Which brought John back to eyeing his phone again. Theo and Haven had the day off, so they were using the opportunity to get Haven moved. Which meant, at some point that day, Adam would be all alone in the apartment. Without a car still, yes, but that wasn't foolproof. There were car services he could easily call. John almost considered taking Adam's wallet away, too, even though the very idea rubbed him wrong. Still, he made a mental note to bring it up the next time they talked.
And that, of course, wouldn't be for hours. John scrubbed a hand over his face. He'd gotten to work ridiculously early that morning, trying to make up for his absence on Friday. Even if Adam were awake already, the boy was probably busy helping Haven pack. But once Theo and Haven left? All bets were off. Adam would either continue downsizing his own things or slipright back into grief and depression in the face of his newfound loneliness.
It was a shame the boy had lost his job. The distraction would have been good for him.
A tiny voice in the back of John's mind teased the idea of having Adam move in with him, but John immediately pushed the thought aside. Yes, it would allow him to keep a better eye on Adam. But John also knew he needed to work through his own issues regarding Adam's dad first. Until and unless he got that weight off his shoulders, he didn't want to take a big step like moving in together.
He could see it happening someday, though. A part of him even wanted it, despite knowing what kind of chaos it was going to throw into his quiet, cozy home life. But not yet. He needed to get his own head right first. Otherwise, he'd be no good to his boy in the long run.
John reached out to check his phone again, then snatched his hand back when he heard footsteps right before his office door opened.
“Morning,” Ward greeted him as he stepped inside and pushed the door shut.
“Morning.”
“Everything okay?” Ward asked. “You took off so quick on Friday.”
John nodded and waved a hand, not wanting to get into his personal issues at the office. “Fine, thanks.” He took a breath and opened his mouth to ask what he'd missed, but Ward beat him to it.
“Before you ask,” Ward began with a chuckle, “everything was fine here.” Then he sat down and gave John a recap of his work on Friday.
John made notes for himself while Ward spoke, then checked his calendar and his to-do list so they could make a plan for the week.
“Oh!” Ward said. “I almost forgot. Everett finalized his wine order for the wedding.” He got up and went to his own small desk in the corner of the room. “I had our warehouse guys pull the cases and set them aside in reserve.” He grabbed a sheet of paper and brought it over to John. “Here's the list.”
John took it and scanned the items, slowly nodding to himself. “Good choices,” he murmured, then frowned. “Smaller list than I was expecting.”
Ward shrugged. “I guess they're not doing a huge wedding. He said their families are both pretty small, and beyond that, they're just inviting close friends.” Ward paused, chuckling again. “So it'll probably look like one of Beau's parties. Lots of familiar faces.”
John breathed a laugh, nodding in agreement. He set the list aside, making a mental note to swing by the warehouse at some point that day and doubly confirm all the reserved wine was accounted for. “I want to inspect the vines today, before it gets too hot,” he told Ward. “Then see how bottling is coming along.”
“Sounds good.”
John got up and headed outside, with Ward following him. They climbed into one of the vineyard trucks and set off, doing a slow circuit of the property and occasionally stopping to get out so they could see some of the vines up close. The hillsides already looked thickly carpeted in green. John couldn't help smiling at the sight.
Christ. This was just what he'd needed. Fresh air. Sunshine. Surrounded by his vines. John saw the healthy growth all around him and felt optimistic about this year's crop, seeing budburst give way to bloom, which would turn into grapesbefore he knew it. So long as the weather continued to stay on their side, he saw a profitable year ahead of them.
They had to cut the tour short when lunchtime rolled around. John drove them back to the office, feeling both disappointed and relieved when they skipped past the riesling fields along the way. As much as he needed to check on their growth—or, more likely, lack thereof—John was dreading it. He wasn't ready to see how much that land was struggling. Deep down, he knew those vines would have to be torn out come winter, but John could barely stand the thought of it, let alone the visible proof of it.
Besides, he and Ward had plenty of other work to do that day. They could save the rest of the tour for another time.
John sat at his desk and ate his lunch, then made a quick trip over to the warehouse to check on the bottling process. Before he left, he stopped to look for the wedding wine order. He ticked each item off the list to make sure it was all there, even though he was sure Ward had already done so. Hell, the cases were clearly marked with a sign:Reserved for private event. There was nothing more for John to do.
He stuck around the warehouse long enough to make sure that week's order had gotten picked up by the distributor, even knowing they'd come and gone hours ago, then finally headed back to his office. John was just sitting down at his desk and reaching for his to-do list when the door opened and Adam walked in.
John blinked in surprise. “Hey. What–”
Adam laughed. “You didn't feel your phone vibrate, did you?”
“Huh?” John pulled his phone out of his pocket. Sure enough, the lockscreen displayed a missed call from almost an hour ago. “Shit. I'm so sorry, baby. Everything okay? How are you even here?”
Adam gestured at John's phone. “Haven got all his stuff packed up, and Theo came over to get him moved, and they asked if I wanted to go with them and then go out to lunch, but then Theo realized he forgot his wallet in the break room yesterday,” Adam went on, gesturing in the direction of the winery tasting room, “so we had to swing by here first. I saw your truck outside and thought I'd surprise you while Theo and Haven are in there, talking to Everett.” Adam paused, squirming where he stood. “They might be a while,” he quickly added, his voice turning breathless.
John's cock immediately went hard. “Christ,” he swore in a gasp. He hadn't been able to touch Adam all weekend, and the unexpected sight of his boy simply obliterated his self-control. “Lock the fucking door.”
Adam whirled around and did just that, then flew across the room.
John pulled the boy into a brutal kiss, then tore his pants open and turned him around, bending him over the desk. He freed his cock, then yanked out his wallet, hoping he still had a condom stashed in there. John gasped with triumph as he threw the wallet down, tore open the wrapper, and rolled the condom on. He didn't even have to check Adam to know the boy was wet and ready. The way Adam pushed his ass back and clawed at the desk made that more than obvious.
