Blinking at the empty corner of his desk, Pen realized that he had finished all the reports, including the three new ones. Maybe some internal bitching was what he needed to make the work go by quickly. He had to grin at the thought. It certainly helped that the phone only rang once while working on the reports and nobody arrived for an appointment. The door chimed to announce a visitor, which made Pen laugh to himself, until he saw who the visitor was. Ryan Sealey. Agent Ryan Sealey to be precise.
Just as he prepared himself to blast the man, one of the executives entered the reception area with a client. Pen turned his attention to Ryan with his most professional look. “Welcome to Classical Advertising, Sir. How may I direct you?”
“I’m here to speak with you, Pen. There are things we need to discuss.”
“With me?” Pen slid his eyes to Ms. Roman for a second, and then returned them to Ryan at a point just off his left ear. “I’m sure there’s nothing to discuss between us, since it doesn’t seem to pertain to advertising. Anything else, you will have to find me when I’m not at work. Sir.”
“Is there a problem here?” Ms. Roman arrived next to them after seeing the client off. “Perhaps I can be of assistance.”
“No, Ma’am, but thank you. This is Agent Sealey with the FDPA and he was just leaving so I can get back to work.”
“FDPA? Oh, yes! Well I just hope he’s here to do something about that boyfriend of yours. Take the rest of the day off, but come in tomorrow morning. We’ve been talking and Andrea just isn’t working out. We hope you’ll take the job full-time rather than part-time. Ring me up when you arrive, Pen and we’ll talk about everything. See you.”
Was the whole world against him? Apparently so. All he wanted was to be left in peace to live his own life the best he could. Instead, Ryan was there. Handsome, strong, beautiful Ryan. Even if all his past boyfriends resembled the man, none of them came close to the power Ryan radiated so effortlessly. I will not embarrass myself. I won’t look at him as if he’s the tastiest dessert. I will be short and abrupt and send him on his way as soon as possible. Pen sighed, knowing it wouldn’t be so easy. Tomorrow he would quit this job and find another. That way, neither Ryan nor Wade would be able to find him so easily.
Shrugging into his jacket before coming around the reception desk, conscious that his bruises might be visible through his white shirt, Pen walked by Ryan and out onto the sidewalk. When the taller man, the much taller man, joined him, he crossed his arms and glared.
“What do you want? I told you, there is nothing I need your help with. I’ve taken care of myself for a long time now and can keep doing it. Just leave me alone, Ryan.”
“Pen, I just wanted to apologize for what happened. I couldn’t fathom that Benjie would do such a thing, to anyone.”
“Apology accepted. It likely would have happened even if you’d chosen to believe me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some errands I can take care of right away, since I’m done work early.” Pen began walking towards the stores the next block over. He held his breath, hoping against hope it would be just that easy getting rid of Ryan.
“Let me treat you to dinner, to make up for it. Please Pen, we used to be kind of friends. Dinner and coffee, then I’ll take you home.”
No. Definitely not. This is a really bad idea. “Fine. Dinner and coffee, this one time only, and then I find my own way home.”
Ryan grinned at him and Pen thought he might just start drooling. When Ryan smiled like that, it showed his teeth and the hint of a dimple on the left side of his mouth. He looked positively delicious. More than a little nervous, Pen quietly followed his companion to a beautiful car. It was one of the new retro models, identical in appearance to the ’69 Mustang, but with all the modern amenities. It used the new clean fuel cells and had the smart roof. This type of car Pen wanted desperately to have but knew he could never afford to own. Besides, even if he could afford it, it would be silly to buy a car he couldn’t drive.
He couldn’t help himself. Pen ran a hand along the line of the roof, not quite touching in case he should mar the beautiful finish. He knew he looked like a kid presented with a chocolate feast when he turned wide eyes to Ryan, but he couldn’t help himself. He never could have imagined anyone allowing so close to such a car.
Ryan winked and unlocked the door for him. The interior looked like it belonged to a different car. The outside was red and the inside was all black and silver. There were dials for everything from the stereo system to the satellite navigator. Pen glanced over the seven-point shifter, completely clueless about that, and saw individual heat controls for each seat and the feet. One small panel puzzled Pen until he leaned closer and read the indicator. Not one but two automatic driving setting. How could someone need two drive settings? Both were set to the off position, meaning Ryan drove himself. Not too many people did that anymore, even if they all had to learn.
When Pen sat in the seat, it automatically adjusted for his body. Oh man, this was amazing. Never in his life had he been so comfortable in a car. His feet reached the floor comfortably and the seatbelt didn’t cut into his neck. The dashboard even lowered slightly so he had a clear view ahead. Nobody he knew would ever believe he’d had such a treat. If he even tried to describe, they would dismiss it as some grand fantasy or dream.
They’d been driving for a few minutes when Pen looked around and thought to wonder where Ryan was taking him for dinner. His stomach twisted when Ryan smiled again and told him. “I thought we’d go to my place. I already have a delivery scheduled, and I always get enough to have a few days of leftovers. Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty.”
Ryan loved the expressions of awe and longing Pen displayed, most likely unconsciously, about his car. His grandparents and parents had split the cost of the car for his last birthday. It still amazed him and he got to drive it almost every day. As a kid, he’d had pictures of every single model of Mustang on his walls, but the ’69s were always his favourite, particularly the Mach 1. Trust his dad to remember that and get the retro model that matched. There were lots of functions he didn’t use, but that didn’t matter. He’d use them all right now if Pen asked him to.
When he told Pen they would eat at his place, the expression changed to something he couldn’t decipher. The blond nodded slowly as he turned to look out the side window. Maybe taking Pen home wasn’t a good idea. It did seem kind of sudden, now that he thought about it, but it wasn’t as though they were complete strangers. They’d first met about sixteen years ago, even if their contact had been extremely limited in that time. Ryan could only remember five actual meetings off the top of his head.
“Is that all right with you? Having dinner at my place, I mean.”
He received a long look before getting an answer. “Yeah, that’s fine, Ryan. Hmm, this looks kind of familiar. I think I’ve been here before.”