Gambling Debts 3/?
Chapter 3
The rumors will do the rest. The words echoed through Derek's mind. He didn't know what to say.
"Look." Mr. Stilinski clapped his hands. "I got blindsided by this too. I'm making this up as I go." The look he gave Derek wasn't that of a man who owned a casino in Vegas, it was the look of a young man who had no clue what he was doing.
"How about this, you stay the night." Mr. Stilinski continued after a moment. "We order some food and get to know each other. Watch a movie. Whatever. We sleep over this, I have a guest room for you, and tomorrow over breakfast I'm going to make you a real offer. With details and everything. Sounds good?"
Derek considered it. He could just get up and leave. He didn't know Mr. Stilinski but he had the feeling that he was a man of his word. He did consider Peter's debt paid and with that Derek was free to go. However, if he showed up at home now ... He didn't dare to think of what kind of ideas that would give his uncle. Peter would try to make this kind of deal again the next chance he got, that was for sure.
So Derek nodded in agreement. A night wouldn't hurt. And he could listen to Mr. Stilinski's offer, that wouldn't hurt either.
"Great." Mr. Stilinski beamed at him. "I'm going to take a shower and slip into something more comfortable." He tucked at his dress shirt, making a face. Normally those words would sound like an innuendo but Derek got that he really just wanted to get out of the suit.
"Feel free to have a look around." He said, already half across the room. "Oh, and I almost forgot." He was back at Derek's side, an envelope in his hand. "This is for you."
With a raised eyebrow Derek took the offered envelope. It wasn't sealed and he could see the bank notes sloppily stuffed into it.
"I can't take that."
"You listened to me talking for longer than eleven minutes." The man winked at him. "Everybody who can stand that has earned his money."
"Thank you, Mr. Stilinski." Derek accepted it, he would be stupid to say no to ten grand.
"Call me Stiles, please."
"Stiles."
Derek tucked the envelope in his pocket, he didn't need to count it to know that it was more than he'd ever seen in his life.
By now Stiles had closed the bathroom door behind him and for a moment Derek stood in the living room, not sure what to do next. Stiles had said that he could have a look around so that was what he did. The first door he opened led to a guest room. This was most likely the room Stiles had offered him and Derek had a longing look at the bed.
The room was a typical but expensive hotel room, nothing personal but comfy. And it had its own bathroom with a shower and a bathtub and more space than a bathroom should have.
Getting more adventurous Derek opened the next door. And froze. A playroom.
The large windows under the ceiling and the stone gray color, the walls a few shades lighter than the carpet, gave it an open but homely ambiance. But it was the furniture that made Derek's breath hitch.
A bed that had a few too many D-rings around the frame and on the bedposts to be just for sleeping.
A cross in the corner and a padded bench on the other side, all dark wood and black leather.
Along the wall cabinets and shelves for ropes, cuffs and toys of all kind.
Derek's throat went dry at that sight. There was a pinch of longing in his chest but it got quickly smothered by the memory of her voice.
Stop whining, it'll heal in a second, you dumb baby.
Derek stumbled backwards and crashed into Stiles.
"Whoa." The other man made in surprise. He was flailing but he caught his footing. "I probably should explain this." He made a wide gesture over the room as if it wasn't clear what needed explaining here. "I ... well, I like to dom from time to time." He cringed, waiting for Derek's reaction. Derek just stared at him until he continued to talk. "There's this club I like to go to and sometimes I bring home somebody to play with for the night. That's not exactly a secret. I think that's how your uncle came up with the whole idea in the first place." He ushered Derek out of the room and closed the door.
Derek was too stunned to say anything but now he could guess how the rumor thing would work.
"That's exactly the look every new maid gives me after she has cleaned the suite for the first time." Stiles said with a forced smile. "This room has nothing to do with you but it's fine if you want to leave now." Suddenly he looked young and unsure and Derek wondered not for the first time how old he was. He was only wearing his dress pants, he'd already shed the shirt and had lost his shoes and socks for his shower when he'd probably remembered his playroom.
"I bet the staff has a field day with this." Derek tried to break the ice.
"You've no idea how often they call me Mr. Grey when they think I can't hear them." He made a face.
"How do you react?"
"I tell them that I'm not an abusive asshole." He clenched his fists, a challenging eye on Derek.
"If you were you would have carried through with the deal." Was all Derek had to say to that.
Stiles relaxed and only now he seemed to notice his mostly undressed state.
"Okay, I should go shower." He cleared his throat. "And then we should eat something. Does Spaghetti Carbonara sound good?"
Derek would have said yes to almost everything, he couldn't remember the last meal he had that hadn't come out of a package of some kind, but Carbonara was one of his favorites so he gave Stiles a nod.
When Stiles came back after his shower, hair still damp and sticking out in all directions, he was dressed in sweatpants, thick socks and a Captain America t-shirt. Now he really looked as if he was too young to enter his own casino.
The room service brought the food and they ate at the dining table. Derek still felt out of place in the expensive interior but the way Stiles was dressed now and how he lounged in his chair helped.
Stiles did most of the talking but he didn't seem to mind. Derek learned that he had inherited the casino from his mother and that it had been handed over to him two years ago when he'd turned twenty-one.
"The Executive Board is still convinced that I'm going to burn the place." Stiles said with a bitter tone in his voice. "And this whole fiasco with your uncle will give them more ammunition. They want me to sell the Red and just leave." He stabbed his spaghetti with his fork.
"But you won't?" Derek didn't know what a casino was worth but he figured it was enough for a fresh start somewhere else. He and Laura had done that after the fire by moving in with Peter and for a while it had been good.
"It was my mother's." Stiles said, eyes firmly on his plate.
Derek didn't know what to say to that.
However, the awkward silence didn't last long and they finished their meal with light chatter. After that they moved over to the couch and Stiles started a movie.
Captain America, what a surprise. Derek glanced at the shirt his host was wearing and hid a smile. He hadn't watched the movie before and this suited him better than talking anyway. Not that Stiles stopped talking while the movie was running. It was clear that this wasn't the first time he'd watched it and he had an in-depth commentary for almost every scene. Not that Derek minded.
Halfway through the movie Derek nodded off to sleep.
"Derek." Somebody whispered and poked him in the shoulder. "Derek, wake up."
Derek startled awake on high alert. For a moment he didn't know where he was and who the man looming over him was and Derek went into full attack mode.
"Easy there." The man backed off, out of reach of Derek's claws.
Stiles, Derek remembered.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled, fangs and claws melting away. "I didn't mean to scare you." Stiles had been nothing but kind to him and he'd almost ripped him apart for that.
"It was my fault." Stiles hurried to say and didn't hesitate to sit down next to Derek. "I should know better than to poke a sleeping werewolf. But I thought you would sleep better in an actual bed."
Derek was too tired to do anything else than to follow Stiles over to the guest room.
With a "good night" Stiles left him alone and Derek stripped down to his boxers and slipped under the covers. He was asleep a minute later.
The next time he woke up, it was late in the morning. After nine if the alarm clock on the night stand was correct. Sleeping in was a luxury he didn't get often and for sure not in a bed this comfortable so he enjoyed the silky sheets for a few minutes longer before he rolled out of bed to test the shower.
He knew he should do the polite thing and have a quick shower and be done with it but the water was actually hot and the pressure not from this world. The jets dug into his muscles, loosening the knots he hadn't known where there, and for a minute he just stood there and let the water work him over.
After the shower he put on his freshest clothes and then he was ready to face his host.
He found Stiles at the dining table. Most of the table was bending under an opulent breakfast, how many people did Stiles expect, but one end was covered with papers. Stiles sat there, hunched over and dressed in the same sweatpants and t-shirt like the day before. If again or still, Derek couldn't tell.
"Good morning." Derek said, not sure if he was interrupting some important work.
"Morning." Stiles looked up with a grin.
"Have you slept at all?" Derek wondered before he remembered that it was none of his business.
"A few hours. I wanted to get this ready." He gestured for Derek to take a seat next to him. "But I think I've nailed it down." He shoved a few papers in Derek's direction.
"What is this?" It looked like some legal stuff.
"A contract." Stiles stood up and stretched. "Read it and tell me what you think. You drink coffee?"
"Personal assistant?" Derek raised an eyebrow at him.
Stiles handed him a cup of coffee with a shrug. "It's a vague enough term. It explains why you're following me around and it keeps them guessing what else you assist me with."
"You want me to come along?" He had expected that he would be stuck in the penthouse most of the time.
"Hey, if I have a werewolf on the leash I want to show him off." The last word turned into an uff when his back connected with the wall.
Before he knew it Derek had his hands fisted in Stiles' shirt and he slammed the other man into the wall without thinking.
"No leash!" He growled, his eyes flashing. "I'm not your pet." Her laughter echoed in the back of his mind.
"Metaphorically speaking." Stiles squeezed out, his eyes steady on Derek. "I would never … calm down, big guy." He patted Derek's fist and reluctantly Derek backed off. It didn't matter now anyway, he'd ruined this.
"I'm sorry." He brought some distance between them. "I'll leave."
"Hey, I sat over this all night." Stiles called after him. "You could at least read over it before you say no."
Derek stopped and slowly turned back to him. "You still want …?"
"I don't scare this easily." His heart was still beating a little fast but Derek didn't sense a lie.
Reluctantly Derek sat down and picked up the papers again.
However, before he could actually read them, the elevator dinged open and an angry looking man around Stiles' age stormed out.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Chapter 4
Masterpost