Page 4 of Unwrapped
“What do I do?”
She shook her head.“Something big, something that takes some thought and it has to be about him, not you.”
She gave him back his things and with a shake of her head, headed out of the house.
“Something big…something…”
Christmas was almost here.He abandoned his coffee and walked toward his home office.He dropped down behind his desk and reached for a pen and a piece of paper.Jack jotted down some ideas on how he could show Adam how much he loved him.
Not ignoring him would be a start.
But before he could put his ideas into motion, he would have to see if Adam would to talk to him first.He reached for his cell phone and typed out the text without thinking about the phrasing.
I would never cheat on you.Iaman insensitive asshole, a million times over, but I would never cheat on you.
Jack held his breath and realized how tight his chest had become as he waited for Adam’s response.
Who was she?
Jack blew out the breath he’d been holding and sent thanks every deity above.Can I call and explain?
…Yes.
Not waiting another moment, Jack hit the speed dial on his cell and held his breath until Adam picked up.
“That was Melanie.She is my assistant.She’s married to Eddie, my VP of Operations and they are very much in love and have been since high school.”
“Why didn’t you come home until this morning?”
Jack heard the hurt he caused Adam in the tightness of his voice and the sharp breathing coming through the line.Adam truly thought Jack a horrible human being but was still willing to talk to him despite that.
“Mike, Ross, and Garen were finally ready to fund the cancer wing at the hospital and I pulled them into my office after you left and I negotiated with them until they agreed.I had to call Melanie in from the party to type up the contract and get everyone to sign it.By that time, I was ready to go home to see you and explain how sorry I was for being a gargantuan dick and rushed past Melanie, who was still in the office filing the contract, and I left without an explanation.That’s probably why she came over.”
A silence grew between them and Jack felt the need to fill it.“Although I have acted in every way counterintuitive to my next words, I do love you and I know that you are the only one for me.”
“Why?”
Jack understood immediately.Why had he been pulling away?Why had he acted the way he had to the one man he would love for the rest of his life?Jack swallowed hard.
“You’ve always been the man I wished I could be.I’ve known since the moment I met you I was gay, but I could never admit it to myself, much less you.So I denied it for years and keep denying until it’s the only truth I know.But everything changed when you returned my feelings and I have wanted to go public since the moment we got together, but something always stops me and I have no idea what.”
Jack wondered what Adam was thinking, but he unloaded a lot and Adam and he needed time to process.
“You know your father was a small-minded bastard who’s never cared about anyone but himself, right Jack?”
“Yeah, I know.”His voice was gruffer than he realized.
“And you’re nothing like him.”
Jack grew silent as he thought about his father.The man hated everyone, mostly his son because he’d refused to be part of the company that destroyed people’s lives.His father loved that he could put people out of business and didn’t care about who he affected.
Jack was nothing like him.
He created his own company to save those who had great ideas but needed help with the business side of things.And he would like to think that he’s not a disgusting human being like his father.
“You’re right.I haven’t cared to see him in years and I couldn’t care less what the bastard thinks of me.And I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to hurt you.That was never my intention.”
Jack paused before he asked the question that could break him.
