Boss (34 page)

Joshua gave him an encouraging nod, so he sucked it in and started to read:

‘Dear Joshua,

My son, by the time you read this, I will be gone. Do not be sad. I am sorry I did not contact you. I thought you would be better without me burdening you in my final weeks. I assure you that I was well looked after.

By now, I must assume that you know what I have decided to do. Please, do not be angry with me. We spent enough of our time together being angry. I hope that my death will bring you peace.

I want you to understand why I decided to leave my estate to Ezra Steele. I hope you will one day meet this man. Shake his hand. He is a good man. He looked after me and he put up with me and not many would do that. I know I was never the easiest man to get along with. I’m sorry that I am only just seeing this now.

I think we both know our relationship broke down soon after your mother’s death. I wanted to be there for you, I really did. However, I did not know how to express that. I was a fool and it will be my biggest regret in the next life.

The reason I have decided to leave you this letter is because I can finally admit I got everything wrong. You left because I tried to push you towards a life you never wanted and for that, I apologise. I see now it was never what you wanted and I didn’t want to continue to punish you when I was gone.

This is me trying to say that I’m setting you free. Money has ruined us both. I thought I could solve our problems with money but it never worked. It only pushed us further apart, but, you know this already.

You are free to live your life how you choose and I hope you will be happy. Ezra Steele is a man who needs this more than you. Only recently did I learn about his past and how much, like us, he has suffered and lost. Maybe he’ll tell you the story he didn’t tell me.

This may not be what you want, but it’s what you need.

Until we see each other again,

Goodbye,

Dad.’

Ezra read the letter twice and by the second read he was forcing the tears back. He looked up to Joshua and he had no words because it had all been said in the letter. Reaching out his hand, he wrapped it around Joshua’s and he accepted it, squeezing it firmly. Ezra felt every emotion he had been holding back since the wedding flow through his body and he let the tears leave his eyes.

“I never thought your dad would have me crying,” he quickly wiped away the tears with his free hand, “I never told him about my past.”

“That’s what he found out,” Joshua said it like it should have been obvious all long, “it was nothing bad.”

Ezra had never told Bill because he didn’t want his pity. He wanted a chance to prove that he could work and succeed.

Joshua gave his hand another squeeze.

“Ezra, I’m so sorry,” Joshua’s voice was barely above a whisper, “I got everything wrong. I thought all of this was some kind of sadistic test from my dad and I had Tobias and Graham convincing me of everything but -,”

“You don’t have to explain,” Ezra silenced Joshua, “I’m sorry too. I’m sorry I kept things from you.”

Looking into each other’s eyes, Ezra felt the tension and the hurt drift away. He saw the same happen in Joshua’s eyes and he couldn’t help but lean in towards his lips. In the middle of the bar on a Wednesday afternoon, they shared a moment so intimate, it rivalled anything they had shared before.

“I thought I’d left it too late,” Joshua pulled away and leaned his forehead against Ezra’s, keeping his eyes closed, “I took this right to the edge. I didn’t think there was any coming back from it -,”

“I love you,” Ezra watched as Joshua’s eyes shot open, “and you were only doing what you thought was right.”

Their lips met again and this time, the noise of the bar completely vanished. They opened their mouths to each other and their tongues danced tenderly. Joshua’s thick stubble grated against Ezra’s skin as Joshua’s hand found it’s way behind Ezra’s head.

“I think we should get out of here.”

They headed straight back to the house in Holland Park, which was now Joshua’s, but none of that mattered as they fell onto the bed in each other’s arms.

Joshua enjoyed the feeling of sleeping against Ezra’s chest as he stirred from his dream. He didn’t want to open his eyes as the light shone through his eyelids, scared he would be clinging to a pillow.

When he opened his eyes, it was Ezra he was holding and they were in Ezra’s bedroom. Joshua didn’t doubt for a second that he had finally done the right thing.

For the first time since landing in London, Joshua felt like he had let go of something he had been holding onto for so many years. He wished he had opened the letter the second he got it but he knew if he had, he wouldn’t know Ezra the way he did.

Joshua had never believed everything happened for a reason but as he stared up at Ezra’s sleeping face, his dark lashes twitching as he dreamt, he wondered if happy endings did exist.

Of course, there was the problem with the contract and Graham and Tobias but Joshua pushed that to the back of his mind. They had to sort something out. It wasn’t important. All that was important was the man he had just had the best night of sex with after he thought he had lost him forever.

“Are you watching me sleep?” Ezra muttered through the corner of his mouth.

“I won’t apologise,” Joshua kissed the centre of Ezra’s smooth chest, “you look like an angel who forgot to shave.”

“That’s the look I’m going for,” Ezra opened his eyes and the warmest smile covered his lips when he looked down at Joshua, “I didn’t want to open my eyes in case I’d dreamt it.”

“Too bad,” Joshua kissed his chest again, his hair falling forwards over his face, “you’re stuck with me now.”

They both knew what they really meant. That was Joshua telling Ezra that he wasn’t going anywhere and he had no regrets about what had happened.

“We should get up,” Ezra stretched out.

“Or, we could just stay in bed all day,” Joshua rolled over and pulled the sheets down to reveal his hard cock.

“Yep,” Ezra choked on the word, “we could just stay in bed all day.”

“Ezra, you in there?” he heard Felix through the door and he quickly covered up as he barged into the room, “I was just – Oh, fuck!”

He turned around as they both brought the sheets up to their necks.

“Is that Joshua?” Felix turned around slowly with his eyes closed, “Is it safe to look?”

“It’s safe,” Ezra opened his arm to Joshua and he snuggled in with the sheets clenched around his chest.

“I’m not even going to ask,” Felix rolled his eyes, “one minute it’s off, then it’s on, then you’re smashing TVs and packing your bags.”

He pointed to the TV on the wall and Joshua noticed the huge dent in it. He also noticed the broken drawer on the floor along with clothes and a half full suitcase. He was about to ask what happened but he already had an idea.

“It’s on,” Ezra said, “It’s definitely on.”

“So, are you like, officially together?”

Ezra looked down to Joshua with a look that asked ‘
are we?
’ Joshua just smiled, not even needing to say the words. Everything just felt right.

“We are,” Ezra pulled Joshua in even closer.

Felix rolled his eyes and turned around, “I guess I’ll go and unpack everything.”

“Stay packed,” Joshua called after him, “I think we’ll sell this place.”

Felix waved his hands and closed the door, heading back to his bedroom. When it was safe, Joshua sat up in bed, not caring that the sheets weren’t covering him.

“Are you sure?” Ezra furrowed his brow, “This place is yours now. It was your home.”

Joshua didn’t even need to think about it, “I’m sure. We can get a place somewhere together in the city. If we’re going to be running an empire together, it’s better if we’re close by.”

Ezra brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them close.

“Does that make you my boss?” Ezra screwed up his eyes.

“I think it does.”

Ezra picked up a pillow, hitting it around Joshua’s face. He had no desire to be the boss and he never had but with Ezra by his side, he wouldn’t mind sharing that title.

“That’s the last of them,” Violet dropped the box onto the floor and leaned back on her hips as she pushed her sweaty blonde locks out of her face, “for a traveller, you have a lot of crap.”

“I’ve been collecting!” he took the kettle out of the box and plugged it into the wall, “Tea?”

“The best idea you’ve had all day,” she collapsed into the new sofa, which was still wrapped in plastic, “Where’s Ezra?”

“Lawyers,” Joshua unwrapped two cups and gave them a quick wash under the tap, “they’re finalising the divorce as we speak.”

With two steaming cups of tea in his hands, he walked across his new penthouse apartment, casting his glance over the city below. In the distance, he could see
Silverton Tower’s
new logo glistening in the sun.

Silverton & Steele Industries.

They had been running things together for months now and it was a match made in heaven. Despite Joshua being the ‘
official boss
’, they happily shared the role. Graham tried his best to split up the dynamic duo but when he realised they were beyond that, he jumped ship with most of the board of directors. Most of them jumped to their rival company,
Cleantech Designs
but that didn’t bother either of them.

The Chinese company had been so impressed with Joshua’s enthusiasm, they started to invest heavily in the company, giving them the new lease of life they needed to move forwards with their new fire.

Joshua had never expected to enjoy the thrill of business but he truly believed that he had discovered his true calling. Having Ezra by his side only made that sweeter.

“I think your milk is off,” Violet pulled her face as she sipped her tea.

“It’s powdered,” he tried it himself but quickly spit it back into the cup, “we’ve ordered one of those huge American style double fronted fridges and it’s not coming until tomorrow.”

She took his cup off him and balanced them both on top of a box. Tossing her hair over the back of the sofa, she smirked at Joshua.

“What’s so funny?” he said.

“You! Ordering fridges, getting your own place, working. It’s a Joshua nobody expected to ever see. You’re so happy and it shows.”

“Looks like we’ve both found our happy ending.”

“No such thing,” she winked, “one of you will die one day.”

“Vi!”

She stood up and stretched out her arms. Ripping open one of the boxes, she started to dig through its contents.

“I was going to wait for Ezra to get back,” he said, “I don’t know where he wants half of this stuff.”

“Are my ears burning?” Ezra popped his head around their apartment door, a file clutched in his hands.

He ran over to Joshua, planting a kiss straight on his lips. It was a feeling Joshua was never going to get used to.

“How did it go?” Joshua asked.

“Well,” Ezra sighed deeply, “I’m divorced!”

Joshua let out a sigh of relief and kissed Ezra again. Violet busied herself with the boxes, as they looked at the piece of paper in Ezra’s shaking hands.

“We didn’t think she’d turn up but she did. I think she knew this had gone on too long and she just signed it and left.”

When they had actually got to talking about the reasons they had never divorced, Joshua learned that Jade refused to sign any papers as a cruel punishment to Ezra. That was, until Ezra inherited everything from Bill and she suddenly wanted to divorce him so she got half of his money. Ezra knew giving Jade money would be like giving her as many drugs as she could buy all at once. He may as well have bought her a coffin at the same time.

“I’m going to frame this and hang it over the fireplace,” Joshua sighed, finally relieved that it was all over.

“Does that mean I need to buy a new hat?” Violet chipped in.

“You don’t wear hats,” Joshua shot back, “and don’t get carried away.”

He turned back to Ezra but he didn’t look like he was taking it as a joke. He shrugged his jacket off, tossing it over a box with the divorce papers.

“We could?” Ezra shrugged, “One day? It’s legal here.”

Joshua bit his lip, unsure of what to say. It was less of a proposal and more of a commitment to a future they were both building.

“Okay,” Joshua winked, “but first, we need to get all of these contracts sorted out. Now that you’re divorced, we can put everything back in your name. Well, half of it.”

Ezra let out a huge sigh as he headed for the boxes in their new lavish open planned kitchen. Skipping past the tea, he found a bottle of wine and three glasses.

“I’ve told you, you don’t need to do that. It’s yours now,” Ezra handed him a glass and they all sat on the squeaky plastic with their wine.

“It’s ours,” Joshua corrected him, “your name is over that door too now and you deserve it just as much as I do. Besides, I don’t mind sharing with you.”

He turned to Ezra to give him a cheeky wink and he winked right back, letting him know it was okay to call Tobias to get the ball rolling.

“What’s this?” Violet reached out, pulling a piece of card out of one of the boxes.

One side of it had a picture of New Zealand and on the other, a tiny note from Levi.

“Postcard from Levi and Felix,” Joshua turned it over in his hands, “it says ‘
Hello Gay Boy, your boyfriend’s brother is so much more fun than you. Hope you’re not missing us too much, love from your better looking friend, Levi (and Felix)
’. I think he’s trying to make me wish I’d gone with him.”

“Does it?” Violet asked.

Joshua thought about it for a second. He imagined what he could be doing with Levi in New Zealand. He was probably having the time of his life, going to a different party every night, showing Felix the world. Joshua looked at Ezra and then to Violet. He knew he was where he belonged.

“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he raised his glass in the air, “to new starts.”

“And working it out when it’s worth it,” Violet bit her lip, “and to
Silverton and Steele
taking over the world.”

“To
Silverton and Steele
,” Ezra nodded, “I’ll drink to that.”

They all toasted and Joshua leaned his head against Ezra’s shoulder, excited for the future he never thought he would have.

The End

Ashley John will return with a brand new Gay Romance novel later this year. To be the first to find out all of the details, sign up to his newsletter
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