Close the Distance (7 page)

It was a set of cuff links, and since he wasn’t close enough, he couldn’t really tell what they looked like. He glanced at his watch then walked back out of sight. Coughing to warn them, he approached again.

“Patrick,” he said then stopped when he saw all the women were gone and only Ion stood there.

They had scattered like fish when a rock was thrown into the water. Adrien grinned as he walked up to Ion then brushed a kiss over his cheek.

“Did you have a good lunch?”

Ion kept one of his hands behind his back. “Yeah. Patrick and I met his sister.”

“Great.” He turned to look at Patrick. “I’m not accepting any calls from Henry Masters and any emails he might send can be deleted.”

“Yes, sir.” Patrick marked it down on a Post-it then stuck it on his computer screen. “Mr Tennant from the London office called. He’d like you to call him back as soon as you can.”

“Thanks. Can you get him on the phone for me?” Adrien looked back at Ion. “Do you need Daniel to drive you home tonight?”

“No. I can take the subway. We still going out tonight?”

Adrien frowned as he saw that Patrick hadn’t picked up the phone yet. “Yes. And Patrick, has Ion talked to you about going dancing on Saturday night? Sidney’s going to meet us at Club Wander at eleven. We could grab something to eat before that.”

Patrick blinked. “Yes, sir. I’m game to go. We’ve never been to Wander.”

“That’s because we can’t afford it,” Ion pointed out.

“Well, I’ve got us covered. Now we’d all better get back to work.” Adrien touched Ion’s cheek then went to his office.

Ion shot a glance over his shoulder to make sure Adrien had closed the door before he relaxed. “You don’t think he saw these, do you?”

He held out the box with the cuff links in it. Patrick shook his head.

“I doubt it. Why are you getting them for him? It’s not his birthday and you haven’t been together long enough to start getting each other anniversary presents.” Patrick picked up the phone after he looked up the London office’s number.

Ion sighed. “He bought me a pair for his mother’s party this weekend. I wanted to get him something.”

“Okay. We need to get back to work. Call me tonight after you get done with dinner.” Patrick held up his hand. “Never mind. I’ll see you tomorrow and you can tell me what dinner was like.”

Ion waved a hand in his friend’s direction as he went back to his cubicle on the twentieth floor. He hid the jewellery box in his messenger bag then went back to work on a problem Bart had assigned him. It was something a few other people had tried to fix, but hadn’t been able to. He figured it just needed a new set of eyes that didn’t know the history behind the issue.

He got buried in the numbers and lost track of the rest of the day. It wasn’t until Patrick poked him in the shoulder that he emerged from the fog. Ion glanced up to see his friend standing there smiling.

“Are you ready to go? I thought we could ride the subway together.” Patrick stepped back.

“Sounds good to me.” Patrick slid his file into his desk and locked it then grabbed his bag. “Let’s go. I need to get home and clean up.”

“Where are you going to dinner?”

They got an elevator and Ion didn’t say anything because there were others riding down with them. He didn’t want anyone to get curious and start asking questions.

Patrick seemed willing to wait until they were walking to the subway station. “So did he tell you where you were going?”

Ion frowned. “No. He just said to dress nice. I’m assuming that means a suit.”

“More than likely. I wonder if he’s taking you to Gramercy Tavern. That’s where he had lunch. Maybe he decided to take you out on a date.” Patrick bumped their hips together. “That’s awesome.”

“I’m not sure about that. I kind of like hanging out at our places together. Not having to worry whether people are thinking I’m not good enough for him.”

They dashed down the stairs to the subway turnstiles. He swiped his MetroCard then stuffed it and his hands in his pockets as they stood on the platform.

“I get why you’d be worried, but seriously do you think Adrien believes that? He doesn’t listen to what anyone else has to say.” Patrick patted Ion’s shoulder. “Plus you said his family loved you. If you got the approval of Mr and Mrs Bellamy, you’re golden.”

“Do you think Adrien cares that much about what his parents think?” Ion snorted. “Hell, the way he talked about them, I thought for sure his mother would take one look at me and throw me as an imposter. She wasn’t anything like that. None of them were like he told me they would be.”

“Maybe he was just trying to give you the worst-case scenario,” Patrick suggested as they pushed their way onto the subway car and found seats.

“He didn’t need to worry me any more than I already was,” Ion muttered. “I did like his parents, especially Alyssa. She was extremely nice.”

Patrick snorted. “Really? I have to say I’ve never seen her smile or talk to any of us, except for Adrien and Mr Richardson. I just assumed that since I was just a personal assistant I wasn’t important.”

Shrugging, Ion grinned. “Maybe you weren’t, or maybe she just hadn’t been introduced to you and she takes those social things seriously. I don’t know.”

“Mr Richardson is going dancing with us?”

Ion had wondered how long it would be before Patrick asked him about that. He nodded. “Apparently Mr Richardson is bi or gay. Adrien wasn’t completely clear on that, but he did say that most of Sidney’s lovers have been men.”

“So I have a chance?” Patrick’s blue eyes sparkled.

“I would suggest you don’t go after him, Patrick. He might be into men, but he isn’t into coming out. Why do you think he dates all those women? He’s not interested in being seen with a guy, just fucking them.”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” Patrick wiggled his eyebrows and leered at Ion.

Ion laughed, but shook his head. “No. You deserve better than being Sidney’s secret lover. You should be worshipped and spoilt by the man you love. Not shoved in the dark because he’s not comfortable with himself.”

Patrick threw his arm around Ion’s shoulder then hugged him. “That’s why you’re my best friend. You always look out for me and you’re right. As hot as I think Mr Richardson is, I don’t want to be fucked in the dark while being ignored during the day.”

“We both deserve that. You’ll find your guy soon. I believe that, and while you’re waiting, we’ll go dancing and have some fun this weekend.” Ion rested his head on Patrick’s shoulder for a second before straightening.

Patrick let his arm drop as he winked. “Sounds good to me. I haven’t gone to the clubs in a few weeks. Plus we’re going to Wander, one of the hottest gay clubs in the city. I can’t wait.”

They started planning what they would wear and where they should go eat beforehand. It helped past the time while they rode and kept Ion from getting nervous about his dinner with Adrien that night.

Chapter Six

Adrien knocked on Ion’s door and decided he was going to ask for a spare key that night. He’d already given Ion his spare one, so it was only fair that he got a key as well. Smiling, he held out the bouquet of flowers to Ion when the man opened his door.

“Oh wow. These are gorgeous.” Ion took the dozen pink and white carnations then buried his face in them. “It’s been a while since a guy got me flowers.”

After stepping inside and closing the door behind him, Adrien said, “I wasn’t sure about getting them because I was afraid you might think they were too girly. But then I said to hell with it. I like flowers and wanted to give them to you.”

“I’m glad to know how you feel. I’ll remember that.” Ion strolled over to his kitchen area. “Let me put them in water then we can leave.”

“Hey, do you have a spare key?” No time like the present to ask.

“Sure. It’s in the top drawer next to the stove.” Ion gestured in the direction of the oven.

Adrien got it out before he put it on his key ring. “You don’t mind me having one?”

“No. Why would I? I meant to give it to you this morning before we left, but I forgot. It makes sense. I have a key to your place and you need one to mine so we don’t have to wait until the other is home before we come over.” Ion filled a vase, stuck the flowers in them then turned to throw his arms around Adrien.

Ignoring the fact that their suits were getting wrinkled, Adrien drew Ion close to kiss him. He crushed their lips together then swept his tongue in to taste the mint of Ion’s toothpaste. Adrien let his hands slide down to grab two handfuls of Ion’s ass and he wedged his thigh between Ion’s legs.

He rocked his groin into Ion’s and swallowed the moan escaping from Ion’s throat. Adrien got lost in the flavour of Ion’s mouth, letting the feel of their bodies moving against each other build his need. Yet he didn’t want to come right then. He wanted to keep the tension high while they enjoyed a wonderful dinner and talked.

Easing away from Ion, he took a deep breath while trying to gain control of his lust. Ion pouted when he realised Adrien wasn’t going to take it any further.

“We’re going to be late if we do anything right now. I don’t want to miss our reservations,” Adrien said, dropping his hands from Ion’s butt.

“Come on. We can go out to eat later. I want you,” Ion pleaded, reaching out to press his palm against the bulge in Adrien’s pants.

Adrien groaned as he arched into Ion’s touch, but he gripped Ion’s wrist before removing him from his groin. “As much as I’d like to do just that, I also want to take you out on a date. We’ve only been on one and I thought it would be fun for us.”

Ion sighed, still looking a little disappointed and Adrien chuckled.

“Trust me. I’ll be fucking you when we get back here,” he promised.

“You’d better.” Ion glared as he snatched up his keys, wallet and phone before they left.

Daniel held the car door open and Ion climbed in before Adrien. His driver knew where they were going, so Adrien simply embraced Ion as they settled back in the seat. He nuzzled Ion’s temple.

“Did you have a good rest of the day?”

Ion shrugged. “It was interesting. I’m enjoying the job.”

“Great. I spent the afternoon talking to Winston Tennant about those finances he’d sent me.” Adrien grimaced when he thought about the mess those were in. “I’m not sure how it slipped through our vetting process when we looked at purchasing the company.”

“Is that Mr Tennant’s fault?” Ion had his eyes closed while he rested against Adrien.

“To be honest, it’s all of our faults. Winston might be the head of the London office, but ultimately any decision to buy is up to me. I don’t remember seeing anything like that in any of the files I read.” He pursed his lips as he thought then said, “Of course, all of the problems could have happened during the switch over. Winston’s coming over in a week or two and we’re going over everything together. Sidney will be joining us as well.”

Ion hummed softly so Adrien knew he was listening.

“You know, we should introduce Patrick to Winston. I think they’d be a good match.”

He smirked as Ion pushed far enough away to look him in the eye. “What are you talking about? Are you going to try your hand at matchmaking?”

“Possibly. I’ve been friends with Winston for several years now, ever since he first started working for my father. We kind of rose through the ranks together and his father is an old friend of my father’s from Oxford.”

Adrien took a moment to remember those summers he’d spent in England with Winston and Sidney, rowing on the Thames or boating along the coast. It had been perfect but then it had become time for all of them to take their places in the family businesses and Winston had lost his sense of fun.

“He got married because it was what his father expected of him, but in the only act of rebellion I’ve ever seen him do, he divorced her and came out. His father wasn’t pleased and that’s why Winston’s working for me now instead.”

“And you think he’d be a good match for Patrick? You do realise that Patrick isn’t the type to hide his light under a basket right? There’s no way anyone meeting him and talking to him for the first time won’t know that he’s gay.” Ion took Adrien’s hand in his.

Adrien brought Ion’s knuckles up to his mouth so he could place a kiss on them. “I know that and it’ll be great to watch Winston deal with that. He’s not in the closest, but he’s very restrained about everything, not just his sex life. I don’t think the man’s been laid in a few years, in fact. His father disowning him kind of took the life out of him. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah. I totally understand what you mean.” Ion played with Adrien’s fingers while he thought. “Maybe you’re right. It can’t hurt, anyway. We can have Patrick show Winston around the city while he’s here and we’ll go out dancing again.”

“Once you meet Winston, you’ll see why I think Patrick is perfect for him. Now if I can just get Sidney’s head out of his ass and find him someone, I’ll be happy.”

“You’ve turned into one of those people.” Ion stared at him in horror.

He frowned. “One of those people? What do you mean?”

“You’re now in a serious relationship and you’re happy, so you want all of your friends to be happy as well. I think you’re going to find it harder than you imagine to hook them up with good men.” Ion exhaled loudly. “Has your brother left yet?”

“Now you’re trying to change the subject, but I’ll let you because I don’t think it’s going to be that hard. I know my friends and I can pick out the right men for them.”

Ion glared at him. “What if Sidney doesn’t want a man? What if he’d be perfectly happy with a woman?”

Adrien shook his head. “No. If he wanted a woman, he could’ve settled down with any of the hundreds he’s dated over the years. Not one of those relationships lasted more than a month each. Most of those ladies were wonderful girls. They weren’t after him for his money or his place in society. They sincerely liked him, but he wasn’t into them.”

“I think you’re going to get yourself into trouble with all this match making. Why not try setting your brother up with someone?”

“Alain doesn’t have the time or the kind of lifestyle that’s conducive to finding everlasting love. And to answer your question, he’s spending the night with my parents then leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow. There’s some kind of big gaming event there that he doesn’t want to miss.” Adrien glanced around when the car slowed then stopped. “We’re here.”