Chapter Two

Taylin

"Where the hell are you slinking off to?" Booker questioned as Taylin made his way to the door.

"None of your business," Taylin replied, offering a toothy grin that would irritate Booker and get a rise out of him.

Before Booker could respond, Laken jumped in with his enormous feet. "He's going after Hollis to see if he can get in first and charm him. Not that it's ever worked before" Laken gave him a knowing look. His smirk was all knowing and fucking irritating because it was true.

Lifting his middle finger, Taylin flipped Laken off and kept going out the open door. Sometimes having brothers was a pain in his backside.

"I don't know why he keeps trying," Laken added with a throaty laugh .

Taylin's nose twitched, his wolf tracking Hollis's scent and leading him to the coffee room. Outside the open door, he paused, eavesdropping.

"Then your sex life can't be any good."

Taylin's animal spirit surged at Hollis's comment. Who was Hollis having sex with? Taylin had heard no gossip from the other PAs about Hollis dating anyone. Had he missed something?

He often justified listening to gossip by claiming that it kept him knowing when his staff weren't happy.

Yeah, that's the only reason.

The voice sounded distinctively like Laken and Taylin pretended not to hear it. Popi had taught him that happy staff were more productive and loyal. Which was true… only this was Hollis. Hollis, a man who, after five years, still held all of Taylin's attention. It was sad and pitiful.

Unable to resist the pressing urge to find out more, he stepped into the coffee lounge at Frey's next throaty moan and chuckled at the man's over dramatized expression.

"That's a theory that maybe needs testing." His comment was out before he could think about it, his thoughts still worrying over who Hollis might be having sex with. To make matters worse, and dig an even bigger hole for himself, Taylin used his sexist smile and stupidly aimed it at Frey.

Taylin blamed Hollis for this, thoughts of the man with anyone but him turning him into a hot, jealous mess. Hollis tormented his dreams and kept him awake at night after they'd occupied the same space and Hollis's scent lingered in his nose .

It had been years and he'd still found nothing to breach the hard exterior that Hollis used to keep folks at a distance. Taylin was a nice guy—people often said he was—and the reason Hollis couldn't see it, he figured, was because he hadn't gotten the opportunity to really get to know him.

He keeps you at a distance, cause you act like a damn dork! The snappy retort came—absolutely—from his wolf half.

For a while, Taylin had tried dating other men and his wolf's spirit had made it impossible when it came to touching them. It was hard to convince someone how attracted Taylin was to them when his body didn't respond the way it should. Or when his wolf side didn't like their smell, or their taste and that was that, so Taylin had given up and stuck to bachelorhood.

The bombshell his fathers had just dropped, Taylin—unlike his brothers—saw it as an opportunity to finally get under Hollis's skin and figure out why he didn't like him. A proximity he'd been unable to gain in the past due to work had now presented itself, and Taylin would not waste it.

Unlike his brothers, worrying about how this was going to change things, he saw altering the status quo as something positive… he hoped. His fathers had given him an opportunity, and Taylin was excited about it. It was why he'd kept his head down during the conversation so as not to reveal just how happy he was.

So acutely aware of Hollis, Taylin noted immediately when Hollis went into ‘invisible mode' right in front of him. Every fiber in Taylin's body screamed with the need to reach out and touch him. It took a split second to realize that Frey—who was cute but not what Taylin was interested in—was offering him what he held in his hand with an expectant expression. If it had been Hollis, Taylin would have all but bitten his hand off.

He sighed in his mind and struggled to keep the smile attached to his lips. Taylin shook his head, trying to come up with a valid reason not to nibble on the treat. If Hollis was offering…

"A sugar high at this time of the day would make me useless in about an hour," he waffled, which was utter nonsense, not missing how Monica folded her lips into her mouth, probably to stop herself laughing at his ridiculousness.

Frey batted long blond eyelashes at him. A flirty smile added wattage to the obvious interest. "That's okay, I can come revive you as many times as you need."

Monica, who had kept silent up to now, giggled, then stifled this behind her hand while Hollis's expression went stoney.

"Frey, don't you have a full calendar of meetings today that require your attention?" Hollis's icy tone could have cut through metal.

Frey appeared unconcerned and hip swayed his way to the doorway Taylin stood in, his fingers curled around the remaining treat he held. "Sadly, I do…" he winked at Taylin as he brushed his body against his, making his wolf very unhappy and him struggle not to flinch away. "But there's always after work."

A chuckle teased its way up Taylin's throat at the blatant overture. Frey was persistent, Taylin had to give that to him. He was to blame for having encouraged it, even if not totally on purpose, so he needed to fix this.

His lips parted right as Hollis snapped, "Taylin is busy this evening." Hollis's teeth clacked together on the words and drew Taylin's narrow-eyed gaze.

He tilted his head and watched Hollis closely, looking for something to explain the waspish sting to his reply. Was he jealous?

Frey remained close enough for Taylin to feel the heat coming from his body and inhale the sweet chocolate and jam treat.

Taylin caught Monica staring at Hollis with an expression that revealed a curiosity that made him wish he'd cultivated more of a relationship with her, to understand what she was thinking.

Taylin kept his tone light. "I am?"

Hollis blushed a delicate shade of pink, looking a little flustered when he glanced at Taylin. "Of course. With the changes coming and your requirement to return to Hazardville to start work here on Monday, I'd say you have little time to… to do anything more than pack and arrange to move home ."

Could that be the only reason he was snapping at me like an alligator at a fresh piece of meat?

Taylin felt the hope surge in his heart. Maybe he was jealous after all? If he was, then all bets were off! Taylin had been called tenacious when he wanted to achieve a goal .

Could the angry snap and glittering light in Hollis's eyes when he glanced at Frey, whose mouth hung open, be a clue to Hollis not being as averse to him as he thought?

"Changes? Why is Taylin moving to HQ?" Frey asked, sounding confused as he lost interest in Taylin, his attention on Hollis.

"Who's moving to HQ?" Bowie's gaze swept over everyone, and his nose wrinkled as he moved past Taylin. "Are you having a party here and no one invited me?"

Bowie, a PA who Taylin had worked with frequently, elbowed past Frey next, eyeing the hand holding what appeared to now be melting goo.

Bowie put enough hurt into the question that in the next moment, Taylin watched wide eyed as Hollis rushed to reassure him. "Of course not, Bowie. Frey was, as usual, here first to get his hands on what you brought in."

Frey held up the hand holding his treat. "This is better than sex, Bowie. I need the recipe for when I'm having a dry spell." He stared pointedly at Taylin, licked his lips, then left, his hips working hard to make his ass sway like he was doing a rumba.

Hollis made a hissing sound whereas Monica's hands went to her middle when her gales of laughter boomed out.

Bowie looked around with a bewildered expression. "Why is it I always feel like I'm three steps behind the herd?"

Hollis slipped an arm around Bowie's rather broad shoulders and attempted to hug him closer. "You aren't. Frey was just being his usual self. "

The latter appeared aimed at Taylin, who thrust his fisted hands into his trouser pockets, counting in his head like he'd learned to do when Hollis showed any affection towards someone that was never him .

"Foxy and flirty," Bowie supplied, causing Hollis' lips to curl down.

"Yes."

The need to get Hollis to move away from Bowie wouldn't abate. "I'll leave you to it." He nodded at Monica and Bowie.

"Hollis, when you have a moment, I'd like a word," he said, far too sharply for his own liking.

A flash of what looked like temper came and went before Hollis answered, "I'll set up a meeting with everyone once I'm ready."

A firmness to his statement suggested discussing it further was pointless. Often referred to as having ‘a laid back' personality, Taylin considered it a real possibility that Hollis was the only one able to push his buttons. Rather than argue in front of an audience, something that had started in the last year for some reason , he kept silent.

Not for ‘some reason'. You know why! You know he's ours so stop messing about and claim him.

Easier to nod and pretend he didn't hear his wolf spirit, Taylin exited the room feeling steam coming out of his ears.

He breathed through his open mouth all the way back to the office he seldom had cause to use.

His secretary, Alma, peered at him from behind her spectacles, looking over the top rather than through them. It was a habit she had that made her look rather stern when, in fact, she was anything but.

"I wasn't expecting to see you." The surprise was obvious in her voice.

Her gaze swept over him from top to toe in a motherly fashion he was used to. "No, it was a sudden change." He ran a hand through his hair, working to contain his frustration. "Can you please come into the office, and I'll explain."

Her notebook in hand, she rose and came around the desk. Her navy dress nearly touched the floor as it swirled about her legs. Taylin opened his office door and held it wide for her to enter.

The room smelled of leather and pine. The latter came from the gift Alma had given him last year for Christmas. A jar of incense that she refilled regularly. A bank of windows offered him a view of the city beyond. Windows in the surrounding tall buildings shimmered from the sun. He stood for a brief second, taking in the changes of the place he'd found a home in.

He loved Hazardville despite it being an industrial town. He'd found love and acceptance here. He let those thoughts settle in his heart as he swung back to shut the door.

Alma walked to the seat across from his desk, her petticoats rustling. She liked to wear them under her long flowing dresses to make the skirt flounce out. Her fashion sense was based much around the swinging sixties, and it suited her and her hour-glass figure .

His thoughts returned to Hollis with someone that wasn't him and his shoulders sagged when he went to take his seat across from Alma.

"What's up, sweet child?"

Despite his mood, his lips curled at the motherly term. One Alma had used often when Taylin got frustrated or upset with his brothers… with Hollis. He had no recollection of her not being here, of working for his fathers. She, like him, was divergent and had found acceptance within the walls of Starling Enterprises, like so many others.

Taylin took the seat behind his desk, tugging up his pant leg as he crossed his legs. Alma was his confidant. He trusted her implicitly. "Hollis."

"Is that why you are home and looking glum?"

He shook his head at her compassionate gaze. "Popi and Dad have decided to step down and retire. They want us all to come home and base ourselves here."

If he'd expected shock, he didn't get it but then Alma was around a similar age to his fathers, though he'd never be rude and ask exactly how old that was.

Then a horrifying thought struck. God's, would she be thinking of retiring next?

Alma, unaware of his sudden panic, perched closer to the edge of her seat, a smile touching her eyes. "What great news. You'll be here, right under Hollis's nose, showing him what a wonderful boy you are."

Thoughts of her leaving fled with the need to figure out if Hollis was actually seeing someone that wasn't him. "Is Hollis dating anyone… Bowie, for instance? "

Her bark of laughter jolted him. "Silly boy. Hollis isn't interested in Bowie, or anyone else that isn't you, for that matter."

It was something she'd often said to him, and Taylin had never been able to substantiate. The doubt came with the fresh memory of Hollis cuddling Bowie. "Are you sure?"

Her tut came with a narrow-eyed stare, making him squirm like a naughty child speaking back to a parent. "I've the spirit of a crow inside me. When have I ever missed anything that's going on when it comes to those who I work with?"

She was right. She missed nothing. "Sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you."

"No, you shouldn't." Notebook on her knee, she rubbed her hands together. "So, what's your plan to get your beau?. And do you need my help?"

"You'll help me?" he exclaimed, unsure whether or not he should be scared of the offer.

The layered, salt and pepper colored hair shifted around her tiny, wrinkled face as she nodded eagerly. "Of course. You setting up camp here is perfect. You'll be right under Hollis's nose. I know someone that can help us," she answered absentmindedly. "Though it's best if you don't know who that is. Wouldn't want you trying to act when you aren't any good at pretending to be something you're not."

"What! I got picked two years in a row to play the lead in a high school Christmas play."

As if he'd not spoken, she continued, "But that's okay, I've got you covered like I always have. "

He got the feeling he'd just been steamrolled, but as he'd failed for years doing it alone, how could a little help make things worse?