Damaged Goods (MxM - BOOK FIVE)

Chapter Nineteen

He left Jack and Dimitri in the kitchen, he knew that both of them would have accompanied him, but this was something he needed to do on his own.

He was actually surprised when he made it to the dining room to find that Melissa and Blake weren't there.

Daniel Hennessy was, though. The businessman managed to look concerned; a new expression for him; Tyler felt. But beneath it though, there was also anger.

Tyler's mother looked stony-faced and pale. He didn't think he'd ever seen her so uncomfortable.

What had she and Daniel been talking about? Surely Daniel hadn't fired her for that scene in the kitchen?

Or was this all for him?

He stood quietly in the doorway until they noticed him.

Daniel was the first to do so, and stood stiffly without saying a word. His eyes went to Tyler's, and he was surprised to see how haunted they had looked.

Almost as if he were afraid of something?

The businessman didn't say anything, but pushed his chair in, skirted the long table and walked out. He didn't even look at Tyler as they passed within inches of one another.

And now his mother's eyes turned upon him.

And now it was his turn to talk, but for some reason; he was unable to.

For once, it seemed his mother was in the same position.

"Do you want to get out of here?" He asked her on impulse, and she was standing before he finished the question.

She walked out first, her sensible wide heeled shoes clicking on the tiles as she headed for the front door. Tyler followed her quickly, and they were soon standing in front of the elevator doors, waiting.

Not speaking.

"You were the one who wanted to talk," he reminded her, but she didn't turn her gaze from the elevator door.

It opened, and she stepped in.

He wasn't sure what to do. Was she actually just trying to get away from him? Is that where they were now?

Why would she wait for him to come out of Jack's room just to walk away? They could both have avoided this awful moment.

But the elevator door began to close between them, and his mother's hand reached out and stopped it.

"Are you coming?" She asked him, and her tone was not angry, shaky perhaps but entirely without malice.

He quickly stepped onto the elevator, and this time she let the doors close.

"I was going to tell you about all of it," he said suddenly, now that they could be sure of at least a moment of privacy. "That's why I'm here... well not here specifically, but I was coming to take you to lunch today so we could talk, I didn't realise you worked for Daniel... I mean I suspected, but only once I saw your employment contract, but that was just this morning-"

"Tyler," she interrupted his verbal diarrhoea, "I've been hiding things from you too."

Right before the elevator door opened and they were both met by the smiling face of the blonde concierge, and the stern look of Daniel's lobby-bound bodyguard.

"Miss Cooper," the bodyguard greeted her, stepping forward.

She nodded her head mutely at the uniformed man before stepping past both of them, towards the glass doors that opened automatically to the street beyond.

"What do you mean?" He asked her as they crossed the gridlocked traffic and entered the park beyond.

Tyler hated this park but was too preoccupied right now to remember that. "Well I didn't know you were working again," he shrugged, "if this had to do with Daniel Hennessy, you didn't know that I knew him so..."