Page 6 of Lost Little Boy (Pride Camp 2025 #5)

Chapter Four

Wex

The young man in front of me wearing denim coveralls was stunning. His brown eyes caught me off guard, and I lost my train of thought when he stepped back to allow me to enter the small supply closet—which was exactly that . Surely, my father could afford to give them an office.

Perry wrung his hands for a second before stepping into a mop that nearly whacked him in the head. I was able to reach out and grab it before it made contact. I was paranoid about the slightest head injury, having gone through hell for the last four weeks to recover from mine.

“I wouldn’t say I saved your life, Mr. Grassley the third. I’m just glad I heard you behind that dumpster. Are you okay, sir?”

I shoved the mop back onto the hook and took Perry’s hand to lead him to the chair. Something about him had me stymied. His cheeks were pink as he took a seat, staring at me with a deer-in-headlights expression.

“I’m fine. I had a fractured skull and a grade two concussion, which supports everything my father has always said about me having a hard head.”

Perry’s hand slid up over his mouth hiding a laugh. I was glad he got the joke. I could have sworn that his eyes sparkled in the dim light of the closet.

“I, uh, I’m glad, sir, I—”

“Call me Wex, please. I want to give you this check for all your trouble.” I reached into my jacket and pulled out an envelope containing a cashier’s check for six figures, because how the hell could I value my own life?

My doctor had told me if Perry Castle hadn’t found me behind that dumpster, I could have had a seizure or a stroke and died. How could I repay him ?

Perry took the envelope, lifted the flap, and glanced at the check before he handed it back. “I can’t accept that. A thank you is enough.” He looked embarrassed, which wasn’t my intention.

He held out the envelope, but I was too gobsmacked to take it. “Please, Mr. Grassley. I know I don’t have money like you, but I have my pride. I did the same thing any person with an ounce of humanity would have done. Excuse me. My lunch break is over.”

The envelope fell on the floor as he rushed out of the closet. The click of the door brought me from my shock. What kind of man turned down that much money? Like nobody I’d ever met.

For two weeks, I doggedly stalked Perry Castle throughout the building to give him that damn check. He refused it every time, such that it was almost like a joke by the third week of May.

Wednesday after my return to DC, I went to the restaurant across the street and ordered lunch for the two of us to take back to the office.

The place was a German brewhaus that I’d have loved to take him to, but he only took thirty minutes for lunch.

I’d caught him in the closet with any number of sandwiches, so I decided to get him a Cuban and myself a burger.

Once I had the food, I went to my office down the hall from my sister.

Dad was in the Hamptons with Mom for vacation, and Nance and I had elected not to go along.

While he was gone, having left me in charge, I’d abdicated power to Nancy, who was shining in the role of president.

I was proud of her and wished my father had been there to witness it.

After I hung my suitcoat behind the door, I went to Nancy’s doorway and stood until she got off the phone. “Love you, honey. See you tonight.”

She glanced at me and smiled. “Little brother, what can I do for you?” I stepped into her office and took a seat in one of the leather chairs across from her desk.

“I’ll ask that you refrain from quizzing me right now. I need a favor.” It was a shot in the dark. Nance wasn’t one to let me off the hook… ever.

She chuckled. “Sure. Why not? What can I do for you?”

I crossed my legs. “I need you to call Hugh Warrick and ask them to send Perry Castle up here to clean something in your office. Then I need you to get out and let me use it so I can talk to him.”

Her eyes sparkled like a great white shark. “Perry Castle. Is he the young man who found you after you were mugged?”

I nodded, bracing myself for her next series of questions.

“Why are you wanting to have lunch with him in my office?”

“Because he only gets thirty minutes, and if you call his boss and make it a work issue, he can stay longer.”

Nancy’s face scrunched up. “They only get half an hour for lunch? That’s rude.”

“Have you met Wexler Grassley, Jr.? ‘Time is money. We don’t waste money.’” I lowered my voice and over-annunciated my words the same as our father. We both cracked up.

Finally, Nancy picked up the phone and called Building Services. “Hi, Hugh. It’s Nancy Grassley. Can you send Perry Castle to my office? I spilled cranberry juice on the carpet in my office. I heard he was able to get out a similar spot for Margeaux Lenz.”

Nancy shrugged, and I blew her a kiss as I went to her conference table to set the food out. I frosted the glass of Nancy’s windows, and after she hung up, I walked over and kissed both of her cheeks. “I love you, Nance. Now, get out.”

I heard her laughing all the way down the hall .

I spread the food in front of two chairs at the glass-topped table. Why I was being so mysterious about wanting to talk to Perry wasn’t something I could figure out, but I wanted time with the guy without him running off to clean or polish something as he’d been doing for the last week or so.

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the frosted-glass door of Nancy’s office. I hurried to the door and opened it, seeing sweet Perry standing on the other side of the door with a toolbox.

“Oh, uh, Mr. Grassley, I’m sorry. I thought Mrs. Williams had called for me to come up. I’m sorry to bother you.” He started to walk away, but I grabbed the back of his coveralls and hauled him into Nancy’s office, closing the door.

“Wex, please. I’ll be insulted if you call me Mr. Grassley again.

That’s my father, and we both know he can be an asshole.

So, put your toolbox on the floor and take a seat.

” My words sounded harsher than I meant, but remarkably, Perry walked over to the table where I’d pointed and sat down. That was a pleasant surprise.

I pulled out the other chair and loosened my tie before I grinned at Perry. “I noticed you like sandwiches, so I got you a Cuban sandwich. I have a cheeseburger if you’d rather have that.”

Perry looked at his hands, and it dawned on me that he’d been working all morning. “Oh! You might want to wash your hands. Nancy’s restroom is right there. Please feel free to use it to freshen up.”

“Thank you. Excuse me, please.” Perry stood and walked over to the restroom and closed the door behind him.

My nerves were building as I waited for him to return. He was a nice young man who worked for my father’s company. He’d found me when I’d been mugged, and he wouldn’t take the check I’d offered him. He was a complete mystery to me, and I wanted to know more.

When Perry returned to the table, I had to hide my smirk.

He’d taken down the top of his coveralls and tied them around his waist. His T-shirt showed water spots where he’d obviously slid wet fingers through his wavy mahogany strands to tame it.

He’d tried to make himself more presentable, and the effort didn’t go unnoticed.

“So, do you want the burger, which is cooked to medium with cheddar cheese, or do you want the Cuban?” I draped a paper napkin over my lap and stared at the young man’s beautiful face. Those brown eyes haunted me every night when I closed mine.

I had no idea how my mind had latched onto them that night, but it was the only thing I remembered.

Not the whack on the head. Not the faces of the two men whose voices echoed through my mind from time to time.

I’d told the police everything I remembered from that night, but so far, they’d come up empty regarding suspects. I wasn’t surprised.

Perry draped his napkin over his lap and smirked. “Would you mind sharing half of each?”

I unwrapped the sandwiches and cut each in half. “I like your style, Perry. So, how’s everything going? My father treating you right?”

We shuffled the halves of the sandwiches to each other and dug in. What I wasn’t expecting were the moans coming from Perry that reminded me of sex sounds. God, I wanted to hear those sounds coming from him as he was beneath me on a flat surface, but that was just a lawsuit waiting to happen.

The reason I’d had my sister summon him to her office…

“I’m going to give this to you once again, Perry.

” I pulled the envelope with the check from my pants pocket and handed it to him.

Time was ticking on being able to cash the check, and if he didn’t accept it, I had no idea what I could do to thank him for what he’d done.

The young man put the envelope on the table and slid it back to me as he chewed a bite of the burger.

“And I appreciate it, Mr. Grassley, but I didn’t do anything that warrants a check of that size.

I enjoy my job here. I’m trying to look for some summer classes to take at NoVA, and I have the money for it from saving part of my salary.

I’m paid well, and I like the people here.

“I’m assigned to work on the first and second floors, so I get to see the kids go outside when the weather is good, and that’s something I enjoy.

I’m just glad you’re okay, Mr. Grassley.

” He took a bite of the Cuban sandwich before he opened one of the bags of potato chips and put one in his soft pink mouth.

“You’re thinking about taking classes at NoVA?

It’s a great community college, but if you take this check, you can go to any college or university you’d like in the country.

Hell, if you tell me where you’d like to go, I can probably pull strings to get you in.

” I sounded like a fucking prima donna asshole.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Grassley, but I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Going to a fancy college was never in my plans.” He wiped that gorgeous mouth and stared at me.

It took everything inside me to keep from shoving the food off the table and pulling him onto it. In my gut, I knew he was extraordinary. I needed to know one thing for sure. “Are you in a relationship? ”

Perry chuckled. “Not ever.” His cheeks turned pink instantly.

That was a surprise. “You’ve never been in a relationship?”

He stared at me for a moment before turning to the window behind Nancy’s desk. “Why does that matter for my job?”

It was time for honesty. “I owe you a debt, Perry, and you won’t take my money. I have to do something for you so I can clear my ledger.”

“Ledger?” His expression was cute, what with his quizzical eyes.

“It’s something my father used to say. If someone does a favor for you, you’ve got to return it or you’ll always have them holding it over your head. It’s like the marks in a ledger. You saved my life, and I owe you. I can’t let it stand without doing something for you in return.”

I took another drink from the can of soda I’d brought before I sat back, staring at Perry, who seemed to be contemplating something. “What’s on your mind, Perry?”

He took a drink of soda. “There’s this camping thing I want to go to, but I need a chaperone.”

“Camping thing? What’s that mean?” Camping? Really ?

Perry retrieved his phone from the pocket of his coveralls and pressed a few buttons before he handed it to me. “It’s in June, and I’d like to attend. I’ve already paid for the tickets for myself and a guest. I just need someone to go with me. If you’ll come, I’ll consider us even.”

What Perry was suggesting wasn’t anything I’d usually consider, but, after meeting the guy, I found I’d do just about anything for him. Why?

Why not?