Julian saw that he would be making more introductions as the rest of the guys joined him. For now, Mr. Upton was preoccupied with the girls.
"Is that him?" Rico asked. "Look at him strutting his moneybags."
"I want to be that guy, but with a bunch of hot guys around me," Stan said seeing Mr. Upton laughing it up with the girls. "What is he, like a hundred?"
Rico shushed him. "Keep it down. That's Julian's boss."
"Now you're mister decorum," Wyatt said to him and got a glare in return.
Mr. Upton was too busy chatting with the girls to notice the rest of them. Stella was by far the most receptive to his charms, and the other girls seemed happy to let her monopolize him.
Eventually, Julian did get to introduce everyone else as well. Mr. Upton seemed a little surprised that he was meeting so many people. "To think you used to be downright antisocial," he whispered to Julian.
Rob and Danny were the only ones Mr. Upton still had to meet, but they were with the other kids watching some apple carving. When they all finally came over, Julian started with Rob. "This is my boss, Mr. Upton. This is my boyfriend, Rob Gerric."
Rob looked a little startled at that, and Julian wondered if he was really surprised. It was who he was after all.
Julian was about to introduce Danny and the other kids when out of nowhere he heard a very unpleasant voice behind him. "I guess someone got a promotion," Pete Thayer said with a mean little chuckle.
Julian spun around. He couldn't believe his eyes. What was Thayer doing here? Dismayed and furious, Julian had to contain his reaction while Thayer smirked. Then suddenly, Rob was standing between him and Thayer.
"Yeah, I got a promotion. You here to congratulate me?" Rob asked Thayer, his voice pure menace.
"Who is that guy and why do I want to see Rob mash his face into the dirt?" Rico wondered from right behind Julian.
Seeing how Thayer and Rob eyed each other, Mr. Upton looked between them then sighed. "Pete, you're making friends everywhere you go," Mr. Upton said. He patted Rob on the back lightly to let him know to stand down. Stern-faced and protective, Rob wasn't eager to step aside but he did. "Pete, you did tell me that Brenner knew you were tagging along."
"Oh, I did mean to tell him, but then I got busy," Thayer lied.
Julian stared at him in disbelief while Thayer fixed him with a cadaverous smile. Mr. Upton seemed to know he was lying, but only harrumphed in response.
Danny came to stand close to Julian and grabbed hold of his hand. With an unhappy expression, he stared fixedly at Thayer.
"And who's this young man?" Mr. Upton asked, smiling down at Danny.
Right now, Danny wasn't paying any attention to Mr. Upton. He was furrowing his brow at Thayer and refusing to take his eyes off him. Rob stood as if to shield both Julian and Danny. He wore a dangerous look while his sister looked worried for him. Upton didn't fail to notice their reactions and how the mood had turned sour.
Thayer was acting like nothing was wrong and he and Julian were just going to chitchat, like any two colleagues who happened to run into each other. "I just couldn't resist a small town festival. Had to find out what was keeping Brenner here when there's work to be done back at the office," Thayer said.
"Now, now, Pete. Julian more than pulls his weight," Mr. Upton told him. "Why don't you go buy some souvenirs for your lovely wife."
Thayer didn't like being dismissed, but he had no choice but to leave. He shot Rob a venomous look, saying, "Nice to see you again." Then he pointed his fake smile all around and sauntered away. Soon he disappeared into the crowd, and Julian breathed a sigh of relief.
"That boy is a killjoy," Mr. Upton said. He turned his attention back to Stella, and she positively beamed at him. He offered her his arm, and they walked on together.
Julian was so glad Thayer was gone otherwise he would have to put on a mask and pretend to have a polite conversation with him in front of Mr. Upton and everyone else. As they all continued to explore the festival together, Julian couldn't help glancing around for Thayer, and he caught Rob doing the same thing, but there was no sign of him.
"I swear that was like you were in high school all over again," Christie said while glaring at her brother.
"Who was the creep?" Lara asked.
"Yeah. I noticed we didn't get introduced to him, and for the record, I'm fine with that," Stan said.
"I wanted to mace him," Raquel said and everyone gaped at her.
"And you're supposed to be the nice one," Rico said but she just shrugged.
"That was my boss, for now," Julian told them.
