of money. It’s clear Riley is in high demand and I needed to show him that we could meet his demand. He is obviously worth every penny, so why not give him the best offer.”
Aaron nodded as he leaned against the wall. “When you had me stalking him,” he began, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “He did spend a lot of time at different firms during his internship. So, it makes sense that they’d want to keep him on. He’s so young too, what in the world makes him so special?”
This time I smiled as I sat back in my seat. I’d known about Riley’s special gift ever since he was a kid. Richard had bragged on and on about his son being a genius and, in a way, Riley had been.
“Photographic memory,” I said, and Aaron’s brows shot up. “When he was kid, he could memorize full chapters after a few minutes.”
“Like that guy from Criminal Minds?”
I smiled and nodded, “Exactly like that. So, I’m not surprised he’s in such high demand. There isn’t a factor that Riley would miss in any case. He’s going to be a shark in the court room, and we got him.”
Aaron sat in my office for a while longer as we discussed upcoming cases. Even though Riley was likely capable of handling some of our larger cases, he had to earn his place in the firm. So, we took some of the smaller cases and assigned them to him. He wouldn’t officially start working until the following week. He had a few more meetings with HR before he was assigned a desk and, in the meantime, I found enough cases to keep him busy and to prove himself to the other lawyers at the firm.
***
When Monday rolled around, I found myself feeling nervous as I entered the building. It was Riley’s official first day. At the end of the previous week, my HR team had called to tell me that Riley was ready to begin working.
I’d picked out his desk myself. The only offices on the top floor were mine and Aaron’s along with a conference and break room. On the fifth floor were some of the smaller offices for our highest paid and more experienced attorneys. The fourth floor was for our newer employees as well as those who preferred to tack on the smaller cases. I placed Riley next to one of our long-time staff members, Lindy. She was an amazing lawyer, but her anxiety kept her from moving up the ranks, her choice, not ours. I knew she’d take care of Riley and protect him from some of the sharks who were itching to swim their way to a fifth-floor office.
The third floor was HR. The second floor was our mail room and of course the first floor was the lobby. We owned the entire building and each floor was a part of Carter and Banks. Aaron and I had spent a lot of time making this place what it was, and I always came into work feeling a great sense of pride. This was my dream and while I’d been creating this dream, I’d lost a lot along the way, but I also gained so much.
With it being Riley’s first day, I’d debated on letting one of the other employees, show him the ropes and to help get him acclimated to the way the firm worked. That was usually how we did things. But a part of me wanted to show him myself which was something I never did. I wasn’t a silent boss. I took the time to know all of my staff but normally I left it to HR to make decisions on employee trainin
g. I was sure they had a plan drawn up for Riley but the thought of sitting in my office when he was only a few floors away didn’t sit well with me.
Which was why when I got to my office, I sent an email to the head of my HR department, telling him to show Riley to his desk but that I wanted him in my office by ten in the morning. I could only imagine the way Aaron was going to react when he realized I was personally training Riley. I groaned at the thought of it.
I stared at the clock on my computer and watched as the hours ticked by. Aaron had reacted as I’d suspected. He’d grinned and said, “Are you training him for the job or for the position as your boy toy? Because I have to tell you, I’d love to be in on that session.” I’d tossed my stapler at him.
When the knock came at 9:50 a.m., I took in a deep breath before I called for Riley to come in. I was glad for that breath because seeing him almost knocked all of the air from my chest. He wore a pair of well fitted navy blue slacks that made his long legs look even longer. The matching blazer clung to his well-defined arms and chest. I knew the blazer would be gone by mid-day, but I was so glad I’d seen him in it before it was removed.
His dark hair was pushed away from his face and he wore a pair a black rimmed hipster glasses that only made his hazel eyes stand out even more. He was breathtaking and I was regretting taking on this task.
“Good morning, Riley,” I said with a smile and Riley’s eyes darted to my mouth. He seemed transfixed by the smile on my face and I would be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that I liked it. “Please, have a seat.” I said, gesturing to the empty chair.
Riley took the seat, but he still hadn’t spoken. He looked thoroughly perplexed. Before I could ask him if he was okay, he let out a heavy sigh.
“I’m sorry, this is so weird. The whole professional, casual thing. You were my guardian for most of my life. Yes, I know we don’t really have much of a relationship, but you were my father’s best friend. I know you William and us acting like strangers is really freaking me out.”
He looked as if he regretted his words as soon as he said them, but I appreciated his honesty more than he could possibly know.
“You’re right,” I said, and he looked surprised. “I’ve known you your entire life and it is a little odd to be here in a professional capacity, but I want you to feel like every other employee. You got this job based on your skill and your merit. I don’t ever want you to feel like you’re getting special treatment just because we have a history. You are an asset to this team, and I’d like for you to feel as such.
“If me calling you Riley when we’re alone will make you feel more comfortable then we can absolutely do that. But outside of this office, I am still your boss and we have to behave as such. Does that work for you?”
Riley blinked at me rapidly before he shook his head and grinned. “Yeah. Yes, that works for me. I’m sorry if I’m acting weird. I’ve just been thinking about this all weekend and it wasn’t until I got her this morning that it finally hit me. For a second I wondered if I’d only gotten the job because you know me,” he said, and I scoffed.
“I vetted you,” I said, and he smiled.
“Yeah?”
“Yes. You made it clear in your interview that you were a hot commodity,” I said, and he blushed. It was precious which was an odd thing to think about a grown man. He’d let down his guard since his interview and I knew the Riley in front of me could easily connect with his clients and turn into a shark in the courtroom. The contrast was tantalizing.
“Ready to get started?” I asked and Riley and he smiled as he nodded.
For the first half of the morning I had Riley show me he knew how to long into the company portal where he could find his ongoing cases. I’d already added three into his file and made sure he knew how to access all of the files pertaining to the cases. I was big on technology, so a lot of our cases were filed into a highly secure system as well as physically filed in the office.
When I was sure Riley was comfortable with the system, we discussed the best ways to correspond with Aaron and I. Either one or both of us was always in the office and it was very rare that neither of us were here. But the system had a secure messaging app that allowed us to instant message each other when available.
We discussed the mundane things like requesting time off and vacation days. Bonus’ as well as his health benefits which was discussed with HR, but I wanted to go over again. I already knew Riley had been linked to my own insurance until he’d aged out of the system, so I’d wanted to make sure he had the best package possible.
Before I knew it, lunch had come and Tish being the doll she was, brought both Riley’s and my lunch to us. I loved Sushi was like a kid in the candy store every time I got it which was why I found Riley grinning at me after I took a bite.
“Sushi fan?” he said, and I rolled my eyes.
“Yes. But don’t you go smirking at me. I remember a certain someone who used to be so obsessed with chicken nuggets it was all he would eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
Riley barked out a laugh and shook his head. “Man, mom hated that. Chicken nuggets and scrambled eggs was probably the worst breakfast combo ever.” His smile faded a bit and his eyes turned sad. “But she did it because she loved me.”
“Yes, she did,” I said as his sad eyes met mine. “They both did, very much.” I felt myself getting choked up, but I needed Riley to understand something about his parents, so I pushed on. “Your mom had a hard time getting pregnant,” I said, and his eyebrows shot up. “She and your dad didn’t even know if she’d ever get pregnant and then you came along. They adored you before you were even born. I know you were young when you lot them, but I hope you can remember just how much you meant to them. They always wanted the best for you and sometimes I think the only thing they got wrong was naming me as your guardian.”
Riley closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m sure you’ve had your reasons for not being around. I doubt losing them was easy on you. I know I look like him, so I get it,” he said and opened his eyes to meet my gaze. I felt my heart crack, knowing Riley had my number. He was smart. I should have known that he’d figure out just why I was so keen on staying away from him. It made me a selfish bastard and I knew it.
“But you’ve done right by me. You gave me Izzy which in turn gave me Sam and Cat. They are the family I needed when I felt like I’d never have one again. They love me and I couldn’t have asked for better. Of course, I wish I’d never lost my parents in the first place but what I gained from losing them, isn’t anything to scoff at. I lived a good life, William. I need you to understand that. You may not have raised me, but you gave me a damn good life and I will always be grateful for that.”
I felt myself getting choked up and didn’t really feel that I deserved any praise from him. I’d basically abandoned him. He had to feel something negatively about me.
“So, no resentment?” I asked and a small smirk appeared on his face.
“I didn’t say all that. There were times when I hated you. When I wanted to call you just to rage and scream,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’d been a moody kid who was missing his dad and the only mad who could tell me about him wasn’t around. I couldn’t participate in father/son activities because I didn’t have a father or a father figure. So yeah, there were times over the years where I thought you to be a little less than stellar. But that’s to be expected, I guess. I’ve gotten over it, mostly,” he said with a chuckle. “But I’m hoping, with me working here, you’ll come to realize that you don’t have to avoid me. I may look like my dad but I’m me and I hope you’ll take the time to see that.”
I stared at him for a long time after that. He went on to eating but I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He’d matured so much over the years that it made my chest ache. The last time I’d seen him, he’d been indifferent toward me, like I was a stranger. It was right after Izzy had called to tell me that Riley came out to her. I’d rushed over a few days later with every
intention of speaking to him about what he was feeling but he’d looked at me like he’d rather shovel shit.
I had decided to leave him to his life. I hadn’t been much a figure to him, so I didn’t think it was best for me to talk to him about sex. I’d hired the best counselor I could find to help Riley be comfortable in his skin and being who he was. I made sure he was well educated on safe sex and consent. I’d wanted him mentally and emotionally prepared for the journey ahead of him and it seemed to have done well for him.
“I don’t think apologizing for not being there for you will ever be enough. And you’re right, I had my reasons. A lot of them selfish in my opinion. And I often live with the regret of my choices. But you’re right. I’d love to know who you are, Riley.”
He looked up at me, his beautiful eyes scanned my entire face before he nodded. “Okay, and I’d like to get to know you too.”
“Deal,” I whispered, and he smiled a smile that made my heart skip a beat. before he went back to eating his food.
Chapter Five
Riley
My first week of work wasn’t as eventful as I expected. The cases I’d been given were pretty open and shut but I handled each one as if they were the most important cases of my life. I got it though, why I wasn’t on any of the bigger and exciting cases. I was a newbie; it would look odd if I was getting high paying cases right from the beginning. I had to earn those which is why I didn’t complain when I had to represent a woman suing her ex-husband for custody of their dog. Or when the elderly woman who was suing her neighbor because their dogs were too loud.
They were the throw-out cases. The ones no one else really wanted to work on but William didn’t have the heart to say no too. But I took them on and put my time into them as if they would make headline news. My career was important to me and I had to start somewhere.
I was still getting emails from the other firms who wanted me. They offered me a larger salary and promised me a second level office as soon as I signed my contract with them. It was a sweet deal, but I’d always dreamed of working alongside William one day. At first it was for selfish reasons. ME wanting to show him up and prove that I was better than him. I’d wanted him to see that he was wrong for casting me aside the way he did and prove to him that I’d been worthy of his time and attention.