An Unexpected Love Volume 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 1Keenan ignored the loud thumping of his heart against his chest as he watched the representative from the other company, who was sitting on the chair across the table from him inside the conference room, sign on the dotted line. It was another successful transaction, and the value of the contract was more than five hundred million dollars, which officially made him the best salesperson in the pharmaceutical firm he worked at in San Francisco. He still had more than two months before the deadline of his annual goal, which was the thirty-first of December, but he exceeded his target by a large margin. At the risk of sounding conceited and arrogant, he knew he was excellent at his job. That was the reason why he was one of the few senior sales managers at the firm at the tender age of twenty-eight. He cleared his throat softly and got up on his feet before shaking hands with the other company’s representative.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Davis. Thank you for stopping by. I’ll submit the contract to the upper management before the end of the day. Once the contract is signed by the director, I’ll mail you a copy of it.”

“You’re welcome. I have faith in you, Mr. Underwood.”

Keenan smiled at Ms. Davis before gesturing at the door. “Let me accompany you to the lift.”

Ms. Davis nodded. Keenan chatted a little with her as they headed toward the lift. It didn’t take long for the lift to arrive.

“I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

Keenan beamed at Ms. Davis. “You’ll receive the copy of the contract no later than next Monday. Have a wonderful day.”

“Thank you. You, too.”

Keenan continued to grin until the doors slid shut. Then his shoulders slumped down a little. He loved his job, and he enjoyed negotiating with people, but this particular client was the most difficult yet. He was relieved he finally got the other company to agree to his terms. Granted, he lost a few items on the list, but they were minor things. He made his way back to the conference room and packed everything up before returning to his office. He had just plopped himself down on his chair when someone knocked on his office door. He bit back a groan.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Keenan was pleased when David Lee, one of his best friends and colleagues at the pharmaceutical firm, entered the room. David was the IT junior manager in the company.

“Long day?”

Keenan snorted as he rubbed the back of his aching neck. “You can say that again.”

David chortled while approaching the table. “The other guys and I are going to this new bar near to the office. Six o’clock tonight.”

Keenan sighed. “Dave, I’m—”

“Nope. No excuses,” David interrupted while occupying the chair across the table from Keenan. “The bar is still quite new. Its grand opening was less than a month ago. You missed it and the opening-week discount because of your intense negotiations with a huge and very profitable client. I heard it was finally done.”

Keenan scrunched up his eyebrows. “Where did you—”

“The receptionists,” David cut Keenan off midsentence. “They know everything.”

Keenan gaped for a second or two before he burst out laughing. “You’re a busybody.”

David stuck his tongue out at Keenan. “I’m friendly toward everybody. People love me, and they’re more than willing to share any information with me.”

Keenan smirked. “Information?”

“Whatever. I’m not here to argue with you. You’ll be coming to the bar with us later at six o’clock. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Dave, I have many things to do before—”

“It’s only forty minutes past three o’clock. You have plenty of time. Chop chop.”

Keenan rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I have enough time to—”

“Not if you keep talking to me.”

Keenan glared at the triumphant grin on David’s face before expelling his breath through his mouth. “Fine. You’re the worst friend ever. I hate you.”

David guffawed while getting up off the chair. “Liar. You love me.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Whatever. What’s the name of the bar?”

“The Overrated Llama.”

Keenan scoffed. “That’s a f*****g stupid name.”

“It’s unique,” David retorted while heading toward the door. “Besides, the owner is cute and definitely your type.”

“Whatev—Dave! What’s that supposed to mean?”

David turned around and grinned at Keenan. “Exactly what you think it is.”

Keenan groaned. “I really don’t need you or any of the other guys to be playing matchmakers on my behalf.”

David snickered. “I know, but trust me, Kee. The owner is really gorgeous. He has black hair and eyes, and he’s the same age as us.”

Keenan glared at David. “But—”

“Judging by the tight clothing on the man’s body, his lean body is to die for. His muscles are compact enough. He’s really the kind of man you’re into.”

Keenan folded his arms across his broad chest while pretending to pout a little. “How will you know my type of men?”

David chuckled. “Oh, please! Don’t act stupid and coy. That’s not your style. Besides, I’d watched you hooking up with plenty of men. You always went after the same kind of men in the past.”

“Like what?”

David pointed at his fingers one at a time. “You like them much shorter than your own height of six feet and three inches. I noticed you rejecting men with huge, bulky muscles. Instead, you would chase after those men with leaner build. I have a strong feeling you prefer men who weigh less than your own two hundred and twenty pounds. Most importantly, all your one-night stands had dark features. The colors of their hair and eyes ranged from dark brown to black. There were only three occasions when you ended up with men who had dark blue eyes and dark green eyes. How am I doing so far?”

Keenan was rendered speechless for a brief moment. “You’re…you’re terrifying and impressive.”

David waggled his eyebrows at Keenan. “I’m observant.”

Keenan scoffed. “Okay. Fine. What’s so great about the owner of The Overrated Llama?”

David beamed at Keenan. “The guy is only an inch taller than me. He’s probably five feet, nine inches tall. Based on his build, he’s approximately ten pounds heavier than me. Maybe one hundred and seventy-five pounds or so. That’s a rough estimate.”

Keenan hated to admit it, but the owner of The Overrated Llama sounded truly intriguing now. He bit his lower lip and nodded.

“Fine. I guess I can spare an hour or two of my precious time.”

David snorted. “Awesome. I’ll stop by your office at six.”

“Sure. What’s his name anyway?”

David opened the door before responding. “Pablo. Pablo Cotilla.”

Keenan’s heart felt as if it almost ceased to beat against his chest. That was a name he hadn’t heard of in years. He had also never mentioned it to any of his current friends. He gaped at David in shock.

“What did you say?”

“Pablo Cotilla. Anyway, I’ll see you at six o’clock. Later, dude.”

David stepped out from the office and shut the door before Keenan could get another word out of his mouth. Keenan raised his hand, and he wanted to call David back, but words failed him. Instead, he simply stared at the door in shock. Pablo Cotilla was someone he used to be really close with. They were both so young and naive back then, and they had made promises with each other with the purity and innocence that only children their age could possess. He wondered if Pablo now was the same person he used to know. Moreover, what were the chances of two people having the same first and last names? It took him a while to regain control over his body, but he was more or less useless for the rest of the day. He couldn’t get many things done. In the end, he gave up. He simply passed the new contract to the Sales Director’s personal assistant before packing his things up and waiting for six o’clock to arrive. He couldn’t wait to go to the bar now. He had to find out if the owner was the same guy he once knew a long time ago.

* * * *

Pablo stripped off his shirt and tied the sleeves around his narrow waist as he got behind the counter to assist his bartenders, both of whom were overwhelmed by the number of patrons on that early Friday evening. He noticed some of the customers checking out his muscled upper body, but he ignored them for the time being. The customers could ogle him as much as they liked. He didn’t mind. After all, it wasn’t as if they were touching and groping him in inappropriate manners.

As the owner of The Overrated Llama, most of his duties at the bar revolved around taking care of the financial and operational sides of things. Granted, he had two managers on varying shifts throughout the day, but he was aware of how busy the bar could be on Friday. Saturday was even more hectic than Friday, and he had a strong feeling he would also be helping out with some other tasks the next day. Not that he minded. The more paying customers he had inside the bar, the better it would be for his business.

“Hey, boss,” one of the shirtless bartenders greeted Pablo while preparing the drink for one of the customers.

Pablo grinned and nodded at the bartender before dealing with a different customer. He never demanded for his bartenders to take their shirts off, but The Overrated Llama was a bar that catered mainly to gay customers. There were also some straight women and the rare few straight men in the midst, but the majority of the customers in the bar were gay men. Naturally, shirtless bartenders were excellent for the business. However, none of his employees were permitted to have s*x with one another or any of the customers if they were on the clock. Other than that, he couldn’t care less what their personal lives were like. He simply preferred his employees to separate their personal lives from their professional lives.

“What can I get you, sir?” Pablo asked the next customer when he was done with the previous one.

“Beer. Whatever is on the tap,” the customer replied before shooting Pablo a flirty smile. “Maybe your phone number, too, if that’s cool.”

“Sure,” Pablo said before writing down the number of the bar on a piece of napkin and handing it over to the customer along with a glass of cold beer. “Enjoy.”

The customer stared at the napkin before glancing up at Pablo in confusion. “But this is—”

“I own this bar, so the phone number for the bar is technically my phone number, too,” Pablo cut the customer off midsentence and winked at the man before moving on to the next person in line.

For the next several minutes, he was kept busy with one order after another. He and the other two bartenders had to be fast and agile as they worked seamlessly all around one another behind the counter as the number of customers grew larger with every passing second. The servers also had plenty of drink orders from some of the customers who occupied the tables and couches all around the bar. The servers also had to deal with those customers who were inside the private rooms. By the time Pablo was able to take a breather, it was nearly seven o’clock in the evening. He had been standing behind the counter for almost two hours now.

He rubbed his lower back and massaged his shoulders a little as he got out from behind the counter. He had just put his shirt back on when someone bumped into him. He yelped and toppled backward because he lost his balance. However, he didn’t land on the floor. Instead, he felt a pair of warm palms against his lower neck and back before he was pulled upright. Then he gaped as he gazed into a pair of blue eyes. Those eyes looked kind of familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember where he had seen them before. Moreover, the man in front of him had the sexiest lips. Pablo would never forget those lips. He just couldn’t recall where he had seen that face before. It took him a moment to realize the man was asking him a question.

“…you okay?”

Pablo blinked at the stranger before nodding and trying not to slap his own face for acting like an infatuated teenage boy. “Yeah. Peachy.”

The unknown man laughed, and Pablo cringed at how lame he must have sounded like. Then he did his best not to blush when the man beamed at him, but he failed. He could feel the warmth suffusing his neck and cheeks, especially when the stranger shifted even closer to him. He jumped a little in surprise when the unknown man clasped his shoulders and squeezed them gently. He wasn’t timid and shy, but this unknown person was standing way too close to him. He had to tilt his head backward to stare up at the man. At five feet, nine inches tall, he wasn’t that short, but the stranger was at least six inches taller than him. The stranger’s build was also intimidating. The unknown man’s broad shoulders were impressive. It was obvious to Pablo that the stranger had plenty of muscles to spare.

“You used to be so adorable and cute.”

Pablo was confused now. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The unknown man snickered while shaking his head. “You’ve forgotten me, haven’t you?”

Pablo studied the man more carefully for the next several seconds. Then he gasped.

“Kee…Keenan?”

Keenan chuckled. “Took you long enough, you asshole.”

Pablo laughed before pouncing onto Keenan. He was amazed and more than a little turned on when Keenan didn’t even budge from where he stood. Instead, Keenan simply placed one arm around Pablo’s back and put the other hand over his butt cheeks. Pablo hugged Keenan tightly as he wrapped his thighs around the other man’s lower back.

“Holy s**t! I can’t believe this. I’ve missed you so f*****g much.”

Keenan chortled. “Yet you never bothered to keep in touch over the last few years.”

Pablo pulled back slightly and arched his left eyebrow at Keenan. “Neither did you.”

Keenan grinned. “I’m sorry. When we drifted apart, I—”

Pablo shook his head and waved one hand in the air to dismiss the apology. “It’s cool. I understand. I’m sorry, too.”

Keenan nodded. “Anyway, are you busy now?”

Pablo thought about all the paperwork piling up inside his office, but he didn’t want to miss out on the chance to hang out with Keenan. Besides, the paperwork wasn’t urgent anyway. He could always come in a little early the next day to finish them all.

“Not really. I have ample time to catch up.”

“Awesome. My friends are waiting for me at one of the tables. You should join us.”

“They won’t mind?”

Keenan smiled at Pablo before putting him back down onto the floor and slinging one arm around his shoulders. “Not at all. Come on.”

Pablo walked next to Keenan, and when they got to the table, he was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar faces. It turned out Keenan’s friends, who were also his colleagues, were some of Pablo’s most frequent customers. There were David Lee, the IT Junior Manager, Joshua Wallace, the Social Media Specialist, Vincent Yang, the Finance Junior Manager, Javier Gisbert, the Marketing Manager, Justin Wong, the Human Resource Manager, and Calvin Maxwell, the Junior Manager for the Research and Development department. Keenan himself was the Sales Manager at the pharmaceutical firm.

“Small world,” Justin spoke up a few minutes later when Pablo explained to him and the other men at the table how he and Keenan used to be really close when they were much younger.

Pablo shrugged. “Yeah. We had quite a few sleepovers at each other’s houses back then. At least twice a month. I miss those days.”

“I bet Keenan won’t mind you sleeping over at his apartment,” David muttered out rather softly. “Preferably naked—s**t! What the f**k, Kee?”

Pablo noticed David rubbing his left ankle and wincing while Keenan had an innocent expression on his face. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” Calvin replied. “Don’t mind those two. They’re both overgrown toddlers. Just ignore them.”

Pablo wasn’t sure how to react next, but he let it slide. Besides, all the other men at the table seemed amused by something. He figured maybe Keenan and David always behaved that way with each other. If no one else appeared to be concerned, he should loosen up, as well. He also didn’t get the chance to linger on his own thoughts because Keenan’s best friends bombarded him with many questions about what their childhood together was like. They were also curious about what Keenan was like as a child. He ended up spending almost two hours with Keenan and the other men at the table. He was more than a little disappointed when they decided to call it a night. However, he was delighted when Keenan’s friends embraced and patted him on his back one right after the other. Then he grew rather bashful when it was Keenan’s turn.

“Your friends are incredible.”

Keenan beamed at Pablo. “Thanks. I can tell they really like you.”

Pablo nodded. “I enjoy spending time with them.”

Keenan mock-pouted. “What about me?”

Pablo rolled his eyes. “What are you? Three years old?”

“No, but I’m jealous.”

Pablo snickered, both amused and pleased. “Don’t be. You’re the best.”

Keenan grinned widely now. “Thanks. I think you’re the best, too.”

“I know that.”

“Whatever, man,” Keenan said while scratching the back of his head. “Anyway, do you have to work tomorrow?”

Pablo smiled at Keenan. “The bar will only be closed from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day. It doesn’t close on any other days. Why?”

“I thought maybe we could have lunch together. Or dinner. Or both.”

Pablo chortled at Keenan’s reddening cheeks. “I’ll make time for you, Kee. Always.”

Keenan’s expression brightened up considerably. “Awesome. Give me your number. I’ll send you a text message tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

Once they finished exchanging numbers, Pablo tugged Keenan close to him and hugged the other man tightly before bidding him farewell. After that, Keenan made his way out from the bar. Pablo had been miserable the last time he had to say goodbye to Keenan. This time around, he was also rather sad about it, but he would get to meet up with Keenan again the next day. Granted, he would be hanging out with Keenan only as a friend even though he wished they could be more than that, but Keenan didn’t seem to feel the same way about him. He would just have to ignore his unexpected infatuation for Keenan and bury it deep within him. He didn’t want to make things awkward between them and lose his best friend all over again. It wasn’t worth it.