Making It Personal Wells, C. (red queen free ebook TXT) 📖

conversations. Gone was the warm banter that he looked forward to each morning. He glanced toward Blake’s office. The door was shut—literally and figuratively.

Will leaned on the desk and put his head in his hands. The Melissa debacle had made one thing crystal clear in his mind—Will had fallen for Blake, hook, line and sinker. Every time he looked at his boss, Will wanted to take him in his arms and hold him close. Blake’s tight expression and haunted eyes made Will want to shut out the rest of the world and protect him, keep him safe from anything that would cause him pain. The physical attraction which had been so obvious since the night they met hadn’t gone away. Instead, Will felt an emotional connection to the man. Try as he might, he couldn’t think badly of Blake. Will could only guess at the torment he was going through. He couldn’t blame Blake for reacting the way he had. Trinity Publishing was Blake’s life. And when Will weighed up the possible loss of his company, compared to losing a friendship—albeit one with benefits—their relationship must have seemed insignificant in Blake’s eyes.

He shook himself. What he really needed was a decent night’s sleep. All week he’d tossed and turned, sleeping fitfully, waking hours before the alarm. He only needed to look in the mirror to see the toll it was taking on him. The face that stared back at him could have been Blake’s, they both looked so drawn. And Will knew how bad he looked. Even Karen had noticed. Unfortunately, it seemed to have made her more determined to get closer to him, and Will wasn’t sure how much more of this he could stand.

His phone warbled. It was a message from Jenny, asking if he could do an escort job tonight. There was an awards ceremony for a marketing company. Will groaned. This whole business was playing havoc with his other job. Even before Melissa had delivered her ultimatum, Will had turned down any clients who wanted sex. He knew he was turning away much needed funds, but he couldn’t face the prospect of fucking someone who wasn’t Blake. That should have told him how deep his feelings ran. Years of working the streets, having sex with anyone who had the money, had left him able to switch off his emotions. Sure, he could fake it. But along came Blake and bam!—he couldn’t even get it up at the thought of having sex with someone else. And since that dreadful day, his heart wasn’t in it when he was escorting. More than once a client had rung Jenny to complain about his demeanor. This whole business was killing him.

He glanced at his watch. Time for a coffee. He got up and walked along the corridor to the kitchen. Apparently he wasn’t the only one in need of refreshment. Numerous voices spilled out of the room. Was the whole team in there? As he entered the kitchen he stifled a groan. Yep. Everyone was standing around drinking coffee and talking among themselves, but all fell quiet as he walked over to the coffee machines. There was an awkward, painful silence. Will poured himself a mug and turned to head back to his office, unable to stand it.

“Will, did you know about our Christmas do?”

Will halted. Sighing internally, he turned to Beth. He tilted his head. “Christmas do?”

Beth nodded. “We’re all going out for a meal. We normally do it between Christmas and New Year. The restaurants tend to get booked up fairly heavily before. Would you like to come?” She eyed him anxiously.

“I’d have to check my diary,” Will replied, although he knew that if the present situation continued, being sociable would be the last thing on his mind. “Who’s ‘we’?”

“The team, plus Karen, you… Blake.”

Will’s chest tightened. “Is Blake going?”

Rick’s face was unexpectedly glum. “No one knows. We haven’t exactly brought it up with him.” Will could understand that. Blake had shut himself off from everyone, not just Will.

“I’ll think about it, all right?” Careful nods. Karen entered the kitchen and her eye widened in surprise. Yeah, it was rare to get so many staff in there at once. She caught sight of Will and her expression changed. Will groaned internally as she sidled up to him and stroked his arm softly.

“How are you doing, Will?” Her voice dripped with honey. “Is there anything I can—”

“Oh, for God’s sake, will you just leave me alone?” Will exploded. Startled gasps greeted his words. He was past caring. “I’m going to say this once, loud and clear so you get the message. I. Am. Not. Interested.” He gritted out the words, watching as Karen’s mouth fell open and her hand flew to her ample chest. “And what’s more, I will never be interested. For fuck’s sake, woman, I’m gay!”

The silence that followed his declaration was so thick, it was almost tangible. Karen’s face was white. She swallowed hard. She flinched as if his words were a physical blow, and then she backed away. The team stood there with equally stunned expressions. A sharp intake of breath had Will turning toward the door. Blake stood there, eyes impossibly wide. Oh fuck. Will held his breath as he waited for Blake to say something, but his heart sank as his boss turned on his heel and walked away.

That was it. Will couldn’t take any more. Before anyone could say anything, he put down his mug and fled the room, running to the men’s bathroom and locking himself in a stall. He sat on the toilet lid and put his head in his hands. What the fuck had he just done? He stiffened as he heard the bathroom door open and close, listening as feet approached his stall.

“Will? You in there?” It was Rick. Oh hell. Will didn’t want to talk to him. To anyone. “C’mon, mate, talk to me.” There was an edge to his voice, a note of something that sounded