Epilogue
. . .
It wasn’t any surprise to Desmond and Javier that building what amounted to a matchmaking agency was just as much of a challenge as building an ordinary talent agency or chasing down financial deals with long strings of zeroes attached.
There was business modeling to do and plans to come up with, capital to secure, although the lion’s share of that came from Desmond, and office space to hire.
Between the two of them, Javier and Desmond managed to do the nearly impossible and pull all of that together within nine months.
They worked meticulously on a blueprint for how the agency would operate, found themselves an office in a shockingly perfect location, near the food court of a huge office building in the City of London, and even managed to convince Maisy to work for them once again, along with her nephew, Michael.
The biggest challenge came in getting enough people to sign up for the new service before it officially launched.
“I’m genuinely surprised that so many of my contacts in the fashion world are on board with this,” Javier said as he and Desmond sat in their office, going through all the profiles they’d collected across the last few months and sorting them into categories on the large table contained in the office.
“It will be a huge boost for us to have so many models in our roster as we start,” Desmond said, rubbing his stubbly chin as he looked over the paper-strewn table.
They’d decided to print everything out to start and keep old-fashioned files instead of putting everything strictly on the computer.
There were all sorts of programs and algorithms that matched people based on criteria filled out in their applications, but to begin with, at least until business picked up and proved to be viable, they’d decided to read over everything themselves and match people based on their opinions.
Not exactly scientific, but they’d done a good job finding each other, so there was that.
“It’s still an untested concept,” Javier said, moving to stand by Desmond’s side so they could stare at the applications together. “We still might be staring straight into the face of a massive failure here.”
“Maybe.” Desmond nodded at the table of files. “But I wouldn’t count out the idea yet. People are always looking for each other, especially our community.”
They’d made the decision right from the start to begin with matching men to other men exclusively. If things went well and the concept of Rent-A-Boyfriend took off, then they planned to reevaluate and possibly broaden their reach.
“This is true,” Javier said, grinning at Desmond like he was a slice of cake someone had just brought into the office. “And we definitely have experience with looking for the right person and finding it.”
Desmond smiled back at him, then slipped an arm around Javier’s waist and pressed their bodies together.
He loved physical closeness to Javier. He loved having a true, supportive partner in his life.
And Javier had very much been a part of his life in the last year.
They lived together now, and even though Javier had kept his apartment at first, he’d finally given it up just the month before Rent-A-Boyfriend’s soft launch and moved permanently into Desmond’s house.
People had warned him that he was making every mistake in the book by abandoning his high-powered life and inviting an ex-model who wore more make-up than most people were comfortable with into his home.
They whispered that he’d cracked under the pressure of the financial world and the expectations heaped on his shoulders.
His parents thought he was just going through a phase after breaking up with Matthew.
Everyone’s opinions were rubbish. Desmond was happier than he’d ever been.
He and Javier worked hard on their relationship.
They challenged each other to be as open and honest with each other as they could be so that they staved off any problems before they started.
And despite what everyone else said about their business model, Desmond was certain it would work.
He’d found exactly what he’d been looking for, even though it had all started out as a business arrangement, after all. He was certain other people would be able to do the same, too.
“All we really need is for one or two high-profile clients to make use of our services and then spread the word, and we’ll be golden,” Javier said, twisting so he could take Desmond in his arms completely.
“Well, we’ve certainly done enough social media advertising to catch people’s eyes,” Desmond agreed, moving in for a kiss.
As usual with their kisses, what was supposed to be a small indulgence turned into something much longer and deeper. Who knew where it would have gone if the office phone hadn’t rung.
Both men caught their breaths and stared at the phone. Desmond thrummed with excitement. “This could be it,” he said.
Javier laughed. “Well, don’t just stand there. Answer it!”
Desmond broke away from his lover and crossed the office to grab the phone.
“Rent-A-Boyfriend. This is Desmond White speaking. How may I help you?”
There was a miniscule pause, then a tenor voice on the other end of the line said, “Hi. I hope you can help me.”
“We’ll do our best,” Desmond said, glancing to Javier, who walked over to stand close enough to Desmond’s side that he could hear the call as well.
“Here’s the thing,” the man on the other end of the line said. “I, um, I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a situation.”
“Alright,” Desmond said. “Let’s see if we can help. May I have your name?”
There was another pause, then, “It’s Drew. Drew Oberlin.”
Desmond’s eyes popped wide, and he pivoted so he could stare at Javier, who also looked like he’d been struck by lightning.
Drew Oberlin was the star of the breakout super-success streaming show Private Passions.
It was the epic gay love story show that so much of the world had been waiting for.
No one had expected the show to explode the way it had, but it was currently a worldwide phenomenon with no signs of slowing down.
Its cast was being celebrated everywhere and offered incredible projects that made veteran stars jealous.
Its soundtrack topped every musical chart out there, thanks to the talent of the young phenom musician, Nikky Smith, who also had a role in the show.
There were already whispers of it being up for every award in the industry.
And Drew Oberlin was the standout phenomenon of the whole thing.
He was also being relentlessly trolled on social media and accused of queerbaiting, because although he played a gay character and had amazing on-screen chemistry with all his co-stars, there were whispers he actually had a girlfriend and was deliberately hiding his true sexuality.
Desmond recalled the information in a flash. “What can we do for you, Mr. Oberlin?” he asked, wondering if he and Javier hadn’t just stumbled onto the perfect client to launch their business.
“Well,” Drew said, more than a little awkwardness in his voice, “the thing is, I need a boyfriend. Or at least the appearance of a boyfriend. I need someone who doesn’t mind being seen in public or enduring a little, um, scrutiny. You wouldn’t by any chance know what I mean, would you?”
Desmond glanced to Javier, who nodded. “I think I know exactly what you mean,” Desmond said. “And I’m certain we can help you.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed Javier and Desmond’s story!