Milky Coffee and Office Gossip (2 page)

“Mr. Yates?” One of the women pulled him out of his voluptuous thoughts. Yeah, right. Back to business. He had a meeting with Ed Harding, boss of the construction company. So he faced the woman and gave her a cool smile.

“Yes?”

She smiled coyly at him and pushed back her thick hair with a flick of her wrist.
Barking up the wrong tree, honey.

“Mr. Harding will return from a jobsite any moment. I’m Mandy. May I escort you to his office? Do you want a coffee or something?” She fluttered her lashes in that ridiculous fashion women sometimes used when they wanted to attract a guy. Remy just didn’t get it, although he wondered what Corey would look like with fluttering lashes.

He laughed dryly. “No, thank you. A tea would be fine. I already had enough coffee today, don’t you think?” He waved a hand down his shirt. Remy wasn’t mad at Corey. Accidents happened, and this one had given him the opportunity to ogle the sexy man.

The woman giggled again and tippy toed down the hallway on four-inch heels, swaying her hips. Remy merely rolled his eyes at her antics. Women used to hit on him. After all, he knew he was an attractive man. Her equipment didn’t interest him, nor did he have the patience to let her down easy.

So, as soon as he sat in one of Mr. Harding’s uncomfortable office chairs, he cut to the chase. “This Corey I met in the hallway, any chance that he’s gay and single?”

Mandy gave a great impression of a fish out of the water, her mouth opening and closing multiple times. She made a weird choking noise and cleared her throat repeatedly before she seemed fit to answer.

“Yes, Mr. Williams is gay. However, I recommend you stay away from him. He’s not a good man. I’ll be back with your tea.” With that she turned and walked out of the office, her nose rather high in the air. Bitch.

Huh. Corey not a good man? Not likely. The guy had looked honestly embarrassed about the incident in the hallway. Shy, too. Anyway, Remy searched for a hookup, not a man to marry. He didn’t care if Corey was a good guy as long as he knew what to do in the sack.

When faint whispers reached his ears, he straightened in his chair. Sounded like Mandy had found a kindred spirit to talk with. Again. Was there a time the woman got some work done or did her boss pay her to spread gossip?

“I can’t believe Corey dumped his coffee all over the hottie. Guess now he doesn’t stand a chance with him,” one woman tattled.

Mandy snorted un-ladylike before replying. “Oh please! That didn’t stop him with Richard. The guy had a boyfriend and Corey stalked the poor man anyway. He nearly caused them to break up with the shit he pulled.” Her voice sounded scandalized, mixed with a big portion of rightful indignation, Remy thought.

Well, well, well. Corey had stalked a colleague who had a boyfriend. Interesting. From experience, Remy knew men were easy prey when another had brushed them off in the past. They longed for someone who would make them feel desired, sexy.

Fortunately, Remy was just the man to deliver. If Corey was interested, he’d give him some steamy nights of incredible sex to boost the cutie’s ego. When Remy finished his work for the construction company, they’d part ways again, both satisfied. Win-win situation, right? An easy friends-with-benefits arrangement. If the looks Corey had cast his way were anything to go by, the younger man wouldn’t say no.

Mandy came back, serving his tea and giving him another beaming smile. She was either friendly by nature—not likely—or hoped Remy would turn out bi.

“Mr. Harding just came back. He’ll be with you in a minute.”

Remy nodded but otherwise avoided responding to her, patiently waiting for the boss man. This case wasn’t prestigious, nor would it bring much money. If Mr. Harding hadn’t been the cousin of one of the law firm’s senior partners, Remy sure as hell wouldn’t sit in the guy’s stuffy, dusty office. Remy didn’t want to piss this special partner off. He had enough problems with him as it was.

Although he’d graduated at the top of his class, finding a job hadn’t been easy. At least, not in New York where his father ruled. After his graduation, his old man had told him to turn straight or get lost. Without a second thought, Remy had uprooted his life and moved to Boston. Apart from his father, he had no family left and now he didn’t even have his father anymore. Not that he cared much. Remy had lost a bigoted ass—daddy—and gotten many hot, willing asses in exchange.

He was a tough, skilled lawyer. Considering his age of thirty-two, that fact made several of his colleagues nervous as hell. Most of them saw him as a threat, someone who could steal their jobs. To be fair, he’d do it if he ever got the chance. That was the reason one of the bosses had sent him to his cousin’s company, so the prick could snatch a prestigious case. Whatever. Remy would solve Harding’s problems as fast as possible and then move on to the next case.

If he was lucky, sweet Corey would help him to some hot, sweaty distraction.

After his interesting talk with Harding, nearly as interesting as watching a snail race, Remy strolled down the hallway on the search for Corey’s office. When he found the closed door with Corey’s nametag on it, Remy knocked and swiftly walked in.

The younger man squeaked, swiveled around in his chair, and scattered paper all over the floor. It was incredibly cute, especially when he peeked through a set of nerdy, black-rimmed glasses with those big eyes. He hadn’t worn them earlier, so Remy guessed they were reading glasses.

“Oh. Mr. Yates. May I help you?” the man asked in his soft, melodious voice. Then he fell to his knees and started picking up the papers. Remy’s lips curled up into a grin at the nice position and even nicer question. He’d love to take Corey home and see him on his knees again while he delivered a blowjob with those incredibly pouty lips.

“Yes, indeed. There’s something you can help me with,” he replied.

Corey’s eyes snapped up and gifted him with such an innocent, puzzled look that Remy found himself speechless for a few seconds.

“Uhm... what is it?” Corey asked, sounding wary. It didn’t surprise Remy, given the constant gossip that flew through the company. He guessed poor Corey had been the center of most jokes and nasty chitchat for some time now.

“Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

Remy always chose a direct approach whenever he revealed his interest in a particular man. No point in beating around the bush, right? There were way too many men out there to bother with a reluctant target that needed convincing. He hoped he wouldn’t need to convince Corey. His androgynous features and lean, tight body were exactly Remy’s type.

“Excuse me?” Corey squeaked. The man’s cheeks flushed a bright, lovely pink as he scrambled to his feet, clutching the documents in front of his chest.

Yes, just as Remy had thought. Corey wasn’t the most confident one. If he’d always been like that or slipped into the habit because of the problems with his colleagues, Remy didn’t know. It wasn’t that important either.

“Dinner, Corey. I’d like to invite you. You’re single, aren’t you?” he added just to make sure. Mandy had confirmed that Corey wasn’t in a relationship right now, but better safe than sorry. Never bedding taken men was the only rule Remy followed. His dad had been a cheater till the day his mother had taken off years ago. He’d never sink so low and sleep with cheaters. Ever.

Corey grabbed one side of his glasses and pushed them up his nose. “Uh... yeah. I’m single. But...”

“It’s Friday,” Remy swiftly interrupted the man’s rumbling. “Let me take you out. You’re a sexy man, Corey. In case you don’t have plans already, we could eat together and then see what else the evening has to offer.” He gave Corey one of his patented come-hither looks.

“Oh!” Corey’s green eyes widened to round marbles and his mouth opened in a little gasp. Then the tip of his pink tongue peeked out, slowly licking his bottom lip. “Okay. Yes. I’d like to go to dinner. Can we meet somewhere though? I... want to change clothes and take a shower first.”

Ha! Perfect. Corey seemed like an uncomplicated guy. Remy glanced at his watch, then nodded. “Do you like Italian? We could meet at Angelo’s. Say, around seven?” Angelo’s was a strategic choice. The restaurant was only five walking minutes from Remy’s apartment.

“All right,” Corey said. His gaze swept down Remy’s body and he swallowed multiple times, even licked his lips again. Oh, the poor guy was so sexually starved. Good. That promised so much fun for Remy’s night. As he rattled off the restaurant’s address, he watched Corey bending over his desk and noting it on a pad. His slacks pulled tight over his ass and...

“Thank you, Corey. I’ll see you then. Drive safely,” he added, winked, and left the man’s office. Only when he’d closed the door behind him did he give in to the urge to show his predatory grin. Sweet Corey would be his tonight. If he proved to be good in bed, Remy could keep him while working for Harding Constructions.

Corey felt close to a nervous breakdown. After returning home and barely remembering the way, which was dangerous when driving a car, he’d taken a quick shower. Enjoying the hot water, he’d argued if he should jerk off, then thought why the hell not.

First, there was no guarantee Mr. Yates, Remington, wanted to have sex. Maybe it was only a dinner date.
Yeah, right.
Second, if the guy planned to have Corey as dessert, he’d be more than ready to go again. He was twenty-three, for God’s sake, and hadn’t had sex for... Oh boy. Way too long.

Standing in front of the mirror, he dried his locks and finished them in a naughty-boy look. In the past, that had always worked well. He added only a tiny dash of eyeliner and mascara—he didn’t want to freak Remington out—then took a critical look at himself and decided it would have to do. After all, the man had come onto him and made his interest clear enough.

Deciding on his clothes only took him a second. Corey picked his favorite shirt in a vibrant teal and black slacks. Angelo’s was an upper scale restaurant, and with his date being a lawyer, Corey was sure the other man would dress immaculately.

Corey spent the twenty-minute drive worrying about everything that could go wrong. From spilling another drink over Remington, to not getting it up in case the man wanted to have sex. Okay, so the latter was utter bullshit. Corey felt so horny he could barely concentrate on driving. As for the rest...

The big possibility of Corey embarrassing himself remained. Although he wasn’t dumb, eloquence wasn’t his strongest feature. He stammered and rambled when he got nervous, and Remington made him nervous. His clumsiness wouldn’t help either.

The guy was just so gorgeous! Corey could hardly believe he was Remington’s type. But he wouldn’t have asked him out if he weren’t, right?

When he parked the car at the curb, his date was already waiting for him at the door. Remington wore a big, satisfied grin on his face that Corey returned with a shy smile. He squeaked in surprise when, instead of the handshake Corey had expected, Remington wrapped one strong arm around his waist and kissed him. Just like that!

Corey quickly clutched Remington’s shoulders for support. The kiss, short but toe-curling, left Corey slightly breathless. “Wow. It’s nice to see you, too, Remington,” he whispered and touched his lips. He wanted more of those, and not only on his lips.

Remington chuckled. “Please, call me Remy. Let’s go inside.” Like a real gentleman, he held the door open and rested his hand on the small of Corey’s back. When he even held Corey’s chair when he sat down, the evening felt more and more like a date and less like a quick hookup. Corey couldn’t help it, but his heart melted a tiny bit at Remy’s next words.

“Thank you for going out with me. The moment I saw you at the office, I wanted to get to know you.” Remy spiced his flirty words with a sensual smile and Corey’s brain short-circuited. No wonder his reply was as smart as a dried piece of bread.

“Before or after I doused you in cold coffee?” Corey asked, gasped, and quickly slapped his hand over his mouth.

To his utter astonishment, Remy didn’t look offended. He blinked a few seconds and then laughed. Not the cruel laugh Corey experienced every day at work, but the joyous kind. Remy’s silver-blue eyes sparkled with humor and Corey relaxed into his seat. Thank God, the man wasn’t a stick-in-the-mud.

“Both, actually,” Remy said, still snickering. “The way you rambled and tried to mop up the coffee... you were so cute. Too bad those two crows interrupted us.”

That had Corey sobering immediately and he looked down at the menu. “Yeah. Mandy and Rita. They don’t like me.”

“Why’s that? You seem like a friendly, polite guy. What’s not to like about you?”

“Oh...” Corey felt his cheeks getting hot and cast his date a look through his lashes. The man seemed honestly interested, so he said, “I did something stupid and... hurt somebody. I regret it, but nobody cares how often I apologize. They just go on and on.”

Fortunately, the server interrupted them to ask for their orders. Otherwise Corey probably would’ve started to blubber. If one wanted to lure a man, either for the sake of sex or more, crying and sobbing were never a good choice of action.

Deep down, Corey longed for a loving partnership. He could freely admit that he was one of those gay guys who preferred commitment, picket fences, and two-point-five kids instead of partying all night long. He wouldn’t admit it in front of Remy though. Not right away. If the guy didn’t want fences, Corey would like to get laid, at least.

They both ordered their food and drinks, then Remy placed his tanned, bigger hand on top of Corey’s. “I’m sorry they’re giving you a hard time. As far as I’m concerned, everybody deserves a second chance. Wait, you didn’t murder someone, did you?”

Corey grinned at the man’s false, shocked expression and relaxed even more. He knew his dimples were showing as he smiled. “No, I didn’t. Thank you for saying that stuff about second chances though. So... what do you do when you’re not fighting against criminals? Or fending off crazy office guys with lethal coffee cups,” he added with a little snicker.