jobs and a house? That’s….” Jeremy did slide off the sofa at that point and knelt at Evan’s feet. He leaned in so his forehead rested on Evan’s knee. He sighed when Evan’s put his hand on his head and began gently carding through his hair. He raised his head and looked at Evan. “Anything you want that I have to give is yours.”
“You don’t mean that, Jeremy.”
“I do. Evan, I need to do something to thank you … to show you how much this means to me.”
Evan pulled away. “I don’t want anything from you that you would give me out of a sense of obligation or duty, J er .”
Jeremy took the leap. “I know you want me. Maybe you don’t realize that I want you, too?”
Evan stood up and moved away. “I need to get dressed and try to make an appointment to see my Dad, in a couple of weeks. Jay, I don’t want to talk about this. I didn’t buy you to use you or to make you do … things for me out of gratitude. Let’s not discuss this anymore.”
*****
J eremy sank back on his heels and no dded. He had seen Evan’s pupils dilate, until the violet had nearly been swallowed up in the black. He just needed to bid e his time. Evan needed to be loved, and even more, he needed to give love to someone.
J eremy w as determined to fill that need.
Chapter Eleven
Despite Evan’s urgent requests to see Allen, he was unable to get an appointment until five weeks after his last serious discussion with Jeremy. It turned out to be a good thing, as it gave them time to get more settled in their roles. Jeremy’s clothing, collar and tags arrived; Evan and Jeremy sat down with Jeff and came up with a workable office set-up for Jeremy involving Japanese tea tables and pillows . Evan had his long talk with Marta and discovered that she felt the same way about slavery that Evan did and had no intention of reporting him for anything he and Jeremy might do in the privacy of their own home . And the Paxtons came to visit.
Evan almost couldn’t bear the level of gratitude Jeremy’s family attempted to show him. After they realized that Evan had no intention of actually treating Jeremy like a slave, Terri, his mother, broke down and cried for several minutes on Evan’s shoulder. The family had been housed in James Enterprises, Inc. owned housing and the left-over money from Jeremy’s purchase price had served to furnish it completely and would put Amy through college . A sizable amount remained that Gerald Paxton had invested in James Enterprises, Inc. stock. After the initial emotional overload, the visit went well, with everyone competing to tell Evan the most embarrassing stories they could remember about Jeremy’s childhood. Evan found himself at the end of the evening, warm and relaxed. With a guilty start he realized he hadn’t thought about Justin for days.
*****
Evan sat once more in his father’s office, relaxed and ready to tell him all about Jeremy. He heard Allen’s voice just outside the door and stood up.
Allen burst through the door and evaluated Evan carefully and then smiled; a real smile that reached his eyes.
“You look better.”
“Dad, I hate to admit it but you and the board members were right. I really needed somebody else to focus on to pull me out of my own head.”
“Jeff might have mentioned that you bought a personal slave. Not my idea of the best solution, but if this is how much better you are after only a few weeks, then…maybe it will work for you. I have to say it makes me pretty uncomfortable, but the investors and the board will think nothing of it.”
“I haven’t changed my views on slavery. I don’t regard Jeremy as my slave in private. Dad, I know him. He was one of my friends at Stanford. His Dad’s company failed and he offered himself for sale hoping to spare his mother or his sister from the work farm. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him in that display cage … I had to do
“You don’t mean that, Jeremy.”
“I do. Evan, I need to do something to thank you … to show you how much this means to me.”
Evan pulled away. “I don’t want anything from you that you would give me out of a sense of obligation or duty, J er .”
Jeremy took the leap. “I know you want me. Maybe you don’t realize that I want you, too?”
Evan stood up and moved away. “I need to get dressed and try to make an appointment to see my Dad, in a couple of weeks. Jay, I don’t want to talk about this. I didn’t buy you to use you or to make you do … things for me out of gratitude. Let’s not discuss this anymore.”
*****
J eremy sank back on his heels and no dded. He had seen Evan’s pupils dilate, until the violet had nearly been swallowed up in the black. He just needed to bid e his time. Evan needed to be loved, and even more, he needed to give love to someone.
J eremy w as determined to fill that need.
Chapter Eleven
Despite Evan’s urgent requests to see Allen, he was unable to get an appointment until five weeks after his last serious discussion with Jeremy. It turned out to be a good thing, as it gave them time to get more settled in their roles. Jeremy’s clothing, collar and tags arrived; Evan and Jeremy sat down with Jeff and came up with a workable office set-up for Jeremy involving Japanese tea tables and pillows . Evan had his long talk with Marta and discovered that she felt the same way about slavery that Evan did and had no intention of reporting him for anything he and Jeremy might do in the privacy of their own home . And the Paxtons came to visit.
Evan almost couldn’t bear the level of gratitude Jeremy’s family attempted to show him. After they realized that Evan had no intention of actually treating Jeremy like a slave, Terri, his mother, broke down and cried for several minutes on Evan’s shoulder. The family had been housed in James Enterprises, Inc. owned housing and the left-over money from Jeremy’s purchase price had served to furnish it completely and would put Amy through college . A sizable amount remained that Gerald Paxton had invested in James Enterprises, Inc. stock. After the initial emotional overload, the visit went well, with everyone competing to tell Evan the most embarrassing stories they could remember about Jeremy’s childhood. Evan found himself at the end of the evening, warm and relaxed. With a guilty start he realized he hadn’t thought about Justin for days.
*****
Evan sat once more in his father’s office, relaxed and ready to tell him all about Jeremy. He heard Allen’s voice just outside the door and stood up.
Allen burst through the door and evaluated Evan carefully and then smiled; a real smile that reached his eyes.
“You look better.”
“Dad, I hate to admit it but you and the board members were right. I really needed somebody else to focus on to pull me out of my own head.”
“Jeff might have mentioned that you bought a personal slave. Not my idea of the best solution, but if this is how much better you are after only a few weeks, then…maybe it will work for you. I have to say it makes me pretty uncomfortable, but the investors and the board will think nothing of it.”
“I haven’t changed my views on slavery. I don’t regard Jeremy as my slave in private. Dad, I know him. He was one of my friends at Stanford. His Dad’s company failed and he offered himself for sale hoping to spare his mother or his sister from the work farm. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him in that display cage … I had to do
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