The Virgin Master by Jordan Brewer Page A

something.”
     
    Allen stared at Evan. “You bought someone you know? Someone you already had feelings for? Son, this is going to end badly. You know that anybody could report you…that housekeeper of yours, his vet, Jeff… . ”
     
    “Dad .. .Jeff certainly isn’t going to report me . N o one has ever reported him for how crazy in love he is with Moira. Not that I’m in love with Jeremy , I just think he will be an enormous asset to the company. H e has an MBA from Stanford and will make an ideal personal assistant.”
     
    “You’ve never trusted anybody to be your personal assistant before. You’re really going to trust your slave?”
     
    “My friend , Dad. When I bought him I paid enough to get his whole family off the work farm with enough left over that they had enough money to set up housekeeping again. I’m helping them find jobs. Jeremy … you have to meet him, Dad. Or I have to exhibit him for you, or whatever the correct Master/Slave terminology is. Come to dinner.”
     
    “Go get him and bring him here, now.” Allen sighed. “I didn’t want to have to admit it, but we miss you here much more than I thought we would . If I’m satisfied that this young man will really be good for you in the long term, you mi ght as well come back to work.”
     
    Evan beamed at his father as he raced home to get Jeremy ready for their first excursion into a very highly sheltered version of the real world.
     
    Evan had told Jeremy to expect that he would be meeting Allen, today, so he had dressed carefully in a charcoal suit with a subtle gray pin stripe, dove gray dress shirt, charcoal gray tie with a tiny maroon design, and his black Italian leather loafers with black silk dress socks. His collar peeked out of the very top of his dress shirt about an eighth of an inch and looked like piping to the casual glance . The soft gray of his shirt made his dark blue eyes seem even bluer.
     
    For once his thick unruly hair behaved for him. He looked every inch the upper management business man that Evan wanted him to be. That he was qualified to be. He knew that Allen didn’t have any kneeling mats in his office, so he planned to carry one. He had just finished putting in some cuff links Evan loaned him, when Evan burst back into the apartment, obviously psyched, to get him.
     
    “I’m nervous,” Evan admitted.
     
    “ You’re nervous? It’s my behavior that’s going to be judged, here.”
     
    “And I’m going to be judged based on how you do.”
     
    “Oh. Well I’ll certainly do my very best. We’ve been practicing this for the last month. I think I’m ready.”
     
    Evan looked up at him and then stepped back and really examined him. His breath caught in his throat. Jeremy looked better than good. Words like ‘magnificent’ and ‘ stunning’ and, in Evan’s dazed mind , most appropriate breath - taking .
     
    “G od , Jeremy. I…just…you . …”
     
    Jeremy grinned at him. “I clean up pretty well. Take a breath , please. S omebody might think you find me attractive or something.”
     
    Evan, still looking a little bit pole-axed, made a sound that closely resembled giggling and beamed at Jeremy.
     
    “Anyone would find you attractive, J ay .” After staring into Jeremy’s eyes for another long minute he shook his head as if to clear his mind by physical force. “Uh, we better not keep Dad waiting, so…”
     
    Evan waited for Jeremy to go out the door first for a long minute while Jeremy just stared at him bemused. Finally, Evan realized his mistake and rolling his eyes at his own behavior he just turned and walked down the hall, leaving Jeremy to lock the door and follow him in appropriate slave mode , two steps behind on the left, eyes downcast. Evan could feel Jeremy’s presence at his back and he desperately longed to be able to walk side-by-side. He needed to get used to this … no, he needed to learn to expect this; for Jeremy’s physical placement to be second