Cerci - Met with them

“Mr. Stark said you forgot your things and to tell you to come up.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, moving back toward the elevators and hoping I still had a job when I went up.

Of course I would still have a job. I hadn’t done anything. Who cares if they were having sex; it was their place, right? Wait. Was one of them not out yet? Was that the reason for the non-disclosure? Or were they having an affair? Were the two men married? Or maybe politicians? Someone high up the food chain? The dark haired one had pulled off a tie...

So, Cerci, in your little world, all men in suits worked for the government?

“Urgh…” I groaned and rubbed the side of my head. I was trying to fight back the headache I was giving myself when the elevator opened.

I stared at the double doors with the padlock at the end of the hall.

“Error, password denied.”

Just as I was about to panic, the door opened slightly. Staring down at me with the brightest green eyes and a sexy five o’clock shadow was the light haired man. He took the shirts from me at the same time his eyes wandered down my body for what seemed like forever. They finally settled on my face and he smirked.

“Hello Ms. Chapman,” he said with a thick English accent that made me feel like he was trying to seduce me just by saying ‘hello’. He opened the door wider, exposing his bare chest to me, forcing me to not only stare at his body once again but also at the tattoos he had collected. I couldn’t help but look. He had a five star constellation on his inner bicep, a dream catcher on his shoulder, Chinese lettering on the side of his abs, a cross on his chest, and hovering over it were Roman numerals.

“You done staring, sweetheart?” he asked.

“You stared, too,” I said impulsively, and the moment I did, I regretted it. This was what Sandra was talking about: my secret annoying desire to always get the last word in.

“Touché,” he said while one of his eyebrows rose. “Are you going to come in?”

“Yes, shit. Sorry.” What is wrong with me?

My eyes immediately went to the man now standing at the window. He was dark haired and clean-shaven, and this time the blue eyes that had glared at me earlier were focused on his phone. He checked something before nodding. I noticed that in the few minutes I was gone, he had managed to put his shirt and tie back on.

“I got it, Nick. Yeah, I’ll read it before coming in. Tell Carrie I want to go over the program when I get—I don’t fucking care if she’s done it. I’m saying we are doing it again, so do it again.” His voice was calm yet harsh, a slight Boston accent, which meant he had grown up here but had most likely been trained to speak ‘properly’. He hung up then stared back at me. I noticed he looked me over just like the other one had.

“You’re the maid?” he asked like he couldn’t believe it.

“Yes.”

“How long does it take for you to clean this damn place all by yourself?”

“I’m sorry, but is there anything I can refer to you two as?” It would at least make me feel like less of an outsider if I knew their names. “Or just ‘Boss’ works,” I added in when neither of them answered.

“You don’t know who I am?” Angry eyes glared at me, causing his lover to snicker as he came over and fell back on the couch.

“Should I?” I knew it. He was a goddamn politician.

“I’m Bernard Stark,” he finally stated. I was sure I had heard that name before, but I couldn’t place it. He reached down and grabbed the remote control, turning on the large flat screen to the left of me. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to show me until he appeared on screen in a fitted black suit and navy tie as part of some news report intro.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I’m Michael Madison, and we are going to get right to it. Only a day after Bernard Stark broke the story on The Stark Report on Governor MacDowell’s scandal, the district attorney has released a statement that they will be prosecuting—”

“She got it. Turn the damn show off.” His lover groaned and turned off the television. When I turned back, he winked at me. “If you like, you can call me ‘Boss’. I like the way you say it.”

I was confused. It felt like he was flirting with me, but in my line of work, I hadn’t come across many gay men. Maybe my radar wasn’t as sharp as it should have been.

“The Brit here is GeorgeClement, head chef of the Wes Hill—”

“This is the asshole who charges almost three hundred dollars per fucking person?” I snapped, remembering how many times I’d seen receipts from there. jon had the habit of trying to live the high life at the expense of his club and, most importantly, me. I was so angry that it took me a second to notice the expressions on their faces. The words I had just said came back into my head, and I wished the ground would open up so I could just sink away from there.

“I’m so…”

“No, it’s all right.” Georgelaughed, shaking his head. “It’s meant to be ridiculous. The higher the price, the greater the desire people have to eat there. It also helps that I’m a half decent cook.”

“Don’t be humble. It doesn’t look good on you,” Bernard muttered, reaching for a printed piece of paper on the table.

“Fine love, I’m a fucking badass in the kitchen, and if you ate at my restaurant, Ms. Chapman, you’d orgasm with every damn bite.”

My breath was stuck in my throat as I stared back at him. I could feel my ears getting hot. However, Max stepped into my line of sight, and his eyes were hard, sharp, and unwavering. He flashed the document he had picked up.

“Now that we have been introduced, I hope you recall this,” he said, and I saw my signature on the non-disclosure I had signed a month ago. “I didn’t call you back up here for us to make nice and get along. You saw something today and I never want it repeated to anyone, because if it is, so help me God, it will be the end of you. Are we clear?”

His nostrils flared, and in one second, he went from being cool and collected to almost manic. He looked like he’d even consider killing me if I didn’t agree.

“I know how to keep my mouth shut,” I replied, doing my best to stand up confidently.

“Good. That’s it for the day. Take your things and get out. The new pass code will be emailed to you.”

I nodded, reaching for my purse and jacket. I didn’t look back. My mind was spinning. I just needed air…and to get as far away as possible from Georgeand Bernard.

They were opposites, like fire and ice, and I couldn’t take the swift temperature changes.