Neither one of us spoke after that. We finished our food, listened to the storm as it played a symphony for us. It wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable, it felt peaceful.
10
Crew
It had been three days since Ben and my stormy lunch in the conservatory. I didn’t think he was avoiding me, he was in fact busy. I hadn’t had any dates yet, but tonight was the first. It was a charity ball of sorts and my first time meeting Alejandro De Leon.
I was walking out of my bedroom when I saw Tyler. He was in comfy sweatpants and a Katy Perry t-shirt.
“No plans tonight?” I smiled.
“Nope, well, unless you call movie night with Sammy and Gogo plans.” He eyed my suit with a grin. “Who is the lucky guy tonight?”
“Alejandro De Leon, know him?”
Tyler sighed. “Yes, you’re going to have a wonderful time. He’s a lot of fun.”
“It’s nice to get out finally.”
Tyler followed me down the stairs. Raymond was driving me to Alejandro’s place where we’d pick him up and go to the event. He wasn’t in the foyer yet.
“Crew, can I ask you a question?” Tyler whispered.
“What’s up?”
“Gogo was telling a couple of the guys that Corey was here and the two of you overheard him say some horrible things about Mr. Asher…said Corey was gonna expose things he shouldn’t.”
I realized Tyler wasn’t asking because he was curious if what he heard was true. He wanted to know if the secrets were safe.
“Nothing will get out. Whatever you’re worried about, it’s locked up tight. Corey would only hurt himself if he did it, and by the time he left, trust me, he knew it.”
Tyler bit his lip but nodded. “Okay…I don’t have anything to hide but—”
“You shouldn’t have been made to feel you had to worry about yours or anyone’s secrets. I promise, Mr. Asher isn’t going to let anything out.”
He gave me a small smile. “Okay. I’m going to make some popcorn, you have fun.”
“Mr. Riley, are you ready?” Raymond stood by the front door.
“Yes, thank you.”
* * *
Alejandro was as amazing as everyone said he was. He was full of life and loved living it. He introduced me to everyone and whenever there was an opportunity to dance, we did.
We were taking a well-earned breather when he grinned at me over his drink. “You can move.”
“No,youcan move, I’m just trying to keep up. This is a lot of fun.”
He chuckled. “It’s the only reason I come to these things. Sure, it’s nice to give to a good cause, but the dancing! Yes, that is why I come.”
“Well, thank you for letting me join you.”
He lifted his glass and I clinked mine with his. “To sexy dance partners.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
We danced some more and I laughed more than I had in a long time. Alejandro may have been a client, but I could easily see myself being friends with him.