Hunks of the Month

Hello Goodbye Amore

Keep reading for an excerpt from

by Andrew Grey!

Chapter 1

TWO MINUTES —that was all Chase Anderson had left before the morning meeting when the elevator doors slid open and he strode breathlessly to his office, past the department admin’s desk.

Loretta lifted her gaze from her computer and smiled. “Dewey canceled the meeting this morning,” she told him gently. “But he wants to see you in his office at eight fifteen.”

Breathing heavily, Chase gaped at her and thought about banging his head on her desk, but with the way things were going, he’d end up with a concussion. “Thanks.” Chase shook his head as he looked skyward, not daring to slip off his jacket until he reached his office and closed the door. Then he hung up his jacket, sat at his desk, and quickly went through his email. His inbox had been clear when he left last night, so he answered what he needed to and then slipped his jacket back on for his meeting with Dewey. After all, the world would scream to a halt if he showed up without it.

The company had officially gone to an office-casual dress code. But his VP, Dewey van der Veer, had other ideas, and while he never said anything outright, it was made clear—by his attitude and his expensive Italian suits—that he expected everyone who worked for him to continue to dress the way they always had, which meant jacket and tie, even when it was ninety degrees outside. It would be okay if the guy weren’t such a complete douchenozzle. Chase had been in his position for barely a year and had already sent out a few inquiries about positions in other departments of Smithson Biomedical, if only to help him keep his sanity.

Chase knocked on the frame of Dewey’s door and took a seat when he motioned him in. Dewey was on the phone and building up a head of steam. “I don’t really care. You need to bring this in on the cost we talked about and on schedule. We have three teams waiting on it, and you don’t get to tell me a week before it’s due that you need two more weeks. I’m paying you to deliver.”

Chase had heard that sort of talk to suppliers a number of times. It was Dewey’s standard reaction to anything that didn’t go his way. Dewey was every cliché of a bad boss, right down to his “do what I say, not what I do” mentality. Others who had worked for him for years had told Chase he’d get used to it. Chase wasn’t so sure.

With a final threat, Dewey tossed his cell phone on his desk, and it slid to the edge but didn’t dare fall to the floor. Then he leaned back in his chair as though he had all the time in the world. Maybe yelling at suppliers gave the guy a thrill. Hell, he looked like he wanted a cigarette. Everything in the office was designed to keep everyone hopping and on their toes while Dewey relaxed and looked like he was ready to put his feet up.

“You’ve done an amazing job on the design of the adjustable breathing implant, and we got word yesterday that the initial trials were a success and have been approved to move on to large-scale testing in a few months.” As usual, Dewey dove right in and actually smiled like this was all his success, his perfect teeth—probably all crowns—actually shining. Not that Chase doubted he was taking credit for whatever he could, whenever he could. That was his usual method of operation. “The biggest stumbling block is the coupler that makes up the center of the design. The requirements for that piece are so exacting, we’ve had difficulties finding a company to produce them.”

Chase wanted to ask how hard Dewey had looked, but he bit his lip instead. “I see.” Chase wondered exactly what Dewey was up to. “I made a list of firms that should have been able to meet our specifications.”

He nodded. “And you did great, but the FDA approval process tightened the specifications further and ruled most of them out. However, one firm has agreed to supply what we need.” Dewey leaned forward, his hands on his desk, and looked at Chase as though he were a rabbit and Dewey a fox. They had gone through this active listening training a year before, and this was Dewey’s attempt to comply with that. Instead of appearing engaged and attentive, he looked more like a constipated predator trying to pass his last meal. “We need someone to work with this firm to make sure that they can and will meet our specifications.”

Chase knew the list he’d made by heart. “Which firm is it?”

“Glorioso Metallurgy out of Italy.”

Of course. It had to be them. That firm had most certainly not been on his list for a number of reasons, not least of which was that they were overseas, and he had been told to concentrate on American suppliers. But just the name brought up unpleasant memories that hit Chase right in the gut. Hell, a punch would be more pleasant than the twisting agony of old pain he tried to push back into its box. But he couldn’t let any of that show on his face in front of Dewey. It wouldn’t be professional, and it wasn’t like Dewey gave a damn about the things that had happened to Chase years ago and changed his life forever. No, that man cared about nothing but himself and what affected his image as the perfect supervisor.

“Do you want me to have someone contact them?” Chase asked. He wasn’t sure where Dewey was heading.

“No.” That gaze of his didn’t shift, but he smiled, like everything was no wonderful. “I need you to go to Florence and work with them to make sure they truly can deliver what we need. Oversee quality and production schedules as well as arrange shipping and be the liaison back to the office and staff here. The project is important enough to the company that we thought we should have someone on-site there.” He sounded so reasonable, but Chase was praying for the floor beneath him to open up so the earth could swallow him whole. That would be preferable to what Dewey had just proposed.

“But I’m not the project lead. That’s Dave.” He swallowed. Yes, Chase had done a lot of the design work, but Dave was the lead engineer and the one who had spearheaded this project. Normally he should be the one to take on this role.

“Dave isn’t able to go. His daughter and son are in high school, and his wife isn’t able to manage it all on her own.” Dewey sounded almost sympathetic, which was something Chase had thought impossible. Dewey leaned closer. “You should be able to handle this for us. It will only be for about five months.” The tone was the same as if he had asked Chase to get him can of soda from the machine in the break room.

Chase could just imagine how all this had come about. Dewey would have spoken to Dave first, and between Dave pleading hardship and the fact that he had his lips and nose buried so far up Dewey’s ass that when Dewey opened his mouth you half expected to hear Dave’s voice, Dave was off the hook. So now Chase was expected to uproot his life and Ricky’s.

Chase’s insides felt like they had just been put through a wash cycle and tumble dried. Yet none of that could show on his face, not for a second. He already knew that any expression of fear or dissatisfaction would be used against him. “I have a son in school.” Just the thought of Ricky being involved in this was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat. Ricky was settled in his school and was a happy child, and that was one of Chase’s proudest accomplishments. After all the upheaval in his early years, the last thing he needed was to be uprooted, and the very last thing on earth that Chase wanted was for Ricky to be anywhere near Florence, or the Glorioso family. The thought was enough to make him regret the breakfast he’d eaten with Ricky just an hour ago. But Chase was like a damned duck, calm on the surface while paddling like crazy under the water, even if in his case it got him nowhere. If he wasn’t cool, Dewey would pick up on it and then expect an explanation Chase was not willing to give.

“A lot of the time will be in the summer, and Dave’s son is going into his senior year.” Clearly the family argument would work for Dave, since he was one of Dewey’s cronies, but wouldn’t fly for Chase.

Chase tried to think of some sort of argument he could use, but came up with nothing—s not that bulldozer Dewey gave him a chance to say anything.

“This is something I’m asking you to do for us. In the next year, if this project goes well, there will be directorial positions opening, and I won’t forget this.” He sat back once again.

And there it was. The big, shining, gold-plated carrot, glinting in the sun, dangling right in front of him. And fuck him six ways from Sunday if it wasn’t too much to pass up.

“This is a very important project for the company, and there will be a lot of eyes on it. Upper management will be watching all of us, so this will be an excellent chance for you to show what you can do. If this turns out well, and I have every confidence that it will, then there will be plenty of rewards to go around.” He smiled, and all Chase saw was the damned fox again, only this time he knew was caught… and not in a good way.

Of course Dewey had to extend the carrot of a possible promotion—one that Chase had been hoping for. Before Dewey had moved into his position, James Sweet had been the VP, and he had been grooming Chase for a promotion. James was a good man and had been a great boss who believed in building up and developing his people rather than lording it over them from on high. “Can I think about it?” Chase asked.

“Yes, definitely.” That predatory grin told Chase that Dewey already thought he had what he wanted. “Give me an answer tomorrow and let me know.”

Dewey’s phone rang, and he snatched it up off his desk and answered it as though Chase wasn’t there. Using it as a chance to escape, Chase left the huge office to return to his own, letting Dewey talk at someone else for a while.

“How did it go?” Loretta asked as he passed her area. She was always friendly, but Chase was wary of anything he said to her, not knowing if she was one of Dewey’s pipelines of information. Loretta had been James’s admin before Dewey was promoted, and Chase had always liked her, but with Dewey’s management style, he couldn’t take any chances.

“Pretty well, I guess,” he lied, and got a look over the top of her glasses, just like she’d done in the old days. “I have a decision to make, that’s all.” He tapped the counter and then returned to his office.

As soon as he closed the door, Chase collapsed into his desk chair, head in his hands, wondering how in the hell he managed to get into these messes. All he wanted to do was make a living so he could provide for Ricky. His mother, Elaine, was Chase’s twin sister and his best friend in the whole world. Chase would have done anything for her, and in the end, after her death in an automobile accident, he had stepped in to raise her son—now his son, Ricky.

This was not the life he had envisioned. When Elaine first told him of her pregnancy, Chase had pictured himself as the world’s best guncle, taking his future niece or nephew to Disney, giving them drum sets, teaching them about good food, and showing them some of the best parts of life. And once he had spoiled them rotten, he could take them home to mother. It was supposed to have been perfect.

What little Elaine had, she’d left to Ricky for his care, but to Chase, in addition to Ricky, she had left her secrets and their shared hurt. That was something Chase had hoped he would never have to face again. And now it looked like his work and his and Elaine’s past were destined to come crashing back into Chase’s life. He could only hope that he didn’t end up as emotional roadkill.

A knock pulled him out of his thoughts.

“I hear you’re going to go to Florence,” Dave said as he came in and closed the door. Chase wanted to smack the suppressed smugness off the brown-noser’s face. “I want you to know that….” He looked around. “Look, I really appreciate you doing this.” He shifted his weight slightly and wrung his hands. Chase wasn’t sure if he was even aware he was doing it. “They asked me to go, as I’m sure Dewey told you, and I pled the family.” He grew more agitated. “Things at home aren’t good right now. My youngest is having a very difficult time, and we are trying to get him the help he needs, but I can’t do that if I’m over there or if I take the entire family along with me.” He paled and his breathing grew more rapid. This was a side of Dave that Chase had never seen.

“I get it.” He understood family difficulties and drama. Elaine had had plenty of that when their very Catholic parents had learned she was expecting a baby, and when she told them that she wasn’t going to marry her boyfriend at the time, Rodrigo, their mother had practically started sewing scarlet A ’s for her clothes. Mom was definitely all about the drama. “Your wife and kids have to come first.” Just as Chase would do anything in his power for Ricky.

“Just so you know, I was the one who suggested that they send you instead. You’ve done good work on this, really solid out-of-the-box thinking, and that’s why we’ve made the progress we have.” Dave’s praise seemed genuine.

“I haven’t agreed to go yet,” Chase told him.

Dave sat down in one of the office chairs. “You know that once you say no, they stop asking. I’m aware that by turning this down I’ve gotten a black mark with Dewey and some others no matter what happens. But I can’t be away from my family for all those months. My oldest will be a senior, and pulling him out of school like that….” He shook his head. Chase would almost feel sorry for him if he weren’t so sure that the entire time Chase was gone, Dave would be cornering the market for butt polish. “He plays football, and he’s very good. Colleges are looking at him, and that would end if I took them away.” His leg bounced as he sat, nerves getting the most of him. “You’ll be doing the company, me, Dewey, and quite frankly, yourself a favor by going and making this a success.”

Chase didn’t agree to anything. Fear warred with the chance to give Ricky more of the special things in life. “I really have to think about it,” he said. He knew the only thing holding him back was fear over Ricky… and the chance of seeing Antonello again.

Antonello Glorioso had been the third side in a close friendship triangle. Elaine, Antonello, and Chase had been inseparable through four years of college. He and Elaine met Antonello first in freshman English and then chemistry. Since there were an odd number of students in the class, the three of them ended up as lab partners, and their friendship grew from there. The last two years of college, all three of them had shared an apartment. It was like Antonello had joined their twin fraternity, until hormones and God knows what else got in the way. Chase developed feelings for Antonello, with his dark eyes, long wavy hair, and body worth sculpting in stone. Hell, there were times when he thought a breeze would blow up every time Antonello stepped outside, just to fluff that hair.

At one point, Chase thought Antonello might reciprocate those feelings, but Antonello and Elaine had started dating, and the chance was just too great to take. Chase kept his feelings to himself because his sister seemed happy—deliriously so—and Chase didn’t want to get in the way. The three of them had talked about starting their own business and moving to a larger place to start building their lives. A makeshift family of sorts. Then, right after graduation, Antonello announced that he was returning to the Glorioso family business in Florence, and that was the last either of them heard from him. Elaine was angry and hurt. Chase had offered to hunt Antonello down and fill his perfect ass full of grapeshot for lying to them and killing their dreams. “He won’t be able to sit down for a month at least. I promise.”

She had laughed, thanked him, and then hugged him tightly. After that, they never mentioned Antonello again, except in the context of a curse or as an insult. And now it looked like he was being thrust back into his path.

“Don’t take too long.” Dave leaned forward. “This is a real opportunity, and you know as well as I do that they don’t last very long or come around that often. Take it. Spend the summer with your son in one of the world’s grandest cities. It won’t be all work all the time. You can go to Rome or Venice for a weekend. And if I may offer you some advice, make sure they pay for you being over there. You’ll need a house close to the center of town where you’ll be working, and care for your son. If you decide to do it, make sure you get everything you want and get it in writing.” Clearly this was a man who knew Dewey well. Chase had thought the same thing, but it was good that Dave agreed.

“School is out in a few weeks,” Chase said, and realized that as much as he feared going, he was already thinking he didn’t have much choice. And maybe Dave was right—he should make the best of it. Chase was no longer a college student, and just because he would be working with Antonello’s family’s firm didn’t mean he would ever come in contact with any of the family. Hell, maybe he could kick Antonello’s butt halfway across the Arno River just for old times’ sake. With all that hair, he might even look like a drowned Afghan hound. “I suppose that as long as they are willing to wait until school is out for Ricky….”

Dave nodded slowly. “Just do what’s right for you and your son. Five months is a relatively short period of time, and the benefits of this kind of assignment could last much longer than that for you and your family.” He stood and opened the door, stepping out.

Chase sighed and shook his head. All fear and worry about the past aside, the real ordeal was going to be keeping the past where it belonged.