Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2012 Shawn Lane

ISBN:

978-1-77130-171-8

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: JS Cook

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are
fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

LOVING THE ASSISTANT

Romance on the Go

Shawn Lane

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

Lawrence “Lorrie” Bishop had grown bored with his life.

Bored with pretending he had some exciting life he simply did not.

While facing his reflection in the mirror of the men’s room, he

tied the red apron he wore as part of his job at Red Rita’s Café, the
sort of restaurant only open for breakfast and lunch. Each day of work
he had to give himself a pep talk before going out on the floor to take
orders.

Working at the restaurant hadn’t been all bad, of course. He

liked most of the other wait staff and some of the customers could be
really sweet. Especially the regulars. But something was definitely
missing from his life. Well, besides a steady boyfriend. He definitely
wanted one of those, too.

Lorrie had no one to blame for his seemingly dead end job but

himself. He’d been the one to forgo college. Well, not entirely. He
had taken a few acting school courses the fall before last. For all of
about five minutes he had stars in his eyes, thinking he was going to
be the next big Hollywood star. A leading man! Then he woke up and
realized leading men weren’t fruitier than strawberries.

As for going to college to study math or English or God forbid

business and economics, he shuddered, he’d rather watch paint dry.
He’d considered going back to college a few times or even to chef
school, maybe. In the end, he hadn’t been able to make himself enroll.

Sighing rather dramatically even for him, he spun away from

the mirror and pushed open the men’s room door.

“Lorrie, there you are,” his boss, Rita, called from the hostess

area. “I was about to send Joe in looking for you.”

Rita was a slightly plump woman in her sixties who’d been

dying her hair bright cherry red pretty much all her life, Lorrie
guessed. As long as he’d known her, for sure, and also in pictures of
her he’d seen going back decades. Lorrie had been working there for a
few years now, partly because the hours were good and his evenings
were free to go clubbing or whatever he wanted to do. Not that
clubbing had landed him the stud of his dreams. But the job was also
easy and comfortable at this point and as far as bosses went he could
do way worse than Rita.

“I’m going, I’m going.”
“The people at table twelve say they know you,” she called

after him.

“Great,” he mumbled and stopped at his first table, number

five. A middle aged man and woman sat across from each other in the
booth. The man stared at him with barely concealed hostility. “May I
get you something to drink?”

“What the hell are you?” the man demanded.
He pointed to his name tag. “I’m Lorrie, your waiter.”
“Lorrie? Are you a woman?”
Lorrie smiled patiently. “No, sir. Would you like soda or iced

tea or something?”

“What I’d like is to speak with your manager,” the

Neanderthal said, folding his beefy arms across his chest.

If the lady hadn’t looked as though she wanted to crawl under

the table, Lorrie might have pushed the guy’s buttons and declared
that it was all right for him to be bi-curious, but he didn’t want the
woman to suffer because her husband or whoever was a dick. She
probably knew already.

Lorrie walked over to the hostess area and tapped Rita, who

was ringing up a customer, on the shoulder. “Phobe at table five
wants to speak with you. I suspect he objects to being waited on by a
fairy.”

Rita rolled her eyes. “Okay. Be right there.”
He moved away, back to the other tables assigned to him.

After taking the order of a couple of college aged girls, he moved on
to a table with a couple of ladies and their small children. Lorrie

recognized them immediately as regulars who came in every Tuesday
morning.

“Good morning,” he said, smiling. “Well, almost afternoon,

isn’t it? I thought maybe you weren’t going to make it in today.”

The woman closest to him, she had the little boy, smiled

warmly. “Just running a little bit later than usual, Lorrie.”

“I’m glad you made it.” He crouched down next to the little

girl. “You want chocolate milk?”

She shook her pigtails.
“No? Oh, this is a strawberry milk day.”
She grinned. “Uh-huh.”
“I want orange juice,” the little boy announced.
“Already wrote it down.” Lorrie stood. “The usual?”
“Yes, please, Lorrie,” the other woman said.
“Coming right up.”
Lorrie turned the corner to make his way to table twelve.
“You have got to be kidding me? Grandma, what are you

doing here?” Lorrie stopped in front of the table of three old ladies.
Elderly, they had informed him they wished to be called.

“Hello to you too, Lawrence.”
He winced at the dreaded name. Besides his grandmother,

Elsie, a woman in her early seventies who still wore her gray hair
long to about the middle of her back, sitting across from her were her
two best friends, Hazel and Carol. They, too, were ladies in their
seventies. Today the three of them were wearing matching lavender
bowling shirts.

“Hello, Lorrie,” Carol said, kindly to him.
“Hi. What are you doing here?” he asked again.
“Having lunch, dear, like everyone else.” His grandmother

tapped the menu. “We get a senior discount it says.”

He scowled. “You’ve never come to lunch here before.”
Hazel flashed him a toothy smile. “We decided to try it after

we finished bowling. It occurred to us we’d never been at your
restaurant, Lorrie.”

“It’s not my restaurant.” Lorrie sighed. The three of them were

notoriously picky eaters and rather demanding of wait staff. Every
third Sunday of the month he went to brunch with them at a local
hotel. “What would you like to drink?”

“I think we’re ready to order our food. We waited a long time

for our waiter.” She gave him a serene smile, but he didn’t even
bother not to roll his eyes. He was used to her theatrics. They loved
each other like crazy, but she often acted like she was the damn
queen.

“Very well.” He matched her smile. “What can I get for you?”
“I would like the club sandwich,” Hazel spoke up.
He scribbled that on the order pad he carried with him.
“But can you leave off the mayonnaise and replace the turkey

with chicken? Oh and I’m not supposed to eat bacon, so leave that off,
too, please.” Hazel handed him the menu.

He crossed off club and wrote chicken sandwich. “Fries, fruit,

potato salad, or cole slaw?”

“Hmm. Fruit. No, the potato salad.” Hazel wrinkled her nose.

“Are those my only choices?”

“Yes, ma’am.”
“Fries, then. But can I get them unsalted?”
He smiled. “Unsalted fries. Carol?”
“I was going to have the short stack of pancakes,” Carol said

in her sort of breathy voice.

“But?”
“Now I think I’ll have cottage cheese and fruit.”
Lorrie wrote it down.
“Oh, and a cup of tea. Very hot. I don’t want one of those

lukewarm tepid cups of water with an herbal teabag on the saucer. I
want strong black tea and boiling hot,” Carol said.

“Did you want something to drink, Hazel?” he asked.
“Coffee, lots of cream. The flavored stuff, please.”
Finally, Lorrie glanced at his grandmother. “Yes, Grandma?”
“I’m going to have a cheeseburger,” she declared.
Her two Jewish friends gasped since one wasn’t supposed to

have dairy with meat. Lorrie, too, stared at her in shock.

She waved her hand. “Without the cheese.”
Lorrie rolled his eyes. “That’s just a hamburger.”
“Yes, yes, that’s what I want.”
“Lorrie,” one of the waitresses, a redhead named Beth, walked

up to him. “Rita wants to see you right away.”

He frowned. “I’m taking an order.”

Beth nodded. “I’m supposed to take over your tables. She said

it was important.”

His grandmother made a tsking sound. “Lorrie, did you get

yourself in trouble?”

Lorrie shot her a glare, but then handed his order pad to Beth.

“Okay, thanks, Beth.”

She smiled. “For what it’s worth, hon, I don’t think you’re in

trouble.”

He wasn’t sure what to make of Rita’s sudden strange request,

but since she was his boss, he supposed he would have to face her.
Was it something to do with the homophobic customer from table
five? Lorrie couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong.

Rita wasn’t out in front at the register or at the hostess booth,

so he went down the hall where the restrooms were located to the end
where a door led to her office. He tapped on the closed door.

“Come in.”
Lorrie opened the door expecting to see Rita seated behind her

desk. And she was. But sitting on the edge of her metal desk was a
man, probably in his thirties from the look of him. And Lorrie did
look. The man was gorgeous. Polished in sort of a James Bond kind
of way. He wore an immaculate designer navy suit with a crisp white
dress shirt and a thin gray tie. His hair was dark and short cropped and
he had piercing, dark eyes. He seemed to be staring at Lorrie in much
the same assessing way Lorrie stared at him.

“Close the door, Lorrie,” Rita said.
He supposed it was his imagination that her tone sounded

particularly ominous. He closed the door and had a brief flash of
panic. Was this guy a cop and here to arrest him? Had he been framed
for stealing from the restaurant or some such thing? Lorrie couldn’t
think of a damn thing he’d done.

“Have a seat,” she said, indicating an uncomfortable looking

chair in front of her desk.

He nodded and did as she said. What other choice did he

have?

“I’m sorry to have taken you off your shift so abruptly, Lorrie.

I was waiting for Jackson to arrive before speaking with you.”

Lorrie glanced at the man who continued to watch him

carefully. “Jackson?”

Rita offered her first smile, thought it was small. “Yes,

Jackson is my son.”

“Jackson Ridgley.” The man thrust his hand at Lorrie.
Lorrie shook it. “Uh, hi.”
“And you are Lorrie, short for—”
“Lawrence. Yes. Lorrie Bishop.” He tried not to show his

unease and confusion, but Lorrie had no clue what he was doing in
Rita’s office. He had a terrible urge to fidget. Lorrie shifted in the
chair and rested his hand on his leg to keep it from bouncing.

Rita cleared her throat, drawing his attention. “Lorrie,

basically, due to some health concerns, I’m taking a medical leave
from the restaurant for the foreseeable future. Due to that, Jackson is
going to be taking over the management here at Red Rita’s.”

“Oh.” Lorrie nodded his understanding. “I’m sorry to hear

that.”

“Unfortunately, I also have another business to run,” Jackson

said. “I can’t give the restaurant my full attention, though, I’ll be here
as often as I can. And that’s where you come in.”

“Me?”
“We’d like you to be Red Rita’s assistant manager, Lorrie.”

Chapter Two

Jackson couldn’t deny that Lorrie wasn’t quite what he had

been expecting when his mother said she knew just the employee to
be his assistant. In fact, when she’d referred to the employee as Lorrie
he had expected a woman. That’s what he got for assuming.

Not that he was disappointed. On the contrary, he found Lorrie

ridiculously appealing. Blond, slim, perky, and slightly femme, Lorrie
was just the sort of young twink Jackson would seek out at a gay bar.

But this was no gay bar and he wasn’t planning on any

hookups. This was his mother’s restaurant and he had a job to do.

“Excuse me?” Lorrie asked. He’d gone pale and looked more

than a little panicked.

“Don’t worry, I have every confidence in you,” his mother

said.

“B-but I’m just a waiter.”
“You’ve been here longer than any of my other wait staff. You

know the way we do things around here.” She gave him a reassuring
smile. “And you won’t be trying to blindly run it by yourself. Jackson
will help you.”

Lorrie bit his bottom lip and glanced Jackson’s way once

more. “Have you ever run a restaurant?”

He shrugged. “Well, no.” Jackson smiled. “But I’m a business

man, Lorrie. I have run successful businesses.”

The younger man—Jackson had no idea how old he was but

he suspected in his mid-twenties—seemed to relax just a bit, but
Jackson noticed Lorrie’s legs began to bounce and his hands fidgeted
in his lap.

“You’ll get a raise, of course,” Jackson assured him. He

suspected more responsibility with the same amount of pay would not
be terribly appealing to Lorrie or anybody really.

Lorrie straightened. “A raise?”
Jackson smiled and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Yes. Three dollars an hour.”

“Four,” his mother spoke up.
“Four dollars an hour.”

“Okay.” Lorrie didn’t look terribly pleased, but he seemed

accepting at least.

Jackson was actually no more sure Lorrie was the man for the

assistant job either. But his mother had chosen him and Red Rita’s
belonged to her. She’d been diagnosed with breast cancer and would
be undergoing treatment. Neither of them dwelled much on the
cancer, but Jackson knew it weighed heavily on her mind. She would
get better. She had to.

“Why don’t you go home today and come fresh to start

tomorrow for the breakfast shift? Five?” Jackson straightened from
the desk. “Beth will finish your tables.”

Lorrie nodded and stood. Or rather pretty much leaped up

from his chair like his ass was on fire. Jackson guessed he was
looking to get out of the office as fast as he could.

“Thank you,” Lorrie said. And Jackson could almost hear the

words I guess in his tone.

Jackson shook Lorrie’s hand and smiled. “It’s natural to be

nervous about new challenges, Lorrie. But I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

Lorrie nodded again and headed for the door. “Want me to re-

close the door?”

“Yes, thanks.”
Jackson turned to his mother as soon as Lorrie had closed the

door behind him. “Are you sure about him?”

“Oh, Lorrie will be fine. He doesn’t give himself enough

credit. I wouldn’t have chosen him if I had any doubts,” his mother
said.

“All right.” He studied her carefully. “You look tired.”
“Exhausted. But it’s just one more day. I can make it,

Jackson.”

“I know you can and you will.”
****
Lorrie scooted into the booth next to his grandmother. Their

lunches had already been delivered.

“What happened to your apron?” Hazel asked. She lowered

her voice. “Did you get fired?”

“Not even.”
“Then what’s up?” His grandmother eyed him with no little

suspicion.

Lorrie sighed and leaned his chin on his arm that he’d propped

up on the table. “I got promoted.”

“Oh.” Carol reached across and patted his arm. “But that’s a

good thing, right?”

He scowled. “Everyone knows anything good has a bad

consequence.” It had been something his grandmother had taught him
since he was old enough to walk. At the moment he wasn’t sure
exactly what bad consequences there would be. Not in a million years
had he thought he’d get to be assistant manager. Shouldn’t he have
taken management classes or something?

Hazel nodded her agreement. “But maybe it won’t be so bad.

Probably just longer hours or something.”

Lorrie reached over and snagged a fry off his grandmother’s

plate. “Longer hours, yes.”

“Longer hours and more responsibility for the same amount of

pay?” his grandmother guessed.

“Nope. A raise, too.” Lorrie bit his lip. It all sounded pretty

good. If he had the confidence to do it. But then he remembered why
he was being given the opportunity. “I guess it does have its bad
consequences. My boss, Rita, has cancer and she’s taking a leave.”

“Oh, that’s awful,” Carol said, sympathetically.
“It is. And her son is taking over running the place. I’m going

to be assistant manager.”

“He’s probably a jerk,” his cheerful grandmother added.
“Doesn’t seem to be. I met him just now.”
Hazel’s eyes lit up. “What’s he like?”
“Hmm.” Lorrie tried not to get too worked up over Jackson.

The last thing he needed was some stupid emo crush on his boss. No
doubt his straight boss. He tried to remember if Rita had ever
mentioned him. He couldn’t recall that she had. “Looks like he just
stepped out of a spy movie or maybe a superhero. Good-looking,
polished. Probably bangs a different woman every night.”

“Oh, sounds dreamy,” Hazel said.
Lorrie agreed and grabbed another fry. “I start tomorrow. Got

the rest of today off.”

“Now that is good news.” His grandmother slapped his hand

as he reached toward her plate again. “There’s a ton of stuff I need
done around the house.”

He grimaced. “Around the house? I’m not some he-man.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know that. I’m not having you fix the

plumbing or lift furniture, sweetie.”

“Then what exactly?” he asked warily.
She gave him her serene look which always meant trouble.

“Laundry, dusting, maybe some baking.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I think I’m getting a headache.”
Carol made a little tutting noise. “Perhaps you should let him

have the day off, Elsie. It might be his last for a long time.”

“Oh, very well. I was teasing him anyway. I think the three of

us ought to go shopping after we leave here.” She raised an eyebrow
at Lorrie. “The fries are too salty, dear. You might want to mention
that to your new boss.”

“What’s Mr. Dreamy’s name anyway?” Hazel asked.
“Jackson.”
“And his first?”
He shook his head. “That is his first name. Jackson Ridgley.”
His grandmother snorted. “Sounds like a romance novel hero.

Whatever happened to men named Tom, Dick, and Harry?”

Lorrie thought about making a joke about a hairy dick but

decided it wouldn’t go over well with this crowd. He reached for the
sliced pickle on his grandmother’s plate and was glad when she didn’t
slap his hand away.

Assistant Manager.
He really was getting nervous.

Chapter Three

Jackson thrust the key in the restaurant doors after disarming

the alarm. It was only four-thirty in the morning and he didn’t expect
anyone else to arrive until five for opening up at six. It was a helluva
time to have to get up in the morning.

He flipped on the lights and relocked the door for safety

purposes. He’d seen enough crime shows with restaurant robberies
not to take stupid chances. The area was safe, or at least as safe as
could be, but Jackson figured he didn’t want to be sorry.

Actually, he already was. He’d spent the better part of a

mostly sleepless night thinking about Lorrie Bishop. He’d imagined
the young blond propped on various pieces of furniture while Jackson
fucked him. He’d jerked off to hot images of Lorrie whimpering
Jackson over and over again. When he finally did fall asleep, the little
twink invaded his dream state, too.

And now, Jackson was grumpy and sexually frustrated. And at

a damn restaurant he had to run at four-thirty in the blessed a.m.

Spotting a photo of his mother, Red Rita herself, hung in the

lobby, he felt instant remorse. His mom was facing cancer. He could
face a few early mornings to save the place she’d worked for most of
her life.

Jackson made his way back to the office and did some

paperwork before getting up to check the door at a few minutes before
five. Lorrie should be arriving any minute and some of the cooks as
well.

He glanced out to the parking lot and noticed a white sedan

pull up to the entrance. Lorrie got out of the car and then waved to the
driver as he or she drove off.

Jackson opened the door as Lorrie approached. “Good

morning.”

“Morning.” Lorrie’s blond hair was in slight disarray, not

quite bed head, but close. He wore black jeans with rhinestones on the
butt and a long sleeved white shirt. He carried the Red Rita’s apron.

“Boyfriend?” Jackson heard himself ask.
“Excuse me?” Lorrie stared at him as though he couldn’t quite

figure out what kind of animal Jackson was.

He smiled. “Your ride. I thought perhaps that was your

boyfriend dropping you off.”

“Oh.” Lorrie shook his head and smiled a little. “Neighbor.

Was going this way so I thought it would be easier. Not sure the buses
run this early.”

“Buses?”
“How I get to work. I’m between vehicles right now.”
Jackson took the apron out of his hand and plucked the name

tag off of it and handed that to Lorrie. “No need to wear the apron as
assistant manager. What does between vehicles mean, exactly?”

Lorrie’s thin shoulders shrugged. “I don’t have a car.”
“How do you get by in the Los Angeles area without a car?”
“It’s not easy. And anyway, I had one. It got totaled. I only

had liability insurance. Can’t afford a new one.”

Jackson folded his arms in front of his chest and studied

Lorrie. “So you crashed your car?”

“More or less.”
“What does that mean?”
The blond sighed. “Yes, I guess. There was a coyote crossing

the road and I didn’t want to squash him, so I swerved and lost
control. Hit a pole.”

“You didn’t get hurt?”
“Little banged up. Nothing major.”
Jackson nodded. “Okay. Well, I can pick you up and take you

home so you don’t have to ask your neighbor.”

Lorrie blinked. “What? Why?”
“I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of you taking the bus or

relying on neighbors going by here when it’s dark. I have to be here
anyway, so it’s not like it’s a big deal for me to pick you up.”

“You don’t even know where I live,” Lorrie pointed out.
Which was true. But how likely was it that Lorrie lived that far

away if he could convince a neighbor to give him a lift?

“Where do you live?”
“Wind’s Canyon.”
“Piece of cake. Look for at least a little while I’m going to

have to be here from opening to closing every day. Eventually, when
we’re sure we’ve got the operation going well, you can work certain
days managing the restaurant by yourself, but until I’m sure you’re

ready for that, I’m here. There’s no reason to worry about
transportation at the moment. You can worry about that later.”

Lorrie eyed him uncertainly, like he wasn’t quite sure what to

make of Jackson or his offer of giving him a ride. “Well, sure, okay. I
just don’t want to impose.”

“You aren’t. I’m just over in Burbank so it’s not that big of a

deal. Let’s get to work.” He thrust the apron back into Lorrie’s hands.
“Get rid of this for now. First, we’ll go over the schedule for the wait
staff.”

Lorrie nodded. “All right.”
****
By the time the last customer had left, Lorrie felt as though his

feet might fall off. It was close to two-thirty and the restaurant had
officially closed at two. Now they were all faced with the cleanup.

But it was a good day, Lorrie decided. All the employees

seemed really happy for him and some of his regulars had even
congratulated him.

What he needed now was a long hot soak in a bubble bath.
“That does sound good,” Jackson said, flipping the closed sign

on the restaurant doors.

Wait, he’d said that out loud?
Lorrie felt his cheeks heat, suddenly imagining Jackson in tub

with him. Sure like that was going to happen. Put it out of your mind,
Lorrie, he’s gotta be straight.

“Uh, yeah.” He glanced at Jackson who wore tan slacks and a

brown buttoned-down dress shirt. He’d pushed the sleeves of the shirt
up to his elbows. His muscular body was plain to see even under all
the fancy clothes. “No offense, boss, but you don’t look like the
bubble bath type.”

Jackson smirked. “You’d be surprised. And call me Jackson.

No need to get into the boss stuff.”

“Okay.”
“I think the day went pretty well. All things considered,”

Jackson said, opening the register and taking out the money drawer.
“You handled that lunch rush like a pro.”

“I am a pro. At least as far as waiting tables.” Lorrie sighed

and rubbed the back of his neck. “Managing everyone else, not so
much. I had to take three customer complaints over that new waitress.
I didn’t know what to say.”

“I’m sure it will get easier.”
“Yeah. Actually it did by later in the day.”
“See?” Jackson smiled and it was a really nice smile.
Too nice. He could so get used to that smile. Stop it, Lorrie

told himself. Straight.

“Well, let’s get all closed out and cleaned up and then I’ll give

you a ride home.” Jackson headed to the back of the restaurant and
Lorrie followed him.

For some reason he had expected Jackson to have a Lexus or

something but he had an ordinary Ford sedan. Smelled a bit like
coconut inside.

“This is a little weird.”
Jackson glanced his way. “What is?”
Lorrie shrugged. “I’ve never had a boss give me a ride

before.”

“How many jobs have you had?”
“Not that many,” he admitted. “Mostly food places. But Rita’s

is better. I still can’t believe she thought I could be assistant
manager.”

“Granted I haven’t seen too much, but so far you’re doing

good, Lorrie. Give yourself credit. Mom mentioned wanting to make
a few improvements to the place, as a matter of fact, so maybe we can
think about tackling some of those before she returns.”

A short time later, Jackson’s car stopped in front of Lorrie’s

apartment building. Lorrie opened the door.

“Hey, listen, you wouldn’t want to grab some dinner or

something?” Jackson asked him.

For several seconds, Lorrie just stared. He wasn’t sure what to

say. Dinner with the boss? He’d never faced that before. Rita had
been friendly enough but they didn’t socialize in any way. And the
truth was he wasn’t even sure what Jackson’s motivation was just
then. Maybe to talk more about the changes to the restaurant and or
maybe staff? He didn’t know, but Lorrie just wanted to veg at home,
put his feet up and soak in the bubble bath. The last thing he wanted
was to have some sort of business dinner with his new boss.

“Actually, I have plans to see my friend tonight,” Lorrie said

finally.

“All right.” Jackson gave him a cool smile. “Some other

time.”

Lorrie nodded and got out of the car. “See you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be here at about four-thirty or so.”
He tried not to wince and said, “Got it.” Lorrie closed the car

door and headed for the front door of his ground floor apartment
without looking back.

****
What was that old saying about best laid plans? It seemed to

include something about mice, but Lorrie couldn’t quite remember
and it sounded lame anyway.

But instead of even now lounging up to his neck in bubbly,

sweet smelling heaven, he was sitting in his living room drinking
cappuccinos with his best friend, Alan Sommers. Right after he’d
gotten home from work Alan had called and said he wanted to come
see him after Alan got off work since he was meeting Kincaid later
not too far from Lorrie’s apartment and he didn’t want to drive all the
way home. How could Lorrie say no?

He and Alan went back several years, meeting as school boys

and becoming fast friends. With similar blond, blue eyed coloring
they’d often been mistaken for brothers.

Alan sat on the big overstuffed sofa, his legs tucked under

him, and his dress shirt unbuttoned all the way. He’d recently fallen in
love with his boss, Kincaid, at the law firm he worked at and his boss
seemed to love Alan, too. Lucky!

“Wow, you don’t waste time,” Alan said.
“What?”
“Well, first day on the job with your new boss and he’s

already asking you out.”

Lorrie shook his head and stirred his cappuccino with a sugar

stick. “It’s not like that.”

“Well, what is it like?”
“Jackson is straight. He wasn’t asking me out on a date.”
“Oh. What then?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I think he wanted to talk more

about running Red Rita’s.”

Alan sipped his hot brew. “Are you certain he’s straight?”
“He hasn’t said he was, but it’s pretty obvious. I’m not getting

gay vibes. Besides he looks like a straight guy.”

His friend laughed. “What does a straight guy look like?”
Lorrie bit his bottom lip. “Well, like Kincaid, I guess.”

“Uh-huh. Let me tell you from personal experience, Kincaid is

not straight.”

“Jackson is.”
“Ask him,” Alan said.
“Huh? What am I supposed to do? Say, hey, are you gay or

what?”

Alan nodded. “Something like that.”
“I’m telling you he looks like he stepped out of a James Bond

movie or some action flick. He probably has a different bikini babe on
his arm every night.”

“If you say so.” Alan looked at his watch. “I have to go. I’m

meeting Kincaid for dinner. He had to go downtown today for a trial.”

Lorrie was secretly glad Alan had to leave. He loved his

friend, but he really wanted to relax. He stood and scooped up both
china cups and brought them to the kitchen, then went to his front
door with Alan.

“Have fun at dinner, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Congratulations on the job again, Lorrie.” Alan gave him a

peck on the cheek and then left.

Lorrie sighed. Peaches and cream bubble bath would do the

trick.

Chapter Four

Jackson spent the afternoon after dropping Lorrie off making

phone calls related to his accounting firm. Fortunately, he had
partners who could take over the running of the firm while he was
helping out with his mom’s restaurant, but he still felt the need to do
some checking up to see that things were running smoothly.

When that business had been taken care of, he called his mom.

He knew she expected a full report on their first day, and he also
wanted to check with her on what appointments she would have.

After pouring himself a glass of Merlot, and giving his cat,

Louisa, a pat as she lounged on the couch, Jackson picked up the cell
phone he’d left on his dining room table and went to sit on the patio in
the backyard of his Burbank home.

He’d bought the little bungalow style house that been built in

the nineteen-forties shortly after starting the accounting firm with his
two best friends, Jacob and Walt, from college. Jackson wanted cozy,
not pretentious, and the three bedroom home with a large yard suited
him.

Three rings later, his mother picked up.
“Hi, sweetie, I’ve been expecting your call,” she said.
“Sorry I didn’t call sooner. I gave Lorrie a ride home and then

had some calls to make.”

“That’s all right. How’d it go today?”
“Good, I think. Not too many hitches.”
“Hitches?” she asked sharply. “What hitches?”
Jackson laughed. “Relax. Nothing to be concerned about. We

did fine.”

She blew out a breath. “All right. And Lorrie worked out

okay?”

“Definitely. His bubbly personality helped a lot. The

customers and staff seem to really like him.”

“Yes, he is popular with most of them. Once in a while we get

an asshole in there, but most love Lorrie.” She paused. “You gave him
a ride?”

Jackson sipped his wine. “Yeah. I guess he’s been taking the

bus or something.” He shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“He’s very sweet.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Jackson—”
“Mom.” He rolled his eyes, even though she couldn’t see.

“Are you trying to tell me something? Warn me away from poor,
sweet Lorrie?”

She laughed. “Well, maybe. He is sweet and he’s been hurt

before.”

“So have I.” Which was certainly true. Before buying the

house, Jackson had lived with his boyfriend of six years. Until he’d
gotten the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech one day. Two weeks later his
ex had himself a sugar daddy twice his age.

“I know, but he’s…well, a little more sensitive than you.”
“Whatever. At this point his sensitivity and my apparent

gruffness are moot. I asked him to dinner and he turned me down.”
And Jackson had gotten the impression Lorrie just wasn’t interested.
Too bad, because Lorrie was a hottie.

“How’s the firm doing without you?” his mother asked,

changing the subject which he was grateful for.

“It’s only been a day,” he said dryly, “but so far they seem to

be surviving all too well. I’m starting to wonder if I’m not needed.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. Your partners are just efficient.”
“I also wanted to find out about your appointments, Mom.

You want to me to go with you?” It was just the two of them. Well,
with his little brother living in Kentucky. But Jackson’s dad had died
of a heart attack almost six years ago.

She sighed. “Not this next one, I think I’ll be fine. But maybe

after that.”

“All right. I’m guessing Lorrie can handle the restaurant

himself by that point. He’s already doing well handling being the
assistant manager.”

“I know what I’m doing. I never doubted he’d do well when I

told you about him.”

He smiled. “Yes, Mom. I’ll let you go. Talk to you

tomorrow.”

“Bye, sweetie.”
****

“Hi guys, I heard you wanted to see me,” Lorrie said, as he

stopped at a table with two ladies and a little boy and girl. All four of
them lit up when Lorrie stood at their table.

“I know you’re not a waiter anymore, Lorrie, but Allison was

so excited to see you,” the woman explained.

Jackson watched Lorrie crouch down next to the booth.
“Hey, sweet pea. I always have time for you. What is it today?

Chocolate? No? Strawberry? No?” Lorrie’s smile got wider, lighting
up his face. “I know…both.”

The little girl giggled and nodded happily.
Jackson turned back to the customer who had handed him his

check at the register. “How was everything?”

After a week of running the restaurant, Jackson had begun to

feel like an old pro. There had been a few problems—hitches as he’d
told his mother—like a small kitchen fire one day and a waitress
spilling a whole tray of food on a table full of customers another, but
for the most part the customers and staff of Red Rita’s hardly noticed
the difference. And that’s the way he and his mother had wanted it.

Perhaps the biggest hitch of all, at least as far as Jackson was

concerned, was his growing attraction and affection for his assistant
manager. He found himself watching Lorrie throughout the day.
Flirting with customers, laughing with staff, bending over. Which of
course gave him wicked ideas and made him half hard nearly all day.

If Lorrie had noticed Jackson’s interest, he acted totally

oblivious, which probably didn’t bode well for Jackson. Maybe he
just wasn’t Lorrie’s type. He’d be disappointed, but he could deal
with it.

Except for the first day, Jackson hadn’t asked Lorrie to dinner

again. He’d decided he would try again one more time and if Lorrie
still said no than he’d just forget his ridiculous attachment to the
young blond.

So, after that day’s closing had been taken care of, he and

Lorrie walked out to his car for the ride home.

“I think that went well, don’t you?” Jackson asked.
Lorrie nodded. “Yeah, I was a little worried about all of this,

but so far it’s been pretty cool.”

“You’re a natural.”
Lorrie blushed. “I don’t know about that, but I’m liking it a

lot. I was pretty nervous about getting the hang of it. I never thought I

could, you know, tell people what to do.” He laughed. “It’s easier
than I thought.”

Jackson clicked the locks on the car. “Well, I’m really happy

and so is Mom. We’ve spoken about you a lot.” He opened the driver
side door and turned to the other man. “Lorrie, want to have dinner?”

Not terribly suave, Jackson figured. In fact he’d practically

blurted it out.

For a second, as Lorrie got into the passenger seat, he said

nothing and Jackson had decided that once more he would be shot
down. He prepared himself for the inevitable rejection.

“Sure, okay.”
“Yeah?” he asked, surprised. “I mean, great. I’ll take you

home and then come back and get you for dinner in say a couple of
hours?”

“Cool, sure.” Lorrie smiled. “I’ll definitely be hungry.”
Jackson laughed. “Me, too.”
****
Lorrie stood inside his walk-in closet and tried to decide what

he should wear to dinner with Jackson. It wasn’t exactly a date.
Straight men didn’t date gay men. But he still wanted to look
fabulous. Not sure why, exactly.

He pirouetted to look at all the hanging clothes. He’d taken a

shower and now wore only a burgundy towel around his waist. Lorrie
wasn’t even sure where they’d be going as Jackson hadn’t said. For
all he knew they’d be going to the nearest fast food restaurant. He
hoped not.

Finally he decided on a pair of gray slacks and a turquoise

button-down shirt he’d been told brought out the blue in his eyes.

Returning to his bedroom, Lorrie sat before his makeup

mirror and wondered if he should apply any. At work he went vanilla.
He knew most people considered him pretty femme, so he didn’t
throw it in customer’s faces. Well, most of the time, anyway.

Generally, though, when he went out, Lorrie wore at least a

little bit of blush or eyeliner. Sometimes both. Even a little lip gloss if
he was in the mood. Since it was kind of a business dinner, though, he
decided to just dust a little bit of peach blush to give his complexion
the look of peaches and cream.

Just as he walked out of his bedroom, the doorbell rang.

Jackson had arrived.

Chapter Five

Jackson couldn’t keep the grin off his face when Lorrie

opened his apartment door. The younger man was just too adorable
and looked sexy as hell.

“Wow.”
Lorrie bit his bottom lip. “Wow?”
“You look amazing. Really good.”
“Oh.” Lorrie smiled uncertainly. “Thanks. What’s it like

outside? Do I need a coat?”

“If you have a light jacket you might bring it. It could get a

little chilly by the time we leave the restaurant.”

Lorrie disappeared back into the apartment for a moment and

then came back holding a battered brown leather jacket.

“Where are we going?” Lorrie asked as he followed Jackson

to his car.

“Well, I forgot to ask you before, but do you like seafood?”
“I love it.”
Jackson smiled as they got into the car. “I know just the place

then. A little place not too far from PCH.”

The place he was thinking of, Nicky’s Seafood, was a small,

cozy restaurant most tourists didn’t even know about. It was a nice
little place to take a date

Jackson had to admit he liked the fact Lorrie had dressed for

their dinner. Looked like he’d showered, too. So had Jackson. He’d
chosen a pair of brown trousers with a lightweight long-sleeved
oatmeal sweater.

Because the parking lot for Nicky’s was small, Jackson

handed over the car to a valet and ushered Lorrie inside. They were
brought to the back of the restaurant and given a quiet little booth
with a single votive candle on the table.

“This looks really nice,” Lorrie said, sliding into the booth.
“I’ve been here a few times. Great food.”
“Wife?”
Jackson lowered his menu. “Excuse me?”
“Divorced?”
He frowned. “Lorrie—”

“Sorry, none of my business.”
Jackson shook his head, thoroughly confused. “I don’t have a

wife, ex or otherwise. I don’t have a girlfriend.” He paused and
looked pointedly at Lorrie. “Or a boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?”
“Lorrie, why did you think I asked you out?”
Lorrie chewed on his bottom lip uncertainly. “To discuss the

restaurant.”

Jackson snorted. “I can discuss the restaurant with you at

work. I asked you out because I happen to find you really attractive.
You’re hot as hell.”

“Oh. Oh.” Lorrie’s eyes widened. “You’re gay?”
He nodded. “Uh, yeah. All my life.” He blinked and shook his

head. “You honestly didn’t know? Didn’t notice how I couldn’t keep
my eyes off you?”

Lorrie shook his head. “I wasn’t looking for signs because I

was so certain. Holy shit. Rita never said so. I just assumed—”

“Yeah, it’s okay. I guess I just thought, well, nah, never

mind.” He picked up his menu just as the waiter came by to take their
drink orders. Lorrie admitted he wasn’t much of a drinker so they
both ended up ordering iced tea.

“What did you think?” Lorrie asked as the waiter left their

table.

“More what I hoped, I guess. That maybe you found me

attractive.”

Lorrie laughed. “Seriously? I think you’re really hot, too.”
Okay, now he was really grinning. Maybe asking Lorrie out

hadn’t been the mistake he had begun to fear.

“Good, glad we got all that out of the way. Believe me my

interest in you in strictly personal and has absolutely nothing to do
with Mom’s restaurant.” Jackson decided to have the halibut, so he
closed his menu. “Not that I haven’t been impressed with you so far at
the restaurant. You’ve done a great job.”

Lorrie smiled. “Yeah?”
“I can’t say I didn’t have my doubts when Mom first

suggested you, but they’re gone now. You’ve been a great assistant
manager.”

“Thank you.” Lorrie ducked his chin, blushing a little. “Like I

said earlier, I had my doubts as well. How is your mom doing?”

“Pretty good. She had an appointment the other day and has

another one next week about what happens after the mastectomy.
They want her to have a double. She’s probably going to.”

“I’m sorry she’s having to go through this.”
Jackson nodded. “Me, too. But she’ll make it. They caught it

early. She’s already talking about when she comes back to Red
Rita’s.”

“That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
The waiter returned with their iced tea and a basket of bread.

He took their orders, halibut for Jackson and salmon for Lorrie, and
then walked away again.

“Why don’t you tell me something about yourself,” Jackson

suggested as he took a sip of his iced tea.

“Not much to tell really. I’m half-Jewish on my dad’s side.

My family politely accepts me being gay, though, I think most of
them would appreciate if I was less gay.”

“Less gay?”
Lorrie nodded and buttered a slice of warm sourdough. “Less

flamboyant. More like, well, you.” He shrugged. “I can’t change who
I am though.”

“And you shouldn’t. I like you just fine.” Jackson was glad

he’d said that when Lorrie practically preened. He was too cute. “Past
boyfriends?”

“Here and there. Nothing really serious for years.”
“Years?” He smirked. “You’re what? Twenty-five?”
“Yes. I mean I had a serious boyfriend right out of high school

and that lasted a couple of years, but really since then everything’s
been pretty casual. You?”

“I lived with a guy for six years. Or he lived with me, I guess.

Eventually he decided I wasn’t enough for him.” He was proud of
himself for being able to say that without feeling like he was being
stabbed in the heart. Progress.

“That totally sucks.” Lorrie turned red. “I mean—”
He laughed. “Yeah, no worries, it does suck. As for my

family, it’s just me and Mom here. I have a brother living in another
state.”

Lorrie munched on the bread without saying anything for a

while, but then he said, “You must have really loved that guy if you
stayed with him for six years.”

“I did. It hurt when he left. A lot,” Jackson admitted. “But it’s

been a while since then. I bought a house, my accounting firm’s
successful. It’s all good.”

“Accounting? So that’s your business. I’m awful with

numbers.”

“A lot of people are.” He shrugged. “I’m good with them. Had

to be good at something.”

Lorrie shook his head. “I’m sure you are good at a lot of

things.”

“Perhaps you’ll find out.”
“Perhaps.” Lorrie smiled, sweet and sexy at the same time.
****
“I had a great time,” Jackson said, standing outside Lorrie’s

apartment door.

And now Lorrie was faced with the question of should he

invite Jackson in. He hadn’t thought he’d face that dilemma until he
found out Jackson was gay and interested. If he invited Jackson in,
there would be sex. Jackson had been giving him smoldering looks all
night. Now that he knew Jackson was gay he suddenly saw all the
looks he’d stupidly ignored before. Lorrie certainly had his share of
one-nighters over the years, but he didn’t think that would be the
outcome of this.

“I’ve never dated my boss before,” Lorrie said, lingering in

the doorway.

“I’m sure. But I won’t be your boss for long. Just until Mom

can come back to the restaurant full time. If that long. You do a pretty
good job running things already.”

Lorrie didn’t think that was exactly true. He did all right, but

running a restaurant for that many hours and with that many people
relying on him was hard and stressful. He came home each day more
exhausted than the day before. One way to relieve stress, though, was
sex.

“Do you want to come in?” he asked, surprised to hear the

shyness in his own voice.

Jackson’s answering smile was predatory. “Yes.”
Lorrie stepped out of the way and held the door wide. When

Jackson was through the door, he closed and locked it.

“Would you like a drink? Coffee or-or something?” He was

suddenly nervous. Not sure why. Lorrie wasn’t a slut who fucked a
different guy every night, but he was no cowering virgin either.

Jackson shook his head and took a step closer to Lorrie. “What

I want is you.”

He swallowed heavily. “I thought maybe you did.”
“Once you realized I was gay,” Jackson said with a smile. He

was close enough now to touch Lorrie and he did. He raised his hand
to curve along Lorrie’s jaw. Lorrie trembled and felt a jolt of desire
go straight to his hardening cock.

“Yeah, then,” he whispered, parting his lips for Jackson’s kiss.

Chapter Six

Jackson’s lips swept over his like a wave crashing against the

rocks. Potent and dramatic. His knees wobbled as Jackson’s tongue
pushed its way inside his mouth and strong, muscular arms encircled
his waist and brought their bodies flush against each other.

When the man’s large hands went lower to cup Lorrie’s ass

and slightly lift him off the floor, Lorrie whimpered. He loved a
strong guy. He wrapped his arms around Jackson’s neck and then
jumped a little so he could wrap his legs around the man too. Lorrie
always fantasized about a guy who’d be able to carry him into the
bedroom and fuck him senseless.

Lorrie tore his mouth away from Jackson’s long enough to

point him toward the bedroom, but before he could get the words out,
Jackson started kissing him again, slanting his mouth over Lorrie’s
over and over until he could barely catch his breath. He figured
Jackson must have read his mind though because he’d begun to make
his way down the short hallway to the one and only bedroom in the
apartment.

Jackson laid them on the bed, his weight sinking Lorrie into

the soft, old mattress. A prominent hard ridge in Jackson’s trousers
pressed against him and Lorrie trembled with need. His own dick
pushed against the confines of his briefs, begging to be released and
played with.

Long fingers speared his hair, tugging just enough to pull

another whimper from Lorrie. Jesus, it was like Jackson could read
his mind. But he had to breathe, so he wrenched his mouth away,
panting.

“Condoms and lube in the drawer of the nightstand,” he

managed to get out as Jackson nipped at the pulse of his throat. Lorrie
closed his eyes and turned his head to give Jackson better access to
his neck.

Jackson’s lips left him all too soon, as he sat back on his

haunches and reached for the buttons of Lorrie’s shirt. “Clothes. Off.
Now.”

Lorrie raised an eyebrow at the caveman grunts, but decided

who was he to complain? He loved it and so did his dick. His fingers

joined Jackson’s at the buttons of his shirt and they managed to slide
the sleeves down off his arms, leaving his stomach and chest bare to
Jackson’s perusal.

If he’d had to describe it, Lorrie would call his gaze hungry,

which he decided he quite liked. He knew he didn’t look too bad, if
perhaps a bit pale, but judging by that hungry look in Jackson’s eyes,
the man might make Lorrie his next meal.

Jackson tugged at the fastening of Lorrie’s pants and when

they were undone, he slipped his hand inside to wrap his fingers
around Lorrie’s stiff cock.

“Oh, oh, fuck,” he gasped, his balls tightening. “Stop that or

I’m going to come right now.”

The other man chuckled. “Can’t have that.” He grazed his

thumb over the tip of Lorrie’s dick.

“Please,” he pleaded.
Removing his hand from inside Lorrie’s trousers, Jackson rose

from the bed and headed to the nightstand. “Get those off.”

Normally, Lorrie would have bristled at the command in

Jackson’s voice, but at the moment he wanted to be ordered around,
told what to do, he wanted to submit. Maybe not in a total sub/Dom
sort of way, but he definitely liked this.

Lorrie toed off his shoes, and then yanked off the trousers and

briefs, leaving them at the foot of the bed. He scooted up toward the
headboard and spread his legs wide while fisting his dick.

Jackson tossed the lube in his direction and made short work

of his own clothes until he stood by the bed in full naked glory.
Jackson was all muscles, hard and firm, with amazing abs and pecs.
His chest was covered with a smattering of dark hair. Between his
legs, a long, thick, erect cock jutted out. Hands on hips, he grinned at
Lorrie. “Slick yourself up for me.”

Licking his lips in anticipation, Lorrie flipped open the cap on

the lube and poured out a generous amount all over his fingers.
Angling himself to the side a bit, he slipped two lubed fingers into his
hole. Pushing them deep, he sawed them in and out, spreading himself
for the invasion of that big, hard cock.

“God, you are so damn sexy,” Jackson said, appreciatively. He

knelt on the bed and tore open the condom foil. He laughed a little
when he noticed the latex had been colored red and then rolled it onto
his dick.

His breath catching in his throat, Lorrie asked, “Should I add a

third?”

“Yes, most definitely.” Jackson stared at him raptly, his gaze

riveted to every move Lorrie made. It made Lorrie feel special, like he
was the most gorgeous man Jackson had ever seen.

A third finger joined the other two, stretching him wide. His

cock leaked pre-come against his leg and Lorrie knew he wouldn’t
last long with Jackson pounding in his ass.

Jackson groaned and crawled closer to him, situating himself

between Lorrie’s spread legs. Lorrie withdrew his fingers as Jackson
lifted him just enough to poise the head of his cock at the entrance to
Lorrie’s ass.

Jackson pushed in easily past the tight ring of muscle and

straight for the goal, balls deep. They moaned in unison. Lorrie
sighed, contented, as Jackson thrust again and again. He began to jerk
his own dick roughly even as the hard pounding in his ass increased to
a feverish pitch.

Over and over again, Jackson managed to brush Lorrie’s

prostate and each sweet time, Lorrie tightened his muscles to see the
lust spike in Jackson’s gaze.

Way too soon, Lorrie felt the telltale sign of his impending

release fingering up his spine and tightening his balls. He’d known he
wouldn’t last long. It had been too many nights without and Jackson
was too damn good at this.

“Fuck,” he yelled as his orgasm slammed through him. Jets of

white cum shot out across his abdomen.

“Lorrie,” Jackson groaned, ramming Lorrie hard as he came.
After, Jackson collapsed on him, but Lorrie didn’t mind the

weight too much, and a short while later, Jackson got up to get rid of
the condom, and then came back to pull him into his arms.

“Wow,” Lorrie said against Jackson’s chest. “And to think I

thought you were straight.”

Low laughter rumbled from Jackson. “Definitely not.” He

yawned. “Think I can stay here for the night? Since I come by to pick
you up in the morning anyway, seems sort of stupid to go back to my
place.”

Lorrie smiled and closed his eyes. “Yeah. Very stupid. You

can stay.”

****

“Ah, geez, it’s my grandmother,” Lorrie said from the

passenger seat next to Jackson. His phone had just sprung to life
playing some familiar tune from Mary Poppins. He glared down at it.

Jackson smiled. “Talk to your grandmother.”
They were on their way to visit Jackson’s mother for her

second day in the hospital after her double mastectomy. Jackson had
seen her the day before. Since their first date, they’d spent a few other
nights together and after the hospital they’d be going to Jackson’s
house for the night. He liked the direction they were going. In fact, he
liked it a lot. Lorrie hadn’t felt this happy and this hopeful in a long
time. He could so get used to being with Jackson all day, every day.

“Hi, grandma,” Lorrie said into the phone.
“Hello, Lawrence, are you off work yet?” He could hear Dr.

Phil playing in the background.

“Yeah, got off work a little while ago.”
“Why don’t you come over and have dinner with me?” she

asked.

“No, can’t. We’re going to the hospital to see Rita.”
“Red Rita? The lady who owns your restaurant?”
“Yes, Red Rita,” he said patiently. “But it’s not my restaurant.

I’m just the assistant manager.” Which, he found he was actually
pretty proud of now.

“How’s that working out?”
“Great. Really good.”
Jackson reached over and patted Lorrie’s leg.
“You said we,” his grandmother said sharply.
“We…is me and Jackson.”
“Your boss?”
“Right my boss.” Lorrie rolled his eyes at Jackson, but smiled.

“Yeah, we’re sort of seeing each other.”

His grandmother huffed. “What does sort of mean?”
“I don’t know what I mean by sort of. Fine, we’re totally

seeing each other. Happy?”

Jackson chuckled.
“Why don’t you bring him by to have dinner with me at the

house?”

Lorrie held back a sigh. “Well, I don’t know if he’s quite

ready for that.”

“Ready for what?” Jackson asked.

Lorrie held the phone away. “Ready to meet her. She wants us

to plan to come to dinner at her house so she can meet you.”

He nodded. “Sure, I’m sure we can arrange that.”
Lorrie grimaced and said into the phone, “Yeah, okay, but I’ll

have to call you back about the details. And don’t have the whole old
lady brigade there. I don’t want to scare him off.”

She sniffed. “Insolent brat. I told you to stop calling us old

ladies. I’ll let you go for now, but I want a phone call, young man. I
love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, love you, too. Bye.”
“Old lady brigade?” Jackson asked with a raised eyebrow as

Lorrie ended the call.

“Yeah, Grandma and her two old cronies, Hazel and Carol.

Sweet ladies if you like dragons.”

“Lorrie!”
He laughed. “Well, maybe they aren’t that bad. But I suspect

you’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

Jackson drove into the hospital parking lot and then chose a

space. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“You won’t be for long,” Lorrie assured him, pleased when

Jackson reached for his hand as they made their way to the visitor
entrance.

They got on the elevator that would take them to the floor

Jackson’s mom’s room was on. They found her sitting up eating a
plastic cup of red gelatin.

“Thank God, someone’s here to visit me,” she called when

they walked in. “I’m about to die of boredom.”

Jackson leaned down to kiss her cheek. “How are you feeling,

Mom?”

“Better than yesterday but still sore as hell. I might get to go

home tomorrow or the next day, though.”

“That is good news.”
Lorrie smiled, loving how sweet Jackson was with his mom.

“You look good.”

“Lorrie, you’re so sweet to come see me.” She eyed Jackson.

“My son tells me the two of you are an item.”

“I did not use the word item,” Jackson protested.
She waved her hand. “Don’t let him be too bossy.”
“He is a little,” Lorrie said. “And not just at the restaurant.”

“How are things going there?” she asked, gazing at them both

expectantly.

“Good. Lorrie has been a natural as assistant manager.”
She smiled. “That’s wonderful to hear. I didn’t expect the

place to fall apart without me, but I do miss it.”

Jackson reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You’ll be back

in no time.”

“Lorrie is a wonderful boy. And to think, you two are an item.

I couldn’t have planned it better, could I?”

Jackson sighed. “Mom—”
“I knew I chose wisely when I picked Lorrie for you,” she said

serenely.

He narrowed his eyes. “For me?”
She squeezed his hand back. “For the restaurant, of course.”
“Of course.” Jackson shook his head, exasperated. He

wrapped his arm around Lorrie’s waist, pulling him close.

Lorrie didn’t really know if Rita had intended to play

matchmaker or not with him and Jackson, but really, he couldn’t bitch
too much about it. Meeting Jackson had turned out to be one of the
better things that happened for him lately, that and getting the
promotion. He couldn’t say he was bored anymore and he finally had
a boyfriend. The future for this assistant was bright indeed.

The End

www.authorshawnlane.com

Other Books by Shawn Lane:

Loving the Boss

Lover Unexpected: Manlove Edition

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