Chapter Fourteen
Adryan
Adryan struggled to keep his eyes off Madden.
He looked gorgeous in his dark pinstriped suit.
Tom Ford apparently. Not that he knew much about that.
The white shirt made his green eyes stand out, and Adryan knew how the white shirt stretched across Madden’s broad shoulders.
He should do. He’d seen Madden up close and naked all night.
Had touched and kissed his skin, among other things.
Not that he could think about the things they’d done to each other during the night.
Not while he sat across from his parents, who smiled warmly at Madden as they asked him questions.
Madden had an easy smile on his face as he answered them, but Adryan knew him well enough to see the fine lines of tension that bracketed his mouth.
Maybe he was nervous about the upcoming meeting.
Earlier, Adryan had hugged Julieanne when he entered his parents home and smiled at Mark.
‘Madden!’ Julieanne smiled as she pulled Madden in for a hug.
Adryan saw Madden stiffen then hug her back as he relaxed in her hold.
It made him think about the home Madden had grown up in.
Not really a home for him, though. More like a place for him to sleep and to avoid his father and brother.
How many times had Madden been hugged? How many times had he been hit?
Their upbringings were oceans apart and to watch the way Madden closed his eyes as Julieanne hugged him reminded Adryan how lucky he was to have the family he did.
They’d accepted him when he’d told them he was gay, the complete opposite to what Madden had experienced.
Adryan should know. He could remember the venom Michael had spat when he’d told him and Shane about it.
His reaction had made Adryan aware how it would be for him so he’d kept quiet.
There was no point going over the past now. They were all in different places and Madden was doing incredibly well for himself. He’d left Troham and become a successful businessman.
‘It’s so good to see you.’ Julianne kissed Madden’s cheek then briefly touched Madden’s arm. ‘How are you feeling? Does your arm hurt? Do you have enough medication? Come in and sit down.’
‘Mom. I think Madden can take care of himself.’
‘Hush, Adryan. I haven’t seen Madden since he left so give me a few minutes to talk to him.’
‘Madden. It’s good to see you again and thanks for helping us with this.’ Mark held his hand out and Madden shook it.
‘It’s no problem. Glad to help.’ Madden’s eyes flickered to Adryan who was busy hiding his smile behind his hand. Catching his narrowed gaze, Adryan coughed. ‘Adryan has been catching me up on everything but anything you can add will help.’
‘Come and sit at the table.’ Julieanne led Madden into the kitchen and pointed at a chair. ‘Coffee?’
‘I’d love one thanks.’ Madden sat and Adryan sat opposite, leaving a chair for Mark to sit. Julieanne grabbed mugs and the pot of coffee, and placed them on the table then added sugar and a small pitcher of milk. Sitting she poured everyone a drink then smiled at Madden. ‘Thanks.’
‘You’re going to be in the meeting with us?’ Mark sipped his coffee after asking.
‘I will, l but I’m not there to talk on your behalf. I’ll introduce you all then sit back and watch. After the meeting I can give you any impressions I have but this is your meeting. The town’s meeting. A chance to make your case for why the business shouldn’t be closed.’
Mark nodded. ‘I have some bullet points here. Adryan suggested we come up with a list to show the owners why they should keep the place open.’
‘That’s good. Let me have a look and I’ll see if there is anything else I can suggest.’
‘Or remove.’ Julieanne smiled when Mark shook his finger at her.
‘I covered all the bases, that’s all.’ Mark sipped his coffee as he narrowed his eyes at Julieanne who smiled in return. ‘Okay. Maybe I did write more than is necessary but they’re all important points.’
‘It’s a good list but you do have a couple that are repeats of other points you’ve raised.
’ Adryan sat and watched Madden go over the list, tuning out his parents who talked about the upcoming meeting.
Watching Madden work had him squirming in his chair trying to stop his dick from making itself known.
There was something about Madden sitting in his suit focused on work that made Adryan want to dirty him up.
Yeah, take the suit off and have the man spread naked on the table.
Adryan took several deep breaths to get his dick under control.
Madden’s green eyes caught his like he knew what Adryan was thinking and going by the smirk on Madden’s face, he did.
Adryan grinned and relaxed in the chair, bit his lip then remembered where he was and who was sitting right next to him.
There was no way he should be sitting near his parents sporting an erection.
‘What do you think about this?’ Madden passed the sheet of paper to Mark who scanned it. Slow nods followed then he murmured, ‘It looks good.’
‘I’m glad you think so. I’ve numbered the points in terms of what I would consider importance. Start with those first, then work your way through the rest.’
Mark put the paper down and exhaled heavily, rubbing his hands on his legs. ‘I’m nervous.’
‘You’ll be fine, Dad. You’ve had meetings before.’
‘I have nothing this important. The future of this town could depend on the outcome of this meeting. We need them to stay open. Too many lives will be affected if they decide we’re not worth it.’
‘It comes down to their bottom line. Can you make them a profit? If they can’t then they’ll close. Madden pointed to the sheet of paper. ‘This is your way of proving you can turn the situation around and make it work.’
Mark leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair. ‘It should be enough.’
‘You’ve done more than anyone to keep the place open, Dad. You’ve worked for hours coming up with ideas and rallying people. We spent all weekend making the main street look good so they’ll see we’re a good investment.’
‘Adryan’s right. I can see you’ve worked hard and so will they but at the end of the day, if they can’t make a profit, they’ll shut the place down. You need to show them how you can turn this around and make them money.’
‘We can do this. We’ve thought about how we can improve productivity, cut their losses over time and turn a profit.’
‘Good and go in there with a positive attitude. Show them you mean business as well.’
‘So tell me, Madden. How do you feel coming back to Troham?’
‘Mom,’ Adryan warned. That was not a good question to ask. Madden had gone through more than enough since he’d arrived in Troham and only remained because of his arm. Adryan knew as soon as Madden was cleared to go, he would be gone.
Julieanne waved Adryan’s warning away. ‘I’m not stupid. I know all about Madden’s family. You came back for John’s funeral. Must have brought back some tough memories yet you still came.’
Madden glanced at Adryan then sighed. ‘It has been eventful.’ He raised his arm. ‘As you can see.’
‘At least you’ve had Adryan to help you. First John, then Michael and then the accident. Is Michael still trying to get sober?’
‘Seriously, Mom? Are we doing this now?’
‘Failing, just like his pathetic life.’ Madden muttered. ‘And I mean every single word. I hope his life continues to be miserable.’
‘You don’t think in time you could come to forgive him?’ Julieanne asked quietly. ‘He is your brother.’
‘He made my life a misery more so when I came out as gay. He loved nothing better than finding ways to make my life hell. There is nothing between us.’
‘What about—’
‘I know you have good intentions, Julieanne, but there is nothing to fix between Michael and I. Whatever relationship we had was destroyed years ago. I’m fine about it but I will make an effort where the children are concerned.’
‘I had hopes things would improve but… I understand.’ Julieanne reached out and patted Madden’s hand. ‘You’ll always have a place to stay with us.’
‘That’s… generous of you.’
‘It’s not like we didn’t know how John treated you. Adryan told us plenty over the years. I wished we’d done more but whenever we brought it up with John…’ Mark shook his head. ‘I’m happy you’ve done well for yourself.’
Adryan watched Madden fiddle with the Rolex on his wrist then pull the collar on the suit he wore. ‘Thank you for saying that.’
‘And that’s time for us to go.’ Mark stood and breathed deeply. ‘I’m actually nervous.’ He patted his chest. ‘We need this to work.’
‘You’ve done as much as you can. Now you go in there and convince them.’ Madden locked eyes with Adryan. ‘Everything will work out as it’s meant to.’
Adryan sat in his car outside the factory.
Julieanne had remained at home but Adryan found he had to be there even if he couldn’t attend the meeting.
The factory meant so much to the town. It employed many of the residents and they needed it to stay.
The potential future of the town rested on the outcome of the meeting.
Knowing Madden sat in helped. Madden knew about business and even though he hadn’t wanted to become involved he’d eventually come around. Sitting at the table with Mark going over all the points he needed to raise and any potential issues had calmed Adryan.
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as his thoughts moved to Madden.
Their relationship had shifted, if you could call it a relationship.
Adryan wasn’t certain where he stood or what Madden thought about what had happened between them.
Adryan wanted a repeat though. He knew that for sure.
He hadn’t had nearly enough of Madden and hoped Madden felt the same way.
Adryan couldn’t be certain. Madden had grown good at closing off when he needed to and who could blame him.
He hadn’t been lucky like Adryan. His family had been truly awful to him.
It had been so bad at times that Adryan wasn’t sure how Madden had lasted as long as he had.
He didn’t blame the other man for leaving.
Adryan wasn’t innocent. He’d stood by and watched the abuse Madden endured.
He’d been weak back then. Afraid he’d face the same if he’d come out so had stayed quiet when Michael or John abused Madden.
Weak and pathetic, but no more. He’d figured his life out and faced the shit Michael had thrown his way when he’d told the truth.
Being open had freed him as well. It had taken away the nervousness he’d always felt around Michael and Shane, and the fear of what would happen if they’d found out before he was ready to tell them.
Movement at the factory entrance caused Adryan to straighten. He watched Mark and Madden shake the business owner’s hand, then walk away. Both smiled until they approached Adryan, then the smiles slipped.
As soon as they were both in the car, Adryan asked, ‘How did it go?’
Mark exhaled heavily. ‘I don’t think it went well. Madden?’
Madden flattened his lips. ‘We won’t know until they inform the managers. They kept things close to the chest, which is how I would behave in a meeting.’
‘Your gut?’ Adryan watched Madden who shook his head slowly.
‘I hesitate to say because I don’t know them but it would appear they are reluctant to keep the factory operational.
Mark did well in there. Managed to get all the relevant points across and come up with reasons to keep the place open.
’ Shrugging, Madden looked at Adryan. ‘We just have to wait and see now.’