I grab two of every type of muffin, happy no one else is in there. I’m sure they’d have issues with the billionaire boss taking all the free muffins.
When I get back to my office, I find the last thing I expected to see.
49
Lucas
“I HATE SEEING YOU NOT feeling well. What can I do?”
“There’s nothing you can do, Luke. This is just a side effect of the chemo. It sucks, but it’s what happens.”
“I know, I just hate it. I don’t like not being able to do something to make this better.”
“The three of you are so lost.” She chuckles softly. “You’ve finally found something you can’t just throw your money at to make it all better. My body doesn’t give a shit how much money you have.”
“You know we don’t care about the money, right?”
“Only because you’re used to having it. Money doesn’t make you happy, but having it makes life a little easier. Before I met you guys, I felt like I was barely keeping my head above water... you three swept in and turned my life upside down in the most amazing way possible.”
“We love you, Logan.”
“And I love you guys.”
Logan squeezes her eyes shut, sucking in a deep breath through her nose. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she actually turns green.
“Trash can!” She chokes out.
I jump out of my chair like someone bit my ass and rush to grab one from Parker’s bathroom in his office. Just as I get back to Logan’s side, she starts vomiting. Everywhere.
“Oh my... Shit!” I groan, my stomach churning. I don’t do vomit. I can handle just about anything else but puking.
I turn my head to the side, trying my hardest to pretend this isn’t happening. I’m covered in vomit that isn’t even mine.
“I'm so sorry,” Logan groans. I risk opening my eyes to check on her, boy is that a big mistake on my part.
As soon as I see the mess around me, my stomach wins the battle. I make it half way to the bathroom before my lunch makes a reappearance. I drop to my knees, heaving again and again.
“What the fuck happened in here?” Parker’s words come out half a whisper in disbelief and half a growl.
“She puked on me,” I mutter between dry heaving. I don’t think there’s anything left in my stomach anyway.
“So, you decided to try to outdo her? It’s a side effect for her... But you? What the fuck’s wrong with you?”
“I don’t do vomit!”
“I'm so sorry, Lucas.” Logan’s soft voice comes from the couch. I wave her off but I'm not very convincing when I'm still dry heaving on my hands and knees.
“C’mon, baby. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Parker helps Logan to her feet, leading her into his bathroom. He scowls at me with a head shake, he looks so disappointed.
The shower turns on... Yes, we have showers in our bathrooms at work. We’ve spent many nights here, working until the wee hours of the morning. The couches are comfortable because we’ve slept on them more times than we can count. There are showers because our employees can’t know we never went home.
“Jeez, what the hell happened?”
I glance over my shoulder, finding Owen standing in the doorway. His eyes are wide, a grimace on his face.
“Logan puked on me!”
“Ohhh, so you lost it?”
“Yes! At least you understand.”
“Yup, you wanted to take attention away from the sick one and onto you. Such a drama queen.” He smirks. Little shit knows how much I can’t handle vomit.
“You’re a fucker, you know that?”
“I do, but do you think you can tell the women in the office? Some of them didn’t get the memo.”
“Owen?” Parker calls from behind the closed door.
“Yeah?”
“Do you have any spare clothes in your office? Something Logan could wear?”
“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”
He throws me another smirk before he leaves, shaking his head as he goes.
I struggle to get up, my body weak and shaky. I tug my phone out of my wet pants, grimacing the entire time. I scroll through numbers until I find someone who can clean up this mess for us. Within minutes I have a company scheduled to come out in twenty minutes with a crew to clean Parker’s office. I’m never going to hear the end of this.
When Owen comes back, he chuckles at me still sitting on the floor, stepping over the wet spots on the carpet until he gets to the bathroom door.
Parker opens the door wide enough to grab the clothes, making sure his body fills the doorway so Owen can’t see in. He’d definitely try to catch a peek of Logan in the shower if given the chance.
“He’s gonna kill you when he’s done.” He smirks when he comes to sit down near me.
“It’s not my fault!”
“Says the man covered in puke.”
“Logan started it!”
“Are you really childish enough to blame it on the woman going through chemo? She can’t help it; it really isn’t her fault.”
“I know it’s not her fault!” I fall back onto the carpet, groaning when my hair becomes wet.
“Yeah... I wouldn’t have done that if I were you. You might wanna go shower.”
“I don’t even have a change of clothes.”
“I might have something I can give you.”
“Based on that shit-eating grin, I don’t think I want it.”
“Would you rather walk around covered in vomit? I guess you could go home but how will you ever get in your car without making a mess of your seats?” His smirk grows even larger.
“Fine! Bring them to my office, I’m gonna puke again if I don’t get cleaned up.”
I have a feeling I'm going to regret this but I have no choice.
50
Logan
“WHY ARE WE HERE?” I whisper to Owen.
“You mean other than the fact Parker’s office is gross as fuck? Trust me, you’ll thank me later for this.”
I settle into Parker’s lap on Lucas’s couch, he rubs a gentle hand up and down my back. He’s the best when it comes to making me feel better.
The water turns off, making Owen’s already mischievous grin widen even more. I can only imagine what he’s up to.
“Motherfucker!” Lucas growls from inside his bathroom.
“What’d you do?” Parker’s lips twitch with amusement.
“Luke needed some clean clothes. I gave Logan one set and I only had these left.” He shrugs a shoulder, acting innocent, which we all know he isn’t.
The bathroom door flies open, a pissed off Lucas standing in the doorway. His glare is trained on Owen.
“Oh, fuck! It’s even better than I ever imagined!” Owen howls with laughter, clutching his stomach as he falls to the side.
My entire body starts shaking but it isn’t from my own laughter. Parker has silent tears of laughter streaming down his face.
Lucas holds his arms out at his sides, looking down at himself.
“Where did you get these? Did you rob a child’s closet?”
He’s wearing a skin tight white t-shirt that ends well above his belly button. The pants look like he was poured into them, ending just below his knees. He looks absolutely ridiculous.
Pushing myself off Parker’s lap, I take pity on Lucas since no one else is going to.
“Give me the shirt and pants, you can have these.” I motion to the clothes hanging on my thin body.
“Listen, when I gave Logan those clothes, I didn’t know you’d need some too! Or I would’ve given her the smaller clothes.”
“But where did you even get these?”
“They’re Avery’s. She left them at my place, I was supposed to take them to her today, but obviously they were needed elsewhere.” He shrugs a shoulder like he’s the good guy here. “It’s not my fault my sister’s tiny as fuck. Complain to her, not me.”
Lucas tug the shirt a few times but he can’t get it off.
Owen rolls his eyes, coming to help him. When the two of them can’t get it off, Parker joins in on the fun.
“How hard can it be to get this off?” Parker mutters, pulling as hard as he can.
It takes them much longer than I would’ve thought to get Avery’s shirt off of him. When they do, Lucas stumbles back, tripping over a chair and falls flat on his ass. A loud groan leaves his body.
“Are you ok?” I kneel down beside him, brushing his long shaggy hair out of his face. I'm shocked Anderson’s never made a comment about it.
“Just fucking great.”
“Let me get changed so you can wear normal clothes... I'm gonna need those pants too.”
He lifts his legs into the air, motioning to the boys. They each take a leg, tugging with all their might. They drag him around the room until he grabs onto the legs of his desk.
A burst of laughter breaks free from me, I double over, tears trickling down my face. The boys stop everything and just stare at me.
“You alright over there, Little L?”
“Yes... Oh my... fuck...” I gasp between laughs. “Can you... imagine if... someone... walked in... right now!”
They glance at each other before they all burst out laughing, even Lucas.
After we’re all able to regain our composure, they wrestle Lucas out of Avery’s pants, leaving him only in a pair of boxer briefs and give everything to me to change into. The sweatpants and t-shirt fit perfectly. I hand over Owen’s clothes to a thankful Lucas.
“I'm really sorry about what happened.” I squeeze his hand. “I feel terrible.”
“Don’t even worry about it, Logan. We both survived... Me? Barely, but I survived somehow. Can we not make it a habit though?”
“Deal! Next time I’ll puke on Owen.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” Lucas smirks.
“Wait! What? Why the hell am I getting puked on?”
51
Parker
“Do you have the documents for our meeting on Friday?” I glance up from my desk, my gaze focusing on my gorgeous fiancé laying on the couch.
She’s almost done with chemo, but is still having a rough time with the nausea and fatigue. I decided it’s better to have her in my office... and near a bathroom, just in case. Most of her work she can do from the tablet, and anything else we’ve been delegating to Lucas or Owen’s assistants.
“Yup! They’re in your middle right drawer.”
I quirk a brow, not believing she knows exactly where they are without a second thought. When I jerk the drawer open, I smirk, she’s never wrong. She’s so organized she always knows exactly where everything is.
“Have I told you today I don’t think I could go back to surviving without you?”
“Are we talking at work or at home... or in the bedroom?” Her voice lowers to a seductive tone at the end.
I throw my head back; a deep chuckle fills the air. I love this woman.
“Work.”
“Then... nope! Not today. But I enjoy hearing it.”
“Mr. Scott!” Anderson’s voice barks from the hall. I roll my eyes so hard I'm shocked they don’t fall right out of my head.
“What do you want, Anderson?” I ask on a hefty sigh.
“Did you get a chance to look at those companies I gave you?”
He steps into my office, not looking anywhere but at me. I turn my attention to Logan.
“Did you get a chance to look at them, Ms. Johnson?”
“I did. I have my report ready for you when you have time to look at it.” Logan smiles. She loves pissing off Anderson.
We discussed these companies with Owen and Lucas three days ago. We already know they’re complete trash. Logan was right, as usual. Anderson has been bringing us bigger and bigger companies, trying to get us to waste more and more money. If we took half the deals he’s presented us, we’d be out of business by the end of the month and he’d be rolling in money.
“I brought those to you, Parker. I expected you to look into them, not your assistant,” He sneers.
“And as you’ve been told countless times, everything goes through Ms. Johnson now.”
“Does she have a business degree or any sort of background that qualifies her for this position beyond her physical appearance?”
I’m out of my seat in the blink of an eye. Standing toe to toe with him, my fist clenching his shirt.
“Parker...” Logan’s voice holds a warning, but I ignore it. He’s attacked Logan since the second he met her. No one will talk to my future wife like this.
“If you ever talk badly about my fiancé ever again, I’ll make your life a living hell. She doesn’t need a degree or experience when she’s naturally talented at this job. It’d behoove you to keep yourself in check and keep your fucking mouth shut. I won’t ask again.”
I push him away from me, causing him to stumble before he regains his balance.
“I have a meeting set for tomorrow afternoon to talk about the deals. I’m making a presentation and Mr. Scott, Mr. Powell and Mr. Coleman have decided to discuss which companies they believe would be in the best interest for all of us. I think everyone will enjoy the outcome that way, understanding the pros and cons. Maybe it will help with future prospective deals, helping employees know what they’re looking for.” Logan throws him a sweet as sugar smile, but I see the venomous glint in her eyes. She can’t wait to strike on this bastard.
“Oh, ok. That’s sounds like a great idea.” Anderson’s thin lips turn up at the corners. He thinks he’s won, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth.
I catch sight of Lucas and Owen making their way to my office. I don’t need Anderson here when they come in.
“Mr. Anderson, if you could please give us the rest of the day to handle our thoughts on those deals, we’ll give you our answer tomorrow. Powell and Coleman are coming now to go over Ms. Johnson’s findings.”
“Oh! Of course! I’m excited to attend the meeting tomorrow.”
The fucker walks out of my office with an extra bounce in his step. I can’t wait to destroy him. Anyone who thinks they can ruin my company is going to be taken down. We don’t back down; we protect what’s ours.
52
Logan
THIS IS THE LAST PLACE in the world I want to be right now. I’ve been nauseous and dizzy most of the day, but if I tell Parker that, he’ll insist on canceling the meeting. I just want this over with. I want Anderson in jail and out of this company. It will be one less thing for me to worry about.
“Is everything ready?” Lucas questions the second he walks into the boardroom.
“Yup. The detective is sitting in Parkers office, listening in and waiting for his cue to come down here.”
“Is this how shit normally works?” Owen pipes up.
“Nah, but Parker wanted to see the look on Anderson’s face when he realizes he’s going down. Nelson went along with it; he hates scummy people.”
“Whatever, I just want this dickhead out of my company for good.”
“Should we be handling this with employees witnessing it?” Lucas questions for the hundredth time.
“Yes. If you don’t show proof of what he’s done, your employees will believe you three fired him because you butt heads.”
“Quiet, here he comes,” Parker hisses under his breath.
Anderson strolls in with a confident smirk on his face. I wonder if he’s pulled this shit before with their dads and got away with it, or if he’s just confident in his assumption the boys are stupid.
Doris and a few other employees enter the room and take their seats. Once everyone is present, I immediately hand out a packet of information. I know from experience Anderson never even glances at them.
“Please don’t look ahead in the packets, there’s some information that will only make sense in time. We want your full attention on Mr. Scott, Mr. Powell and Mr. Coleman.”
“Actually, Ms. Johnson, I’d love if you took lead on this. The rest of us can add in o
ur two cents if needed.” Parker gives my hand a reassuring squeeze like he didn’t just drop this bomb in my lap.
“Great,” I hiss, running a hand down my skirt, buying me a little bit of time to pull myself together.
I’m an idiot, I should’ve told Parker I wasn’t feeling well. He never would’ve asked me to do the presentation if he knew, but I can’t tell him now. He’d throw me over his shoulder and carry me all the way to our condo if he had to.
“Sorry, I wasn’t prepared to be the one presenting this... Here are five companies Mr. Anderson has brought to the attention of Parker, Owen and Lucas. If you flip to page two through sixteen you can see the financial information Mr. Anderson provided.”
I give them a few minutes to look over everything, letting them digest the information for themselves. I glance at Parker, he nods his head, giving me a slight grin. I love you he mouths; a genuine smile takes over my face for the first time. I’d do anything for this man.
“So, what does everyone think about these companies?”
“They look like solid investments,” One man mutters, searching the documents again.
“I think we’d be stupid not to buy them out.” Another adds.
“Exactly. That’s what we thought too.” Lucas keeps his voice calm and in control, not giving away his true emotions at all.
“Do you see anything negative about them?” Owen probes.
A round of disagreements fill the room. They all love what they’re seeing.
“Perfect. That’s exactly what we wanted to hear from all of you.” I give them the sweetest smile I can muster, meeting each and every person’s gaze.
I open my mouth to continue, but the world starts to sway, my vision blurs and I stumble before I'm able to catch my balance. Parker and Owen are at my side faster than I can blink. They practically carry me to a chair and force me to sit. Owen motions to Lucas for him to continue the presentation.
“Are you alright, baby? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Parker’s concerned gaze warms my heart.
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