Chapter 17: He Can’t Get It Up?

Evan regrets coming back.

He cannot hear the caller, but Adrian’s expression grows darker with every second.

First he cancels an appointment. Then he states, with chilling emphasis, that he is not sick.

Pretending deafness seems safest.

They are still standing near the jet bridge exit, however, and the silence soon becomes painful. Evan raises his tablet.

“The manufacturing center will submit the schedule for JS-01’s first commercial batches tomorrow. Several production slots still need your approval.”

Adrian gives a curt nod. The launch is close enough that every delay now costs money, but even a production crisis feels easier to discuss than that appointment.

“Fine.”

He starts walking again as though the phone call never happened.

A few steps later, he says, “Evan.”

“Yes, Mr. Mercer?”

“Do you think I need a men’s health specialist?”

Evan nearly drops the tablet.

This is far outside his job description—and well beyond anything he is qualified to judge.

“Of course not.”

Adrian’s face remains grim. “Rosalie disagrees.”

That explains everything.

“Is Lucas back in New York?” Adrian asks.

Evan messages Lucas's assistant. “He returned two days ago. His calendar is clear tonight.”

Adrian calls him.

Lucas Grant answers after several rings, his voice thick with sleep. “Hello?”

“Drinks tonight.”

“You’re back from Australia?”

Sheets rustle. Then a sleepy female voice drifts through the phone. “Who is it?”

Adrian’s mood worsens.

“Adrian,” Lucas tells her softly. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

Adrian hears every word.

“What happened?” Lucas asks, sounding more awake. “Last time I invited you out, you said Rosalie was back and you were too busy.”

He pauses, then laughs. “Did she dump you again?”

“Ten o’clock. The usual place.”

“She did, didn’t she?”

“Shut up.”

Adrian ends the call.

Lucas comes home from vacation and spends the afternoon in bed with his girlfriend. Adrian waits five years for one night with Rosalie, only to stop halfway through.

Then she rewards his restraint by booking him a three-thousand-dollar urology appointment.

He would make the same choice again.

Five years ago, the car accident cost Rosalie their child.

The miscarriage and the emergency procedure afterward damaged her uterine lining and left scarring inside her uterus.

Her doctor warned that she would need a full evaluation before trying to conceive again.

Perhaps she has recovered since then.

Adrian has not seen her recent medical records, and he refuses to gamble with her body.

An unexpected pregnancy could hurt her whether she kept it or ended it.

Rosalie knows none of this.

She simply decides he cannot perform.

Five years away, and she is still the same infuriating little menace.

At ten that night, Lucas enters a private room at Angel Lounge and finds Adrian already drinking.

One bottle of whiskey sits on the table beside an ice bucket and two glasses.

Evan is answering emails from a chair farther away.

Lucas tosses his coat over the sofa. “You dragged me out of bed for one bottle?”

“I work tomorrow.”

“Then why are we drinking?”

“Why do you complain so much?”

Lucas pours himself half a glass and taps it against Adrian’s. “Drink.”

Adrian takes a swallow.

The burn eases some of the frustration Rosalie has left simmering in him all day.

Lucas sets down his glass. “Now tell me what she did.”

“Why assume this is about Rosalie?”

“Because ‘Rosalie dumped me’ is written all over your face.”

Adrian adds more whiskey to his glass.

Lucas grins. “So she dumped you?”

“No.”

“Then you didn’t get her into bed.”

Adrian’s hand stills.

Lucas straightens. “I’m right?”

“Drink your whiskey.”

That expression answers well enough. Lucas laughs, then wisely picks up his phone instead.

He messages his girlfriend.

Baby, I’ll be home late. Have you eaten? Tell me what you want, and I’ll bring it back.

Adrian waits for him to put the phone down. Lucas keeps typing, a faint smile on his face.

“Can you not do that in front of me?”

Lucas looks up, bewildered.

Then he remembers his best friend is apparently heartbroken and decides displaying a happy relationship may be cruel.

He puts away the phone and raises his glass. “Fine. Tonight, I’m all yours. We drink until we drop.”

Lucas drains half his glass. Adrian takes one small sip.

“You’re kidding me.” Lucas stares. “You woke me up, ordered one bottle, and now you’re nursing a mouthful like it’s precious. Did you bring me here to watch you brood?”

“Order more if you want.”

“That isn’t the point. Either drink or tell me what happened. Rosalie isn’t here. She can’t see how miserable you look.”

Adrian’s gaze turns cold. “Are you finished?”

“No. I was asleep with a beautiful woman when you called. I deserve to complain.”

Evan sees disaster approaching and pulls Lucas aside.

“Mr. Grant, perhaps keep your voice down.”

Lucas glances at Adrian, who is now staring at his phone. “What happened to him?”

Evan checks that Adrian is not listening before lowering his voice.

“Ms. Hayes believes Mr. Mercer may have a physical problem. She scheduled an appointment for him at a men’s health clinic.”

Lucas's interest sharpens. “What kind of problem?”

Evan hesitates. This is his employer’s private business.

Still, Lucas has known Adrian since childhood. If anyone can persuade him to see a doctor, it is probably Lucas.

Evan’s gaze drops discreetly below Adrian’s belt.

Lucas follows it.

His eyes widen.

“He can’t get it up?”