I was surprised to walk in and see Sawyer and Jake there - though it explained the press outside - chatting to a guy who was turned away from us. He had dark blond, shaggy hair just past his chin and was wearing ripped black jeans and a white shirt.
“Hey, guys,” Sawyer greeted when he saw us. “Mason, this is Matt.”
“Hey,” I said casually when the guy turned around, shaking his proffered hand. Of course I knew who he was – Matt Carter, world renowned drummer for Souls of the Knight. I played it cool of course. I didn’t want to look like an idiot like I did when I first met Sawyer.
“Matt!” Ryder practically sang, bringing him into a hug. “What are you doing here, mate?”
“I’m back, motherfuckers!” Matt replied, holding his arms out wide in the air. “Started travelling, but that shit is lonely. So I came back.”
“You’re staying in LA?”
“Yeah. For now at least. Figured I live here so I might as well. Not sure how long I’m gonna be able to put up with my mom visiting every day though. But at least I don’t have to do my own laundry.”
“So what are you doing here? In a porn studio?”
“Bored. Plus, I didn’t know you guys only did gay porn. I was hoping to bump into a few pretty pussies,” Matt said, sighing with disappointment.
Jake rolled his eyes and Sawyer shook his head.
“What are any of you guys doing here?” I asked, confused why they were attending the mysterious meeting too.
“Hey, boys,” Ivan said, coming up behind us and clapping me and Ry on the shoulder. “Who are we still waiting on?”
“Gio’s downstairs I think,” I answered. I scanned the room, and the rest of us seemed to be here.
“I’m here, I’m here!” Gio announced, bursting into the room. “Just grabbing a coffee.”
“Okay, boys. Might as well cut to the chase. Sawyer and Jake here are buying out Mack’s side of the business.”
There were a few gasps, a couple of ‘Holy fuck’s’ and then a huge cheer from Matt. Me however, well I just stood there with my jaw open.
“Mack and I have had a few disagreements; some pretty serious ones that ultimately put the business in jeopardy. Thanks to Ryder here,” Ivan said, coming over to put his hand on Ryder’s shoulder. “We’ve got new investors and everything’s gonna be okay.”
“No way is Sawyer fucking Knight gonna be our boss!” Taylor beamed, clapping his hands together. Most of the guys had already met Sawyer. No one was star struck every time he entered the building anymore. But still sometimes, even for me, being in a room with him hit you with a holy fuck moment.
“I’m not your boss,” Sawyer said, grinning. “Silent partners only.”
Taylor shrugged. “Whatever. You won’t be able to keep away.”
Taylor was right. Once Sawyer and Jake first visited the studio they quickly struck up friendships with Ivan and some of the guys and they’d been back regularly since.
“Dude!” Matt exclaimed, shoulder bumping Sawyer. “Why the fuck didn’t I know about this? A fucking porn studio! It’s every man’s dream! I mean obviously this one wouldn’t be for me, but with you bein’ a butt banger this must be fuckin’ heaven for you.”
“I didn’t tell you ‘cause you can’t even take a shit without announcing it to the world,” Sawyer shot back.
“Hey! I can keep secrets, asshole.”
“Matt, you once told a reporter you checked out horse porn when you were a teenager. You can not keep secrets.”
“I was fifteen! Everything’s hot when you’re fifteen.”
“Horses? Seriously?” Ryder interjected, laughing. “Mate, you’ve got issues.”
“Anyway, boys,” Ivan began. “The important thing is nothing is going to change around here, and you’ll all have your pay checks by the end of the week.”
Thank fuck.
“Any questions?” he added.
“Yeah,” Matt piped up. “So when-”
“He didn’t mean you,” Jake cut him off.
“Jeez. I thought you gays were all supposed to be like welcoming and friendly and shit.”
“Don’t believe the hype.”
“I think I speak for everyone when I say welcome aboard, guys,” Gio said, walking forward to shake Sawyer and Jake’s hands. “So can we go now? I didn’t get to bed till four AM,” he added through a jaw-splitting yawn.
“Yeah I guess so,” Ivan answered. “Just wanted to let you all know in person. But if you’re all happy with the decision, then you can get the hell outta here,” he tacked on, winking. One by one the guys left, some of them stopping to pat Sawyer and Jake on the shoulder. When the room was quieter I ambled over to Ryder.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, feeling irrationally offended.
He shrugged. “Wasn’t my secret to tell.”
“So this has got nothing to do with the fact you’ve been being weird with me lately?”
“I’m not being weird,” he denied. His voice sounded certain but the fact his eyes swept the floor rather than my face told me everything I needed to know. “We’re cool.”