Boss (19 page)

He was all over the place like an excited child who wanted to get all of their ideas out at once. He jumped from idea to idea, scribbling on sheets of paper, scribbling on the presentation board but he seemed to have them eating out of the palm of his hand.

Just having the chance to show what he was made of, Joshua was blowing all of Ezra’s expectations out of the water. He was like a supercharged version of Bill. Seeing Joshua so animated excited Ezra in more ways than one. A quick rearrangement of himself through his pocket kept his erection from spoiling the show but he couldn’t hide the proud smile as easily.

Would it be so bad if we were partners?

He tried to dismiss the idea but just imagining how they had work together made the smile grow. Ezra Steele was usually like a dog with a bone when it came to what he wanted but he knew he was going to have to learn to drop this bone.

When the men finally headed back to their hotel, Ezra watched as Joshua started to clean up the mess he had made.

“I’m sorry,” Ezra stepped out of the shadows to help, “I should never have doubted you.”

“An apology from Ezra Steele?” Joshua snatched the papers out of Ezra’s grip, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Don’t be a child,” he snatched them back, “I’m trying to be nice here.”

Joshua stacked the papers and tucked them under his arm. Reaching up to turn off the overhead projector, his white shirt slid out of his trousers, giving Ezra a perfect view of his flat stomach. His eyes drifted from his belly button to the path into his underwear.

“I don’t want you to be nice,” Joshua straightened out his suit, “I meant what I said yesterday.”

It felt like a knife twisting in Ezra’s stomach.
Why am I even trying to reach out to him?

“Joshua, you could just drop this? We could just get on?”

Joshua stopped sorting through the papers for a moment. He looked up to Ezra and their eyes connected briefly. Quickly looking back down to the papers again, he scowled and backed away.

“I think it’s better if we just keep our relationship professional,” he said, “it’ll make things easier when -,” his voice trailed off and he looked as though he was about to say something he was going to regret.

“Easier when?” Ezra prompted.

“Easier when you give me an official title?” Joshua tried his best to sound casual but it didn’t work, “That’s all.”

He walked past Ezra with the papers under his arms but Ezra couldn’t just let him walk away. In one quick movement he pulled Joshua in, forcing him into a kiss. He didn’t know what it would achieve, he just hoped it would ignite something within Joshua.

For a second, it did. He kissed him back with a passion that blinded Ezra from what was really going on. The sound of the papers fluttering to the ground made Ezra grab Joshua’s hand. He guided it to his cock, which was already throbbing in his waistband.

He fumbled with it through the fabric for a couple of seconds before ripping himself away.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” Joshua gritted his jaw, “I’m done with being your toy.”

“You’re not my toy,” there was an obvious desperation in Ezra’s voice.

“Are you lying to me, or yourself?” Joshua pushed his long hair out of his face as he looked beyond Ezra and out onto London.

“I’m not lying,” he said, “about anything.”

Joshua’s eyes darted to his, focussing sternly on Ezra. Ezra thought and hoped he was going to give in and pounce on him. He wanted nothing more. He wanted to feel that escape he felt every time his skin touched Joshua’s.

“We’ll see,” Joshua turned and headed for the door, “the truth always comes out.”

He left Ezra alone in the boardroom. He bent down and picked up the papers Joshua had left. His writing and drawings had ruined the designs the team had spent weeks creating. Clenching them in his fist, he tore them in two before tossing them back on the ground.

Through the red haze, he found his desk phone in his office and punched in the digits for his lawyer.

“It’s Ezra. It’s happening. I think he’s found the loophole.”

Joshua welcomed Tobias into Violet’s home and they all crammed themselves into the living room. Levi didn’t get the hint that he wasn’t wanted around and neither did Violet. Levi used the excuse that if Violet was there, he wanted to be there, which meant he was stuck with them both as Tobias perched on the edge of Violet’s sofa, briefcase on his knees.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married, Violet,” he sipped the tea she made, “you’ve hardly aged a day.”

“It’s the lighting,” she tossed her blonde locks over her shoulder, “just don’t get too close and we’ll all be fine.”

They both laughed as Joshua fiddled with his hands. Levi’s face was buried in his phone as if he was waiting for them to get to the fun part.

“So? Did you look over that thing I found?” Joshua pushed the conversation in the direction of the new will.

It had been a couple of days since he had dropped it off with Tobias’ receptionist so he must have cracked it by now.

“I did,” he nodded, “it’s almost identical to the original one. There are a couple of sections that had been re-worded but it was almost a carbon copy of the original. There was just one major difference.”

“What?”

“Well, two major differences,” Tobias passed a photocopy version of the paper over to Joshua.

His eyes quickly danced to the yellow highlighted section under
Article IV
.

‘
I devise, bequeath, and give 10% of my estate to Ezra Steele
.’

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Joshua passed it back, “explain.”

“He was going to leave 10% of his money to Ezra,” Violet answered for him, “and he wasn’t going to leave me or my mum anything. What an arsehole.”

“Tobias?” Joshua shot Violet ‘
not now
’ daggers.

“Well,” Tobias sipped the tea before ripping off his glasses to wipe them on his lapel, “from what I can figure out, this will was never official. It was never run through any system, that’s probably why you found it in a safe. It was never meant to be seen.”

“Why? Why would he write it?”

“As a back-up?” Tobias shrugged, “As a last resort?”

Joshua’s head was starting to hurt. He hoped eliminating his relationship with Ezra would make him see clearer but it didn’t. He still had no idea what his father had done or where Ezra fit into it all.

“How did it go from 10% to 100%?” Joshua stood up and started to pace around the coffee table, “How did he manage to convince him to give him more?”

“That’s what we need to prove,” Tobias snapped his briefcase shut, “but this is a good start. This was dated four days before the final contract, which means something changed in those four days. You need to find out what changed.”

“How do I do that?” he cried, “There’s nothing at the tower. Ezra isn’t that stupid. If he’s double crossing me, he’s hiding his tracks really well.”

“What about the other stuff,” Violet cocked her head to the side and widened her eyes, “you have other ways of finding things out.”

He shot her a final ‘
not now
’ dagger to shut her up. She slid off the chair arm and onto the Chesterfield, next to Levi, who was glancing up from his phone at regular intervals.

“What other ways?” Tobias stood up, “If there’s something I don’t know, it’s better that -,”

“It’s nothing,” he shut him down, “Violet has her wires crossed.”

“Right,” Tobias nodded as he looked at his phone, “I need to go. The wife’s cooking dinner and she hates it when I’m late. Thanks for the tea and the wedding invitation Violet. I’ll see if I can find cover, but I’m not promising anything.”

Violet smiled and nodded. They both knew her loose invitation to the wedding had been a gesture of politeness after he noticed the huge rock on her finger.

“Keep digging, Joshua,” were Tobias’ final words before he disappeared into the late Saturday afternoon heat, “I have a bad feeling about this Ezra Steele.”

“Don’t get comfy!” Violet jumped up as Joshua settled back into his seat, “You promised you’d come to the church for my marriage counselling meeting.”

“I did?”

Joshua vaguely remembered Violet mentioning something about it last night over dinner but he had been so tired from spending the entire day avoiding Ezra that he didn’t know what he had been agreeing to.

“Don’t back out. You can hold the
iPad
for Christopher.”

“I’ll hold it over my face so we can just pretend he’s here. Why not go all the way to crazy town.”

“Shut it!” she held out a warning finger, “This is the last meeting we have before the wedding and there’s only a week to go so I won’t let you ruin this for me!”

Not wanting to unleash her inner Bridezilla, he slipped into his shoes.

“You’re not leaving me here again, are you?” Levi whined as his head rolled back on the sofa, “I’ve barely seen you since we got here!”

“Wank yourself blind,” Joshua shrugged.

“No need. Found this app called
Tinder
. It’s like a catalogue for pussy,” he turned his phone around to flash Joshua a screen of a busty brunette at a dangerous angle.

It didn’t excite him at all, no matter how hard he stared.

“Just make sure you put a towel down,” Joshua called as he headed out into the hall, “you know what Violet is like.”

“What am I like?” she scrunched up her face as she ran down the stairs clipping in an earring.

“Full of sunshine and rainbows,” he winked, “C’mon. When Jesus calls, you don’t keep him waiting.”

“When you get back,” Levi shouted from the living room as they headed through the front door, “we’re looking at flights. I can’t stay in this place for another second longer.”

Pretending he didn’t hear him, Joshua headed straight for Violet’s car.

“You’re going to have to face reality eventually,” she finally spoke as they headed out of Hammersmith and towards the A roads, “Ezra, Levi, London – it’s all going to implode if you don’t come up with a plan.”

“I have a plan,” turning to look out of the window he watched the world buzz by.

“Liar.”

His plan was to get a plan sometime soon. He knew it was stupid but it was all he had. No matter how ruthless he was being to Ezra’s face it didn’t stop the guilt. He had to laugh at himself to dismiss the feeling but it only made him feel worse.

Unfortunately Joshua, you’re not as cold as your old dad.

“What if Ezra hasn’t done anything wrong?”

It was as if she had just plucked that thought straight from Joshua’s head. It was always in the back of his mind, screaming to him. Was it his gut, or was it just his conscience?

“And what if he has?” Joshua shot back rather childishly, “I need to know.”

“So you can pull the rug from under Ezra’s feet?”

“Exactly.”

Violet sped up to forcefully overtake an old man in a
Clio
. She kept looking to Joshua but he was pretending not to notice.

“I don’t know why you’re pretending to be the tough guy,” she pursed her lips, “you’re not him.”

“Who?”

He already knew the answer.

“You’re not your dad. You don’t need to try so hard. You’re a good guy.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged off her accusations, “good guys finish last.”

She let out a harsh laugh devoid of humour and it turned Joshua’s skin cold.

“You’re just trying to hide how much you want to have sex with Ezra by being Billy Big Bollocks.”

For once, Violet, I don’t want your mirror of shame held up in front of my fucking face.

“Where are we even going?” Joshua looked around as they drove past
Paddington Station
.

“Hackney,” she rolled her eyes, “don’t ask. Christopher grew up there and his family was quite, persuasive.”

“You’re getting married in Hackney?” he couldn’t help but laugh, “You kept that quiet. I know you said he was a Hackney boy, but actually getting married there? That’s a step down for you.”

“Hackney boy turned investment banker, thank you,” she stiffened her spine along with her upper lip, “besides, where’s your Ezra from? An accent like that is a little rough.”

“He’s not my Ezra.”

He is from Hackney though.

“If you like him,” she sighed, “don’t let all of this legal crap get in the way, yeah? I know Tobias thinks you’re onto something and maybe you are but what are you going to lose to win?”

“I’ve already lost everything. That’s the whole point.”

“You’ve lost something that was never yours,” he could hear how frustrated she was getting with him, “imagine if your dad didn’t die now. He was only fifty-nine. He could have lived for another forty years if he was luckier. Would you be acting like this if he did this when you were sixty?”

“That’s not the -,”

“Yes or no.”

“But -,”

“Just answer the question!”

No.

“Yes.”

“Liar.”

“Whatever,” he puffed out his chest, “this conversation is boring me.”

“Only because you know I’m right,” she jabbed him in the arm, “you should always listen to me because I’m rarely ever wrong about these things.”

“Women’s intuition?”

“Something like that,” she winked, “just don’t lose your heart for the sake of your head.”

Violet’s words stung like salt in a wound. She didn’t know how conflicted he was because he hoped pretending to her that he was ruthless would make it real. It wasn’t working. He just wanted her to drop the conversation so he could clearly focus on what Tobias had told him.

“My heart isn’t involved,” the lie was bitter on his tongue.

“Liar!” she said again, “Lies, lies, lies! Do you remember Katrina Devourt?”

Katrina Devourt was his teenage crush. She was the hottest girl in their friend group but she was madly in love with Billy Bartle, who naturally became Joshua’s number one enemy, even though they had been best friends growing up. They never made up, even when Katrina dumped him for a girl.

“This isn’t the same.”

“It is!” she laughed, “You’re repeating history because you’re a dumb man. You’re like a caveman, just reacting blindly to everything. Somebody challenges you so you beat your chest, grunt, scratch your balls, sniff your fingers and fight the biggest thing you can find even if you don’t stand a chance.”

“You’ve lost the plot,” he jabbed her back in the arm, “you’re speaking in tongues.”

“Katrina is your inheritance and Billy is Ezra. You’re lusting over something you shouldn’t have and you’re ignoring what you could have.”

Her words sounded stupid on the surface, but they hit Joshua so hard in the chest he spent the rest of the journey in silence. He thought back to how devastated he had been about losing his friend over something as silly as a girl. They had both said dumb things about each other and things escalated into a full-blown war. Was that exactly what he was doing again? Was he sacrificing Ezra for money?

Did he even have Ezra? It was just a sexual attraction, wasn’t it? There was nothing between them and if his father hadn’t linked them, it would have just been one stupid night at
The Dorchester
. He would have forgotten all about Ezra and he would never have thought about him again.

And yet, he had spent the days between seeing him at
The Dorchester
and seeing him at the diner thinking of nothing else. Joshua had wanted so badly to see him, to talk to him. It was stupid. He knew that. It was immature. He was lusting over him because he was something new and unexplored.
You’ve explored, so why can’t you give it up?
He wanted more. He needed more.

“That car,” Violet nodded to the yellow
Lamborghini Huracan
in the car park outside
St. John of Jerusalem Church
, “what do you think the chances of two people in London having that car?”

“Pretty common car, isn’t it?” he gulped, his throat as dry as sand paper.