Hired, page 17
“What?” His father shook his head. “I don’t understand. I thought it was your dream to lead LeClerc.”
“I thought so too…but it’s not. Dad, I realized something this week, something that I should’ve noticed much sooner, but I didn’t. I don’t enjoy being CEO. Sure, some aspects I love, but they all boil down to the same thing, and that’s the technical stuff. Deep down, what I love most is the research and developing new products. I always have, even at university.”
“You chose robotics, not management,” his mom said, already on his side.
“I did, and I loved it so much. Tom got married last week. Remember him?”
“Oh, how sweet,” his mom said. “I always liked him. He was a bit like a golden retriever, clumsy and overly energetic but so happy and eager.”
Sebastian chuckled at that perfect description. “He’s still like that. Anyway, at the wedding, I talked to him and Floris, who had flown in from Holland. And it made me realize how much I missed my college days. When I dug a little deeper to find out why, it felt as if lightning struck me. I don’t want to manage LeClerc, Dad. I’m not good at it, and worse, it’s killing me. I want to own the company but have someone else manage it and instead lead the R&D department myself.”
There, he’d said it. A gasp drifted down from upstairs, and Hadley stood there, his hand in front of his mouth. He’d overheard Sebastian and seemed in shock. But was it good shock or the bad kind? It shouldn’t matter, and yet it did, maybe even more than how his father would take the news. Hadley stepped back.
“Hadley?” Sebastian called out as he got up. He should be worried about his father’s reaction, but he needed to know Hadley was okay first. Without thinking about it, he rushed up the stairs. He found Hadley in the hallway, leaning against the wall, his hands trembling slightly. “Are you okay?”
Hadley closed his eyes for a moment, his chest rising as he inhaled. “Of course I am. Don’t worry about me. You should go back to your conversation. I’m sorry for distracting you.”
“Don’t be.” Sebastian jammed his hands into the pockets of his sweat pants. “Are you…disappointed?”
“Disappointed?” Hadley shook his head. “No, I’m…”
Then he took three steps forward, cupped Sebastian’s cheeks, and rose on his toes to kiss him on his mouth. “I’ve never been more proud of anybody in my life. Go talk to your parents. I’ll be here for you when you’re done.”
Sebastian leaned his forehead against Hadley’s, so many emotions flowing through him he couldn’t even identify them all, but all of them were soft and light and fluffy. “Promise you’ll stay?”
“I promise.”
Hadley let go of him and, with a last proud smile at Sebastian, turned around and went back into the office, closing the door behind him. Sebastian touched his lips, which were still tingling from the brief contact. How was it possible that simple kiss had affected him more than any good fucking he’d ever had? Not something he could figure out right now.
He went back downstairs, where his parents sat waiting as he’d left them: looking stunned. “I’m sorry,” Sebastian said. “I needed to make sure Hadley was okay.”
His mom opened her mouth to say something, but one look from his dad had her reconsider. “I have to admit I’m pretty shocked, and that doesn’t happen to me that often,” his dad said.
“Trust me, Dad, I was too when it hit me.”
“I thought you loved running the company.”
Sebastian sighed as he scratched his beard. “I did in the beginning.”
“Then what changed?”
“The company got bigger. Dad, what I’m dealing with as a CEO isn’t what you faced. It’s gotten so much bigger that it’s a different job. I’m managing all day, every day, and I don’t have time for anything else.” And then, to his frustration, his voice broke. “I tried so hard to do it, to make you proud, but I’m not good at this. Dealing with people, keeping track of everything, all the endless meetings. I work seven days a week from sunup to late at night, and I still can’t get done what needs to be done. I’m drowning, and it’s killing me.”
He bent his head, his eyes filling with tears. What the hell was happening to him this week that he kept getting emotional? Maybe he should get himself checked out beyond that ulcer. Maybe there was something else wrong with him because this wasn’t like him at all.
“Sebastian.” His father rose from his chair. “Come here.”
He got up without protesting, and then his father’s arms were around him in the biggest, tightest hug ever. Sebastian rested his head on his father’s shoulder, not knowing what to do with all the emotions storming through his body.
“I failed you,” his father said softly.
“No, Dad, you—”
“I failed you. If you thought for even a second that my love for you and my pride in you depended on your performance in LeClerc, then I haven’t done my job as your dad…and I’m sorry.”
God, those stupid tears kept coming, and he was too tired to hold them back anymore. “I didn’t want to disappoint you. You always wanted me to take over from you.”
His father let go of him but put his hands on Sebastian’s shoulders as they stood face-to-face. “Yes, I did, and I never stopped to wonder if you actually wanted that. I assumed you did, and that’s on me. You always loved the technology more, and I should’ve realized that.”
“So did you, Timothy. You were always an engineer first and a manager second,” Sebastian’s mom said. “But you could afford to be because the company was so much smaller.”
“You’re right. She’s right.” His father turned his attention back to Sebastian. “I never predicted what the growth of the company would mean for you.”
“I’m not the right man to lead it, Dad. You need someone who excels in management, a true CEO. That’s not me. It took Hadley to make me see that.”
“Hadley?” his mom asked. “How?”
“He identified all these things that any manager would have known, like the fact that I shouldn’t handle my own email, that I should’ve let go of Beryl, why none of the PAs ever worked out. He taught me so much about how a company is supposed to be run, and it made me realize I don’t want to learn this. It doesn’t come naturally to me, and it’s sucking the life and joy out of me.”
“Hence the ulcer,” his mom said.
“Yeah. The ER doc told me to manage my stress better. Well, this is me managing my stress. My biggest stressor is my job, and that needs to change. I don’t wanna feel like this anymore.”
God, he felt like a first-class whiner. Even so, the words came from deep inside him.
“Then let’s figure out what we can do to make this change,” his father said.
“If Sebastian wants your help,” his mom said, and Sebastian loved her for it.
“Yes, of course, if you want my help.”
“I do, but, Dad, can we do this in a few days? I’m still so tired, and I don’t have the energy right now.”
“Whenever you’re ready. We’ll find a solution, son. I promise.”
After a few more hugs, including an extra-long one from his mom, his parents left, and Sebastian sighed with relief when he closed the door behind them.
“How did it go?” Hadley asked, and Sebastian swiveled around.
The genuine concern on Hadley’s face floored him. What had he ever done to earn that kind of loyalty and friendship? “I don’t deserve you,” he said hoarsely.
Hadley frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Your kindness, your care, your concern… I don’t deserve any of it.”
“It’s mine to give, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” He couldn’t deny that.
“So maybe don’t worry about it, and instead, tell me how it went.”
The relief that filled him was so all-encompassing that he felt a thousand pounds lighter. “My dad took it well. It was a complete surprise to him, but he’s open to talking about how we can fix this.”
“I’m so happy for you. Sounds like the best possible scenario.”
“It is, and it’s all thanks to you.” Sebastian took a step toward him.
“To me?”
“Without you, I would never have found out. I would’ve been drowning and suffering for many more years.” He took another step.
Hadley shook his head. “I refuse to believe that. You’re not giving yourself enough credit here. But either way, I’m happy for whatever I did that helped you in this journey.”
They were nose to nose now, and all those soft, confusing feelings that had been floating around in Sebastian’s chest and belly made room for something else, something much sharper that he easily recognized.
Want. Need. Lust.
It thundered through his veins, and judging by the way Hadley’s eyes widened and the little gasp that flew from his lips, he felt the same way. “Tell me to walk away, and I will,” Sebastian whispered.
But it was Hadley who closed that last bit of distance between them, who lifted his mouth up and offered it in an invitation Sebastian had no intention of turning down. The kiss was every bit as passionate as their first one, only now they didn’t have an audience.
Within seconds, Sebastian got tired of stooping low. He put his hands on Hadley’s waist and lifted him, happy when Hadley jumped up, helping him. Hadley wrapped his legs around Sebastian’s waist, and with both his hands holding that luscious ass, Sebastian was in the perfect position to kiss him senseless.
Their tongues roamed, Hadley giving as good as he got. Here was a man who knew what he wanted and was as unashamed as Sebastian of going for it. How hot was that? And god, he tasted so sweet, the faint lemon of the tea he’d been drinking refreshing on Sebastian’s tongue. He surged into Hadley’s mouth, wanting to taste more of him, all of him.
Hadley held on to Sebastian with one hand while he fisted his hair with the other, the tight grip offering balance with the fire of the kiss. Sebastian had experienced sexual chemistry before with hookups, but never like this. Not to the point where he could all but see the sparks fly between them, the attraction so strong it simmered in the air. Time and again, their lips and tongues found each other, seeking, roaming, exploring.
When Sebastian finally broke off the kiss, panted breaths were coming from between his swollen, throbbing lips. “Hadley,” he whispered hoarsely. “God, Hadley, what do we do?”
He wanted him more than he’d ever wanted anyone in his life, but he also wanted his friendship, his support. He couldn’t lose him.
“You seem to have plenty of bedrooms for us to choose from.” Hadley’s voice was as raw as Sebastian’s had been.
“I don’t want to lose you.”
He hadn’t meant to say the words out loud and certainly not with that much passion behind them, and yet it felt right to speak them. Hadley mattered to him, and Sebastian couldn’t just ignore the potential consequences of what they were about to do.
“Why would you lose me?”
Sebastian put Hadley down. “Because I’m horrible with people in general and even worse with…this. Relationships.”
Hadley held up both hands as he took a step back, panic filling his eyes. “Who’s talking about a relationship here? All I want from you is sex, not a boyfriend.”
Sebastian would’ve thought it would bring relief that he and Hadley were on the same page, but instead, Hadley’s words stabbed through his heart. “Friendship, Hadley. I’m talking about our friendship.”
Then a horrible thought hit him. Were they friends? Or was he the only one who thought of them that way, and was this nothing more than a business thing for Hadley, combined with good sexual chemistry and attraction? If this was one-sided…
He hadn’t even realized he’d created more distance between them until Hadley grabbed his wrist. “Okay, friends. We’re friends. But can we be friends with benefits?”
“Only if you promise you won’t quit.”
Hadley slowly shook his head. “You want me to be your PA, your friend, and your lover, all at the same time?”
“Well, not while we’re in bed. Then two out of three would work.”
Hadley’s eyes twinkled. “I’m not assisting you in bed, Mr. LeClerc.”
Sebastian’s mouth pulled up in a grin as well. “No? I thought you promised to take care of all my needs.”
“I’m never gonna live that down, am I?”
Sebastian grew serious again. “Promise me we’ll still be friends.”
He didn’t even understand why this mattered so much to him, but it did.
“I promise. Now for the love of god, will you kiss me again?”
Sebastian breathed out with relief. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll take you to my bedroom and fuck you until you scream my name.”
19
Sebastian lifted him up, his strong hands carrying Hadley as if he weighed nothing. Once again, Hadley wrapped his legs around Sebastian’s waist and clung to him, kissing him with desperate fierceness. Was he afraid Sebastian would change his mind? Maybe, but thinking was hard when his body was buzzing with want.
A moan left Sebastian’s lips, floating straight into Hadley’s mouth, sweet on his tongue. Fuck, yes, he liked that he was eliciting these sounds from Sebastian. The raw, unfiltered moans were in such sharp contradiction with the man’s usual control over himself.
“Kissing you is like kissing fire,” Sebastian murmured. “It’s dangerous and exhilarating and so fucking hot all at the same time.”
They kissed again, a sloppy, wet kiss that lacked finesse but was so erotic the blood pumped in Hadley’s cock. Hadley sucked on Sebastian’s tongue, licked into his mouth, used his teeth to tease his bottom lip. Sebastian stumbled, bumping into the wall, then the doorframe. He swore, and Hadley giggled. “I’ll stop distracting you for a minute before you hurt yourself. Or me.”
“Much appreciated. I’ve never been good at multitasking, and kissing you definitely demands all my attention.”
He walked them into his bedroom, then dumped Hadley unceremoniously on the bed and crawled on top of him. God, why was it so hot when a man pinned him down like that? When his body was pressed into the mattress by someone bigger than him, creating the illusion of being helpless, it turned him on like nothing else. He moaned as he rutted against that hard body covering his, and when Sebastian grabbed his hands and held them down above Hadley’s head with one hand, he about lost it.
“You like that,” Sebastian whispered against Hadley’s lips, fire in his eyes. “You like it when I ravish you.”
Ravish. Such an old-fashioned word and yet strangely fitting. “Yes.”
“Mmm, let me ravish you some more, then.”
Sebastian’s mouth blazed a hot trail down Hadley’s neck as the man pulled Hadley’s shirt up and over his head. Getting it off proved to be a logistic challenge, what with his arms still held down, but they managed, and for good measure, Sebastian pulled down Hadley’s sweat pants as well. He was left in just his panties, so damp they left little to the imagination.
Sebastian froze in his tracks, the sweat pants not even on Hadley’s knees. “Holy shit…” Sebastian swallowed as he took in Hadley’s underwear. “That’s… Fuck, that’s so hot.”
He trailed the waistband with one finger, then slid it down Hadley’s throbbing cock. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful and sexy in my life.” Sebastian’s voice came out a growl as his eyes darkened.
Hadley thanked his lucky stars he’d put on that sexy underwear. “Yeah, you like them?”
“Uhm.” He cleared his throat. “How many of these do you have?”
“Five pairs. They’re specifically made for men, and they’re not cheap.”
“Mmm, I can imagine. Totally worth the money, though. I would never have thought that was my thing, but well, apparently, it is. It’s so fucking sexy I don’t know where to start.”
Hadley grinned. “Taking my sweat pants off would be a good start.”
“Right. I can do that. But please tell me I can leave those panties on for a bit because I haven’t taken my fill yet.”
How could he say no when Sebastian said it with so much admiration and in that low, gravelly voice? “Fine by me.”
Sebastian dragged down the pants and dove back on top of Hadley. His mouth found a new path to follow, past Hadley’s belly button to the waistband of his panties. Hadley expected him to slip his hand underneath, but he didn’t. Instead, he pressed his hot mouth against his cock through the thin fabric. Oh god. Out came his teeth, gently nibbling that sensitive area, and Hadley squirmed on the bed. “Ohfuckohfuckohfuck… That feels so good.”
Hadley laced his fingers through Sebastian’s unruly hair, unashamedly dragging his mouth against his cock. Not that Sebastian was protesting. He sucked on the head through the fabric, and the gentle scratches of his teeth were driving Hadley insane. He was about to start begging when fucking finally Sebastian pulled on the waistband of the panties. With one hand, he managed to carefully tug them down, and Hadley’s hard cock slapped wetly against his stomach. He wanted to cry with relief.
Come to think of it. If he wanted to get this party on the road, he should probably make some effort in undressing Sebastian as well. The man was still fully dressed, if looking rumpled. But before he could lift a finger, Sebastian rose from the bed and pulled his shirt off, then stepped out of his sweat pants and dragged his underwear down at the same time. Naked, he walked over to the bedroom drawer and grabbed lube and a condom, which he threw onto the bed.
Fuck, he was gorgeous. Not the perfect build of a model, but the naturally lean physique of someone who had a lucky metabolism and worked out regularly. Defined pecs, a tight stomach, and gorgeous arms, but above all, that hairy chest that made Hadley moan with how fucking hot it was. He’d always liked men who were bigger and hairier than him. And his cock was a thing of beauty, proudly jutting out of a dark nest of hairs. He wasn’t overly long, but he had girth, and Hadley couldn’t wait to feel it inside him.
When their eyes met, Sebastian took a sharp intake of breath and slid his hand down his chest in a slow, sensual move. “You like this?”
