by K P Maxwell
“A new face,” the man said, smiling slowly, and it wasn’t a question. He sounded pleased at what he saw. Ty, probably a decade older, hair trimmed close to his head to hide how fucking curly it gets when he lets it grow out and the bits of grey that he’s not going to bother with. He probably had an aggressive five o’clock shadow after a long day of frustrating work. Top button of his button-up undone with the sleeves pushed up, slacks probably wrinkled by now.
Granted, Ty has always kept his body in prime condition. He’s been in more than a few situations where it paid to have more muscle, more bulk on the other guy, even if just for the intimidation factor alone.
The other man pushed himself into a sitting position, the motion catlike and probably calculated to show off the lithe muscles of the other man’s body, as well. Damn, Melanie really knew how to pick them. And by this point, he was 100% certain that this had something to do with her.
“Damien,” the other man said, and it was an introduction as he pushed himself off of the bed, his bare feet padding on the lush carpet to stand closer to Ty. Ty found himself moving forward in response, already wanting to put his hands on those thin hips. See those pretty lips around his cock.
Names, though. He shook his head. He couldn’t give away his own, just in case.
Damien tilted his head, curiosity crossing his face and shrugged.
“Well, I suppose we don’t need to do much talking anyways, do we?” he asked, and Ty found himself grinning at the forwardness behind the suggestion, and happy to get right down to business.
Afterwards, he walked back through the door again, leaving Damien sprawled back out on the bed, boneless in a delicious way. He wasn’t sure what he expected after leaving. Perhaps he thought he’d end up right back on that same street again. But instead, he found himself deposited directly into Melanie Selinofoto’s office. She looked surprised to see him there, as well, which was even more confusing, since he figured this whole setup was her doing in the first place.
“Interesting…” she muttered, as if to herself, and then gestured for him to sit down.
“Tyler Balducci,” she said after he pulled out the chair. “I don’t usually personally oversee this sort of thing, but I can see why I felt the need to tonight,” she said cryptically, and he felt like it was better not to ask with her.
Melanie Selinofoto was a legend in Portland’s shifter community. She’d been known to shift into not one, but three different canine forms, and there were other rumors about her besides. She was always this way. A little on the weird side. Some sort of witch, he’d always thought, along with being a shifter.
Ty did his best to stay on her good side and keep a friendly business relationship going.
“Well I’m sure you’ve figured there’s a fee involved, or at least some sort of trade,” she said. “If you’d like to see him again, name the price you’d be willing to pay.”
The deal with a devil comparison seemed particularly apt in this scenario. At the time, he had wondered if everyone got the same treatment, and by now he knows that they do.
He named a price, and she raised an eyebrow at it. He must have overshot, but he didn’t particularly care. In that moment, he’d decided that he needed to see Damien again, and he was going to pay any price to do it.
And now, here in the present day, after months of seeing the brat, he’s ready to up the ante. Forget sharing the brat with other clients. No. There would be no more other clients. No more sharing. The brat is his and his alone.
Ty glances at the paper again, before putting his car into reverse. There’s no way Melanie can say no to this offer. A deal with a devil, indeed.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Balducci?” Melanie asks, smacking her flat palm down on the sheet of paper that Ty had handed her. The glasses on the table rattle, and the lady at the table next to them gives her a dirty look. They couldn’t meet at Café Seuil for obvious reasons, and they’re sitting outside at a café in a different neighborhood, instead. Melanie lowers her voice. “You want him that bad?”
Ty nods, face grim and serious, and Melanie almost feels sorry for the man. Damien must’ve done a number on him, she thinks, but she had always sort of expected something like this to happen, all those months ago when Ty first met Damien.
She drums her fingers on the paper instead, thinking through the options. She had received a call from him earlier in the afternoon, demanding a meeting with her, stressing that it needed to be as soon as possible. Before Damien took any other clients. Ty can’t possibly know that Damien doesn’t have any others lined up anymore, which buys her some time.
She glares at him, but he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms and not backing down. He makes for an intimidating sight when he’s like this, and Melanie can almost see why Damien likes him so much. Because, that’s part of the problem. Damien likes this man, and everyone in the café knows it. Perhaps even Ty himself knows it, although Melanie thinks maybe not. This move doesn’t strike her as the sort of thing he would do if he knew he had the upper hand in that regard.
The Door matched those two together, and as much as Melanie made the damn thing, sometimes she doesn’t even know why it chooses certain partners. Something about kindred spirits or some need that can be fulfilled. Whatever it is, she can always trust that the Door has found a good partner for one of her boys, but this is the first time that this sort of thing has happened.
Damien’s had other clients that have edged towards… problematic. He’s a charismatic host, after all. But Ty is the most problematic of them all, because Ty’s got the money to throw around if he wants to do something really stupid. Like this.
And the trouble is that Melanie really can’t say no for Damien, even if she wants to. She doesn’t really know how he’ll reply to the offer.
“I have to ask him, you know,” she says finally, and they both know it’s a stalling tactic, but Ty nods, and Melanie’s glad he’s not fighting her over that part.
“I don’t want him seeing anyone else until he signs this,” Ty says, and Melanie sighs. So self-assured. So certain Damien will say yes. She can’t blame him though. Melanie’s pretty sure Damien would have said yes, too, if not for the fact that he’s wrapping up all of his client-based work.
“I’ll give him that choice,” she says, and he grins at her finally, taking her reply for the agreement that it is. He probably knows that he’s won this round.
Ty finishes off the last of his espresso, setting the cup down carefully on the little saucer, and then stands. “Let me know how that goes,” he says, turning to go, but she stops him with a look.
“Does he even know?” she asks, deadly serious.
Ty’s face changes at that, looking a little more uncertain for the first time in the conversation. He shakes his head. “No, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“You need to tell him,” she says, and he shrugs.
“Don’t see how it matters for this,” he says, and she hates it, but he’s right. She could push him on it, or just tell Damien herself, but in the long run, it really didn’t matter for this sort of arrangement.
Even so, Melanie’s always felt that there was something a little shady about Ty not telling Damien that he’s a wolf. And not just any wolf.
Portland doesn’t really have packs, so to speak. Nothing like some of the larger cities in California or on the East coast. But in Portland’s small wolf shifter community, Ty is one of the wolves. One of the alphas. In every sense of the word.
And Damien is more than just a host to her. All of the boys are, really. But Damien especially. He basically runs the Café, leaving Melanie to focus on other aspects of the business that are more interesting to her. He’s important. She really doesn’t want to see him getting hurt over this, but she’s not sure it can be avoided at this rate. Not if Ty’s chosen him.
She shrugs, waving a hand at him, effectively dismissing him. Not wanting him to know how unsettled she is by the way things are proceeding.
“Good doing business with you,” he says, nodding politely and cautiously at her as he leaves. She still has some sort of intimidation factor on him, she’s pleased to see. But once he’s finally out of sight, she resists the urge to bang her head down on the café table. She drains the rest of her coffee. This can’t possibly end well.
Chapter Eleven
Damien always checks in with Melanie bright and early before the café opens, thankfully a little later on Saturdays. She has a small office right off of the hallway that leads to the kitchen, and it’s usually a complete disaster, with papers stacked everywhere, sometimes even empty coffee cups and plates that Damien ends up bringing back to the kitchen for her. Damien has no idea how she keeps the business running half of the time, given the state of her office. He tends to just suspect witchcraft when it comes to the unexplained phenomena surrounding Melanie.
Today, however, she doesn’t look so happy to see him, even though he’s bringing her some fresh coffee and one of Sebastian’s croissants that’s still warm from the oven. Plain, though, because as much as she owns a café that serves French pastries, Melanie’s not that into sweets.
“Your final client wants to buy you,” Melanie says in disgust, coming right out with it before even accepting his offering of food.
“He what?” Damien blurts out, trying to carefully set the cup and plate down while still processing her words, but Melanie shakes her head, ignoring his question. She shuffles through some papers on her desk and pulls out a few pieces of paper, handing them over to him.
Damien glances over them briefly. “A contract?” he asks, “How –”
Melanie holds up a hand. “That idiot already drew it up himself. Brought it to me yesterday. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
Damien’s nearly speechless. Ty really went for it. He offered to buy out all of Damien’s other contracts, and now here it is. In writing. Damien is… not sure how he feels about it, if he’s honest. It’s flattering but –
His gaze gets stuck on the numbers when he goes back to skimming over the black ink on the official-looking documents. Surely, he’s not reading that right. There are way too many zeros, he thinks, panic rising. How does this man have this much money? He looks up at Melanie again, eyes wide.
“Did you see what he’s offering?” Damien asks, and Melanie frowns at him.
“This whole thing’s a mess,” she says, not bothering to confirm or deny.
Damien’s hands are shaking as he reads over the conditions. It’s pretty standard stuff. No seeing other clients, an agreed upon maximum and minimum number of nights per week with some flexibility based on the client’s preferences, that sort of thing. Where on earth did Ty decide on that payment though?
“Well?” Melanie asks, and he looks at her curiously, not sure what she’s expecting.
“Are you going to take it?” she prompts, completely serious, and Damien feels the shock of the idea run through him. He could take it, if he wanted to. Couldn’t he? He doesn’t really need the money anymore, but –
“No, absolutely not,” he says, throwing the pieces of paper down, alternately flattered and horrified. “What the fuck is wrong with him?”
Melanie looks up at him, smile wry, “You kind of did this to yourself, you know.”
“I absolutely did not!” Damien says, immediately defensive, but he thinks of some of their recent sessions and his face heats. Maybe he did… just a little bit.
Melanie gives him a knowing look. “If you’d just tell him that he’s your only contract, he wouldn’t be trying to buy out the other ones…”
Damien nods reluctantly, still feeling overwhelmed at the amount of money involved. And weekly? Is that man actually insane?
“So your answer is no then?” Melanie asks, face carefully blank. “Are you sure?”
Damien’s not sure, but he nods anyways. “It has to be,” he says in a small voice. “I’m not going to take any more clients. I don’t need to take any more clients. And I especially don’t need to book all week with one client.”
“Damien, that’s totally fine,” Melanie reassures him. “The choice is completely up to you. I just wanted to give you this option.”
Damien feels a little sick about the whole thing. “I can’t accept this,” he says.
“I’ll take care of it,” Melanie says, not sounding happy about the idea. She slides the papers back towards herself. “I’ll just tell him the whole thing’s off.”
Damien considers that. He really doesn’t ever have to see Ty again if he doesn’t want to. Melanie would make sure of it. Damien trusts in that absolutely.
The problem is that Damien doesn’t want that. He still really wants to see Ty. He wasn’t even sure Ty would come to their next session, and it’s been eating him up for the past day thinking about it. After seeing the contract, though, he knows Ty will be there, and he can’t let go of the opportunity to see the man again. As Sebastian has teased him many times, he really does have it bad, so to speak.
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “Let me do it. I don’t want to cancel our sessions just yet.”
Melanie gives him a careful look at this, and he can feel the blush rising in his cheeks. He knows he’s playing a dangerous game.
“You need to tell him the truth,” Melanie says. “Tyler Balducci is not a man you want mad at you, Damien,” and there’s something in her voice that’s cold steel, something that Damien doesn’t know about that makes him oh, so curious. This is what gets him into trouble, he thinks. He always wants to play with fire.
“I’ll talk with him about it on Thursday,” Damien says, trying to sound calmer than he really feels, and Melanie holds his gaze for a moment longer before she sits back in her chair.
“Alright,” she says, waving him out of her office. “I’ll let you handle it, then.”
Now Damien just has to figure out what that’s going to entail.
“I’m only going to do this once,” Sebastian says, with what must have been a huge effort on his part. Damien takes a moment to stop staring blankly at the plate of food in front of him to look up at Sebastian.
Sebastian cooks them staff meals around lunchtime every day, and they eat in the small room next to the kitchen that has a table for that purpose and not much else. Damien reluctantly admits to loving everything Sebastian cooks. Really, it’s probably Sebastian’s only redeeming quality.
Liam and Jake are tending the front of the café while Damien and Sebastian take their turn at lunch. Damien doesn’t actually know where Kaz is, but it’s likely he’s in the lounge. He’ll probably make his way in here eventually soon, but for now, Damien’s on his own with Sebastian.
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian asks, and it’s not like there’s actual concern showing on his face, because Damien’s not sure that he’s even capable of expressing real human emotion, but there’s something in his tone that does actually sound like he cares.
Damien sighs. “I guess it must be bad if you’re asking,” he says, and he pushes his food around on his plate. He considers his options.
He could brush Sebastian off, which seems like the smarter thing to do, but really Sebastian is probably the only person in the café who might be able to give him real advice. Kaz and Jake are both too new. Kaz seems like he’s got the right idea about things generally, but it’s different when you’ve been doing this sort of job for a few years. And there’s Liam, but Damien doesn’t think Liam is capable of even entertaining the sort of dilemma Damien has. So it’s unlikely he’d be helpful either.
“So, I may have gotten myself into a stupid situation,” Damien admits, and Sebastian doesn’t say anything out loud, but the look that he’s giving Damien is something like what’s new, and it must take a lot of emotional control for Sebastian to not actually say it. Damien appreciates that in a person.
“My final client…” Damien continues, “He’s asking for an exclusive contract.” Sebastian’s eyebrows raise into his hairline.
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br /> “Right?” Damien asks, because it’s basically unheard of, especially the sort of indefinite situation that Ty’s asking for.
Sebastian shakes his head, obviously impressed. “What did you do to him?”
Damien laughs, but there’s a panicked edge to it, and Sebastian looks like he’s reconsidering Damien in a new light. Because when it comes down to it, an exclusive contract is something that none of them have ever been offered before, and the amount of money involved is probably some sort of record by itself. Damien doesn’t even want to mention it. If Melanie weren’t a good person, she could force him to accept it just for the profits she would make. Luckily that’s not the sort of arrangement they have.
“I don’t know, I –” Damien starts, but he frowns down at his plate again. “I like him,” he admits, half of a whisper, answering a completely different question, and he doesn’t want to see Sebastian’s face. Sebastian’s quiet for too long though, so Damien finally looks up and is surprised to see something like sympathy on the other man’s features.
Sebastian nods, as if he understands, and Damien has to wonder for a moment if maybe Sebastian does. “So what are you going to do?” Sebastian asks.
“That’s the question, right?” Damien shrugs. “I’m not going to accept it. I can’t.”
Sebastian raises an eyebrow at him. “Really?” he says. “I guess I sort of thought you might.”
Damien really looks at Sebastian then, and he feels like they are both seeing each other in a different light. Sebastian looks away, shrugging, and it’s almost an apology.
Damien feels himself smiling for real at that. So Sebastian’s had this idea of him as a terrible person the entire time. He admits that he’s had a similarly awful preconception of the other man as well.
“I do give off that impression, don’t I?” Damien asks, “Like I’m the sort of person who would do that kind of thing?” And Sebastian laughs then. Damien doesn’t think he’s ever heard Sebastian laugh before.
