Page 22 of Shaken and Stirred (Bottle Service Boys #1)

RYDER

“I want to turn our attention to the acquisition under review. We’ve spent the last few months vetting Synergro Medical Robotics, a promising startup focused on surgical automation.

Integrating their technology with our CallCore platform could open new markets and diversify our revenue beyond traditional manufacturing.

I believe this move will help us stay on the cutting edge and add significant shareholder value long-term. ”

I glanced at the rapt faces sitting around the long oval table in the boardroom as my father droned on.

The eight board members hung on his every word.

Some took notes, some had their assistants beside them, and they scribbled notes, and others merely listened.

My father’s executive assistant sat to his right, taking a detailed record that would serve as meeting minutes and the basis of the quarterly press release.

Today, CallCore focused most of its energy on AI-driven technology, particularly surgical automation through robotics.

Despite sitting in that boardroom with my freshly minted engineering degree, just like my father and his father before him, I had no interest in the exciting and groundbreaking advancements.

I was another in a long line of Calloway men destined for this life.

Or so my father insisted.

The meeting commenced twenty minutes ago, and already boredom had me wanting to pull out my hair.

I’d been dead asleep when my father pounded on my door at six a.m., ripping me from a heated dream of Alex’s cock tunneling down my throat.

It wasn’t a dream.

Maybe not, but this sure had been. In this version, Alex grabbed my head and rammed his cock down my throat, moaning and praising me for sucking him so good.

His eyes had been wild, not filled with an exhaustive effort to hold off his orgasm.

He’d stared as my eyes teared and asked if I wanted his load filling my mouth.

Of course, my answer had been a resounding yes.

And just as I’d felt the first thrilling jerk of his dick about to give me what I wanted, the hammering on my door ripped me from the erotic fantasy with brutal ferocity.

“Ryder, I’m leaving in twenty minutes,” my father had yelled through my locked door. “I assume you remember you promised to come to the board meeting this morning. It would be poor form for my son and the future CEO to fail to show up after I informed the rest of the board he’d be in attendance.”

So there I was, wearing a damn suit and listening to him drone on while not having the balls to tell him I wouldn’t be living out his dream for me.

Alex would probably jizz himself to be in this room, surrounded by so many great engineering minds. The man lived for this shit and would probably drop to his knees and swallow my cock on the spot if I got him a seat at the table.

Huh, not my worst idea.

“In closing, I’d like to thank each of you for your ongoing support.

Our recent strategic pivots have positioned us well to continue delivering strong financial results and advancing our broader mission of promoting industrial innovation.

I look forward to your thoughts on the acquisition plan and how we can best align our resources for another successful quarter.

Thanks, everyone. Let’s take a ten-minute break.

Marjorie brought in some pastries. Refill your coffee, grab something to eat, and then Bob will continue with the next quarter’s financial projections. ”

A low murmur of conversation kicked up around the table as the board members relaxed for a few moments.

I stood and made my way to the coffee urns for a refill.

It gave me a chance to hover on the side for a moment and act busy.

For some reason, whenever I accompanied my father to the office, I felt like I had a neon sign flashing liar above my head.

I could feel the stares of employees and board members, hear them calling me a nepo baby who didn’t deserve or even want to head up the company.

And that was before anyone dissected my lack of qualifications.

What did I know about running a business, let alone a billion-dollar global empire?

Nothing. I knew nothing.

My father would laugh and tell me he wasn’t going anywhere for a long time. He’d remind me he learned the same way I would, at his father’s side, once he’d completed college. He had an answer for every roadblock I threw in his path.

Damn him.

“Ryder, my boy,” he said, his voice dripping with pride as he strode my way. For some reason, he always called me my boy at the office, like he needed to remind everyone of my elite status as the CEO’s son.

“Great job, Dad. Some exciting projects on the horizon.”

He squeezed my shoulder as he reached for an empty mug.

“Thank you, son. There’s nothing I love more than having you here by my side.

” His eyes, the same blue I’d stared at in the mirror my whole life, now had the softness of age crinkling their corners.

His blond hair, also a near copy of mine, now had the sprinkling of salt common for a man in his fifties.

He’d also lost the athletic build he’d been blessed with after decades of living the life of a very wealthy man.

Despite the years showing in his appearance, he still maintained the razor-sharp business acumen that had expanded his father’s corporation to one of the most prestigious in the nation, maybe the world.

“I remember the exhilaration of joining my father at board meetings. I loved the feeling of knowing I’d one day take the helm. It’s a heady one, isn’t it?” Pride radiated from him, hitting me square in the gut.

“Yeah,” I croaked as guilt soured the coffee in my stomach. “It’s… something.”

If he noticed my less-than-enthusiastic response, he didn’t show it. Most likely, he was too wrapped up in his fantasy of a father-son empire.

“You by my side is all I’ve ever wanted, son.”

I set my mug down. Another sip, and it would all come back up. “Thanks, Dad.” I had to tell him, and soon.

Or I could switch my major back, get an MBA, take over, and be miserable for the rest of my life to avoid disappointing him.

Again.

My parents had been great when I came out to them at sixteen. They said everything right, donated to LGBTQ+ causes, and hadn’t even acted shocked.

Despite both coming from extremely conservative backgrounds, they were smart enough to realize my sexuality wasn’t a choice or something they could control.

My career path, though? That was a choice, I just had to be willing to go against everything I’d been groomed for since birth.

This bomb had the potential to destroy my family the way my sexuality hadn’t.

“I’m going to get started up again,” my father said, squeezing my shoulder. “I have another meeting immediately after this, but I’ve arranged for you to spend some time in the R&D lab. Okay?”

“Sure. That sounds great.”

He beamed at me, then moseyed back toward his place at the head of the table. “Okay, if you could all take your seats, we’ll continue.”

I spent the rest of the meeting pretending to focus on whoever spoke while my mind drifted a million miles away.

The pressure to slide into a slot I wasn’t built for had never felt so crushing.

It had always been there, but hovering on the periphery as something to deal with when I finished high school, when I graduated from college, and then when it was time to obtain a Master’s degree.

I pushed the decision back every chance I had, but now I’d hit the wall.

There wasn’t anywhere else to hide, no other corners to shove this decision.

Hell, I’d decided months ago—now I just had to man up and own it.

And crush the dreams of the father who’d given me everything.

I think if there were a chance my father would react well, my anxiety would disappear.

But there was no chance he would take this news well.

Not when pigs flew or snowballs formed in hell.

Those idioms left a minuscule window of hope.

Most considered my father a fair, even-keeled man.

Even those working under him described him in favorable terms. He rarely lost his temper and never at work, but I knew it was only because he got his wishes ninety-nine percent of the time.

That one percent?

Well, no one wanted to be the one percent that set him off.

And that’s where I lived these days, right in that dangerous one percent of things that would not go his way.

The board meeting finally concluded after two painful hours of statistics, projections, and verbal circle-jerking. I leaped to my feet before anyone could engage me in conversation and darted out the door toward the elevator.

Jabbing the down button a good twenty times, I glanced over my shoulder to the fully exposed boardroom. The rest of the meeting’s attendees milled about, chatting and finishing their coffee. My father was nowhere to be seen. He’d probably rushed straight to his second meeting.

No one had followed me to the elevator bank, so when the doors opened, I was able to slip inside alone.

The doors slid shut, and I sighed as I sagged against the wall, staring at the long string of numbered buttons. The button for floor seven, where I was due at the R&D labs, seemed to glow brighter than all the other floors.

I pushed the lobby button.

The yellow glow bounced down from floor sixteen, where I was.

Ten… nine… eight… seven…

My stomach tightened.

Six… five…

My father would be livid when the lab called to ask why I didn’t show up. He’d blow up my phone and eventually corner me at the house. By leaving, I’d essentially scheduled a conversation with my father about my future.

No escaping it now.