Chapter Eleven
JACK
Thirty-eight years old – May
My shoes clipped along the floor as I paced towards Kevin’s office. After leaving Arlo alone in the cupboard, I’d messaged Corey to meet him at his house. Arlo didn’t necessarily need a guard from a safety perspective, but with the mess I’d left him in, I’d feel better if he had someone there.
Corey didn’t work for our firm, but I didn’t question whether he’d come through for me or not. He might have been a surly fucker, but he’d look after Arlo until I arrived. They’d spent enough time together over the years to be familiar with one another.
Not friends, though. After what had happened with Mike, Corey didn’t seem capable of making new friends. He only kept in contact with me, Will and Tom because of what we’d gone through together in the forces.
That sort of shit created a bond you couldn’t ignore.
Stopping outside Kevin’s door, I braced myself for what was coming. I knew I was about to be fired. Being caught engaging in a sexual act was gross misconduct—grounds for instant dismissal.
The fact that it had been on company property was just icing on the fucking cake.
Kevin had to be beside himself with glee. I’d fought Arlo’s corner one too many times and earned myself a place on his shit list. Even without being in the meetings, I was still able to give Arlo my thoughts after. To help him work out what he wanted, and what was best for him.
Those things rarely lined up with whatever demands they were making of Arlo. I didn’t give a fuck though. So long as Arlo was happy, I was happy.
That’d all be over now though. With me out of the way, Arlo wouldn’t have anyone to talk to about this. Would he open up to his bandmates? Something told me he wouldn’t. He didn’t tell them much now.
How could I be so fucking stupid?
Honestly, I hadn’t expected this…situation between us to still be going on. I’d figured Arlo would get bored, or maybe that I’d remember that letting my client blow me wasn’t appropriate behaviour.
But Arlo needed me, and I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t getting something out of it too. Not the orgasms, although those were an obvious perk, but knowing I was helping him. After being together like that, Arlo would be calmer. Settled.
I should never have started this with him, but if I could go back, I knew I wouldn’t do anything different. Arlo had spent years feeling out of control. If getting on his knees for me made him happy, then who was I to say no?
Yeah, I knew this was unusual behaviour for a straight guy.
After a year of this, I didn’t think I fit into that category anymore, but there wasn’t another label that seemed to fit me either.
I didn’t get hard over other men, just Arlo.
And what if that was just a Pavlovian response?
Like my dick knew an orgasm was coming, so it got excited automatically?
It felt wrong to look at it like that. As though I was diminishing Arlo somehow.
Realistically, I didn’t know if the attraction went further. What we’d been doing had blurred the lines enough, let alone allowing it to develop into something else. I’d buried my head in the sand over it, not wanting to question anything that might change the dynamic between us.
It was over now, and an unexpected ache bloomed in my chest as the realisation sank in. Regardless of what happened in Kevin’s office, that would never happen again. It couldn’t—not now I’d been reminded of everything that was at stake.
I couldn’t believe I’d fucked up this badly though. Arlo might think this was all his fault, but it was on me. He was my client. My protection detail. I’d allowed him to be put in this situation, and I’d be the one to pay the price.
Kevin had ordered us both to his office before storming out, so I didn’t bother to knock.
He was sat at the head of the oval table they used for conference meetings, but thankfully, he was alone. His hands were clasped atop a beige folder.
“Where’s Arlo?” he said as I closed the door behind me. “I told you I wanted to see both of you.”
“He’s gone home,” I said curtly, taking a seat at the table. It felt odd to sit in this room, usually I stood against the wall. “This conversation doesn’t concern him, so he doesn’t need to be here.”
“He was the one sucking your cock, was he not?”
Kevin was barking up the wrong tree if he thought his crude terminology would knock me off balance. There was nothing he could throw at me that the Armed Forces hadn’t prepared me for. “He was. But this doesn’t concern him. I’m the one in the wrong, so I’m the one facing the consequences.”
“What, you’re saying you coerced Arlo into that position? Wouldn’t surprise me. The boy is easily manipulated.”
“Arlo is anything but,” I said from between gritted teeth.
“And that’s the real issue, isn’t it? Let’s not pretend, Kevin.
We both know you’re thrilled about this situation.
You think you can use it to get the two of us out of the way so you can get someone new in.
Someone you can manipulate and make more money from. ”
If he was surprised that I was calling him out, he didn’t show it. “That would be convenient, yes. However, I’m not as much of a fool as you and Arlo seem to believe.”
“The rest of the band won’t let you replace Arlo,” I warned him. I didn’t care about myself, but I was making sure Arlo’s place was secure. “They won’t allow it.”
“They don’t have a choice,” Kevin said bluntly. “There’s a clause in their contract that says any member can be dismissed and replaced without their approval.”
What the fuck? I schooled my expression of surprise. There was no way any of them would’ve agreed to that.
“They aren’t aware of it,” Kevin mused, stroking his thinning goatee. “It was something put in their contract by the label and their former management didn’t counter it. If I had to guess, they were just so excited to have the opportunity that they didn’t bother reading the small print.”
Holy shit. I’d known their previous management had been careless, but this took the fucking cake.
Something about this whole situation wasn’t adding up. “So why haven’t you fired Arlo?”
“Here.” He passed me the beige folder I’d noticed earlier. “Take a look at this.”
My heart dropped into my stomach as I rifled through the contents. It was a series of photos taken on a dark night I remembered all too well.
The night I’d caught Arlo with a stranger in the alley behind a club. The night everything started between us.
“That is Arlo, yes?”
I didn’t answer Kevin. It was fucking obvious it was Arlo, and what was more, it was obvious what he was doing.
I was used to Arlo being on his knees now. For some reason though, the sight of him doing that to someone else had my stomach churning.
“What is this?” I asked gruffly, shoving it away from me so I didn’t have to see it anymore.
“Leverage,” Kevin said, grim satisfaction filling his voice. “If the press got hold of those photos, there would be a scandal the label wouldn’t be able to ignore. They’d use it as the excuse they’ve been looking for to get rid of Arlo.”
I ground my teeth together. “Because he’s with another man?”
“Well, any sex scandal is big news, but I have to admit that Arlo being gay shines a light on it that they’d disapprove of.”
I looked at him coldly. “So if it was a woman, he’d just get a slap on the wrist?”
Kevin shrugged. “Or some applause. They’d probably turn Arlo into the playboy of the group and run with it.”
“That’s hypocritical as fuck, not to mention homophobic.”
“That’s life,” Kevin said bluntly. “Times have changed, Jack, but not that much. The label might be okay with members of Caffeine Daydreams being out, but their audience is made up primarily of teenage girls. Hard to sell them the fantasy of a hot rock star if their queerness is being shoved down their throats.”
My knuckles were white with how hard I was struggling not to punch Kevin right now. “Careful, Kevin.”
He held up his hands. “I’m just telling it like it is.”
“Well how it is is wrong.” I stared at the folder. “Those photos were taken over a year ago. Why haven’t you done anything with them?”
“Because, in spite of what Arlo thinks, I don’t want him fired.”
“That’s not the impression you’ve been giving.”
“I’m caught between a rock and a hard place. I need to be seen to be working with the label to get what they want from Arlo, without him losing his place in the band.”
“You don’t actually care about Arlo.” It wasn’t a question, not when I knew it was the truth.
“Can’t say I do,” Kevin said flippantly. “But if Arlo is fired, who do you think Luca, Kai and Silas will blame? There’s no way they’ll keep me on if Arlo is forced out. Doesn’t matter what their contracts say, it’s my neck on the line.”
“This is about your job,” I said slowly as the pieces fell into place. “You’re just looking out for yourself.”
“Isn’t that what we’re all doing?” He tapped the folder once more. “Well, all of us except for you. Which is why I think we can find a solution that suits all of us.”
“I’m not following.”
“I have three options,” Kevin said. “The first is I fire you. What do you think will happen then?”
I had a pretty good idea, but not wanting to give Kevin any further ammunition, I kept my mouth shut.
“Arlo will likely fire me,” he said bluntly, confirming my own thoughts. “It’s the only reason I didn’t can you years ago. The rest of the band will back him up. If by some miracle he doesn’t, he will be even more reticent to listen to my advice and ideas for furthering his career.”
“It’s not advice that’s in his best interests.”
Kevin flashed his teeth at me. “We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.”
My face remained impassive, but deep down I was picturing smashing my fist into his too-white teeth over and over again.