Impress Me Not: The Handyman

Chapter 23

Niko was absolutely fuming. Out of all the times his father had to act up, it had to be with Solomon? He knew his father wasn't going to like that he brought him, but he didn't have to act incredibly rude to the man.

"You didn't have to act like that around him, you know," he frowned at his father. Solomon had gone to the bathroom at the moment. Everyone else in the party seemed to like him. He was great at working through a crowd.

"And you didn't have to bring him," His father gave him his infamous look of disapproval. "What were you thinking when you brought him? Now everyone's going to think you're gay."

"I don't care," he rolled his eyes. "Let them think what they want. I just wanted to bring him."

"And he's the one that you so adamantly pursued for the ad?" his father asked.

"He's an amazing model," he smiled when he thought back to the photoshoot. "You'll love the final product! It's going to be great!"

"It probably would have been if he cut his hair," his father frowned.

"Angel said that it gave the style a unique look that would pop out to consumers," Niko told him. "It's always a good thing to try something different with projects like these anyway. The more you keep to the same type of model, the less likely people are to pay attention to it."

"Well, it's not in my hands anymore," his father sighed. "I wish all the best luck in cleaning up the aftermath of it, though."

"Oh, spare me," he said. This was the main reason why he didn't want to ever see the man. Luckily, they never talked unless it was absolutely necessary. "Why did I have to go to this party anyway?"

"There's a new associate here," his father pointed towards a slightly greying man. He had reddish brown hair and a kind face. "Arthur Kingston. He doesn't own that big of a business, but it generates more wealth than all the rest of the downtown businesses combined."

He was going to ask which one he owned, but then he realized that asking him would mean that he had to talk to him more. So, Niko just started walking towards the man.

"Niko!" a woman stopped him. She was one of his flings from months ago.

"Courtney!" he forced a smile when he saw her. "How are things with you?"

"It's going good," she pouted a little and widened her eyes when she looked up at him. "It would be better if you and I still had our fun nights, though."

"It's over, Courtney," he shook his head. "It's been over for three months."

Courtney was a girl who was fun at first, but his interest in her died out quickly. She was absolutely obsessed with him whenever she saw him. And he hated when women got obsessed with him. It usually just meant that they wanted his money, or the power that he had through his networking.

With Courtney, he was sure that it was a mixture of power, and a dash of crazy. She was the daughter of one of the smaller companies that they had partnered with. And she was absolutely positive that the only reason they partnered with her father's company was because of her.

"But it doesn't have to be over," she pouted. She tried to lean into him a little, showing off the cleavage that he knew she was doing on purpose. That dress was much too small on her.

"It is," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

He smiled right when he had seen Solomon walking out of the bathroom. He really didn't give himself enough credit when he said he was just dressed plainly. The man stood out in a crowd no matter what he wore. And tonight, he was absolutely gorgeous.

He ignored Courtney's calls for him and went straight for Solomon. He seemed to be a little lost. Those hazel eyes were looking around every which way to look for him. Before he could get there, or signal to him where he was, there was another man who came up to him.

"Arthur?" he heard Solomon say.

"Solomon?" the man looked at him in shock. "Is that really you?"

"I didn't think I looked that different," Solomon smiled at Arthur. "It hasn't been that long, has it?"

"Well, no!" Arthur laughed a little. "I just didn't expect to see you here of all places!"

"Hey Solomon," Niko finally got through the crowd to where they were. "I was hoping you wouldn't get too lost."

He looked to see the man that his father was talking about smiling at him. He didn't look like he was the richest business owner in all of downtown. His brown eyes had a softness to them that wasn't like most of the people there.

"Hey Niko," Solomon smiled at him too. He liked when he smiled at him. He looked gorgeous when he smiled. "This is an old friend of mine: Arthur. Arthur, this is Niko."

"Nicholas Bennet, right?" Arthur stuck out his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Niko shook his hand. "How do you two know each other?"

"I was about to ask the same question," Arthur looked at him a bit confused. "But, then again, everyone knows Solomon, so I shouldn't really be asking."

"Everyone?" Niko gave Solomon a curious look.

"I met Niko recently when doing a modeling gig," Solomon explained to Arthur. Then he turned to Niko. "I met Arthur, actually, when one of his dogs came up to me."

"I can never get her out of that habit of doing that," Arthur shook his head. "She does that with Anton every time she sees him."

"How is Anton?" Solomon asked him. "Is everything at his coffee shop going well?"

"Yeah!" he absolutely beamed when he asked him that. "Linda was so happy that he's kept it up and running for her. She's having such a hard time with the baby coming."

"A baby?" Solomon raised his eyebrows. "You didn't tell me that you two are having a baby!"

The conversation traveled to the table where everyone was just sitting down to eat. That's where he really learned about the business man. With Solomon there, the man completely opened up. Apparently, he owned a restaurant for both people and their pet. Niko had heard of places like those, but he never knew just how close one was to them.

Some of his other associates seemed rather shocked at how much Arthur talked. When he asked them why, they said that the man hadn't really said much of anything to them. They had been wanting to form some partnerships with him for a while. It took them years to even convince him to go to one of these parties.

The look on his father's face when he realized that Solomon had just helped them tremendously with concreting a friendship with their business and his was priceless. He looked like steamed broccoli.

"So," he got Solomon's attention when he was finally done talking. "You're just the AC guy, right?"

Solomon just laughed. He laughed whenever he brought that up. He looked so nice like this. It only made him want to make him laugh more. Even the sound of it was addictive.

"Arthur really is a good guy," Solomon told him. "He actually works with this rescue all the way outside of the city. He absolutely loves animals."

"It makes sense considering what his business is."

"Oh yeah. You should really try the food there some time," Solomon smiled. "Even if you don't have a pet, the food is great."

"You'll have to show me it sometime," he winked at him. Solomon didn't seem like he was expecting that. He looked shocked, but still had that beautiful smile on his face.

"Maybe," he gave him a playful look.

Niko had never had to work too hard when it came to getting whatever person he wanted. He definitely never had to work this hard. Usually, they fell for him easily. But Solomon wasn't like the women that he had been with his whole life. He was one that took more time and a bit more effort.

And, for the first time in his life, he was enjoying the chase.