"He knew about the power struggle I was going through with the board of my company. He used that to his advantage. He threatened to go to them and tell them I was losing my vision unless I paid him a hundred grand to go away."
"How would the board knowing that information change anything?" I asked. "Blind people run companies every day. They may need some accommodations here and there, but just because they can't see doesn't mean that they can't run a business."
"A lot of companies have clauses about their executives being healthy enough to run the business. It has to do with not risking the loss of profits if the head of the company has some kind of mental or physical limitation. Since I hadn't yet started to lose my sight, I wasn't obligated to tell anyone. I was going to use the time to buy back more of the company so I could maintain control of it. If the board had found out I was going blind, they could've invoked that clause and tried to force me out. My company designs video games. A CEO who can't see the games that their company is putting out is a hard sell to other organizations that might be interested in a merger or even a buyout."
Lex's explanation made sense. I'd never been in the business world myself, but it was like any other reality… there was always someone waiting in line to grab power wherever and however they could get it. I considered what Lex had told me and said, "Grady didn't go away, did he?"
Lex shook his head. "He was back within a few weeks. I paid him again, then again a couple months later. Each time, he swore it would be the last, but he kept coming back. I think part of me still didn't want to believe he'd intentionally used me. I started doing some digging on him and found out that his boyfriend had a sister who worked for one of my competitors. That company had been trying to acquire mine for years, but for pennies on the dollar. When I realized the whole thing had been a setup from the get-go, I cut Grady off for good. I didn't care what he said he’d do."
"But it didn't end there," I observed.
"No, it didn't. Grady showed up at my house one night. He was enraged and demanding money. When I told him no, he hit me. I told him to get out, but he just hit me again. And again. He said I was ruining everything. I was sure he was going to kill me."
"What happened?" I asked. I felt sick to my stomach as I envisioned Lex lying on the ground and some guy on top of him battering him with his fists.
"My brother King happened. He was in town visiting me and had left to get us some dinner. He got back a few minutes after Grady arrived at my house." Lex's voice dropped off as he spoke. He got choked up when he added, "I thought King was going to kill him."
"But he didn't," I offered.
Lex shook his head. "I managed to stop him. Grady ended up in a coma and King was arrested for assault. The cops didn't care that he'd just been defending me. They said it was too much force… that he'd gone too far. They said he should've stopped when Grady was no longer a threat to me or him or anyone else. Grady ultimately recovered but King spent six months in jail."
"And Grady?" I asked.
"He sued me. Wanted me to pay him ten million for the injuries he sustained."
"Tell me you didn't pay him," I said.
"No, I didn't. I was too busy trying to get King out of jail. I spent every free minute I had trying to find lawyers who could figure out a way to get King's charges overturned. I eventually found one who spotted a technicality in the trial transcripts, so King was released and the charges were dismissed."
"Did Grady tell the board about your vision?"
Another shake of his head and then Lex said, "No. One day I just got a call from his attorneys saying he'd dropped his lawsuit. They politely asked me not to contact their client again."
"I don't understand," I admitted.
Lex turned to me and said, "I mentioned I have brothers, right? Plural. And they’re all older. I’m not sure which one had the ‘talk’ with Grady but none of them besides King know about my blindness, so I guess Grady didn’t tell them. I’m sure by then he was just eager to forget he’d ever met me."
I found myself smiling. I automatically lifted Lex's hand and placed his fingers against my mouth so he could feel what I was doing. "Remind me to thank them," I said before I realized how my words sounded. Luckily, Lex didn't respond to the comment. He seemed too busy tracing the corner of my mouth. The contact had the blood in my veins sizzling. I was leaning across the console, so it would've been easy to just reach out and grab the back of Lex's head and pull his mouth to mine.
"I have no excuse, Gideon, for what I did yesterday. I honestly didn't remember telling you I was from LA, so when you said it, I thought about Grady and how easily I'd fallen into that trap and I just…"
"Lex—" I said at the same time that he said, "I just can't go through that again."
Hearing the words was like ice water being dumped on my head. I'd been about to tell him that I would never hurt him the way Grady had, but hearing him say he couldn't go through something like that again, I realized what a fine line I was walking. Even if I was interested in exploring my sexuality, which I wasn’t really sure I was, it wouldn't have been fair to do it with someone as vulnerable as Lex.
"It's not even about the business anymore," Lex continued. "I have control of it again. It's just, there are a lot of kids who look up to me. Both because of my success, considering how I grew up, and because I'm gay. The idea of them finding out about what I almost did in that one brief moment of weakness… I couldn't live with myself knowing I was in some way responsible for some kid hurting himself. You know what I mean?"
I nodded and said, "I do. Absolutely, Lex. And I swear to you, even if I knew who the fuck you were, I wouldn't tell anyone you were here, let alone anything else related to your private business."
To my surprise, Lex chuckled. It wasn't until he pulled his hand free of mine that I realized I'd still been holding his. While he was still facing me, Lex stuck his hand out in front of him and said, "Lexington Parker. It's nice to meet you."
I laughed and took his hand in mine and gave it a firm shake. "Gideon Callahan. The pleasure’s mine."
When I went to pull my hand back, it was Lex who tightened his grip just a little. "Gideon, I'm so very sorry. I wish I could go back and redo our conversation."
"It's okay, Lex—"
"No, it's not. That's not who I am. And I'm not that guy who dismissed you when you came in to bring me the firewood. My behavior was… it was unacceptable." Lex seemed confused by his own words. Like he was struggling to figure out what it was he wanted to say. So I held my tongue. And I kept holding his hand.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "And thank you for what you did for me. It was more than I deserved."
"You're welcome," I said. “You're also forgiven, but I never want to hear you say shit like that again, do you hear me?"
Lex was clearly confused by my statement, so I added, "You deserved it and more. You deserve everything, Lex."
A heavy silence fell between us and I found myself leaning even farther across the console, my eyes shifting from Lex's beautiful gray ones to his full, parted mouth. Nervous energy buzzed beneath my skin as I accepted that this was what I wanted, what I needed.