15. Gregory
CHAPTER 15
GREGORY
Gregory had a splitting headache, and he’d never been more pleased for it to be the weekend. He lived for work, and it was rare for him not to be doing something for the business on the weekend – unless one of his brothers stopped him – but this weekend, he just wanted to stay in bed.
He’d spoken to Oscar on the phone yesterday, and knew he was under pressure with the regulatory investigation. He’d wanted to suggest they do something over the weekend, but realised that would come across as too needy, so he just said he was there if Oscar needed to get out of his head again. And who said romance was dead? Gregory snorted at his own humour. Why could he never make quips like that when he had an audience?
After a long shower, he ventured downstairs to see it was empty. Looking at his phone, he realised it was only nine o’clock on a Saturday. Paracetamol and the shower had shifted his headache, but he didn’t know where everyone was. With Eric living here, and Paolo’s sister and boyfriend also staying, they had a full house, so he’d not heard it this quiet for ages. Normally he loved the quiet, but today it felt eerie.
“Morning, Gregory,” said Paolo, making him jump.
“Where is everyone?”
“Langdon and Eric are at work, Max and Lila have gone to Madame Tussauds– not for me – Jason is probably with Patrick. Why? My company not good enough for you?”
Gregory chuckled. He and Paolo were the quietest in their group, and could happily sit together in complete silence without it feeling awkward. Today, though, Gregory needed someone to talk to.
“Are you okay, Gregory?”
“No, I think... What I mean is... why is this so hard?”
“Is it about Oscar?”
“That obvious, am I?”
“Or maybe I’m just exceptionally intuitive.”
Gregory laughed. It eased some of the tension in his chest. “I think I’ve got feelings for him.”
“You think?” asked Paolo, looking at him as if to say, “I call bullshit.”
“Alright, I know I’ve got feelings for him. What do I do?”
“Have you told him how you feel?”
“No. He’ll laugh in my face.”
“Do you really think he’d do that? From what you’ve told me, and from what I know about him, he’s not the guy you were at school with.”
“I know, but me and him? There’s no chance. I mean, just look at him. He could have any man he wants.”
“Yes, he could.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Let me finish. I said he could have any man he wants, but you’re the one he keeps coming back to.”
“Maybe he just likes my dick.”
“Gregory! Did you just make a sex joke? And without Jason here to witness it? He’ll be heartbroken when I tell him.”
“Do not tell him. He’ll only say something about girth and make it awkward.”
“And another one? Whatever Oscar is doing to you – or you’re doing to him, no doubt – it’s obviously working.”
“What do you mean? You’re doing to him, no doubt. ”
“Jason may have explained what your tastes are.”
“What did he say, exactly?”
He narrowed his eyes at Paolo, who was looking uncomfortable. Paolo rarely enjoyed talking about sex. He wasn’t a prude, but he wasn’t one to get involved in Jason’s explicit descriptions of his many conquests. Max had brought Paolo out of his shell more, and Oscar must have done the same with Gregory, because the idea of the two of them having a conversation like this a few months ago would have been unheard of.
“He said something about it being ironic that the geek was the only one of us who was a hundred per cent top.”
Gregory felt his face flame. “What about Langdon?” he spluttered. They’d heard Eric getting dicked down enough.
“Langdon’s vers.”
Gregory hadn’t known that. He’d always pegged Langdon as a total top. He gave off major alpha energy.
“Missed opportunity?” asked Paolo with a smirk.
“Ugh, no. That would be incest.”
Paolo laughed. “I don’t hear you denying Jason’s assumptions.”
He flushed again, basically giving an answer without uttering a word.
“You and Oscar, then. I bet that’s interesting. Logistically, I mean.”
Gregory was stunned for a second, and then couldn’t help but crack up laughing, with Paolo joining him.
“Imagine if Jason had heard us having this conversation?” said Paolo.
That caused them to laugh even more, and it took a while for them both to calm down. Sometimes you just needed to laugh, and Gregory was already feeling better for it. What he and Oscar were doing was still an open question, and he knew Paolo was right; the only way he’d be able to know for certain was to speak to Oscar himself. So why did the thought of doing that terrify him?
It was time for Sunday brunch again, and all of them were present. Gregory usually loved sitting back and hearing all the chatter from his brothers, but today he was bored. All they were talking about was their relationships, including Jason’s. Usually they’d be regaled with a sordid tale about the guy’s girth from the night before, but now Jason was being all prudish about his sex life with Patrick. Gregory was the outlier now, when a year ago they’d all been single. What had happened?
“Are you okay, Gregory?” asked Charlie.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“He’s thinking about giving that meaty arse of Oscar’s a pounding,” said Jason.
Gregory flushed.
“I knew it! Give us all the details. What’s his cock like?”
“Thank fuck for that,” said Langdon. “I thought for a second we’d lost Jason, when he was being all gooey about his relationship with Daddy .”
“Patrick is not my daddy, and we’re not in a relationship. We’re just seeing how things go.”
“Are you fucking anyone else?”
“No.”
“Sounds like a relationship to me.”
“Why are you picking on me?” Jason pouted. “We were talking about Gregory.”
“Do you feel uncomfortable?” asked Langdon.
“No... I love talking about sex. It’s just...”
“Yes?”
“You’ve made your point,” said Jason, folding his arms in a huff.
This caused them all to laugh. Even Jason couldn’t help but smile.
“To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on with me and Oscar. I haven’t seen him since Monday. He’s busy with a work thing, like a serious work thing, so I haven’t been able to speak to him properly.”
“But how do you feel, Gregory?” asked Charlie.
“I don’t know. I just know I haven’t felt this way about anyone before.”
“You need to talk to him,” said Charlie. “Sebastian and I didn’t talk to each other at the start, and I wished we had. Now we’re always honest with each other.”
“What if he doesn’t feel the same way?” Gregory didn’t like how lacking in confidence his voice was.
“Then at least you’ll know,” said Langdon.
All his brothers looked at him, compassion in their eyes. They could all joke and rile each other up, but when it came down to it, they were always there for each other.
“Such a waste. A guy like that being a bottom, though.”
“Jason!” snapped Langdon.
“What? I was just trying to lighten things up again. Gregory doesn’t mind, do you?”
“No, and trust me, nothing about that man is a waste.”
Jason’s jaw dropped in shock. The others were stunned for a second, but then cracked up when they saw Jason’s face, Gregory alongside them. He knew no matter what happened with any of them, or where life took them, he’d always have this time every week with his brothers, and he wouldn’t change it for the world.
Dinner with his parents would be a far less entertaining experience than brunch had been, but his mother had summoned him, so it was easier to comply. She said there was a surprise guest for dinner, and Gregory foolishly thought it might be Oscar. Why would he be joining them for dinner? He hoped it wasn’t some potential suitor. It was much easier for his parents to just tolerate his sexuality in order for them to utilise his money. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to copy Victoria Montgomery and try to set him up with a toff.
Arriving at his parents’, a rare hug from Barty greeted him – so this was the surprise. He’d have preferred a date with a toff over his brother’s fake gratitude, but his parents were beaming at the show of affection, so Gregory went along with it and hugged his brother back. Anything for a quiet life.
There wasn’t a single mention of the vast amount of money Gregory had just given to Barty. There was no chance of him ever getting any of it back, and to ask would be seen as rude, but Gregory also knew it wouldn’t be the last time he was expected to put his hands in his pocket. He was still waiting for Grant Kincaid to call the debt in at some point and name his price, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be something as simple as cash interest. From what he’d heard from Langdon, that man didn’t do favours for anyone. He seemed to have a soft spot for Langdon, though, so perhaps he was reading too much into it. It wouldn’t surprise him if Langdon had had a quiet word with Grant, even though Gregory had asked him not to get involved.
His family were in for a shock if Barty needed money in the future. There was no way he’d get himself mixed up with a mobster again to help his brother, who hadn’t even said thank you. Perhaps it was implied by the hug, but just uttering those two words would have cost him nothing and meant everything to Gregory. Why couldn’t he do that?
“We’ve got a full roast today, to celebrate Barty’s return home,” said his mother, clapping her hands together.
Gregory was still full from brunch, so wasn’t sure where he was going to put a full Sunday lunch, but he’d find a way. His legs were hollow – something he’d gotten from his parents’ genetics – which he was thankful for. They could keep the rest of their shitty genes.
His mother must have hired someone, because she would never have been able to cook a Sunday roast. She could just about boil pasta and stir in a sauce that someone else had made. Gregory’s assumption was confirmed when some hired help started bringing the food in – something that would probably be billed to his company as entertainment, but not an issue he wanted to raise today. He just wanted to get through this meal so he could leave. He’d listened to Charlie’s advice and had agreed to meet Oscar later. They were meeting at Oscar’s house, which was probably not the most sensible location, but they needed to talk, not fuck, though there was no rule that said they couldn’t do both.
“How’s business?” asked his father.
“Busy,” said Gregory
He didn’t want to talk about his work; there would be an ulterior motive. With his father, there always was.
“Busy time of year, I suspect. All those resolutions. The whole new year, new me bollocks. Must be very lucrative.”
“Not really,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
Gregory wasn’t sure whether his father was genuinely interested, or irritated that whichever route he’d wanted the conversation to go had been halted.
“We don’t really make a lot from people who sign up in January and then quit within a month. It’s the repeat business where the profit is.”
“Yes, but surely you lock them in, so it’s a nice passive income until they can cancel.”
“That’s not our business model. We don’t fleece people. We want them to use the service. It’s designed to help people, not screw them over.”
“Language, Gregory,” said his mother.
Was she for real? His father had never shown an interest in his business before, and now he was asking all these questions. There could only be one reason he was doing this.
“Seems like a wasted opportunity for profit to me,” said his father. “I wonder what other opportunities you could be missing out on.”
Gregory rolled his eyes. Glancing at Barty, he was focussed on eating his food like he wasn’t listening to the conversation, but Gregory knew his brother better than that.
“Have you thought about getting some independent consultancy to review the business? See where you could make some efficiencies, and areas for expansion.”
Here it comes!
“Does that not sound like a good idea, Gregory?”
“Not really,” he said, stabbing a roast potato a bit too hard.
“Excuse me?”
“Why would I want someone external to review my company? I have people who are committed to our purpose who are always making things more efficient, and our expansion plans for the next three years are already mapped out.”
“Your father is only trying to give you advice, dear,” said his mother. “He knows a thing or two about business, you know.”
“And how much did your company make last year?”
Jaws dropped, and there was a clatter of cutlery. Gregory speared another roast potato and popped it into his mouth. They were delicious, but he was done with this meal. He stood up.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” his father bellowed.
“Home.”
“This is your home,” said his mother. “Not that... place you stay with those... those people.”
“Home? Be serious. This hasn’t been my home since you booted me out for liking dick.”
Barty almost choked on his food. His mother looked like she’d been slapped across the face, and his father went bright red.
“I know what you’re trying to do here. And no, I will not give Barty a job. The last thing I want is him fucking up my company as well.”
“Watch your language,” snapped his father. “And what do you mean by that comment?”
Gregory couldn’t say anything. Oscar had sworn him to secrecy about the regulatory investigation, and he would never betray his trust.
“Do you know what would have been a nice opener when I arrived? Thank you for the million quid you pulled out of thin air to bail out your waste of space brother again.”
“Family shouldn’t need to say thank you.”
“Family is a bit of a stretch.”
“Gregory, what has got into you?” said his mother, her voice almost screeching. “It’s those degenerates. They’ve turned you against your own family.”
“They are my family,” he shouted. He wasn’t sure what had come over him, but he was on a roll now. “They’ve been more family to me than any of you have ever been.”
“How dare you speak to your mother like that,” shouted his father, standing up. “After everything she’s done for you?”
“Are you taking the piss? Everything she’s done for me? Do you know what it was like to be rejected by the people who were supposed to love me unconditionally? To be kicked out with nothing at eighteen years old? You act like it never happened.”
“That’s all in the past, Gregory. We’ve forgiven you,” said his mother.
“Forgiven me? Is this a fucking joke? You’re only interested in my money. You should be the one on your knees begging for my forgiveness.”
An image of Oscar on his knees flashed in his mind, and he couldn’t help but snort with laughter.
“What the hell is so funny?” said his father.
“You really don’t want me to answer that.”
“No, spit it out. I can’t see how insulting your family, who’ve done everything to provide for you, could be so amusing.”
Spit it out. Gregory cracked up laughing. What was wrong with him? Had he been possessed by Jason or something?
“What are you laughing at? Do you think it’s funny to upset your mother like this?”
“Sorry, I was thinking about someone else.”
“Who?”
“Oscar Montgomery.”
“What the hell has he got to do with this?”
“I just remembered that he doesn’t spit when he’s on his knees and I come down his throat.”
Gregory almost wanted to take a picture of his entire family, even Barty, who were looking at him dumbfounded, jaws agape. He didn’t wait for a response, just turned on his heels and left.