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"Whoever they are, they will be your perfect match," Sloan assured.
CHAPTER SIX
Paul was dropped off at his apartment, and suddenly, he began thinking desperate thoughts. Would Sloan call him, would he meet him later like he promised, would he ever hear from the man again? His spirits were decidedly deflated by the time he was inside his apartment. Looking around, he realized there was no evidence that Sloan had ever been there apart from the food containers in the trash.
His phone rang, and he was shocked to see it was his immediate supervisor. Maybe they were rescheduling his meeting on Monday, but that would usually be handled with an email, not a personal call. "Hello." The call was cold and pointed and lasted about thirty seconds. He had just been fired.
His boss accused him of not maintaining his workload to his specifications, which was not true because he’d always told Paul that his work was good and thorough. He had never told Paul otherwise until this minute. He didn’t give Paul a chance to speak and simply told him he wasn’t a right fit for the company. Paul thought that was the biggest tragedy of the day until he heard a knock at his door approximately one hour later.
He opened the door to a group of movers who claimed they were there to evict him from his apartment. "You can't do that." Paul insisted, but the men walked in and instantly started emptying his place and dropping everything on the front lawn by the curb. They stacked it nicely, and some of the things he was able to put in his car, but they gave him no time, and within twenty minutes, the place was empty, and he was being ushered out by security.
"This isn't legal. You can't just notify and evict me at the same time." Paul was trying to reason with security, but they were just doing as they were told they had no power. They handed him a copy of his contract and then put a new lock on the apartment door and left him there outside with all his things.
He sat down on the curb and began flipping through the contract that, apparently, he had not read through before signing. The company owned the apartment complex, and he resided there at their leisure. They held the right to evict without notice for any reason. Why hadn't he read the contract more thoroughly? He assumed it was like every other rental agreement, and now here he was on the curb.
They sent him an email letting him know about his final check and where he could pick up his personal things from the office. He didn’t have to worry about that since he never left anything in his cubicle. They owed him rent since he’d paid for the month and was evicted before the month was over, but they didn’t mention that point. He was splitting hairs, but he wanted his rent, so he sent an email to his boss and requested his prorated rent payment.
Paul looked around at his furniture and belongings piled around him, and his mind just went blank. What was he supposed to do now, and where and how would he transport his things? He closed his eyes and dropped his head into his hands. How could so much go so wrong so fast? When he looked up, he saw a car he recognized, and wouldn't you know it, this day just got a little bit worse.
There, sitting across from him, was Joshua, staring at him with a look of shock and amusement. Of course, he'd find this funny; the guy was a ghoul, and nothing made him happier than to witness someone in pain. He pulled his shiny car up close to where Paul was seated so he could just lean out his window and talk to him.
"What have you gotten yourself into, Paul?" He tried to sound concerned, but there was a grin playing about his lips and a glint in his eyes.
"I decided to move," Paul said the first thing that came to mind.
"Rather abrupt, and if I were you, I'd get this furniture covered because there is rain on the way." He actually laughed at him. "You are such a mess." He said and then spun his tires, leaving the parking lot. Paul checked the weather forecast, but they weren't calling for rain, so Joshua was just being his charming self.
Dorian would let him stay with him, but he didn't want to impose, so he started checking around for pay-by-the-week motels where he could stay until he got things settled. He also needed to find a moving company to take his things to storage, and he needed to find a storage company. What a headache.
Sloan was finishing up when he felt the first stab of panic that radiated across his chest and down to the pit of his stomach. He couldn't identify the source at first, and then he heard the name Paul, and everything he was feeling made sense. Something was happening to Paul. "I have to go. My adored needs me." He said and rushed out of the room and across the garage to his car. The matter with the wolves was handled for now, and they would wait to see if they wanted to take this further or if they were ready to abide by the agreement they had signed.
Once he was on the road, he put in a call to Paul. His concern grew when his first call went to voice mail, but Paul answered his second call. "Are you alright, Paul?" He asked, needing to hear his voice and know he was well.
"It would probably be best if you didn't stop by today. I have a lot of things I'm dealing with at the moment, and it wouldn’t be very comfortable for you. Maybe we can get together another day.” Paul sounded utterly defeated.
"I'm almost there; I'll see you shortly," Sloan said and closed the call before Paul could say more. He wasn't physically hurt. Sloan could sense that he was okay in that respect, but his heart and his emotions were shattered. Someone hurt him, and Sloan was going to make sure they paid.
When he drove into the parking area, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Paul was sitting on the curb, surrounded by all his belongings. He had been evicted, and Sloan could feel the flood of sadness and pain that Paul was experiencing wash over him, and his anger exploded. He parked and took a couple deep breaths, calming his vampire instincts that told him to kill everyone who had a hand in the pain of his adored.
Paul had his head down and didn't notice him until he began walking towards him. He looked up, and the humiliation coloring his expression tore at Sloan's soul. He had to listen and comfort his adored first, and then he'd go kill someone.
"Oh, Sloan, it kills me to have you see me like this." Paul was on the edge of tears, but he was managing to hold back. Sloan didn't want him to hold back; he never needed to hide himself in any way. Sloan sat down next to him and gathered him into his arms, and as soon as he did, the tears broke, and Paul began to cry.
Sloan did not comment. Simply let him release and purge the tension and upset of the day. It was several minutes before he settled, and the tears became ragged breaths, and then he was calm. He still held tight to Sloan, but the stress and the strain were draining away. "Tell me what happened," Sloan said softly against the side of his head. Paul had his face pressed to Sloan's chest and took several deep breaths before attempting to explain.
It became apparent rather quickly that Paul did not have a clear understanding of why he was fired and evicted, especially without any warning for either. “I took a week off to deal with the breakup with Joshua, but I hadn’t taken time in over a year and had plenty of vacation time.” Paul was trying to figure out what the issue really was because there had never been any complaints regarding his work in the two years he’d worked at Austen Fields.
Sloan pulled out his phone and made a couple of calls, and very shortly, a truck pulled up and began loading Paul's things. "I’ll have your things put into storage." He told him, and although Paul looked apprehensive, he did not contest. "Once your things are secure, I'm taking you home with me. You will stay with me. I have plenty of room."
"No, I can't ask that of you. We just met. You don't owe me anything, Sloan." Paul was shaking his head but did not try to pull away from Sloan.
"We have a bond, Paul, don't fight it. We just met, but we are meant to be together. You know that as well as I do." Sloan laid it out plain and clear. That caught Paul off guard, and he just stared at Sloan for several minutes, not saying a word. "You brought me a stranger home with you last night. That is not something you would normally do, but you sensed our connection and knew you were safe." Paul started nodding his head, taking it all in.
"I was simply looking for a quick hook-up with no intention of staying out all night, and then my eyes found you, and everything changed." Sloan smiled down at Paul. "You're beginning to see it clearly now, aren't you?" Paul's eyes had lit up, and recognition was shining through.
"Yes, I think that I am." He spoke softly as his eyes traveled over Sloan's face. "I feel safe with you for no apparent reason." He smiled. "I seem to know things about you, things I don't recall us discussing personal things, and I see you a little bit differently every time I look at you."
"In what way, my darling? Tell me what you see." Sloan wanted him to express what he was sensing, get it out in the open, and they could start to discuss Paul's blossoming new awareness. For now, he was not taking it seriously and writing it off as assumptions and remnants of previous discussions, both of which were false. He was starting to get a glimpse of the paranormal world and a glimpse of Sloan's world.
