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“You mentioned you don’t trust him?” I ask. “Nate, that is?”
“Right. He’s trying everything to isolate us from Matthias. We’ve attempted to include Nate, too, but he’s not been open to us.”
Basic Narcissism 101.
“Matthias isn’t speaking to me, either. I don’t know what the solution is, but as you know, if anyone fucks with any of you…”
“I know, I know, they have to come through you first,” he answers, having seen my protective nature with these guys a time or two.
He leaves with an awkward little wave, because that’s how Reggie is. And fuck, if I didn’t have enough on my plate already…
After the revealofTheBone Collectorto the press, we open the floor for questions. Matthias, Finn, and Caleb are the only ones who tolerate the press enough to endure their torture. They have a monitor near them that Reggie can answer questions from afar, in case the press asks something neither I nor the men know the answers to.
“Mr. Hennessy, we’ve seen you out on the town a lot with your new boyfriend, Nate Williams. What can you tell me about your plans for the future with him?”
I lean forward to redirect the question. “We’re here about the newest game, and not our personal lives—”
Matthias interrupts me. “It’s okay, Ms. McDonald, I’ll answer them.” Matthias has never once called me Ms. Nor has he cut me off in front of the press.
I look to the side of where we sit, the four of us, with microphones, bunched all at the same table. Matthias moves hisattention to the side, as I do, and there sits Nate. He wasn’t there when the presentation began.
“Come here, honey.” He stands and helps Nate to the stage. They’re both to the right of where Caleb, Finn, and I are sitting. “As you all know, this is Nate Williams. We’ve been dating for a while now, and I guess it’s as good of time as any to announce to the world that we’re getting married.”
My head turns to Caleb, and he mutters under his breath, “Un-fucking-believable.”
For fifteen minutes they field questions about their upcoming nuptials. No questions are asked about the game releasing in a couple weeks. It’s all overshadowed by this uncalled-for announcement.
I push to my feet. “Thanks so much for coming.” Security ushers the press out of the conference room.
I can’t get out anything before Caleb is in his face. “What the fuck was that? We’re promotingThe Bone Collector, not your relationship with this bozo.”
I don’t have a chance to step between Caleb and Matthias when the other two barrel through the doors.
“What the actual fuck was that, Matthias?” Edwin is the first in his face and is by nature the more emotional one in the bunch. “We were supposed to promote our game. It wasfree publicity. We already have over five million budgeted for advertising alone, and that’s a small amount, in comparison. And you throw that away because you wanted to announce your engagement?”
Nate stands next to the door, as if he doesn’t have a dog in this fight. His arms are crossed at his chest, and he seems amused.
“Nate, can you give them a minute to work this out as partners?” I ask.
Matthias jumps toward Nate, standing in front of him. “He’s not going anywhere! We share everything.” His voice isn’t thecalm Matthias who can talk down any of his partners, nor has he ever yelled at me like he just did.
Finn, the man of reason, steps in front of me. “You better watch the way you speak to Sandra, my friend. We won’t put up with it. And as far as he goes”—Finn points to Nate, who’s still smirking at the events playing out in front of him— “he may be your partner in life, but our contracts state that no one through marriage has a stake in our business venture. So, I’ll politely ask him to piss off and get the fuck out of this room as we discussbusinessamong ourselves.”
Finn typically is the man with an easygoing temperament, but not today.
Matthias takes Nate’s hand and kisses it. “Could you wait for me in my office, baby?” he asks, and all the men roll their eyes at Nate’s fake reaction. He smiles at us, and it’s right then I realize there’s a reason I trust my intuition. The asshole is a walking red flag.
“Hey, guys, before we begin, why don’t we sit down and discuss this like the adults we are?” This is my suggestion. I think it’s a good one too. Reason, it’s what we need.
But after twenty minutes of trying to play mediator, I give up. They can work it out on their own. Fucking overgrown children.
At what can only be described as a day from hell, I smile at Dom’s name on my screen. Never thought I could miss someone as I had with Dom.
Dom:Come over to my apartment. It’s where Otis and I are. I have everything he needs and extra food. I even packed an overnight bag for you, just in case I could talk you into a night at my house.
“You’re sofuckable in that dress. And what in the actual fuck happened at that press conference?” It’s how Dom greets me when he opens the door with Otis scrabbling at my legs and yipping.
“Hello to you too,” I reply. His hands wrap around my waist, as I tip my head and he bends down to meet my lips. His hand slips up my skirt, just past the knee, and I relax into his touch.
