All The Ways We Touch [BxB]

forty-five - daddy issues pt. three

Jamison sprang up from his seat at the table, his heart jumping from surprise. Before him stood a man who Elliot looked nothing like. Closer to Jamison's height than Elliot's, he was blonde with a reddish tint to his pasty skin. If he hadn't known they were father and son, he never would've guessed it.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Henry said, walking around to Jamison's side of the table, his hand extended. "I'm Henry Astor, it's a pleasure to meet you, Jamison."

Elliot bristled as Jamison smiled and shook his hand. If only he realized that his father was only playing nice. Although he would've preferred to sit next to Jamison, Archie had set his place across from him, which he suspected his father had instructed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too." Maybe Elliot was wrong and getting his father's approval wasn't a pipe dream. It wasn't until he'd glanced over at him that he saw just how red his face was that his smile faltered. Clearly, Elliot was not happy and his stomach sank as he looked back at Henry. Something was wrong.

After quickly appraising Jamison, Henry let his hand go and headed over to his seat at the head of the table. He'd tried and failed to teach Elliot how to do so too, but he was never interested in learning the art of subtle observation, telling him that it was unnecessary for swimming. Truthfully, Henry didn't care about liking Jamison, just if he was going to make him look good or foolish on the campaign trail. At least, he hoped that his less-than-impressive handshake meant that he was the soft one in the relationship.

As he watched the way that his father scrutinized Jamison, Elliot forced himself to take a deep breath and then another, trying to calm himself down. While Jamison wouldn't fault him for being upset, losing his head would only make the situation worse. Stressing Jamison out would only make him sick and the last thing that he wanted was for him to have to throw up in a fancy toilet.

Taking his seat, Elliot grabbed the glass of water and took a long drink, looking at Jamison. While he wanted to address him, he wasn't sure what to say. Small talk prior to dropping the bomb? It didn't seem appropriate and neither did just blurting it out.

Sitting down, Jamison glanced from Elliot to Henry, his stomach churning as they both stared at him. Tension hung heavy in the air, making him divert his gaze to the plate in front of him. Something was looming and it was obvious that it involved him that even looking at Elliot felt like it would be enough to kick it off.

Thunder suddenly roared overhead and if they'd been looking outside, they'd have seen cracks of lightning illuminating the skies around them. Rain pounded against the house and it was difficult not to feel like the weather was back to reflecting what he was experiencing.

Elliot watched as Archie poured them each a drink, not bothering to decline it. It'd be easier to ignore it than have his father make some comment about how it'd be downright inappropriate not to consummate their business relationship with a drink. It was obvious that Jamison was uncomfortable and it suddenly dawned on him that he didn't have to obey his father as if he were a child. However, as soon as he pushed back his chair, he heard his father clear his throat.

Jamison scrounged up the courage to look up and meet Henry's eyes. It seemed that he was finally going to break open the conversation and he wanted to show Henry that he wasn't as weak as he seemed and that he was an equal, as well as show Elliot didn't always have to strive to protect him.

"We have a matter to discuss," Henry said, offering him a tight smile. "Jamison, I hope you'll believe me when I say that none of this is personal and that this is truly a business decision."

This was worse than he expected. Truthfully, he'd just assumed that this had gone in a stereotypical direction and that Henry hadn't approved of having a gay son or hadn't approved of him as a boyfriend. Now it was clear that it was much more than that.