8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

The next two days were so full of activities, Prince barely had time to think about the mystery man. On the third day after the break-in, he was heading to the latrines when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and when he stopped, turned his head to see, he almost shit himself.

The mystery man was in the trees, almost out of sight completely, but he was there, and Prince felt his limbs go numb. When the man held up the file, Prince suddenly wished he'd never seen the thing.

There was a little smile on the man's full, succulent lips, but even after he felt arousal from just seeing the guy, he couldn't move or breathe. The folder was set on the ground and the man gave Prince a little salute before he walked farther into the trees, disappearing in seconds.

Prince looked around, hoping to see a friendly face to go with him to get the folder, but no one was around. It was still early and most of the cabins were barely coming awake. He didn't know whether to run and get the folder or wait for someone. Finally, he decided to be as brave as his cowardice would allow, and he ran at full speed, which for him wasn't much.

Once he got up the little hill, he snatched the folder off the ground, fully expecting to be grabbed, but he got back to the camp trail quickly and, as he panted, stared around in the trees. There was no one there.

He took the folder into the bathroom and in the stall, he looked over the front where he'd written his message. It was there, but nothing else was added to it. When he opened it, he saw the papers that had been inside the thing were gone and in their place was one piece of notebook paper with a message to him.

Okay, good point. I'm asking. Will you meet me to talk? If so, return this where I set it and I'll meet you anywhere at any time.

When he got back to Cabin C, he showed the folder to Silvio. "Holy shit. Well, are you going to? If you are, you aren't going alone."

The folder slipped from Silvio's hand, and they thought it had fallen before they saw Nat. "What's this?" Before Prince could grab it back, he opened it. "Oh. Monnie said this would happen."

"She did? What did she say?"

Nat handed it back and said, "That you'd be seeing him soon. She thinks you like him. Do you?"

Silvio laughed and walked off, shaking his head, leaving Prince alone to answer it. "I don't know him, Nat."

"I don't know Rhianna and I love her."

Prince was exasperated. "Go get ready for breakfast."

With a shrug, he walked off, leaving Prince to laugh after him.

He thought about it throughout breakfast, then when they were back in the craft cabin, making popsicle stick teepees or clay candy dishes for their parents.

The first parent weekend was coming up and the counselors would work overtime, watching the kids and entertaining the adults. All Prince wanted to do was find out what the man wanted.

While he walked around the craft cabin, watching the boys clumsily make their treasures, he came upon Nat's. His was neither a teepee nor a clay dish. Prince crouched to better talk to him. "Nat, is that a longhouse?"

"Yes. Teepees are plains tribes and tribes that moved a lot. I always liked the long houses better. They had real homes. I think it's sad to have to move all the time."

Prince's heart hurt for him. "Have you moved a lot?"

"Yeah," Nat whispered. "My dad kept losing jobs, so we'd move to find him a new one. Then he left and we move a lot to…places my mom can afford."

Prince had always lived in his house, but he went to several boarding schools and then went places on all his holidays. He was rarely in his actual home, but he knew his experiences couldn't possibly compare to Nat's. "I'm sorry, Nat. When you grow up, maybe you'll find a house you will love, and you'll have a real home."

"That's the plan," he said, smiling a little.

Prince decided he wouldn't wait. He told Sabrina and Silvio he was heading to the latrines, but really, he planned to leave a message to the mysterious man across the lake.

He wrote, I'll be available tonight after nine. Meet me at the end of the lake. I won't go to your cabin.

When he told Anton and Silvio at lunch, they were both furious with him. Silvio hissed in a whisper, "Why would you do that?"

"I have to know what he wants. I have to!"

"We have to go with you," Silvio demanded, and Anton nodded quickly.

"He's right, Prince. You cannot go alone."

"I had him meet me in the open. Get some binoculars and watch me. If he takes me, or tries to, you all come get me."

They hadn't thought of that. Silvio still wasn't thrilled, however. "If he hurts you, we'll be too far away to stop him."

"I'll…I don't know, take a knife or something. I have to know. I have to."

"Fine but let us be closer. There are plenty of trees close by."

"Sabrina has a pair of night vision goggles for if a kid gets lost at night. In fact, I think she has three pairs. I'll grab two of them, and then we'll see things you might not see."

"Good. That would be great. Okay…we'll do it. Tonight, we'll meet at the boathouse and go from there. Who'll watch the kids?"

"I have some guys that will do it," Anton said. "I gave them some time off today so they could go puff their vapes and get on their phones."

"Ah, yes, the true camp experience," Silvio laughed.

Prince's stomach was in knots for the rest of the day, but he wouldn't let that stop him. His curiosity was too great. After crafts, they went to lunch and then went for swimming lessons for the campers. The lifeguard that was there for the day was showing the entire camp tricks in case they got in trouble in the water.

He described and then showed the doggy paddle, floating on his back, using a floatation device to get back to shore and a lot more. Prince, despite his worry over the meeting that coming night, was enthralled, taking notes in his mind. He could swim well enough, but he wasn't one for stamina. If he fell out of a boat, he'd never make it to shore by swimming.

The kids had a blast, though, even if it was a lesson, and once night came, they were all exhausted. Once they were in bed, two of the other counselors Prince didn't know came into Cabin C and Silvio grabbed Prince's arm to lead him out of the cabin. "Do not let him touch you. Like at all," he started, listing off a dozen things in his new lecture, including what to do if he tried to grab Prince. "Kick, fight, punch, anything to stall until we can get to you."

"My kicks and punches wouldn't be enough to stall him, believe me."

"We're gonna be right there."

"Us too," Monnie said from behind them. They both spun around to see Nat and her standing there, dressed all in black.

"What the hell, Monnie!"

"If you don't let us come along, we'll tell Miss Sabrina!"

Nat nodded, but let Monnie do all the talking.

Prince crouched to him and said, "Please go back to your cabins. I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt or in trouble."

Monnie pushed Nat out of the way, set her fist on her hip and said, "You are walkin' into something stupid. You don't really have a leg to stand on here."

He couldn't argue with that, but he still tried. "Monnie, I mean…I mean Montese, please?"

"Let's get goin' before I get really annoyed."

Silvio was giggling and Prince gave him a nasty look. "You're supposed to be the mature one!"

"She has good points. They can sit with us. We won't let them get into trouble. If we don't go now, though, he'll think you stood him up."

That was true, but he was frustrated, scared, and excited. "I'm gonna puke."

"What a wuss," Monnie said as she and Nat brushed past him. "Well! Come on!"

Prince smiled at her and followed her as she stormed ahead of them, Nat rushing to keep up.

When the four of them went into the trees, Prince watched them go with a mixture of fear and deep gratitude. For the first time in his life, he had real friends. He didn't know how he'd be able to get along without them once the summer ended.

He walked along the shore, watching for any signs of the man, and he wasn't there yet. They'd left the cabins at a quarter until nine, so he figured he was still a little early, despite the intrusion of the kids and the lectures from Silvio and Anton.

After reaching the spot where he wanted to meet, he sat on the shore, his hands curling to fists full of the silky soil. He watched to the side from where he figured the man would approach, and when he finally saw him, Prince felt the knot in his guts loosen, his breathing coming easier.

"Hello, Mr. Rose."

He was not used to being called that. He stood and shook the man's hand as he said, "I'm at a loss."

"Dex. Dex Monarco," he said with a smile.

Having been to Italy a few times, he knew the vernacular. "Monarco. Interesting."

"Isn't it? A king meeting with a Prince."

"To be fair, kings aren't the only monarchs."

"True," he admitted, gesturing for Prince to sit, which he did, while keeping an eye on Dex.

They sat down, but Prince noticed Dex didn't sit close. That was probably a relief to his friends in the trees, but he was a little disappointed. That was stupid, he knew, but he couldn't help his feelings.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"You can't guess, after breaking into my cabin?"

God, Prince was losing it. He wanted to look cool and confident, to push away any bullshit to get to the true agenda, but it was hard while staring into…were those dark blue eyes?

Dex was so hot, even hotter than he was from far away. He had this square jawline that made Prince want to trace it with his tongue, even being covered with a short, perfectly trimmed beard. And his lips were soft looking, full, dark in color, but he was too. That tanned olive skin that covered nice, full muscles…

"Are you okay?"

Snapping back to some of his senses, he shook his head and tried to sound indignant. "Of course, I'm okay."

He laughed, and his laugh was breathy and deep. God…

"I have a name now. I don't have the reason you've been watching. You know, I could have called my father and had you arrested. You're lucky I'm here at all."

"Lucky, yes, I am. Thank you for not calling your father," he said and never lost that smile that was a little patient and a lot amused.

"Tell me. Why do you want with me," he said, then caught how that sounded. "I mean…"

More of that deep laughter that was making Prince's blood boil. "I know what you mean, Prince. Okay, here it is." Finally, the smile was gone as it became all business. His words drifted out from between those two perfect lips, and his voice flowed over Prince like a tonic.

It was so good Prince almost missed all the important information.

"I am employed by a group that is about to lose their computer guy. I was sent to do some fishing, and not just in that lake."

"You…need a computer guy. Ever heard of Geek Squad?"

He laughed in a booming way that made Prince want to purr. "I knew I was going to like you."

"Compliments aren't worth much, Mr. Monarco." Hearing himself, he was a little shocked that the way his father spoke to most people was coming so easily for him. "What kind of company do you work for that you'd need someone of my caliber?"

"It's not exactly a company." He stopped and looked deeply into Prince's eyes. "May I call you Prince?"

"Sure, but only as you're answering my questions."

"Oh, right, of course," he said, and then did something that nearly floored Prince. He licked his lips as his smile returned. "My bosses have a lot of companies, and a lot of IT guys. You wouldn't be that. You'd be…the head of all of it. All the IT, and you'd work closely with the bosses to develop software just for them, and in return, you would have all the space creatively that you could want or need."

His dream. What Dex Monarco was describing was his dream. It was one he'd hoped to do with his family company, but his father didn't want that. "Keep…keep talking."

"We had someone that headed up the computer security and development. My bosses had him for years, but recently, he and his husband are hiring a surrogate to have a child for them. He wants to live out the rest of his life with that husband and child or children, and it's been granted to him."

"Granted to him? Like…he had to ask permission?"

Smile fading, Dex said, "In a way. It's part of why the subterfuge instead of acting like any other headhunter. I won't tell you their names, Prince, and that is not a lack of anything in you. It's simply a way to keep my boss's privacy while we search for a replacement."

As sketchy as it sounded, he was still intrigued. "So, I'd have…all the space I could want to develop software?"

"Yes, of course. We'd want you to do things for us first, of course. Having a computer genius of your caliber isn't only wanted but needed. A lot of things can be handled with a keyboard rather than…more lethal ways."

Lethal? "You're not with the government, are you? Because I refuse to make weapons!"

"No, no, of course, not. Let's say it's cyber sleuthing, checking in on competitors, things of that nature. Going through someone's trash isn't as safe as it used to be, and most people are paperless now, anyway."

He was laying some things down for Prince that seemed innocuous, but he had a sneaking feeling his bosses were anything but. "May I call you Dex?"

"Certainly."

The way his lips looked when they pursed from saying certainly…

"Again, are you okay?"

He closed his mouth after realizing it was hanging open. "Yes. I mean, no. I'll need to know a lot more before I commit to anything like what you're proposing. Not knowing the name of the person hiring me, that's sus."

"Yes, I can see that. I can tell you more, within reason. This is a first meeting, one that I can tell my bosses I've made and either I can move on or stay, and we can speak further."

"I have to say, this was the strangest job interview I've ever heard of."

Dex's laughter was light, and his eyes got squinty when he smiled. Two things Prince would dream about later, he was sure. "I can bet it is, though…no offense, but how many have you had."

"Not even one," he said, finally laughing with Dex. "I…really am intrigued."

"Well, you obviously know where I'm staying…"

"Sorry about that. But you had it coming."

Dex nodded once and said, "True. Tell your friends in the trees over there that they're really great friends for watching out for you," he added and then turned that direction and waved. Prince laughed as he saw Silvio and Anton wave back, and Nat's little hand came up between them.

"I will. And when I can get free, I'll bring my friends along to come to your cabin and talk more."

"Or you can come alone," he said, then dropped his head to laugh. "Sorry. I know that's not safe." When he looked back at Prince again, he said, "I know, I'm like some creepy stalker, but I promise, I'm not. I was gathering information for my boss, but in the meantime, I, uh, find that you are something special."

"You got all that from across a lake?"

"Yeah! I'm good at my job."

Prince got to his feet, wanting more than anything to play it aloof, but his body and brain didn't cooperate. He held out his hand to Dex, who took it, and they slowly shook while Prince smiled and flirted a little. "That's to be seen."

Before he let go of Prince's hand, he pulled him gently to him and whispered, "Has anyone ever told you that you're magnificent looking?"

"If I say no?"

"Then you've been surrounded by fools."

He let go of Prince and turned to head back to his cabin, all while Prince could barely hold himself upright with his knees threatening to buckle. The others ran over to him, Silvio grabbing his arms. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…I'm great."

They headed back to camp while he was peppered with questions. "What did he want?" Silvio demanded.

"He offered me a job. Or…offered to consider me for a job."

"A job? What the hell? A job?"

Anton laughed and whispered so the kids couldn't hear, "I'll bet he wanted you to give him a job."

"Ah, man, Anton," Silvio said, pushing him playfully. "You're so wrong!"

"No, I'm right."

Nat asked, "A job you'd like?"

"Yes, actually. I have no clue who his bosses might be, but the job itself sounds like everything I want. Complete freedom to design and develop, and all I have to do is make sure they're taken care of first."

"Okay, taken care of how?"

He wanted to tell them everything, but he also knew they'd worry. "Do their IT and run computer security, mostly, I think."

"You think? Did you get anything from him but a bunch of hints and talking in circles?"

He could tell Silvio was about to pop a cork. "It was a first introduction. I'll learn more, but I need to go to talk to him, and he knows I won't go alone."

Anton laughed and said, "Wouldn't you know it? The rich boy gets a chance at his dream job."

Prince felt terrible, and Silvio saw that. "He meant nothing, Prince."

"No, man, I didn't. Not bad."

"He meant he wishes he could get the job," Monnie told him. "But, ya know, it's the way of things."

If he had his way, the four walking with him would never want for anything again. "I'm not upset. Just motivated."