Chapter Seventeen
Lee showered and changed in the room he didn’t much like in the beach house. It was big, the king-sized bed had the softest sheets, but it was down the hall from his parents. That was the part he hated.
There was a desk with the latest computer on it, along with books and pens in a solid brass cup. On the walls were two oars, and a metal sign announcingFresh Seafood at the Connor Seaside Food Stand. It wasn’t a suite, like in his home, but he did have his own bathroom. Eli, on the other hand, would share one with Jamison, his parents’ butler.
Eli…
He sat on the edge of the bed, thinking on the man he’d so recently hated. Well, maybe he hadn’t hated him, but it was close. It wasn’t so much that it was Eli that brought it out in him. It was his own frustration.
It would be strange, sleeping alone again. It’s not like he was completely used to having someone else in his bed, but for a few nights, it was lovely, hearing the breathing of another person. Knowing that all he had to do was roll to the side and feel the warmth another human made.
“Jesus, I miss you. How fucked is that?”
Eli had given him the courage to be the man he wanted to be. At least in his head. Translating that to the world outside would be the challenge. If he didn’t, Eli would start to hate him again.
Lee did not think he could stand that.
A knock on his door took him from his thoughts. “Come in.”
His father came into the room, and Lee rose from the bed, his hand out to shake his father’s. “Son, you look good. Tired. Are you not sleeping?”
If he only knew…
“I’m fine, Dad. You know, work catching up on me.”
His father looked like him to an extent, but thirty years older, not that anyone could tell. He was in great shape and had a full head of hair, which he made sure stayed bright white. Never a dingy gray or ash blond for him.
“How’s the hill?”
“It misses you. I’m a terrible replacement.”
“Not true. Everyone tells me you’re doing well. Listen, I have honey-dos to do. You know your mother when there’s a party in the works. Come down soon and give her a hand, yes?”
“Yes, Dad. I’m going to see Eli before I do, though. I have a few calls I need him to make.”
His father’s head dropped. “How I miss the life…”
As soon as he left, Lee felt the frustration want to overload. He missed the life? His father had never left the life. He was usually on his own phone most of the day doing deals with his old cronies.
He needed to see Eli. As he rushed down the stairs, he thought of any way they could be together more than employer and employee on the trip. He’d thought about it on the plane and in the car, and he didn’t see an opening.
If they were caught…
He knocked as a formality on the door of Eli’s temporary room, then he stuck his head in when he didn’t hear anything. Then he saw it, Eli hurriedly pulling up his pants.
“Damn, I missed it,” he whispered as he let himself in the room.
“I thought we had to be careful,” Eli teased him, but flashed him quickly before he placed his dick back in his pants and zipped them.
Lee went right for him, kissing him heatedly. “I hate it here.”
“They’re your parents, Lee. Give them a chance. Yeah, they’re political and live by their wealth, but they love you.”
“As long as I play their games. Anyway, I told my father I was giving you a list of calls to make, so if anyone sees you, put your phone to your ear and pretend to be talking to someone.”
“I won’t have to pretend,” he sighed. “You taking days off means that there are a line of calls coming in, wanting things from you.”
His head was beginning to ache. “So what? Ignore them.”