Chapter Seven

 

 

 

“You should surprise him at work,” Paolo offered as they shared a large bowl of fruits.

“Yeah. That’s precisely what he wants—some undesirable showing up looking for him.”

“From what you’ve told me, he doesn’t see you like that.” Paolo picked up the laptop, set it before him in the center of the bed and began tapping away. “Um, what’s your password?”

“Agents of Shield. All one word.”

Paolo snorted. “For real?”

“What? Who’s going to look at me and think, ‘Hey! He looks like an Agents of Shield fan—that’s his password!’?”

Paolo nodded and went back to what he was focusing on. Clark sat on the floor before his closet and pulled out his shoes for work. The heels were worn in and when he walked in them, his feet hurt, but getting a new pair was so far out of the budget he felt like crying. This wasn’t what he’d thought he’d be doing with his life. Joe was a kind man, but Clark hadn’t intended on being there as long as he had. He sighed and pulled out a small box he had stashed in the corner.

Inside was a piece of cloth, a tin of black shoe polish, a pair of latex gloves and a brush. He set to work cleaning his shoes for work the next day.

“Ah-ha! Got it!” Paolo exclaimed suddenly.

His outburst started Clark, who jumped so hard the shoe and brush he was holding went flying. Clark frowned.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Clark muttered under his breath and crawled to pick up his shoe and the cloth. “What do you have?”

“Where Tae Won Kim works,” Paolo said. “Damn, he’s sexy.”

“I’m not going.”

“Come on, Clark! Live a little!” Paolo stressed. “You’re telling me after you had sex with that man, you’re running from him now? How could you not want to take every chance you get to be close to him—and every person I know wouldn’t say no to a little office play.”

Clark sighed dramatically and set all his stuff in the box and slid it back into the closet. He wished Paolo would just drop it. It was bad enough that he’d freaked out on Tae at the hospital, how in the hell could he face him now? Though the idea of barging into his office, stripping naked and demanding that Tae take him was enough to make him grind his teeth to keep a groan in. “I don’t think I’m cut out for that kind— I don’t deserve it.”

Paolo growled. “Dude, seriously? Listen, put on something nice and head over there. He’s your man, so act like it. Claim him. If not, someone else will.”

That got Clark’s attention and he actually started seriously thinking of Paolo’s suggestion. Clark stood then sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Paolo silently. Paolo wiggled his eyebrows and Clark chuckled. “I cannot believe I’m listening to your ass on this one.”

“You know I’m right. Besides, the thought of being bent over Mr. Kim’s desk so he can spank you is stronger than you thinking I could be wrong.”

“You wrong for that.”

Paolo shrugged. “Maybe. Go shower. I’ll put the rest of this fruit back in the fridge and head out. You have to call me when you get a chance to tell me how it went.”

Clark hugged Paolo tightly and kissed the side of his head.

“Have fun, Clark,” Paolo said softly. “I mean it. Life is too short to be as serious as you always seem to be.”

Clark pressed his face into Paolo’s neck and nodded. He held on to his friend for a little longer before stepping back to cradle Paolo’s face.

“What about you? Where you going?” Clark asked.

“Drew kissed me yesterday,” Paolo whispered, his cheeks turning a nice shade of pink. “I’m going to head over to his place for lunch and see if he’ll do it again.”

Clark laughed. “Well, if he doesn’t, take your own advice, huh?”

Paolo nodded. “I promise.”

Though he had to shower, Clark walked Paolo to the door and locked it after another quick hug and Paolo leaving. He then suppressed a flail by hurrying to the shower. The next little while flew by, and instead of driving his old car to the address Paolo had found, he took a cab. By the time he was standing outside the building, head tilted back and squinting to see the top, Clark’s nerve had returned. He frowned, straightened his spine and hurried inside.

He crossed a fancy lobby, sneaked by the security guard and read the directory. He found Tae’s company and slid into the elevator behind a couple of suits. He pressed the button for fifty-two and tried to steady his racing heart. The ride up didn’t take as long as he’d thought it would and soon he was standing in a vast lobby, a secretary on a headset before him with Tae Won Kim and Associates written in big, proud lettering on the wall behind her. The logo was of a beautiful white lotus flower that looked as if it were blooming.

“Can I help you?”

Clark cleared his breath. “My name is Clark James, I’m here to…”

“Ah yes, Mr. James. Please follow me.”

Clark blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Kim-Seonbae said you were to be shown in if you ever visited,” she said politely. She continued down the beautifully polished floor, her designer heels clicking along as she went.

When the secretary finally stopped, it was before a door with Tae Won’s name stenciled onto it. That seemed so permanent. The secretary knocked, and Tae’s voice rang out from the other side. Instead of announcing him, she merely smiled and headed the other way. Taking a deep breath, Clark opened the door and stuck his head in.

“I don’t mean to interrupt you—”

“Clark!” Tae said, standing.

“Wow, you look so professional.” Clark entered, closing the door behind him.

Tae didn’t move. He braced his palms on the desk but kept her eyes on Clark. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I know. I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the hospital.”

“Have a seat,” Tae said softly. He finally made his way around the desk and fell into the leather sofa against the wall.

Clark sat beside him and rubbed his palms against his thighs. “I didn’t handle that well.”

“It’s okay. I can be a little intense sometimes.”

“Could we go for a walk?” Clark asked. “I just… I want to hold your hand and walk through High Park.”

Tae didn’t speak, so Clark turned to see Tae was staring at him in that silent way he always did. It was forever and still Tae said nothing, so Clark stood. He tried walking away, but Tae caught his arm, pulled him back and Clark fell across Tae’s lap. Tae kissed him then, roughly, shoving his tongue into Clark’s mouth and moaning.

Clark tangled his arms around Tae’s neck to enjoy the attention and when he couldn’t breathe, he eased back.

“Let’s go now,” Tae said, voice cracking.

“But you’re working.”

“I want to spend time with you, Clark. I know it’s hard for you to believe but I…”

“Okay, let’s go.”