Page 66 of Pretty ’n Peak

“No worries. We’ll make it work.”

“Can you work remotely?” Neil’s voice identified him as the third person in the room.

Austin sighed. “I didn’t even bring my laptop. It doesn’t do me any good without a four-foot screen.”

“And if you did have a four-foot screen? Could you use VPN or something?”

Austin considered. “Probably? Do you have one?”

“In fact, I do. I use it for conference calls. You can have my office and laptop for the day if that helps.”

“Really? You don’t need it?” He didn’t know much about Neil’s job, just that it was separate from running the lodge.

Sebastian’s voice broke in. “My baby boy’s not allowed to work this weekend. The office is yours.”

Gratitude for the offer mingled with his frustration at the situation. And behind that was something like envy. Sebastian and his boy had a beautiful relationship—that casual control and care over someone who gave it freely.

How could Austin ever maintain a relationship with a sub when he didn’t put any limits on his own work?

Following Neil across the atrium to his office was a welcome distraction from his thoughts. Neil’s office was appointed with a heavy wooden desk that they turned to face the wall-mounted screen. They closed the blinds, blocking out what must have been an inspiring view of the gorge. Then he sunk into Neil’s chair, which was far more comfortable than his own.

Whatever Neil did, he got to do it from a lovely space, probably with his Daddy bringing him snacks and checking in on him throughout the day.

Austin sighed. What would Mateo think about him working all day? Would he be disappointed? Or just move on to someone else?

Did it really matter anyway, if it was just a few scenes at a kinky weekend?

Austin returned his focus to getting logged in on Neil’s funky ergonomic keyboard and navigating the security to get to work. He plugged in his phone—fortunately Neil had the same charger—and called Ryan back to get started.

Code scrolled up the screen, and he was quickly sucked into the puzzle.

God, what the hell had they been thinking?

And was the documentation up to date? Dammit.

When a knock came at the door—minutes or hours later, Austin didn’t know—at first he only registered it as an annoying distraction. It took a second knock for him to realize what it meant.

“Come in,” he called distractedly, eyes still fixed on the screen. Even with the text so large that it held only forty words or so, he still had to concentrate to read everything.

“Hey, Austin.”

Mateo. That was Mateo. Austin couldn’t help the surge of excitement.

Though he noticed that he was back to a first name today, not Daddy.

That was probably better. No, definitely better.

He gave one last look at his lack-of-progress, then swung his chair around. Mateo deserved all of his attention, even though the list of modules to check was still swirling at the back of his brain. “Hey, Mateo. How are you?”

Mateo took a few steps into the room, and Austin was tempted to pull him onto his lap.

“I’m good. Sebastian told me to bring you some breakfast.”

Austin tried not to let anything show in his expression. Was Mateo here because he wanted to be, or just because Sebastian was trying to push them together?

“Thank you. What time is it?”

“Ten. The second breakfast shift just ended.” Mateo pushed a plate across the desk.