Loving The Corporate Prince Ch. 15-16

"I don't know! You've never let me read any of it. O-or maybe you just want some money from us, which is fine, I'd give it to you because I love you -"

"Dustin! Listen to yourself! After how hard I tried, in the beginning, to show you that I wanted this relationship to be equal in terms of paying for things and -"

"Then what is it? What are you hiding?"

"I've never hidden anything from you. Where is this coming from?"

Both men did their best to not let their temper's rise within their bodies, but the further the conversation went, the more and more heated their words became.

"It'd be different if I /just/ heard it from the paparazzi but I overheard Giovanni talking to you and my dad even asked me if the OI had contacted me so I'm thinking they must have /something/ and now I'm doubting..."

"Doubting what?"

"... Maybe we rushed into this." Dustin said in a near whisper.

"You know what? I'm starting to think that too because you clearly have no faith in me... Or yourself. I thought you knew me - the real me, the complete /me./ I've never given myself as wholly to anyone as I have to you and the fact that you can't see that..." The alarm on River's phone went off, signaling to them that River was to leave for his flight.

He gathered his backpack and threw it over his shoulder and rested his hand on the door handle.

"I don't know if love can live without trust, Dustin."

With that, he opened the door to see Marius and Cas standing down the hall suspiciously.

✧

After River had left, Cas sat with Lynks and Dustin, while they downed more and more champagne. None of them spoke as their moods turned sour. The drunker Dustin got, the more he'd leave the two to mingle with random folks at the party with any attempt to forget his hurting heart. Cas sat, drinking water as she had promised Marius, mulling over the conversations in her head.

'The word is that you are not who you say you are... River. If that is your real name.'

'Sources say you're hiding some big info from the Garnier family'

'Dustin didn't tell you? That I'm trans?'

'My dad even asked me if the OI had contacted me...'

"Oh no," Cas whispered. The realization sobered Cas with urgency.

'Where's Dustin?' thought Cas, looking around the great room before seeing him laughing loudly with one arm around Giovanni's shoulders and the other, sloshing his drink around. 'Too drunk to do anything. Marius?'

Cas's gaze locked onto the man like a sniper. She moved toward him quickly, zigzagging between people throughout the room before grabbing his elbow gently. There was an unspoken seriousness about the light touch that spoke to Marius' sense of urgency. He turned to see Cas and smiled, noticing how much more sober she looked but frowning once he saw her apprehension.

"What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you in your office. Bring Dustin if you can."

✧

"Waz this all 'bout?" Dustin slurred, slumping into a seat in front of his father's desk. Marius closed the door behind them gently, sighing but glad to have a space where it was just the three of them to get away from the noise.

"Dustin, I think I know what the OI knows about River..." Cas began while Marius sat behind the desk, now with a much more serious and protective expression.

"What? What is he lying 'bout? Juss like effryone elze..."

"Oh my God, Dustin - stop. Hear me out OK? Think about this... Someone at the OI says that River's 'not who he says he is.' Giovanni says, 'River... If that is your "real" name.' They think he has a 'secret.' What about River is personal to him that other people would define as a secret?"

"What? I dzon't get it..."

"Dustin..." Cas exhaled. "Think."

"Cas, please. What's going on?" Marius insisted.

"River is transgender. He told me earlier. Could it be that /that/ is the piece of information that the OI has on him? Not some conspiracy to use us? Do you think they're going to try to out him for a headline?"

"Oh. God." Dustin moaned, covering his face while Marius hissed. His dark eyes widened under this thick brow as darkness overcame his posture.

"How dare they... Shit. How dare they!?" Marius rarely, if ever, let his temper reach the level where he'd scream the way he had.

Cas' eyes widened and even Dustin sobered up a smidge.

"I'm going to make a few phone calls. You two, please try to contact River. The least we can do is brace him for what is about to come."