Chapter 13 #2
Ryder shook his head. He hadn’t even looked Felix up on social media. Why did he need to do that when he had the real thing in front of him, on his knees, plugged up after just being tongue-fucked to orgasm?
Okay, Ryder, stop thinking about Felix’s hole. This is a business meeting.
“How bad is it?” he asked.
“Bad. Like A-list getting canceled bad.”
“Canceled for what?”
“Being with you.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’ve been photographed with people before of all genders. Why is he so different?”
“Have you looked at that picture of you two at the skating rink?”
“If course I’ve seen it.”
“That’s not what I asked. Have you looked at it? I mean, really looked at it?”
“Fiona, can you stop talking in riddles and be straight with me?”
“It’s a really intimate photo, Ryder. There’s no doubt from the way you’re looking at each other that he’s more than just a fuck.”
“He is a lot more than that.”
“And that’s the point. The other people you’ve been pictured with play to your pump and dump fuckboy image. Now it looks like you’re off the market.”
Was he off the market? He didn’t want anyone else other than Felix, so that probably answered the question.
He still needed to talk to his friends, though.
Max and Deacon had agreed to meet him after this meeting, and Ryder had told Felix he’d be back for lunch.
When he’d left, Felix was in bed, reading on his kindle and looking drowsy.
Ryder wouldn’t be surprised if he was asleep when he got home. He’d worn the boy out.
“Tell me what we’re dealing with.”
“His social media has been flooded with angry fans who think he’s taken away their chance of a night with Ryder Quinn.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t. They’ve not just gone for his social media, but his photography business as well.
They’ve attacked his work, and where he’s been tagged by his clients for the work he’s done, they’ve attacked them too.
His follower count has dropped significantly in the last forty-eight hours. ”
“Why?”
“A mix of jealousy and crazy probably.”
“What do we do to fix it?”
“How do you feel about going public with him as your partner? That’ll get his numbers back up.”
He loved the idea of people knowing Felix was his, but it wasn’t Ryder’s choice to make. They’d only known each other for a short time. He didn’t want to throw Felix into the spotlight like that.
“Or you denounce him, and be seen out and about with other people.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Great, so we’re going with option one. You know, I think this will be good for you, Ryder. You should stay together for at least three months if you can. It’ll be better for your image. We’ll be able to capitalize on the breakup.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not even dating him—not yet anyway. And if I was, the last thing I’d want to do is break up with him.”
“Ryder, you can’t be in a long-term relationship with someone like Felix.”
“Why not? And what do you mean by that?”
“He’s a nobody, Ryder. And you’re way out of his league. Be serious about this.”
He stood up, boiling with anger. How fucking dare she talk about Felix like that. He was tempted to fire her on the spot, but they’d been together a long time, so he’d give her the chance to apologize.
“I’m gonna go. We won’t be going public on anything until Felix is ready. If he even wants to be with me after all this.”
“We can’t leave this, Ryder. We need to talk about these endorsement deals, and they depend on you not being with Felix.”
“I’m not working for any homophobic assholes.”
“This isn’t about him being a man. It’s about him being a nobody.”
“Do not call him that again,” shouted Ryder.
Fiona was unflappable, but even she looked surprised at Ryder’s outburst. She said nothing, but moved back behind her desk. Did she fear him? That shocked him. He’d never lift a finger to a woman. His baby sisters had pushed his buttons enough when he was a kid, but he’d never snapped.
“Sorry, Fiona. I didn’t mean to scare you, but Felix is important to me.
I don’t know if he wants any more from me, but if he does, then I’m not giving that up.
I haven’t felt this way about someone in years.
If people don’t want to work with me because of that, then I don’t care.
I expect you to have my back here, Fiona. ”
“I’m just making sure you’re aware of the consequences.”
“I don’t care. He’s the only thing that matters.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow.”
“I just said that, didn’t I?”
“Yeah. I don’t even know what to say. Does he feel the same way?”
“God, I hope so.”
Fiona gave him an understanding look, like she knew everything he was feeling. He realized he knew very little about her personal life, and felt guilty about that, but it wasn’t his place to pry. She would share what she was comfortable with.
They spent another ten minutes going through some offers, and he declined anything to do with the holidays—not that he didn’t like that stuff, but he didn’t want to do anything so quickly.
There were a couple of options for January, which were not dependent on him being single and were focused on fitness.
A few others needed more information, which Fiona was going to gather.
He left, knowing he’d have to explain to Felix what had happened, and Ryder hoped he was still in a social media blackout.
The last thing he wanted was for Felix to be by himself when he found out. First, he had to meet his friends.
They met near Deacon’s office, which was Sebastian’s company.
Deacon had taken over running the North American operation when Sebastian moved to London to expand into Europe.
Although being with Charlie was his priority, love didn’t slow Sebastian Steele down.
In the last twelve months, he’d opened offices in Paris, Munich, and Barcelona.
Max had his own family law practice which he’d opened in the summer.
He’d been a criminal lawyer for years, but had wanted a change when he was reunited with Paolo, the love of his life.
Paolo had moved to New York, and now worked at a high-end spa as a sports massage therapist. He was great at what he did, but Max had banned Ryder from getting a massage from Paolo.
Remembering their conversation made him chuckle.
“What’s funny?” asked Max.
“Just remembering how growly you got when I asked Paolo if I could book him for a massage.”
Deacon cracked up laughing.
“Well, you’re a man whore. What did you expect me to say?”
“You wound me,” he mocked. “Look, would I fuck Paolo if he was single? Yes.”
Max growled.
“But he’s not, and I’d never do something like that to you. But if I were in your position, I wouldn’t let you massage my man either.”
Max chuckled.
“What did you want to see us about?” asked Deacon. “It sounded urgent.”
“How quickly did you realize you were in love with your men?”
They both looked at each other and smirked.
“Something you want to tell us, Ryder?” asked Deacon.
“Answer the question first.”
“The moment I sat down next to him and looked in his eyes,” said Max. “I didn’t know it at the time, but looking back it was instant for us.”
“What about you?” he asked Deacon.
“When I fucked things up, I knew then he was it for me, but even that first night I met him, there was an instant pull there.”
Both Max and Deacon had been through hell getting to their happy endings. Max and Paolo had been torn apart for twelve years, and Deacon and Hunter had needed to deal with an abusive asshole, who was now thankfully locked up where he belonged.
“I think I’ve met someone,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee to avoid eye contact.
“The cute readhead?” asked Deacon.
“His name is Felix.”
“Felix O’Sullivan,” said Max. “We’re well aware of his name. As is the world.”
Ryder groaned and put his head on the table.
“Tell us about him, then. We want to hear your version, not the shit they’re posting online,” said Max.
“How is he dealing with all that?” asked Deacon. “It’s got to be difficult when you’re not used to that level of scrutiny.”
“Felix doesn’t know how bad it is yet. He’s not been looking at social media since it all kicked off. He’s been staying at mine.”
“And you’ve been otherwise occupied,” said Max, waggling his eyebrows.
That cracked them all up. He’d missed them over Thanksgiving.
It hadn’t been the same without it being all six of them, but he got it now.
If he had a choice between spending time with Felix and them, he hoped they’d understand.
Ryder talked about Felix and the brief time they’d had together so far.
He left out the dirty bits because they were private—which was new for him.
He was usually told to rein in the sharing.
“Wow, you’re in deep, aren’t you?” asked Deacon.
“I know. How will I know if he feels the same way?”
“Be honest and ask him.”
“What if he says no? I don’t know if I could deal with that again.”
“Again?” asked Max.
Ryder took a deep breath. He’d never told his friends this story, other than Sebastian.
“In my twenties—before I moved to New York—I met a guy called Brian. He was older than me, and I was immature back then. We met in a bar one night, hooked up, and I thought that was the end, but he wanted more. I’d only ever had relationships with women, and they were a couple of months at most. I’d fucked plenty of guys, but this was the first one I got serious with. ”
“How long were you together?” asked Max.
“A year. We were living together and everything. The first six months were amazing, but it’s when I moved into his place that things went wrong.
He worked in sales, and traveled a lot for work, but he seemed to go on more trips once we were living together.
I was in love with him, so I was being a ‘bit needy’ as he put it.
He said being apart would do us some good.