Chapter Text
From Monday to Friday is all about work meetings, filling work papers, countless coffees, and going to sleep before eleven with heavy eyes and a soft, almost invisible sense of accomplishment for having got through another day in the office.
But the weekends are for fun, forgetting there’s a new work week upcoming and making good use of the money so hardly made–that’s the life of a CEO, well, in this case, the life of two CEOs.
James and Evan did their usual path in The Enchanted Ember–a private and luxurious country club–and had a wonderful golf game against one another. They restrained work conversation to a minimum, only gossiping about their employees if possible, and hit the showers just in time for lunch.
‘‘I’ll have the steak today’’ Evan smiled gently at the waiter taking their orders–this one was new, probably still on a trial.
‘‘Very original Ev, something you never tried before’’ James teased, scanning the menu he knows by memory, eyeing his friend sitting in front of him. ‘‘I’ll have the shrimp pasta with no garlic, thank you.’’
‘‘What a surprise, I’m shocked by how unpredictable you are Jamie’’ Evan huffed, handing the menu to the waiter that offered them a pointed look, clearly confused, before walking away. ‘‘If I knew they were looking, I would’ve applied for the job.’’
‘‘And leave me all alone handling our empire? Huh, fucking traitor’’ James snapped mockingly, sipping Prieur Montrachet–his favourite white wine, second only to a good Meursault.
‘‘We could both quit. Just imagine it, me, you, on a remote island serving cocktails to celebrities and having no responsibilities’’ Evan-the dreamer of the two–spoke with excitement invading every word, making it sound like the most delicious offer.
‘‘Deal. I’ll tell our assistants to find someone else for the company’’ James raised his glass and they indulged in a fake toast for a life they’ll never actually have.
James wasn’t sure when exactly they picked up the habit of fantasising about it but every weekend, at lunch, to erase the weight of the working week on their shoulders, they started to come up with the craziest and silliest scenarios of what they could be if not CEOs.
Once, Evan proposed to become pirates and navigate around the world, seeing it all. James had the idea of robbing a bank, or a museum, and making history. They once looked at how much studying it will take to become professors and maybe move to another country, teach in college–it’s been months now and, after sharing these ideas, they end with a tasteful dessert and with a lingering silence around them.
James knows it’s all empty talk. That he would never leave behind what they’ve built together until now. After fifteen years of friendship and countless investments, their lives are sealed for what they are and at thirty-two years old it’s difficult, if not impossible, to rewrite it all.
They ended lunch with espressos and then walked to the backyard to smoke on the most comfortable lounge chairs ever invented. It was their spot. Everyone in the country club has one and, despite being the youngest amongst all these rich men, they earned the right to claim a seat no one dares to occupy.
While intoxicating themselves with these useless dreams, they recognised the soft steps coming closer, a tall presence lingering behind them before the third seat got occupied.
‘‘My favourite customers are back’’ Remus Lupin–the country club owner–said warmly, lighting a cigarette.
‘‘Since when are we your favourites?’’ James smirked, embracing the sparkling sun of early September in San Diego.
‘‘Since you don’t bring prostitutes that get drunk and throw up in my bathrooms’’ Remus hissed, eyeing a short man not too distant from their seats with a woman laughing loudly on his lap. ‘‘Speaking of, why don’t you ever bring someone? Aren’t you dating anyone?’’
‘‘No one agrees on being a priority only on the weekends. Our job keeps us too busy to have stable relationships’’ Evan sighed softly, the usual regret of how badly dating has been for the two of them in the past washing over his delicate face.
There’s been a few that have tried. Some boys actually managed to steal some time from James after working hours. But it doesn’t last long until the other person feels neglected, ignored, not being put as a priority–their free time is limited and, despite wanting to enjoy it as much as possible, most people don’t consider it worth trying.
However, they have each other. At least they share this suffering together and can complain about how unbalanced the weight of their success compared to what they’re losing with it feels. At the end of each week, if they don’t find someone to warm their beds, they can sleep together in a mess of limbs and misery and call it a night.
In the lingering silence that followed, James lit another cigarette, inhaling the smoke as to wrap around his fragile heart consumed by a hollow he doesn’t believe capable of filling. Remus shifted on his seat, leaning forward with elbows pressing on his lap before murmuring carefully, ‘‘you two need a hot pair of sugar babies.’’
‘‘A what?’’ Both Evan and James snapped, frowning deeply and blinking quickly.
‘‘Remember Sirius? Well, he’s my sugar baby. No strings attached, no heavy commitment’’ Remus explained, barely above a whisper to keep the conversation between the three of them. ‘‘Deal is, I have to spoil him, buy him things, bring him on dates when I’m not working and you know I rarely have free days. But the thing is, even if busy he never complained once because he understands that I have to work in order to make him live the best life.’’
‘‘And what are you getting out of it?’’ James leaned forward too, absorbing the information, the dynamic, not only to understand it but to see it happening in this reality.
‘‘Great sex, why else?’’ Remus shrugged on one side, proud glittering through his brown eyes. ‘‘He’s young, hot, makes me feel like I’m in my twenties again and knows how to suck away the stress from work and all he needs are some designer clothes. Brilliant, right?’’
James’ mind started running thousands of miles ahead of his own imagination. He noticed lately how relaxed, less grumpy and more cheerful Remus has gotten. He knew about his new boyfriend and yet what’s behind it just opened a big, red, dangerous and captivating door James felt more than ready to walk in.
It took him a fragile second to lock eyes with Evan mere inches beside him. Both had that look. Their minds are almost connected by a superior force and there’s been countless times where they didn’t need to communicate with words in order to make a decision that would change the course of their lives.
‘‘Remus, how can one find a sugar baby?’’ Evan said, not a trace of regret nor fear over his features that made James breathe easily, sure they’re in this together.
‘‘Sirius has a little brother, Regulus, and he has a friend, Barty, I think his name is. I can set you up on a double date’’ Remus offered them the most neutral smile he could manage, showing no judgment.
The two men nodded faintly, the certainty of what this thing was leading them into blurring into fantasy. Whatever this was, James just needed to know Evan would be into it too–that’s how they work, that’s how their lives have been functioning until now.
‘‘I’ll let you know time and place’’ Remus stood up, pressing heavily his finished cigarette on the ashtray and eyeing carefully the man just a meter away walking inside the country club with the girl. ‘‘I have to take care of it, see you around.’’
Both followed with their gazes alone, allowing themselves to watch the show unfolding in front of their eyes. Remus called security for the man bringing an escort here and getting her drunk, probably hoping to rent one of the rooms on the third floor of the place but Remus’ rules are written in stone, making no exceptions.
One of Remus’ employees took the girl away, in the infirmary, in a room to sleep, James wasn’t sure, and then kicked the man out, collecting his country club pass so he’ll be a problem for someone else.
When the air returned quiet, soft, and James’ mind could replay the scene from earlier, he could almost see it happening in that moment. Just the two of them, with two hot, young, funny boys keeping them company without giving them a hard time for caring about their jobs, for putting more effort into their company than into a relationship.
And that night, worked up by the situation, James crawled under the sheets of Evan’s bed, followed by the other boy, and they did countless researches. How the whole dynamic between sugar daddies and sugar babies works, how much money is too much and how much is too little, what they’re not supposed to do and rules, if there’s any.
A whole new world opened up to them and all they had to do was look at each other to understand they might not know how to do this but they’re more than capable of learning how to spoil someone, if only the other person is willing to teach them.