Chapter 4 #3
He frowned. Had he been listening to him or not? “Majesty?”
“Now.” He made it clear that it wasn’t something Nuri could refuse. It took him no time at all to put his coat on and then like every other day he exited without waiting to see if Nuri would follow.
By the time Nuri caught up with him at the elevators, he was flustered, mind reeling with all the possible excuses he could use to get out of going. None of them seemed like they would work.
“Majesty, my personal schedule—” He began the second they were both in the elevator and the doors had closed, but Silver wasn’t hearing it.
“There’s no such thing,” he stated, slipping his hands into his jacket pocket. “Your time is my time. Or have you forgotten?” His expression was steely when he turned to Nuri. “I own you.”
For a moment, a rush of heat flooded through him at the possessive statement, but then Nuri got a grip. Silver didn’t mean it in a romantic, or even a sexual, way. For him, it was a matter of fact. When he’d been sixteen his father had “gifted” him Nuri in order to keep him in line.
Typically, he wouldn’t be bothered that the Emperor considered him an object, but after his conversation with Ackor, and running into Romeo, his patience must have hit its limit.
“I work for you, CEO Rien,” he said firmly. “I’m an employee the same as anyone else. There is no ownership in that.”
The air in the elevator seemed to change in an instant, becoming heavy and stifling. Silver’s eyes heated and darkened, and when he turned to fully face Nuri, the movement was slow and calculated.
“Say that again,” Silver ordered, the challenge clear in his tone as he advanced.
Within a few seconds, Nuri found himself pressed against the elevator wall, Silver crowding his front so that if he tipped his face down, his nose would surely brush against the Emperor’s red tie.
When he remained silent, Silver lifted his arms, planting his palms against the wall at either side of Nuri’s head. His warm breath danced across Nuri’s cheeks as he leaned in, his body coiled and ready to strike.
“Say it again, Nuri,” he demanded, the usage of his first name causing the smaller man to jump a little.
It was rare for him to do so, even after all their time together, and though he always loved hearing it, Nuri had long since discovered that Silver really only called him that when he was angry with him.
He needed to be careful otherwise he was going to be the one who found himself sent to the Bridges.
Silver would do so without batting an eyelash too.
That’s just how he was. Keng, who’d been loyal from the start, had just had his job threatened for a matter completely out of his hands.
People only maintained their relevance to Silver so long as they served a purpose.
The second they were no longer useful he discarded them the same way one would toss a used paper cup.
Somehow, Nuri had managed to avoid that fate thus far, but it was always a possibility.
That was one of the major reasons he’d risked upsetting his siblings and had canceled on them so many times in the past. This job had been the only thing keeping them afloat before.
Last year, Nate had started earning a steady income of his own, which was why Nuri had considered quitting. Now, with Neve also about to graduate, those same familial pressures that had kept him biting his tongue, stuck in this position, were gone.
“Under the Intergalactic Treaty act,” Nuri found the words pouring out of his mouth, “it is illegal for an employer to treat their employee as a slave or property.” He exhaled slowly and went all in, meeting Silver’s gaze head-on despite the way his heart was thumping wildly in his chest. “I’m my own person. I belong to myself.”
The elevator came to a stop then, the sharp ding before the doors swept open slicing through the tension like a knife. Still, Silver didn’t immediately pull away, taking another moment to glare down at Nuri.
“Believe what you like,” he finally said. He pulled away and stepped out into the parking lot in a move almost too hard to follow, leaving Nuri there to deal with the tight knot in his chest on his own.
He must have accidentally pushed a button he hadn’t been aware of.
That was the only explanation Nuri could find for the Emperor’s odd reaction.
He’d been different since his father’s death, but Nuri had attributed that to the stress of having to take on the crown and all the responsibilities that came along with it.
Juggling being the emperor and running the company was a lot of work, and Silver barely got any sleep or time to himself that didn’t involve work of some sort.
Perhaps that’s all this had been. Maybe he was sleep deprived. He’d always struggled extra hard to control his anger when he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
Straightening from the wall, Nuri adjusted his clothing and smoothed back his hair, making sure he was put together once more before he exited the elevator.
Silver was already standing by the car, waiting, but he had no intention of going to dinner with the man now.
Lack of sleep or not, a point needed to be made, to both of them.
Nuri was allowed to have boundaries, even against the Emperor.
Since Rien Inc was located in the heart of the capital city, many employees didn’t bother owning their own vehicles.
Public transportation was popular, and most things could be reached on foot.
The only thing that kept people from doing so was typically the weather, which was why an entire row of the parking garage had been dedicated early on to a car service.
The drivers were paid by the hour, not the number of rides they gave, so clocked in at the start of the work day and left an hour after closing.
The row allowed for twenty vehicles in total, and there were still six left, the drivers inside all doing various things as they waited for a possible customer to need them.
Nuri made his way over to them and was only halfway there when he received a call through his communicator. He didn’t have to look to know who it was, accepting it and waiting without slowing.
“What do you think you’re doing, Narek?” Silver practically growled through the line, his irritation glaringly obvious. It was honestly surprising he hadn’t stormed after him and had bothered to call at all.
Nuri rapped his knuckles on the driver’s side window of the closest car, nodding when the man within gave him the okay to enter.
He moved to the back and opened the door, looking across the lot to meet the Emperor’s angry gaze.
“Thank you for the dinner offer, majesty, but unfortunately, I have a previous engagement to get to. Have a good night.” He bowed and ended the call, slipping into the car.
Though he couldn’t hear it from within the vehicle, he saw out the front window as Silver swore, easily making out the movements of his mouth. He started crossing the parking garage toward them, his features twisting into one of fury.
“This is the address,” Nuri clicked the button on his multi-slate that would send the information to the GPS panel at the front of the car. “I’m late so if you could please hurry.”
“Not a problem, sir.”
They sped out of the parking garage, past the Emperor whom the driver somehow didn’t seem to see approaching. Nuri almost managed to keep himself from looking back, but ended up giving in just as they were about to make it to the street.
Silver was standing there, hands in his pockets, a dark expression on his face.