Chapter Nineteen
LATER THAT week, Aaron knocked on the door of a cabin rental near the lake. It didn’t have a sketchy overtone, but it was a tad secluded. At least the car he parked beside was exorbitant. Cars like that were a decent predictor. A person who cared that much about appearances was less likely to do something reckless.
“Hello,” said the guy who answered the door. Not his client, judging by the tall, athletic frame. Judging by the face. Geez, the face. He had this deep cocoa skin, sky-high cheekbones, and brown eyes that sparkled when he smiled. “You must be Aaron.”
Another escort perhaps? Which meant there was a wealthy hobgoblin inside, surrounding himself with paid company.
“I am, yes. Sorry.” He shook his head clear. He’d been staring at the guy for a beat too long. “I’m looking for a Marco… Becker, maybe? I think that’s his last name.”
“Beckett.” The guy extended his hand. “That’s me.”
Aaron blinked. No way. This was his client? He’d never had such a handsome client. Like, ever. Well, there had to have been something crucially wrong with him. He was an awful person. The Pontius Pilate of the Midwest.
“Won’t you come in?” Marco’s voice was silky and calm. Not like a typical nervy first-timer. “May I take your coat? Would you like something to drink? I have sparkling water or an interesting pinot if you’d prefer?”
Handsome and polite? He’d never had handsome and polite. “I’m fine, thanks.” Aaron shed his coat while Marco complimented its “exquisiteness.”
“You’re just how I imagined by the way Terry described you. Albeit taller.” He flashed a brilliant smile as he secured the coat on a hanger. “You’re a showstopper. ”
Their mutual connection, Terry, a longtime client of Aaron’s, worked with Marco, although he’d failed to describe Marco in any detail whatsoever. All he’d said was, “You’ll like him. He’s filthy rich.”
“Please have a seat,” Marco said, gesturing to the table. It had the undertone of an interview as they sat across from one another, Marco leading yet approachable with one ankle crossed over his knee. A bit casual. A bit business. “So, tell me a little about yourself, Aaron.”
Then there was that interview-y question, but Aaron’s standard speech didn’t require brainpower or heart; he could recite it in his sleep. “I’m open-minded and laid-back, meaning you won’t shock me with whatever you might ask. I can be dominant, subservient, or both, but above all, I want you to know you’re safe with me. You’ve already been brave by inviting me here. Let’s keep that momentum. I draw very few hard lines, so dig deep. Be bold. Tell me how I can best serve you, sir. It’d be my pleasure.”
“Oh.” Marco’s brow wrinkled. “No, I was wondering more about your conversational skills. How are you with current events? Can you hold a conversation about wine? Sports? Etcetera.”
“Wine?” That was a new one. “Yeah, I can talk wine. I know enough to hold my own. Sports, about the same. I probably need to brush up. You want to talk sports before we… proceed?”
“Well, not right now.” Marco chewed his lower lip, squinting at the walls. “What about economics—no, that can get hairy. Too political. Speaking of politics, how are you at redirecting a conversation?”
“Pretty good. I’m sorry.” Aaron cleared his throat, tapping a timeout-T with his hands. “I promise I’m normally more composed than this, but you’re so far from my typical clientele. I hope I’m not shooting myself in the foot here, but what are you doing calling me?”
Marco blinked. “Come again?”
“You don’t need to pay anyone. You could walk into any club or open any app and have your pick.”
“Well, firstly, thank you.” Marco snorted, and even that was somehow charming. “That’s generous coming from a man who people spend money just to be around.”
Aaron could feel his cheeks heating a bit, which was an odd sensation in front of a client .
“But I don’t need you for intimacy. Well, I should clarify. I don’t need you for sex. I’m hoping for at least some intimacy. Terry didn’t tell you any of this?”
He shook his head. Apparently, Terry was a vault for information.
“I work a lot, and I travel for work. I don’t have time to date—rather, I don’t have time to prioritize another person….” He trailed off as he checked one of his two phones and tapped out what appeared to be an email. “I need a companion because I need to appear trustworthy and loyal during a deal I’ll be working on the next few weeks. I’m not looking for sex. Sex is ever-present, and I have men for that….” He trailed off again as his eyes scanned the screen. His phone chimed as he sent it, and then the smile was back. “My apologies. Where was I? I need a business partner.”
Aaron scanned his face. “What kind of a business partner?”
“A personal assistant, more or less. Someone who can wear many hats, stand in as my spouse for dinners and functions, then support me with administrative duties. Essentially, be available as I wish. This is what I’m willing to offer per week.” From the end of the table, Marco plucked a check that’d been filled out with the name left blank. “But there will be options for more depending on my needs.”
Aaron’s hands were a touch unsteady as he reached for it. What was the old saying? Something about it being too good to be true. “What’s the catch?”
“I’m not sure I understand the question.”
“It seems”—Aaron gesticulated his hands around—“I don’t know, almost too easy for me. For anyone.”
“Well, it won’t be easy . It could be some long hours.” Marco crossed his arms and squinted. “Terry made it sound like you offer a range of services.”
“Oh, I do.” Aaron needed to snap out of his head and to the present moment where a handsome man was offering him money for doing nothing. For dinners and emails. “I’m absolutely interested. I take all payment up front.”
“I’m willing to pay half up front and half at the end of each week.”
Aaron’s eyes widened as he gazed down at the check. “So this?”
“Is half.”
“Tell me what you need from me, partner.” Finally, his self-preservation was kicking into gear. “I promise I won’t let you down. ”
Marco chuckled as he scrolled through one of the phones. “Well, let’s get to know each other first. Make sure it’d be a good fit. Do you have a suit?”
“Of course.”
“If we find we align after this meeting, I’ll need you starting tomorrow. I’ve made reservations at this hotel, or the restaurant downstairs, rather. I can send you the details of how we met, what you do for work, and so forth.”
Aaron peered down at Marco’s phone at a map marked by a hotel. He knew it. It was beautiful, but a hike, which meant he’d get home exceedingly late. “What do I do for work?”
“You do some freelance copyediting, but mostly you stay at home and take care of the house. You’re very good at gardening. You want us to get chickens, but the HOA is being a pain about it.”
Aaron chuckled. Easy. So easy. “Which is unfair. We deserve chickens.”
“If it works out, you’ll need to bring an overnight bag.” Marco’s attention had been stolen by the other phone. “For appearances.”
His smile wavered a touch. “Oh, I don’t stay the night. That is a service I don’t offer.”
“Yes, you’ll need to stay the night,” Marco said in this definite, matter-of-fact tone as he responded to a notification. “I won’t risk my colleagues seeing my partner leave at some odd hour. Trustworthy and loyal, remember? Not sketchy and sneaking off in the middle of the night.”
Aaron hadn’t spent the night with a client since he was very young. He had to draw the line somewhere, and staying the night, sleeping in the same bed only to wake up feeling like some contrived couple, it was a bit too intimate for his comfort level. Not to mention, how was he to explain that to his actual live-in boyfriend?
He tongued his cheek as he stared down at the check. If it was just a few nights, he could make an exception. Especially if there was no sex involved. No sex. Just money.
“No problem.” He slapped on a smile. “Now, tell me how I can make sure we align.”
IT WAS the next day, and Daniel sat on the couch perfecting a PowerPoint presentation about interior design, his legs draped over Aaron, who was barking at the television. Things like “Oh come on.” And “Pass it. Pass it, man! ”
Why? was the Universal question. Why were they watching basketball? They never watched basketball. “So why are we watching this again?”
“You don’t have to watch it.” Aaron scratched the back of his head. “I need to stay current.”
“I think my issue,” Daniel said, pointing a vague finger toward the screen, “is I don’t understand why everyone’s so upset.”
Aaron massaged one of his legs. “What do you mean?”
“Everyone looks mad. Like that man, for example. That man is legitimately livid.”
“That guy? Well, yeah, baby. That’s the coach. He’s livid because they’re losing.”
“Well, it’s unfortunate not a single soul is smiling at them.”
“At whom?”
“The sexy basketball players.” Daniel shimmied his shoulders and flashed a grin at Aaron. “They’re all ginormous and shiny. If I were there, I’d be smiling at them.”
Aaron snorted. “Oh, would you now? What would you say to them as you smiled ?”
“I’d say, ‘I’m sorry everyone’s mad at you, sexy ginormous basketball player. I’m sorry you missed the basket and your chance to load the bases or whatever. I’m also sorry—’”
“The what?” Aaron swiveled his head to him, his expression brightening in curiosity. “What’d you just say?”
Daniel cut his eyes to the side. Did he not have that right? It didn’t sound right. Damn sports-balls. “Oh. Nothing.”
A slow smile curled Aaron’s lips. “Oh, you mean the bases , bases. Sorry, I thought you were talking about something else. Yeah, he missed his chance to load those. The basketball bases.”
“Okay, whew.” He chuckled as he swatted a hand. “The way you were looking at me, I thought I had that wrong.”
“Precious. God, don’t change. Never change.”
“Hey,” he yelled when Aaron yanked the laptop from beneath his typing fingertips. “Excuse me? I was working on something—”
“Come here.” Aaron patted his lap, holding the laptop out of reach. “You can sit right here and work.”
“No, I cannot sit on your lap and work. Give it.”
“Nuh-uh.” Aaron held it higher. “Finders keepers, Daniel. ”
“More like pilfering larceny, Aaron.”
“Come take it from me.” Aaron broke into a wide grin. “I dare you.”
Daniel chuckle-growled, but just as he started to crawl toward him, Aaron’s phone pinged from the coffee table with a text, and suddenly he was lunging forward to retrieve it so quickly that he practically threw the laptop at Daniel.
“Whoa.” Daniel fumbled to grasp it. “Everything okay?”
Aaron’s eyes scanned the screen for a long moment; then he blew out his breath like he’d been holding it for a while. “Okay, kid. I need you to hear me out on something.”
Daniel curled his legs into himself and listened as Aaron began to explain an “opportunity” he’d been given. It was an “opportunity” that involved dinners, business meetings, and a man named Marco. It was an “opportunity” that he described in fantastically vague and nonthreatening language, using terms like “temporary scenario,” “mostly platonic,” and an “unfathomable amount of money for what it is.”
Which was what again? What the hell was it? When Aaron was finished, he looked totally drained. Probably because he assumed Daniel was going to panic, but it wasn’t panic muddling his brain so much as it was confusion.
“Do you have any questions?” Aaron asked. “Anything at all?”
Daniel licked his lips, zigzagging his gaze around the apartment. “I guess I don’t understand why you’re telling me this. It’s not usually something we talk about. Are you afraid you’ll start developing feelings for him?”
“What? No.” Aaron gripped his hands. “I’m telling you this because I won’t be home tonight. And there’ll be a few more occasions where I won’t be able to come home.”
“Oh.” Ahh, there was the panic, puckering behind his breath. “Oh, but I thought you said—”
“I know what I said, but this is different. I need you to trust me.” Aaron squeezed his fingers. “You trust me, right? You trust I have our best interest in mind?”
He did trust him. He wholeheartedly trusted Aaron. But he’d established that boundary for a reason. Regardless of how good the intentions, one couldn’t expect their heart to care. Sleeping with this Marco guy as in actually sleeping with him felt very heart-forward indeed. The heart carved its own path for better or worse .
“I promise, it’s not going to be that bad, and apparently he’s only in town for a few weeks. You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
That was the kind of thing people said when everyone around them would definitely notice they were gone. Specifically, when they lived together.
“I am going to make this up to you.” Aaron cupped his face in his palms. “I’m going to make sure you feel supported and taken care of. I’m going to make sure you want for nothing.”
“Why do you keep saying that? Want for nothing. What does that even mean? What do I want? I’ve never asked you for anything.”
“You don’t need to ask. That’s the thing. I’ll take care of you. I desire to take care of you. You know what else I desire?” Aaron cautiously kissed his hand, peering up through his lashes. “To take you out dancing this weekend.”
Ooh, no he did not. Daniel shook his head and narrowed his eyes but had to pinch his lips together to keep from smiling. “That is low, sir. You think you can just take me out dancing whenever you need a solution?”
“What’s so wrong with wanting to show you off, huh?” Aaron whispered, hesitantly leaning in to kiss his neck. Daniel smothered the urge to gush. “You’re so precious. I want to show the world.”
Well, dammit. He was only human, so he exposed his neck further as Aaron kissed his way to that one place near his collarbone that made his flesh pebble in goose bumps. Call him scheming, but now would be a good time to hoist the only leverage he had. “Fine. But it’s dancing and the interior design conversation.”
Aaron halted, pulling back to eye him.
“Remember that promise you made?”
Aaron groaned as he stretched his neck. “I’m not going to say it, because I don’t think I have to.”
“That there’s nothing you can do to make what you make now?” His eyes rolled closed with his nod. “Trust me, it’s been said.”
“So long as you know.”
“Oh, I know. And I disagree.”
“Absolutely we can have that conversation, sweetheart.” Aaron wrinkled his nose. Ever the good sport. “Can not wait. ”
As Daniel stared back at Aaron, his smirk eventually dissolved. He sucked in a breath and dropped his gaze to the sofa. “You remember what we agreed, right? If you start to develop feelings—”
“Not going to happen, kid.”
“If you start to develop feelings for one of them, I’m the first person to know.”
“I have feelings for you.” Aaron lifted his chin. “You and only you. Say the thing.”
“I love you.”
“Say it again.”
“I love you.”
“Again. With my name.”
“I love you, Aaron Silva.”
Aaron huddled their foreheads together and grinned. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”