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Yes, that would be very wrong.
Professional. Think professional thoughts.
“So, um, I was telling Grey that I brought that estimate I promised. I also sent a copy to Dane,” Gio repeated, feeling like an idiot. Why could he be charming and full of confidence when he was in a bar, but throw him into everyday life and he sounded like a boring moron?
“Great,” Lucien said, accepting the folder. “I’m sure Clay and Dane will look it over when they get home later tonight or tomorrow morning. Do you need a response from him soon?”
“No, not at all. Soon would be good, though. I’ve finished up my last restoration project and right now, I could devote all my time to the pieces he and I talked about. If he waits and I take on some new jobs,” Gio paused and shrugged. “I’d have to split my time. It would take longer to get things back to him.”
“I don’t think we’re in any rush to get things done,” Lucien said. “And we’d be happy to see you around the place.”
“Though we do value your time. Thanks for the heads-up,” Calder added.
“I appreciate that.” He dropped his hand to his side and tried to pull himself together. “I did chat with Dane through email, and he said that I could take one of the chairs to sort of test-restore. Just so he could see the before and after. I can show you the email chain if you’d like.” He started to reach for his phone, but Lucien’s low chuckle had him stopping and shivering for a new reason. Dear God, when that man laughed, it was like someone was caressing his fucking balls.
“We trust you, Gio,” Calder murmured.
The tall Black man leaned close. “It’s not like we don’t know where to find you.”
Oh, hell yes. Find him, pin him, kiss him, fuck him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Calder had stepped closer to them both. Gio wanted to reach out and seize Calder’s lips just to feel the man melt against him while Lucien moaned hungrily in his ear.
No! Professional thoughts!
He could do this. Professional thoughts didn’t make him hard. They made him money.
Gio cleared his throat. “The chair.”
“Yes, the chair,” Lucien echoed with a shaky laugh. They all exchanged looks that convinced Gio they’d had similar thoughts. “Let’s head up to the attic and find that chair.”
Thankfully, Lucien led the way up the stairs with him and Calder following behind. They made some awkward chitchat about the weather, but at least it helped to preoccupy Gio’s mind partially rather than focusing on the perfect roundness of Lucien’s ass or the fact that Calder was right behind him and could so easily reach out—
Fuck, thinking professionally was hard.
In the attic, he finally pulled his brain out of his pants. Dane and whoever the hell else lived here had a fucking gold mine. It was beautiful. He wanted to get his hands on nearly every freaking piece. When he sent his estimate in to Dane, he’d found himself praying that the man would accept. And not only because this would net him a damn nice profit for the year. Some of these pieces could easily be sold at a Christie’s auction for thousands of dollars in the exact state they were in. He could be working on museum-quality pieces—things he might never see again in his lifetime.
When he’d offered to restore one of the chairs at a steep discount just so Dane could see the quality of his work, he’d already had a chair picked out. It was gorgeous with its intricate scrollwork and hand-carved details. The upholstery needed to be completely replaced, but he had a woman who specialized in the re-creation of antique styles. She’d be able to hook him up with what he needed. Especially if he let it drop that he’d gotten his hand on original works from Meeks and Phyfe.
All in all, the chair would take him maybe ten hours to complete, but if it was the only piece from this collection he was able to touch, he’d enjoy every second of it.
“Do we need to wrap it in some of these drop cloths?” Calder inquired when Gio pointed out the chair he was taking.
“I’ve brought along some special padded cloths I plan to wrap the chair in before putting it in the truck.”
“Oh, yeah. Stupid me.”
Gio couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and placing his hand on Calder’s shoulder. “Not stupid at all. It makes me happy to hear you’re thinking of ways to protect this stuff. All of it needs to be preserved.”
“Calder’s always a very thoughtful guy,” Lucien added softly.
The smile that grew on Calder’s lips was a sight to behold, causing a lump to swell unexpectedly in Gio’s throat. It was as if the man grew an extra inch under Lucien’s praise and he glowed from within.
