“Leo is different.”
“Well, yeah,” Seth agreed, smiling. “But still.”
“I have to go.” Frank headed down the hall, calling out over his shoulder. “We’ll be back before the event manager arrives.”
“Okay. Just think about it, Frank.”
It seemed like all he did was think about it. The truth of the matter was, Joshua’s age wasn’t as big a deal to him as his friends thought. Plenty of gay men his age dated younger men. The age gap was one of several reasons why they wouldn’t work, the biggest strike against him being the fact that he was already in a committed relationship.
Sapphire Sands had come between him and more than one man he’d made the mistake of caring about, men who in the beginning assured him they had no problem with his work life. Not that he ever blamed them for breaking things off, but each time he fooled himself into thinking it would be different, he’d once again find himself alone. The arguments had been the worst. Accusations of infidelity, because why else would he be at his club all night, surrounded by horny wealthy men if it wasn’t to fuck them?
With a heavy sigh, he shook those grim thoughts from his head. He’d taken a lot of risks in his lifetime, carrying the scars of his losses. He couldn’t bear the thought of adding Joshua to that list, which was why nothing could or would happen between them.
Four
“I’m so sorry.”
Joshua waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s fine, Frank. Stop apologizing.” As disappointing as it was, Joshua understood completely, something he’d been trying to convince Frank of since the restaurant. There was no need for him to keep apologizing.
Dinner at the amazing little Italian restaurant down the street turned into takeout. Their food had just arrived when Frank received a call from Seth. Clients were cancelling their Winterland reservations, thanks to the raid on the club. Frank had apologized to Joshua and asked the waiter to box up their food. Less than fifteen minutes later they were back at Sapphire Sands.
“I need to make some phone calls,” Frank said as he made his way toward the back of house area. “Can you deal with the event manager if I’m not done by the time she arrives?”
“Of course.”
Seth waited for them by Frank’s office door. He smiled apologetically at Joshua, then turned to Frank. “I think we can turn this around and ease their minds. Jack called. He and his cyber security team have been on the case, and they’re onto something, but Jack has a couple of questions for you before he confirms.”
“Thanks, Seth.” Frank stopped to face Joshua. “Why don’t you go ahead and enjoy your dinner. I’ll be out as soon as I can.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need me.”
“Thank you.” Frank was about to walk off when Joshua caught his arm. He held one of the bags of food out.
“Make sure you eat something.”
Frank’s expression softened. “Thanks, sweetheart.” He kissed Joshua’s cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world and took the bag of food from him.
What just happened? Joshua blinked up at him, but Frank seemed oblivious as he headed into his office.
No big deal. It was only a peck on the cheek, right? Shaking himself out of it, Joshua turned and almost bumped into Seth, who stood gaping.
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s just…” Seth leaned in to murmur quietly, “Frank’s not a PDA kind of guy, especially at the club. When he’s here, he’s usually all business.”
“Oh well. I’m sure he didn’t even realize he did it. He’s got a lot on his mind right now.”
Seth hummed, his lips quirked at the corner. “You’re probably right. I better go. Make yourself at home.”
“Thanks.” As much as Joshua wanted to do a little happy dance at the thought, he refrained from letting himself get excited. Chances were Frank wouldn’t even remember having kissed his cheek.
Feeling a bit weird about having his dinner in the employee lounge, or at least the staging area that was serving as the employee lounge, Joshua carried his food out into the club and scanned the floor. Feeling a little naughty, he hurried excitedly over to one of the VIP sections.
On special occasions when the Kings had something to celebrate, they’d come to Sapphire Sands, and the times Joshua had been with them, they’d been seated in one of the VIP sections. Joshua had never been a VIP of anything. His talent in cat wrangling had always been appreciated and at times coveted, because he had a knack for knowing what people needed, but he’d always been the background guy. Behind every great person was an often uncredited and underappreciated assistant.
Not that Joshua expected any credit for doing his job, but until Colton, no other boss had acknowledged Joshua’s worth. As an executive assistant, his job was to keep his boss’s life running as smoothly as possible, both personally and professionally. He loved what he did, and for the first time ever, he wasn’t on the outside looking in.
Sitting at the huge table and taking in the club around him, Joshua couldn’t help but do a happy little shimmy. He loved being helpful, and he loved even more knowing he was able to help Frank in some way. As he ate his incredible meal, he brought his spreadsheet up on his phone. It was over-the-top and ridiculous, but Frank wasn’t like the others. Something deep inside Joshua told him Frank was the one. The least he could do was try, and if his best wasn’t good enough, then, well, what else could he do but accept that Frank didn’t want him.
Pushing that thought aside, Joshua dove into his dinner. He loved carbonara, and this one was particularly amazing. Maybe he’d suggest they go back for dinner one night. He’d just finished cleaning up after himself when something shimmery caught his eye. Maybe someone had dropped something. Crossing the floor, he crouched down and put his finger to the sparkling white. Was this… glitter? Why was there white glitter on the floor? He remembered the matching speck he’d wiped off Frank’s lip. He really needed to find out about this snowman incident.
The club’s front doorbell went off, and he quickly wiped his hand on his pants, then hurried over. A petite woman dressed in a charcoal gray pantsuit and gorgeous dark curls smiled brightly at him. He returned her smile and unlocked the door to let her in.
“Neema?”
“Yes, and you must be Joshua..”
“It’s so great to meet you.” Joshua took her outstretched hand and shook it. “How did you know I wasn’t Frank?”
Her hazel eyes sparkled with amusement. “Let’s just say my predecessor was more than a little intimidated by Mr. Ramirez, and although I’m sure you can be intimidating, you’re not quite scary enough to have my colleague questioning his life choices.”
“And you’re still here after that glowing reference?” Joshua teased.
“Honey, Frank Ramirez doesn’t scare me. I have three teenage daughters and a Chihuahua named Hannibal.”
Joshua snickered. “Oh, I like you. I think you and Frank will get along fine.” The back doors swung open and Frank emerged, all broad shoulders, black shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows to expose his corded forearms. His tie was gone, the top two buttons of his shirt undone, and his hair tousled from where he’d clearly been running his fingers through it.