Payce's Passions (8 page)

“You made up a nickname for me? Tell me because anything is better than my real name, Serge. I hate that name.” He sticks his tongue out.

“You remind me of a hot lightning strike ready to set something on fire, so sparks or sparky is what I thought of. What’s wrong with the name Serge? I like the way it forms on the lips, it’s kind of sexy I think.”
Please let this be more than enough butter lube.

“That’s awesome, it’s hot and dangerous too, just like me. Yes, call me that instead of Serge, please. I don’t know what my mother was even thinking, maybe she had a swelling brain tumor growing in her head. I used to ask her how she could do that to a poor child she supposedly loves? She’d just giggle and laugh thinking it was so funny, which it is not, and then tell me about some ‘sexiest man she ever seen’ pro hockey player named Serge.” He put the sexiest man part in finger quotes. “So I told her that she dreamed that story up to cover the fact that she was apparently some kind of closet druggie back in her wild days, because you’d have to be stoned out of your ever loving frickin’ mind to pick that name.” He rolls his eyes back.

“No? You said that to her?” I laugh, this Serge is hysterical. I really think the name is just fine. Hell, look at my name for fuck’s sake. Payce, where did that come from? I open the menu. “So let me in on the skinny, what’s good here?”
I’ve never talked like this a day in my fucking life, this is pushing it now, especially for me.

“ME! AHH…hahahaha. I’m just teasing you. Everything here is good and I am so serious-sss, that’s why everyone comes here, because the boss hired the two best chefs in town and everyone knows who they are, and they know how to make everything, and I am not even kidding you.”

Oh my God, breathe, Sparky! You’re going to hyperventilate.
I thumb down the menu, starving half to death. “How’s the grilled steak and shrimp? Ever tried it?” I look up at him.

“It’s to die for, hand to God, I swear it is. They have a top secret marinade they use, some special blend of spices and who knows what else, but it’s fabulous.”

“Okay, let me try it out then. Make the steak medium rare and toss in a baked potato too.” I close the menu.

“With the works and a salad?” He’s holding his pen and ready to scribble it down.

“Definitely, just load me up, I like it all, if you know what I mean. Hey, toss some Ranch in for the dressing too.” I hand him back the menu.

“You are hungry. The steaks are huge, but we have to-go boxes. Anything else?” He takes the menu and his order pad.

“Another coke.”

“Got it then, let me take this to the kitchen and I’ll bring your drink.” He turns and walks off, actually taking the stairs and not the banister shortcut.

He must have gotten lightheaded from that long ass run-on sentence a minute ago.

The bar area sort of clears out a little bit, but the first floor is insane. Brax still isn’t here yet, I’ve been watching the door. Maybe he’s not the mechanic type and won’t be able to make in for work today, I don’t know.

I only really found out a couple things over the last seven years, we’ve crossed paths a couple times, but he never saw me and I did that on purpose. I knew where he was at, but never tried to make contact with him. I’d heard through the grapevine when he opened this place. His mother passed away three years ago and he came into money and bought the place They always had it, but his stepdads were horrible and she chose to stay with them instead of helping Brax. Guess she got a guilty conscious. I’ve even driven by a few times, but I just couldn’t stop.

Another time at a gas station, but he didn’t see me then either. That night my curiosity got the best of me, and I followed him home. It’s funny that he drives way across town to the Montrose area for work every day when he lives right in Spring, the place we grew up together. The town is a bad memory of things we had to go through, struggling and fighting every single day, just to survive. I always thought he’d run like hell and get as far away as he could from the place. I wonder why he stayed. Of course I could ask myself the same thing. I only live ten minutes from Brax.

Serge comes back, putting the coke in front of me.
Damn, talk about going out in left field there for a minute, fuck. I need to refocus.

“Where were you? It wasn’t here waiting on that delicious meal that’s coming for you.” He pushes the coke a little closer to me.

“Just thinking. My head gets stuck in business and I sort of lose myself in it all, but I’m back now and hungry as a horse. Speaking of business, I promised you I’d take a look at something for you, didn’t I?” I grin at him, trying to push this on and get it out of the way. “Did Ash make it in today?” I whisper.

“No he didn’t and it’s the weirdest thing because he never misses work. But this past week, he asked the boss for a couple of personal days. He was sick today and yesterday, then off Friday too. If you ask me, it sounds like there might be trouble in paradise. I think something’s going on with him and the Mister, but that’s just my take on it.”

“Uh oh…trouble with the Mister? That’s never a good thing.”
Maybe I will get a few answers out of Sparky after all.

“Yes, trouble is what it sounds like to me. You want to know something? You have to swear and cross your heart not to say anything, I mean it.” He presses his fingers to his lips.

I motion, doing the big X on my chest. He leans down toward me.

“Everyone here calls him the Mister, because none of us have ever met him. We’ve tried to figure it out for months, but Ash is very secretive about this man. Ash came in all excited one day, jumping for joy, telling us about this new boyfriend he had. He was bragging about how sweet, wonderful, and caring he was, even boasted about private things too. Apparently the man is supposed be some sort of sex machine on steroids to hear him tell it. Ash said he was best lover he’d ever had and blah, blah…just babbling on and on, like I said. Poor Ash…he’d been dick starved for so long, it was just him trying to show off a little and toot his own horn. No matter, we were all happy that he’d found someone finally. Everyone here knows that Ash had a big, old, man-crush on the boss, but to be honest, we all knew that was never going to go anywhere at all.”

“Get out, sex in the work place is supposed to be a big no-no. Oh wait, the big boss, Braxton? Well, he does own the place, so he can make up the rules.” He nods his head up and down. “I guess as long as it’s not affecting your job, then go for it, I say. What harm is there really.  Braxton is a sexy man, and I’m sure Ash is too. I say why not. I mean, come on, its 2014, anything’s possible. As long as they’re not stalled up in the bathroom, rubbing one off together, they should be good.”
If I get anymore diva-like in my question and answer session, I think I might hurl.

Ugh, the extremes one goes through for good info. Good ole Sparky here is going above and beyond the normal singing like a bird scenario. He’s gone into full rooster mode, top clucker in the henhouse, and is crowing like morning sunrise shines straight out of his ass.

“To be honest, if Ash and the boss ever hooked up, I’d tie my apron string around my neck and to that rail, and just jump. Ash is the most delish man I’ve ever seen, like you, so sexy it sends a guy into the shivers.” He takes a deep gasp of air, wiggling his body around like he has the quivers, then dives back in. “If Ash and I ever had a chance, I swear I’d ride that man like a carousel ride. Round and round, screaming yee-haw the whole time.” He starts fanning himself with his hand. “Hold tight, I’ll be right back.” He runs up to the bar and returns with two cokes, putting one in front of me.

“You okay, Serge?” I ask him, while he gulps half of his drink.

“Sparky please, and of course, I’m taking a ten minute break.”

“Oh, then pull up a chair.”

He slides in the chair. “There was this rumor going around way, way back in the day, even before my time here.” He looks to both sides and over his shoulders, checking to see if the coast is clear. “They say that Braxton got all butt-hurt by some ex he had when he was eighteen or nineteen years old and he was off limits. I’m talking hands off, do not even try to approach or ask him about it.”

“We’ve all been there right?”
Holy fuck, my mission for being here completely screeches to a halt and heads in a new direction. Not only did it veer off the last path, it jumps a ditch and goes mudding through a fucking hayfield, to hear this information now.
I want to hear more about Braxton and exactly how the hell his employee’s know so much about his personal life…and me.

“Oh abs-sooo-lutely, been hurt to, but Braxton took it extra, super-duper hard apparently. I mean, he’d go out on dates sometimes, or have the occasional hook up like we all do, but he just never really hit it off with anyone. I’m guessing he was probably scared to get hurt again. Well one of the guys he’d been seeing off and on, tried to push him a little too hard into the whole boyfriend role, and from what I’ve been told…” He leans in to whisper. “Shit hit the flipping fan on high speed and splattered everyone with it, right here in the restaurant too. It supposedly got real, real nasty.” He puts his elbows on the table wiping his forehead.

“Uh oh, that’s bad for business. Really bad.” I pick up my glass.

“Luckily it was after closing time, just barely though, thank the fairy godmother, but it did happened in front of the entire staff. They started arguing in the back office, everyone could hear them. The guy was screaming at Braxton, telling him that he was confused and was owed an explanation. I guess the boss told him that he wasn’t telling him anything else. It made that man mad and they were fighting bad and by the end of it all they were yelling across the whole first floor, right in front of everyone.” He raises both eyebrows, shaking his head up and down.

“Damn, it must have been a real doozy.”
A doozy, how the fuck do I even know that word? I’m starting to worry myself.

“I know, I know. The guy went on a whining tantrum and told Braxton that he needed to let things in his past, stay right there in the past. Braxton went off. He started yelling at him, like I said, right down there.” Serge points to the first floor again, and gets in even closer, whispering. “The bosses exact words, and I’m totally quoting this from someone, he said ‘you idiot, who the hell do you think you’re talking to? You don’t know a goddamned thing about me or my past, none of you do. You need to stay out of things that don’t concern you and back the fuck away from me now’ and Braxton yelled that across the floor at him. Everyone stopped what they were doing because no one had ever seen boss act like this.”

“Oh, no…he…didn’t?”
I actually just said that, out loud too, but I nailed it.
Bet Serge would freak out if I jumped out of my seat, with one foot pointed out with my hand on my hip while winding my neck in that rubberneck chicken move some girls do. Nah, he’d probably join in too
.
I’m ready to hear what happened, this involves me too.

“Oh yes he did. Ash was there. So, anyway that man was angry and fires back at Braxton yelling how he needed to get past his dick hangover for this ex of his. They said Braxton shot of like a rocket into the sky.”

“Oh, I bet he did.” He used to be calm, until pushed, then go ballistic on you.

“Oh yes. Here’s another quote from someone that heard it. Braxton yelled ‘that dick hangover you’re referring to holds my interest better than my current cock situation ever has.’ Then he hollered out to the whole room saying if there was anyone else who had thoughts of trying to save or rescue him like that idiot, they could pack their shit up and leave too. Then he put the man right out the front door.”

Damn. Brax wigged out big time
.

“No shit?” I slap my hand over my mouth for dramatics.

“Yes siree. That’s what they say happened. And this was only two years ago. They said Brax took off a few days after that whole ordeal, that’s how Ash landed his manager position. Rumors went round and round about Braxton after that, nasty ones too. Some said he was having a breakdown, and that somehow got turned into him checking himself into psych ward, then others said a doctor committed him into a mental institution. Others said he was being put on medication. Hateful rumors were everywhere. Ash is the one who jumped in and shut it all down before the boss came back. Ash said if he heard one more thing mentioned about it, he was firing them on the spot, no questions asked.” He picks up his drink, taking an ice cube in his mouth, chomping away.

“Good for Ash, someone needed to stop that nonsense, right?” I can almost see myself liking this Ash character, except for the fact that he’s slumming it with Aaron. It sort of cancels the positive out of the equation.

“Yep. When Braxton returned, he called a mandatory employee meeting and apologized to everyone on the staff. He said that he was finally dealing with some personal issues, traumatic stuff that happened as a kid, but his main focus would be centered around the business from there on out. That the whole ordeal that happened was something they needed to move past together and forget about. And that’s exactly what happened. Things went back to normal. He officially put Ash on a salary and he’s been the bosses right hand man ever since.” Serge stands up, taking the empty tray.

“I imagine that was hard for him, but I’m glad he had Ash around and the rest of the team for support.” I am thankful for that.

“Ash was and still is the one who keeps everyone in line regarding the boss. Any negativity tries to rear its ugly head, and Ash is all over it.”

“Sounds like you work with a pretty cool and close little family here.”

“We do, we’re all grateful for that. Braxton is one of the nicest people I know, everyone loves him here, and respects the hell out of him. The entire community does too. He contributes both with volunteer work and donations to various causes throughout the gay community. He also helps out with a teenage runaway program. Says he just “gets” those kids, and tries to help. How can anyone possibly not love the man to death?”