Double Boss Me: A Billionaire MFM Romance

by Juliet Woods

  It’s a local technology company. And Grace is the CEO? I had no idea who I was just talking to.

  And that means she probably saw the picture of me with Austin and Tyler now plastered all over the internet along with attacks on our character.

  Fresh humiliation washes over me again. But she didn’t mention the picture, and she played it off like she knew nothing, though she almost certainly must have known.

  Oh, well, I sigh. I guess it wasn’t that important to her.

  And then an even better thought crosses my brain – maybe it won’t really be that important to a lot of people.

  But none of that matters now anyway. Grace was right – now that I’ve found love, I can’t just throw it away. That would be crazy. What on earth was I thinking? I must have been insane to want to close the door on these two great guys.

  I pay my tab and hurry out of the bar. The sun is getting lower – what time is it? I turn my phone on as I make my way to the subway station.

  Thirty-five missed calls and fifty-two text messages! It looks like they’re mostly from Austin and Tyler. Oh, how selfish I’ve been to ignore them and leave them out in the cold. I open the last message sent – they’re going to be at my house in just 30 minutes! I start to write a text telling them to wait for me, but my ancient phone can’t handle the energy drain of being powered on again without a charge. I watch in horror as the battery dies and the screen goes black before I can send the text. Damn it!

  I break into a sprint as I approach the train entrance – I can’t miss them!

  Chapter 35

  Tyler

  I pull up my car near Katie’s house and park on the residential street. It’s just before 5, and Austin’s in the passenger seat. We’re both on edge, worried to death that she’s not home and she won’t show up. We plan to wait in the car rather than bother her mother and ring the doorbell.

  Austin checks my phone. “Still nothing from Katie,” he says. “I don’t know if she even has her phone on at this point. Or...”

  “What?” I ask.

  “Or maybe she will just refuse to see us altogether,” he says, his voice grim.

  “No, don’t say that. She has to come back to us,” I say. “We can’t lose hope now.”

  We spend the next couple minutes in silence, checking our phones, watching her front door like a hawk, and craning our necks to look down the road.

  Five o’clock comes and goes. Austin sighs, fidgeting and shifting in his seat.

  Another couple minutes tick by.

  “Fuck, she’s not coming,” he says, anguished. “I ruined it all.”

  “It’s only 5:02,” I say. “Let’s give her a chance.”

  “I think I blew it, man. I’m sorry I fucked it all up for everyone. I should never have put the business before Katie. She was worth so much more than that stupid company. If only I’d known...”

  But I’ve stopped listening because I see a figure in the distance, running down the hilly road toward us.

  “Shut up, Austin! Is that her?”

  We get out of the car, and we instantly recognize Katie. We break out in a sprint, running through the street like maniacs. My heart is bursting, knowing that she decided to come back to us.

  In a flash she’s in our arms, red-faced and panting. We’re all laughing and trying to catch our breath.

  “Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you!”

  “I’m so sorry for everything!”

  “I never want to be apart from you again!”

  We’re all talking at once, trying to say so many things at the same time.

  Finally Austin and I shut up long enough for her to finish a sentence.

  “I’m sorry to make you worry. I just panicked and ran away. I thought that I had ruined everything with your business, I thought that you’d be better off without me.”

  “Nothing could be further from the truth, Katie,” Austin says. “We need you in our lives. We love you.”

  Katie looks from Austin to me, and I nod. “It’s true,” I say. “We both love you so much. We just want to be with you.”

  She grins, her cheeks rosy. “I love you both, too.”

  Her eyes shine as she looks at me, then him. I can feel the love between us.

  “I love you, Austin, and I love you, Tyler. I need both of you, I don’t want to be without either of you. And I promise to never run away like that again.”

  “Good. And I promise to never again put work before you,” Austin says. “I just now realized what a mistake I was making.”

  “We both made that mistake,” I say. “But never again. And no more hiding our relationship. As far as we’re concerned, the more people who know about us the better. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “Agreed,” Katie says, laughing and pressing herself into our arms.

  “Yep, one hundred percent,” Austin says. “I’m actually glad this whole thing with the picture happened, because it put everything into perspective. None of that other stuff matters to me anymore. I think I’m a different person now. You’ve helped me to change so much, for the better. I want to live my life, not waste it away buried in work. I can’t believe how much life I missed out on by chaining myself to the office and building up walls to keep everyone out.”

  “I’m so glad you let me in, Austin,” Katie says, taking Austin’s hand in hers, then taking my hand in her other. “And you too, Tyler. I want to share my life with both of you.”

  “And I want to share it with you, Katie,” I say. “I’m giving up my silly bachelor life. You’re the only woman I’ll ever need. Austin and I are going to take care of you now.”

  “I think I can live with that,” she says. “That sounds pretty good, actually. I feel like I can finally let my guard down and learn how to trust. And I trust you guys, I really do. I want to be taken care of.”

  “Why did you run off today?” I ask tenderly.

  “Do you ever feel like everything you touch turns to shit?” she asks.

  “Austin can definitely relate to that,” I joke. He playfully slaps me on the back. “Just kidding. Yes, I think we’ve all felt that way one time or another.”

  “Well, I felt like I was destroying the company and ruining your lives. I thought that I should just leave before I completely messed it all up,” she says.

  “Baby, you weren’t ruining anything,” Austin says, holding her against his chest. “You’ve made everything so much better. I look around and see so many positive changes in all of us. I’m learning how to let loose a little, and Tyler is becoming halfway human...”

  “Hey!” I protest.

  Katie laughs. “Well, I’m not giving in to those old fears and insecurities anymore. I’m going to decide how to live my life and not be ruled by self-doubt. Today I was reminded of just how important love is. And I know we have so much love between us. I don’t want to run away from that ever again.”

  “Yeah, this is all that’s important,” I say. “This is all we need.”

  We both hold her between us, feeling the warm connection and love flow through us all. It’s a magical feeling, and I silently say, thank you for bringing her back to us.

  Katie looks up at us. “Will you guys come inside? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

  “We’d love to meet your mom, but are you sure this is a good time?” Austin asks.

  “It’s a great time. Just let me run in and let her know we have company.”

  She gives us a kiss each, then another kiss each, then turns to go inside the house.

  Austin and I exchange looks of relief.

  “See, I told you it would work out,” I say.

  “All right, I’ll just listen to you from here on out,” he says, laughing.

  “Can I get that in writing?” I joke.

  Katie comes to the door and waves us over. Standing behind her is a woman who has Katie’s eyes and her sweet face. She smiles as she looks at us.

  “Mom, I’d like you t
o meet my boyfriends – both of them,” she says. “This is Tyler Black, and this is Austin Murphy. Guys, this is my mom, Susan Jenkins.”

  “So nice to finally meet you,” Susan says, giving us both a warm handshake.

  “And you, too, ma’am,” I say, trying to turn on the charm.

  “Katie has told us so many good things about you,” Austin says.

  “Please, come in, come in,” she says, leading us inside to sit around the tidy, comfortable living room.

  She uses a walker to help her get around, and Katie stands nearby to make sure she sits down in her chair safely.

  “So you fellows work with Katie?” Susan asks.

  “Yes, actually they’re my bosses,” Katie says. “They’re the CEOs of Tyaus Technology.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful,” Susan says. “Katie is always talking about how much she likes her job. You must be treating her well.”

  “Well, hopefully we haven’t been making her work too hard, or too many hours,” Austin says.

  “Oh, not at all. I get by all right around here. And I have caretakers for when you two whisk her off to Santa Fe,” she says, winking.

  “Mom! How did you know I wasn’t telling the truth?” Katie asks, then to us: “I told her I went with Michelle.”

  Susan turns to us and says, “You can’t fool your mom for too long. I keep telling Katie this, but maybe she’ll believe me one day if she ever has children of her own.”

  “Mom, you just met Austin and Tyler and already you’re pushing for grandchildren?” Katie asks teasingly.

  Susan laughs. “Oh, I’m just joking. But seriously, I am delighted to finally meet you two. I know Katie was a little nervous to bring you guys around, I guess because she thought I wouldn’t approve of your non-traditional relationship.”

  Austin and I both exchange glances with Katie, all of us a little uncomfortable.

  “What Katie forgets is that I lived through the Summer of Love in San Francisco – this is pretty tame compared to what I used to see – and do – back then,” Susan laughs.

  Katie groans. “Oh, no, please no tales of your hippie days just yet.”

  “No, no, I won’t embarrass you, I promise. But I really am happy for you three. I don’t care who Katie is with – even if there’s two of you – as long as you treat Katie well and make her happy.”

  “They do, Mom, they really do,” Katie says, looking into our eyes.

  “I’d say we’re all pretty much giddy in love, ma’am,” I say.

  “Well, that’s all I need to hear, then!”

  “So you’re telling me that all this time I’ve been worried about you getting upset about this, and hiding them from you, and you wouldn’t have even cared?” Katie asks incredulously.

  “Now you’ve got it! Katie, you always worry so much, dear,” she smiles at her daughter, then turns to us. “It’s my fault, really, for needing her help so much. She kind of had to grow up too fast. But maybe you boys can show her a good time and take her mind off her worries.”

  She gives us a wink.

  “Now, who’s hungry? I think a celebratory feast is in order. I can’t do it all by myself, but I can give good directions to everyone else in the kitchen,” she laughs again.

  “Sounds great,” Austin says. “It’s been a crazy day, and I’d be willing to bet these two are just as hungry as I am.”

  “Definitely,” I agree. Katie helps her mom into the kitchen, where we all work together to prepare a delicious home-cooked dinner.

  As we chop vegetables, Austin and I exchange smiles, and I know what he’s thinking. Watching Katie help her mom so patiently and selflessly, we realize just how much she has sacrificed for her mother and just how big her heart is. She truly is beautiful. It makes me love her even more.

  I’m so happy to meet her mom – now our love feels complete and more real. It’s true – we won’t be hiding anymore.

  While we’re eating and sharing food and laughter with Katie and her mom, I feel like I’m part of a family. This is my new family, and my heart is bursting. I look over at Katie, then at Austin, and we all smile. I finally found what I needed.

  Chapter 36

  Austin

  After dinner, Susan insists we take Katie out. The three of us drive north out of town to our favorite beach and spread out a big blanket on the sand with a bottle of red wine and three glasses.

  “I feel so much better now that my mom has met you,” Katie says. “I almost never keep secrets from her, so it’s a big weight off my shoulders now. And she told me that she really likes you both.”

  “We really liked her, too. Your mom is hilarious,” Tyler says.

  “Yeah, it was great to meet her,” I say. “Thanks for introducing us. It really means a lot that you’re being so open about us now.”

  “This is much better – I hated having to hide you guys.” A look of worry comes across her face. “But what about the company? I didn’t want to bring it up in front of my mom, but I’ve been so worried about what will happen after losing the contract with Jack.”

  I look at Tyler, and he nods.

  “We’re letting Tyaus Technology go.”

  “What?” Katie exclaims, surprised. “Why are you doing that?”

  “Because you’re way more important than that company,” I say. “I got carried away with our bottom line, with our reputation in the technology industry, and I lost sight of what was important. If that photograph hurts our business, than it’s all for the best. We don’t want to deny our relationship, and we’re not hiding you anymore. So if having that company means we have to keep you a secret, then we don’t want it anymore. You are all we need now.”

  Katie is quiet for a moment, then wipes a tear from her eye.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she begins. “I’m touched that you would want to do that for me, but I don’t know – I mean, you guys built that company from the ground up...”

  “Yeah, but what good is it if we can’t hold your hand in public?” Tyler asks. “If we have to maintain an illusion at work, and deny our true feelings? It’s just not worth it.”

  “But there’s got to be some way of having both things, isn’t there?” Katie asks. “I can’t just let you give up your work, your business, for me!”

  “We’d do that and so much more just for you, Katie,” Austin says. “We love you more than anything.”

  Katie wipes another tear from her eye and falls into our arms. “Thank you, really… I just … I just love you both so much.”

  And she doesn’t need to say anything more, because we know how much love we have for each other.

  The next morning, I walk into the office prepared to give the staff the bad news – we’re dissolving the company, and they will need to look for other jobs. Of course we’ll be giving everyone very generous severance packages, but I know they will take the news hard.

  I’m surprised to see Tyler there before me, smiling and chatting animatedly with Katie and several others from the sales team.

  “The company is saved, Austin! We’ve just had an unbelievable amount of sales, like nothing before,” Tyler says.

  I blink, confused. “What? Why would this happen now? Who bought it all?”

  “Yeah, I don’t know yet, the invoices just now came in. I’m looking at them now,” he says, clicking around on Katie’s computer to find them. “Okay, here they are – “

  “Le Projet!” Katie interrupts, reading over Tyler’s shoulder.

  “Le Projet?” I repeat. “Grace Jacobsen’s company? I can’t believe it!”

  “Yeah, and it’s so weird – there’s a memo on every invoice that says ‘Let love rule.’ What does that mean? And look at this... there are invoices filing in from other agencies, too. People are saying that they don’t give a damn about Brice’s photograph.”

  I glance at Katie, and she has a bewildered look on her face.

  “Grace – Grace Jacobsen – I met her,” she says, stunned. “I met her yesterday.
”

  “What? Where?”

  “What did you talk about?”

  “It was in this bar out in the suburbs. I didn’t even tell her who I was, but I guess she figured it out.”

  Katie smiles, her eyes lighting up. “She gave me some good advice about following my heart.”

  “So you made an impression on Grace Jacobsen yesterday, and today she decides to buy an unprecedented amount of products from us. And apparently she told all her associates to do the same,” I sum up. “That’s incredible!”

  “You saved the company, Katie!” Tyler sweeps her up into his arms, covering her in kisses.

  “And the best thing is that everyone knows about the photograph and no one cares,” I say. “They’re buying the products anyway.”

  “I can’t believe it!” she gasps.

  As word of the flood of sales spreads around the office, everyone is overjoyed. The sales team members exchange high fives and slaps on the back, and congratulations are given all around as the rest of the office (minus Jessica, who was sent her walking papers the day before) rally around us.

  Tyler pulls a few bottles of champagne from his office, to everyone’s amusement.

  “To Katie!”

  She looks around shyly at everyone, playing it off as nothing. She insists that she was just chatting with Grace at the bar, but we know the truth: she saved Tyaus Technology.

  Katie, Tyler and I retreat to my office, and excitedly discuss the whirlwind of events.

  “So this means you can keep the company?” Katie asks, her eyes shining.

  I look at Tyler and he smiles.

  “It’s looking that way, right, Austin?” he asks. “If we don’t have to hide Katie, and pretend to be people we’re not, then I don’t see why we can’t keep it going.”

  “Well, only on the condition that I can learn to pace myself with work and stop putting it before everything else,” I say.

  “We can definitely help with that,” Katie says, giving me a naughty smile.