Link Maxwell: A Sweet Gay Romance (James Brothers Book 3)

by C. E. Wilson

  “I understand that Lincoln, but these are little children. You can’t be around the little boys. If I don’t do something about this now, I’ll lose my own job. I’m going to have to let you go. I’m sorry.”

  “Do you fire straight men because they are teaching the little girls?”

  “No, of course, not.”

  Chapter 9

  Link unlocked his drawer and got his planner. He was not leaving it for the next teacher. He got up and got his lunch, and walked out. He got in his truck and drove to his father’s office. The receptionist smiled when she saw Link. “Your father isn’t busy, so go on in.”

  Link thanked her and went into his father’s office. He sat down across from his father and had the saddest eyes his father had ever seen. “I know something is wrong, so tell me, son.”

  “I got fired from my job, Dad. I didn’t even do anything. They fired me because I’m gay.”

  “They can’t do that, son. Your sexual preference has nothing to do with your job.”

  “That’s what I told Mr. Simpson. He said I couldn’t be around little boys. I asked him if he fired straight men because they would be around little girls, and he said, of course, not. What’s the difference, Dad?”

  “There is no difference. I’ll file a suit this morning. They have to give your job back. Is it this Mr. Simpson that fired you?”

  “Yes, he said he would have to go to the school board, but then when I said I wouldn’t hide the fact that I was gay and have a boyfriend, he fired me without even talking to the school board. Can he do that?”

  “No, he needs the approval of the school board to fire anyone. I’ll include him in the suit. I think a million dollars and your job back should be enough. Don’t you think?”

  “Oh yeah, that will be good. How much am I going to get after you take your cut?”

  “A million dollars. I’m your father, and I won’t charge you for something that wasn’t your fault. I heard from Sam that you’re getting a beautiful house. This will help you furnish it.”

  “Alex is moving in with me when his lease is up next month so he’ll bring his furniture and then we will see what else we need for the house. It even has a mother in law house out behind it. When we get married and get a baby, then we can hire a nanny, and she can live in the little house.”

  “You know your brother is getting a boy next week. I think Cade said he was about seven years old.”

  “They didn’t find any other relatives for the boy?”

  “Yeah, they found a great, great aunt, but she’s in her seventies and said she couldn’t care for him. She can barely take care of herself.”

  “I know Cade and Bradley will be thrilled. The house we picked out is just down the street a little way from Cade and Bradley. It is just beautiful, Dad. Wait until you see it.”

  “Let me know when you close on it so I can come and see it. Sam said he was paying cash, and if so, then you can move right in. I’ll get your lights changed when you’re ready to move in.”

  “Thanks, Dad. Do I need to sign anything for the lawsuit?”

  “No, I got this. You just go home and don’t worry about anything. Here take this until you get back to work.” He handed Link five hundred dollars.

  Link took it and said, “I’ll give it back when I get paid. Thank you.”

  He left the office and felt a little better knowing his dad, and mom would make sure that he got his job back. The money would be nice, but he wanted the job in the worst way. He headed home, and his phone rang. It was Alex. “Hey babe. Are you free for lunch? I was going to swing by the school to get you.”

  “I’m not at school. I’m headed home. I’ll explain why when you get there.”

  “Is everything alright? You sound down.”

  “No, it isn’t alright, but I don’t want to go into it on the phone. I’ll tell you as soon as I see you. I love you, Alex.”

  “I love you too, babe. I’ll stop and get something for lunch, and we can eat it at the house. I’ll see you in a few.”

  He just hung up when his phone rang again. He looked at it to see who it was, and it was a number he didn’t know. He answered. “Hello.”

  “Hi, this is Julie at the real estate office. I am looking for Link Maxwell.”

  “This is Link. Hi Julie. You’re a friend of Clayton James, right? I was expecting your call.”

  “Yes. I wanted to call and make an appointment to see the house you chose. It’s empty, so when you can look at it, we can get this done for you.”

  “How about at six this evening? I’m off work, but my partner won’t get off work until five, and then he has to make it home. So, he should be home by five-thirty and then the drive over there. We can make it at six, I know. Is that too late?”

  “Sweetie, the commission I make off this house; I would be happy to meet you there at midnight. I’m always ready when Sam adopts another son.”

  “Sam’s a very generous man. I would never be able to afford that house if not for Sam.”

  “I’ll see you there at six. We can go through both houses, and you can see what you want to keep and then give the rest away or whatever you want to do with it.”

  “Yes, we will be there. Thank you for getting right back to me.”

  Link hung up and wondered what she meant about giving stuff away they didn’t want to keep. It was a house. What was to give away? He pulled into his driveway, and Alex wasn’t there yet. He didn’t expect him to be since he was stopping to get them something for lunch. He sat there thinking about getting fired, and it really hurt his heart. He got tears in his eyes but did his best to not let them fall. He had wanted to be a teacher since he was a small child.

  He finally couldn’t hold the tears back, and they ran down his cheeks. He was still sitting there when Alex pulled in beside him. He glanced over at Link and saw he was crying, so he got out of his car and walked over to the truck. He pulled Link’s door open and pulled Link into his arms and held him tight. He let Link cry it out and then pulled him out of the truck and took him into the house. He sat him down at the table and ran back out to the car and got the lunches he stopped and obtained from a deli.

  He set Link’s in front of him, and he sat down across from him. “You want to tell me what happened that you're so upset?”

  “I got fired today.”

  “You got fired? Link that doesn’t make sense. You haven’t even had students in your classroom. What did they fire you for?”

  “Because I’m gay and have a boyfriend. The principal said I couldn’t be around little boys. He thinks gay means pedophile. I tried to tell him it wasn’t the same thing, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  “Babe, he can’t fire you for being gay. We need to find a lawyer. Maybe Clayton would take care of this for you.”

  “No, my father is already filing a lawsuit against the school board and Mr. Simpson. Cade didn’t tell you that our parents are both civil rights attorneys?”

  “No, he never said much about your parents. Just that your parents are good people. Oh, wait, you told me when we were talking about my dad. I just forgot.”

  Link also remembered when Alex said that. He nodded in agreement before saying, “He’s right about that. They are the best parents ever.”

  “Did you hear from the real estate woman today?”

  “Yes, we have an appointment at six to meet her at the house. I thought that would give you time to get home and us to drive over there.”

  “I’m going to call my afternoon appointments and make them for tomorrow. I’m not going to leave you with you this upset. I only have a couple for new clients, and I can change them for later in the week.”

  “No baby, I don’t want you to have to do that. I’m fine; just hurt that he fired me when he told me how good I was doing. How can I do good and get fired because I love a man and not a woman?”

  “Small-minded people babe. You know how some people are about gays. I don’t understand that you can’t be around little boys.
That’s saying that you like little boys. I don’t think you do. In fact, I know you like men.”

  “Correct that to one man. I love you, and only you. I don’t even think about little boys.”

  “I know, babe. Your dad will take care of everything. Just relax and eat your lunch.”

  “How many beds do you have?”

  “What?”

  “In your apartment, how many beds do you have?”

  “Oh, I have two queen size beds with dressers and chests. I take it you have two as well since this is a two-bedroom?”

  “Yes, both queen size as well. So, we are going to need two more beds. One for the house and one for the nanny’s house. Both can wait for a while, though.”

  “At least we have two living room sets. We can use one for the living room and one for the den. We also have two dining room sets. One for the formal dining room and one for the breakfast nook.”

  “We should be writing this down. We’ll need another one for the nanny’s house. I guess we should take a tablet and pen to the house to see how many rooms we have and what we need for furniture. I don’t even know how many bedrooms we have in the nanny’s cottage. We’ll have to know how much furniture we’ll need so we don’t have any empty rooms.”

  “I wish we had made a copy of that paper describing the house so we could reference it now. It’s hard to remember what all it had.”

  “That’s the reason I said to bring a tablet and pen. We can write down what all is in there.”

  “Why not just use our phones and take pictures of each room and we can decide what we want to do with each room. I would love to have a room to make my office in.”

  “I don’t see a problem with that. We really don’t need five bedrooms. Just take one of them and make it your office if there isn’t a study or something like that. We really don’t need five bedrooms anyway. I only want two children, and that would give us an extra bedroom for a guest.”

  “That sounds good to me. I don’t need much room, just a desk, and a computer. I can do everything from there. Right now, I have the computer on my table and doing the work on it. It would be nice to have a place to work from.”

  “Just remember that Saturday afternoon and Sunday belong to me. I’ll do the same for you.”

  “Of course, I meant during the day during the week. I work from home a lot. I have to do the business plans on my computer then email them to the client. I do have to go meet some of the clients when I first go to work for them. Then, for the most part, I work from home. That’ll work when you get back to school. I can have dinner done not long after you get home.”

  “Yeah, that’ll be good if I get to go back to school. I brought my planner home with me. I wasn’t going to leave it there for the next person. I worked hard on that planner.”

  “How did they find out you’re gay and have a boyfriend?”

  “Darlene. I know she’s the one that told him. She wanted me to do her planner for her and take her out to dinner, and when I refused to do both of them, she went straight to the office. I didn’t think much about it then. When the principal came to my room, I knew what she had done. He wanted me to deny it, but I’m not going to do that. I’m not ashamed of who I am.”

  “You make me proud of who you are. I’m glad you stuck up for yourself.”

  There was a knock on the door, so Link got up and went to answer it. A messenger standing there with a big yellow envelope. “I’m looking for Lincoln Maxwell.”

  “I’m Lincoln Maxwell.”

  The messenger handed the envelope to Link and got on his motorcycle and took off. Link looked at the envelope, and it was from his dad’s office. He smiled because he knew what was in the envelope.

  Chapter 10

  Link walked back into the kitchen. He put the envelope on the table and sat down, staring at it. Alex asked, “What’s wrong, babe?”

  “That is from my dad’s office. That is the suit he filed for me against the school and Mr. Simpson. I’m afraid to look at it. I don’t know what he was going to do. He said a lot of money and my job back. I know my dad, and I’m sure there is more than that to it.”

  “Only one way to find out, babe. Open it and see.”

  Link nodded and picked up the envelope and opened it. He laid the papers down on the table and picked up the first one. He read it and then handed it to Alex. He picked up the second page and gasped. His father had sued for two million and his job back with a starting pay of forty thousand. Mr. Simpson and Darlene were both to be fired from their jobs, as well. “Oh, my goodness, Alex. Read this one.”

  Alex took the paper and started to read it. He gasped as well when he got to what his father was asking for. Link picked up his phone and called his dad. “Dad, I just got the papers, and I can’t believe what it says. That isn’t what we talked about in your office.”

  “I know that son, but I am making it higher, and they will counter an offer, and if it is the original one, I told you, then I’ll take it. Either way, I want that principal and the other teacher fired. If they stay there, they’ll give you a hard time, and no one does that to my sons.

  “I have already filed it in court, and the deputy was to deliver it today to the school board, so let’s see what they say.”

  “Are they going to call me?”

  “No, but if they do, don’t talk to them. Just tell them to contact your lawyer.”

  “Ok, Dad. We’re going to go see the house tonight. We meet the real estate agent at six.”

  “I hope it is everything you want a son. I know you will be happy with Alex there.”

  “Yes, I will. You and mom need to come swimming sometimes. We could invite Cade and Bradley as well and maybe have a family dinner or something.”

  “Get all moved in, and we’ll set something up.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  By the time the boys finished reading all the papers, it was time to go meet the real estate agent. They drove to the house, and she was there at the front door waiting on them. They got out of the truck and walked up to her introducing themselves to her. She shook both of their hands and asked, “Are you ready to be blown away? This house is so magnificent. I know you’re going to love it.”

  She unlocked the door and stepped inside. The boys followed her into the large foyer. They both had their mouths hanging open as they looked around. She led them room by room, and both were surprised that the house was furnished. Link asked, “If we get this house when will the owners have the furniture out so we can move in after closing?”

  “They won’t be moving the furniture. It comes with the house. Remember, I told you this morning what you didn’t want to just give to someone or whatever you want to do with it.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you were talking about furniture.”

  She cracked a smile. “What did you think I was talking about?”

  “I didn’t know. I told myself it is a house what’s to give away?”

  She laughed and kept up the tour. When they got to the master suite, it had a massive four-poster bed in it with a matching dresser and chest. Both of the guys liked it really well. It also had a huge bathroom that was only for the master bedroom. It had two walk-in closets that were as big as the bedrooms in Link’s house. Alex asked, “Does the house have an office or study?”

  “Yes, it has a fascinating study and a very well-stocked library. When the owners moved to Florida, they only took their clothes. Everything else, including the dishes and pots and pans in the kitchen, was left here. Come, I’ll show you the rest of the house, and you can see if the study or library will do for your office.”

  They went to the study first, and Alex fell in love with it. It even had a computer on the desk. The agent wasn’t joking. They left everything. Alex stayed in the study looking around, and Link went with the agent to the library. He was amazed at the books. He looked at a few and found they were first editions of really old books. They were in prime condition. He didn’t say anything to the woman, but t
hat alone made this house the one he wanted. Alex joined them and stood in the doorway and scanned the library. He was amazed at the floor to ceiling shelves with books on them.

  They went down the hallway and came out to the kitchen. It was huge and had two large refrigerators and a couple of large freezers with food in the freezers. “How long has this food been here?”

  “Only a couple of weeks. They just listed with us and then moved to Florida. They didn’t want to take the food with them, so the woman of the house told me that they had just gone shopping and filled all the freezers and then decided to move to Florida. It’s still good food. The freezers on the refrigerators are full, as well. She told me to keep the electric on until it sold so as not to let the food spoil. We can give you a week or so to get your electric on, so the food doesn’t spoil. Now, do you want to see the back deck and pool? Then we will go out to the mother in law house, and you can see it is a very nice little house.”

  They walked out a sliding glass door to the pool. It was off the kitchen. The pool was huge, with a fence around it about four feet high. Both of the boys thought it was a beautiful pool. It had steps going down into it and had a ladder at the deep end. The cabana was charming and had several lounge chairs set up in it. Alex said, “If you don’t know anything about a pool babe, we’ll need to get a pool company to service it. I don’t know a thing about a pool.”

  “I don’t either. I’ll see what company Cade uses, and we can get that same one. That way, the man can do both pools on the same day.”

  “Yeah, sounds like a plan to me.”

  They went on to see the small cottage in the back. It, too, was furnished. They wondered what they were going to do with the furniture they both had. The little house was perfect. It was two bedrooms, and it was so cute. They figured this would be an ideal house for the nanny when they got one.

  Link looked at Alex, and he nodded, so Link told the agent that they wanted the house. She nodded. “I’ll call Sam first thing in the morning. Closing will be in two to three weeks. It depends on the time it takes to do the title search. Shouldn’t be long before your ready to move in here. I know you’re going to be so happy. I think I’ll see if Sam will adopt me.” She laughed as she said the last part.