Boystown Season Four Read online

  “You found it,” Gino said. “I thought it was lost in the fire.”

  “Nope,” Justin said. “I saved it. So, will you please marry me?”

  Gino pulled Justin up off his knee and folded his arms around him. “Of course, I will. Yes, Justin, I will marry you. Nothing would make me happier. I love you.” He kissed Justin.

  “I love you, too,” Justin said, slipping the ring onto Gino’s finger.

  “It’s fantastic,” Gino said, admiring the ring.

  “So are you,” Justin said, kissing his fiancé once again. Then he joked, “Now how about we dig into this breakfast that I worked so hard to cook for you?”

  Gino smiled. “Sure.”

  While Gino and Justin enjoyed their engagement breakfast together, Jesse and Cole finished their workout and headed down to the athletic club locker room. Getting undressed for the shower, they stood in front of their lockers.

  “Well, I still think we should get a referral for Logan so he can get some professional help,” Cole said.

  “I know. But my first goal is to get him to the birthday party. I think that would really help him -- to be around friends in a safe setting.”

  “Let me know how I can help,” Cole said, wrapping a towel around him and closing his locker.

  As he turned to head to the shower, he walked right into Derek Mancini, also in a towel, who was returning from his shower.

  “Excuse me,” Cole said looking up to see it was Derek. “Oh, hey.”

  “Cole,” Derek said, smiling.

  “What’s up? I’m surprised to see you back at the gym so soon.”

  “How are you doing, Derek?” Jesse asked.

  “I’m coming along, thanks. Doing some rehab and almost healed,” he said as he twisted his body to show Jesse and Cole the scars from his gunshot wounds.

  “Looking pretty good,” Jesse said.

  “Can we talk a minute?” Derek asked.

  “I have to get going,” Cole said.

  “Please,” Derek pleaded. “Just a minute.”

  “You okay?” Jesse asked Cole.

  “I’m good,” Cole said. “You go ahead.”

  Jesse nodded and said, “Okay, catch you later. Bye, Derek.” He headed off toward the shower.

  “What’s up?” Cole asked.

  “I wanted to apologize again, for everything.”

  “It’s water under the bridge at this point, nothing to worry about.”

  Derek looked around to make sure no one else was around. “I want you back.”

  “Derek, you know I’m with David now.”

  “So you say,” Derek stated. “But you know it’s not what you and I had.”

  “What we had? What did you and I ever have? Lots of talk and no future.”

  “You knew my situation was complicated. Things are easier now. Better for us.”

  “Derek, there is no ‘us.’ I’m sorry to say.”

  “At least have dinner with me, so we can talk more. And come back to work with me.”

  Coming from the showers, Dustin Alexander approached the two men. “Hey, Cole.”

  “Hi, Dustin. What’s up?”

  “Please,” Derek persisted.

  “I have to go,” Cole said. “I have an appointment.”

  “Call me,” Derek said.

  Dustin opened his nearby locker and then extended his hand to Derek. “Hi, I’m Dustin Alexander. You’re Derek Mancini, right? I recognize you from your press conference last month.”

  “I’m sorry,” Cole said. He introduced Derek to Dustin. “Derek Mancini, this is Dustin Alexander.”

  Derek shook Dustin’s hand. “Good to meet you.”

  “I’ll see you two later,” Cole said, heading into the shower area.

  “How are you doing? I heard about the shooting,” Dustin said as he started to get dressed.

  “Good, thanks.”

  “I work with your brother and Max. I’m the manager of their restaurant and club.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Emmett mentioned you recently. Good to finally meet you.”

  “Thanks,” Dustin said. “I’m sure he told you that rebuilding has already started. I guess we owe some of that to you.”

  “Me?” Derek asked, getting dressed.

  “Your relationship with the mayor since bringing your company’s headquarters here really helped cut through all the paperwork and bullshit so we could get started with the rebuild.”

  “Wow,” Derek replied, smiling. “I didn’t realize. Good to know.”

  “We’re all very grateful. The place will be bigger and better this time around.”

  “I’m excited for them,” Derek said, “and you. I’m sure it’ll be great.” Dressed, Derek closed his locker. “Well, I have to head to work. Good to meet you.”

  Dustin smiled and watched Derek leave. Then he mumbled, “Again...”

  When Derek arrived home, his brother Emmett Mancini was sitting at the breakfast bar in his kitchen having a cup of coffee and some cereal.

  “Good morning,” Derek said as he entered the kitchen and tossed his gym bag onto the counter. Then he grabbed a protein drink from the fridge and walked over to the counter.

  “Hey,” Emmett said.

  “I just met your manager Dustin at the gym. Seems like a nice guy.”

  “He’s a good worker,” Emmett said.

  “He said the rebuild is coming along.”

  “Thank God,” Emmett said, “sooner than we ever imagined.”

  “That’s good,” Derek replied.

  “Listen, Derek, I want to apologize again for this whole mess with my shares of the company. I’m so sorry.”

  “Our lawyers are on it,” Derek said, picking his work briefcase up from the stool and placing it onto the counter. “We’ll get it fixed.”

  “I just wish I could remember signing those papers. For a while there, I just wasn’t myself.”

  “And you don’t remember signing the documents at all?”

  “Most of the weeks leading up to the fire are a blur for me. I honestly don’t recall ever signing papers -- let alone for Rachel Carson of all people.”

  “You seem to be back to your old self again, which is what really matters.”

  “I have no idea what was wrong with me, seems to have gone away as quickly as it came.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay. Don’t worry about the documents. We will get them thrown out.” Derek pulled a large envelope out of his briefcase and tossed it onto the counter in front of Emmett. “And speaking of documents...”

  “What is this?” Emmett asked as he opened the envelope and removed their contents. “Oh, no. Divorce papers from Joyelle.”

  “Yep,” Derek said. “I guess it’s really over.”

  “I’m sorry, Derek. I know this must hurt.”

  “More than I thought it would. First, I lost my children in an explosion and now I’ve lost my wife, too.”

  “You’re not going to contest it?”

  “There’s no reason to,” Derek explained. “If Joyelle were still carrying my twins, I’d fight to keep my family together. But she’s not pregnant anymore and she wants out.”

  “And what about Cole? You once said you loved him.”

  “He says he’s with David now, but I know him better than that. I know I can get him back.”

  “Is that what you want? Do you even know who would make you happy?”

  “Emmett, someone tried to kill me. I almost died. I don’t take anything for granted anymore. I intend to fight for what I want: the company...and Cole.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” Emmett said, sipping his coffee. “I should go. I need to meet up with Max and Dustin before I pick up my dry cleaning for the birthday party.”

  “...that I’m not invited to.”

  “I had nothing to do with that. It’s a birthday party for David and Tyler. Did you really expect to be invited?”

  Derek let out a laugh. “You guys and your drama.”

&n
bsp; “Call it what you want. It’s still best for everyone -- including you -- that you’re not there.”

  “Well, do me a favor and let the birthday boys know that they don’t stand a chance against me. I’m coming for them.”

  Emmett stood up to leave the room. “Now who’s the drama queen?” Emmett smiled at his brother and left the kitchen.

  While Emmett headed to meet Max, Logan Pryce was seated at his desk in his office. He was reading emails from his computer and then turned to a desk drawer. He reached inside, pulled out an open bottle of wine, took a swig, and returned the bottle to the drawer. After reading a few more emails, Logan looked toward his office window.

  “Knock, knock,” David Young said as he entered Logan’s office with a small mat rolled up under his arm.

  “David,” Logan said, turning toward the door. “What are you doing here?”

  “We had a physical therapy appointment this morning that you missed.”

  “I’m sorry,” Logan lied. “Things have been pretty busy here and I needed to get in early today.”

  “Well, guess what?” David asked, smiling. “Your physical therapy session has come to you.” David unrolled the mat onto the floor. “Let’s go.”

  “David...”

  “Logan, you can’t keep missing your therapy. We need to strengthen your arm and core. I understand that it wasn’t too long ago that you broke that same arm.”

  “I’m fine,” Logan insisted.

  “You’re fine when I say so.” David walked over to the Logan and grabbed his hand. “Come on. The sooner you start, the sooner I’ll leave you alone.”

  “Okay, okay,” Logan said, getting up from his chair.

  “And you’re coming to my birthday party, right?”

  “I don’t know...”

  “No excuses,” David said. “Jesse will bring you and it’ll be fun.”

  “I--”

  “Shh. Don’t piss off the birthday boy.” David winked at Logan and began his session.

  At the same time, Gino and Marco Ciancio were seated at a table in Boystown Bistro waiting for their meeting with Cole.

  “And you’re really going to marry her?” Gino asked, taking a sip of his cocktail. “You don’t even love her.”

  “Who said anything about love? Marrying Rachel is a business transaction, that’s all.”

  “Come on, Marco. What would Mother say about that? You know how disappointed she’d be.”

  “The same disappointed woman who had an affair with Mancini? Clearly, her marriage vows didn’t mean much to her, either.”

  “That’s not fair. You know how much she loved Father.”

  “I know,” Marco agreed. “But this is different. This marriage is going to get me a larger chunk of Mancini Global.”

  “And when those documents are proven to be bogus? Then what?”

  “If that ever happens, then it’s goodbye Rachel.”

  “Why don’t you just concentrate on recovering Mother’s artwork? Sounds like she’s got something for us in the one she wrote about.”

  “My man is buying up as much of the collection as he can locate.”

  “And there are no more ‘missing pages’ of the diary, like the few I know you ripped out?”

  Marco smiled and sipped his drink. “I promise there are no more. You have now seen the entire diary.”

  “Thank you,” Gino said. “And how do you intend to break the news to the affected people?”

  “I have an idea.”

  “Something discreet, please,” Gino stated, “as it’s going to be a shock to them.”

  “I know,” Marco said. “Father was stunned when I told him, too.”

  “Mother had a lot of secrets. Some Aunt Connie wasn’t even aware of.”

  “Well, we are uncovering them all, one by one,” Marco declared, “and using them to our advantage.”

  “Be careful, brother of mine. I don’t want to hurt the people affected. It’s a lot of information for someone to absorb.”

  “Understood,” Marco agreed, reaching across the table and grabbing Gino’s hand to look at his new ring. “And what about this? Are things with Justin and you finally official?”

  Gino smiled widely. “They are.”

  “Well, I’m happy for you,” Marco took another drink from his glass. “Wow, I never thought I’d see the day a Ciancio would marry a Mancini.”

  “What can I say? I’m a trendsetter.”

  “I assume you’ll have a pre-nup.”

  “Why? Do you think Justin is marrying me for the same reason you’re marrying Rachel.?”

  “He’s a Mancini. He’s not to be trusted.”

  “He’s going to be my husband and you need to watch how you talk about him. Our families will all be one big family soon.”

  “Like a fucked-up reality TV family, eh? Hardly.”

  “Just leave Justin alone.”

  “It’s not personal, it’s business. And you know me -- I take care of business.”

  “Speaking of which, look who’s here,” Gino said, standing up to greet Cole as he approached the table. “Cole, it’s great to see you.”

  “You, too,” Cole said, shaking Gino’s hand and then Marco’s before sitting down at the table.”

  “Glad you could join us,” Marco said.

  “I was excited to get your call.”

  “Good, because we have some exciting news for you,” Gino said, raising his hand to call the waiter over to the table. “What would you like to drink?”

  “An iced tea would be great,” Cole said.

  Gino smiled. “This is a celebration. Have a drink.”

  “Okay,” Cole said. “Vodka soda, please.” The waiter nodded and walked away to get Cole’s drink. “I’m sure you can understand that I’m eager to hear what your ideas are.”

  “Well then, let’s get right down to business,” Marco said.

  “Five years ago, Ciancio International began our fashion division by purchasing a large, upscale clothing company and rebranding it as our Cio line.”

  “I know it well,” Cole said, as the waiter returned and placed his drink on the table in front of him. “Thank you.”

  The waiter walked away.

  “Well, our sales have recently begun to slump and our clientele is trending a bit older.”

  “We need to change that,” Marco added. “Appeal to a younger audience and have our designers become a bit edgier, so we can beat out our top competitors.”

  “That’s where you come in, Cole. We want you to be the new face of the Cio line -- literally. In addition to becoming co-head of the Cio marketing team, you will also be our new lead model.”

  Cole looked stunned. “What?”

  “Look at you,” Gino said. “You’re young and handsome -- and you know what you want. You are exactly what the Cio line needs.”

  “This is incredible. I don’t know what to say,” Cole said.

  “How about ‘yes’ or ‘thank you’?” Marco asked.

  “Yes,” Cole said, smiling. “And thank you.” Cole took another gulp of his drink. “You know I have never modeled before?”

  “You’ll be a natural,” Gino reassured him. “Our team will work with you. You’ll be a household name in no time.”

  “Wow,” Cole stated.

  “Salary, benefits, travel -- the whole package,” Gino said, handing Cole a folder with the Ciancio International logo on the cover. “And you’ll be able to work remotely from here in Chicago as much as possible. Of course, there will be travel for meetings, photo shoots, and fashion events.”

  “Gino oversees the fashion division, so you’ll be working more directly with him than me, but if you ever need anything, I’m here for you, too,” Marco said.

  “Thank you so much.”

  “Does it sound okay?” Gino asked.

  “Okay? It’s incredible. I’m overwhelmed.”

  “You saved my life,” Gino said. “I could never repay you for that. But this is a start.”r />
  “It’s amazing. Thank you. And, honestly, you don’t need to repay me for anything. But I am very grateful.”

  “Welcome aboard,” Gino said, smiling.

  While Cole, Gino, and Marco continued their lunch together, Max Taylor was at the restaurant site. Since the fire, the entire space had been cleared of debris and the wooden frame of the new restaurant and club was being erected. Bricklayers were working on the exterior of the space while others worked inside putting up walls according to the building plans.

  Max was standing over a table in a secluded part of the new space as he looked over some of the architect’s designs.

  Quietly, Dustin snuck up and hugged him from behind. “Hey, handsome,” Dustin said, smiling, and kissing the back of his neck.

  Max spun around, startled. “Dustin.”

  “Didn’t mean to scare you,” Dustin said, stepping back.

  Jensen Stone was also in the area. In search of Max, he walked into the space where Dustin and Max were talking and, upon seeing them, withdrew just outside the doorway so they could not see him.

  “Dustin, look,” Max said. “I think you’re an awesome guy. You’re bright and sexy as hell -- and you’re a fantastic general manager for the restaurant and club. But there can’t be anything romantic between us.”

  “But at the gym--”

  “I told you that what happened in the sauna that day should never have happened. It’s my fault for letting it. I love Emmett and I’m going to marry him. He’s the love of my life.”

  “You really love him that much?”

  “I do.”

  “Then why did what happened between us happen?”

  “Like I said, it was a mistake. It happened once and it will never happen again. So please respect that.”

  “Of course,” Dustin said. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  “Thank you,” Max said. “You’re a catch, Dustin. You’ll meet the right guy for you soon, I know it.”