Chapter 39

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Rule Number 10 - A client/feeder relationship should be fair on both sides. If you feel you are being taken advantage of, legal action should be taken.

“What about emotional damage?” Calvin shot out. “You refused to touch me for days, and barely even looked at me. It was an attack on my self esteem!”

That made Avery snort, and he rolled his lips between his teeth to hide his smile. He noticed Ozen fighting back a smile as well, but he was looking at Avery, so that might’ve been a response to Avery’s reaction as opposed to the stupidity coming out of Calvin’s mouth.

“Your emotional state was not part of the contract,” Mr. Van Buren interjected. “It’s not my client’s job to cater to your whims. He feeds when he needs it, you offer yourself to provide for him, and you go about your day. It’s not a relationship where he was to ensure your self esteem is intact.”

From the look on Walter's face, he’d already covered that with his client, and he didn’t appreciate him bringing it up in front of the group. Still, Calvin wouldn’t let it go, pointing an accusing finger at Avery.

“He caters to him ! Why would I be treated any differently?”

“He’s my mate,” Ozen answered evenly. It still thrilled Avery every time he said it, and he had to fight to keep his face neutral and not grin like an idiot. Avery got the feeling it wouldn’t help the situation.

Calvin’s mouth fell open, and Walter made a choking sound. Avery didn’t understand their reaction, but Maverick didn’t look bothered that Ozen had brought it up. If anything, he looked smug.

“W-Well, then there is definitely motive for Mr. Hawksley to treat my client unfairly to get him to leave so that Mr. Hawksley could be with his mate,” Walter said in an attempt to get the situation back under his control. “It brings forward the question of when Mr. Hawksley knew that information and if he signed the contract with malicious intent while knowing his mate was available.”

Avery couldn’t help making a face. “You really think Ozen knew I was his mate and chose to sign a contract with someone else anyway? Do you know anything about mates?”

“He has a point,” Taron commented. He breezed into the room and joined the group, dropping onto the sofa with his feet on the coffee table. Completely relaxed despite the situation. “No one would see their mate and choose another. That’s not physically possible.”

“But he fed from his assistant before signing with me!” Calvin demanded.

That made Avery pause. That was true. Ozen did feed from Avery first, but neither one of them was aware of the connection for at least a month. It started off so slowly that they didn’t notice until they were both so obsessed with each other that they couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“That’s not relevant,” Mr. Van Buren argued. “Had my client known he’d met his mate, he wouldn’t have signed the contract. We all know mating isn’t instantaneous. And there would have been a payout if my client realized and needed to break the contract early. Your client was the one who voided the entire thing by choosing to not show up in an attempt to starve my client.” Before either man could open their mouth to argue, Mr. Van Buren put up his hand to stop them. “I’m not interested in hearing more of this without a judge present. I’ll be presenting a counterclaim to the judge for attempted murder. We’ll see you in court.”

Calvin visibly paled and Walter looked like he swallowed a lemon. “Now wait just a minute. You can’t just–”

“Taron, please contact security and have these two removed for trespassing,” Ozen demanded. The threat got Walter moving, and he grabbed Calvin by the arm to drag him along.

“We’ll see you in court!” Calvin screamed on his way out. “I didn’t do anything! You were the one who wouldn’t touch me! I would’ve been the best you ever had! You’ll rue the day–”

His voice cut off as the door to the office closed behind him. Avery ended the recording, sending it immediately to Ozen and Mr. Van Buren so he wouldn’t forget.

“Well, that was fun. Did he seriously think he could come in here and intimidate you into giving in?” Taron asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Apparently,” Ozen replied dryly. “You just had to come enjoy the show, didn’t you?”

Taron scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. “You assume I came here to see you.” He turned to face Avery with a scowl. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”

Avery felt his spine stiffen. He wasn’t sure what he could’ve done to upset the shapeshifter, but it made him nervous all the same. He didn't want Ozen’s best friend to dislike him.

“W-What did I do?”

“You haven’t finished that book! I’m going to die if I don’t find out what happens. Seriously. Just keel over. The scene you stopped in was just cruel. He was about to fu–”

Avery squeaked, waving his hands wildly. “O-Okay! I know what you’re referring to! I’m working on it! I just don’t have a lot of free time!”

“Working on what?” Mr. Van Buren asked with a deep frown.

“His novel,” Taron replied, still scowling at Avery. “It’s amazing, but he hasn’t finished it yet. I can’t believe you sent that to me when it wasn’t done.”

Avery’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t! You stole it!”

“What kind of novel?”

Mr. Van Buren actually looked interested, and Avery felt his face flush dark red. It was bad enough that Taron read it. He didn’t want to share it with Mr. Van Buren, too. It was too humiliating to consider.

“I didn’t realize you were writing a novel. Can I read it?” Ozen asked curiously.

Avery took back his previous statement. This was worse. Having others read it wasn’t nearly as bad as having Ozen do it. Avery may have used him as a reference when rewriting all the spicy scenes. It wouldn’t take him long to figure it out. He covered his face with his hands, at a loss for what to say. He couldn’t just tell him no. That would be mean. But he was too embarrassed to show him.

“Seriously, you need to read the sex scenes. They’re so hot, even I was blushing,” Taron commented.

When Avery whimpered, Ozen decided to spare him from further humiliation, tucking Avery against his side.

“Alright, enough teasing. Leave my mate alone. Maverick, do you need us to write a statement on what just occurred?”

“No. I got the video from Avery. It’s plenty. I’ll let you know when I have a court date.”

“Good. Take Taron with you. He’s caused enough trouble for one day.”

“Hey, I resent that!” Taron complained, his voice fading as he was no doubt dragged away by Mr. Van Buren. Once the door shut behind them, the room went quiet again and Ozen turned Avery so he could hide his face against Ozen’s chest.

“Do you not want me to read your novel?”

“No! Yes… No. I don’t know!”

He chuckled, and Avery soaked in the noise. He was a lot more open and playful now that they were mated. Getting rid of the contract gave them both the freedom to be themselves around each other. Ozen didn’t seem to mind Avery’s constant need for physical touch, and Avery loved Ozen’s teasing, even if it drove him nuts.

“After everything we’ve done together, I’m surprised you have anything to be embarrassed about.”

“Not helping,” Avery whined, gently thumping Ozen’s chest. It only made him laugh again.

“How did you intend to publish it if you were this embarrassed?”

“I was going to use a pen name,” Avery admitted. “It’s easier to hide the fact that I’m human if I do.”

Avery heard the frown in Ozen’s voice when he asked, “Why would you need to hide that?”

Avery sighed, shifting back so he could look up at Ozen. “The amount of books written by humans published every year is less than one percent of the overall total. I figured if I didn’t do things like book signings and published under a pen name, I’d have more of a shot to actually get my book out there. It doesn’t matter, really. It’s more of a hobby.”

Ozen’s fingers combing through his hair made him melt, and he rested his cheek against Ozen’s chest again. He was quick to claim this as his spot, and Ozen never seemed to mind having him there.

“Do you enjoy writing?”

“Yes. I like creating new worlds and writing things I think people would enjoy. But it’s mostly just for me. I never had high hopes it’d get me anywhere. I would probably never have the courage to send it out anyway. It’s taken me years to get the book as far as I have.”

It was a dream. Probably unattainable, but nice to think about. Avery wanted to try, but he put very little stock into the idea.

Ozen seemed to disagree with his approach, though. “If you enjoy it and you’re as good as Taron says, then you should focus on that. You never know. You might just be one of those one percent who make it.”

“Taron is being dramatic,” Avery argued. “I’m not that good.”

“Let me read it then. I’ll give you my honest opinion. I won’t sugar coat it for you. And if it’s as good as he says, I want you to at least consider making it your main focus. The odds were against me and Taron when we started this business. We didn’t let distractions get in our way, and look where we ended up. You can’t say it will fail if you’ve never given it an honest try.”

Avery wrapped his arms around Ozen’s middle, hugging him tightly. It’d been a long time since he had support like that. He wasn’t sure what to do with it. As embarrassing as it was to share it, Avery believed that Ozen would give his honest opinion. Maybe if he hated it, Avery could move on from the idea. No point wasting more time if it was an impossible dream.

“Fine. You can read it. But not while I’m in the same room.”

“We live together, firefly,” Ozen chuckled. “Are you suggesting I ignore my work to read yours?”

Avery’s shoulders slumped. He’d forgotten about that. In his defense, he only moved in yesterday. It was still new.

“Fine… just don’t tell me you’re reading it.”

“I’ll save all comments for the end,” Ozen assured him.

Great. That meant Avery would be on edge until Ozen finished.

“How fast do you read?”