by Max Hudson
When Riley had returned his eyes were wet with tears. I was by his side in an instant, taking his face in my hands.
“You okay?” I asked and the way he’d smiled at me did all kinds of things to my heart. When he’d said yes, I hadn’t hesitated to kiss him. He was mine and I wasn’t ashamed of that.
After we drove Izzy and her friend to the airport, I’d stood back as her kids surrounded her. She planned for be gone for the next six months. She wanted to be back home in time for Christmas. Her children were clearly very happy for her, but it was also clear they would miss her.
When they were done giving out their hugs, she’d waved me over and surprised me by hugging me as well. “You take care of my boy while I’m away,” she said with a stern look on her face. “I don’t want to have to come back here and kick your ass William James Carter, but I will.”
I’d smiled and hugged her back. “I promise to take care of him.” She’d smiled then and then she was gone.
That next week was mostly spent at Riley’s place. We fucked and made love at night and went to work like normal. But it wasn’t normal. Because by the end of the fifth week, I was itching to go to the third floor.
I missed him. Which was insane considering I saw him every single day. But those ten plus hours at work were killing me. Especially since Aaron and I had started working on a big case. A case that was keeping us in the office for well over fourteen plus hours a day. It had been almost three days since I’d actually laid eyes on Riley for longer than ten minutes and I missed him like crazy.
I couldn’t focus on my work because all I wanted to do was find my guy and kiss him, hold him, even if only for a second. Aaron must have caught on to my mood because he came to my office with a surprise trailing close behind.
Riley smiled at me when he saw me, and my fucking heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I was out of my chair and around my desk in seconds. Aaron had barely closed the door before I had my mouth on Riley’s. I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him as if I hadn’t seen him in years rather than days. He chuckled against my lips before I pulled away.
“Fucking, missed you,” I said, and he grinned,
“Yeah, Aaron told me. He said you were in a funk.” He cupped my cheek and I leaned into his touch. Fuck how much I missed his touch. It had been a little over a month and I was completely gone for him. I hadn’t let on to just how gone I was, but it was so bad, I was considering asking him to move in with me. I loved having him in my space. I loved coming home to him in my bed and it made me sick when he wasn’t. He’d clawed his way into my heart, and I didn’t want to let him out.
“I missed you too,” he whispered, and I pressed my forehead to his.
“This is getting harder,” I said, and Riley sighed. Aaron had suggested I throw out the policy, but I didn’t think it was wise. Office romances could cause a lot of trouble if they went bad and I didn’t want that inside the firm, no matter how badly I wished I could kiss Riley whenever I wanted too. I had to do something though. Being away from him for days at a time and not being able to kiss him or hug him was eating at me.
Riley brushed his thumb across my cheek, and I sighed. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked, and I could hear the concern in his voice. I opened my eyes and stared into my beautiful man’s eyes. I was falling so hard for him and he probably had no idea.
“I’m fine, baby. I just really missed you.” His eyes went soft before he pressed another kiss to my lips.
“Ditto,” he said before he pulled away. “So, how much longer until you go to court,” he said sitting at the table where Aaron and I had folders piled on top of each other.
“Another week. We’ve compiled all of the evidence we could, but something seems to be missing. It’s clear the guy committed fraud, but he was careful with covering it up,” I said handing one of the files to Riley. He scanned it quickly and then again. It always fascinated me to see the way his photographic memory worked.
He frowned at the folder before he glanced at me. “Do you mind if I look through these?” he said, and I waved for him to go ahead. I didn’t know what he expected to find so I moved to my desk and opened my emails. Him being in my space calmed me. Even if we weren’t talking, I just liked having him around. He’d been looking at the files for maybe fifteen minutes when he said my name.
I glanced up and found he had a few folders open and a highlighter was slashing across the pages.
“Did you actually find something?” I asked and he nodded. I picked up the phone and called Aaron into the office. Riley was still highlighting the files when Aaron walked in.
“What’s going on?” he asked, and I nodded toward Riley who’d just put the cap back on the highlighter. His eyes were alight with excitement as she glanced at us.
“Got him,” he said. He then lined up the folders and pointed to each individual highlight. “There was a reason it was hard for you guys to notice where the money was going missing. Take a look at Folder One, Line Ten and again and Folder Three, same line.”
Aaron and I looked at the highlighted sections, but I didn’t see what Riley was seeing. “I don’t get it babe,” I said, and Riley smiled.
“Read the numbers out loud.”
“$17,408.68.” I read and then, “$17.048.68.”
I did this with each folder and felt my stomach bottom out. “Mother fucker,” Aaron and I said simultaneously.
“He was documenting the income in the books as one number but was inputting another into the system. Just a slight switch of numbers in the middle and not many people would have caught it and he was smart. He didn’t do it every pay period, just twice a month. The number difference isn’t very consistent, but a rough calculation is telling me that over a three-year period, he laundered at least 2.5 million dollars from the company.”
“Holy fuck,” Aaron said as I stared down at Riley with such fierce pride it nearly consumed me.
“Call Easton and Howard let them know we found what we’re looking for. With this evidence we should be able to settle out of court,” I said, and Aaron smiled before he patted Riley on the shoulder.
“Good eye, kid,” he said before he left the room.
Riley smiled up at me and I bent to take his mouth in a kiss. “Have I told you how much I love your brain,” I said, and he grinned against my lips.
“No, I can’t say anyone has ever told me that.”
“Well, allow me to be the first. Your intelligence is sexy as hell and I really want to knock these papers to the ground and fuck you right here on this table.” Riley’s eyes widened and I didn’t miss the hitch in his throat. His gaze turned heated and I knew he was considering it. It made me smile knowing he was as hot for me as I was for him.
“Tonight. I want you in my bed,” I growled, and he nodded as his breathing picked up. “It’s been too long since I’ve been inside of you.” Riley groaned and I couldn’t stop myself from taking his mouth in a fierce kiss. I claimed his tongue as if it were my own and stole his taste. I wanted him on my tongue for the rest of the day.
“Oh, shit,” someone said from the door and I turned to see Lindy standing in the doorway. Her eyes darted from Riley to me and I knew she’d seen everything.
“Fuck,” Riley groaned, and Lindy held up her hands.
“I really didn’t mean to interrupt. Mrs. Ashford was here for her appointment and we couldn’t find you,” she said glancing at Riley. “Someone mentioned that Mr. Banks had come to grab Riley. I just wanted to let him know that I handled everything for her. I tried calling but the lines were backed up.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and knew there was no way this could be ignored any further. “Lindy, can you do me a favor and let everyone know we’re having an emergency staff meeting.” Her eyes widened and she glanced between Riley and I before she ran from the room.
“This is bad,” Riley said with a shake of his head. I cupped his face and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
“No, this was necessary. My
no fraternization rule was stupid. It needs to be amended and we’re doing that today. I won’t hide what you mean to me and I am not ashamed to call you mine. I love you and I don’t care if other people know it.”
Riley’s eyes went wide and his breath caught in his chest. His eyes searched my face and I wondered if he didn’t want to be public. Was he worried that people would think he was getting special treatment? It was understandable if they thought it, but they should all know by now that Riley was working on the wrong floor. He deserved to be moved up, no matter how short of a time he’d been there. I was about to tell him this when he said,
“You love me?”
I blinked and then I froze because holy shit on stick, I had just told him I loved him. Fucking hell. It was too soon for declarations of love. It was too soon for me to ask him to move in but fuck me, it was how I felt. Riley touched me on a completely different level than anyone else ever had. He meant the world to me and all I wanted was to be with him for the rest of my life.
I took in his beautiful face and nodded. “Yeah baby, I do love you. With all of my heart.”
Riley stood and wrapped his arms around my neck before he placed a lingering kiss on my lips. “I love you too,” he whispered and the way my heart sang it could probably be heard from heaven. I wondered if Richie and Laurie could hear it. If they were okay with me loving their son, the way I did. I’d like to think they were. Rich knew me better than anyone and he knew I’d love Riley with all I had in me once I let him in. And he was in. He was planted so deep inside my heart; I didn’t think I could ever let him go.
“Okay, love birds, everyone is the board room,” Aaron said from the door. I glanced at Riley and brushed my thumb across his jaw.
“You ready for this?” I asked and he smiled.
“Bring it on.”
Chapter Eleven
Riley
William stood at the front of the room and glanced at everyone around the table. His eyes landed on me and he winked which caused everyone to glance my way. Some of the stares were knowing and I had no idea how. William and I had been extra secretive about our relationship, we bared even spoke to each other when we were in the office.
It had been hard at first because all I wanted to do was hold his hand or kiss him whenever we were in the same room, but I couldn’t even look at him without fear that I’d give myself away.
He’d been amazing over the past month. We’d spent nearly every day together getting to know each other better. He’d taken me to some of his favorite restaurants while I showed him some of my favorite movies. Netflix and chill nights usually turned into Netflix and blowjob nights because it was impossible for us to be alone in the house without jumping each other’s bones.
Reese had moved out when he’d walked in on a bare ass William while he plowed me into the sofa. He’d been cool about it because he was starting to get restless again. I knew he wouldn’t be sticking around for too long, but I enjoyed the time I had with him while he was here.
The day before he left, we had a movie night, just him and me. We were both quiet until he said, “I want you to be happy.” I glanced over at him, but he kept his eyes on the TV screen. “You’ve been through so much in your life and all I want is for you to be happy. Are you happy Riles?”
Reese was never the type to do heart to hearts. Any time anything turned serious, he’d turn it into a joke. He didn’t do emotions well and I blamed his parents. They weren’t very involved in his life, they hated that he was gay, but they also knew they’d be frowned about in their circle if they abandoned their son. They basically paid Reese to stay away. It was one of the many reasons he traveled so much.
“You know you don’t have to go,” I said, and he smiled sadly.
“Yeah, I do. I love you, ya know? But this place isn’t for me. This isn’t where I’m going to find my happily ever after.”
I grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You do deserve that, you know? A happily ever after.”
He looked at me with such sad eyes that it made my chest ache but there was something else in his gaze that made me pause. I studied his face for a long time and when he blushed, my eyes widened.
“Reese,” I began but he held up his hands.
“Don’t say it. It was a stupid, one sided crush. I knew we’d never be anything more than what we were which was why I didn’t ever say anything. We were better off as friends and we always will be. Of course, I loved you, you were my best friend and I always thought if I did settle down, it would be with you but we both deserved something more than just great sex.”
I grinned and stared down at my lap. It was odd hearing him speak this way, but it was clearly something my friend needed to get off his chest.
“You’ll always be my first love, but you’re not my only or my last. I’ll be okay Riley. I promise.”
Tears burned behind my eyes and I swiped them away before I turned back to face the TV. “You can’t stay gone this long ever again,” I said, and I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “Deal”.
So, Reese left, and William didn’t seem too cut up about it. I doubted he and Reese would ever be close but they both loved me, so they’d tolerate each other for as long as they were in my lives which I hoped was forever.
“Okay everyone,” William said, and everyone looked his way. I shook myself from my thoughts and turned my attention on him. He glanced at me one last time before he addressed the others. “Aaron and I have been discussing some policies that we’d like to amend in your contracts, and we wanted to get a feel for which ones you all feel may be a bit too harsh or may be an inconvenience.”
I smiled down at my lap. I saw what he was doing. He was hoping someone would bring up the fraternization so we could discuss ways to change it. I knew for a fact that there were quite a few relationships happening around the office and knew they’d be more than happy to see the clause changed.
Vacation times and sick days were brought up as well as some health care stipulations. William listened intently as Tish wrote them all down. When Lindy raised her hand, my gaze shot to hers, but she wasn’t looking at me, she was looking at an attorney from the fourth floor named Eric.
“I’d like to discuss the non-fraternization policy,” she said, and William grinned slightly.
“What is it about the policy that you don’t like?” He asked and Lindy sighed just as Eric stood. He walked over to Lindy and lanced their fingers together. I smiled down at my lap as Williams eyes widened.
“Lindy and I have been dating for almost two years. We love each other and we want to get married. We also love our jobs and we don’t want to break any of the rules by showing that love at work. We know the rule is in place to keep drama out of the building but us not being able to tell people we’re together, causes problems when dickheads like Peter Pecker over there keeps trying to put the moves on my woman.”
Williams eyebrows shot to his hairline and I tried my hardest not to laugh. Lindy blushed and placed her hand to Eric’s arm.
“What Eric is trying to say is, we want to be able to show affection without it being… soft porn.” She gave William a pointed look and William actually blushed. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing and William cleared his throat.
“Okay, so your proposal is that minimal affection should be allowed but not enough to make other people uncomfortable?”
Lindy nodded and William smiled. “I can agree to those terms, but I would also like to add in that if at any time the couple brings any relationship drama to work one or both are liable for permanent dismissal. We are still a law firm, not match.com.”
Everyone laughed and William looked over at me again. “Is everyone agreeable to these new terms?” he asked, and no one objected.
“Okay, Tish will be sending out new rules and regulations for you all to sign before the end of the workday. Thank you all for being here. Meeting adjourned.”
Everyone filed out and Lindy shot me a wink as she wal
ked by. I returned it before I waited for the last person to leave. When it was only William and me, he grinned like he’d just won the lottery.
“So, this means I can hold your hand now,” he said with a grin and I shook my head at this playful tone. “I can kiss you as long as I’m not shoving my tongue down your throat,” he continued, and I couldn’t fight the laugh that escaped. “I get to love you and let everyone know that I loved you,” he finished, and my chest swelled.
“Our clients are on their way thanks to your discovery so I may be here a few extra hours longer than I expected. But I meant what I said Riley. I want you in my bed, tonight.”
“Okay,” I said, and William sighed before he pulled a key from his pocket.
“I was going to give this to you next week, but I figure now is as good of a time as any,” he said, and I smiled as I stared down at the house key. I leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
“I’ll see you at home.”
***
I’d cooked dinner while I waited on William to get home. It was odd being at his place without him, but I liked it. His house was the perfect size for two men with room to grow if we wanted but I shook that thought from my head. We just confessed to loving each other. It was too soon to be thinking about redecorating plans when we were still so new, but the thought still excited me.
I was standing at the kitchen window overlooking the yard, so lost in thought that I nearly jumped out of my skin when a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. William chuckled and kissed the side of my neck.
“I like seeing you in my kitchen,” he whispered against my ear and I felt chills break out over my skin. “I like you in my house when I get home.” His hands softly caressed my abs before moving up to my chest where he began to tease my nipples. His breath ghosted across my neck before he kissed me there. His tongue came out to taste and I trembled against him.
“Want you here with me, every day,” he said as he sucked at the spot on my neck that made me weak in the knees.