Chapter 35
When Drake offered to help me out, I never expected he would offer me a job.
Certainly not a job as interesting as this one.
Drake has been giving subtle hints of his previous work; the biggest one is him knowing who Pilkington is.
After signing an NDA, he told me about the clients already on the books, and honestly, I’m impressed.
But before I can even consider being one of his operatives, I have to qualify for a licence, which is complicated enough.
I need a close protection licence, front line licence, the list goes on.
The first course I’m in is a first aid one.
I’m looking forward to this one. But today is reading all the documents for the courses, and I’m in the office with a couple of the other potential operatives.
My phone vibrates in my pocket; I have it set to silent, not wanting to disturb anyone. I get up and leave the room before answering Knox.
“Hey, I didn’t expect to hear from you yet, how’s it going?”
“Hi, love, look, can you get away? Roe’s here, and he’s not happy.” I can hear the tension in Knox’s voice. “He’s pounding out miles on the treadmill.”
“I’ll check with Drake, but I can’t see it being a problem. Gimme a minute, and I’ll get back to you.”
Of course, Drake says yes, and I leave, taking the reading matter home with me.
The car park looks full, so the gym must be packed out.
I manage to find a space and park. When I get inside, I greet the receptionist and go straight to Knox’s office, glancing around the room, looking for Roman.
I find him in the weight area but leave him for now.
I want to know what Knox thinks is going on.
The door’s closed, so I knock lightly, then wait for him to open it. “You don’t need to knock,” he says when he opens it, then leans in to kiss my mouth.
“Don’t be daft, you could be having a private meeting with a member or been on the phone,” I say after he’s moved back into the office.
“So, what’s going on with our boy?” I love calling him that, ‘our boy.’ I never in a million years thought or even imagined that my life would be so amazing, so perfect.
“I have no idea, but let’s go and get him in here to talk to us,” Knox says as we walk back through the door. I glance around the room, checking to see where he is now, but Roman is still in the same area.
“What you doing, baby? You’ve been pushing yourself for way too long. Shouldn’t you be at work?” Knox asks, his voice gentle.
“I’ve had a shitty day, okay. I don’t want to talk about it yet. All I want to do is work out,” he snips at us in a very non-Roman kind of way.
“Well, tough. I’m calling time on you. You’ve been here for well over two hours and haven’t stopped, not even for a water. So no, you’ve done enough.”
“Fuck off; you’re not my mother.” He’s angry, like really angry.
“Hey, calm down, Roe. That’s not fair,” I tell him. My voice must’ve had my Dom coming out because he drops his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I just…fuck. I don’t know what to do.”
I pull him to me and wrap him in my arms. “Whatever the problem, between us all, we can fix it.”
“Hey, I’m sorry too.” Knox joins the hug, and when we break apart, I kiss Roman’s forehead and let Knox take his hand.
I clean up his area, leaving it ready for the next user.
As I wipe it all down, I get the feeling someone is watching me.
It’s a paranoia I developed after I was loose back in the world, new name, a different face, and a limp that was improving day by day.
I expected to have someone recognise me everywhere I went.
It didn’t happen, not that I’m aware of; no one ever came forward.
Yet, this is exactly how I felt. Without making a fuss, I turn around and walk normally back to the office.
I don’t look anywhere else other than my destination.
Whatever that was, it can wait until Roe has been helped. I’m probably imagining it, or more realistically, I tell myself, it was probably someone who has seen me fight. Yep, that makes more sense.
Inside the office, Knox and Roe are on the sofa and Roe has been crying. What the fuck has gone down? I sit on his other side and look over his head at Knox; he gives a little shake of his head, not knowing anything yet.
“Can you tell us what’s happened? Have you been hurt? Has someone threatened you?” Knox asks him, calmly.
We wait while he wipes his face. “You’ll probably think it’s nothing, but to me it meant so much.
I grew up not far from here. It was one of the roughest streets, and we never had much money.
I have a lovely family, and they never cared that I was gay.
They only shrugged, gave me a hug, and put the kettle on.
I was determined to not end up working so hard and still be poor.
They’re all so proud of me for getting a good job and becoming a manager.
But it’s all gone wrong. I’ve lost my job, been made redundant, she said, but it all means the same.
I won’t be able to pay my share of the bills or go out with you because I can’t pay my way. You’ll not want me anymore.”
Both Knox and I sit in utter silence. We give each other a look that says ‘what the fuck’.
I pull him onto my knee as Knox clasps Roman’s hands, pale with long, strong fingers that are trembling in the large, tattooed ones.
“Roe, look at me, baby,” Knox starts. “I wouldn’t care if you were a millionaire or a pauper.
I love you. You will find another job, a better one, because you’re so smart and interesting, engaging, and fun.
It’s their loss, Roe. You can take your time, because I didn’t want you living with me so that you can join in paying the bills.
It’s because I love you. We love you. It’s not going to change, I promise. ”
“I don’t think I can add any more to what Knox just said.
We love you so much. Look at me. I didn’t have a job when I met you.
I’ve got a great one now, and I’m starting a whole new chapter.
You should look at this as a good thing.
You can begin something new, something that challenges and helps you grow into a new version of you.
We’re here to help you.” It’s my turn to kiss him, and I take my time, sweeping my tongue into his mouth to stroke over his as I cup his face in my hands.
Knox leans in, and we’re soon all kissing each other, and if we don’t stop, then I’ll be stripping Roe naked and taking him here.
I pull away, panting. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “I had to stop before it got any hotter.”
“Good move,” says Knox, adjusting his junk through his sweats.
“I’m getting a couple of months extra pay; I can give that to you to cover my share of the costs until I get another one,” Roman says, still sounding a little insecure.
“If that makes you feel better, then, yes, you can do that.” Knox looks at me as if to say just agree.
“Don’t leave yourself short though, babe.” I kiss the top of his head.
“Thank you, so much. I’m sorry I was such a bitch. I’ll make it up to you later.” He winks, and finally, we have our cheeky boy back.
“After your punishment for being rude to me, of course,” Knox says, his voice low and gravelly. It was enough to make me horny.
“Yes, Sir.” Roman’s eyes darken with lust. It never took long to get him ready to play. “I know I was bad. I wish Ollie was here.”
“I think a session at Bound is needed. I’ve got a few more hours to do here, with a class to teach. Can you take Roman home. What time does Ollie finish? They’ll both need to eat and maybe take a nap before we go out.”
We say goodbye to Knox and walk hand in hand into the main room, heading to the door. I get the same prickling feeling that I’m being watched.
“What’s up?” Roman asks, feeling the tension in my hand as I paused.
“I think someone is watching me. I’ve got a weird feeling in my gut. It happened when I cleaned up your weights.” I hate the look of panic on his face; we’ve talked about what happened to me, and I know Roman worries about anyone from my past finding me. Now, he’s thinking it’s about to come true.
“Do you want me to look?”
“No, it would be too obvious. We can check the security recording later. For now, were going home and getting you showered and into bed.”
His smile is pure filth; he’s a bloody brat. “Nope, not gonna happen. You’ve got tonight to make your apologies.”
“Fine. Whatever.” He’s pretending to sulk, hoping for a spanking now as well as tonight. “Maybe, I’ll start job hunting. It’s probably the most productive way to spend a couple of hours.”
“Nope, not today. You’ve got to give yourself some time to adjust and clear your head. You may find you want to do something completely different.”
We make it to the car park, and Roman lets go of my hand. “I’m parked over there. I’ll see you at home.” He kisses my cheek.
It will take us a bit longer to get back thanks to some roadworks and a diversion, but we should arrive the same time.
I drive down the carpark, facing the doorway and it’s wide, glass double doors.
There’s a man standing outside the entrance.
He’s tall, built but not overly, and his dark blond hair is a messy, sweaty mess, however, there’s something familiar.
But I don’t know why or who it could be.
He’s gone when I look in my rearview mirror.