Bought and Paid For
Five
Five
Hunter’s LA house was huge; making the Georgian manor was practically cottagelike in comparison. Jade tried not to stare too much as he followed Davey into the echoing entrance hall. The plane ride had been brief, to Jade’s relief – he’d never flown before – and Hunter and his PA had immediately climbed into a helicopter and been rushed away to business meetings. Davey, Jade and a few other staff had been driven to the house where preparations were already underway for a dinner party Hunter was holding that evening.
Jade was shown to another beautifully furnished room, this one complete with full wardrobe of clothes in his size, from normal jeans and shirts, through formal suits to a dizzying array of more risqué garments. Everything was provided, from underwear and socks to spare linen and towels to hair gel and makeup and a nice range of books and DVDs. He spent several minutes trying things on and testing things out, the delight of having new belongings almost distracting him from worrying about his place in Hunter’s household.
The journey had been horribly tense, with Davey either blatantly ignoring him or glaring at him between laughing and joking easily with Hunter and his staff. Hunter had barely acknowledged he existed and it was obvious that he and Davey were comfortable as a couple, as if Davey was more to Hunter than just a Bios product. The staff too, seemed to want to have little to do with him and apart from giving him terse orders to go here or do that; no one had said a word to him since Davey had stormed out of his room this morning. Even his instructions for this evening were typed neatly onto a sheet of paper left on his pillow, rather than someone speaking to him. Jade wasn’t a particularly sociable person, but he was beginning to long for any kind of personal interaction with someone who didn’t outwardly seem to hate him.
He sighed and checked the paper again. He had showered and made sure he was fully clean. He was to straighten his hair, apply light makeup [foundation, light eyeliner, mascara] and dress in the clothes laid out for him on the bed. At six o’clock he was to go downstairs and join the guests for drinks, dinner and ‘entertainment’.
Jade checked the time – 4.47 – and plugged in his new flatirons, determined to try to make a good impression on the strangers, even if Davey disliked him and Hunter didn’t seem to care either way. By 5.38 he was immaculately dressed in an exquisitely tailored mid-charcoal suit that oozed money from every fibre of its oh-so-casual design, and was trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach by pacing round the room, with the vague idea of breaking in his new shoes.
Twenty minutes later Davey burst into his room without knocking, now all smiles and sweetness. “Hey! Wow, you look great! Ready?” He didn’t wait for an answer but crabbed Jade by the cuff and led him through the house, chattering away as if they were best of friends.
“It’s just a casual dinner tonight, just us and Adam. He’s Hunter’s business partner and underneath all that money he’s a really nice guy, you’ll like him. You okay? You look a bit nervous. Don’t worry, he’s an old old friend.” Davey squeezed his hand reassuringly and Jade shook his head, utterly confused by Davey’s whirlwind changes in mood.
But before he could analyse it too far they were entering a pale blue reception room, with light frothy music playing in the background, and a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket of ice on a glass-topped table. Davey glanced at himself in an elaborately-framed mirror, carefully brushing his hair out of his eyes. He ignored the hovering waiter and poured himself a glass of mineral water from the carafe on the side table.
Jade hovered in the doorway, watching Davey change the CDs in the stereo and flick through to the track he wanted. Quick footsteps echoed on marble behind him and then there were hands on his waist and breath tickling his ear. “Mmmn, you look good…” Jade jumped in fright and turned to face Hunter who gave him a kiss that was just a bit deeper than a welcome, one of his hands sliding down over Jade’s ass. With a slight squeeze he moved past Jade to hug and kiss Davey, who greeted him as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
Hunter took Jade by the hand and held onto it while he directed the waiter to pour them each a glass of champagne. “To a wonderful evening.” He raised his glass. Davey giggled and they all clinked rims and took a sip. Jade tried to keep his expression neutral as his tastebuds registered disgust and he forced himself to swallow. His body shuddered very slightly, he’d never had champagne before – just because something was expensive didn’t mean it was good.
A polite cough from the doorway and the waiter’s formal “Mr and Mrs Adam Carson” was drowned out by Davey’s excited squeal. “Evelyn!” Abandoning all etiquette he pushed past Jade and launched himself at the newcomers.
There was a joyful “Davey!” and a low chuckle as Adam watched his wife enveloped in an exuberant hug. Jade hovered in the background while Hunter shook hands with Adam and kissed cheeks with his wife. A waiter offered to take the guests’ coats as Hunter pulled Jade forward.
“Jade, this is Adam Carson, my oldest friend and ally in the world of money.”
“Very nice to meet you, James was it?”
Adam held out his hand and Jade fumbled to transfer his glass to his left. “Uh, it’s Jade.”
“Jade. Sorry, forgive me. Jade.” Adam shook his hand, his expression warm and sincere. Jade felt a flutter of gratitude for some honest kindness.
“And this, of course is his beautiful wife. Evelyn, this is Jade.”
Evelyn was in the process of twirling out of her coat, revealing an elegant black silk dress with a tiny waist, worn with seamed stockings, dark eyes and red lips. The fashionista in Jade immediately recognised the 40s inspiration, and she wore it incredibly well. She grasped Jade’s hand warmly and he caught the flicker of her eyes as she registered the discreetly gleaming silver band on his wrist. For a fraction of a second he worried about what she would think before she broke into a genuine smile, squeezing his hand.
“Wonderful to meet you. Hunter honey, I think I’ll be spending more time here if you keep introducing me to beautiful creatures like this. You are stunning.”
Her accent was Americanised European and her tone frank and heartfelt. Jade blushed deep red, unused to such outright praise. “I’m far outshone by you ma’am.” He returned quietly, staring at her high heels, feeling very exposed under the eyes of everyone in the room.
“My lady, gentlemen, dinner is ready to be served.” The waiter’s formal announcement broke Jade’s discomfort, to his great relief.
“Oh thank god, I’m fucking hungry.” Evelyn’s accent and casual poise made even the profanity sound refined and the group laughed, the general atmosphere relaxing. Jade followed the others to the dining room, finding amusement in noticing that Adam and Hunter were talking money while Evelyn and Davey talked shoes.
The table was exquisite, arrangements of deep red roses adding colour to the silver and white placements. Hunter took Jade’s hand and put him firmly in front of the chair to his left of his own, and it was only when Davey sent him a discreet but chilling glare that he realised he was probably in Davey’s usual place. If the guests had noticed they were too civilised to comment and slowly the conversation, like the wine, began to flow.
Hunter’s LA house was huge; making the Georgian manor was practically cottagelike in comparison. Jade tried not to stare too much as he followed Davey into the echoing entrance hall. The plane ride had been brief, to Jade’s relief – he’d never flown before – and Hunter and his PA had immediately climbed into a helicopter and been rushed away to business meetings. Davey, Jade and a few other staff had been driven to the house where preparations were already underway for a dinner party Hunter was holding that evening.
Jade was shown to another beautifully furnished room, this one complete with full wardrobe of clothes in his size, from normal jeans and shirts, through formal suits to a dizzying array of more risqué garments. Everything was provided, from underwear and socks to spare linen and towels to hair gel and makeup and a nice range of books and DVDs. He spent several minutes trying things on and testing things out, the delight of having new belongings almost distracting him from worrying about his place in Hunter’s household.
The journey had been horribly tense, with Davey either blatantly ignoring him or glaring at him between laughing and joking easily with Hunter and his staff. Hunter had barely acknowledged he existed and it was obvious that he and Davey were comfortable as a couple, as if Davey was more to Hunter than just a Bios product. The staff too, seemed to want to have little to do with him and apart from giving him terse orders to go here or do that; no one had said a word to him since Davey had stormed out of his room this morning. Even his instructions for this evening were typed neatly onto a sheet of paper left on his pillow, rather than someone speaking to him. Jade wasn’t a particularly sociable person, but he was beginning to long for any kind of personal interaction with someone who didn’t outwardly seem to hate him.
He sighed and checked the paper again. He had showered and made sure he was fully clean. He was to straighten his hair, apply light makeup [foundation, light eyeliner, mascara] and dress in the clothes laid out for him on the bed. At six o’clock he was to go downstairs and join the guests for drinks, dinner and ‘entertainment’.
Jade checked the time – 4.47 – and plugged in his new flatirons, determined to try to make a good impression on the strangers, even if Davey disliked him and Hunter didn’t seem to care either way. By 5.38 he was immaculately dressed in an exquisitely tailored mid-charcoal suit that oozed money from every fibre of its oh-so-casual design, and was trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach by pacing round the room, with the vague idea of breaking in his new shoes.
Twenty minutes later Davey burst into his room without knocking, now all smiles and sweetness. “Hey! Wow, you look great! Ready?” He didn’t wait for an answer but crabbed Jade by the cuff and led him through the house, chattering away as if they were best of friends.
“It’s just a casual dinner tonight, just us and Adam. He’s Hunter’s business partner and underneath all that money he’s a really nice guy, you’ll like him. You okay? You look a bit nervous. Don’t worry, he’s an old old friend.” Davey squeezed his hand reassuringly and Jade shook his head, utterly confused by Davey’s whirlwind changes in mood.
But before he could analyse it too far they were entering a pale blue reception room, with light frothy music playing in the background, and a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket of ice on a glass-topped table. Davey glanced at himself in an elaborately-framed mirror, carefully brushing his hair out of his eyes. He ignored the hovering waiter and poured himself a glass of mineral water from the carafe on the side table.
Jade hovered in the doorway, watching Davey change the CDs in the stereo and flick through to the track he wanted. Quick footsteps echoed on marble behind him and then there were hands on his waist and breath tickling his ear. “Mmmn, you look good…” Jade jumped in fright and turned to face Hunter who gave him a kiss that was just a bit deeper than a welcome, one of his hands sliding down over Jade’s ass. With a slight squeeze he moved past Jade to hug and kiss Davey, who greeted him as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
Hunter took Jade by the hand and held onto it while he directed the waiter to pour them each a glass of champagne. “To a wonderful evening.” He raised his glass. Davey giggled and they all clinked rims and took a sip. Jade tried to keep his expression neutral as his tastebuds registered disgust and he forced himself to swallow. His body shuddered very slightly, he’d never had champagne before – just because something was expensive didn’t mean it was good.
A polite cough from the doorway and the waiter’s formal “Mr and Mrs Adam Carson” was drowned out by Davey’s excited squeal. “Evelyn!” Abandoning all etiquette he pushed past Jade and launched himself at the newcomers.
There was a joyful “Davey!” and a low chuckle as Adam watched his wife enveloped in an exuberant hug. Jade hovered in the background while Hunter shook hands with Adam and kissed cheeks with his wife. A waiter offered to take the guests’ coats as Hunter pulled Jade forward.
“Jade, this is Adam Carson, my oldest friend and ally in the world of money.”
“Very nice to meet you, James was it?”
Adam held out his hand and Jade fumbled to transfer his glass to his left. “Uh, it’s Jade.”
“Jade. Sorry, forgive me. Jade.” Adam shook his hand, his expression warm and sincere. Jade felt a flutter of gratitude for some honest kindness.
“And this, of course is his beautiful wife. Evelyn, this is Jade.”
Evelyn was in the process of twirling out of her coat, revealing an elegant black silk dress with a tiny waist, worn with seamed stockings, dark eyes and red lips. The fashionista in Jade immediately recognised the 40s inspiration, and she wore it incredibly well. She grasped Jade’s hand warmly and he caught the flicker of her eyes as she registered the discreetly gleaming silver band on his wrist. For a fraction of a second he worried about what she would think before she broke into a genuine smile, squeezing his hand.
“Wonderful to meet you. Hunter honey, I think I’ll be spending more time here if you keep introducing me to beautiful creatures like this. You are stunning.”
Her accent was Americanised European and her tone frank and heartfelt. Jade blushed deep red, unused to such outright praise. “I’m far outshone by you ma’am.” He returned quietly, staring at her high heels, feeling very exposed under the eyes of everyone in the room.
“My lady, gentlemen, dinner is ready to be served.” The waiter’s formal announcement broke Jade’s discomfort, to his great relief.
“Oh thank god, I’m fucking hungry.” Evelyn’s accent and casual poise made even the profanity sound refined and the group laughed, the general atmosphere relaxing. Jade followed the others to the dining room, finding amusement in noticing that Adam and Hunter were talking money while Evelyn and Davey talked shoes.
The table was exquisite, arrangements of deep red roses adding colour to the silver and white placements. Hunter took Jade’s hand and put him firmly in front of the chair to his left of his own, and it was only when Davey sent him a discreet but chilling glare that he realised he was probably in Davey’s usual place. If the guests had noticed they were too civilised to comment and slowly the conversation, like the wine, began to flow.