First Sight

[leveraged_buyout]

Lucien Moreau wasn't in town often, and that was the way Damien liked it. The less he saw the man who sired him the better, and even when the household was full of his spies who undoubtedly reported every little detail back to the old geezer, at least Damien didn't have to see him.

But if old Moreau arrived back on an early flight and summoned for his presence, as much as Damien didn't want to, he obeyed those summons. It didn't matter that he was still abed when the butler delivered them 15 minutes ago, his father demanded to see him and Damien obeyed.

It was only down the hall and into Moreau senior's private studies, but it still felt like it was going into another world. Damien's loafers clicked loudly on the tiles as he walked down the long hall of the west wing, the original section of the mansion that he normally avoided altogether. This was the old man's wing, a part of the ancient mansion that was inherited down generations, unlike the newer east and south wings which were added only shortly before Damien was born.

Dressed up presentably in a three piece suit, hair quickly slicked back to battle the his bedhead, Damien knocked on the large study doors and waited to be admitted. He covered his yawn with a fist as he waited, mind still blanked by the early morning to ponder the reason for the meeting.

Comments

[a_very_distinctive]

"Jesus, sit the hell down before you fall down," Eliot grumbles at him, rolling his eyes. "I followed you, 'cause you suck at paying any damn attention to your surroundings. Anyone could'a tailed your ass, you're just lucky it was me, an' not someone who wants to fuck your shit up."

He bites back a sigh and leans forward a little. "Serious, sit down. And I've been here since your piece of ass walked out. Was in the hallway before that."

[leveraged_buyout]

There went any hope, however miniscule it was, that Spencer could have somehow found him after the fact. Damien took the suggestion to sit down, looking numbly at the closest chair for only a brief second before moving to the one across from it that Spencer didn't already occupy.

He fell into it more than sitting down elegantly.

He needed to cover this up; right now, only Spencer knew. Or was it only him? Did the rest of his detail sit outside in the car? Damien was unaware of how transparent his thoughts were as he appraised the shorter man wondering how hard would it be to take him out. "Only you?"

[a_very_distinctive]

"Yes, only me." He rolls his eyes again, because Damien's about as transparent as god damn glass. "An you really don't wanna be thinking about anything stupid right now. Or at least stupider than you've already been. 'Cause you couldn't take me at your best, and neither could anyone else on your damn payroll. Plus, do you really wanna fuckin' go after the one guy who's actually on your side, instead of your daddy's?"

[leveraged_buyout]

Damien pursed his lips in frustration, more out of how Spencer was right than being caught of his ill conceived scheme. He didn't have the resources to get rid of this one man despite the danger he posed. It would piss him off if he wasn't still so shaken.

"How do I know you're really on my side?" Because if Spencer wasn't, if there was even a fraction of him that wasn't 100%, then Damien was screwed like he had never been before. "You don't listen to a thing I say, you disobey orders... And... You're here."

[a_very_distinctive]

"Junior, if I wasn't on your side you'd be long dead, or at least sold out to your old man. And I disobey orders when they're stupid."

[leveraged_buyout]

Damien was coming out of his shock to instead fix a very hard glare on his head of security. "Anyone else saying that would have been dismissed already." But he really didn't have much of a choice but to trust Spencer, the man was abnormally resilient against attacks.

[a_very_distinctive]

"Yeah, well, hopefully you got a strong enough sense of self-preservation t'not wanna fire the only guy you can be pretty damn sure isn't shilling for your old man."

[leveraged_buyout]

"You may consider yourself fortunate that I still can't fire you." But for now, Damien was accepting the fact that he was going to have to live with Spencer knowing his secret and hoping that was as far as it went. "However, I do not want to hear you mention this night again."

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot snorts and leans forward, elbows on his knees. "Pretty sure you're the lucky one here," he points out blandly. "Believe me, I could walk out the door an' have another job in less than twenty-four hours, probably even workin' for someone who actually respects my expertise."

He leans back again, eyeing Damien critically. "Look, I don't give a damn where you wanna stick your dick or, hell, where you want anyone else t'stick theirs, but next time you feel the need t'creep out here an' get your rocks off you let me know. 'Cause the way you're goin', it's just a matter of time before you manage to trail a pap out here after you and out yourself to the damn world."

[leveraged_buyout]

Damien didn't exactly flush red with Spencer's crude words, but he did stiffen very noticeably and looked like he bit into a lime. "I was very discreet," he defended picking the thing he could argue as opposed to the other facts. "You couldn't have followed my car, I looked. There weren't any cars behind me."

He wasn't going to discuss his bedding habits with anyone, least of all his redneck security. But it did feel somewhat relieving to finally let someone into his secret, no matter how heart stopping this moment was.

[a_very_distinctive]

"Discreet doesn't count for shit when you're considered one of the most eligible bachelors on the damn continent," he points out, barely managing to resist another eyeroll. "And there's not a damn thing that's discreet about doing a slow crawl through the red light district lookin' for a hookup. You honest t'god think none of those boys you were crusin' out there read the gossip rags or watch the celebrity news updates? That no one's ever gonna recognize you and sell a cell phone pic of you t'some rag? Or try to blackmail you in exchange for not doing it?"

He shakes his head. "I followed the GPS on your car for the first couple miles, but by then you weren't paying a damn bit of attention, and if I'd been in a car you didn't know I probably could'a tailed you from the get go and you never would'a noticed."

[leveraged_buyout]

"I would have noticed." Damien gave Spencer an indignant glare. "And I turned off the GPS." But the rest of what the short redneck said was true, they were risks he took everytime he tried to laid. He didn't know of a better way though and this was already threw least dangerous method.

"Likely they'll think I just look alike, they wouldn't make the connection." Or so Damien was gambling. He hadn't lost so far. "What could you do better?"

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot gives in and rolls his eyes again at that. "Sure you would, 'cause the roads aren't just chock full of cars going every which way. You'd totally notice a skilled tail. And you turned off the GPS you know about."

He raises both eyebrows in disbelief. "You really wanna bet your reputation, an' maybe your life, on that?" he asks. "Really?" He shakes his head and lets out an exasperated breath. "For starters, have someone not you do the picking up, cut down the odds of some pap following you straight to boys' town. An' make sure you end up with someone smart enough t'know better than to try and pull any shit with blackmail." And also make sure he wouldn't even have a phone on him to begin with. Or any recording devices. Or weapons.

[leveraged_buyout]

Damien's eyes practically bulged out of his face. "Where would I find 'someone' to do this for me? You were just reminding me how important secrecy about this is." It took him a delayed second to respond to the other matter, "Wait, you have more GPS in the car? Why would you do something like that, they're the company car. And I knew I should've taken another car."

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot huffs in exasperation. "Not that I'm exactly enthused at the idea of bein' your damn procurer, but I would'a figured that'd be obvious," he points out flatly... then rolls his eyes again. "Of course there's more'n one in the car." And in every single one in the estate's 'fleet'. "Any asshole who might manage t'grab you in the car would know how to turn off the obvious one, only a god damn moron wouldn't have more." Three more, in fact, to maximize the odds that at least one won't be discovered if it comes to it. "An' count yourself lucky you didn't, 'cause there's no way in hell you were gonna be able t'keep this up for much longer without getting outed."

[leveraged_buyout]

"You." One word, but so many levels of disbelief that it was overflowing with emphasis. Damien could barely believe the suggestion and had trouble wrapping his mind around the idea that not only his secret was not a secret anymore, but he now had a willing conspirator.

"I managed fine all these years." While it definitely had it's convenience, Damien was even less thrilled than Spencer about the sudden inclusion of another person. "It doesn't happen that often."

[a_very_distinctive]

"Yeah, well, then no wonder you're such an uptight jackass." Because, yeah, his respect levels drop way down when there's no audience... though this is a new low, honestly. In his defense, he's pretty damn exasperated at just how stupid his charge apparently can be. "Maybe if you got laid more often you'd loosen up a bit."

[leveraged_buyout]

]Damien was getting equally exasperated by how much of an insolent, unrespectful, and complete bastard his head of security was being. To be fair, he was strung out and still feeling shaky around the edges from being unwillingly outed.

"How dare you... Is it really impossible to expect the slightest show of respect even from a ruffian like you?" Damien couldn't even get angry though, he honestly didn't have the energy to spare for that after this rollercoaster of an evening.

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot leans forward, elbows braced on his knees, and fixes Damien with a steady, intense look. "Just what the hell d'you think you've done that means I owe you respect?" he asks, and if he's not quite incredulous he's certainly serious. "I do my job, keep your ass safe, an' you go outa your way to make it harder. Not t'mention you've treated me like shit from day one."

[leveraged_buyout]

Damien stiffened with affront and moved back in his chair while Spencer leaned forward. Being questioned that way was not something he way used to, or had happen to him before. "I'm Damien Moreau," he answered, at a loss for any other explanation. His status warranted respect and it baffled him that he was being questioned to defend it. "I... I'm your boss." His father still paid the bills, but Spencer was here to work for him, or so he was making clear. That had to mean something.

[a_very_distinctive]

"No, actually, your old man's technically my boss. He's the one signing the checks. But I've fucked him off pretty thoroughly." Which could mean a severance check--or maybe just an attempt on his life--any damn time, and yet here he still was, trying to talk sense into a spoiled little rich boy who still thought he was fucking immortal, despite having his own damn father willing to gun for him.

"'Cause really, someone willing to fuck with their own kid like that." It comes out a growl, his expression twisting with clear disgust. Which is pretty much the reason he's still bothering at this point. It's definitely not any fondness for Damien that's got him riding the kid's ass like this. (And he doesn't even see the irony of thinking of him as a kid at this point, even if the man is a good three to four years older than him. Not with the way he's been acting.)

[leveraged_buyout]

It was unmistakable what Damien's thoughts were with how the his expression stormed over with Spencer's mention of his old man. While he was shaken and upset with his head of security, it was outright fear and hate for his father.

"Which means I'm now your boss, unless you're still reporting to him. He's just payroll." And Damien's eyes flashed a challenge that told Spencer that if he didn't agree with this, his life and position was forfeit. It wasn't a kid saying that, but the sole heir to a great crime empire.

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot stares him down for a long, tense moment. Not blinking, sure as hell not backing down.

"Okay, then start fuckin' acting like it, instead of like a kid trying to hide weed in his room or sneak out on a god damn Saturday night," he finally growls.

[leveraged_buyout]

Damien's eyes narrowed at the implied insult but he didn't otherwise react to it. It was enough that Spencer had as much assented that he now reported to Damien despite his disrespectful behavior.

"It's a Friday night," Damien corrected mildly instead, "And from now on it will be your job to accompany me hence saving my need to 'sneak out'."

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot still doesn't look away, still doesn't blink, still doesn't back down in the slightest, but at Damien's answer some of the hardness leaves his expression and he... sits back a little, hands still resting on his splayed knees.

"Sounds like a plan, boss." And there is something undeniably satisfied in his tone and expression.