Disclaimer: Okay folks, you know the drill. This is a fictional story with fictional characters and completely fictional business entities. Any resemblance to anything in the real world is purely coincidental. This story does revolve around a gay relationship and portions of this story may be inappropriate for minors. Check your local laws for whether this has been censored in your jurisdiction.
This is not a stroke story, and the relationship will likely build slowly: you are forewarned.
This is my first attempt at a story, so any and all feedback is appreciated. Feel free to email me at: juris_stories@yahoo.com
Thanks and I hope you enjoy!
The Emerald Merger, Chapter 4
"The Announcement"
"Hey Stranger!" Coral screamed at Nathan as he entered the café. "You hungry?"
"Yeah, I could eat." Nathan said smiling at Coral.
"Good, I got some black forest ham that is to die for. I will make you up a sandwich." Coral said scurrying behind the counter. "You know, you haven't been around to see me much lately."
"I know. I have just been really busy at work, you know?" Nathan responded.
"Oh, trust me I know. Working at those big companies downtown is hell. They want you to eat, sleep, and breathe the company's vision of paving the rainforests and all that other shit." Coral said with a smirk.
Actually, Nathan didn't doubt that she did know all about it. Prior to releasing her inner-Diva, Coral had been "Cory Kapacheuwitz," a Harvard-educated up and comer who had used his MBA to rise all the way to the Head of North American Operations at an auto parts manufacturer. Apparently, sick of the bullshit and the way he was living his life, Cory had shown up at a Board Meeting in a lavender Chanel Business Suit and matching lavender heels. He was terminated approximately 12 seconds later.
"It has slowly gotten better, but things are still crazy. You know how that is. But hey, it is Sunday, and I told myself I am doing no work today!" Nathan announced with a smile.
"So what is on your agenda?" Coral asked as she plopped down a ham sandwich in front of Nathan.
"Well, Kris doesn't seem too interested in leaving the apartment unless it is to go to the mall, but I need to get out and get some air. I am going to run down Woodville park and see if I can get someone to play a few sets of tennis with me."
"Honey, if I still had your waistline you know I would be up to going a few rounds with you," Coral said winking at Nathan.
"I know you would," Nathan said with a mouthful of sandwich.
"So how are things with the new boy toy?" Coral asked innocently.
"How can he be the `new' boy toy if there hasn't been any other recent boy toys?" Nathan inquired.
"You know what I mean."
"Things are good, I think. I mean, I do like him and I think he likes me. Physically things have been moving along nicely." Nathan said as he blushed a little bit.
"Well, if I find out you haven't been wrapping that thing of yours I will come up there and break your skinny neck." Coral said shaking her finger in Nathan's direction.
"Yes, mother," Nathan said sticking his tongue out at Coral. "Besides, we haven't progressed that far yet."
"Really?" Coral asked somewhat too quickly. "I figured you guys would be all over, and in, each other by now."
"Well, I have decided to wait. Honestly, I like him a lot, but I wanna be sure, you know?"
"That's my boy," Coral said kissing Nathan on the forehead.
"Well, Rick should be in for his shift soon so I think I am going to get back in the kitchen. You better put some more face time in here, you understand?" Coral asked sternly.
"Yes dear." Nathan said smiling. "Have fun in the kitchen, I need to get going anyway," he said standing to leave.
"Oh, I forgot to ask you," Coral said before Nathan could reach the door. What was with the British guys last week? Is it some kind of security check for work?"
Coral's statement caused Nathan to freeze in his tracks.
"British guys?" he asked spinning around to face Coral. "What British guys?"
"Honestly, I don't recall their names." Coral said. "They came in and asked a bunch of questions about you, where you were from, how much time you spent at home, what type of people you had coming over to your place... you know, that kind of stuff."
Nathan tried to process all of this new information. Who the hell was trying to get information on him? It couldn't be for work... he already went through the pre-employment screening and no one there spoke with anything outside of the monotone Midwestern accent. What is with the odd influx of Brits in his life and, more importantly, what the hell did these want?
"Coral, do you remember any details? How many were there? What did they look like? Are you sure they were British?" Nathan asked.
"There were four of them and they all had those funny earpieces with the cord that runs down into their collars like Secret Service agents. Two were definitely English and the other two may have been Scottish or Irish, honestly, I don't really have enough experience with either to tell them apart." Coral said. "They asked a few questions, looked around, and then left. Were they from work?"
"I don't think so, they wouldn't be from work. I am not sure what they wanted, but I definitely want to find out." Nathan was lost in thought as his brain tried to make sense of this new information. He wandered out the door without saying another word.
Nathan was obviously distracted as he lost a quick match of tennis to a middle-aged soccer mom. He couldn't seem to concentrate and luckily, he wasn't a competitive type guy when it came to sports. His loss had clearly made the soccer mom's day and she practically beamed with excitement after skunking Nathan in the last set. He imagined her driving her Lexus SUV over to Panera to gab with all of the other soccer moms about how she just completely destroyed this hot twenty-something with crazy hair on the court. The thought made him laugh to himself.
Being a good sport, he ran up and gave her a celebratory hug. She took the opportunity to give him a quick peck on the cheek.
The brevity of the match meant he had barely worked up a sweat, but the prospect of another disastrous match was too much. Maybe he just needed to go home and go to bed for the next three months. He had just decided to pack up when a familiar voice called out in his direction.
"Hey, Irishman! You up for a match?"
Nathan didn't have to look. He knew that soft Irish accent anywhere.
"Let's go carrot-top." Nathan said as he glared at Sean with a smirk. He calmly walked back onto the court and waited for Sean to serve.
After a relatively sedate beginning, the match became more and more intense and each participant was shouting out Monica Seles- like grunts with each volley as they attempted to best each other.
Nathan had never been competitive about tennis in his life, but for whatever reason, he wanted to completely crush Sean. Nathan gave everything he had and he soon realized Sean was doing the same. As they played, Nathan had the opportunity to study Sean's movements and form. Though he was on the short side, Sean was extremely athletic and quick. His powerful forearms flexed with each movement of his racquet. As an added bonus, Nathan also got a peek at Sean's flat stomach as Sean lifted his shirt every once in a while to wipe the sweat from his brow.
There was something almost erotic about the way the two guys were attempting to beat each other on the court. The sweat began to soak their shirts as each player matched the intensity of the other shot for shot. Nathan began to become aroused as he intensely studied Sean. Soon, the actual tennis ball became secondary as Nathan and Sean locked eyes during play. Nathan was beginning to lose focus and could feel his cock slowly start to swell. He needed Sean right now. The look Sean was giving him suggested that Sean felt the same way.
But he also had to win. It was the last set and he had a chance. He needed to try to exert some type of control over Sean and the whole situation. Every time he had ran into Sean he felt like he lost control and now he had a chance to regain at least a portion of it. He tried to refocus on the ball. He began to make long forehand shots across his body, slowly edging Sean further and further to his right. Nathan knew that he had him and all it would take was a quick forehand to the far corner. Sean was struggling to keep up with the ball as it edged on the outside. Sean made the best backhand shot he could under the circumstances and Nathan turned his body to make his shot up the line. Victory was to be his.
Nathan began his swing but felt a something hit the back of his head before he could make contact with the ball. He fell down with a thud as everything went black.
"Aye, you okay?"
Nathan's head was throbbing. He could hear Sean asking him a question, but it was taking a while to process what exactly was being asked. He decided to take a chance and slowly open his eyes. At first, the light was blinding and everything was fuzzy. Nathan paused and tried to focus. When his vision finally cleared, Nathan found himself staring into those perfect light blue eyes. The moment, however, was short lived as Nathan remembered the pain in the back of his head.
"Fuuuuck," was all that Nathan could manage to say as he grabbed the back of his head. "What the hell happened, my head is killing me."
Sean grinned. "You got blind sided by a bloody baseball. Looks like you took a right good walloping."
"Christ, was I knocked out?" Nathan asked a bit embarrassed.
"Just for a bit," Sean responded as he helped Nathan to his feet.
Nathan couldn't help but acknowledge the close proximity of Sean's body to his. He leaned into Sean struggled to his feet. The smaller boy's body easily provided support for Nathan's taller frame. Nathan took the opportunity to let himself take in the warmth of Sean's body. In this vulnerable position, the contact for Nathan was less erotic, than it was tender. Sean was obviously concerned for Nathan and Nathan's feeling of being connected to Sean only grew stronger.
While Nathan's emotions were struggling with this new contact with Sean, Nathan was trying to gain his bearings. They were standing under a pair of giant buckeye trees about 200 feet away from the tennis court. Off to his far left a baseball game was underway, and Nathan assumed that was where the rogue baseball had come from.
"If I was knocked out, how the hell did we get over here?" Nathan asked slightly confused.
"What, you think I'm not strong enough to drag you over here?" Sean asked with a smirk.
"Well, its not that..." Nathan tried to explain.
"Ah, I am just messing with you. Some guys that were playing on the other court helped me get you over here out of the sun."
Nathan didn't remember anyone else playing tennis, but then again, he had been pretty fixated on Sean.
Sean walked over to a nearby picnic table and sat down on its top with his feet on the bench. He patted the spot next to him indicating that Nathan should sit down with him.
"You play a mean game of tennis." Sean said as Nathan sat down.
"You're not so bad yourself," Nathan responded.
"Nah. You were about to kick my ass." Sean said with a wink.
The two sat quietly for quite some time, content to watch the park-goers walk by. Nathan considered bringing up the British guys that Coral had spoken about, but he also didn't want to ruin the moment.
"Are you happy with your life?" Sean asked breaking the almost 15 minutes of quiet companionship.
In most circumstances, Nathan would consider such a question to be completely inappropriate, but for some reason, it seemed like a perfectly legitimate question coming from Sean.
"Not really," Nathan responded staring off into the distance.
"Hmpf," Sean grunted obviously expecting more.
"You ever feel overwhelmed?" Nathan asked.
"Most days," Sean after a contemplative pause.
"I guess I often feel paralyzed by the world. If you look at the world around you, all the pain, all the suffering, the global destruction, the wars, the killing, the senseless violence, the famine, the hate... it is all rather exhausting. I want to do something with my life, ya know? Want to make a difference. But I am just not sure how to go about it from a realistic standpoint. I am only one person."
"All of the greatest men and women throughout history were only one person," Sean said quietly.
"I just don't think I have the strength." Nathan said.
"Maybe you just need some support," Sean said half to himself.
"I used to think I could save the world. But how can I save the world when I couldn't even save my own brother?" Nathan asked not expecting a reply.
Sean didn't say anything and they both continued to sit there staring off into the park.
Nathan felt drained. His head was still throbbing. He wanted nothing more than to cuddle up next to Sean and take a nap. Luckily, Nathan wasn't quite that delusional.
"Well, thanks for helping me out. I should probably get going." Nathan said standing up.
"Yeah, okay. Maybe see you around?" Sean asked hopefully.
"Probably. We seem to keep running into each other." Nathan said with a grin. "When do you fly back?"
Sean seemed to be caught off-guard by Nathan's question.
"Whaddya mean?" Sean asked.
"Unless EIE is establishing a U.S. office, I would assume that you would be heading home soon." Nathan said hoping to gain a bit of information.
"It's a shame we have to talk about business," Sean said evasively.
"We don't have to if you don't want to," Nathan said though he hardly meant it.
Sean sighed.
"Look, let's just say that I will be over here for a while. Okay?" Sean said. "I live practically every minute for the company, and right now, right here, with you, I am rather enjoying being away from work."
Nathan could understand where he was coming from. Sometimes it was hard to get away from work. Nathan thought about the British guy he always saw Sean with. Nathan could imagine that guy being a complete ass to his employees.
"If you don't like your job, why don't you quit?" Nathan asked.
"I never said I didn't like it," Sean said defensively. "Besides, I can't just walk away, there is too much at stake."
Nathan was expecting more but it never came. It seemed Sean was done talking.
"Well, I better get going. It was really nice spending time with you today," Nathan said looking over at Sean.
"It meant a lot to me. Thanks." Sean said.
"Well, I really would like to maybe do something again with you sometime," Nathan said as he felt his cheeks flush a bit.
"Don't worry," Sean said as he started to walk away. "I will be in touch soon."
Nathan was left standing in the middle of the park trying to figure out what exactly was meant by that.
"So why didn't you call me last night?" Kris asked as he and Nathan sat down to eat lunch at the OMA cafeteria.
"I crashed pretty early. This week has been a killer." Nathan responded noting that, once again, Kris was concerned that Nathan wasn't calling him enough.
In fact, it had been a rough week for Nathan. Though he was getting his work duties sorted out, Nathan now felt his personal life spinning out of control. Each evening he had helped Allie pack up this week for her move to D.C. That had been a long and emotionally draining process as each item that was put into the Bekins boxes reminded Nathan of his past times with Allie.
Rick had been spending more time over at Sarah's as their relationship seemed to be full steam ahead. Nathan truly missed his talks with Rick and now realized how much he had relied on his friend's advice and guidance when things were bothering him.
Nathan's encounter with Sean had seemed odd, yet comfortable. He had sort of appeared out of the blue last Sunday. Do people in real life get stalked or is it just a Lifetime Television for Women kinda thing? It wasn't that Nathan minded. Talking with Sean had been the highlight of the week, but it had brought about some unintended consequences. First, he was concerned that is growing fascination with Sean would eventually affect his relationship-if that is truly what they had-with Kris. Second, his conversation with Sean seemed to rehash a lot of the feelings brought up his first week of work with George. Is he selling out?
And then there was Kris. Nathan knew that he really liked Kris. For the most part, Kris was easy to get along with and the physical attraction between the two had only intensified over the past couple of weeks. Their make out sessions had become much more intense and, much like two teenagers, they had gradually moved from kissing to grinding to stroking to sucking. It was a progression that Nathan was enjoying immensely. Nathan, however, had, thus far, avoided taking the final step with Kris, and though Kris had practically begged to have Nathan enter him, Nathan had insisted they wait. Needless to say, the issue was becoming a bit of a bitter sticking point between the two.
"Hello. Earth to Nathan." Kris said with a perturbed look on his face. "Did you even hear me?"
"Sorry. I spaced out a bit. What were you saying?" Nathan asked hoping not to get Kris too worked up.
"I asked what we were going to do this weekend." Kris said.
"Well, I figured that maybe we could go to the art museum on Sunday." Nathan said with obvious excitement in his voice.
"Oh, okay." Kris said slightly scrunching his nose.
"Well, we don't have to if you don't want to, but you had said you have never been." Nathan said.
"Well, no, I have never been. I am just not sure that is something I would want to do this weekend. I was thinking that we would try to get tickets to see Brandy up in Columbus on Saturday night and then just lay around on Sunday."
"You know we can't do that on Saturday night, because of Allie's going away party." Nathan said annoyed that Kris had forgotten about the party.
"Why does she need a party?" Kris asked. "She is going to come back quite a bit. Plus, it isn't like they don't have phones in D.C^Å you will get to call her all the time. Besides, Brandy is only playing like 32 concerts this year."
"Look, I don't want to argue about this. I have to go to the party. I am co-hosting the damn thing." Nathan said with a smile. He was desperate to resolve this quickly and amicably.
"Fine." Kris said.
"Look, I will make it up to you. Allie will be gone and we can spend all of next weekend together doing whatever it is you want to do. Okay?"
"You promise?" Kris asked hesitantly.
"I promise."
"Good." Kris said with some excitement. "I will get online and plan out our weekend."
"Great" Nathan said relieved that Kris seemed happy again.
After saying goodbye to Kris, Nathan made his way to the Starbucks in Central City to get a frappaccino to carry him through the afternoon. A venti vanilla bean frap had become his weekly guilty pleasure.
As he came out of the Starbucks, Nathan noticed what seemed to be a certain degree of chaos had overtaken Central City. People were scurrying across the common-ways and the noise volume had increased exponentially. Nathan at first thought that it was a fire or something, but no one seemed to be heading for the exits to the building. Before Nathan had a chance to ask someone what was going on, a voice blared from the building's PA system.
"We are asking that all executive level employees please report to the Hamilton lecture hall immediately for further instructions. All union shop stewards should report immediately to the Office of Labor Relations. The OMA legal team is directed to report immediately to the Board of Director's suite on Level 18. Non-essential employees, please resume your normal activities."
"What the hell could be going on?" Nathan thought to himself as he quickly made his way towards a bay of elevators. As he rounded the corner George was holding an elevator door open for him.
"Do you know what the hell is going on?" George asked Nathan as soon as the elevator doors shut.
"I was kinda hoping you would be the one filling me in." Nathan responded.
"My guess is that it is pretty serious," George responded.
"Ya think?" Nathan asked as the adrenaline rush continued to build.
"Look, you feel comfortable briefing the Board of Directors?" George asked in a serious tone.
"Why the hell would I address them? You will be there." Nathan said as he began to panic.
"I have no idea what they want. The usual story is that they have gotten themselves into some shit and they need legal to get them out. Not knowing what the hell is going on makes it hard to anticipate what will be asked. We field what we know, okay? If it is mergers and acquisition question, I will let Matt handle it. I can respond to any labor and employment issue. Jeremy can handle bankruptcy if that is the issue^Å and for the sake of our jobs, let's hope its not. That leaves you to discuss any potential international question. Stick to what you know and if you get a question you absolutely can't answer, bullshit. Got it?" George said has he straightened his tie and the elevator doors slid open on the 18 floor.
Both George and Nathan walked out of the elevator with as much confidence as they could muster. The Board's receptionist quickly ushered them into a large conference room where old men, most of which Nathan didn't recognize, were quietly talking amongst themselves.
"George, thanks for coming on such short notice," a particularly stout gentleman said as he shook George's hand. "We should begin."
Everyone took there seats. Nathan quickly figured out that in addition to the four members of the in-house legal team being present, 7 members of the Board of Trustees were also there. What Nathan guessed was the Chairman of the Board was conducting the meeting.
"Gentlemen, we have a bit of a crisis on our hands and we need options, immediately." Chairman Manley said slowly to the four attorneys now sitting together at the end of a long ornately carved conference table.
"Mr. Chairman, we will do what we can, but we are going to need to know what exactly is going on." George responded in a deferential tone.
"Gentlemen, as of 11:40a.m., Emerald International Enterprises acquired 38% of all outstanding shares. According to our calculations, with the expected support of dissonant minority shareholders, this gives EIE complete control over the company. OMA has been a victim of a hostile takeover. What are our options?" the Chairman asked matter-of-factly.
"Sir, I will let Matt, our mergers and acquisition lead counsel respond," George said looking at Matt.
Matt then proceeded to take the Trustees step by step through the takeover process and what to expect. Nathan heard none of it.
"EIE has just bought us out?" Nathan thought to himself. "Sean didn't mention anything about it. But maybe he didn't know. Maybe the old British guy doesn't tell Sean everything. Then again, if he did know, since he knows that I work here, he probably wouldn't want to tip me off. What if last Sunday he just wanted to probe me for information? Of course, he really didn't ask much about the company. This is probably why he was going to be in town for a while. Does he know I could lose my job over this whole mess?"
"Nathan, why don't you explain your take to the Board?" George asked bringing Nathan out of his thoughts.
"I am sorry Sir, what exactly was the question?" Nathan asked embarrassed.
"The Board needs to know if there are any international hurdles that EIE must overcome prior to the purchase. George said.
Nathan knew he needed to think quickly.
"Actually, gentlemen, Ireland is going to have little restrictions on the purchase of overseas corporations. The EU is only going to govern intra-European acquisitions. We will need to do an Ireland-specific review of applicable treaties in place to determine if there are any restrictions. Additionally, we should immediately get in touch with our contacts in the Defense and State Departments. They may be able to convince the SEC to block the sale of the shares to prevent the active military contracts from coming under foreign ownership and control." Nathan said, surprised at the ease at which he was able to switch into his lawyer persona.
"Very well, I see there isn't much we can do right this instance. Let's reconvene tomorrow morning." the Chairman stated as he dismissed the legal team.
"Well done boys," George said to attorneys as they all entered the elevator. "Now, we have a lot to get done before tomorrow morning. It is going to be a long night, so I will order pizzas."
There is Chapter 4. Sorry it took so long, work has been rough. I will get out the next chapter as soon as possible.
Thanks for all of the feedback so far. I really appreciate the words of wisdom, encouragement, and even the constructive criticism.
Email me at juris_stories@yahoo.com