Chapter 11
“Hi, Kev. I see a missed call from you.” Jack logged into his computer while he spoke on his phone. “I had my inbox clear before that meeting, and an hour later, it’s already full of unread messages.” He sighed and rubbed his palm over his eyes. “Sorry. I was talking to myself. What’s up?”
“No worries. I know you’re slammed, but I’m not far from your office today so I’m hoping we can meet for lunch.”
“Lunch?” He hated to turn his friend down, but it was the middle of the week, which was always a busy time. Actually, every day was busy.
“How about I bring it to you?” Kevin suggested. “We can eat in your office and then you can get right back to what I’m sure are breathtakingly interesting emails.”
“Alright.” Jack chuckled. “I have a conference call that should wrap up by eleven thirty.”
“Be there at noon.”
“See you then. Bye, Kev.”
He messaged his assistant to let her know to expect Kevin and then got back to work.
By the time he got the notification that Kevin was there, he had already forgotten about their call because he had been going nonstop from one issue to another.
He really did need to take Gray’s advice and figure out how to distribute some of his duties to members of his team.
Snow Storm had grown too large for Jack to continue wearing as many hats as he once had, especially if he wanted to have time for a personal life.
Thinking about his personal life, made him think of Gray, which brought a smile to his face.
For the first time in a long time, focusing on his personal life was exactly what Jack wanted to do.
“Lunch delivery.”
“Hi, Kev. Thanks for bringing him in, Anita.” Jack rose from his chair and walked around his desk. “We can eat at the table.” He pointed toward the seating area in his office.
“Do either of you need something to drink?” his assistant offered.
“I have water.” Jack picked up his water bottle. “Kev?”
“I got a tea when I picked up our food.” He held up a to-go cup.
“Message me if you need anything else.”
“Thanks, Anita.” She left his office and closed the door behind her.
“I’m trying to be healthy so I ordered us salads.” He set a bag on the table and pulled out containers. “Ceaser. One with chicken and one with salmon. Pick your poison.”
“I’m good with either,” Jack said with a laugh as he sat down.
“In that case, chicken for you.” Kevin set a container in front of Jack.
“Oh, and I got us Woodblock’s famous chorizo scotch eggs to share.” He took his seat. “Have you had them?”
Jack shook his head.
“You’ve been missing out. Trust me. Breaded bacon wrapped eggs.” He groaned. “They’re so amazing they’ll haunt your dreams and shrink your jeans.”
“What happened to you trying to eat healthy?”
Kevin leveled a withering glare at him. “I got us salads!”
“Okay. Okay.” Jack held his hands up. “Sorry.” He opened his takeout box and picked up the napkin-wrapped plasticware. “Why were you in Bellevue today?”
“I had a meeting with a prospective client. It went well. I think he’s going to sign with me.”
“That’s great. So work’s going well?”
“Uh huh. My clients are making money, which makes them happy and that means I’m happy.”
“Well done.”
“Thanks.” Kevin unfolded his napkin and set it on his lap. “Damn it. What did I get on me this time?” He looked down and brushed his hand across his legs. “I swear these pants pick up everything except men and money.” He shook his head. “Never mind. I’m too hungry to deal with this.”
They both started eating their salads, but Kevin clearly wasn’t there just for lunch because he kept glancing at Jack, his expression tense.
“Kev? Something you want to talk about?”
He sighed so theatrically that his entire body rolled with it.
Kevin didn’t do anything in half measures.
“Well, I don’t want to talk about it, but after this weekend’s chaotic brunch, I think we have to talk about it.
” He paused, seemingly for dramatic effect.
“What’s really going on with you and Gray? ”
“We’re dating.” Something Kevin already knew.
“Dating?”
The word didn’t fit Jack’s feelings. “We’re together now,” he tried again.
“You’re together?” He arched his eyebrows. “With Grayson McClellan?”
“Yes.” Jack tensed. “We’re a couple.”
“Jack.” Kevin sounded sad. “Honey, Gray has an itch a thousand dicks won’t scratch. He’s slept with more guys than anyone we know and he doesn’t keep any of them around for long.”
Jack flinched, both because thinking about Gray with other people bothered him and because hearing Kevin insult him bothered him even more. “He’s your friend. There’s no need to be so crass. And I’m very familiar with Gray’s past. You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”
“Knowledge is understanding that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is understanding that you shouldn’t put it in a fruit salad. Gray’s the kind of guy that’ll sleep with you, but he’s not the kind of guy that’ll keep you. Don’t count on him for your fruit salad. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Appetite waning, Jack set his fork down. “What’s going on, Kevin? You’ve been all over Gray lately.”
“I’m worried about you. We all see how into him you are. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Gray’s the last person who’d hurt me.” He was certain of that down to his bones.
“Honey, common sense is chasing you, but you’re hellbent on being faster. You heard what Jeffrey said—Gray isn’t available for a relationship.”
He wasn’t going to share intimate details about his history with Gray or their conversations, but he needed Kevin to stop the campaign he was waging.
“Yes, I heard what he said Gray told him. But as it turns out Gray is available for a relationship, I’m available for a relationship, and we are in a relationship.
” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re constantly making digs at him and now you came here for the sole purpose of bad-mouthing him?
” He shook his head. “This isn’t like you. ”
“I’m not bad-mouthing him.”
Jack looked at him disbelievingly.
“Fine, I can be a little bitchy. You know that. It doesn’t mean anything.”
He did know Kevin, and sure, his sense of humor could be sarcastic, but the insults he was levying at Gray recently were just that—insulting.
They weren’t funny. “That’s not what’s happening, Kev.
You really crossed the line this weekend.
The things you said weren’t funny or constructive, they were mean. ”
Kevin let out a big gust of air. “Fine, maybe I took it a teensy bit too far.” He put his own fork down and dragged his hand through his hair.
“But I know how hard it was for you to get over Jaime, and now that you’re finally putting yourself out there, I don’t want you to get hurt or waste your time.
Gray knows better. We all warned him that he shouldn’t do this to you, but he doesn’t listen to anyone.
He left me no choice but to handle it myself so that's what I did.”
Despite the frustrating conversation, he knew Kevin meant well. “Gray isn’t wasting my time, and he won’t hurt me,” he assured him.
Kevin scoffed. He picked up his fork and poked at his food. “Back in the day, when we all first started hanging out together, I threw myself at him.”
“You hit on Gray?” Jack had no idea that’d happened. He was certain he’d remember if either Gray or Kevin had shared that story.
“Of course I hit on Gray. Come on. The guy’s gorgeous, confident, successful, and has the biggest case of big dick energy I’ve ever come across. Who wouldn’t want to fuck him?”
Jack wavered between being flattered on Gray’s behalf and being worried that every man they knew wanted his boyfriend.
“Anyway, I came onto him, and he turned me down flat, said he doesn’t sleep with his friends. It stung but I got his point.”
“You have a thing for Gray.” Which simultaneously explained Kevin’s recent behavior and complicated their lives.
“No.” Kevin shook his head. “It’s not that deep.
I’m just attracted to him because I have eyes.
” He pointed at his face. “And I wanted to fuck him because rumor has it, he’s great in bed.
It’s not anything more than that and it definitely doesn’t rise to the level of a thing. ” He cleared his throat. “So is he?”
“Is he what?”
“Great in bed?”
Though his mind was still spinning from his friend’s revelation, he couldn’t help but laugh at his audacity. “Kevin, he’s my boyfriend, not a random hookup for us to gossip about.”
“Boyfriend, huh? Apparently, we’re pretending we don’t know about the parade of men he’s taken to bed? Got it.”
“We aren’t pretending anything, but you are remembering that Gray is your friend and you don’t insult your friends.” He considered that sentence. “Well, you don’t insult your friends with that much vigor and venom.”
“I’m being a jerk to Gray,” Kevin said, defeated.
Jack nodded.
“You’re right. He is my friend and you’re a smart man. If you’re sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, I’ll stop with the barbs.”
“Thank you,” Jack said. He put a piece of chicken in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. “The rumors are probably understated.”
Kevin gasped, eyes widening. “You are beyond lucky.”
He felt lucky. And also scared. Now that he understood what he could have with Gray, he didn’t want to lose him to his many admirers.
***
“I’m leaving the office now. Call me when you’re done with work so we can figure out dinner.” After hitting send on the text, Gray set his phone on his car’s charging dock. He hadn’t yet pulled out of his parking spot when it rang. “Hi. That was fast. Are you wrapping up?”
“I’m actually home already.”
He glanced at his clock while he navigated his way out of the parking garage. “It’s only six. Why are you home?”
“Lots of people are done with work and back home by six o’clock on a Friday. That’s normal,” Jack said. “I think.”