Zach put down the phone. He felt better about the situation now. He had no deadline and Darien was willing to pretend that it had never happened.
His mind calmed down and he remembered that he had been in the midst of dinner preparations when Darien had arrived.
He dumped the folder onto his bed and returned to the kitchen to continue with cooking. Emilia was now sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of her.
“I was hoping you would start making dinner soon,” she said with a grin. “If you didn’t, I would have to make it and we both know that’s a bad idea.”
Zach picked up from where he had left off and was glad that he had chosen something so complicated to make. Forcing his attention to focus on cooking helped distract him from everything else.
He fried the chicken carefully. He didn’t like to use too much oil as it was a pain to dispose of. He let his attention wander briefly to Darien and
Zach stared at Adam in surprise. Despite Meghan’s regular teasing comments, he had never expected to receive a confession from Adam.Another part of his mind noted that he had received two confessions in the past three days. He was becoming popular.How should he respond to this one?Unlike Darien, Adam was just asking him on a date. He wasn’t confessing his love. Zach made up his mind very quickly.“I only see you as a friend,” he said gently. “I don’t think it would work out between us.”He felt no feelings of love towards Adam. The editor was just a very friendly co-worker who was very attentive to him.Adam looked away for a moment and Zach didn’t know what to do. He didn’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings, but it wouldn’t be fair to get Adam’s hopes up by going on a date with him. He would only be leading him on.“I accept your answer,” Adam replied
It had certainly been a rollercoaster of a day. Zach had thought Adam’s date request had been the peak and then he had thought that confessing his love to Darien would be the peak. Instead the peak was an attempted acid attack from Darien’s most psychotic ex-girlfriend. Darien drove the car at a steady speed and kept glancing at him. Zach still didn’t feel like speaking. Giving his statement to the police officers at the scene had taken most of his energy. He was probably in some state of shock as well. One moment he had been on his way to confess his love to Darien, the next he was being shoved to the ground by Darien to avoid an acid attack. He had a lot of questions for the billionaire, but he was too tired to start that conversation. His eyes closed and the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake by Darien. “Come on, Zach,” Darien said softly. “I don’t have the strength to carry you up the steps so you are going to have to walk yourse
Zach was very quick to agree to the date request.“Of course I’ll go on a date with you. Isn’t that what we've been doing unofficially anyway?”“I want to go on a date with you as your boyfriend,” Darien pointed out. “That’s different.”Zach realised he was correct. They had gone to places first as two people in a business relationship, then as friends and best friends. Going somewhere as boyfriends was going to be different.“When did you want to go on a date?” he asked.Darien looked over at the clock on the wall and turned back to smile at him.“There’s no time like the present. Let’s make use of our ‘sick’ day. I don’t think I can wait until the weekend and I’ll need to send you home at some point today so you can get to work tomorrow.”Zach didn’t have any reason to disagree with that idea. He didn’t want
Zach was very reluctant to leave Darien in the evening, but he knew he couldn’t call in sick for another day. Darien dropped him off outside his building after a long kiss. Zach entered his apartment building and hesitated at the stairs. He did like to stay fit by taking the stairs, he had just done too much physical exertion to manage all those stairs. He elected to take the lift up to his floor instead. Emilia was sitting at the kitchen table when he walked in and he tried not to act like his whole body was sore from having sex with Darien. “Did you call in sick to work?” she asked suspiciously. “We did,” he admitted. He had already eaten dinner with Darien. The billionaire had surprised him by ordering a Chinese takeaway and they had eaten it in the dining room, the plastic containers and cheap disposable chopsticks contrasting with the fancy table and chandelier. Emilia snorted and took a sip of her coffee. “I’m glad that t
Darien was caught off guard by the question. Since Zach had admitted to being in love with him, his desire to come out as a gay man had been forgotten.As it stood, he wouldn’t be able to take Zach to many places on a date out of fear of being recognised. That wasn’t fair to Zach and he didn’t want to be like that either.He wanted to come out.He waited for the feelings of panic and fear over admitting to being gay to appear and they didn’t.Darien realised he had completely changed now.Since meeting Zach and falling in love with him, he had lost his fear of public opinion. He was content to come out and be honest.“I feel like I can,” Darien told him.Zach’s face lit up with excitement and he pulled him into a hug.“That’s really good, Darien,” he said. “I fulfilled my end of the contract without knowing it.”Knowing that people were going to judg
“I am ready for our date,” Zach said. “Did you give the reporters the slip?”He got into the passenger seat as he spoke and Darien did his seatbelt for him.“I got my PA to drive the car here and came down here a few minutes before you,” Darien explained. “I sent all the reporters away earlier. Anyone still here is just very persistent.”Zach took a careful look at him. Darien didn’t look tense at all. In fact he looked quite happy and free. It was good to see the change. It had occurred to him that Darien might have second thoughts about coming out publicly after the press attention.“Has all the coverage from the media been positive?” Zach asked.Darien grinned at him.“Only one tabloid used homophobic slurs- there’s already some legal action going there. The reaction has been good overall. I think I might have broken a lot of hearts in the process though.”
The weekend went too fast for Zach’s liking. It felt like two days with Darien to himself had flashed by at an impossibly fast speed.He rolled over in bed and turned off his phone alarm. He was still at Darien’s house and they were getting up early so they could get to the office without being seen together by anyone.Darien groaned next to him.“Is it time to go to work already?” he asked sleepily.Zach pulled back the bedcovers with a yawn. He had his work clothes on hand, but he did need a shower before going to work.“It is time to get up for work,” he corrected. “You’re making breakfast, I’m going in the shower.”“That’s fair,” Darien agreed and got out of bed. “I’ll see you downstairs.”Zach had a quick shower and dried his hair using the hairdryer in Darien’s personal bathroom. He hadn’t used the spare room since the nig
1 year later:“What did you think of my latest chapter?” Darien asked. “From an editor's perspective, not as my boyfriend.”Zach glanced at his boyfriend with a critical eye. He still couldn’t quite believe that his first client as a freelance editor was Damien Black.“I had to make a lot of edits, you changed character perspectives too frequently. It wasn’t a consistently written chapter.”Darien listened to his criticism with a pout and then his pout became a cheeky smirk. His boyfriend was always keen to flirt with him no matter how formal the setting was.“What did you think as my boyfriend?”“I have the same opinion,” Zach replied with the same stern tone.His boyfriend looked disappointed and Zach didn’t bother trying to placate him. Darien always bounced back from criticism about his writing. Zach checked his watch. He had an appointm
Hello, This story has come to an end now. I just wanted to thank every reader who has supported this story over the past few months. My intention with this story was to create a CEO story that BxB story readers can enjoy as the genre is normally dominated with straight stories. I will miss writing this story as I had fun creating all the different characters. I am planning to enter the 'A Touch of Rainbow' contest at some point so you will all see me sometime soon. I am very excited for the contest. Thank you again for all the support. Cassandra Kim
1 year later:“What did you think of my latest chapter?” Darien asked. “From an editor's perspective, not as my boyfriend.”Zach glanced at his boyfriend with a critical eye. He still couldn’t quite believe that his first client as a freelance editor was Damien Black.“I had to make a lot of edits, you changed character perspectives too frequently. It wasn’t a consistently written chapter.”Darien listened to his criticism with a pout and then his pout became a cheeky smirk. His boyfriend was always keen to flirt with him no matter how formal the setting was.“What did you think as my boyfriend?”“I have the same opinion,” Zach replied with the same stern tone.His boyfriend looked disappointed and Zach didn’t bother trying to placate him. Darien always bounced back from criticism about his writing. Zach checked his watch. He had an appointm
The weekend went too fast for Zach’s liking. It felt like two days with Darien to himself had flashed by at an impossibly fast speed.He rolled over in bed and turned off his phone alarm. He was still at Darien’s house and they were getting up early so they could get to the office without being seen together by anyone.Darien groaned next to him.“Is it time to go to work already?” he asked sleepily.Zach pulled back the bedcovers with a yawn. He had his work clothes on hand, but he did need a shower before going to work.“It is time to get up for work,” he corrected. “You’re making breakfast, I’m going in the shower.”“That’s fair,” Darien agreed and got out of bed. “I’ll see you downstairs.”Zach had a quick shower and dried his hair using the hairdryer in Darien’s personal bathroom. He hadn’t used the spare room since the nig
“I am ready for our date,” Zach said. “Did you give the reporters the slip?”He got into the passenger seat as he spoke and Darien did his seatbelt for him.“I got my PA to drive the car here and came down here a few minutes before you,” Darien explained. “I sent all the reporters away earlier. Anyone still here is just very persistent.”Zach took a careful look at him. Darien didn’t look tense at all. In fact he looked quite happy and free. It was good to see the change. It had occurred to him that Darien might have second thoughts about coming out publicly after the press attention.“Has all the coverage from the media been positive?” Zach asked.Darien grinned at him.“Only one tabloid used homophobic slurs- there’s already some legal action going there. The reaction has been good overall. I think I might have broken a lot of hearts in the process though.”
Darien was caught off guard by the question. Since Zach had admitted to being in love with him, his desire to come out as a gay man had been forgotten.As it stood, he wouldn’t be able to take Zach to many places on a date out of fear of being recognised. That wasn’t fair to Zach and he didn’t want to be like that either.He wanted to come out.He waited for the feelings of panic and fear over admitting to being gay to appear and they didn’t.Darien realised he had completely changed now.Since meeting Zach and falling in love with him, he had lost his fear of public opinion. He was content to come out and be honest.“I feel like I can,” Darien told him.Zach’s face lit up with excitement and he pulled him into a hug.“That’s really good, Darien,” he said. “I fulfilled my end of the contract without knowing it.”Knowing that people were going to judg
Zach was very reluctant to leave Darien in the evening, but he knew he couldn’t call in sick for another day. Darien dropped him off outside his building after a long kiss. Zach entered his apartment building and hesitated at the stairs. He did like to stay fit by taking the stairs, he had just done too much physical exertion to manage all those stairs. He elected to take the lift up to his floor instead. Emilia was sitting at the kitchen table when he walked in and he tried not to act like his whole body was sore from having sex with Darien. “Did you call in sick to work?” she asked suspiciously. “We did,” he admitted. He had already eaten dinner with Darien. The billionaire had surprised him by ordering a Chinese takeaway and they had eaten it in the dining room, the plastic containers and cheap disposable chopsticks contrasting with the fancy table and chandelier. Emilia snorted and took a sip of her coffee. “I’m glad that t
Zach was very quick to agree to the date request.“Of course I’ll go on a date with you. Isn’t that what we've been doing unofficially anyway?”“I want to go on a date with you as your boyfriend,” Darien pointed out. “That’s different.”Zach realised he was correct. They had gone to places first as two people in a business relationship, then as friends and best friends. Going somewhere as boyfriends was going to be different.“When did you want to go on a date?” he asked.Darien looked over at the clock on the wall and turned back to smile at him.“There’s no time like the present. Let’s make use of our ‘sick’ day. I don’t think I can wait until the weekend and I’ll need to send you home at some point today so you can get to work tomorrow.”Zach didn’t have any reason to disagree with that idea. He didn’t want
It had certainly been a rollercoaster of a day. Zach had thought Adam’s date request had been the peak and then he had thought that confessing his love to Darien would be the peak. Instead the peak was an attempted acid attack from Darien’s most psychotic ex-girlfriend. Darien drove the car at a steady speed and kept glancing at him. Zach still didn’t feel like speaking. Giving his statement to the police officers at the scene had taken most of his energy. He was probably in some state of shock as well. One moment he had been on his way to confess his love to Darien, the next he was being shoved to the ground by Darien to avoid an acid attack. He had a lot of questions for the billionaire, but he was too tired to start that conversation. His eyes closed and the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake by Darien. “Come on, Zach,” Darien said softly. “I don’t have the strength to carry you up the steps so you are going to have to walk yourse
Zach stared at Adam in surprise. Despite Meghan’s regular teasing comments, he had never expected to receive a confession from Adam.Another part of his mind noted that he had received two confessions in the past three days. He was becoming popular.How should he respond to this one?Unlike Darien, Adam was just asking him on a date. He wasn’t confessing his love. Zach made up his mind very quickly.“I only see you as a friend,” he said gently. “I don’t think it would work out between us.”He felt no feelings of love towards Adam. The editor was just a very friendly co-worker who was very attentive to him.Adam looked away for a moment and Zach didn’t know what to do. He didn’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings, but it wouldn’t be fair to get Adam’s hopes up by going on a date with him. He would only be leading him on.“I accept your answer,” Adam replied