Page 12 of Just Business

“Good.” Justin sucked in a breath. “I mean—not that you aren’t—shit.”

Oh yes, Justin wore nervousness well. Parted lips, rapid breath. Hard cock, judging from the impressive bulge. “Lost your words?”

“No coffee this morning.”

Now,thatwas a surprise. “There’s a rather fine coffee shop below us.”

“I know.” There was that spark, the defiant glare. “I used to work there, you might recall.”

Eli said nothing, just folded his arms.

Justin’s shoulders sagged. “I was going to stop. But... it’s weird going as a customer. No hopping behind the counter, you know? Having Brian wait on me when I know perfectly well how to make what I want.”

Another interesting trait. Was it not being allowed to do a task he was capable of? Or did Justin resent being waited upon? “Change can be hard.”

Justin held Eli’s gaze. “Sometimes it’s worth the pain.”

Yes, Justin, but are you?“Let me show you where we keep the office supplies.”

***

After Eli showed Justin the supply closet, and where the free pop resided in the kitchen, everyone else trickled in—but for Sam. Eli left Justin to engineering, thank goodness.

Justin was intelligent. Mouthy. A charmer. His interactions with the engineering team had been instructive. Open and energetic, but calculated in many ways. A smile here, a laugh, a gesture to ease nerves, to pave the way to friendship.

How much was Justin playing Eli? A game of power? Eli settled into his desk chair and let that thought cascade though his blood. Don’s lessons flooded back.The Art of War. Etiquette. When to bend to an opponent and when not to.

Those had all been on business—Eli had learned other lessons elsewhere that had been as instructive about human nature. As much as he wanted to applythoseto Justin... he wasn’t about to take his boss’s assistant home, tie him down, and flog him.

Those little quips were likely Justin attempting to be edgy.

Time to call Lyle and go to a party. He needed an outlet to sate his inappropriate lust. Sam hired him to be a professional, not a fool.

Eli sighed and opened the Sanhex Equipment folder and settled into finding every reason they shouldn’t take on this account. Sanhex was huge, but kept losing market share because of incompetent leadership, financial decisions, and marketing. That would be hard to change, but if Sam could, the business that would bring in would be astounding. A soft rap against his open door startled Eli out of his research and his gut lurched. Justin?

No, it was Sam. A very tired, relaxed,glowingSam. Eli huffed a laugh. Must have been a good send-off.

“Don’t give me that look.” Sam’s words held no bite.

“Wouldn’t dare.” Eli pushed back from his desk. “How long is Michael gone this time?”

The smile faltered. “Two weeks. Well, sixteen days. Training, a conference, then customer meetings.”

Meaning Sam would need distracting, preferably by work. “I’ve been going over the Sanhex proposal.”

“Good. I expect you’ve already listed seventeen reasons why we should say no.”

Eli glanced at his monitor. “Only twelve. But I’m not finished.”

There was Sam’s grin. Good.

“Of course you aren’t.” Sam nodded toward his own office. “How’s Justin doing?”

“Hopefully Sertab’s got his laptop set up.”

“If she’s finished, you can train him on expense reports, since I know how much youlovedoing mine.” Sam gestured for Eli to follow.

A good task for Justin to start with. Not just Sam’s reports, but everyone else’s, too. Better for Justin to handle that particular pain. Plus, it introduced Justin to the staff and the companies they were working with. A gentle ramp-up. Eli rose and grabbed his cane. Gave him something to do with his hands, least he reach for something entirely inappropriate. Like Justin.