Excerpt - Only In His Dreams by Shawn Lane

As promised here is the excerpt from March 14th's release, Only In His Dreams. This is a bit of a teaser for Barnaby and Nathan whose relationship is covered in April's Only For Him.




Travis, sitting behind his desk the next morning, handed the bills as well as the promotion letter to Barnaby Lassiter, his young admin assistant. Barnaby had been standing next to his desk for several minutes, fidgeting. He doubted the younger man knew how to stand still.

Barnaby shifted from one foot to the other and back again and then popped his gum. “Is that it?”

Travis looked up, noticing for the first time the plum blush Barnaby had splashed across his normally pale white cheeks and the matching plum lip gloss lining his lips. And then, of course, there was the eyeliner. He blinked. The dyed blond hair looked freshly done and a new salon style to it.

He cleared his throat. “Weren’t you sick yesterday?”

“Uh-huh.”

Travis gestured to Barnaby’s hair.

“Just cause I’m sick doesn’t mean I don’t need to look good, boss man.”

“Right.” Travis nodded. It was a good thing Barnaby was damn good at his job. He handed the last document to his admin. “The first stack goes to Darrell and the last one to Mary.”

There was a short knock on the door and then it opened to reveal Nathan. He carried a file in his right hand and a white paper sack in the other. Nathan’s thick glasses had slipped down his long nose. After he pushed them up, his gaze briefly rested on Barnaby, before sliding away. He cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“You’re not. We’re finished.” He waved Barnaby away.

The blond sauntered over to the door to his office where Nathan still stood lingering in the doorway. “Good morning, Mr. Llewellyn.”

Eyes downcast, Nathan mumbled, “Morning.”

Barnaby disappeared beyond the door and to Travis’s surprise, Nathan stuck his head around the corner to peer outside the office in the direction the young admin had gone.

“Something you want to tell me?”

Nathan walked in and closed the door, his face red. “What?”

“Have you got the hots for Barnaby?”

“What? No? Barnaby? No way. He’s so…so—”

“Cute?” Travis supplied neutrally.

“Yes. No. Sort of.” Nathan shrugged. “He’s not my type. Here, I brought you a bagel and cream cheese to make up for forgetting your birthday.” He thrust the bag at Travis and sat in the chair in front of the desk.

Travis had to admit that his admin assistant was hot, but he reminded him of Alan. He had adored Alan, but the last thing he wanted was another boyfriend like Alan. Never mind the secretary aspect. “So, you’ve no interest in him at all?”

“God, no. Never.” The redness in his cheeks had deepened. He held up the file he’d brought with him. “I wanted to ask your opinion about the Peck case.”

* * *
Darrell didn’t even have to turn around to know who was standing behind his chair, even before the dramatic sigh announced his arrival. He could smell Barnaby several feet away. Or rather Barnaby’s expensive cologne
.
He turned to face Travis’s assistant. Barnaby flashed him a smile he was sure had been used on many a sucker. “Good morning.”

“Hi there.” Barnaby leaned on the cubicle wall. “I was told to give you these.” He handed a thick stack of papers to Darrell. “And also this.”

Darrell took the plain envelope from Barnaby. His name was neatly scrolled on it.

“Congratulations, D. The promotion is well deserved.”

“Thank you.” He stared at Barnaby when he noticed the man wasn’t leaving. “Anything else?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to have lunch with me today.”

“Lunch? Well, I…that’s probably not a good idea.” Darrell fidgeted with his letter. He didn’t want to hurt Barnaby’s feeling or anything, but he really didn’t see anything between them.

Barnaby rolled his eyes. “It’s just lunch, D. With a co-worker. We’re not going to have an afternoon delight or anything.” He gestured to the letter. “And since you’re rich and all, you can buy.”

“Me?”

“Yep.” Barnaby glanced at his watch. “I’ll come by your desk at eleven-thirty. Don’t worry, I know your car’s in the shop so I’ll drive us.”