I don’t know what he means by issues, but don’t get the chance to ask him. I hear the ensuite toilet flushing, and know my boyfriend is awake. Shit. I tug the sleeve of my pyjamas down and make sure my tattoo is hidden, since I should have put my bracelet on already.
Ant heads out to join us, dressed in nothing but boxers, but Gerwyn doesn’t seem surprised in the slightest, even though the boxers are so tight you can see the bulge of Ant’s cock loud and proud.
“You two besties already?” Mr Perfect asks with a smirk. “Talking coffee and charity campaigns first thing in the morning?”
“Just coffee so far,” Gerwyn says.
Ant laughs with that affectionate sneer of his. “Guess I’ve rescued her in time, then.”
My awesome boyfriend wraps his arm around my shoulders and lands a kiss on my lips.
“Sleep well, baby? I’m guessing not, since you’re up and about without me.”
“I did,” I reply. “Just didn’t want to wake you.”
“You can always wake me up, sweetheart. I’ll get up whenever you do.”
He’s so loving that I can’t help but land another kiss on his lips right back. I can imagine just how strong he would have been for Gerwyn when he needed him. He must have been a mountain when his world was falling down.
“I’d better leave you to it,” Gerwyn says. “It’ll take me at least fifteen hours straight to prep for this presentation, so I’ll see you later.”
“Do you ever take a day off?” I laugh, then turn to Ant jokingly. “Maybe you should order him to take some vacation time?”
Ant smirks and tuts. “That’s not Nevilles he’s preparing the presentation for, believe me.” He turns his gaze to Gerwyn. “Am I right, Ger? What crusade are you on this morning? Let me guess… the G.A.T.A.?”
“Got it in one.”
“Surprise, surprise,” Ant says, then turns to me. “Global Anti Trafficking Association. He’s one of their senior campaigners.”
“Wow, that’s amazing,” I say, but Gerwyn shrugs, not taking hold of my praise.
I realise why Ant calls him the crusader when I see the serious passion on his face.
“Every one of us has humane responsibilities we should be upholding. That’s where I choose to donate most of my efforts.”
“Here he goes.” Ant rolls his eyes. “Piss off then, Ger, before Cass gets sick of you.”
Gerwyn laughs. “Enjoy your day.”
I feel almost sad when he walks away from us. I kind of wish he’d tell me more.
“Don’t worry,” Ant says, squeezing my knee under the counter. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t bore you to death.”
“He’s a senior campaigner?” I ask as Ant heads over for a mineral water. “What does that mean?”
“It means he’s preaching and rallying and giving presentations online whenever he can. He raised over three hundred grand last year from one of his projects, but you wouldn’t know it. He doesn’t want anyone to know. Says the rewards never come in the praise.”
I love the sentiment in that, but Ant clearly doesn’t. He shakes his head and gives a scoff.
“He’s talking bullshit, of course. Rewards always come in praise. Praise and cash are the only reasons people have for giving real effort in the first place. Cash will always be king above all else, no matter how much people try to preach the opposite.”
I shrug. “I used to do local Bucklebury fairs for the town’s cat rescue charity, so I’m not so sure about that. It was great.”
Ant laughs out loud. “Fantastic, and how much did you raise per fair? Fifty quid?”
“Two hundred, actually.”
He laughs again. “So what did that make your hourly rate worth? Five pound fifty? I bet you were organising it for fucking ages on the run up as well.”
He’s right on that, but I don’t want to tell him so, so I turn the attention back to Gerwyn.
“You said one of his projects made over three hundred grand last year. That sounds a hell of a lot more than an hourly rate of five pound fifty.”
Ant heads back over with his mineral water, smiling at me like I’m a kid in nursery school –almost patronising.
“Have you any idea how much more than three hundred grand he could be making for Nevilles if he achieved even one extra deal instead of charity preaching all the bloody time? One single investment signup could be worth millions to the team figures. He’s costing himself a shit ton with it, and costing me, too.”
I’m taken aback by the kind of money Ant’s talking about, but I shouldn’t be. He’s in global level finance after all.
I shrug, because I’m still not buying into his logic.
“Well, I like the sound of what Gerwyn does. I think he’s amazing, putting his time into charity work. It’s really cool.”
Ant laughs again, shaking his head.
“Hold that judgement until you’ve spent a bit of time with him. You’ll be wishing he was working on a banking deal along with me when he tries to pull you into his preachy banner-waving. Believe me on that.”