A New Friend

Everyone looked at Maverick with raised brows, and the guards in black looked more confused because they didn't know if the bartender was a threat or an ally.

“Is anything the matter?” Ashley asked with raised brows and looked around, thinking Maverick stopped them because he had forgotten something.

Lanky didn't spare Maverick a glance, he looked impatient, like he didn't want to be around him.

“Em, I was wondering if you aren't going to buy any wine,” Maverick stuttered with a gentle smile on his face, surprising the men. “I mean, we sell the best wine, and I will be very happy if you patronize us,” he continued, feeling comfortable, since Ashley was smiling at him.

Before any of them could reply to him, another guy who Maverick probably forgot to read his file blurted out rudely, “We've bought what we came here to buy, and even if we decide not to buy any wine, it's none of your business, beggar.” He sounded like a spoiled child, who grew up being told that the world revolves around him. Funny enough, he looked like a young man in his late teens.

Maverick was embarrassed, and the laughter which the men around erupted to, made him look like a public fool. He couldn't believe that he was being referred to as a beggar, and he secretly wished his sisters were around, they'd lock the uncircumcised pig in a dirty cell.

Ashley noticed how bad he felt, and quickly scolded the man who insulted him, “That was very rude of you, Mark, you should learn to talk politely to strangers.”

“Oh come on Ashley, I wasn't interacting with a stranger, I was talking to a poor, rude, and ugly bartender,” Mark replied, his voice dripping with jealousy. It was obvious from the tone he used that he didn't like Ashley.

“That's enough, apologize to him,” Ashley demanded with a grimace on his face, and by this time Lanky looked very angry and frustrated, he wanted to leave the club but Mark stopped him.

“What do you think brother Lanky? Was I rude or is Ashley just overreacting?” He asked the impatient Lanky, who snapped back in response.

“If any of you make me go late to that meeting, I promise to teach you a painful lesson,” he threatened with a menacing look on his face, and while Mark shivered in fear, Ashley looked unfazed.

“I will not leave here except for your brother apologizing to the bartender. He was rude and disrespectful, no one should be treated that way,” Ashley retorted with a serious expression on his face, and Lanky turned to look at him, his eyes blazing with fury.

At this point, Maverick was starting to feel bad, he thought that Lanky would punish Ashley for talking back at him, and he internally blamed himself as the cause. Surprisingly after staring at each other silently for a while, Lanky sighed, and the look in his eyes softened.

“Fine, Mark, apologize to him, and let's get the hell out of here,” Lanky growled, turning to look at his brother who looked like he had just sucked on a bitter lemon.

“Wait, what, but brother, I was not….”

Lanky didn't allow his brother to complete his sentences before he gave him a dagger gaze, if the look could kill, Mark would have dropped dead at that moment.

Maverick wanted to interrupt them, to tell them that he didn't care about an apology, instead, they should purchase an expensive wine, but he was too nervous to talk.

“I’m sorry,” Mark said with a cold voice after a momentary silence, he looked at Maverick, his eyes threatening to harm him if they ever met privately.

Ashley looked happy, and the small smile on his face widened with happiness.

“Oh, it's fine, I don't mind,” Maverick stammered, unsure of what to say. He thought it would be better to lose his job than to get on their bad side, sadly, they've already seen his face, and even if he managed to quit the bar job, to continue his mission would be a huge problem.

“Let's go,” Lanky said curtly, and the men nodded in agreement. They all turned to leave.

‘Have they forgotten that I stopped them to ask them to buy a glass of wine for their own consumption?’ Maverick sadly wondered in his head, as he watched the men walk out of the door. He was hopeful, thinking that one of them would stop and request a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, one could only dream, and all the men left, looking annoyed and angry.

“Now that's good, you made my favorite customers furious,” Ben's husky voice thundered in his head, and he quickly turned to face him.

Maverick was too deep in thought that he forgot to listen to the movement.

“I apologize, Ben. But it's fine, I will buy the glass of wine and pay for it,” Maverick suggested, and just like how he had imagined, Ben erupted into laughter.

“I didn't ask you to sell wine to them, I said sell my most expensive wine. Also, I don't need you to buy just any wine, but my most especially wine. Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to afford it, even if your entire possession and that of your family was put for auction, you still wouldn't be able to afford it,” Ben mocked him. Maverick wanted to laugh about it, thinking Ben was joking.

‘How much is the wine? In fact, how much is all the wine available in your store?’ He was itching to ask that question, just when he would have asked something, maybe insulting, the door to the VIP section was pushed open and Ashley entered, a broad smile on his face.

Ben quickly bowed at him. “Mr Ashley, I thought you've gone, that's why I haven't come to see you. Please, I sincerely apologize for my new bartender’s behavior. I will make sure he is punished, and I will also fire him,” he said with a hoarse voice, Maverick felt sad, it felt like his mission had ended and he had failed his country.

“Oh no, don't bother. It's not your bartender's fault, Mark is still in his crucial teen stage, he knows how much his brother loves and adores him, and that's why he likes to act like a jerk to everyone,” Ashley replied, he wasn't speaking bad of Mark, if anything, he sounded like he was giving excuses for his friend's brother.

“Still, I will punish and fire him,” Ben insisted, angry that Maverick wasn't able to woo Lanky into buying wine.

“If you do that, then I will have to tell Black Wolf to get us our own bar. You know how much he hates people who don't like to listen to simple instructions,” Ashley's words sounded like a threat, and the smile on his face had disappeared as he looked at Ben.

Maverick guessed that Ben was aware of Lanky's job, and he jotted it down in his head, for future reference. If possible, he was praying that Ben's bar would also be shut down, that way, when next he's reborn, he'll never look down on anyone.

“I am sorry, sir. Trust me, Birdie High is going nowhere, he's now our permanent staff,” Ben responded, a smile on his face, and he patted Maverick on his shoulders, trying to act like he was cool with him. What people saw was Ben patting his worker's shoulders, what was really happening to Maverick was Ben squeezing his shoulders out of anger.

Ashley looked uninterested in what Ben had to say, and as he turned to face Maverick, the once-gone smile reappeared on his face. “By the way, Black Wolf, personally instructed me to buy your most expensive wine for my newly found friend,” he said, his eyes lingering on Maverick.

Maverick was shocked, he wasn't expecting one of his suspects to be really nice to him, nor had he thought that he would be a friend to a hottie.

“Oh wow, that's amazing, Black Wolf is just the best, isn't he?” Ben asked rhetorically and hit Maverick's, expecting him to appreciate Ashley, but Maverick was tongue-tied.

“Anyway, our accountant will wire you the money and every other thing needed. I am sure you know the account to text the payment details to,” Ashley said before he left, he winked at Maverick.

Maverick kept staring at Ashley till he left, he was admiring his hot features, and he realized that he had a huge crush on him.

“Oh my gosh! He is so hot, the perfect charming boyfriend,” he gasped for breath.

Ben, who had been secretly watching Maverick's expression, looked surprised. “Are you gay?” He asked curiously, and Maverick was shocked, he shook his head, wanting to say no, but stopped.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of, be proud of your sexuality,” he scolded himself internally.

Ben noticed Maverick's hesitation, and he had a smug smirk on his lips, “there's no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed, I am also gay….. actually, I'm bi,” he confessed.

Maverick felt relieved. “Wow, I thought you're a straight guy, never imagined you'd be an LGBTQ+ ally,” he said with a low voice, his eyes secretly checking out Ben's body. He was also hot, but not as hot as Ashley and Lanky.

“I think it's great to work with gay since most of my customers are men,” Ben thought aloud, and Maverick's eyes widened in surprise.

“What do you mean? Is there something else I'll be doing apart from giving wine to people?” Maverick asked, freaking out like a chicken.

“Look here kiddo, if you want to earn a lot of money, then you must be ready to compromise, and by compromise, I mean ready to please and bend to the rich men. Seeing the huge fortune you've brought for me today, I assign you to the VIP section, here, you will make millions of dollars, you will have fun with men, and you'll have power,” Ben said without waiting for Maverick's response, he left smiling maliciously.

“Have fun with men?” Maverick reasoned thoughtfully, and a broad smile spread on his face. “Thank goodness, I wouldn't be a virgin forever. At least, there is a bonus to this mission.”