He smiled at the mental image he had of Remi reading his texts, lips pouting as he huffed and got shy and a little irritated. Cute. He was so cute.
Dimitrios:Do what Daddy says. Or I’m gonna punish you when I get back tomorrow.
The alpha knew he’d played the winning hand when the three little dots appeared and disappeared over and over for about forty-five seconds. Finally, his phone received a new message.
Remi:Ok Daddy
Dimitrios:Good boy. I’ll call it in now. Any allergies or anything to worry about?
Remi:No
Dimitrios:Okay. I’ll order your food, then I’ve got to sleep. I’ll be home tomorrow. I’ll text you with a time to meet me at my place.
Remi:Ok Daddy
Dimitrios:See you then Baby. I can’t wait.
Dimitrios closed the text app and made a call to his favorite delivery place. He ordered enough food to feed at least five or six people, but he didn’t really care. He wanted Remi to eat a decent meal and get a good night’s sleep. Those were two things the alpha wasn’t going to get himself, but his pretty boy deserved them at least.
He sent one last text before getting up to go shower before he fell asleep.
Dimitrios:Your food should be there in about 20. Goodnight, pretty boy.
He got up and got his toiletries out of his little bag, to take a quick shower and brush his teeth. He fell into bed and saw that he had a new text.
Remi:Thank you. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow
Dimitrios smiled at the screen and laid back in the uncomfortable hotel bed, wishing he was at home on his pillow-soft mattress and Egyptian cotton sheets with Remi. He told himself that it was just the bed that was making him too uncomfortable to sleep. He wasn’t focusing on his parents and how close they were. He didn’t care. Maybe Dimitrios hadn’t reached out to them, but they never reached out to him either. So, they probably had given him up as a lost cause.
He took a deep breath and shut his mind off. The alpha thought about his side project, letting the complex coding and math ease his brain away from emotion and into cold, unfeeling numbers. It helped and he managed to fall into a fitful sleep.
When Dimitrios woke up, to the grating song of his alarm coming from his cell phone it felt like he’d just blinked and the night was gone. His back hurt, and he was still exhausted. His eyelids felt like sandpaper as he blinked and rubbed them. Gods, he just wanted to be home.
He allowed himself a few minutes to sulk in bed, but the thought that he’d be getting to see Remi that evening got him moving. Dimitrios forced his tired body into motion. He dressed and packed up his few belongings before texting Leon to meet him downstairs at the hotel café.
Terrible hotel breakfast and several cups of complementary coffee invigorated Dimitrios to a point where he was able to at least keep from glaring at anyone who walked by. When Leon appeared, his partner looked just as tired as Dimitrios felt, eyes drooping and hair a little out of sorts.
No one but Dimitrios would probably have realized how monumental Leon's departure from his usual perfect appearance was. Leon was always completely put together, from his perfectly styled hair to his crisp, fitted suits. He never allowed himself to be seen looking messy or casual, except by those few, like Dimitrios, that he considered friends. Leon might give Dimitrios a hard time about being a workaholic and perfectionist, but he was just as bad if not worse. He was just better at hiding it.
“You look as bad as I feel.” Leon growled, plopping into the seat across from him, grabbing an empty coffee cup and filling it from the carafe.
“I’m hoping this one works out… because I don’t want to do this again.” Dimitrios said, pushing his hair back roughly and rubbing his eyes again. “But if past experience is any indicator, we’re about to get fucked. Again.”
“Ugh… Let’s not even get into it. If this guy we’re meeting turns out to be a liar like the rest, I’m going to lose it.” Leon groused before downing half of his lukewarm coffee in one swallow.
“Same.”
Despite the abysmal quality, the coffee was at least semi-effective in waking them both from their zombie state into something more fit for public consumption. The conversation turned back to work as they headed to the manufacturing plant. Dimitrios gave Leon the rundown on what the facility was reportedly lacking for their needs. He estimated that they could be brought up to scratch for approximately ten to fifteen million dollars investment, which was an acceptable amount if the place turned out to be the right one.
They were greeted by the president of the company, Mr. Henri Broussard. The alpha was originally from New Orleans and still had a heavy Louisiana accent. He was older than them, maybe close to their parents’ age, and he greeted them when they arrived.
Dimitrios soon took a liking to the proprietor and his professionalism. He had to admit that the facility was clean and organized, clearly well managed, if somewhat out of date. The equipment could be updated, but the important factor for Dimitrios was the management. So, he performed a little test to see how honest the president was.
“We produce a lot of very advanced and high-end computer parts. Do you think your facility has the capacity to manufacture the parts our company is needing?”
Dimitrios half expected another set of lies. Either they would say yes and try to update the facility with whatever downpayment Scepter Tech paid to them, or they would secretly try and get another manufacturer to make the parts that they couldn’t. He looked at Mr. Broussard and the alpha just sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair, setting the other one on his hip.
“I’m gonna shoot straight with you. We don’t have the equipment to produce most of the parts you are going to need. I think that if your company wanted to invest the time and money into our place here, we could get up to snuff, but if we’re going to stay as-is… I know that there is no way. I’d love to have your business, it would be a huge contract for us, but I’m not going to start a negotiation based on a lie.”