5
“ M r. Price,” Chloe called over the line. “Victor Finch is on the phone…again.”
Remy rolled his eyes. He was getting tired of this man. Or, well, honestly, he’d been tired of him, but he hadn’t dealt with him in so long that it was like starting his irritation all over again. For the most part, Victor bypassed him and attempted to bother Kieran directly, which was fine with Remy. However, now that Kieran was out of the office enjoying his honeymoon, Victor had taken to bugging Remy again.
He was sure that a part of the other man figured he’d have more luck with Remy, but it appeared that it had been so long since the two had spoken that Victor seemed to have forgotten that Remy had no patience for him.
In all honesty, when it came to business, Remy would hazard to say he wasn’t a nice man. He just seemed that way because dealing with Kieran pre-Alijah had been like dealing with Satan. So, in contrast, Remy seemed like a saint.
Remy allowed business to be just that—business. He was cordial enough and went to whatever business meetings were needed, lunches, dinners, and golf, but his goal was to keep Cayman Industries trending upward. Making friends and doing bad deals did not help him achieve that.
“Chloe, will you ask Mr. Finch if he’s available for a meeting today at whatever time I have free?”
There was a slight pause. “Mr. Price, you’re kidding, right?”
Remy chuckled. “Not at all. He wants a meeting; I’m going to give him one. He’s just not going to like the way it turns out. ”
Meeting with Victor had been something Kieran refused to do. Remy had no desire to meet with him either. Both of them were aware of his business practices and how they seemed to fail within a year or so. If it wasn’t for his father’s money, he was sure Victor wouldn’t have anything to his name by now.
Remy’s way of thinking was to get the man in for a meeting, let him pitch whatever bullshit he was going to, and then let him know to his face that they didn’t have an interest in working with him and never would since he hadn’t gotten the message yet with his overly persistent ass. Kieran had only been gone five business days, and Victor had called Remy every day of the week. He had no desire to go into the weekend, with the probability of Victor calling him Monday morning, so he was about to nip it in the bud.
A part of Remy knew that dealing, what he was sure would be a devastating blow to Victor in person would help him to work off some of his irritation and frustration. The gym no longer helped after the third day. Remy knew what, or should he say, who he wanted to take his frustrations out on. The very person that was the reason for them, but he wouldn’t answer Remy’s calls or texts. He’d tried a couple more times after his initial call and text. So, Remy had taken the hint after a couple of days and stopped trying to contact him.
Remy wasn’t sure exactly how to feel. It was the first time someone he’d slept with hadn’t been in the bed they’d shared the following day. Remy knew he was overwhelming Lawrence as he’d made good on the option he’d given him at the wedding, but Remy assumed the other man liked it. He’d begged him for more, not to stop. Yet, Lawrence disappeared on him the next morning. It caused Remy to wonder if he’d read the situation wrong and if Lawrence hadn’t liked it as much as he let on.
However, that sounded extremely unlikely to Remy from the way Lawrence acted before and during their sex. He hadn’t tried to leave at any time, and Remy would have let him if it had been what he wanted. So, to say he was confused by the rejection was an understatement. But he figured it didn’t matter at this point because they weren’t speaking.
“Mr. Price, Mr. Finch will be in today at three forty-five,” Chloe informed him, pulling him from his musing .
“Thank you, Chloe,” he responded before focusing on his computer screen.
Remy continued to review the emails being forwarded from Kieran’s email address to his. They were acquiring several projects and products, and while most of the company's employees knew Kieran was out, some who worked outside the main office and in other businesses did not.
While Remy’s job was ensuring operations ran smoothly and occasionally went to negotiations, Kieran liked havinghis hands on everything. Even things that didn’t always garner his attention. So, it made extra work for Remy over the next few weeks. Though, he’d madeit through this first week fine and knew he would the next couple as well. Kieran wouldn’t have hired him all those years ago if he were incapable of doing so.
T hree forty-five crept up on Remy quicker than he thought it would. He wasn’t that upset about it. It simply meant that he could get the meeting over with, and maybe Victor would bother someone else instead of them. A part of him understood that may have been wishful thinking because Remy knew that Cayman Industries was not the only company Victor liked to contact frequently.
When Chloe led Victor in, Remy stood, shaking the other man’s hand before gesturing for him to sit in one of the chairs. Remy retook his and leaned back in his seat. He didn’t see the need to beat around the bush and wanted to get straight to the point.
“Victor, what’s got you soexcited that you’ve been calling me daily?” Remy questioned.
“I know that seemed a little excessive, but I have a wonderful business opportunity, and I didn’t want you to miss out on it,” Victor replied. Remy refrained from rolling his eyes, wondering how many people had heard those wordsbefore investing in one of Victor’s failed companies.
“Please,” Remy started, gesturing to him. “Let me hear it.”
For the next ten minutes, Remy listened to Victor try to sell him on a contact he had who could supply Cayman Industries with as many medical machines as they wanted to resale at whatever price they saw fit. The talk of medical supplies had him momentarily thinking of Lawrence, but Remy quickly shook that away.
Remy listened to the entire proposal so that when he declined the offer, Victor couldn’t use the excuse that he hadn’t given Remy all the information. It was clear to him that Victor hadn’t done any research on the company he’d been calling and pestering for the last several years.
Cayman Industries was not in the business of acquiring products from a supplier and then reselling them to the masses. They took prototypes and product ideas for a wide array of things, purchased them, and obtained the majority of the rights from inventors who didn’t have the funds to get them off the ground and paid the creator a substantial yearly dividend. Everything they sold, they produced themselves, or a company they took over did. Not buy in bulk from someone. Remy was offended that Victor hadn’t cared enough to at least research it. He would have found it quite easily.
Remy allowed Victor to say everything he had to and didn’t speak until Victor fell quiet. Remy remained silent momentarily in case the other man began talking again. When it was clear that he was done, Remy leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on his desk.
“While that sounds like an…interesting proposal, it isn’t what we look for in a potential business prospect.”
“I can assure you; this will be worth your time,” Victor pressed.
“Unfortunately, Victor, your past business endeavors tell me it more than likely isn’t,”Remy replied. “We at Cayman Industries pride ourselves on doing good business and making good deals. Your trackrecord doesn’t align with that goal for us.”Remy pressed the button on his phone as he stood. “We will not be doing business with you. At this time or any other.”Remy gestured towards his door as it opened. “Chloe will show you out.”
Victor stood there for a second as if shocked by the refusal and the dismissal. In Remy’s mind, neither of them should have been a surprise. If it had taken him this long to get a meeting, he honestly couldn’t have expected something different, hoped for, yes, expected, no .
Remy retook his seat and turned to his computer screen as Chloe showed Victor from his office. His assistant returned a moment later, standing in his doorway.
“Well, how’d it go?”she questioned.
“I give it a month or so, and he’ll call back as if we never had that conversation.”
Chloe laughed, shaking her head before closing hisdooras she left. Remy turned his focus back on work for the next hour.
L awrence sat at his desk, reviewing information on his next potential client. A string of medical supply stores was opening across Nebraska, and the CEO had agreed to meet with Lawrence. They already had stores in Kansas, and if the meeting went well, Lawrence could walk away with Global Technologies supplying not only the new stores but also the established ones.
His goal was to offer them more than their current supplier and at a better price. The equipment they supplied was top-grade and would speak for itself, but Lawrence knew he needed that extra push to win the meeting.
So, he was studying both the company and its current supplier. Lawrence wanted to know the competition’s weaknesses to show that his company was superior in that department.
He was set to fly out next Thursday after work for a Friday morning meeting and demonstration with a couple of their products. He figured since he was flying out there, he might as well enjoy it. Lawrence would be staying until Sunday afternoon. He wasn’t sure what he’d do while there, but he figured a little mini-vacation was warranted.
Lawrence made some notes before moving on. He’d been researching for the past few days, and every time he felt he knew everything about the potentialclient and the competition, he’d review and find something else. He knew that he would have more information than needed by the time he finished. However, that was always the way it went when he was preparing for a client. Lawrence would go back before the meeting and slim it down to the most important things he needed .
Glancing at his phone, Lawrence tapped the screen, which caused it to light up. He didn’t have any missed calls or text messages. He found himself frowning for a moment, then shaking his head.
For a couple of days after his night with Remy, the other man had sent him text messages and called him. Lawrence hadn’t answered his calls or responded to any of his texts. He wasn’t sure what he would say to Remy. Whether he wanted to have lunch or dinner together or anything involving Remy.Heliked what the other man had done to him far too much, and while avoiding him because he did was the most ridiculous thing Lawrence could do, he was doing it.
Because liking it was foreign to him, being on the receiving end of such an intense night and feeling was more than Lawrence thought he could deal with, and if one night with Remy was like that, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what two or three or thirty felt like.
The chance that whatever had come over him and embedded itself in him when Remy was sending him to see whatever deity existed when your soul left your body from being fucked to the brink of incoherence was not something he was used to. Lawrence wasn’t sure he wanted to see that deity again. For it to smile in his face as his body was used in the best way possible.
When Remy stopped reaching out to him, Lawrence wasn't sure if he should be immediately relieved that, at some point, he’d be able to put that night out of his head as a great one-night stand or disappointed because the other man had given up so easily.
He found himself placing his head on his desk, shaking it from side to side, as he tried to clear the memories of Remy’s dick touching his stomach as he’d stroked in and out of him.
Lawrence jumped, andhis heart beat fast when his phone rang. Mildly, he wondered if his thoughts had caused Remy to call him as if the other man had felt it somehow.
Looking at the caller ID, Lawrence saw that Colbie was calling him. He didn’t know whether to be disappointed that it wasn’t Remy or glad because, with the track his mind was on, he may have given in to whatever the other man wanted.
“Hey, Colbie,” Lawrence greeted, answering his phone .
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was lost in thought when you called,” Lawrence responded, keeping it vague.
“About what?”
He debated whether or not he wanted to tell her whatwas happening. He weighed his options and realized that he could use some advice. He couldn’t talk to Alijah about it because she would put two and two together. On top of that, he didn’t want to bother her on her honeymoon. Erin would tell him she didn’t see a problem since she’d sent him over to talk to Remy, and then she would more than likely bring it up to Alijah at some point. While Chayse would probably tell him, he’d brought this on himself somehow.
“Well,” Lawrence started.
For the next few minutes, he recounted to Colbie the events that led him to go home with Remy after Alijah’s wedding and the things that took place once they’d made it to Remy’s condo. Lawrence also told her howhe’d left the following day before the other man had wokenup,and how he’d been avoiding contact with him.
“So,is the issue that you’re not used to being the one receiving and being catered to? Because I know you’re saying he used you, and you liked it, but that’s sometimes synonymous with being catered to because their entire focus is on you, and you’re overwhelmed.”
“This man fucked my throat like it was a FleshLight he’d picked up at a sex store,” Lawrence told her.
“And?”Colbie questioned. “That doesn’t mean he still wasn’tdoing it to please you. Clearly, you weren’t turned off by it, so maybe that’s whyhe continued. When you like doing something, is it beingused?”
“I like relationships, sexualor otherwise, where I know what to expect, and I don’t think I want that experience every night,”Lawrence informed her because he got the distinct feeling it would be different each time.
“Because it’s different?”Colbie questioned.
“Exactly. ”
“You do realize that this may not be the exact conversation we had about myrelationship with Dallis, but the irony is there.”Colbie paused for a minute.”So, I’m going to need you to take your bad advice that miraculously worked for me to use for yourself. Except for this time, it isn’t ignoring society. It’s you ignoring your head and listening to your heart, and if it isn’t speaking yet, listento your dick.”
Lawrence found himself laughing because he could imagine her doing a little shrug when she’d finished. However, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to take his advice. In hindsight, now thathe had thought about it, it probably wasn’t the greatest, but it wasn’t that bad. Instead of commenting on his situation, he decided to change the subject.
“How are things withDallis?”
“They’re good. He’s started a countdown till graduation.”Colbie told him.
“I’m sure he’s been counting since you got together.Buthe doesn’t have long, right?”
“About six weeks.”
“That’ll pass by in no time,”Lawrence responded.”Speaking of which, when are you two visiting me?”
“I’ll letyou know,”Colbie replied. “It'll be once we're out for the summer, though.”
Lawrence talked to Colbie for several more minutes before hanging up and putting his things away. It was five till five, and he planned on leaving on time today. He decided to wait to see how he felt about the situation after his work trip next week. If he felt the same, he might reach out to Remy.