Every Shade by Nora Phoenix

4

They sat like that, lost in their own thoughts it seemed, until the intercom switched on again and that same metallic voice announced the elevators were fixed and would start moving any second. The intercom had barely turned off when the lights flickered back on. Tris blinked a few times to adjust his eyes, then reached for his phone to turn the flashlight off. His battery was down to eleven percent, so he'd have to charge it soon.

"You okay now?" he asked Samuel.

Samuel scrambled to his feet, and Tris saw with regret that his gorgeous suit now had stains all over his butt and knees. He hauled himself up, then without thinking, started patting down Samuel to get the worst of the stains off.

When he was done, he raised his head and met Samuel's eyes, which were dancing with laughter. "That was such a dad-thing for you to do," he said. "But so freaking sweet. Thank you."

Tris groaned with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about it or ask for permission to touch you. I saw the stains on your suit and wanted to see if I could make them a little better."

Samuel placed a finger on his lips, preventing him from saying more. "I mean it, thank you. It was super sweet. "

With a jerk, the elevator started moving, slowly bringing them to the twelfth floor. Samuel let go of Tris’s mouth, and Tris put a soft hand on Samuel's shoulder, meeting his eyes. "Are you ready? You can do this. Don't let him intimidate you. And don't forget that I'm here to step in if needed. I won't let you face him alone."

He heard and saw Samuel suck in a deep breath, and then the man nodded. "Yes. And thank you."

Tris had somehow expected Evan to be waiting for them when they got out of the elevator, considering he had to have been expecting Samuel about an hour ago. But when they stepped into the hallway, it was empty. Samuel's shoulders dropped, and Tris realized he must've had the same expectation. It drove a fresh stab of anger through him. A cute, sweet guy like Samuel deserved so much better than this asshole.

He followed Samuel as he made his way to the lobby of the law firm, where a receptionist gave him a friendly smile. "Samuel, how nice to see you again. Evan has been expecting you."

Then her eyes switched to Tris. "Can I help you?"

For a second, Tris hesitated, but then Samuel said, "He's with me."

Her eyes widened a fraction, but Tris had to give her major props for not losing her professional smile. "Go on in then," she said.

Samuel's posture was stiff as he preceded Tris into an office, opening the door with slightly more force than necessary. Tris had been to the firm twice before but always in a conference room, not in Evan’s personal office.

"Where the hell have you been?" Evan said, swiveling his chair to face them across from his desk. The guy didn't even bother to get up to properly to greet his boyfriend, Tris thought. "I called you maybe ten times." Then he spotted Tris. "What's he doing here?"

It took Samuel a second or two to react, and all that time, Tris was holding his breath, hoping that he wouldn't lose his courage.

"I was stuck on the elevator, which, as you know, doesn't have cell reception. It would've been easy for you to find out, if you had bothered to call to the lobby downstairs, since I had already signed in."

A tingle danced down Tris's spine at Samuel's arctic tone. He was off to a good start.

"Oh, well, I was busy working, so I didn't notice until a few minutes ago. It's a damn shame, because we’re too late now to make our reservation. But that still doesn't explain what he's doing here?"

Tris was curious how Samuel would explain his presence, but the man chose a surprisingly effective strategy. "I have no idea. He followed me here. But we have far more important things to discuss."

Tris saw Evan’s attitude change, the man apparently picking up the first signal that there was trouble in paradise. "What's going on?” he asked, his tone suddenly much softer, and his face losing some of its sharpness.

Samuel straightened his shoulders and balled his hands into fists. "What's going on is that I discovered you’ve been cheating on me, sleeping around with fuck knows how many guys."

Evan did get up from his chair now, quickly making his way around his large, mahogany desk that Tris thought looked preposterous for a guy his age. "Who told you that? Where did you even get that idea?"

He wasn't denying it, Tris thought. That made sense from his point of view. He wanted Samuel to share details first, of course, so he wouldn’t cop to more than he had to.

"Does it matter how I found out? The bottom line is that it's true. You've been cheating on me, and not just once, but many times. How could you, Evan? Did I mean so little to you?"

Samuel's voice broke again, and Tris had to force himself to stick to his role of observer and not try to help him or comfort him, as he so desperately wanted to.

"How can you say that? You know how much I love you. I thought we were happy together," Evan said, and dammit, he was one hell of an actor.

"You're not denying it," Samuel said, his voice dropping even more in temperature. If his tone got any icier, the windows would start showing frost patterns. "So I'm asking you straight out, Evan: Is it true? Is it true that you cheated on me?"

Something flashed over Evan's face that was so fast Tris wondered if he had imagined it. But what he had spotted had been so dark that his subconscious was putting his body on full alert. Something was wrong, something far beyond a simple lovers’ spat.

"It didn't mean anything, Sam. It was maybe once or twice, and I never meant to hurt you. It was just blowing off some steam, nothing important. You know I love you."

Before Samuel could even react, Evan reached into the pocket of his pinstriped suit, pulling out a little velvet box. It seemed Samuel would've gotten his wish, had he not discovered the cheating. As much as he hated having wounded him unintentionally with his remarks, Tris was so glad he'd found out now, before Evan had asked him to marry him.

"I had plans for us tonight, honey,” Evan said, his voice dropping to a soft, seductive whisper. "Please, don't let a little mistake from me ruin our future together."

Tris took a little step to the right to make sure he could see what happened. Samuel seemed frozen to the spot as Evan flipped open the little box, revealing an undoubtedly expensive ring that flashed brightly.

"Please, honey,” Evan said in a pleading tone that made Tris almost throw up in his mouth.

At the same time, he held his breath, waiting anxiously to see how Samuel would react. He’d seemed so angry in the elevator, so convinced he was ending things. But what if Evan got to him? Tris wasn't sure if their relationship could be categorized as abusive, but the psychology had to be the same with how hard it could be for people to believe bad things about a person they loved.

Then Samuel spoke. "I don't know what's more insulting: that you call cheating on me a little mistake, that you lie to me and say it was only once or twice when we both know it was way more than that, or that you think that knowing all of this, I would still marry you. Fuck you, Evan. Fuck you, fuck your ring, and fuck your lies. We're done."

God, that should not be as hot and sexy as it was. Tris was not only tempted to break out in applause for that absolutely phenomenal speech, but also physically aroused, which had to be the weirdest thing ever. Then Evan’s hand flashed, grabbing Samuel’s wrist in what looked to be a painful grip, judging by the wince on Samuel's face.

"You don't mean that," Evan said, all the sexiness gone from his voice, replaced by menacing steel.

"Ow, you're hurting me," Samuel said, his voice rising in pitch. "Evan, let go of my arm." He tried to break himself free from Evan's grip, but the lawyer wouldn't let go.

Tris stepped forward. "Let him go."

Evan's eyes flashed toward him. "Stay the fuck out of this, Gabelman."

Tris took another step forward until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Samuel, Evan still holding on to his wrist. "Too late now. I'm already involved. Let go of his wrist."

Evan's eyes narrowed. "If you think that you've seen the worst of what I can do with that lawsuit against your pathetic company, think again. You have five seconds to walk out of this office and forget what you saw, or I promise you, I will come after you with everything I've got, and your company will be done for."

He seemed to have forgotten Samuel was still in the room, despite holding on to the man. Tris could see it, the sheer horror on Samuel's face, and then the reaction on Evan’s as he realized he'd shown too much of his true nature to his now ex-boyfriend.

"Evan!" Samuel cried out, and that one word was stuffed with repulsion.

Tris was done being patient with Evan. He feigned a move to the right, and when Evan reacted, Tris clamped down on the wrist holding Samuel and turned it upward. Evan had no choice but to let go, and he did so with a loud curse. Tris didn't let go of him, but bent his arm backward until the man let out a grunt of pain.

"You really need to learn the meaning of the word no," Tris said, forcing himself to keep his voice level. He looked over to Samuel, who was rubbing his wrist, tears in his eyes. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Samuel said. "Thank you for stepping in, sir."

Tris had to applaud him for keeping a cool head and continuing the pretense of not knowing each other. "You're welcome. If you’re ready to leave, I’ll walk you out to make sure you're safe."

If looks could kill, the deadly glare Evan sent him would've incinerated him on the spot. Good thing Tris didn't give a flying fuck what the man thought of him.

"Oh, I'm more than ready to go. Thank you. I would appreciate your escort," Samuel said.

"All right, let's go," Tris said, letting go of Evan's wrist.

He'd known the man would come after him. It was so predictable, it was almost funny. But the lawyer, no matter how smart and cunning he was, was no match for Tris, who made his living working with his hands. He'd been involved in more than a few brawls and had broken up quite a few between his men as well. Construction guys weren't known for solving arguments with words, after all.

So when Evan's fist came for him, he ducked, then swiped his right foot against the man's legs, sending him crashing to the floor. Evan went down with a loud grunt, which was music to Tris's ears. He didn't even give him a second look, but instead nodded at Samuel. "As I said, time to go."

Once they were in the hallway, Tris signaled to Samuel they should hurry, and luck was on their side, as the elevator arrived almost instantly for once. They didn't say a word until they had rushed through the downstairs lobby, outside into the street. Tris wasn't ready to let Samuel go just yet, and judging by the look of panic on the other man's face, he felt the same.

On impulse, Tris grabbed his hand, then pulled him close to him. "Let's get out of this neighborhood."

They walked three blocks before Tris realized that Samuel was crying. Not big, violent sobs, but sad, silent tears that streamed down his face. One look at him and Tris was a goner. All he wanted was to make him feel better, to take away the pain. And so he pulled him close, then hugged him, drawing that slender body against his and burying his face in Samuel's hair.

"You were so brave in there," he said. "I'm so proud of you."

Samuel didn't respond for maybe a minute, quietly sobbing against Tris's chest. And so Tris held him, as people all around them hurried to their destinations, barely sparing them a glance.

"What do you want to do?" Tris asked Samuel when the sobs quieted down. Samuel was still hidden against his chest, but Tris could feel some of the tension leave his body. "How about we get some food into you, hmm? You must be starving right now, and food always makes you feel better."

"I'd love that."

Samuel's voice was barely above a whisper, but it had no trouble reaching Tris's ears. "Sounds good. I know a great burger restaurant. Nothing fancy, but they make the best burgers in the city."

For some reason, Samuel let out laugh at that. "I'd love a good burger. Thank you."

Tris grabbed his neck and tilted Samuel's head back. "How about you stop with thanking me now? It's my pleasure, so forget about it, okay?"

Samuel nodded.

"Okay, burgers it is."