Flipping the Switch by Brigham Vaughn

ONE

Jude Maddox took one look at the empty storefront and resisted the urge to kick something. The front door should have been propped open while a construction crew streamed in and out. They were supposed to be tearing up the old flooring and laying new, but the door was tightly shut, the lights were off, and there wasn’t a workman in sight.

“Goddamn pieces of shit,” he muttered.

This was the second time this week. It had been happening for nearly a month, in fact, and Jude didn’t have to pull up the calendar on his phone to know they were behind schedule. He’d been worried last week. Today, he’d officially flown right past worried into stressed out and pissed off.

He stuck his key into the lock and a flake of paint fluttered down from the door to hit the concrete sidewalk. Damn it, they were supposed to already be done with the exterior work. The weather was only going to get worse, and they were running out of time.

The storefront along 1^st street had been vacant for a while. The vacation town of Pendleton Bay was thriving, but according to his real estate agent, a family illness had led to the previous owners closing up shop. They’d always planned to reopen but as the years stretched on, it had never happened, and they’d finally decided to sell. Jude had come along at just the right time to open his restaurant.

If he could ever get the damn construction finished.

He chewed at his lip a moment, debating what to do next. He’d tried talking reasonably to the project manager. Then resorted to wheedling and cajoling. Last week he’d gone for stern, which had gotten him no further. His lawyer was currently digging through the contract to see if the company was legally in breach but the thought of the headaches that would cause made him cranky. And the idea of trying to find someone new filled his stomach with dread.

Jude just couldn’t understand what he’d been doing so wrong.

He was paying them plenty of money. Why wouldn’t they just work?

Jude paced as he contemplated his options. His father, Jackson Maddox, was a real estate mogul, so he had plenty of experience flipping properties and dealing with contractors, but if Jude went to him, he’d have to admit he’d failed.

That he was in over his head and had no fucking idea what he was doing.

He was a chef, for god’s sake. He should have just partnered with someone and let them deal with the headaches of getting the business portion of the restaurant off the ground.

The problem was, Jude had very specific ideas of what he wanted, and he wasn’t always great at compromise.

He scrolled through his phone contacts, looking for someone who could talk him down from the ledge of panic. Most of the numbers were old and out of date. At least half were former hookups or play partners, essentially useless now. He stopped at Preston’s name and considered calling and bitching to his closest friend.

Preston Griggs was a childhood friend. He and Jude had grown up together, lost contact for a little while, then reconnected at a munch in Fort Benton. Both Jude and Donovan—Jude’s boyfriend at the time—had been struck by Preston’s green eyes, dark brown hair, and chiseled jaw and had invited him to play with them.

They’d had loads of fun with Preston—or at least Jude had—but long after they’d stopped hooking up with Preston, and Jude and Donovan broke up, Jude and Preston had stayed in touch.

Even after Preston became a household name.

One day Preston was working as a barista, the next he was being flown to Hollywood for a screen test. Now most of the world knew him as Preston Graves—an actor with a recurring part in a popular TV show.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to be much help with Jude’s current dilemma. Preston had years of experience at listening to Jude bitch, but while he was a good, loyal friend, he was busy as hell and knew fuck all about construction.

Jude sighed and kept scrolling, pausing again when he reached Archie Shaw’s name. Jesus, he hadn’t talked to him in years either. Preston, Archie, Jude, and their friend Blake had all grown up together and Archie had always been a nice guy.

Archie and Jude’s fathers were best friends and their families had vacationed together when they were kids. Jude and Archie had often spent time together in the summers. Swimming or—as they got older—going out on the boat. Jude remembered lying out on the deck of the Shaw family’s sailboat, smoking weed with Archie and talking about their plans for the future.

Archie had also ignored the family business—construction as opposed to real estate—and gone into medicine.

At least his family was proud of him.

Wait.Jude stilled. He and Archie might have lost touch after they’d graduated, but his father, Logan, had been running Shaw Construction Corp. since before Jude and Archie were born.

They worked on high-end corporate buildings, often in Fort Benton, Grand Rapids, or Chicago, but Logan definitely had the experience and the industry knowledge to give him some advice on how to proceed. Jude had always liked Logan, and found his easy-going demeanor welcome. At the very least, Logan would have an idea of how to deal with these people and get the ball rolling again.

Hmm. Jude should still have Logan’s number somewhere in his phone. He’d used it liberally when he helped his mother plan his dad’s fiftieth birthday party. Which was seven years ago almost, but he’d kept in contact with Logan via text after. It had been a while since they’d exchanged messages though. Maybe a year or more.

Jude made a triumphant noise when he found Logan Shaw’s number buried in his contacts. He hit dial and held his breath, crossing his fingers Logan hadn’t changed his number.

It rang several times but just as Jude thought he might need to leave a message, someone picked up.

“Jude Maddox.” Logan’s tone was warm. “Good to hear from you. How’ve you been?”

“Not great.” Jude dragged a hand through his hair. “But let’s leave my love life out of this.”

Logan laughed, which was exactly why Jude had said it. “It can’t be that dire.”

“Oh, I assure you it can. But setting that aside, I’m in a pickle and it’s construction-related.”

“Ahh, now I know why you called me out of the blue.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“So, you didn’t just want to hear my voice?” Logan teased.

Jude chuckled. “Well, maybe that too.”

His relationship with Logan was interesting. Not flirty per se, but they’d always joked and bantered a lot and that had only increased as the years passed. He remembered a particularly enjoyable conversation at his father’s birthday party, in fact. But he hadn’t seen Logan since.

“Tell me your construction woes so I can figure out how to fix them,” Logan said, drawing Jude back to the present.

“Did my parents tell you about the restaurant I’m opening?”

“No, they didn’t mention it.”

Jude looked skyward, annoyed but not surprised by the news as he stared at the dusty exposed ductwork. His father had never been what could be called enthusiastic about his career as a chef, so it wasn’t a shock that he didn’t brag about his son’s accomplishments to his friends. Opening a restaurant in Pendleton Bay was nothing to brag about. Chicago, maybe. But a small vacation town in Michigan wasn’t impressive enough for his tastes.

“I bought a property in Pendleton Bay,” Jude explained. “It’s in a great location and the town is booming. I ran all the numbers, and the projections look great. The problem is my contractor’s dicking me around and I’m tired of it. I have a deadline and—”

“I get it. Not everyone is as reliable as yours truly.”

Jude chuckled. “They’re not.”

“So you need me to come fix this mess for you?” Jude could picture Logan sitting in his office, feet up on his desk, a hand rubbing his short hair. His dark brown eyes would be warm and his smile easy.

So maybe Jude had always had a teensy little crush on Logan Shaw. But that was beside the point. “I do,” he said, his tone earnest rather than flirty. “I don’t want to fuck this up before I even get started.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that,” Logan said. “I promise, everything is fixable.”

“Sure, for a price.” Jude grimaced. He’d inherited a good chunk of change from his grandfather but even for him, money didn’t grow on trees. He could absorb the restaurant operating at a loss for the first year or two, but if he didn’t turn a profit eventually, he’d be in deep shit.

Which would lead to a lot of ‘I told you so’s.’ Jude had always been the fuckup of the family. While his sister, Katrina, had embraced the Maddox family destiny of getting involved in real estate, marrying up, and popping out two-point-five happy blond children, Jude had gone another route.

Chef. Gay. Unable to settle down.

Jude immediately twisted his thoughts away from that topic. No, now was not the time to think about his ex-boyfriend Donovan Ryan and how badly that had gone. Was it pathetic Jude had ended up in the same town, opening the restaurant he and Donovan had always planned to build together?

“Jude?”

“Hmm? Sorry. Just got up in my head about something,” he admitted.

“Well, focus on me for a moment. I need you to listen.” There was a firm command to Logan’s tone that made Jude straighten his shoulders. It also caused that little flutter of interest that always perked him up when he thought about someone else taking charge. Not that Logan was getting bossy with him for kinky reasons, but at this point, Jude would take a bit of dominance in his life any way he could get it.

He was making a fucking mess of things on his own.

“Yes, sir,” Jude teased.

“Hey now, watch it there.”

Jude grinned, even though Logan couldn’t see him through the phone. “I’m listening.”

“Are you free this afternoon?”

“Yeah. It’s not like I have anywhere else to be,” Jude said with a sigh. He’d quit his job to work on this restaurant opening, but he was hemorrhaging money and had way too much time on his hands. A dangerous combination.

“Text me the address of your new restaurant and I’ll come by to check out the space and figure out how to get the ball rolling again. I have a meeting at one, but I should be able to hit the road by two.”

“Thank you,” Jude said, feeling a little of the anxiety about this project slip away. “This is a huge weight off my mind.”

“I won’t let you flounder, I promise.”

“I mean it, thank you. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Glad to help. I promise, we’ll get you up and running in time for your grand opening, Jude.”

Logan made it sound so easy. Like he’d just swoop in and fix all Jude’s problems. God, if only he would.

Jude thanked him again, then hung up and took a seat on a discarded stack of flooring nearby.

Logan might be able to fix the unholy mess Jude’s restaurant was in. But fixing the rest of Jude’s issues? That was too big of a job even for Logan Shaw.

* * *

Several hours later as Jude waited for Logan to arrive, he sat in the empty storefront window and scrolled his favorite kink app in search of a hookup. Not that he had any immediate plans for anything, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared. And while a blowjob or a good hard fuck wouldn’t fix his problems, they wouldn’t make them any worse, either. At least he’d be less tightly wound.

Jude might have been heartbroken after things went to hell with Donovan, but that didn’t mean he’d been celibate. As far as he was concerned, it was possible to be sad and getting laid at the same time.

He winced when he saw he had missed a couple of messages from BigSubbyBottom, or Tony, as Jude knew him. He lived up to his username and was gorgeous to boot, with a sweet, shy demeanor that was an intriguing contrast to his muscular body. Jude had thoroughly enjoyed playing with him, but he had a vague memory of seeing his messages come through and clearing the notifications with the intention to get around to them later. He hadn’t, because life had gotten crazy and his head was too full of this renovation to think about anything that wasn’t immediately on fire.

Guilt stabbed at Jude. Tony was a complete cinnamon roll of a guy and he deserved better than Jude’s half-assed attention. He glanced at the clock but it was only five minutes to his appointment with Logan. Not enough time to message Tony without fear of interruption so Jude made a mental note to message him later tonight.

He glanced up from his phone in time to see a man pause on the sidewalk across the street.

Jude perked up at the sight of the snug-fitting blue suit, perfectly tailored to show off the man’s muscular body. He was half-turned away, but his silver hair gleamed in the sunlight and a matching short beard set off a strong jaw. That was about all Jude could see from here but what he could see looked nice.

Hello, silver fox—please come my way.

A moment later the man pivoted, heading straight toward his restaurant. Jude’s jaw dropped as he realized just who the man was.

Woah.

That smokin’ hot silver fox was Logan Shaw.

When did that happen?

Logan had always been attractive. As a young gay kid, of course Jude had noticed. He’d looked up to Mr. Shaw as a teenager and found him appealing in every way. But the last time Jude had seen him a few years ago, he’d looked handsome if a bit tired, and starting to go a little soft around the middle. Which, hey, no judgment, but this current version of Logan? Wow.

Logan must have caught a glimpse of him in the window, because he smiled, lifting his hand in greeting. Jude scrambled to his feet to unlock the front door as he approached.

“Hey there,” Jude said with a relieved smile.

“Hey yourself. It’s good to see you.” Logan leaned in for a hug and Jude enjoyed being pressed up against his firm chest and the rich scent of his cologne. That was new too. Rowr.

“So, you look good,” Jude said. “New workout regime?”

Logan laughed softly, dragging a hand through his silver-shot hair. Jude had always liked Logan’s face and his square jaw, but the beard made him a least three hundred percent hotter.

Woah, down, boy, Jude reminded himself. That’s your dad’s best friend you’re perving over and he’s here to save your sorry ass, not fuck it. But Jude couldn’t resist teasing just a little. “I like the hair and beard too. Very nice.”

“Ahh yeah, well I decided to change things up a little after my divorce.” Logan gave him a little shrug.

Jude had known Logan and Ann had divorced but he hadn’t seen Logan since then. They’d texted occasionally but Jude hadn’t seen him in person and it had been ages since he’d spoken to Archie or snooped around on his social media.

“How’s that going? Dating anyone new?” With looks like that, money, and a great personality, Logan had to be drowning in sexy younger women.

He shook his head. “Sadly, no. I’m a little bit rusty at all this.”

Archie’s parents had been married as long as Jude’s, and Jude tried to imagine what it must be like to date again after thirty-odd years of marriage. Yikes. It had been hard enough for him after nearly a decade with Donovan and they’d had an open relationship. Well, sort of. Open-ish.

It was complicated.

“Ahh well, with looks like that, I’m sure you’ll find someone in no time,” Jude said with a wink.

Logan made a face. “That’s a conversation for another day. Tell me about this place of yours instead. The outside needs some work, I see.”

“Ugh.” Jude made a face too, but for a totally different reason. “The outside, the inside … I am pretty sure there’s a fifth dimension here that needs to be worked on as well. I’m afraid I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.”

Logan glanced around the empty room, a contemplative look on his face. “I don’t know. The bones are good.”

“The bones are good,” Jude agreed. “I’m just afraid the rest of the carcass is a hot mess. Possibly decaying.”

Logan grinned. “You always had a way with words, Jude.”

“Gotta have a fallback when the years of eating my own delicious food obliterate the six pack and all my hair falls out,” he said with a sigh.

“Wow, look who’s gotten jaded and cynical.” Logan’s dark brown eyes twinkled.

“Nah, I’ve always been this way.”

They both laughed but Logan sobered. “Okay, walk me through the place so I can see where we’re at.”

“Sure.” Jude gestured to the front of the space. “This will obviously be the dining area. I’ve got blueprints you can look at later but for now I’ll just give you the basics.” Logan listened intently as Jude described the dining and bar space, nodding and asking intelligent questions. But he grimaced when they reached the back. “You don’t have a kitchen.”

“Ahh, no,” Jude said. “I don’t.”

“Kind of important in a restaurant, isn’t it?” Logan shot him a concerned look like he thought Jude might have really lost his marbles.

Jude winced. He might be right. “We’re building it from scratch.”

Logan whistled softly. “Shit, that’s a hell of an expense.”

“It is.” Jude sighed, thinking about the numbers he’d been quoted. It would have been so much cheaper to buy a restaurant and renovate but spaces in Pendleton were rare. There were casual restaurants, Asian, Thai, Mexican, sushi, and of course sandwich shops and a few cafes in the area. There was a dive bar on the south side of town and the tavern where Donovan worked was to the north. There was a brewery with a restaurant that apparently had taken over the old steakhouse a couple of years ago too. But that had maxed out all the available property, so Jude had decided to focus on a place with a great location that he could customize. He was beginning to think he’d made a huge mistake.

“Okay.” Logan looked around again. “Well, I think I need to take a look at those blueprints now.”

Jude located a set the project manager had left and rolled them out on the makeshift table that had been set up, a sheet of particle board over a few sawhorses. A few discarded tools served as weights for the curling paper and Logan studied the plans for a while, silent and intent as he bent over them.

Jude tried not to let his gaze drift to Logan’s ass. That was new too. He’d been lean and fit for most of his life, but Jude was one hundred percent sure he’d have remembered an ass so muscular he could bounce quarters off it. Or, preferably, his face.

“Okay,” Logan said, clearing his throat. “So, I see your dilemma.”

Jude guiltily tore his gaze away and stepped forward to look at the blueprints again. He knew every square millimeter of them but at least getting caught staring at them wouldn’t make things awkward.

Logan had always been easy-going about Jude’s sexuality but no good would come of Jude making Logan feel weird.

“So, I’m fucked?” Jude said as he braced his arms on the rough table and wondered if he should just throw in the towel now. He’d been trying for teasing, but it came out a whole lot more desperate sounding than he’d intended.

Logan settled a hand on his back, his palm warm. “You’re not. I want to take a look at your contract, but I think these guys are probably in breach. It depends a lot on the wording, but I’ll look it over for you, if you’d like.”

“I’d like,” Jude said, feeling a wash of gratitude. “The lawyer is reviewing it now but any extra sets of eyes would be appreciated.”

“I could stick around for a couple of days too, if you want. See if we can put the fear of God into them, or, if not, come up with another plan.”

“You’d do that?” Jude asked, turning to look at him.

“Of course.” Logan squeezed his shoulder. “I won’t leave you twisting in the wind, Jude. We’ll figure out a solution and get you back on track.”

“Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.” He bit his lip. “Could you not mention this to my parents? I want to prove to them that I have my shit together and you having to swoop in and rescue me …”

“Of course. I get it.”

Jude sighed gratefully as he straightened. His life might be a little bit of a disaster right now, but he wasn’t going to have to admit defeat to his father. He trusted Logan to deal with the unholy mess he’d gotten himself into and figure out a solution.

Jude was unrepentantly switchy but for the umpteenth time since his breakup with Donovan, he realized how much he missed having the steady, calming presence of a Dom by his side. Logan might not be inclined that way, but he had all the traits of a great dominant.

And these days, Jude would take what he could get.