“Have you ever thought of opening your own bakery?”
The way Peri blinked in confusion made Wash think he hadn’t. Which was a shame. Peri’s desserts were amazing. Andwhile he selfishly wished he could keep them all to himself, he knew how happy it made Peri to share them. Even now, just making them for his friends, he was beaming and practically dancing as he followed the staff out to the dining room so he could share his creations.
Peri set a plate down in front of Taron, who looked surprised and delighted. “What’s this?”
“A treat since you got hurt. Churro crullers and cream cheese pastries. All easy to eat so you won’t have to have anyone cut up your food for you. Bon appétit!”
The rest of the company all gathered to grab their own treats while Peri stood by with a bright smile on his face. Maybe he hadn’t considered this as his career, but Wash was going to look into it. This was what made Peri happy. He deserved to have a job that made him smile.
Twenty-Eight
“What are you looking at?” Peri asked curiously.
They’d finished up with breakfast, as well as another meeting with Ozen, though that one was legitimate and not a huge waste of Wash’s time. Discussing the future of the company and where they want to expand research in each division was actually interesting, and Wash had plenty to say about it. But now that the meetings were done and lunch was being served, Wash was getting suspicious. Taron had been too quiet the past hour. He sat with a small group of people in the corner, whispering to each other, and for some reason, Wash felt dread settle in his stomach.
“What did the schedule have next?” he queried without looking away from the troublesome group. Any group with Taron and Kian together spelled trouble.
“Um…” Peri pulled out his phone to check. “Looks like it's blocked off for another team building activity.”
“Does it say what kind?”
When his boyfriend shook his head, Wash felt the dread only get heavier in his gut. The first team building activity wasn’t as terrible as he thought it could be, but he was pretty sure Tony had set that up. The second wasn’t that bad either. He wasbeginning to think his luck was starting to run out. Taron being in charge of the next event wasn’t a good thing.
“Is something wrong?”
He jerked his chin in Taron’s direction, eyes narrowed. What were the chances he could get close enough to listen to whatever they were suggesting without Taron noticing. When he’d overheard Taron on the phone the day he’d come to Peri’s house to pick him up, Taron had mentioned jet ski races. Wash had warned him there was no way Supernatural Resources would sign off on that, especially with literally every division lead in attendance, but Taron had said it’d be fine. If the shapeshifter actually planned on going through with it, Wash could almost guarantee someone was going to get hurt. Taron got hurt during a treasure hunt. Putting him on a jet ski would be so much worse.
“What do you think they’re planning? Whatever it is, it can’t be good.”
Peri snickered, leaning over to press a kiss to his hair. “Grumpy demon. Stay here. I’ll find out what Taron has planned.”
Why did that not make him feel better? Taron was totally capable of corrupting his boyfriend. Peri was too sweet and innocent to realize the chaos Taron was capable of.
Flitting over to the group, Peri was immediately invited to join them and a stool was pulled up so Peri could look over whatever notes they were taking. He waited for Peri to balk, or look concerned, but maybe he should have thought it through before agreeing to Peri joining that group. He might not see the red flags like Wash would.
Peri nodding enthusiastically made Wash want to get up to check on them, but before they could, a familiar voice spoke over his shoulder.
“Why does that grouping make me feel concerned?” Elijah asked.
Wash grunted in agreement, narrowing his eyes on Peri as he leaned in to look at whatever Taron was pointing at. “They’re planning something.”
“Planning what, though? Have you asked?”
Huffing a dry laugh, he was going to ask if Elijah seriously thought they’d share with him, knowing how Wash felt about all this. It was only when he looked up that he remembered who was speaking to. His amusement died on his lips, and he looked away again, replying with a quick, “No. Peri was supposed to be finding out.”
For a long moment, the silence stretched between them. Wash could feel Elijah’s eyes on him, but he refused to look at his brother. The sad looks Elijah gave him were going to start getting to him soon. He could only hold out for so long.
“Wash…”
Wash looked up, startled. Since when had his brother decided to call him anything but Hugo?
If he noticed Wash’s reaction, Elijah didn’t draw attention to it, his gaze across the room to where his anchor was speaking with Ozen. He drew in a deep breath, and when he looked back down again, his expression was a complicated mix of emotions Wash had no hope of deciphering.
“I was wrong. Pushing you away like I did. I didn't understand why you were fighting. I–” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “I won’t force you to talk about it if that’s not what you want, and I won’t bring it up again. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I never wanted to lose you.”
He moved to walk away, pausing to speak over his shoulder. “They’re planning a relay race. Alistair says it sounds fun. Nothing too crazy.”
Wash glanced at the group again only to find Alistair leaning over the back of Taron’s chair, pointing at something that made the whole group nod, and Taron scribbled something down. He had been speaking to Ozen a minute before, he hadn’t been anywhere near the group. So then why…