Best-laid Schemes

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr smiled at Vomas as he sat down on one of the two comfortable chairs opposite him, positioned on the other side of his desk.  Although it was quite a formal situation, Kerr wasn\'t in a formal mood and this was evidenced by the fact that he was wearing jeans with a teal-coloured button-up shirt tucked into them.  And no shoes.  In fact, his right leg was tucked in against his bottom and his left foot was resting on the base of his executive chair, too.

He and Ben had been out on their weekly date (he always made a night for Ichabod and a night for Ben, to keep it balanced) when they\'d got home and he\'d got a message from Jake.  It\'d seemed urgent so he\'d wandered down sans shoes to listen to what had got his Oligarch so het up.  Jake had just left the offce after telling him, so before he went back upstairs to Ben, he figured he might as well share it with Vomas and had called him in.  It was almost three in the morning so he counted himself lucky to catch his other Oligarch before he retired for the night.

"Hey, thanks for coming," he smiled his greeting as Vomas got comfortable.  He glanced down as he spoke, for there was paper and a pen in front of him, where he\'d made some notes that he was going to speak from now.  "I got a call from Jake and wanted to give you a heads-up.  Apparently, the city is currently playing host to some sort of big-wig vampire council from Russia, as of tonight.  I don\'t know which ones, exactly, Jake seemed all excited and if you wanted more details about their clan, ask him," he said wryly.

No longer needing his notes, Kerr sat back into his chair, causing it to bob comfortably back and forth as he began using his hands to talk, moving them around lazily to punctuate his continuing information.

"Anyway, the gist of it is that he wants us to host something for them - some sort of nice dinner or something.  They have an entourage of mortals, familiars, lovers - the lot!  Jake feels it\'s imperative we impress them by hosting something a little special here, in four nights\' time.  If they\'ll come.  Something... buffetish, for the humans, with some donors from here mingling, as well as some warm blood on offer, to impress them with our generosity.  Everybody should be nice and friendly, dressed to impress and doing our best to understand Russian, from what I gather," Kerr said airily, rolling his eyes as he recalled Jake\'s very particular reference to etiquette and doing things the \'right\' way.

"Bah," Kerr then scoffed, giving a laugh, "it might well be something stuffy and boring, or it could be entertaining - either way, I figure it\'s a good chance to network so I want all of us there, me, my two oligarchs and their partners.  I\'ll bring Ben and you can bring Sam - though I think we\'ll have to be sure to sit between them!" he chortled at his own joke, before he sobered and gave another dismissive shrug.  "I dunno\' who Jake\'ll bring.  Anyway, sound acceptable to you?" he queried blithely, looking expectantly at Vomas.

[Saccharin]

Vomas, on the other hand, was dressed as he always was while in the chambers - in a full business suit of some expensive foreign make, black except for a solid ruby red tie. Even after unbuttoning his jacket and loosening his tie, he looked downright stuffy when compared to Kerr. It couldn\'t be helped, he supposed, not since the Luminary had a habit of wandering around without shoes on. Fortunately for everyone, vampires were not prone to athlete\'s foot.

With the ankle of his left leg crossed just above his right knee and his arms draped across the chair\'s armrests, he appeared relaxed, but as Kerr continued speaking, the lines of his body took on a rigidness that suggested unease. At first, it was talk of entertaining one of Jake\'s clans and dealing with their amazement that vampires like him and Kerr existed that made him leery, but that paled in comparison to having Sam connected to him in casual conversation.

He\'d taken what he thought to be all the appropriate steps to ensure their arrangement didn\'t become gossip fodder, because that was the only logical way to make it work. Not a single glance or comment shared between them had hinted at what they did after their work was finished, but somehow, Kerr - the very person he\'d wanted to hide it from the most - knew. How? The muscles of his jaw spasmed as he clenched and unclenched his teeth, and he frantically tried to think of what might\'ve led to Sam being invited as his partner to a formal fucking work function.

It was strange, because he knew somewhere within him that a purely rational being would first respond to a situation like this by determining what repercussions (if any) would result, and then go from there. But he was revisiting every moment, every conversation and every interaction, inspecting them for the moment one of them had slipped. Nothing jumped at him, though, and the only other possibility wasn\'t one he contemplated for long - Sam wouldn\'t have told anyone, not after he\'d explained why it should remain between them.

When he uncrossed his legs and straightened himself in his chair he realized he\'d been gripping the armrests tightly enough that he\'d done some damage to them. That was what unchecked emotions did; they made him react before he had an opportunity to consider what he was doing. He muttered an apology, then stored his clasped hands in his lap where they could do no more harm.

"That... won\'t be necessary," he said, and was displeased by the waver in his voice. He cleared his throat before he spoke again, hoping to lend his words strength. "Sam will not be attending this or any other function with me."

[Existentially Odd]

While he spoke, Kerr was aware of Vomas\' shifting posture and attitude, but he\'d assumed it would be something to do with the fact that this meeting was instigated by Jake.  There was some rivalry he sensed between his two Vampire Oligarchs, no doubt stemming from their very different methods of doing things (but that was why Kerr enjoyed having the two of them on board), and he suspected Vomas would not want to host this dinner the same way Jake would; he was ready for that sort of antagonism.

What he got, however, had him gradually widening his eyes in surprise, finishing in a rapid blink when there came the creak of protesting furniture.  Ben had told him that he believed Sam was sleeping with someone - Kerr believed he\'d got that impression after there\'d been a late-night meeting in the lift, for that was when Ben had told him he\'d seen Sam sneaking down to the library to get something forgotten while Ben was heading up to the penthouse.  Sam had definitely had the look of post-coital bliss about him (and \'sex hair\', apparently), according to Ben.  When Ben later floated the notion that Sam could be sleeping with Vomas, Kerr had laughed.

Now, he saw that hadn\'t been the correct reaction at all.  His comment just now had been partly fishing and he felt a little guilty for that; he\'d justified that he could just be asking Vomas to bring Sam as his primary co-worker.  Everyone knew about their project together.  But really... he\'d been pondering if Ben might actually be onto something.  It wasn\'t that he\'d believed his lover to be a liar, it was more that he\'d never believed there to be a sexual bone in Vomas\' body.  With his gruff exterior, the Luminary also couldn\'t imagine anyone getting through the needles and thorns to the sexual bone, should it be located.  Apparently, he\'d been wrong on many accounts.  Looking at a man he almost considered a friend now, though, he couldn\'t imagine how Sam had done it.  He was obviously something special.

"Why not?" Kerr frowned, looking Vomas over worriedly.

[Saccharin]

"Because it\'s not appropriate," he said quietly, then looked down at his lap where his hands remained clasped.  

It turned out that he was a weak man. Not only had he agreed to Sam\'s proposition in the first place, but he\'d found a hundred different ways since then to justify their after-work meetings despite his misgivings that they shouldn\'t. In the beginning, he\'d told himself there was no harm in what would be a temporary fling at most, but one week had bled into another, and by the time he came to his senses, Sam had become something of a habit for him.

There had even been an opportunity to end things, but he hadn\'t been able to because he couldn\'t make himself choose between their work partnership or their no-strings-attached sexual arrangement. So, he\'d proposed that they make every effort to keep things under wraps. If no one knew what else their relationship consisted of, then no one could make judgments against either of them.

He glanced up at Kerr and smiled resignedly. If his Luminary knew, it was likely others did as well.

[Existentially Odd]

The smile he received somehow made Kerr feel sad and he wasn\'t entirely sure why he was leaning that way; he put it down to sympathy and did his best to try to clear things up without prying too much.  Obviously, Vomas was a private man and he could tell he\'d overstepped a mark by broaching the subject with him - it was just that pesky friendship tendency that had momentarily blinded him and hadn\'t put too much thought into the consequences of openly referencing Sam.  It was too late to backpedal now, though.

"I... look, I don\'t mean to offend you, truly.  Obviously, it\'s not something you wish to discuss but... I just want to say that I don\'t think you having a relationship with Sam is inappropriate.  It doesn\'t offend me and it doesn\'t break any rules so, uh, you don\'t have to hide anything if you don\'t want to!"  He was smiling too, encouragingly, but it rather felt like he was standing on the beach with a wave being pulled out to the ocean, taking the sand from beneath him and leaving him on crumbling ground that wouldn\'t support much.  Least of all more prying.

[Saccharin]

He looked at Kerr sharply when he spoke of a relationship with an employee not being against the rules. Of course it wasn\'t. If it had been, he never would\'ve let things go as far as they had. But just because something wasn\'t explicitly against the rules didn\'t make it appropriate by default, and he sought to explain that to Kerr once he was finished speaking.

"Even if it doesn\'t bother you, it might bother others." He shifted in the chair, his elbows returning to the armrests but his fingers dangling such that they touched his legs instead of anything breakable. "And I don\'t want people to hesitate taking direction from him because they think him unworthy of his position." He spoke of his belief that if people knew of their arrangement (he couldn\'t bring himself to think of it as a relationship because of all that entailed), then they\'d think - despite the fact Samuel had been working for the Oligarchy long before he\'d been hired - that the only reason he had the cushy job he had was because of him.

"He\'s the best at what he does, but people might not see that through knowledge that we... we-" He stopped and shook his head, waving his hand airily near his face like he was shooing away a cloud of gnats. "Anyway. It doesn\'t matter now." His hand fell from sight and his face became masked by an expression of polite inquiry. "Was there anything in particular you needed from me for the dinner?"

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr frowned, distracted enough by Vomas\' reasoning to ignore his final question completely.  He was worried about what other people thought? Really?  It was a stunning revelation into his oligarch\'s psyche.

"But... does that worry Sam?  Surely he\'s the one that should be worrying about people taking directions from him or questioning his position - something which I\'d take personal exception to if it did happen, by the way, and would stamp out on his behalf - rather than it being your burden to bear?  Surely that\'s one of the joys of a relationship; sharing the burdens!" he exclaimed encouragingly.

[Saccharin]

Vomas\' face fell and his shoulders drooped when his attempt at changing the subject went about as swimmingly as a boulder dropped into a pond. "No, it doesn\'t, but he- now hold on. I never said we were in a relationship. It\'s not like that. It\'s..." He leaned to his left, lifted his arm, and then buried his face in his palm, rubbing his brow.

"It\'s not like that," he repeated, lowering his hand to squeeze the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "It\'s an arrangement, Kerr. Nothing more."

His carefully cultivated Midwestern American accent was slipping, hinting at what had once been a thick Irish brogue. Funny how that worked. He\'d spent more time in Spanish speaking countries than Ireland, but when he lost his shit, it was always the Isle in him that reared its head.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr worked very hard to keep his expression neutral and not impose any assumptions beyond his one question.  Not yet, anyway.

"A... sexual arrangement?" he asked carefully.

[Saccharin]

"Yes," he answered curtly. "If I could tolerate humans, I would\'ve taken advantage of one of the donors but..." He shrugged, dismissing the thought as quickly as he\'d presented it. "I thought it would be less... messy than an actual relationship, but it\'s turning out to be equivalently so."

[Existentially Odd]

Despite his vow to remain aloof and leave Vomas to his own business, Kerr couldn\'t help but be intrigued by the situation.  Vomas had a sexual arrangement with Sam - a vampire he knew little of beyond the fact that his efficiency and ownership of the library bothered Ben to no end - and he\'d thought it would be far less messy than an actual relationship?

It was mind-boggling how intelligent, aged men could convince themselves of utter nonsense, where their hormones became involved.  He was a prime example and, surprisingly, he was also finding out that Vomas was not immune.  It was almost... comforting.  Still, his expression gave away none of his internal satisfaction; if anything he was looking upon his oligarch with sympathy.

"Because Sam is problematic?" he suggested, unsure why the arrangement had gone sour and assuming it had something to do with Vomas\' partner.

[Saccharin]

"No, he\'s not," Vomas admitted after a moment\'s consideration. Samuel had never demanded more from him than he was willing to give, keeping to their guidelines since the start. And the only disagreement they\'d had revolved around whether or not it was wise for others to know of their arrangement. Given what Kerr had recently shared with him, even that wasn\'t really an an issue. So what was the problem?

He sat back in his chair abruptly, his mouth askew. Oh no. No, no, no. That couldn\'t possibly be it, could it? But that was only one thing remaining in the equation to consider - the very thing he\'d managed to steer clear of by piling excuse onto excuse, effectively hiding it from view. Oh, Sam. Beautiful, intelligent, desirable Sam. He\'d always assumed it would be the younger vampire who would be unable to avoid emotional entanglement, but here he was, coming to the realization that it was him. He was the problem. He was creating messes where there otherwise were none.

"I should go," he said, and stood unsteadily, made drunk by his sudden epiphany. "Unless you need anything else from me?" he asked faintly, unsure what he\'d do if Kerr actually requested something of him at that very moment.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr could only blink up at Vomas, unsure what had happened exactly but knowing that it had to be momumental for his oligarch to be acting so strangely.  He didn\'t think he needed to be concerned for anyone\'s safety but the swift change of attitude did give him some concern - enough that he dismissed his friend with a caveat.

"Uh, no, no.  I can take care of this, feel free to leave, just... take care of yourself, alright?" he smiled worriedly.

[Saccharin]

Vomas was to the door before he fully registered that Kerr had said more after giving him permission to leave. He hesitated in stepping out only long enough turn back and say: "That\'s the plan," with a smile.

*~*~*

He\'d made a beeline for the elevator, but rather than punching the button that would take him to his floor, he pressed the one that would take him to the 22nd. The ride was a relatively quick one, but in his impatience, it felt like it took forever.

As soon as the doors slid open, he hurried through, not utilizing his vampiric celerity, but certainly walking at a fast clip - fast enough that he nearly passed the door he was searching for. He backpedaled and turned, intending to raise his hand to knock, but he instead glanced down at himself to make sure he was presentable. After tightening his tie and rebuttoning his black suit jacket, he finally did rap his knuckles just beneath the peephole.

He felt a surge of panic when he realized he didn\'t have a clue what he was going to say, and if he\'d had it to do over again, he would\'ve waited to knock until he\'d figured it out. But it was too late now, because he could hear Sam nearing the door. The best he could do now was put on a smile and try to look casual.

[Existentially Odd]

Sam was not long back from work and had only just settled on a means of distracting himself from thinking about texting Gene (an action he\'d eventually decided would be very stupid at this hour); he was sprawled on his stomach on his couch reading, leaning on his elbows, his knees bent and his feet hooked together in the air behind him.  The knock at the door startled him until he scanned to find out who it was, and then he was simply baffled.  Happy, but baffled.

Leaving the large tome with heavy leather binding open on the sofa, he pushed up and off and walked to the door, considering his attire.  Vomas would no doubt disapprove of the fact that he\'d walked in, kicked off his shoes, pulled off his socks and tossed them with his shirt into the laundry basket in his bedroom.  His pants had swiftly followed and he was currently clad only in a pair of blue boxer briefs that didn\'t leave much to the imagination - not that his boss exactly needed any.

Weaving slightly on his way to the door in order to put his shoes together near an armchair (that he was dismayed to note sported another discarded shirt and tie puddled upon it) and out of the walkway, Sam became philosophical about his lack of clothing.  He hadn\'t been expecting company (though he certainly wasn\'t disappointed that this particular company had turned up!) and he had every right to wear what he wanted in his sort-of-messy home.  If Vomas didn\'t like it, he didn\'t have to stay.

In fact, because Vomas had never visited him, Sam could only assume he wouldn\'t stay long.  For the situation to be reversed, he believed his boss to be there on business.  He went to Vomas\' place for sex, but he couldn\'t imagine his lover being that hard up for it he\'d come calling instead of just texting him; he cast his phone - sitting on the coffee table in amongst a higgledy-piggledy collection of about eight books - a suspicious glance over his shoulder, as if it might have deliberately kept a key text from him.  But he\'d had it with him all night, it was charged and not muted, he was sure that this surprise visit was exactly that... so his boss would have to live with the consequences.

Apart from the briefs, Sam wore a cheeky smile when the door opened.  "Vomas!" he exclaimed his surprise and stood there just long enough for his boss to look him over and get the full effect of him standing in the open doorway - with him, his very proper and righteous employer calling! - before he relented with just a tiny giggle.  "Come in," he instructed, reaching out and grabbing his boss by the arm, half hiding himself behind the door as he pulled him in and shut the wooden portal swiftly.  He hoped no-one had seen the swarthy oligarch outside his door, or his little tease would rain merry hell down upon him.

"This is a surprise!" he quipped, lifting his arm and running a hand through his hair, smoothing it into some arches that framed his mischievous expression charmingly.  The other hand toyed idly with the waistband of his boxers, as if it couldn\'t decide whether to go for a nonchalant rest on his hip, a cavalier strip-off or a nervous adjustment - all of which would draw attention where he didn\'t think it was warranted right now.  Either way, he didn\'t approach his boss, still running on the notion that this was some sort of urgent business call, rather than a pleasure-driven visit.  If he got too personal when Vomas was here to discuss work, it would annoy his employer no end, so he was best to stay a few steps back and play it safe for now.