Merritt's Story Excerpt (p2ch14) (Patreon)

Hey guys!  As you might already know, my publishing deadlines have been killing me, so Merritt's Story updates have been a little sparse.  But the next chapter is with the beta readers now, so I'm aiming to have it posted later in the month!

In the meantime, I'm sharing an excerpt of one of my favorite parts of the chapter.  For a bit of background, Merritt is at Yackley's on his day off, but he's trying to get a chance to talk to Belmont about some North Sphere business.  Belmont just finished winning a card game in which he challenged a face-off by dropping a scandalous rumor about Troy and Gray being an item. ^_^

And here's the excerpt!

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The crowd around Belmont had dissipated. Before anyone else could approach him, Merritt hurried to his side.

“Hey,” Belmont said, a wide grin on his face. He held up a stack of money, flipping through it so Merritt could see how thick it was. “It’s been a good day. Don’t ruin it.”

“Troy and Gray?” Merritt asked with a subtle smirk.

“He bought it.”

“If that rumor takes off, they’re both going to come after you.”

“Ah, but isn’t it worth it?” Belmont leaned forward. “It wasn’t all bull, you know. The two of them really are pretty tight.”

“If you say so,” Merritt replied doubtfully.

Fanning Merritt with his stack of money, Belmont said, “How about I buy you two thousand glasses of Focus in mineral water?”

Merritt examined Belmont. “How high are you right now? I needed to talk to you about something important.”

“How dare you? I’m not high at all!”

He was higher than Merritt had realized at first glance. He’d hoped they could drive elsewhere to talk, but that looked to be out of the question for now. “This is a sensitive matter. We can’t talk out here.” He pointed across the room. “We can go to the stairwell.”

“You’re inviting me to the stairwell with you?” Belmont asked with a devious grin. “Can I bite you this time, or are you going to body slam me and dislocate my arm?”

“No biting. Just talking.”

“Imagine the rumors when people see us going into the stairwell together.”

“I’m not worried about rumors.”

Merritt waited for Belmont to peel himself out of his chair and get to his feet, and then they headed to the stairwell together. Once they were alone with the door closed, Belmont groaned, turning away from Merritt as if trying to conceal something. “You go to the stairwell, you’re supposed to have sex. I’m like Pavlov’s dog here.”

Realizing what Belmont was saying, Merritt blushed. “Do you need a minute?”

“Nah. Just start talking business. That should take care of it.”