There was silence, then Julian’s voice turned softer.
“Levi, just stay. I’ll fill out the employee assistance paperwork myself. I promise to be flexible with you. The guys on the floor won’t mind divvying up your tables if we can’t get someone to fill in. These are extraordinary circumstances and I want to help.” Hearing those words made Thane smile. Julian was doing so well. All the expense of training Julian was paying off. He had turned into a true leader.
There was silence again and Thane continued to listen intently. When Levi spoke, the uncertainty Thane heard in his voice broke his heart. “I just think I need to quit this and go find a real job. Julian, I feel so stupid. I’m really into him. Even after everything, I can’t stop thinking…” Levi’s words became distorted. Thane looked at the screen and stuck it back to his ear. The line went dead.
No! No. Thane immediately called Julian again, frustrated when the call went to voicemail. Had Julian cut him off on purpose? Was Levi talking about him when he said “into him?” His heart sped up at the thought he might still have a chance to set things right, but then dropped just as suddenly. Levi had been more than clear with what he thought of him.
Thane pushed call again and the phone again went to voicemail. Frustrated, Thane reached for his wineglass, downing the contents while getting to his feet. His mind raced with all the scenarios playing out at warp speed then settling on the most likely answer. Julian had cut him off on purpose. Who the hell was Levi into? It had to be him. Why else would he talk to Julian about it? Why would he quit Reservations? But…could it be another guy?
This time Thane lifted the bottle, drinking straight from the opening, trying to drown out the possibility that Levi might have a boyfriend. They’d gotten along so well that night that it had never occurred to him to even ask the boyfriend question.
He was seriously such a selfish ass. Thane looked around the room as if he were seeing it for the first time. How had he not thought to ask about a boyfriend? His cell phone started to ring in his hand, stopping his overactive imagination before it exploded into an ugly, terrible tirade. He glanced down to see Julian’s name and swiped across the screen with his thumb.
“Why the fuck did you hang up?” he asked before he ever got the phone to his ear.
“Because that was giving you way too much insider information and would give you all the power. He doesn’t need anyone coming in and bulldozing over his life right now,” Julian said, defensively as hell.
“I’m not bulldozing,” he countered with just as much attitude.
“Yeah. Right. Keep telling yourself that,” Julian shot back.
What the hell was happening? He wanted to rip Julian’s head off for being so damned defiant. Thane saw red and forced himself to calm down before he had a heart attack over this shit.
“Julian. Tell me what he said.” His voice was as sharp as his words were clipped.
“You know, Thane. I’ve been with you long enough to know your tastes, what makes you stop and take a good long look at a man. So, when I walked into that coffee shop and saw Levi again, my first thought was that I knew you’d be into him. He fits you. I know you like guys that look like him. Who are smart, reasonable, and sexy, all at the same time. I put a nice glittery bow on his ass and pointed him out to you. All you had to do was get to know him. He doesn’t want your money, Thane. He doesn’t care what baggage you have. You just had to be anything but a dick, and since I’ve never known you to be one before, that shouldn’t have been a problem. How could you have fucked this up so royally?” Julian asked, the cocky, sassy guy Thane had known for years was back in every syllable uttered.
Thane stayed silent and sat down on the sofa, dropping his head back on to the headrest behind him, and closed his eyes. The phone never left his ear. So, Julian’s criticism made it clear Levi was in fact into him. Instead of dwelling on Julian’s lecture, Thane’s mind immediately drifted to his and Levi’s night together and a tiny ray of hope sprang forward from the dark recesses of his hurting heart.
“Was he trying to quit again?” Thane asked.
“His life is shit. His father died of cancer a few months back. He’s responsible for raising his younger brothers, and they’re struggling.” Julian paused.
As his words sank in, they hit Thane like a Mack truck. His actions were even more deplorable in light of that revelation. Why hadn’t anyone told him about Levi’s father? His heart broke a little more as he imagined the pain Levi must be going through.