The Virgin Master (31 page)

“Good. It’s all right to have positive feelings for your Master. Evan what will you say?”

“Uh, I bought him on a whim because I thought he would make a good personal assistant in addition to a good personal slave and I have no complaints in either area. He’s become an exceedingly valuable asset to me in my work very quickly and he is biddable, obedient and has a strong desire to be pleasing. I feel about him the way anyone would feel about a highly valued possession. Pr
oud and protective
. I didn’t want him torn up like that. He was physically perfect and now he’s not and he never will be again. It’s like watching someone take a knife to the Mona Lisa.”

“Good. I like the tone of righteous indignation, there. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I think I can make it stick. All the evidence Frank has is your unwillingness to share Jeremy with him, right?”

“Unless he’s got surveillance inside my apartment.”

“If he does, I can keep that out.”

“How long…how long will it be before I know one way or the other? When could I get him back? Can I visit him?”

“No you can’t visit him. You can’t even act like you want to visit him. These things take time. Frank’s lawyer will stall, hoping that the press on his counter-attack here will help him with a future
jury on the criminal charges. Don’t count on seeing Jeremy again for months.”

Months.
Evan’s head dropped and he heard Jeremy’s gasp. Sean heard it too, and sighed.

“Guys…I know it’s hard. Especially under these circumstances when Jeremy only did what was right and now
you’re both being punished for it. I can’t say I know how you feel, but I can sort of imagine how I would feel if Lindsay and I were separated without knowing when, or even if, we would ever see each other again.
Say what you need to say to each other. They could be coming any minute.”

Sean hung up. Evan put his head in his hands, pain ripping through his chest. He remembered this feeling. Crippling grief. Jeremy pulled Evan into his arms.

“I’m not dead, Evan. I just won’t be here. Even if they sell me to someone else eventually, we might still get to see each other.” That sounded weak, even to Jeremy. “Sean’s a really,
really
g
ood lawyer. Don’t just assume that things aren’t going to work out in our favor, okay?” At this point Jeremy choked up. “It’s going to be hard enough not to be with you
…
I have to know that you’re not just going to give up and not fight for me. I have to know that you’re not just sitting around drowning in misery.”

Evan looked up at him through bleary eyes. “I will never, ever, stop fighting to get you back, Jeremy. Don’t ever doubt that. But I will be miserable without you. At least I know that you’ll be alive.” Evan dragged Jeremy’s head down into a nearly punishing kiss.

Evan’s misery converted into bittersweet longing. They clung together; tryi
ng to crawl inside one another,
focused on memorizing scents and tastes. Evan stood up clutching Jeremy’s hand, intent on taking him to bed, one last time and the doorbell rang, followed by knocking. Taking one last desperate look at Jeremy, Evan composed his face and turned to answer the door. Jeremy sank to his knees in approved formal posture, waiting.

There were five men at the door, led by Steven Hubbard.

“Mr. James. So sorry to see you again under such unpleasant
circumstances.”

Hubbard pulled out a document and thrust it at Evan, who took it. His eyes refused to focus and he just looked at Hubbard, dumbly.

It’s a writ of removal, Mr. James. Two citizens have sworn that you have an inappropriate emotional attachment to Jeremy. I have to take him now.”

Evan, realizing that his behavior during the removal
would be part of any hearing about his ability to control and
d
iscipline Jeremy,
stood to the side. “Come in gentlemen. Do I need to pack anything for him? Is he all
owed to take anything with him?”

Hubbard gave Evan a relieved smile. “No. Everything he
needs will be provided by the agency.” Hubbard dug around in his bag and came out with shackles.

“You won’t need those.”

“Maybe not, but I have to use them.
Regulations.” Hubbard knelt in front of Jeremy.

“Mr. James you need to tell him that from now on he must obey agency personnel.”

Evan’s heart sank. “Jeremy, look up please.”

T
heir eyes met. It was nearly a very bad mistake. “From this moment forward, until you are sold to a new
m
aster, or restored to me, you must obey agency personnel with the same willingness that you have obeyed me. Do you understand? You may speak.”

“Yes, Master. I understand.”

“Be well, Jeremy.”

J
eremy dropped his gaze, but not before Evan saw a tear glimmering in his eye. Hubbard made no remark about the tears steadily dropping onto the carpet as he shackled Jeremy and attached a chain leash to his collar. Hubbard removed the
registration tags from the collar and passed them to Evan who took them, trying not to
show how
precious
they were
to him. Hubbard slipped new temporary tags into the display slot which
denoted that Jeremy temporarily belonged to the Agency for Slave Regulation. Evan felt as if he were being forcibly divorced.

Jeremy stood gracefully and walked willingly with the other four men out of Evan’s life. Hubbard remained and Evan prayed for the man to just get the hell out of his face before he broke down completely. Then he realized that possibly Hubbard was after just that. Controlling his expression, Evan smiled flirtatiously at the man.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called. Things have been hectic at
             
work.

I kept your card, though, if you’re still interested.”

Hubbard
brightened
perceptibly. “Very much
interested.”

Evan thought it might not be a bad idea to have some chance of getting Agency information. “So, are you free this Saturday?”

Hubbard sighed. “You really don’t know how much I would like that…but, right now it would be inappropriate to see
             
you socially while we have a pending matter.”

“Oh. Okay.”
Damn it.
“Well, then…once this is all resolved…why don’t you call me so I won’t make some kind of faux pas, here.”

Hubbard blushed. “I really will. I don’t know how long this will take…”

Evan laughed. He shocked himself. “Well, this is all politically motivated
, purely an
effort by the chairman of the board to punish me for not sharing, and, quite possibly to attempt to force me out of the company, because, I have to tell you, Jeremy is brilliant at his job. The Board won’t be too forgiving when my numbers go down because he’s not there. My attorney filed a writ and motion for a hearing by the Agency. There’s absolutely no evidence of any inappropriate feelings. The picture relied on by Mr. Owens depicts anger and righteous indignation that I had to let his little diva of a daughter rip up a valued possession. So, I guess, the matter will linger on for quite a while.”

Hubbard looked deeply into Evan’s eyes. Evan fought with all his might to project wounded citizen, not crazy, grieved lover. It must
h
ave worked. Hubbard nodded to himself. “You know I might be called as a witness.”

“I really didn’t think of that.” Evan lied. “So, if they don’t call you to testify, I will.”

Hubbard nodded. “I really shouldn’t be saying this, but all I have seen here is a pretty great
m
aster with a well-trained slave. A healthy relationship.
I don’t see any evidence at all of co-dependency or inappropriate emotional fixation.”

You’re not looking hard enough, thank God
. “My lawyer is Sean Murrow. You don’t mind if he interviews you?”

“Not at all. If this is some kind of abuse of the system it is my duty to try to set it right.” Hubbard waved his
datapad
vaguely at Evan. “I guess you won’t want to sign these transfer of ownership papers then?”

Evan beamed at him, noting that Hubbard’s eyes got a little bit stunned. “No, I don’t want to sign anything right now. I’ll have Sean call you.”

Chapter Twenty

As soon as Hubbard left his apartment, Evan reeled back from the door and just sat down on the floor as his legs refused to hold him anymore. Pain tore through his head and chest. Tears exploded from his eyes and he folded up, head to the floor, gasping at the sharp pangs of longing and rage hit him over and over again. He needed to call Sean
, but not until he had a chance to
work thro
ugh his sorrow, guilt and anger.
He had been hanging by a thread for days. He prayed for numbness, but his pain increased until he found himself screaming into the carpet. He thanked God that his
was the only apartment on this side of the building and that offices were closed today.

Finally, his sobbing ebbed and stopped, leaving him with a fierce headache and an upset stomach. His eyes ached and his face
burned from salty tear tracks. He fumbled to his feet and found his communicator. He also found his courage. Jeremy needed him to be strong. He would be strong for Jeremy, like he couldn’t be for Justin. He splashed water in his face at the kitchen sink and drank a glass of juice. He sat at his kitchen table and prepared to do battle via communicator and press.

Evan met with his father and Sean early the next morning to plan their next steps. Sean wanted to know why Evan had suddenly thrown a lifetime of principle away to buy a personal slave. He and Allen went through the whole story. Sean frowned.

“Allen, you said Evan wasn’t present at the Board Meeting when concerns about his psychological profile were raised?”

“No. He spent that time finalizing the Alcoa buy-out. Why?”

“Do you remember who first raised the question?”

Allen thought for a minute and then looked stunned. “We can check the recording of the meeting, but I’m pretty sure it was Frank.”

“Frank?”

Sean frowned harder and then smiled. “What would Frank have to gain from driving Evan out of the company?”

Allen just stared. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t you?”

Evan’s anger spiked agai
n. “So…this started even before Jeremy?”

Sean turned to Allen again. “Think about it. Who drives profit here?”

“Evan.”

Sean nodded. “What happens if Evan has to leave or is discredited to the point that your major investors pull out?”

“Stock prices fall precipitously. Evan and I are financially ruined.”

“And?”

Evan sighed. “It gets easier to become the majority
stockholder.  What are you saying? Frank is trying to take over the company?”

“That’s how it seems.”

“But,
w
hy? I mean he would have a nearly useless asset
if he did that. James Enterprises would be
just the building.”

“The building, the name, the reputation. Your overseas holdings, the real estate, the warehouses…and probably most important
,
the
official
exemption from customs inspection granted
to the business because you handle most of the government shipping.”

Evan’s jaw worked. “But still…is this personal somehow? Dad? Do we have a history that I’m not aware of with the Owens family?”