Chapter 3 Meeting The Boss

Stunned silence greeted that announcement. Five heads swiveled to look down at my frowning face. I didn't have a clue what the stranger was talking about. Worked for him?

I stared a long moment at the chuckling man. He was very much enjoying our confusion and for the first time I felt a glimmer of anger spark somewhere beneath all my anxiety. I didn't like that he was laughing.

"You work for him?" Archer asked.

I shook my head. "Not that I know of," I muttered. "You know I work from home and only have contact with Mr. Jones."

I worked behind the scenes so to speak, running analysis for a big corporation, troubleshooting their investment strategies, watching the market, projecting and rejecting profitable options for the company. It was a specialized job. Actually, it was a made-up job if truth be told.

I had a knack with numbers and investments. While in college one of my professors had told his friend about me and I had been immediately offered an internship within the company. The internship had turned into a part time job while I was still in college and then a fulltime career directly upon graduation. Like I said. I had a knack.

I looked up again at the stranger. His brows were raised as if asking me if I had figured it out. His piercing blue eyes kept watching me and suddenly I thought I knew who he might be.

"You're Pierce Lucciano?"

He winked.

I guess I was right.

He continued to watch me before his eyes wandered over my friends.

"I was surprised to see you here tonight. I didn't expect this to be your scene." His eyes lingered on each man before settling back on me. "Are you theirs?"

It took me longer to figure out what he was implying than it did my friends.

Percy kept his arms up preventing anyone from moving forward while two bodyguards suddenly exited from the front of Pierce's car. They made to move forward but Pierce held his fist up, signaling them to stay back.

"That shit coming out of your mouth right now, isn't right. Apologize to Jackson!" Percy ordered.

I could tell Percy was worried. He knew this man was an unknown factor but Percy was strong on right and wrong. Bodyguards or no bodyguards, he would defend his friends.

The guy's angry grumbles seconded Percy's demand.

I blanched. I couldn't believe this guy had just implied what he had implied. They were my friends not my...

Words failed me.

I pushed forward between Noah and Archer. They made room for me but Noah's hand on my shoulder prevented me from walking any closer towards the man I now knew was named Pierce. My boss? My boss who was insinuating I was in some sort of...

Words still failed me.

I swallowed. I was uncomfortable. I was so out of my element that I knew my body was trembling and I knew Archer and Noah could tell as some part of them was touching me. But despite my fear, I couldn't stand here and let this man say such foul things about my friends. I wasn't tough like the guys or Percy but what kind of friend would I be if I didn't say something?

"D... don't apologize to me. A... apologize to them!" I demanded, looking at the face of the man with the dancing eyes.

And they did dance. They twinkled and twirled with humor. They were lit up from within. I could tell he was enjoying himself very much, at my expense. At our expense.

Pierce held his hands up in mock surrender. "Don't be mad at me. Each of them had their hands all over you tonight. And you didn't seem to mind. Actually, you looked like you were quite enjoying yourself from my vantage point. You can't blame a guy for getting the wrong idea, now can you?"

"I can blame a guy for a lot of things if he keeps spewing shit out of his mouth!" Branson growled.

The bodyguards didn't seem to like Branson's tone of voice and made to step forward again.

Pierce held his hand up again silently ordering them to stay back.

I wondered fleetingly what kind of power he held. With just a raised fist he controlled two men larger than any of my friends. Larger than himself.

That same damn tingle of electricity sneaked its way down my spine again.

Why did I keep reacting to him like this?

He cocked his head while looking at me and laughed. His humor sounded genuine as if he were truly finding this situation funny.

"I never expected our first meeting to be quite so entertaining."

"Expect it to be your last meeting, too," Noah assured him.

I looked up at Noah as he spoke and then at the other guys as they agreed. My mind was overloading on emotions. My thoughts were more twisted than a contortionist's body.

Yes, this man terrified me and made me so angry I could... well I didn't know what I could do. I just knew he made me mad as well as unnerved me and he frustrated me. He also made me feel things when he watched me in that strange intense way he did.

The jumbled mess of emotions resulted in one clear realization. I had no desire to ever meet him again.

But...

He was my boss.

Oh God!

Then again, I quickly assured myself. I could do my job without meeting him. I had been doing so for years. There was no reason that needed to change. There was no reason I had to meet him again.

But I still had to address one thing. He needed to know his behavior wasn't okay with me. If I was going to keep working for him, seeing him or not, then I had to at least make that clear.

"You still didn't a...apologize to my friends," I spoke up, my eyes timid but sincere in their quest for him to right his offensive wrong. "Apologize t... to them now!"

The smile left his face. I could tell he didn't like being ordered around. He made it quite clear who was in charge. I had the feeling he didn't say sorry often. I wondered if he would now.

The guys didn't seem to think he would either and throwing scoffing last looks they tried to turn me away to leave him and the current peculiar encounter.

His voice stopped us in our tracks.

"My apologies," he grated.

It wasn't the most gracious tone I had ever heard. It was grudgingly given and clipped out, but he gave one.

My friends paused as I turned back to face him. I stared at him as he stared back at me. He looked angry but he also looked something else that I couldn't identify.

I told myself I was happy enough that he appeared less smug. It was a strange thing to be happy about but I can't deny it made me feel better.

"Apology accepted," I finally replied, my body still trembling, but I was thankful that I was at least able to speak without the tell-tale tremor.

I turned back around and my friends and I started walking away. Mick, Noah, and Branson weren't happy that I had accepted the apology and were spouting off at the mouth about how they wished they had handled the blue-eyed stranger.

Archer and Percy, with me tucked in between them, were whispering over my head. I could only make out every other word and truly my mind was occupied with other things. Actually, only one thing, Pierce Lucciano.

Of all the unlikely places to meet my boss it had to be tonight and here. Not because I was at a gay bar. He had been there himself, so what? No, it was more the circumstances and the huge leap his mind had taken when he had seen me dancing and partying with the guys.

'Are you theirs?'

That question truly freaked me out.

Was that a real thing? Of course, you see it in books but in real life. And me? Did I look like a guy that would share myself like that?

I huffed a laugh with little humor. I didn't share myself at all. I barely tolerated being touched in most cases. With the guys it was a bit different. It came with the territory. But even with Percy I still got tense.

The dancing tonight, that had been a new experience for me and one to my surprise, I had kind of enjoyed. Not so much now if it had been interpreted like that. Had I looked so... accommodating?

"What big boy?" Percy asked, looking down at me.

"What?" I asked back, not realizing my humorless laugh had been heard.

"Don't let him mess with your head," he chided.

"That's right!" Branson said reaching behind Archer to ruffle my hair.

Four more similar comments and varying sorts of pats followed. I hung my head but I did at least smile a bit.

This was completely embarrassing.

"Jackson," Percy commented and I swallowed. He only ever called me Jackson when he was being serious.

"What he said was nonsense. He was trying to provoke you for some reason. I can see the wheels in your mind spinning asking all sorts of idiotic questions. You gave off no vibe tonight no matter what he implied."

"Vibe?" Noah muttered. "Shit I'll show him vibe!" he said slamming his closed fist into the open palm of his other hand.

I leaned back and looked at Noah with wide eyes. He was the least feisty of them all. Other than me of course.

He met my eyes.

"What?" he asked. "That was some serious bullshit Jackson. Won't be tolerated!"

"Damn straight!" Branson and Mick echoed.

"Or gay!" Archer and Percy immediately agreed, making everyone laugh, lightening the darker turn the night had taken.

Though I was still confused by a lot of things I allowed myself to be distracted. We were still celebrating the night with my dearest friend and his dearest partner. I didn't want it to end on a sour note.

All of us walked to my car and I was teased multiple times and in multiple ways about my aversion to traffic and quick getaways and my therefore tendency to park miles away. After tonight, I had an idea it would be a thing of the past, considering Pierce Lucciano had been waiting outside the club for my exit. The thought made me feel more vulnerable than I would like to admit.

I was glad my friends didn't seem to pick up on that particular fact. I was hoping they thought it had just been a coincidence.

When we finally made it to my car I learned otherwise. They were actually way ahead of me.

"You're coming home with us tonight," Archer stated with Percy nodding vigorously in agreement at his side.

I balked. No way! This was their bachelor party night which meant that most likely they had planned for a bachelor party night! I had no intention of being that third wheel.

Mick spoke up.

"Look Jackson, I know it sucks. You're not a kid and we get that but it would just make us feel better if you came home with one of us."

"That's right!" Noah spoke up. "I don't know if you noticed J-Man but he was waiting for you outside tonight."

"Exactly!" Branson interjected "I know it turns out he's your boss and not just some random dick, but I think we'll all sleep better tonight if you stay with someone... so, it's your choice. Pick one of us to stay with and get over it will you?"

I grumbled to myself but I could see they were all in agreement and we would end up standing here until morning if I kept trying to insist, I would be fine on my own.

"At least don't make me pick," I muttered. "You guys choose, only not Archer and Percy. They have..." I puttered off and everyone laughed making teasing jokes at my expense.

I could feel my cheeks blush. Whereas I was pretty staid, the guys never failed to jump on a chance to joke about their favorite subject. Sex. And the fact that it made me blush only made them more determined to get as dirty as they could.

Why my thoughts turned at that moment to Pierce Lucciano I didn't know but they did, and my cheeks burned hotter.

I had never met anyone like him before in my life. I had never reacted like that to someone either.

His ice eyes had locked on me tonight, and for a second, he was all I had seen. I didn't know why he had acted the way he had and said the things he had said. He had almost seemed angry with me though I knew that didn't make any sense. We had never met before. Why he wanted to wind me up and by extension my friends, was anyone's guess.

Another quaver of that odd energy prickled along my nerve endings, as I thought about him, making me shiver in the night air.

What was that?