Chapter Eighteen Los Angeles
The restaurant was on Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood. Delilah was the kind of place where you could feel the money in the room crawling under your skin. The old Hollywood vibe was a favorite of Piper’s but he was not enjoying it tonight.
The hostess greeted him like she had no idea who he was on purpose. The Delfonics’ Ready or Not Here I Come (You Can’t Hide From Love) oozed from the speakers, the opening violin and horn arrangement penetrating Piper like a dark spirit.
Jayson stood when Piper approached. Dark jacket, Open collar, not a wrinkle anywhere.
“Piper.”
“Jayson.”
They shook hands. Jayson’s palm was dry and cool.
“You are late,” Jayson said, though Piper was not.
“You said eight thirty, it’s eight thirty.”
“I prefer you early.”
Piper sat.
“Next time say eight fifteen,” Piper said, slightly annoyed.
“Sounds like irritation.”
Jayson ordered for both of them without asking. The wine arrived first. Jayson had ordered the 2009 Chateau Lafite Rothschild.
“You look tired.”
“Long day.”
Piper let it hang.
“The special tonight was interesting. You watched it?” Piper asked.
“I watch anything that affects my investments, you know that, Piper. The league seems delighted. Based on social chatter the ratings should be strong. Reyes helps.”
“He is good for television,” Piper replied nervously. Jayson always made him nervous, especially when Piper knew he knew something was up.
“He is good for many things, I imagine.”
The sentence was smooth enough to miss if you wanted to. Piper did not miss it.
“You said dinner. Not fucking interrogation.”
“Do you prefer directness?”
“That would be refreshing, actually,” Piper replied as his voice cracked.
The waiter returned with steak tartare and caviar. Jayson waited until he left to continue the conversation.
“Fine. How attached are you becoming?”
Piper’s pulse picked up. He made himself sit very still.
“That is direct.”
“You asked for refreshing.”
Piper picked up his fork, then set it back down.
“You are assuming facts with no evidence.”
Jayson laughed softly. “That sentence alone is evidence.”
He paused before adding, “You have nothing to worry about, there is nothing going on.” Piper started to sweat a bit.
“Why were you at the Four Seasons?”
“You said you were not accusing me,” Piper replied.
Jayson lifted his wine glass. “I am measuring risk. The new contract language is very clear. No relationship with Noah Reyes. No contact outside team functions. No private communication. The morality clause now names him specifically. Break it, and the entire deal dissolves. Ten million extra a year gone. All my connections are gone and effectively your image is gone.”
Piper’s body froze.
“I am not a hedge fund. I have not signed the amendment.”
“No. You are more volatile.”
Piper forced his shoulders loose.
“You do not own me.”
“Interesting choice of phrase. Piper, I can destroy you,” Jayson said softly.
“I know.” Piper sat in it for a minute.
The pause stretched.
“I didn’t bring you here to argue over language. I brought you here because I don’t like surprises.”
“I built my career around removing them.”
“I built your career around removing them.”
Piper looked away toward the window. He hated that the line worked. He hated that he was still sitting here.
“You are excellent when you are focused. You become careless when emotionally triggered. I have built too much around the first version of you to indulge the second.”
“You think Noah is a distraction.”
“I think Noah is visible.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“No. It is worse.”
Chilean Sea Bass arrived for Jayson and Piper.
“Go on, eat your food,” Jayson said, motioning his knife in Piper’s direction.
“I am still enjoying the hostage situation,” Piper said as he picked up his wine glass to drink.
“At last. I was beginning to think discipline had eaten the rest of you.”
Jayson set down his knife. “You are being unwise this evening.”
“You asked for honesty. You have had mine for many years,” Piper leaned back, “what else do you want?”
“Obedience, Piper. I was there before this big career you have. I was there when it mattered most. You have not forgotten that, have you?” Jayson said quietly.
Piper thought of the hospital bed nine years ago. The effort and care Jayson put in to make sure Piper recovered. Piper reflected on his life and what it had become.
“And what exactly is going on with you tonight?”
“I am tired.”
“Tired of what?”
“Being managed.”
“You mistake support for management when you are emotional.”
“No. I mistake management for support when I am grateful.”
That landed harder than Piper expected.
“I chose you because you were disciplined enough to understand exchange. I gave and you received. I asked and you complied. There was never confusion before, and now things are changing.”
Piper’s fingernails dug into his bandaged hand. The FaceTime sex injury was the only relief he had.
Jayson went still.
“Careful.”
“Watch me.”
Jayson shook his head slightly. “Threats are for men without patience.”
“Then what do you call this?”
“An intervention.”
Piper almost laughed. His pulse was running in a silent fury.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Jayson noticed and neither of them moved. Then it buzzed again.
“Is that him?”
“How the fuck do I know. I haven’t looked at my phone yet.”
“Is it?”
Jayson picked up his wine. “Then we are having the correct conversation.”
Piper pulled the phone out. Slowly and on purpose.
It was Noah. A Real Housewife of Beverly Hills GIF. Kim Richards calling Brandi Glanville a slut pig, and he had written, Miss you sexy.
The corner of his mouth wanted to lift with a chuckle. He didn’t let it out fully, just enough to make Jayson’s blood boil. Piper hated himself for it, because he knew there were consequences to his performance tonight.
“Answer him.”
“What?”
“Answer him.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Piper locked the phone and slid it face down on the table. “Fuck no, Jayson.”
Jayson’s calm showed strain which was off brand for him.
“You are trying very hard to convince yourself this is rebellion.”
“What if it is?”
“Then it is late and you will not win.”
Another vibration. Neither of them looked away.
Jayson stood first. “We are leaving, get up.”
Piper followed him out. No argument or dramatic exit, just the silent acceptance that Piper had lost this argument, but it was the first time he had tried.
***
The black SUV waited at the curb.“Get in,” Jayson demanded.
Piper wondered what was next, but he felt like not thinking would benefit him more at this point.
The SUV headed east, leaving Melrose behind. The city thinned out into warehouses and chain-link fences.
Jayson looked past him. “You’re very quiet.”
“I’m thinking.”
“That’s new.”
Piper almost smiled.
The car turned into a loading bay behind a large unmarked warehouse. A single red bulb above a steel door. Two men stepped aside the second they saw Jayson.
Of course they did.
Inside, the space was warm and muggy. A low bass throbbed somewhere beneath the floor.
Get Naked (I Got A Plan) by Britney Spears burned through the room.
Movement in the shadows, bodies reduced to outlines, gestures, fragments of skin and sweat.
Blackout was reserved for Piper and Noah.
He wondered why it was crossing over to this side of his existence.
Piper stopped for a moment once they were inside. He understood immediately the intent of this little fucking field trip.
Jayson watched “You don’t need an explanation do you.”
“I’m not asking for one.”
Jayson handed him a black pup mask. Then a jockstrap. Every instinct screamed to drop it and walk out. He took it anyway.
“You can leave,” Jayson said, almost casually.
Piper exhaled deeply through his nose. He knew this game. The only way to keep Jayson from suspecting how deep the crack with Noah had gone was to play along, and leaving was not an option.
He stripped and the air hit his skin cooler, sharper.
The jockstrap rode high on his hips, the pouch barely containing him, the straps framing his ass, leaving nothing to the imagination.
His cock pressed against the fabric as Jayson started to put a harness on Piper, the thick straps crossing tight over his chest and shoulders, buckles biting his skin.
He hated every buckle, but he let the buckling continue anyway.
The touch sent heat licking down Piper’s spine despite himself.
“You’re hesitating.”
“I’m fine.”
“No,” Jayson said quietly, voice low against his ear. “You’re deciding. And your body already has.”
Piper took his time as he stayed still while Jayson finished adjusting his straps, his breath warm against his neck.
Jayson removed his own shirt and slid on a similar mask, then pulled off his pants, handing them off to one of his bodyguards.
They moved deeper into the room.
The watching eyes were immediate. Eyes that gave themselves permission to look.
Eyes that didn’t need names, sliding over Piper’s harnessed chest, the tight pull of the jock, the way his thighs flexed with each step.
The men watching did not know who they were watching and Piper was grateful for that.
Jayson led him toward the center of the room, where a cage sat.
It was big enough for a large dog, but anyone with a large muscular frame like Piper, would struggle to get inside.
The door hung open as Piper stopped in front of it.
He could feel his pulse everywhere, his throat, wrists, the growing ache behind the jockstrap. His skin prickled with awareness, cock half-hard from the humiliation and the heat of being watched.
Jayson stopped beside him. “You don’t need to be told.”
Piper let out a shaky breath. He knew what this was, a lesson.
He lowered into a crouch and maneuvered inside the cage.
The metal was cold under his skin. The space forced him smaller and tighter, his shoulders pulled back by the harness, ass on display through the bars, the jockstrap now straining visibly against his growing erection. The bars pressed against his skin.