In The Black (BxB)✔

Chapter 32 - Taking Action

Patience was never easy for David. It was one of the greatest contributors to his gambling addiction. He wanted money, but was usually unwilling to wait two weeks for a paycheck, so he'd hit the slots hoping to win big. Then he'd run out of money and borrow more to keep trying for that illusive jackpot. It was a vicious cycle, one which Mr. Black was making sure he didn't fall back into.

In this moment though, he had no choice but to be patient. If he jumped the gun with his plan then everything could easily go up in flames. What's worse, there was a chance he'd drag Peter's reputation down with him.

Calming himself, he stepped out from around the corner and made his way to the coffee machine. The group of demons went silent, hushing each other once they spotted the intruder. They watched him like a flock of irritable buzzards until he loaded up a tray of cheap coffee cups and left for the conference room.

Peter had already started the meeting by the time he arrived. As usual, the man stood at the head of the room and spoke with the authority of a respectable CEO. His face was calm and focused as he went over their upcoming plans. Mr. Black made sure to make eye contact with each individual member, then paused when he noticed the brown stain on David's shirt. He waited for him to set the tray of coffee down at the back of the room before addressing him.

"Mr. Cooper, if you wouldn't mind fetching some papers from my desk I believe I've forgotten the handouts for the next meeting." He spoke without looking at David, disguising his excuse to let the little human leave to change his clothes.

David caught on immediately and stepped out before too many of the other demons bothered to look his way. Since he had grown accustomed to the frequency of this sort of harassment, he had learned to prepare a backup set of clothes in his desk drawer.

Quickly he went to change in the restroom, then stepped out and almost slammed into a rock hard wall of abs.

Startled, David dropped his stained shirt and grabbed his sore nose. "Sorry." He mumbled, kneeling down to retrieve his old top.

"David? What happened?" He heard Ricky's voice from behind the abs.

Glancing up, he realized that the man he had just barreled into was Damon, Ricky's other husband. The guy was about seven foot tall and built like a pro-wrestler. His muscled form was barely contained in a tight black shirt and slim jeans.

Ricky popped his head out from behind Damon and immediately spotted the crumpled shirt in his hands. "Did you spill coffee on yourself?"

David tore his eyes away from the intimidating figure and focused on his friend. "Yeah, something like that."

Ricky eyed him more closely, taking note of how the little human seemed to be oddly prepared with a change of clothes in the middle of a workday. A frown started forming when he started to understand what was really happening, and he glanced up at Damon who nodded, then stepped away to give the two privacy.

"You sure you're okay?" Ricky asked once his husband was a good distance away. "Were you harassed again?"

"It's fine. I'm handling it." David shrugged. "By the way, what's your husband doing here right now?"

"He spotted us together last time and started checking in regularly." Ricky explained. David immediately shot a look at the taller demon who had skulked away and was now staring out the window with his arms folded.

"Let me guess, Damon got jealous?"

"Not exactly...Well Maybe. He denies it though." Ricky explained as Damon turned at the sound of his name. David decided to flip him the bird for being so suspicious. Luckily no one else was around to see his unprofessional behavior.