Spark & Stone - Ch. 25

Chapter Twenty-Five - High Five!

His agent wiped his forehead with a pristine white handkerchief and, with studied gestures, folded it and put it back into his pocket as if he was trying to buy more time. Heathcliff tapped the desk with his fingers, knowing well that the small rhythmic sound was getting on Harry's nerves.

"Why now, Heathcliff?" Harry asked him in a sugary voice like he felt the need to appease his client.

Heathcliff shrugged. "I believe I proved myself and my influence well enough. It's time for me to receive some praises for all my hard work directly, and for them to offer the said praises on a silver platter, accompanied, preferably, by some Evian served in crystal flutes. You know I don't often indulge in alcoholic beverages, except when I'm enjoying the company. In this case, I know I won't."

"But the contract is so -"

"Harry," Heathcliff put one hand up, "let me ask you directly. Is the head honcho at The Healthy Shakers secretly a homophobe?"

Harry stood there, his jaw slack, for a while, and then pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket again. "No! I mean, not that I know of."

Heathcliff sighed. "Then does he have something against me, in particular? Why doesn't he want to meet me?"

"Maybe he is just busy," Harry offered half-heartedly.

"Nobody is that busy."

Harry shifted from one foot to another. It appeared that he could not stay still, no matter how much Heathcliff had insisted. It felt like Harry was paying a visit to Heathcliff's office and not the other way around.

"I asked Aidan to tell him directly. He returned empty-handed. What am I supposed to make of that?" Heathcliff insisted.

He had hated to see Aidan so dejected over not being able to secure a meeting with his boss. It wasn't Aidan's fault. That had been just another thing that proved to him who he was dealing with. The boss at The Healthy Shakers would get a bit of shaking if he still wanted Heathcliff's collaboration. Of course, he needed to do that and suggest the blackmail in the subtlest way possible, to avoid hurting Aidan in the process.

The young man had stubbornly refused his offer to help him find employment somewhere else, so that was one fragile egg Heathcliff needed to juggle while putting some assholes in their rightful place.

"That, um ... Heathcliff, look," Harry begged both with his eyes and his voice, "you know how they insisted on a family-friendly image and all that -"

"Which I promptly delivered," Heathcliff interrupted his agent. "Or do they need to see me doing the horizontal cha-cha with the one I choose to spend my free time with, just to be convinced?"

Harry shot him another nervous look. "I thought it was a sham."

Heathcliff had entrusted Harry with half the truth, as his agent was practically like a lawyer and confidante to him.

He hurried to appease Harry's suspicions. There was no point in leading the man toward the real matter that he needed to keep hidden. "Of course. But they don't know that, and I trust you not the let them know the truth."

The fact that Aidan had talked about the so-called sham with his boss was not a piece of information Harry needed to know. Appearances were paramount for his scheme to work.

"You can count on me, Heathcliff," Harry said. "I just think that we should treat them a bit with velvet gloves. They may not be the most accommodating business partners, but they are good clients for our current situation."

"Harry," Heathcliff stood up and placed one hand on his agent's shoulder, "you're a good man, but you tend to worry too much. I won't allow them to walk all over me just because I'm happy and gay, and they're sour and miserable. Fix up a meeting. I know you can, or I would not have depended on you for so long."

Harry nodded, and his face lit up. "I will arrange it. Do you know what are we going to talk about? If you need my help -"

"Trust me. I have everything figured out. You just need to be there as moral support. And stop worrying so much. At the end of that meeting, you'll be proud of me."

"I'm proud of you anyway," Harry said. "You're one of my very few clients who actually offer a return on investment."

"This new economic landscape has its ups and downs," Heathcliff admitted. "Just make things happen, and I will be forever grateful. I'll send you a few details over e-mail."

Heathcliff bid his goodbyes to Harry and went out the door. He needed very little to be convincing during the meeting that his agent would hopefully obtain.

***

"I am glad to finally meet you," Heathcliff said affably, although he didn't allow the plastic smile plastered all over his face to reach his eyes.

"As I am," Aidan's boss offered him a strong hand and shook his more than it was necessary.

The head honcho at The Healthy Shakers behaved like he needed to prove something. For a second, Heathcliff squeezed the man's hand hard, enjoying seeing him wince a little.

Along with the boss, two other characters were present, but Heathcliff paid them no mind. It wasn't like him to behave like that toward strangers, but these were no ordinary people. They were there to support their boss, and they were eyeing Heathcliff with unease as if he wanted to stab their unescapable leader under their very eyes. Or, who knows, do something else that wasn't comme il faut.

Harry was sitting behind him, pretending to be busy with his laptop, and he wasn't part of the conversation, either.

Heathcliff pulled the folder he had brought along and opened it in front of the other. The man looked at him through his thick-rimmed glasses as if he wanted to understand, without words, what was going on. Heathcliff had no intention to help him out.

Eventually, after a short staring contest, the man decided to look at the folder.

"What am I looking at, Mr. Stone?"

"Numbers," Heathcliff said laconically. "Please, look closer."

He placed his hands flat on the lacquered table. They were doing this on neutral ground, so the place of their meeting was rented by the hour. Sort of like for a sleazy affair, but he could not care less about how the others in the room felt. Some things needed to be set right.

"Social media numbers," Aidan's boss said slowly as if he could not comprehend why Heathcliff showed him that.

"Yes," Heathcliff said smoothly. "Now, please tell me, who has the biggest follower base?"

The two sycophants leaned toward their boss, crowding his space, to stare at the papers.

"There is no need for a demonstration," Aidan's boss waved. "We know very well where you stand, Mr. Stone."

"Do you?" Heathcliff asked directly.

"We wouldn't have worked with you otherwise. You were our first and only choice."

"Funny. That's not what I heard," Heathcliff said in an icy tone.

"People love to gossip. I assure you that what I say it's true."

"I have no reason to distrust you. Still, how come we've never met?" Heathcliff asked casually and leaned back into his chair.

"I believe our representative -"

"A low entry employee," Heathcliff interrupted the other right away.

"Has our employee inconvenienced you in any way?"

Heathcliff smiled, showing a bit of teeth. "Not at all. Quite the contrary. But his exemplary behavior had me thinking. If that's how smart and prepared such an employee is, how the rest of The Healthy Shakers truly is? Especially the boss."

The man across the table stared at him and remained silent. Most probably, he was wondering what this was all about.

"You see, Aidan tells me that the numbers are looking up for the company. I do bring in significant sales."

"That is correct," the other admitted.

"So why won't you accept to meet me and present me with well-deserved thanks for all my hard work?"

By how the two acolytes on the other side of the table were busy picking up their jaws off the floor, Heathcliff knew he had just struck a nerve.

"I thought Spark had offered plenty of thanks on behalf of our company."

Hmm, Heathcliff pondered. The big kahuna at The Healthy Shakers believed himself smart, and also lucky enough to get away with that. He was wrong on both accounts. Heathcliff had been true to Harry in one respect. He would not allow anyone to walk all over him.

"Are you trying to say that he became my lover for the sake of his employer?"

Now a collective gasp was the answer. How much the others knew about the so-called arrangement, Heathcliff didn't know, but one thing was sure - no one wanted to hear about that.

"By no means," the other dodged a direct answer. "That was completely his choice."

"I see. By your attitude toward me, I would have thought that had been arranged by your marketing department, too."

"What is it that you want, Mr. Stone?"

Aidan's boss was irritated, and irritation was a good thing.

"Nothing else but proper respect," he answered right away.

"How are we supposed to give you that? We might have different views on what respect means."

"Of course. I would not dream of avoiding to put all my cards on the table. I believe a small adjustment to the contract should be in order. Harry," Heathcliff called for his agent to spring into action.

He allowed Harry to explain the others what the new contract would entail. Heathcliff could tell Aidan's boss was far from being pleased, but he wasn't asking for too much. They might have thought him some brain dead celebrity, but he always did his homework, and he knew what he was worth, given the sales coming in, thanks to his endorsement.

"We are not in the habit of renegotiating, but we might allow a slight adjustment. Not as much as you ask, of course."

"Otherwise, it wouldn't be a negotiation," Heathcliff said, smiling thinly. "All right, what do you have in mind?" He listened calmly to what the other proposed. "I would agree, but on one condition. Part of being treated with the respect I deserve should include having to deal with a representative that is not from the lowest tier in your office."

"Are you no longer happy with Spark?" the other asked.

"I did not say that. I think you know what I'm asking. If not, think about it for a little while. It will come to you. Hint: I prefer my collaboration with Aidan Spark to continue."

Aidan's boss stared at him in disbelief. He probably now thought that Aidan had somehow manipulated Heathcliff into this, and wondered how that shy employee could have done that. Heathcliff had an inkling that Aidan was not as assertive as he wanted when at work, hence his being overlooked for any promotion seemed a likely outcome at the next evaluation, regardless of his outstanding results.

Eventually, the other man nodded slowly.

"Great." Heathcliff pushed back his chair and stood up. "I can assure you that the numbers will continue to look up."

Harry hurried after him, and he left the room, leaving the others to figure out what the hell had just happened.

"Heathcliff, you're a genius!" his agent shouted as soon as they were out of earshot. "But why did you insist on that last bit?"

Harry couldn't be that dense. He was just fishing for info.

Heathcliff patted his agent's shoulder. "Aidan put in a lot of effort for me to succeed. I thought about returning the favor. That's all."

Harry nodded, but he seemed only half-convinced. "Didn't they find it odd for Aidan Spark to continue to work for them while being in a relationship, as fake as it may be, with you?"

"Apparently, it satisfied their need to see me settled down, completely within the boundaries of a family-friendly image."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Heathcliff, you say you trust me. So you can tell me you're really seeing Aidan Spark, and it's not a sham."

Heathcliff laughed as they stepped out of the elevator. "You're sharp, Harry, I have to give it to you. Then the last bit I asked should have been no surprise to you."

"It makes perfect sense now. I had my doubts. Well, I'm relieved that this was all."

"Why? Were you afraid I would go on a rant about their homophobic asses?"

Harry laughed. "Sort of."

"Well, I have no intention to kill the cash cow. And sooner or later, if that's how they really are at that company, it will all come to light."

"What can I say, Heathcliff? If I had known they were like that, I would have never come to you with their deal."

"You would have come," Heathcliff replied. "No worries, Harry. I know you like money. But I like it, too, so who am I to judge? In this world, you need to gain power, and power means hard cold cash. Once you have that, you can have even these deep in the closet homophobes start to wave the rainbow flag. And who knows? They might just like it."

"I'm glad to see you so optimistic about it all," Harry said. "But that's who you are and why I like you as my client. You know how to make the best of any situation."

"Well, the feeling's mutual. Call me if they don't send the paperwork."

"Oh, I'm sure they will. Like me, they might have been afraid of you ranting about their homophobic asses."

"Damn, I lost a good opportunity to scare them good," Heathcliff said with a grin. "But I believe my performance was even better."

"That it was," Harry replied and shook his head with mirth. "Thanks for being such a productive client, Heathcliff. God knows I need that check."

"Of course. There's nothing wrong with that. Just don't spend it all in the same donut place. Try the salad. You'll love it. I guarantee." Harry's expression was so comical Heathcliff could not keep from laughing. "Just start with one green leaf. For my sake, okay?"

"Sure thing, Heathcliff," Harry said and sucked in his generous belly, as he walked away.

Heathcliff felt pretty damned good about himself. Aidan would get that promotion, finally, and he would earn a little more, too. If he were to think about it hard, he was going a bit against his own interest here, as he would have better had Aidan free of his current employment situation.

Still, Aidan had earned his promotion, and Heathcliff wanted to see him happy. If the head honcho at The Healthy Shakers needed a small nudge to do the right thing, he had no problem with ensuring that.

***

Aidan was a bit tense as he watched his colleagues going in and out of the big boss's office. Some entered with gloomy looks on their faces and came back a bit relieved. Others left the boss's office with their heads hunched into their shoulders. And very few seemed happy with the outcome once their ordeal was over.

Of course, the big kahuna had to make it a sort of ritual. Aidan felt like he was waiting in line to get executed. The only solace in this was that Heathcliff would wait for him at home, as usual, and Aidan counted on that more than anything.

If he were to remain stuck in the same position, he would rely on Heathcliff for the moment. No matter how gentle a lover Heathcliff was, Aidan felt uncomfortable with the idea. It wasn't an actual relationship if he was always the one who relied on the other, with no chance to give back something of equal value.

When he tried once to express his concerns over the inequality in their relationship and the lack of value of his contribution, Heathcliff had laughed it off and told him that his ass was a big enough asset. That guy could be such a joker sometimes, and Aidan wanted to prove himself even more.

If he managed to finally land that promotion he so wanted, he would feel a bit more entitled to be on equal footing with Heathcliff. He would not be some stray that Heathcliff had decided to take into his care because the only thing he knew how to cook was ramen. Aidan needed to prove that he was more than just a helpless partner.

When the boss's personal assistant finally called his name, he had his stomach all up in knots.

"Spark!" his boss boomed the moment he set foot inside.

"Yes, sir!" he shouted back.

The man seemed pleased with his reaction. "I'll make this short and sweet."

Aidan kept himself from asking for whom.

"You're keeping your job."

His heart sank.

"But also, you're promoted!" His boss seemed to force his enthusiasm for some reason.

In other words, the man didn't seem as happy as he wanted to project about handing Aidan the promotion he knew very well that it was much deserved.

"Thank you, sir," Aidan said. "What's my new position, if I may ask?"

"Junior advertising copywriter," his boss declared in a loud, annoying voice. "All clear? Written down? Great! Dismissed!"

Aidan wanted to ask more, like what his new position entailed, and what the benefits were, but his boss didn't look like he wanted to elaborate, so he chose to leave while murmuring his thanks.

The personal assistant was waiting for him with his new job description. As he listened to her, any unpleasant sensations in regards to his boss's behavior dissipated. He now had something to show for himself, and Heathcliff would have to take him more seriously.

***

"Hey," Heathcliff hurried to embrace him as soon as he was inside. "How was your day?"

"Pretty great," Aidan replied and kissed Heathcliff loudly on the lips. "Are you ready to hear this?"

"Hear what?" Heathcliff's eyes shone as they were looking at each other.

"You're practically staring at the new junior advertising copywriter at The Healthy Shakers!"

"Really? That's great news, Aidan!" Heathcliff hooked him up into his arms and kissed him again. "Now that's a good cause for celebration!"

"It sure is," Aidan wrapped his legs around his lover. "Now I can really buy bread in this house. And toothpaste."

"Sure, why not?" Heathcliff laughed. "But isn't something else you wanted to secure once you had your promotion?"

Aidan could feel his heart skipping a beat. In all the euphoria of getting the thing he had wanted for so long, he had totally forgotten about the promise he had made to Heathcliff. "Do you mean, um, me fucking you?"

Heathcliff's eyebrows shot up in amusement, a large smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Don't tell me you forgot about your promise."

"I didn't! I mean, I got a little carried away, and I only thought how I'm going to come home and give you the big news. Damn, oh, fuck, are you really game, Heath? Tonight, I might just die of happiness. Of course, we don't have to do it tonight."

"What? You don't want to?" Heathcliff questioned him.

"Of course I do," Aidan said right away. "I might come fast. Oh, damn, are we really -"

Heathcliff made their foreheads touch in a tender gesture. "Just enjoy yourself, Aidan. It's all I want from you tonight."

"Ah, don't make it like your pleasure doesn't count. I would not have it. Although I might suck at it at first since I'm totally new and probably your ass is so tight. I bet it's tight. Oh, fuck."

"Aidan, you're babbling." Heathcliff stopped his avalanche of words. "Leave everything to me and relax. There's no point in being nervous. You can't do anything wrong. Not in my book."

"Wow, big words, Stone," Aidan whispered, trembling a little and trying to hide it.

He loved how Heath smelled. It was masculine, without being overpowering, and he didn't abuse cologne and other products, although he did enjoy his showers more than anyone else Aidan knew. Other than expensive body wash and his own smell, there was nothing else Aidan could sense. He wanted to lick his lover head to toes if allowed. Usually, Heathcliff beat him to it, and that made it almost impossible for him to enjoy the other to his heart's content. But things would change tonight. Aidan felt empowered and wanted to show his true desires in his relationship with Heathcliff, as well.

Yes, he would be in charge for once. The thought alone was enough to make him a bit lightheaded, like after a few stiff drinks. Maybe he was intoxicated and high on what he felt for Heathcliff, how much he wanted him, and what it truly meant to be in his arms.