Dealing with the Past (6 page)

"I don't need your help," Aiden replied sharply, on the verge of hanging up the phone again when Jackson asked.

"Do you have the power to raise the dead?"

Aiden paused.
Shit!
The man was right. He didn't have that power. He had spent the last week fretting and being upset over not being able to say his goodbyes to Brendan. Jackson managed to say the one thing to make Aiden sit up and pay attention instead of hanging up on the man like he should.

"And I'm sorry to say but due to the fact my father witnessed the aftermath of you taking a swing at me, he's a little pissed and banned you from the premises." Jackson didn't sound too happy with what his father had done but Aiden could understand the man's actions. "Although if you talk with Jayden again, he might just be willing to pay you to take your case, if he could find the time that is. I've been a bit of a bear the last couple of days so he's kind of irritated with me and may be more than happy to help you so he could tick me off…" Jackson sounded rather meek by the end of his little speech.

"Hurt somebody else, have you? I guess a leopard really can never change his spots." Aiden winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for, no matter our past." It galled him to apologise but it was the right thing to do. He wasn't like Jackson and his fellow bullies. Aiden wouldn't sink that low.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I, on the other hand, do. And I would really like to start making amends by helping you," Jackson answered quickly.

Aiden really had no idea what to think. Both of Jackson's explanations were rather cryptic but he could help Aiden put things to rest. He had hoped once he left Dripstone High to never see any of those four boys again. His heart had also ached at the thought of never laying eyes on Jackson but he'd pushed those feelings deep down, knowing nothing would ever come of them. Aiden wasn't a glutton for punishment.

"Please, Aiden," Jackson said when Aiden still hadn't answered him. His voice was a gravelly whisper, imploring Aiden.

Aiden thought Jackson's request over. He really wanted to see Brendan again, even if it was just for a couple of minutes. He needed to tell his boyfriend just how much their time together had meant to him and how much he would miss him. Aiden knew accepting Jackson's help was the only option available to him. He highly doubted Jackson's family would help him and seeing as how they were the only necromancer agency in town, they kind of had a monopoly on the business.

Sighing in resignation, Aiden agreed. "But this doesn't mean I like you," Aiden added for good measure.

Jackson chuckled lightly. "Understood. We can always work on that after the meeting. Can you be here tomorrow at four so we can finalise the details since our appointment was cut short last time?"

Aiden chose to ignore the comment about them working on 'liking Jackson'. That so wasn't going to happen any time soon. "Let me check my schedule," he said as he opened up Outlook and checked his calendar. He had a meeting with a prospective new client at one but apart from that his afternoon was free. "I don't see it being a problem. I'll let you know if things change though. What about being banned from the office?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll deal with my father. I'll see you tomorrow." Jackson paused before taking a deep breath and continuing, "Thanks for giving me this chance to prove to you I'm not a complete and total waste of space."

"You may be an asshole, Jackson, and I may not like you very much but I've never once thought you were a waste of space, even after all these years." Aiden hung up, not wanting to say or hear anymore. He put the appointment in the computer before going to talk to his boss to make sure he could leave early tomorrow.

Less than a minute later, he was knocking on the open door to his boss's office. Noah Michaels looked up from the paperwork he was going over on his desk and smiled widely at Aiden.

"Aiden, come in and have a seat." Noah sat up straight and gestured to the chairs opposite him. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Aiden blushed a little as this would be the second time he'd asked for time off for the same reason. "I just wanted to ask if it was okay if I took off an hour early tomorrow. I have an appointment to see about raising Brendan."

"Really?" Noah asked as he raised a brow. "I must say I'm a little shocked. The way I heard your last appointment went, I didn't think you'd be going back there again."

Aiden could feel the heat rise in his cheeks at the thought of his boss knowing what he had done. He should have realised Noah would find out, after all the man was living with Jackson's brother, Jayden.

"God knows when I first met Jackson, I came awful close to snotting the man a time or two myself," Noah said, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Aiden wanted to die. This was not how he thought this conversation would be going.

"Don't worry about making up the time. I know you have a pile of time in lieu up your sleeve. Go do what you need to do," Noah said.

"Thank you, Noah," he said as he stood up. He headed for the door but stopped when Noah started talking.

"Don't mention it. I know exactly how important it is to see our loved ones one last time." Noah paused before he continued, "I have no idea what's happened between you and Jackson in the past, and I'm not going to pry either, but for all his faults, over the last few months, Jackson has become someone I actually have time for now. I care about him. He's a good man, Aiden, with a big heart. He's just never had someone love him enough to lay claim to him and look beyond all his past misdeeds."

Aiden had no idea what the hell Noah meant by that last comment and was sure the confusion must have showed on his face.

"Just think about it," Noah said.

"I will. Thanks again for understanding." Aiden left his boss's office and headed back to his own. He had just over twenty-four hours until he was going to see Jackson again and he honestly didn't know if he was happy about that or not. Not to mention, Noah's cryptic words flowed around Aiden's mind as he settled at his desk and got back to work. What did his boss mean?

* * * *

At five to four the following day, Aiden stepped out of the elevators and took a deep breath before facing the double glass doors leading into the Thompson Agency. Opening the door, he walked inside and stopped in front of the receptionist's desk.

The older looking woman quickly glanced at him before her eyes went back to the computer screen she was typing away at. Aiden nearly laughed when recognition hit. The woman's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she turned back to him and stood.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave," she said as she motioned back the way Aiden had just come.

Not likely
. It had taken just about all the willpower in his possession to come back here and meet with Jackson. Aiden wasn't about to turn around and leave now. He needed to make peace.

"No," he said calmly.

The woman looked taken aback, like she hadn't thought Aiden would argue with her. She pursed her lips and picked up the phone.

"It's all right, Frannie, I've asked Mr Montgomery here to finalise our meeting that was interrupted last week."

Aiden stilled as Jackson's deep whiskey voice flowed over his body. He turned and looked in the direction the voice had come from and sucked in a breath at what he saw. His anger and hurt must have clouded his brain the other day because he didn't realise just how sexy a man Jackson had grown up to be.

He towered over Aiden at what had to be at least six three or four. Jackson's body was lean and athletic looking. Aiden silently wondered if the man still played sports. His shiny black hair looked like the man's fingers had combed through it one too many times, and his deep blue eyes seemed to hold a pain Aiden didn't want to think too much about at the moment. Jackson wore a pair of black trousers that hugged his thick thighs nicely and a light blue button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled back and the top two buttons undone.

Aiden gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he fought his body's reaction. He would win this fight. Brendan. One thought of the reason he was here in the first place had his body calming down again. He was here about Brendan. He wasn't here to ogle Jackson Thompson.

"This way, Aiden," Jackson invited as he pointed the way to his office. Aiden smiled at the receptionist then turned to follow Jackson. The man stood, holding the door open, waiting for Aiden to enter his office before he closed it behind him.

"What a pit bull," Aiden commented with a smile as he sat.

"Frannie?" Jackson chuckled lightly as he took his seat behind the desk. "Yeah, she kind of has a thing for this family. She's been with us for over ten years and she's a little protective."

Aiden winced. "Yeah, sorry about punching you. I guess I let my emotions run away with me. How's the jaw?"

"It hurt like a bitch for a few days, luckily the bruise has finally faded. I had to wear bloody makeup to cover it and everything. Didn't want to scare the customers away." He laughed before sobering. "But it wasn't anything I didn't completely deserve."

"Deserved or not, I shouldn't have hit you. That's not who I am, and I am genuinely sorry for making you wear makeup."

Jackson tilted his head back and laughed. The man looked good when he was happy but Aiden quickly dismissed the idea as it made him a little uncomfortable considering he was here to discuss his ex-lover. They got down to business as soon as Jackson calmed again.

"So, Aiden, please tell me about Brendan Stephens and your reasons behind wanting him raised." Jackson pulled a file across his desk and opened it. Aiden had gone over the basics when he'd initially made the appointment with Jayden but figured it was like anything else in that the new person always liked to hear things for himself firsthand.

Aiden opened his mouth to reply when there was a sharp rap on the closed door behind them.

Jackson closed his eyes and groaned. "Bloody Frannie," the man muttered under his breath so low Aiden only just caught the words. "Come in," Jackson said louder, his eyes trained on the person opening the office door.

"What's going on in here?" a gruff voice said from behind them. Aiden turned around in his chair to see an older version of Jackson standing just inside the office, one hand still on the door handle.

"I'm in the middle of a client meeting. What does it look like, Dad?" Jackson replied, a steely edge in the man's voice.

"I gave explicit instructions this man was not allowed back in the office. You know this." Jackson's father stated, pointing at him. Aiden winced at his tone.

"Yes, and I ignored them. You know who he is to me, Dad, and I'm not about to apologise for going against your word." Jackson replied, conviction in his voice. To say Aiden was confused would be an understatement. He could understand why Jackson's father had banned him from the office but who the hell was Aiden to Jackson?

"He hit you," Jackson's father stated, anger lacing his words. As much as Aiden hated what was happening at the moment, he had to admire the man as well. He obviously loved his son very much. Thompson senior reminded Aiden of his own father.

Jackson ran his fingers over his jaw were Aiden had clocked him the previous week. "I'm well aware of that, Dad. We"—Jackson paused and pointed between himself and Aiden before starting again—"have already discussed things. The matter is settled. Please just let it go."

Aiden sat in stunned silent. He honestly didn't think Jackson had it in him to stand up to someone and fight for what he wanted. Mind you, all Aiden's memories of Jackson were of a sixteen-year-old boy. He had no idea who this man sitting in front of him really was. He also didn't know if he wanted to find out or not.

"I'm not happy about this," the senior Thompson said, resigned.

"You don't have to be, Dad. But you need to let me do this," Jackson said softly. Aiden was confused again. Why was it so important for Jackson to raise his ex-lover from the dead?

Jackson's father turned to look directly at Aiden. "You hit my boy again and you and I are going to have words."

"Dad," Jackson said sharply from behind him.

"It's okay, Jackson." Aiden nodded. His father would have done the same. "You have my word, sir. I've never raised my hand to anyone before in my life and I never plan to do it again. Your son just caught me by surprise. It's not an excuse, but it's the only explanation I have for my actions that day."

Aiden's eyes never wavered from those of the man standing in the doorway. He waited as the man seemed to think about what he had said. Finally, Mr Thompson nodded and left the office without another word.

Jackson collapsed back in his chair and let out a large exhale. "Sorry about that."

"Nothing to apologise for. The man has every right to be pissed at me. Not only did I hit his son, but I did it during an appointment within the man's company. If nothing else, it's bad business sense to let me back in the office," Aiden replied calmly. He could completely understand where Mr Thompson was coming from even if he did hate the fact that the man didn't like him. He wasn't sure why this bothered him so much but it did.

"That's irrelevant and he knows it."

Aiden must have looked as confused as he was, but Jackson didn't elaborate. Instead he changed the subject, bringing them back to the reason they were there in the first place.

Brendan.

Now if only Aiden didn't feel so confused every time his eyes met Jackson's.

Chapter 6

To say Jackson was annoyed with his father was an understatement. The man knew exactly who Aiden was to him. Hell, his entire family knew the man was his mate after he'd blurted it out the previous week. Why his dad had to go and pull that whole song and dance routine in his office was beyond Jackson.

After his dad finally left, Jackson was forced to grit his teeth through just about the entire meeting as his mate talked about his ex-lover. Rationally, Jackson knew there must have been other men in Aiden's life, but it didn't mean he had to like hearing about them. He also wasn't happy about having to raise one of them from the dead, but he knew he'd do anything his mate asked of him.