by Jayne Rylon
Kari followed Brady as he headed for the refreshments, trying not to stare at his ass. If nothing else, a dose of sugar would help her survive the awkwardness that loomed. So she skipped the muffins and went straight to the hard stuff. Donuts.
She leaned her hip against the sleek table, nibbling on a jelly-filled-sprinkle-topped piece of heaven with her coworkers. Of course she was in the middle of licking icing off her fingertips when Ford ambled into the room.
His stride faltered as his gaze snapped to her mouth. For a moment, he seemed suspended there before resuming his march toward the pastries and coffee. “Good morning.”
“Hey.” She smiled, hoping she didn’t have any stray jam on her face.
Kari wondered how much more intensely he’d been staring at Andi on Friday night than he was studying her right then. How had the other woman kept herself from melting between the embraces of her three lovers and the appreciation of a trio of even more incredible men?
Cooper distracted her from that line of thinking when he joined them with a fist pump. “Breakfast, nice.”
“I thought Andi spoiled you by cooking for you every morning?” Ford asked with a shake of his head at their intern’s enthusiasm.
“That’s sort of true. We eat together as often as we can, though I’m usually the one who cooks for her if she’ll let me. I’m always game for second breakfast.” Cooper shrugged. “Especially if it’s something less healthy than oatmeal or some of that fiber-filled cereal she’s always trying to get us to eat.”
“You’d think your girl wants to keep you around for a while or something.” Brady laughed as he slapped Cooper on the back. “Have fun burning off all that extra energy later.”
The comment might have seemed innocent enough if they hadn’t shared the experience on the yacht a few days earlier. Kari’s cheeks flamed and she nearly choked on her sip of coffee. “I’d better get back to work.”
She brushed past Ford, ignoring the firmness of his biceps beneath his perfectly tailored suit, then hid behind her desk until much later that morning, when she couldn’t avoid her bosses any longer. It was time for their weekly executive staff meeting.
No matter how hard it was, she focused on the job they paid her to do instead of what they had looked like relaxed and partying on their yacht. Two hours flew by as they got their plan in order and discussed case after case. As their reputations had grown, so did their workload. Soon they were going to need to hire more lawyers, if they planned to keep taking on more clients.
Maybe even increase the size of her administrative staff. Kari reviewed her notes and wondered how she would get through everything by the end of the month, never mind the week. Then again, she didn’t mind more overtime since Ford, Brady, and Josh had been flexible with her. She sighed as she remembered shopping for the dress they’d treated her to and how scared she’d been that she’d pushed her luck.
With their plan of attack in place, she and the guys slid back from the table, ready to put their heads down and get some shit done like the high-functioning team they’d become. Before she could think better of it, she exclaimed, “I’m so glad things are…normal-ish.”
Ford took off his reading glasses and laid them neatly on the table in front of him. The staccato deliberateness of the gesture put her on high alert.
Josh blinked at her, as if shocked she’d breached their unspoken vow not to mention what had happened. She probably should have kept her mouth shut. But the revelation made her nearly giddy. She hadn’t realized how much working with them meant to her until she’d feared she’d have to give it up.
“As opposed to what?” Brady tipped his head, the rest of his body staying stock still. He scanned her expression as if searching for clues.
“Weird.” She shrugged. “You know, after the party. And what happened at the end of the night…”
“Why should things be awkward?” Ford peered at her. “We’re all consenting adults here. Andi was fine with it too. She said she doesn’t care that you know what was happening down below.”
“I know, we talked,” Kari admitted.
“You did? That’s great.” Josh smiled. “We just hope that you’re okay with everything, and that it didn’t upset you.”
“Me? I’m fine.” More than fine, really. It was liberating that things could be the same as they had been before. That she hadn’t doomed herself to another prickly situation day after day because she’d attended the party or because she was still a slave to her past.
“Thank God. I’ve been worried sick all weekend, but it seemed hypocritical to call you just to ask if you wanted us to keep our distance.” Brady pressed his fingers to his temple as if he’d had a massive tension headache, like she knew he sometimes got during rough times at the office. His shoulders slumped enough that she realized just how wound up he’d been.
They’d been concerned about her? That told her everything she needed to know about them.
Marty had never given a fuck about how uncomfortable he made her. In fact, he’d gotten off on it, she was pretty sure. Relief rushed through her, transforming her bones to limp noodles and—apparently—loosening her lips further as well.
She glanced over her shoulder toward the doorway to make sure no one else on staff discovered her indiscretion. First Marty, now another boss—a partner this time. Her reputation couldn’t handle another blow like that. People would assume she was trying to sleep her way to the top. Hell, a few of them already did.
Then, quietly, she asked, “So…you really don’t care that I made out with Josh?”
“You what?” Ford blinked at her a few times, as if he hadn’t heard her clearly. His fingers curled around his pen and his knuckles turned white. She was afraid he was going to snap the thing in half.
“Josh? Is that true?” Brady spun his chair toward his friend and glared. Intense in any situation, he practically bored holes in the other guy then.
Oh shit. Kari’s eyes bulged as she whipped her guilty stare first to Josh then to Brady and, finally, to Ford. The tiny sliver of jealousy and—was that disappointment?—she saw there ripped her to shreds.
They hadn’t known after all. No wonder things had seemed okay.
And this was exactly why she shouldn’t have indulged in that kiss. That perfect, amazing, soul-crushing meeting of mouths. The one she’d wished she could have experienced over and over every moment since she’d stopped it and fled from Josh’s arms.
Because it had the power to ruin everything. Not only her career, but their friendship as well. After what she’d heard from them the day they’d fired Marty, and what she’d seen on the boat, she thought it wouldn’t have been a big deal. That they would have discussed it together.
Instead, Josh had kept what they’d done a dirty little secret from his partners.
Kari stood up so fast, she knocked her chair over in the process. Josh lunged forward and caught it, righting it before it could make a clatter that would draw curious coworkers.
She had to get out of there before she made a fool of herself in front of them. Again.
“I’m taking the rest of the day off. I understand if you don’t want me to come back tomorrow. Just…email me or something.” Kari was proud she kept her shit together as she rushed through the frosted glass of their entryway toward the secured elevator. It required a keycard to access the top-level offices, which had made her feel better since Marty had threatened her on his way out, kicking a hole in her office door.
Today it only made her realize how much that one stolen kiss might end up costing her—access to the part of her life she valued most and the three men who made it so rewarding to work for them.
“Kari, wait up! Are you okay?” It wasn’t one of her three bosses checking on her. No, they were about to break into a full-on fistfight from the sounds of the shouting behind her.
It was Cooper.
“Hey, calm down. Take a deep breath.” He approached slowly and held his hand out.
“I can’t
.” Kari rocked herself as darkness encroached.
“You can,” he said kindly, gently. “The elevator is almost here. Keep your shit together until we get in it, then you can unload.”
The sound of other people checking to see what the ruckus was reached into Kari’s whirling mind. She jammed her hand out and latched onto Cooper’s wrist. He steadied her and ushered her into the car that opened up in front of them.
“Thank you,” she choked out before crumpling against the cool metal.
“No problem.” He grimaced. “What the hell happened back there? Was it because of…us?”
“Of course not.” Kari groaned. She didn’t want anyone else to feel judged like she had so often. “It’s just…complicated.”
“Would you feel better talking to Andi about it? She won’t say anything to me you don’t want her to. She’s a great listener, and I think maybe she might understand what you’re going through.” He already had his phone in his hand. “Did you know we were roommates for four years before we became more? It was…scary. And we almost lost her as even a friend before we figured out how to make things work between us. But I promise you, it can be done. If that’s what you want. All of you, I mean.”
Kari bit her lip to keep it from trembling. Her insides ached and she admitted it…she was terrified. For her future, and for her bosses and the friendship they’d built over the years.
Things were changing and maybe none of them were ready for how much.
“Yeah. Could you do that? Call her?” Kari asked.
“Of course. Better yet, I’ll take you to our place and ask her to meet us there for a long lunch if you want.” He lifted the phone to his ear. A few moments later, he was already talking.
Before Kari could tell him that was too much trouble to go to for her, he’d already arranged everything. It meant a lot to have friends to help her work through this. After Marty, she’d closed herself off from even casual acquaintances except for her guarded rapport with Ford, Brady, and Josh.
Maybe she’d had it all wrong.
Maybe she should have opened up instead of hiding herself away. If she had, today could have gone a lot differently. Kari was confused. Shocked. A thousand times more worried than she’d been on her way to work that morning. Her chest ached.
She watched the office building until it disappeared through the window of the cab Cooper had called for them. Hopefully, speaking with Andi would help clear her mind so she could figure out what to do about the colossal mess her life had become.
11
“What the fuck did you do?” Ford took a step forward, and then another, like he might actually lunge at Josh or take a swing at his face.
Josh didn’t try to dodge. He deserved an ass beating. “I screwed up.”
“Yeah, I’d say so.” Brady crossed his arms over his chest. Usually the easier of the two to get along with, he didn’t seem to be giving Josh any wiggle room at the moment.
Josh felt like one of the poor bastards Brady was known to crush on cross-examination. “Look, she kissed me. And I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to reject her or make her feel like she did something wrong…”
“Come on. That’s bullshit. And even if that was the whole truth, that’s exactly what ended up happening anyway just now. Because you didn’t come clean to us about your secret tonsil hockey match, she thinks we’re upset with her instead of your lying ass.” Ford threw up his hands. “Fuck, man. I wouldn’t have blamed you for making out with her, or more, you know that. If she wants you, that’s fine. It just…”
“Caught us off guard.” Brady nodded solemnly, his shoulders slumping then.
“Makes me jealous as fuck, too,” Ford snarled. “No wonder you weren’t pissed at us for staying to watch Andi and her guys.”
“You acted like some kind of martyr when really you were stabbing us in the back. Fuck, Josh. I didn’t think you had that in you.” Brady’s disappointment was way worse than Ford’s fury.
“I’m sorry, guys. Really.” Josh scrunched his eyes closed for a moment. As shitty as it felt to be on the wrong side of his friends, it also felt so much better now that they knew what had really happened. If they were going to try for a relationship like the one Andi, Cooper, Reed, and Simon had, they had to be absolutely transparent with each other. He could see that now. So he forged ahead. “It freaked me out, that’s all. It was the best damn kiss of my life and I wanted so much more, but it was obvious she didn’t and…”
He clamped his jaw shut when his voice grew rough.
“You were devastated.” Brady looked up then, his face smoothing out. “Son of a bitch, Josh. I’m sorry. You really should have told us. We could have at least knocked back some beers and talked about what to do next.”
“I know. It was stupid. But I also didn’t want to break the bad news to you guys. She’s not ready for us. No matter how much we wish she was.” He flopped into a chair then, unable to keep himself standing a moment longer. “Maybe she never will be either.”
“We can deal with that. As long as she’s okay.” Ford looked out his window as if he wished he could blast through the glass like a superhero and fly wherever she was.
“I saw Cooper walking out with her. He’ll make sure she gets home.” Brady groaned. “Then we’re going to have to figure out how to get her back here. Make sure she’s comfortable and knows that nothing that’s happened lately impacts what we think of her when we’re at work.”
Josh nodded. The look on her face that morning, the nervous tapping of her fingers and the tight slash of her lush lips during their meeting, had been eating at him the whole time. At least now he could address it with her and make sure she knew how appreciated she was.
From now on he wasn’t going to be hiding anything from anyone. He’d share his feelings and handle how they impacted the people around him head-on. Maybe someday that would be enough to convince Kari he was serious about her. If it wasn’t, he’d accept that too.
“Whether it’s Kari or someone else, I think we can all agree on one thing: we haven’t really accomplished all our goals. Or maybe we found a new one. Either way…” Ford turned to his desk, scribbled something on a Post-it Note and then held it out for Brady and Josh to see. “We’ve got more work to do.”
Convince the woman of our dreams to spend the rest of her life being worshipped by us.
Live the rest of our lives satisfied and happy.
Josh whooped at that. Brady chuckled, but a slow smile spread across his face and erased some of the tension around his eyes. Ford marched to the framed checklist Brady had given him for his birthday and smooshed the neon yellow note at the bottom.
Knowing they were all in alignment and ready to make it a reality dissolved some of the acid in his gut. When they worked together, nothing was impossible.
Before they could start formulating a plan to make their dream come true, Ford’s phone rang. The fact that the call came through when Kari wasn’t there to screen it meant whoever was contacting them was someone with Ford’s direct number. There weren’t many people who had it.
He looked at Josh and then Brady before lunging for it.
“Hello? Hey, Andi, hang on a second. Can I put you on speaker?” Ford asked as he scrubbed his hand over his face, then punched a few buttons. “Brady and Josh are here with me. Go ahead.”
“Why is Kari on her way here? Cooper called and said she needed to talk to me. I could hear her in the background. She sounded upset. Is it because of Friday night?” Andi sounded distraught herself. Damn, they were hurting people they cared about. The people they least wanted to offend.
“Yes,” Ford admitted.
“Shit!” Andi’s voice wavered. “Does she think less of me for it? I called her and I thought we were cool—”
“What?” Brady shook his head and Josh rushed to correct her.
“No, Andi. It’s not you. It’s us. No, me. It’s my fault. I sort of made out with her and didn’t tell the guys…”
&
nbsp; “Josh!” Andi shrieked. “That’s so stupid!”
“I know, I know.” And he did. Now. He should have been upfront and prevented all this.
“You guys are never going to make this work if you’re not completely open. With each other and the girl you want.”
“Is it that obvious?” Brady groaned.
“Ummmm, yup. Pretty much.” Andi laughed then, her tension evaporating as she turned her attention to matchmaking. Josh wasn’t above using any help they could get to work through this.
“So what would you suggest?” Brady asked. “We want to show her we’re serious but make sure she knows the choice is hers and independent of anything that happens here at the firm.”
“Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll try to show her there’s no reason for concern until she can discuss this with you guys in person. I’ll vouch for you again if you swear you’re going to get your shit together. And soon.” Andi sighed. “I can see where the office isn’t the right place for these discussions. It’s already your home field. If I were her, I’d be uncomfortable there with all this hanging over my head. What about tomorrow morning? Before work? Would you be willing to meet up with her then and hash this out before you make the same mistake again tomorrow? It’s not right to stress her out like that at her job. If Cooper can tell something’s up, so can everyone else you work with.”
Ford nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. If Josh hadn’t been a fucking idiot, we would have taken care of it already.”
Josh winced, but it was true. “There’s a diner down the street she loves that has amazing breakfast food, the Over Easy. We can be there at six, if she’ll agree to talk to us. If. Seriously, make sure she knows that no matter how she feels, we will understand and accept that.”
“Damn straight you will.” Andi huffed.
“Thank you, Andi,” Brady said. “We owe you. Big time.”
“You do. But more than that…you owe yourselves this chance. You’re great people and you deserve to be happy. Don’t screw it up just because you’re afraid it might be too good to be true or because you think you know what Kari needs without asking her directly.”