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ERROL

A J is on the phone when I come into the cramped nook behind the kitchen that serves as Finn’s office.

After listening to his side of the conversation for a couple of minutes, I get an unpleasant surprise when I realize we’re apparently past due on paying our beer distributor.

Other than keeping the lights on and the fryer oil hot, that’s the single most important bill Finn’s has to pay. How the fuck did that ball get dropped?

“What happened, dude? What’s the issue?” I ask AJ as soon as he hangs up.

He blows out a hard sigh as his eyes scan the cluttered space.

The prep table we’ve repurposed into a desk, along with the milk crates that serve as file drawers, are overflowing with papers.

I’m pretty sure I’m looking at the issue, but AJ’s the boss here, so I want to tread carefully.

“Fucking shit, Errol,” he mutters, pulling his blond hair out of its lopsided man-bun and raking it with his fingers into a new one that’s just as messy.

“I don’t know how I managed to miss that.

Guess I just had so much going on between the bullshit with our refrigeration system and looking for a new payment processor…

” He trails off and scrubs a hand over his eyes.

I fold my arms and lean against the doorframe, settling in for the usual argument. “That’s why you need to start letting me do a lot of this shit. Especially since you’ve been in the kitchen more because we’re still looking for a new cook.”

AJ darts his eyes away and he gets a guilty look on his face. Goddammit . “You did renew the job ad for another month, didn’t you? I left you a reminder.” In fact, the yellow sticky note is still stuck to the side of the computer monitor. Not a good sign.

“We got the sign in the window,” he mutters.

I let him hear the annoyance in my sigh.

“AJ, I know this place is your baby, but you can’t do everything by yourself.

And you’d only be delegating the office stuff to me!

It’s not like you’re hiring somebody new who doesn’t give two shits about Finn’s.

Look, man, you know how much of a place this bar has in my heart, too. ”

“Yeah, I do.” AJ does know. We’ve spent so much time together over the years, going all the way back to when he was a customer coming into Finn’s with his brother and the rest of his biker buddies.

In the past couple of years since he’s been running the show here, he’s learned enough of my back storyand I’ve learned enough of histhat we each understand the deep ties both of us have to this little dive bar.

I take a deep breath. “Tell you what. Up front is dead, so why don’t you let me tackle this and you can go back to the kitchen. Bruce was bitching about not being able to get wings yesterday, so it’s a safe bet he’s gonna order them today, and I know we’re out of your homemade hot sauce.”

AJ nods, looking glum but perking up at the mention of hot sauce. “Oh, yeah. It’s been pretty popular since I tweaked the recipe!”

I give him a grin. “Great. You go set people’s mouths on fire, then, and I’ll try not to drown underneath all this paper.”

I t’s easier said than done. I flop onto the sofa that evening with a groan, my brain spinning through all the things I have to do tomorrow.

I had gone upstairs to get the book I’ve been reading before bed in the hope that it would take my mind off work, but I find that I’m too preoccupied to pay attention to the words on the page.

After reading the same paragraphs three times in a row, I blow out a hard sigh, Ran looks up. “What’s the matter, Babydoll?”

I run my hand through my hair. “I know AJ has good intentions, but holy shit —he’s in way over his head running Finn’s because he’s been trying to do it all himself.

I finally convinced him to let me handle some of the back-office stuff, and it’s taking so much more time and money to do damage control than if he’d just let me do this shit in the first place. ”

“Ugh, that sucks. I’m sorry. But try to put it out of your mind for now, huh?”

I can’t hold back a snicker. “ You’re lecturing me about leaving work at work?” I say, gesturing to the tablet in his hand. “How’s that working out for you?”

Ran snorts. “Touché.” After fixing me with a look of appraisal, he sort of pats his lap. I gladly curl up right on top of him. He puts his arms around me.

“I’m sorry, Babydoll. I know the answer is probably no, but is there anything I can do to help?” he asks.

“Yeah.” I breathe my answer more than say it. “Help me forget about it —just for a little while. Help me put it out of my mind.”

Ran chuckles softly. “Did you happen to have any… ah, suggestions for how I might do that?” When I don’t answer, he lets out a contemplative hum and evaluates me in silence.

His lips quirk up and a playful gleam comes into his eyes. “OK, tell me what you need, baby. Do you want to be my sexy good girl, or my kinky slut?”

“I want to be your good girl. I think I’m too tired for anything else,” I admit.

“That’s fair.” Ran kisses the top of my head. He taps my hip. “Scoot over a sec.”

I get off him. He undoes his pants and shoves down his underwear to get to his cock. “Come on back here,” he says. “Put your head in my lap and keep my dick in your mouth.”

I happily obey him, my lips encircling the base of his soft cock. With my nose buried in his bush, I let out a wordless murmur of contentment. I start to use the bead in my tongue piercing to trace around his crown when I feel his hand on my shoulder.

“No —stop,” Ran says. “I don’t want you to go down on me. I’m not even really looking for you to get me hard.” He runs his fingers through my hair.

“I have a few more emails I have to send tonight that need my full concentration. You’re just here to keep my cock warm.” He brings his hand to my nape and squeezes; I nestle my face deeper into his crotch and let my eyes slip shut, trying to empty my brain of everything but the scent of him.

“Yeah, that’s good. Just keep your mouth on me like that. You can suckle on it if you want, but I don’t want you to make me hard, and I don’t want to talk to you until I’ve finished my work.”

Ran strokes my hair. The sensation is soothing, and my body relaxes into him.

The movement of his hand stops suddenly, and when he chuckles softly, the sound has an edge to it.

“You’re not going to fall asleep on me, though.

Don’t answer me, because that wasn’t a question.

” His hand goes back to my nape. He holds me there in a firm grip, but his tone is soothing when he speaks again.

“You’re going to stay awake while I work. I’m doing my job, and you’re doing yours —just being a place to put my cock. That’s all you are right now.” His words form a pool of heat in my groin. I feel a pulse of blood swell his cock, too.

“That’s good — just like I would expect a warm, wet hole to be,” he says in a tone as if he’s talking to himself. In a sense, I guess he is. He shifts slightly as he settles back against the cushions with his tablet.

I lose track of how much time passes, my eyes closed and my mind empty of everything but the soft tapping of Ran’s fingers on the screen as he types. A couple of times he sighs, or mutters something under his breath. I inhale the warm, musky scent of the hair that tickles my nose.

I do wind up suckling on his cock, sucking it with a soft, rhythmic pulse that comes as naturally as breathing.

My mind drifts into a deep, tranquil nothingness, but I don’t fall asleep.

I remain anchored to consciousness by the deep, steady throb of pleasure it gives me to submit to Ran while he completely and totally ignores me.