It's coming!
A new Superior Jewel! I have added more than 40,000 words to this book and it will be coming out soon. Here's a little unedited taste.
Odd. Ryan wasn't answering.
Jansen had told Ryan he would call
him right back. Well, not right back. He just wanted to get to somewhere
quiet and that, thankfully, had come sooner than he thought it would. Negotiating
with Leon, the man who owned the property he had come to see, had become
difficult. Especially when the man started drinking. Leon had insisted they
continue to talk over dinner, and he picked one of the noisiest bars Jansen had
ever been in. But once Leon started downing one whiskey after another, Jansen
no longer felt it appropriate to talk business. But extracting himself from the
situation was hard. It had been Ryan’s phone call that had been the tipping
point for him. Jansen quickly called a cab for Leon and then took himself to
his hotel. Now, in his lonely suite, he wanted to simply hear Ryan’s sweet voice
and voice mail was not doing it for him.
Where was Ryan? Why had he called?
Was he in trouble? Did he need his Bathman? Jansen chuckled but then
sobered. Did he? Shit.
He glanced at his suitcase. Should
he chuck this deal and head home?
He tried Ryan again and this time
it went straight to voice mail.
Oh, that’s it. His phone probably
died. He imagined Ryan running around trying to find his phone cord. Too cute.
God, he missed him. He had been so
excited when he thought to order breakfast, lunch and dinner for him for the
two days he was to be gone. It was probably the reason for the call tonight. It
was about the time his packages would have arrived. He had made sure of the
time, knowing Ryan would be home.
But then there was Micky. Again, so
strange. Showing up like that again on Sunday evening.
“You’re back. What did you forget
this time?”
“Oh! Mr. Branwyth! You startled me.
I didn’t expect you here.”
“It is my office.”
“Yes. I know, it’s just…”
“What?”
“You’re so rarely here at this time,
is all.”
“And you are?”
Micky had shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“I see.” But Jansen really didn’t. There
was no reason for Micky to be putting in extra hours.
“I heard you ordering food. You
have any plans for dinner? I mean maybe you and I…”
“Micky don’t go down that road
again. We’ve talked about it. You are my employee and it’s inappropriate.”
“I was just asking you about
dinner. No one should eat alone.”
What had slammed into his memory at
that moment was Ms. Christy inviting him to dine at hers and Ryan’s table on
Friday aboard The Superior Jewel. Those had been her words too.
“You don’t mind,
Ryan, do you? No one should eat alone.”
Ryan had been so adorable then, choking
on his liquor. Jansen’s liquor. Jansen hadn’t yet realized at that moment that
Ryan was clueless Jansen was only after him and not his so-called-friend, one
Ms. Cheyenne Christy. Jesus, what a night that had been. The hunt, the chase
and… oh! The capture. The spoils go to the victor.
And wow, he had been more than
victorious that night and the night after.
He smiled from the memory.
“I was ordering food for Ryan
Madison to be delivered to his apartment.” He checked off the last restaurant
he had on his list after pressing end on his phone. He smoothed out the sheet
of paper laying on his desk that also held Ryan’s address. He had actually
taken it off his Driver’s License but had felt guilty about it. He ended up
asking Ryan for it after he came out of the shower, begging really.
“You mean that man in the bathroom
this afternoon?”
“Yes. I’m in a relationship with
him. It’s new and fragile. Two days old. So,” He glanced up at Micky. “I am not
eating alone.” He smiled. “I am dreaming of the time when I am back from this
business trip and eating, drinking, laughing with Ryan.” He shook his head so
lost in feeling.
“After two days? You have known this
guy for only two days!”
Jansen glanced back at Micky a
little surprised at his reaction. “No. More like three months. I don’t expect
you to understand. I don’t even understand completely. But he was lost
to me for three months. He disappeared on me. But then, like an angel, there he
was. On board my new boat, The Superior Jewel. Just this last Friday. God,
what a sight. And to think I almost didn’t go. I am so thankful I did.”
“You mean…? That boat you bought? You
were going to send me.”
“Yes. But you needed the night
off.” Jansen smiled. He just couldn’t believe his incredible fortune. He had
been irritated Micky had suddenly become busy that night. He had been counting
on him going. But it turned out to be a blessing.
“I’m so sorry. I should have…”
“I’m not. It was perfect timing.”
“But… you had been looking
for him? For three months? I don’t understand.”
Was he upset? “I rescued him one
afternoon, actually saved him from an attack. In the bathroom!” Ryan had been
so beautiful, so vulnerable. And Jansen had been so damn pissed. That asshole
who had intended to… well, thankfully it hadn’t happened. Ryan had been hurt,
but Jansen took care of that, too. “But then he disappeared before I could get
his name. I searched for him. For three months.”
“I remember. You kept going back to
that lawyer’s office.” Micky rolled his eyes.
Now why in the word was he angry
about that? “Yes. I thought I would see him again. But I never did. Not until
this Friday.” But then what was he doing chattering and going on? All he had
wanted to do was order the food to be delivered by time Ryan got home tomorrow
and get home himself. It was going to be a long day on the road. But it seemed
he was bubbling over. He just couldn’t help talking about his Ryan. “Anyway, I’m
off.” He stuffed the paper with Ryan's address in his top drawer and stood. “I’ll be leaving early
in the morning. I need to get home, have a bite to eat and get to bed.”
Micky’s eyes flashed and for a
moment Jansen expected the man to ask if he wanted company. He was always
borderline flirting with Jansen. He had consistently ignored the other man,
believing he was overthinking the behavior. But ever since he had met Ryan, Micky’s
conduct was no longer unclear. Jansen needed to shut it down every time he felt
it surfaced. He had been wrong not doing so before this.
“I can see you’re drained,” Micky
said. “I’ll close up, get the lights. You go on.” Then he smiled. It had seemed
genuine. And since it was the truth, Jansen was exhausted, he allowed it,
smiling himself.
And now here he was, hundreds of
miles away staring at his phone regretting he had come in the first place. But
abandoning the deal at this point didn’t make sense. He would try again
tomorrow.
Jansen tried three more times to
get in touch with Ryan before he went to bed that night, left messages all
three times, and then two more times in the morning before he headed out to
meet with Leon.
“You look tired,” Leon gruffed as
he took a sip of coffee from his mug.
“Didn’t sleep well. Did you get
through the proposal?” He was itching to try Ryan again. He could understand
that he most likely had to plug in his phone overnight, maybe forgot to turn it
on. It was early, probably before Ryan had to get up, when Jansen tried the
first time this morning. Perhaps he had been in the shower. But Jansen was now nervous,
and he wanted to try again because Ryan would be at work at this point. It was
Tuesday and he needed to hear Ryan’s voice. For real. Why was his phone still
off?
Was there a problem?
“Jansen?”
Jansen jerked and glanced up at
Leon. “Sorry!” Shit. The man had been talking and he hadn’t heard a word. “Like
I said. I didn’t sleep well.” He took a large sip from his coffee and attempted
to focus.
“You were a million miles away.”
Not a million. Just a few hundred.
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