Chapter Four

Negan sat in the backseat of his Rolls Royce with a lot of anticipation sitting heavily on his chest as his butler drove him smoothly down the road. Tony could feel the palpitations in the air. It was extremely rare to witness his boss ever waiver from cool and collected, even in the most upsetting situations but here he sat under fire. “Would you care for some music?” Tony questioned looking to the rear view mirror momentarily to see Negan fussing with his Rollex on his wrist and noticed that it wasn’t the one that had had laid out for him with the suit that he had pressed. Negan had swapped it out for the Rollex he kept in his safe. Tony wanted every bit to tell his Boss that it would be alright but he dared not so he offered the music to ease his nerves instead. Negan didn’t answer even if he were listening. He was staring out the window as the leaves blew back off the road to the ditch as Tony sailed threw them without a single word. He was incredibly anxious to meet Officer Cash Howlett. He had done a bit of homework himself. Granted, there were far fewer articles in print on the Officer and nothing personal of that nature. It would’ve been nice but he wasn’t expecting that anyway. Most, if not all cops kept their private lives private for their family’s safety. That’s why he found it utter bull shit that the chief would have Officer Howlett’s divorce mentioned in the write up. He wasn’t sure what had gotten them divorced but even if she were a hideous bitch, she would still be off public limits. He would’ve liked to have found something personal but what he did find he liked quite a bit. Fuck if he would end up having to kill him. He wasn’t the praying kind but he was hoping against hope that the Officer would just behave and play for his team. He drew a deep breath to try to gain control of his attraction before he got to his front door. He pushed down his urge and he pushed it down far back to where it felt that it belonged. It wouldn’t be too much more time before he’d be there. With being consumed with hiding himself he mesmerized himself with the leaves when all of a sudden the cab of the car was filled with Paul Simon. Tony had chosen music for him anyway. With his thoughts now interrupted he looked away from the window to to the mirror to meet Tony’s tender eyes looking back at him that slightly nodded back to him in acknowledgement. He couldn’t see Tony’s lips but he could tell from the upturn of the crease around his eyes that Tony had smiled back at him. With the unspoken thank you he then looked back to the road in front of him but not before he caught Negan expel all of his air that he had been holding in. Even though Negan refused to allow himself the homosexual life that he wanted , he enjoyed the fact that his butler lived openly and appreciated his company. It set his soul at peace just knowing that he lived closely in the company of another gay man. He envied Tony’s ability to live freely and Tony would never know that he lived vicariously threw Tony’s happiness and his smile. Tony was more then just one hell of a butler, to Negan he was his one friend and the only one he felt that he could trust but not with this.  

A song or two passed and Negan’s knee began to bounce and his head nodded to the beat of the music as his butler hit the turn signal and slowed down to take the turn down the Officer’s desolate road. He was preparing himself, building himself up and checked his cuff links. Tony felt the shift of energy as well and smirked to himself. This was the Boss he knew quite well. As the Officer’s old hunting cabin came into view , Tony thought of his own hope of a prayer for his Boss’s sake. It wasn’t for his safety. No. He knew that his Boss held his own plenty. His shot in the dark hope of a prayer was that just by chance that the Officer might be a gay man as well. Having been married didn’t mean shit but he highly doubted that Negan knew that even though Negan too had been married once. Negan kept himself and his sexuality very much to himself. Since his Boss was showing visible interest in front of Tony, as subtle as it was, it was the first time in the 10 years that Tony had worked for him that  he had tripped up. Tony thought hard on his prayer that there was that slim chance. Negan was an incredibly alluring man that poured sexual appeal so if the Officer were gay too, maybe, just maybe, his Boss would allow himself the fulfillment. 

He turned the radio down slowly to diminish the music peacefully as he pulled in the drive. “Thank you, Tony.” Negan added unbuckling his belt and fisted his port that he had carefully chosen from his cellar as a welcome gift. “You’re welcome, Sir.” Tony nodded with a glimmer in his expression as he existed the car to let Negan out of his door. He need not ask how long he’d be. It was going to take as long as it was going to take as it always did. Negan stepped out into the wet blanket of leaves that clung to his polished wing tip shoes. The air was brisk in his lungs as he shook down his jacket sleeves and fastened his button one handed and took in his humble surroundings. Tony gently closed the door behind his back. “Good Luck, Sir.” He offered as he always did but this time his heart was in it for an entirely different reason. The tone was a recognizable pitch to Negan’s ear but he felt the sincerity behind the send off and paused to acknowledge him with a nod. With that Negan turned and blazed a trail threw the leaves up to the porch steps. He loved it already and pushed a thought down of imagining himself arriving there for dinner, a movie, coffee on a Saturday morning. Tony stood his mark beside his drivers side door until Negan would be inside. “You got this.” Tony thought to himself hearing the sturdy wrap of his Boss’s knuckles on the front door. At this point he anticipated the door opening too and held in his breath for him.