Chapter 154
Chapter 154
Ollie--
I try not to stare any more than usual as Deek walks into my office for lunch. I keep my office low lit and limited on blue light to try and offset the screen damage to my eyes, but his hair still finds some way to glint red as he arranges the takeout containers how we like them. We like to switch– ha, ha, switch– between our offices for a monthly bro lunch. Anna insists on calling them brunches, but I’m not that kind of gay. Besides, I haven’t had a mimosa in literally decades. Fuck, we’re getting old.
The next time I glance at Deek– glance, not stare– he’s looking at me with his eyebrows raised as he turns on lights with the hand not holding our takeout for the afternoon. “What’s wrong with you?”
Oops. Busted. We have an unspoken pact that I don’t talk about being attracted to him so he doesn’t have to think about himself being bi instead of straight like he wants to be. “Nothing, really. Just thinking about how I’m old enough that there are certain kinds of alcohol that I haven’t drank in twenty years now. It made me feel ancient for a minute.”
Deek rolls his eyes. “Don’t start that now. We’ve got a long way to go from here and I don’t want to be miserable thinking of all the things we used to do.”
Was that a crack at me? It isn’t like him to even acknowledge it, let alone try to hurt my feelings about it. I don’t say anything for a minute, giving him a chance to fix his blunder. Either he didn’t mean it the way I took it and doesn’t even notice that it hurts, or he’s trying to hurt me about it. Neither speak well of him, but I can more easily forgive ignorance.
“Besides,” he continues, digging into his lunch– looks like we’re having Marea’s today. He always gets a meatball sub, but he surprises me every time. Today he got me lasagne, and I can’t be happier. Marea has such good fucking lasagne that it’s hard to be unhappy about anything when you’re eating it. I think he really didn’t notice what he said, anyway. “There are some things better left in the past. I’m glad for every year I put between me and the cheap shit we used to drink in college. We’re lucky we still have our stomach linings.”
That’s a good point. We both laugh at the folly of youth, and I try changing the subject for my own sake. It does no good to linger on unhappy feelings. “Hey, do you know what’s up with James lately?”
Suddenly, I have his attention. “What do you mean?”
I roll my wrist and raise my eyebrows. Hasn’t he noticed James acting weird? “I mean the weird way he’s acting. He’s been cagey lately. A lot like Landon was being cagey. Plus, his cards say that his club spending has quadrupled this month. That can’t be healthy. Do you think he’s fallen for a… uh… professional?”
Deek’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead. “Like a BDSM specific prostitute? You think that’s what he’s spending his money on now? I don’t know. I haven’t noticed him acting in any particular way.”
Ugh. How are we ever supposed to support each other when no one even pays attention? “It’s just a thought. He also asked me to train up his own staff to do some of the tech stuff I usually do for him. It made me feel like he might be pulling away for some reason. Keeping secrets.”
Derek’s sweet smile hits me like a punch in the gut. “I doubt anyone could keep a secret from you, Ollie. Let him try it for awhile. He’ll come around. Maybe it’s me– Annie’s been acting weird lately, too. Distracted.”
Interesting. “That is unlike her. But have you tried calling her a name she doesn’t hate? You know she gets all agriado when you call her Annie.”
He leans back, making room for all the Italian food he overindulged in. I’m still only halfway through my lasagne. He always rushes to eat– he always says it’s because he had to fight Arthur for seconds every dinner. I know it’s just because he doesn’t really value food as an experience. Food is mostly fuel to him. “That’s half the fun! I call her Annie, she calls me Sir or Boss, and we both have a laugh about it and move on. Now she doesn’t even rise to it half the time. Maybe it’s just everyone being weird lately.”
That does seem more likely. “Well, I know we’re all stressed about the FBI stuff. No way she’s missed that and I know it keeps James eating coal and shitting diamonds to think about them. We’ll have to see if it calms down when we get the feds off our backs.”
My stomach swoops as Derek laughs outright, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat in the most weirdly attractive way. “You had to get that one from Emory. Those Southern idioms are so weird sometimes.”
“Guilty. They really do paint a picture, though. Gets the idea across every time.”
His head tips back down and he turns his megawatt smile directly on me. “Yeah, but you don’t know how weird they sound in your accent. It just doesn’t match.” I shake my head. I don’t have much of an accent anymore. “Maybe someday she’ll convince Logan to wear a cowboy hat and you’ll see what I mean.”
We both laugh now, trying to imagine Mr. Armani in a cowboy hat and boots. It’s easy to drop everything else as we start to scheme ways to make it happen. Bonus points if we get pictures.