“She’s running on fumes,” Jude says, the stiffness returning to his backbone. “We can’t not help.”
“We’re already overstepping our bounds,” I say quietly.
Jude doesn’t reply, instead he glances at Jax, and a moment later they both look away, guilty expressions on their faces. After Jax set Emma up with a new secure bank account, Jude had him put an alert on it for when she got under five hundred dollars. We all agreed it was the right move at the time, but now it feels like we’ve crossed a line.
The alert was triggered days ago, and her funds have been quickly dwindling every day since. She’s been sequestered in her office most of the time, working away at that last segment of code ever since she was fired. She’s been bound and determined to finish as quickly as possible and cash in on what is going to be a retirement-worthy paycheck. If she can get there. With us, I hope.
“I was going to make an anonymous deposit, see if Jax could make it look like a severance payout from the hospital or something,” Daniel confesses. “But... maybe that’s not the best idea.”
“We can put together a grant for her,” Jude offers.
“No.” All eyes are on me again. A discomfort rises within me. I don’t often contradict the man who was my commanding officer. “I thought about this a lot over the weekend while I was out on the boat with all those dickweeds. I know we want to provide for her, but right now, Emma needs us to do nothing. We can keep her safe. We can watch out for her. But otherwise, I think she needs us to back off.”
Gunner raises a finger, and I turn to him. “Yes?”
“When you say back off…”
“Yeah, I mean that, too,” I confirm, a hard edge in my voice.
A charge runs through the air, and several of us shift uncomfortably, averting eye contact.
“Hold the phone.” Daniel has both hands in the air. “What exactly are you guys backing off from?”
I look around the room, and Daniel’s eyes are the only ones not on the table or floor, the only one not looking guilty as sin. Jude’s got that look where he’s working up to say something, but he can’t get it out. Gunner’s trying to hide a smirk, but that’s about as bashful as he gets, and Jax is just staring out the window, the muscles in his face tense.
Fine. I’ll go first. I sit back down at the table and adjust my tie, ready to get down to business. “Emma and I have become involved.”
Daniel’s eyebrows raise. “And by involved, you mean…”
“Yes.” I’ve told the guys about women before, but God, this is different. But, I need to be out with it. “She came up to my apartment for a yoga session, and things got physical.”
“Physical?” Daniel repeats, his face drawn as tight as I’ve ever seen. “Would you care to spell that out for me?”
I take a deep breath, pushing forward. “We… we made love.”
Gunner’s smirk turns into a smile, and a gleam comes into Jax’s eyes as he stares into the distance. But Daniel is staring at me with an expression I can’t read, and Jude’s eyes are still turned down to the table.
“I see.” Daniel clears his throat and looks around the room slowly. “Who else?”
Jude grunts like he doesn’t want to say what he’s about to. “Me.”
“I knew it.” Gunner sounds triumphant.
“I wouldn’t exactly call what we did making love, though.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jax’s chest shake a little with a silent laugh.
“No offense, but you don’t really strike me as the gentle kind, boss,” Gunner says.
Jude glares at the guy like he just kicked a puppy. “She just wasn’t in the mood for all that tender shit.”
“Like you ever are?” Jax asks. The twins exchange glances, and there’s that thing happening where I swear they’re talking to one another in their heads. Then Jax admits, “Count Gunner and I in on it.”
“Seriously?” Daniel’s voice raises a couple octaves with incredulity. “Am I the only one that hasn’t slept with her?”
Gunner raises a finger in the air. “Uh, technically, Jax hasn’t. I mean, he slept with her, but I’m the only one who entered the castle. However, Jax did a hell of a job rallying the troops. It was pretty fucking hot. Sorry you guys missed it,” he says with a big grin.
“Wait.” Daniel is still lost. “You were there, together? The two of you?”
“Fuck yeah,” Gunner retorts, completely oblivious, looking at Daniel like the man’s crazy. “Think I’d turn that down?”
Jax turns to Daniel with a more diplomatic tone. “You know Gunner and I have shared women before.”
Daniel’s voice goes up one more octave. “But Emma?”
Jax gives him a long look, his voice low. “Especially Emma.”
There’s feeling in Jax’s voice, and it touches something that resonates inside of me. Especially Emma. I’ve been so caught up with the turn of topic the last couple minutes, I hardly noticed the lack of jealousy in our conversation — except, maybe, for Daniel. But that’s for an entirely different reason. I take a good look around, but no one appears ready to put their finger on it. I swear, sometimes these guys can be more closed off than a bank vault.
I’ve been close to Gunner long enough to know he approaches life at a sprint, not really slowing down to evaluate how he feels about any of it. And Jude? Christ, that man has the emotional threshold of an oak tree.
But... I turn to the most hardened among us, locking eyes with Jax. Yeah, he’s guarded, but I still see it. He shifts, subtly adjusting his body away from my inspection, and looks away, staring out from the window again.
I turn back to the rest of the room. “Is this something we need to talk about?” I ask. It’s practically a rhetorical question, but I’m fishing for something, anything. Even if they haven’t come to terms with it yet, I need to know.
Jax looks over at his brother, and his eyes flick left to right as though reading a book. Perhaps he is. Jude just sits there, subjecting himself to his twin’s scrutiny, stone-faced as ever. But Jax seems to get something out of it, because he gives the slightest of nods before returning his gaze to the view out the window.
“What?” I ask, looking back and forth between them, but neither says a word.
Gunner glances around, confused. “What’s going on?”
“Goddamn, you two. Tell me,” I insist, raising my voice.
The twins share another look, and my blood pressure rockets. If one of them doesn’t speak up soon, I’m going to lose it.
“Yes,” Daniel says, his tone insistent. “Please, enlighten us as to what this silence is about.”
Jax turns from the window with a deep sigh. “I don’t intend to stop pursuing Emma. Neither does Jude. But we understand if you guys prefer if we don’t interact with her anymore.” He hesitates for just a moment before adding. “On a professional level, at least.”
Daniel looks between the two, his jaw hanging open, but he’s the first speak. “And it doesn’t matter what the rest of us think about that? What we have to say?”
Jude steels his shoulders and sends a look that I can’t read to his brother. Jax’s whole body is tense, like he’s ready for a fight.
Fuck. They’re serious. My gut tightens. I’ve never imagined a situation where we’d be facing off with those two. “What are we supposed to do, here, guys? I don’t think there’s a bro-code for this.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Gunner says. “Bro-code for what?”
“He wants to know who gets Emma.” Jax supplies what I’m hinting at. “And I’m saying, you guys do what you want, but I’m not backing down. I’m willing to step away from the contract negotiations, that’s all.”
“That how you feel, too?” I ask Jude.
The very thought of expressing himself concerning anything more than his feelings on the Chargers’ rookie prospects this season tends to make him uncomfortable, but Jude gives one firm nod. “Yes.”
I throw up my hands
. “Well, fucking great.”
Jude raises his head, his gaze intense but curious. “Are you saying you can give her up? You’re willing to stop pursuing her?”
“I didn’t—” I start to reply, but I’m not sure what to say. He has me there. When those two set their mind to something, the fires of hell couldn’t keep them from it. But I understand. I’m not ready to give up Emma, either.
A feeling of unease is running through me as I struggle to find the right words. The five of us, we’ve had strong disagreements and heated debates, but in all the years we’ve been friends and partners, we’ve never come to blows, not with words or fists. We’ve never had a situation like this before. A sinking feeling settles in as I try to push away the thought that Emma might be the thing that brings us all to our knees.
I can’t sit anymore. I need to move. I push the chair out and stand. “That’s not what I said.” I pace to the far wall, my jacket and tie feeling too tight and stiff. “But if you’re just looking for a hot fuck, I’m sure you both know plenty of other phone numbers.”
Jax turns his back to the window and faces us. There’s a fire in his eyes I haven’t seen in some time. I know he’s taken great efforts to keep it tamed, but it’s always been there, just beneath the surface. His jaw sets with the effort of restraint, and he takes a moment to look at each of us before speaking. “That’s not what this is about. Not for me. Or Jude.”
“Well, fuck,” Gunner erupts. “If they can’t do business with Emma anymore because it’s more than just sex, then neither can I.”
I tilt my head in surprise at my best friend. If I’ve been a serial monogamist over the years, then Gunner has been a serial man-whore. The guy treats his body like a jungle gym, and so have countless women. He’d never once breathed so much as a hint of anything besides enjoying physical pleasure, with whomever, whenever. “You’re telling me you’re developing feelings for Emma? Seriously?”
The tips of the big guy’s ears turn bright red. “What? I’m gonna turn thirty soon. Maybe I just want to slow down and read a book sometimes.”
“A book?” Daniel is confused by just about everything right now.
“What? I like reading. It just takes a lot of sitting still.”
“Almost thirty.” Jax shakes his head with amusement. Gunner’s always been good at calming him. “You’re ancient, man.”
“Fuck you. You know what I mean. Emma’s different.”
Before Jax and Gunner start their back and forth, I hold out my arms to placate them. “We know what you mean. We’ve all been there, Gunner.”
“I haven’t been there.” Daniel folds his arms. “I can’t believe you guys.”
Gunner shifts in his seat and leans forward, tapping the polished wooden table with a firm finger. “This bro-code nonsense is bullshit. No offense, bro, but fuck you if you try to make her choose.”
I look him steadfast in the eye. “You think your opinion may be a little skewed after the ménage a trois?”
“No. He’s right.” Jax pushes off from his resting spot against the glass. “If we try to force our hand and make her pick, I think she’d cut ties with Pentabyte in a heartbeat — and all of us.”
The ticking of the wall clock is the only noise in the room for what feels like minutes. I have no idea how to approach this one, and from the look on my friends’ faces, they don’t either. With such a tight-knit group of guys, we’re used to sharing all sorts of things. From shirts and socks to profits and stocks. Hell, we’ve even shared women, but never like this. Not a woman we all cared about. Not someone like Emma.
Gunner is twitching uncomfortably in the silence. “Look, I think it’s fucking hot you guys have hit home runs. Maybe we can get Daniel in on the next threesome.”
“That’d make it a foursome,” I correct.
Jax snorts from his place at the window. “Yeah, that’s the problem here — semantics.”
“Hold on.” Daniel raises a palm into the air, bringing our bickering to a stop, at least temporarily. “We’re getting away from why we’re talking about this to begin with. Is anyone thinking about our company? Or Emma?” he admonishes. He runs a palm down his forehead then rubs at the bridge of his nose. “Romantically pursuing a woman we’re trying to close a business deal with may be doing us more damage than good. Has anyone considered Pentabyte’s reputation? Or are we all just throwing caution to the wind after years of building up a solid business?”
He pauses to glance at each of us, taking stock of our priorities, but the room is silent, and we all avert our eyes. Jude bows his head the deepest, his expression twisted into something I’ve never seen before — shame.
“And as for Emma,” Daniel continues, “like it’s been said, she’s already suspicious about who she can trust. How does she feel about this? It must be confusing as hell. Have any of you actually spoken to her about what’s going on?”
We all check with each other, looking around the conference room, and nothing is forthcoming. Once again, I offer information first. “The opportunity hasn’t come up, so we never really touched base on what happened after we were… together, no.”
“Me, either,” Jude admits. “Kinda been avoiding it, honestly.”
“Shocker,” Daniel says dryly.
“I haven’t even spoken to her since then. I think she’s pulling a Jude and avoiding it,” Jax says then turns to his partner-in-crime. “You?”
Gunner shakes his head. “Exchanged a few texts, but nothing about playing hide the salami. But, what is there to say?”
“That your interest in her has nothing to do with the program we’re trying to buy,” Daniel says.
“She knows that,” Jude snaps.
Daniel whips his head toward the chief. “Does she?”
“You don’t have to tell a woman something like that,” Jude growls. “She knows.”
Several of the guys join me in giving the guy a double-take.
“And you know this because? Remind me of your track record with women?” Daniel retorts.
Jude mutters something I can’t make out and looks down at his leather portfolio on the table, the one holding the meeting agenda that we’ve been off course from for a long while. After a minute, he snaps it shut. “Fine. I’ll talk to her.”
“Oh, hell no, you won’t,” I say, stepping forward. I know exactly how that would wind up. Jude is a master at managing this business, at running command. He’s a get-shit-done guy. He’s not so great at handling things that require a light touch. “No offense, but if any of us are going to talk to Emma about our business and how she’s feeling about all this…” I trail off, not sure of how to even label the mess we’ve created, “maybe it should come from the guy who hasn’t crossed that line, and the only one I trust to be a complete gentleman.”
All eyes move directly to Daniel.
He springs up from his chair, his posture rigid. “Now hold on just a damn second! You guys want me to talk to Emma about your sex lives? I think fucking not,” he says angrily, and eyebrows raise around the room at his rare use of profanity. “Just because I haven’t slept with her yet doesn’t mean I’m not throwing my hat in the ring.”
“Hat in the ring? She’s not a goddamn piece of antique furniture up for auction,” Jude barks.
“Obviously,” Daniel says with a huff of indignity, his face turning red with anger. “But if you think I’m not interested in Emma just because I’ve kept my hands to myself and treated her like a lady—”
“Hey!” I cut Daniel off with a loud protest, glad the conference room has sound-dampening panels. “I only have the utmost respect for Emma.”
“You know, sometimes a fine woman likes to be handled a little differently in the bedroom,” Gunner says.
We all turn to him, and I’m expecting a smirk on the big guy’s face, but his expression is absolutely serious. Despite his flamboyance, Gunner may actually have the most experience with feminine pleasure of all of us. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing he hasn’
t tried at least twice.
He crosses his arms as we stare. “That’s right. I said it. Jude knows what I’m talking about, don’t you?”
“Jesus Christ,” Jude mutters. His tone is damning, but there’s a red tint to his face that wasn’t there a few minutes ago.
“Look,” I say, turning to Daniel and digging deep to find a calm voice. “Regardless of what has or hasn’t happened, you’re still the best one to talk to her. You have a way with words we don’t. She needs to know that she’s completely free to do whatever she wants — with us, with the program. It’s up to her.”
“We’re not back to that shit, are we?” Gunner pipes up. “Asking her to choose?”
“No.” I shake my head then give Jax a pointed look. “We aren’t asking her to choose — right?”
“Like I said, you guys do what you want. Emma will do what she will. We’ll see where the chips fall.”
I give him a hard look. “You’re saying it’s come down to that — may the best man win?”
He shrugs. “Not at all. I’m not issuing a challenge here. I’m just telling you where I stand.”
“Tell her we want to be here for her,” Jude interjects, for once saying more than his twin. “We want to help her, but it’ll be on her terms, not ours.”
“I seriously can’t believe you guys.” Daniel lets out a sigh of disappointment as he sits back down at the table, but I know he’s in.
18
Daniel
I slip my platinum card into the little black bifold, and the waiter discretely disappears with it. “I mean it. Wherever you have that stashed, keep it secure.”
“You don’t want to, or you can’t?” Emma asks. “I won’t show you the entire thing. Just the Gamma segment.”
Leaning back in my chair, I down the remnants of my wine. “It’s not that Jax and I don’t want to. Personally, I’d love to dig through even that little segment to see what you’ve done and how to fix that last bit. I have a special affinity for troubling code; I love figuring out how to solve the puzzle. But after everything that’s been going on, I don’t think it’s wise. What if, God forbid, something questionable were to happen. Some pieces of your code fall into the wrong hands, for instance. You need to keep it well protected, and that means even from us. It’s too risky, and we don’t want there to be any question of impropriety.”
Hidden Agenda: A Reverse Harem Romance (The Code Book 2) Page 15