The Stone Knight (gay)✔️

14. The first steps towards independance.

Lucas fulfilled his new task with gusto. Ben was open to his ideas and gave him free rein in their implementation. His hard work soon began to pay off. As a supportive employee of a businessman like Dylan, he had gained a lot of experiences that benefited Ben. The man was obviously happy with the sudden influx of work, but felt lost in the area of publicity.
Lucas was very keen to help and knew that the current budget did not allow a PR employee. That's why he contacted Elaine Brown. Stone-Knight regularly used her expertise in larger campaigns and they had become good friends over the years. More importantly, Elaine was able to keep her mouth shut. He had helped her through a difficult divorce, and she was the only one he trusted enough to talk about his complex relationship with the Stone-Knight family.

"As long as it's not going to take too many hours, I can help you," she had pledged. When he presented his plan, she took him in attentively.
"If you go through with this, you risk discovery by Dylan," she rightly pointed out.
"Don't be so dramatic. I'm not in a witness protection program," he pouted avoiding eye contact.
"Of course not, Lucas," she laughed at him. "I'd almost believe you if I hadn't seen you. Who else did you mutilate that amazing body for? I barely recognized you!" He suppressed a sour smile. "That's exactly my intention. I don't want preferential treatment."
Elaine waved a hand in front of his face. "You can fool yourself with that shit, but I don't believe any of it."
Despite his complicated personal relationship with the family, she didn't understand why he had broken his connections to the Stone-Knight publishing house.
"For me it is very important to succeed on the basis of my own ability. You know how influential Stone-Knight is in this industry," he had tried to explain to her.
She left it graciously, but Lucas realized that this topic would come up more often.

Lucas also realized how much his attractive appearance had played a part in his success as an assistant to Dylan. His work was excellent and meticulously taken care of, but none of the current customers came to thank him specifically for the good care and commitment as had regularly come to him in his old position. It was a sobering experience.
For his part, Dylan began to feel the loss of Lucas more and more. Even though Alice managed his business perfectly in the office, a gaping hole formed when he had appointments at home. The housestaff did their best, but missed a coordinator. He missed the shadow next to him.

Outside of work, Lucas enjoyed the small stone cottage that had been donated to him by Madeleine. Despite his repeated protests, she insisted he take it. After a long time of thinking and weighing and two begging boys, he had finally caved.
On his first day in the big house he had envied the occupant of a picturesque cottage. Now he lived in a similar house on the edge of the large estate, about two miles from the main building.
"It's so nice to have you around, Honey," Noah said after a hearty hug.
Once uttered long ago by an awe inspired Jacob, the nickname had stuck.
"How are things at school?" asked Lucas.
Noah slid to the table and took a bite of the fruit salad his uncle had put in front of him.
"Fine," he nodded. "What about your work?"
The glistening eyes that reminded him of Dylan made him aware of a deeper meaning behind the simple question. Noah was keen for his age and Lucas had always shown respect for his sensitivity. Again, he gave in to the unasked question. "I rejected your father's proposal."
He felt the boy take him in thoughtfully but didn't say anything. Another characteristic he shared with his father.

"Is it okay if I do my homework here before I go to the big house?" His gaze drifted to the corner where the materials his uncle had collected were ready. He loved seeing him at work. When he was little, his Honey had created drawings for his favorite books. Even he could see that Lucas was a gifted illustrator. Nothing would bring him more pleasure than to see his uncle make his dream come true. Together with his big brother, they kept the promise to Honey to keep his presence on the large estate a secret. Actually, he liked keeping this a secret. In the past, his father had claimed a huge part of Honey's attention. Now he had his beloved uncle to himself. A quick hug combined with a soft kiss on his hair brought a smile to his mouth.
"Will you let Marielle know where you are?"
Quick thumbs send the message to the maid of the big house. Like most of the housekeeping staff, she too, was involved in the plot.
"What are you working on?" asked Noah nodding to the blank papers on the table. "Ingrid sent me a new script," Lucas smiled as Noah immediately rebounded.
"Did she write a sequel?" he sounded hopeful.
Chewing on his lower lip, Lucas hesitated for a moment before nodding.
A cheer escaped from the throat of the twelve-year-old who searched the living room for a manuscript with avid eyes.
"First do your homework," Lucas sternly stated.
Five minutes later, they were both immersed in their pursuits.