7. GrumpyNot… Everett
Chapter seven
Grumpy or Not… Everett
Lukas knocked on my office door and stepped inside. “Yo, Boss!”
I glared at him. He knew I hated him calling me that. He was entirely more than an employee. Maybe not a partner financially so much, but he'd put in hours and hours right beside me and deserved better. He knew it, too, only doing it to get under my skin. “Yes, worker?”
He stuck his tongue out at me, but sat down in one of the side chairs, crossing his leg over his knee. “We had a visitor a minute ago, and you’re never going to guess who.”
“Unless it’s a new client, I don’t want to know.”
“Oh, I think you’ll want to know. Not a client, but…”
“Fine. Who?”
He put his foot back on the floor and leaned forward. “The name Cameron Telliyard ring any bells?”
Shit. I’d told Lukas all about that gremlin. Of course I did. I told Lukas everything.
He chuckled at my reaction. “Gonna tell me now that you’re not crushing on him? I see why, though. He’s cute.”
“Shut up.”
“Seriously, this proves that he’s into you. Call him.”
“It proves nothing. He’s into the beer.”
Lukas shook his head as he sat back in the chair. “You’re so full of it. Don’t let Dastardly Donny dictate the rest of your life.” He snorted at his alliteration. “See what I did there? And that was dick. D-I-C-K. Tate. Dick-tate.”
“Seriously?”
He roared with laughter, and I couldn’t help laughing along with him. Lukas was the one person who could get me to relax and joke. “Ah…you’re killing me, Everett. You should really call him, though.”
“Nope.” That was all I had to say on the subject. “Let’s close up and get out of here.”
“You got it, Boss.” Thankfully, he knew when to let some things drop.
But I didn’t stop thinking about Cameron.
Actually, I couldn’t get the gremlin out of my mind from the moment we met.
It was so not right, but he made my nightly jack off sessions better, and I was looking forward to another one when I got home to my little house that I was still trying to fix up.
I had boxes of stuff still stored in the spare room, mostly books and crap my mom insisted on giving me so I wouldn’t die of boredom out here in the wilderness. As if.
My bedroom was mostly finished with a queen-sized bed, freshly painted walls, and new carpeting.
The attached bathroom had been renovated before I moved in.
It was the one thing I insisted on. The front rooms weren’t in terrible shape, but still needed work that I didn’t have the time or money for yet.
That meant I often skipped right to the bedroom, ignoring the rest of the house unless I needed dinner or wanted to crawl into the recliner to watch a movie.
But I had no interest in watching anything and wasn’t hungry for food at the moment.
I stripped down, planning on getting off, then getting a shower, when I derailed my mission. I could imagine Cameron in my bed, looking up at me with hooded, dark eyes, staring at me with longing.
Had he really come by the brewery? Why would Lukas make that up? He wouldn’t.
I grabbed my phone, needing answers.
Fuck my life.
Or Cameron Telliyard.
Lukas had encouraged me to reach out to him, and so had Nate, maybe for different reasons, but the results would be the same. It might start out good, but it would surely end badly. I did not need that.
My phone beeped.
Maybe nothing to lose, but I still had a heart that could easily break.
But not if I didn’t let it get involved.
Hell, that Mitchel ass-wipe didn’t break my heart.
I could have let him. But I knew he was a jerk before we whipped our dicks out.
Cameron was different. He was nice and was highly recommended by others in the community.
That description sounded more like a restaurant than a man.
Now I was giggling.
I needed pants on for this, though. I pulled them back up, not missing the big-boy-pants irony of it, and pulled his number up.
And stared at it for what felt like an eternity. With a sigh, I turned my phone off and face planted onto the bed. Another jack-off session starring Cameron’s rugged face and dark hair would get me over this stupid idea. With a groan, I stripped off and got busy.
The next morning, I pulled into the parking lot, grabbed my coffee, and went into the office. Before I could even fire up my laptop, Lukas was in my face. “Well? How’d it go?”
“How’d what go?” Play dumb, because that always works—not.
“You know what I mean.” He grabbed his hair, tugging. “My God, Everett. You didn’t call him, did you?”
“No. I didn’t. And you know why? Because I’m already married. To this business.” There. That’ll shut him up.
“You did not just say that. You can’t fuck the brewery, dude.”
I glared at him.
“You know what I mean. You need something else in your life. This—”
“No. I do not. Not now. Not yet.”
“When?”
“Stay out of my love life.”
“What love life?” He had a point.
I leaned back in my chair. Lukas had never been anything but on my side. He was always there for me, loyal to the end. And this wasn’t treating him like that. He didn’t deserve my grumpy face. And…he was probably right. He usually was.
“Everett. Pick up the phone and call him. Right the fuck now.” He pointed at my cell, sitting on my desk.
“Fine.” I picked it up and jabbed my phone screen until his number came up.
“Do it.”
I sighed and clicked the button. Because he was right. Because I wanted to. Because I hadn’t stopped thinking about Cameron. Because maybe I could have something more with someone nice.
The phone rang.