Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 99918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
“Hey, man, it’s time to leave. The driver’s here.” David waved a hand at him and his clothes.
“Y’all go on without me. I’ll catch a cab there. I got caught up in the run and lost track of time.” His lie was so stupid he just kept his back to the guys, walked inside his room, intent on letting the door shut in their faces. Unfortunately, Rob was quicker and stuck a foot inside his door before it closed.
“What happened to you last night?” Rob asked, pushing his way inside. It wasn’t unreasonable that he’d walked inside Dylan’s room uninvited. Thankfully, these were mini-suites. He busted a quick move, going into the bedroom section and ripping the bedspread off the bed, trying to make the mattress look like he’d slept there.
“Nothing, man. That whole scene wasn’t for me. I came back to the room and caught up on messages,” Dylan lied again, that one more plausible while avoiding eye contact with either of them. He went to the closet, where his suitcase hadn’t been moved since he got there. He tried to cover that by keeping the closet door partially closed as he pulled out his toiletries bag.
“I figured Teri would have kicked your ass if she knew you were there,” David said, clearly giving him a hard time.
“Nah, she wouldn’t care. We’re just here for serious business,” Dylan started and couldn’t even finish the thought after everything he’d done last night with the key negotiator of the contracts. Fuck! How had that just occurred to him?
“Did you talk to him last night? They’re pretty much saying they want us.” Dylan hadn’t talked to Tristan about any of this except to find out the schedule change for the night.
“It’s gonna come down to numbers and whether they’re willing to take the whole staff or not. You guys know I don’t want anyone without a job,” Dylan replied, repeating the same thing he’d said before.
“It’s a given, man. Stop worrying. They’re trying too hard to show us a good time,” Rob said. “You didn’t open your gift basket?” Dylan looked up and saw the overflowing basket sitting over in the corner. He hadn’t even seen the thing and decided to ignore that question.
“I gotta dress. I’ll grab a cab and meet you guys at the office. Text me and tell me where to go.” Dylan stood in the doorway of the restroom, pulling the T-shirt over his head and tossing it toward the closet before starting the water. He shut the door in their faces when that hadn’t been enough to get them going. He dropped his underwear as he heard the main door to the room close and stepped under the spray.
He felt reasonably comfortable that he dodged them well enough. They hadn’t appeared to pick up on his lies. Hell, he detested lying. And then he laughed at that thought. Except his whole life was a damn lie. Dylan reached for the hotel shampoo, opting not to step out onto the cold floor and dig through his bag soaking wet.
He scrubbed his hair and then his entire body, washing away any traces of the man he’d spent the night with. He hated washing Tristan’s scent off him.
“You didn’t do anything wrong last night,” he said out loud to himself, but his inner thoughts were far louder. He was disappointed in his actions. The alcohol had lowered his resistance, and he had given in to years of carefully hidden desires. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t act on these needs until his children were grown and gone. When they were babies, he thought eighteen made him an adult, so he had eighteen years to wait before he could explore his inner self. Chloe had proved that wrong not even a week ago. Besides, when he was eighteen, he’d been a binge drinker, living on his parents’ hard-earned dime, and had enough unprotected sex to have three children back to back.
If he’d been as mature as he thought he’d been, he would have never brought his babies into the world when he had no job, no education, no life whatsoever except partying and envisioning a great big, perfectly cut cock every time he fucked a woman.
Last night had been a selfish, weak moment. He had promised himself, Teri, and his children he would wait and give them the foundation they deserved. After all, they hadn’t asked to be brought into this world. But he wanted what Tristan offered him tonight more than he was willing to admit, more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life. He scrubbed his soapy hands over his face.
“It was just sex, Dylan. Teri has it all the time and no one knows.” He tried to reason with himself. He leaned back into the warm stream and rinsed the suds off his face. That was a good point, but his negative inner self wasn’t on board yet. She did manage to have an outside life. She balanced being an incredible mom, an attorney, and had a discreet long-term relationship. She had encouraged him to do the same thing. Why hadn’t he considered that before?
Because he promised himself he’d wait. Finding out their mom had an affair was easier to deal with than finding out their father was gay and the whole life he’d created for them was a sham. Dylan reached for a towel and dried himself off before laying it neatly on the tile floor.
He cracked open the bathroom door and wiped a hand towel across the mirror. He pulled out his shaving gear and went about his normal grooming routine. When it came to his hair, he usually let it air dry. He changed that up today. He pulled out the gel and used the hairdryer to flip the front off his forehead and lay the short sides just right. After closer inspection, he plucked at his eyebrows. He’d told himself he did all this to feel confident in their negotiations today.
After a solid thirty minutes, he left the bathroom and headed to the closet. He dressed quickly. He chose his power suit—a pinstripe ensemble that the saleswoman swore he looked the best in. After years and years of wearing jeans and polos to work, he had to stand in front of the mirror to tie the knot correctly. The sound of a knock threw him off.