Tempting Him by Isabel Lucero

15

Friday nightthere was a party at my frat, and as I’m usually front and center, coming up with drinking games and forcing people to take shots of weird and random shit, it was hard to pull myself away. I definitely spent a few hours talking and drinking, but by one o’clock, I was in my room, trying to get some sleep even though the party ran until at least three or four.

Renzo was there to harass me over the new guy I was fucking, obviously having heard something from the gossips—Dom and Trevor. Little does anybody know, I’m not fucking anyone, and the guy is a man I work for...who knows my dad.

One of my past hookups was there, and after mulling over how I treated a good majority of them, I went out of my way to talk to her and apologize for all the times I was an ass who made her feel like shit.

She laughed and accepted the apology, happily in a relationship, but I hope that even if she acted like it wasn’t a big deal, the apology makes her feel a little better.

I roll up to the building at seven forty-five, positive I’ll be waiting for whoever else is supposed to be here to unlock the door. However, I spot Alek’s car parked in the lot, and once I arrive at his floor, I find him behind his desk, on the phone.

He gestures for me to come in, and I sit patiently while he finishes his call.

“You’re early,” he says with a satisfied smile.

“I even stopped partying early just to go to bed to be ready for today.”

“Good boy,” he replies with an amused grin.

I try not to beam. “Apparently, not early enough. I thought I was going to be the first person here. I also didn’t know I’d be working with you.”

“Well, I’ve only been here half an hour or so, and I don’t typically make my employees work on the weekends, but sometimes, when we’re on a deadline, people will be in here working around the clock.”

“Gotcha. Where do you want me?”

His eyes flash with desire before he straightens up. “Later, I’ll go over a couple of websites you’ll need to learn your way around. It takes some time, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Until then, you can pick a desk out there in the hub and work. He hands me a folder. “Luther told me you already came up with keyword combinations?”

“Yeah,” I say with a nod.

“Good. Now I want you to write a blog on one of those topics. This will help me get a good look at your written communications skills, as well as expanding brand awareness. The point here is to form an incisive narrative of your understanding between the keyword research and the company. Later, you’ll track blog hits and that’ll help you with your experience with SEO analytics.”

I stand up and nod. “Okay.”

* * *

Since starting here,I’ve learned I haven’t learned nearly enough in college, but I’m thankful for everyone who’s allowed us interns to ask questions. Apparently, the company only has a few positions available once the internship is over, but between each of us working with our own group for a new campaign, we’re learning the ropes about the marketing business in general and splitting the work between handling the company’s social platforms, answering customer emails, blogging, sending out newsletters, ordering office supplies, and fifty other things.

I stay at my desk until Alek appears at my side. “Doing okay?”

“Yes, sir. Need me to do something else?”

“Want to have lunch?”

“Is it lunchtime already?”

I look at the clock and see that it’s nearing noon.

“Want me to order something in or would you like to join me somewhere?” he asks, his uncharacteristic unease evident in the way his eyes bounce around.

I decide not to tease him about this being a date. “We can order in. Pizza? I know a place.”

“Okay,” he replies before turning around and heading back to his office.

I follow him in and we decide on what we want before I place the order.

“It’ll be twenty-five minutes,” I tell him.

He nods, focusing on his computer. I get on my phone to pass time, but he speaks up, stealing my attention.

“What are your plans for today?”

“Once you free me? I’m not sure. I’ll probably head back home, take a nap, then later I’ll go to my friend’s house. He’s having a pool party.”

“A nap? Are you sure you’re not the old one?”

I laugh. “An age joke? From you?”

He tries to stop from smiling. “So, a pool party, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s got a hell of a house. Well, his dad. You heard of Owen Anderson? Tech billionaire?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course. That’s your friend’s dad?”

“Yep. His dad works a lot, so he basically has the house to himself. Pool parties are pretty frequent when the weather’s nice.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Wish you could come,” I say with a wink. “I’d love to see you naked and wet.”

His lips draw up. “I don’t swim naked.”

“Well, mostly naked, then.”

“Hmm.”

“What about you? Plans?”

“I have business calls to make, emails to send, then maybe I’ll journey out to find a nice place to eat. Getting tired of room service.”

“Why don’t you go grocery shopping?”

He makes a face like the idea of it disgusts him.

“How long have you been here? Dad said this branch is new, but you seem pretty established here.”

“We’ve been running for nine months. I’ve made a few trips out here while it was getting started, but I’ve been here this time around for a couple months. Maybe three. What month is it?”

I snort. “April.”

“Okay, closer to three.”

“And you just wanted to make sure things were running smoothly?”

“Something like that. If you haven’t noticed, I like to be in control, and I wanted to make sure we were doing everything we needed to do to the best of our ability. I trust Luther, which is why I brought him this time around. He’ll stay here once I leave to keep things in order. I also brought over a couple other of the more experienced personnel from Chicago.”

“You? Controlling? Weird.” He rolls his eyes. “So, Luther. I really like him.”

“Oh? Is he your type after all?”

A laugh bursts from my throat. “Stop. No. I mean, he’s a good guy. Seems to like you a lot.”

A genuine smile forms on his lips. “He’s been a mentor to me. The closest thing I have to a father figure now.”

“Does he know…” I pause. “Wait. Are you out? Like, do people know you’re gay?”

His lips flatten as he stares at me. He’s always gotten weird when I’ve inquired about his sexuality. Maybe he’s not out.

“Not many people know,” he answers.

“You’ve never had a boyfriend serious enough to show up to work for lunch or to take to work events?”

His brows furrow slightly as he chuckles. “No, definitely not.”

“I have a question, but I’m afraid of how you’ll take it.”

“Oh, great,” he says, sitting back. “Go for it.”

With a laugh, I say, “It’s not too bad. I’m just curious. Am I the youngest person you’ve been with or do you have a penchant for younger guys?”

Alek grimaces. “I hate how that sounds. It makes me sound like some sort of pervert, but no, I don’t have a penchant for younger guys. You’re the youngest.”

“Ah, a first.” I grin. “You’re the first older guy I’ve been with.”

“Oh, so you’re not out seeking sugar daddies on the regular?”

“Mm,” I teasingly moan, shifting in my seat. “You wanna be my sugar daddy?”

He laughs. “No, you’re probably too expensive.”

“Hey, I know my worth.”

Alek shakes his head, a grin playing on his lips. “So, when did you come out?”

“Right before I left for college,” I say with a laugh. “I figured if my parents ended up being pissed, then I’d be living in another state soon and wouldn’t have to worry about it. But I was tired of not living my truth.”

He nods. “And how did they react?”

“Oh, they were surprised,” I say with a smile. “I’ll never get the looks on their faces out of my head. They were wide eyed and silent.”

“But they weren’t angry?”

“No. They questioned me a lot. ‘Are you sure? Are you confused? Are you curious?’ Stuff like that. But they accepted it and never acted weird again. Then again, I’ve been living here, so it’s not like they see me with guys or anything. I’m not sure how they’d act if I introduced them to a boyfriend.”

He soaks in the information with another nod. “And your friends? I’d think it would be hard to come out as a young person in school. People can be cruel.”

“Definitely. I didn’t come out right away. It’s not like I ever had to pretend to like girls, because I do. So for a while, they saw me with girls and assumed I was straight and I never said anything to suggest otherwise. It wasn’t until I found a guy I was attracted to and started hooking up with that I knew I’d have to tell them. Even then, it was only the people I was closest to. As far as everybody else, I just adopted the I-don’t-give-a-fuck-what-you-think attitude. If they saw me with a guy, then they’d know I also liked guys. A few people from the frat or the football team questioned me, but even then the answer was simply, I like both with a shrug.”

Alek chuckles. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t have a lot of issues others have had.”

The way he says—with a certain degree of pain in his voice, makes me wonder if he had issues. It would explain a few things.

“What about you? Did your parents ever know?”

The silence that follows and a face full of resentment while his body bristles with anger tells me everything I need to know.