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“He’s from Alabama,” Eli pointed out.
“Ok, could you borrow a plane and dump his ass over the border in hostile territory, maybe wearing an offensive t-shirt?” Jake offered. “Something nasty about the religion or government of the area?”
“Apart from being severely illegal and violating his human rights, it isn’t logistically possible given the fuel capacity of the private jet that I’d request access for on short notice,” Eli said seriously.
“On the other hand,” I said, “I could supply the t-shirt. I know a lot of dirty jokes. Ones that only land in certain languages and cultures.”
After that, the discussion turned serious again and we strategized a way to keep Jasmine safe. Even though she wasn’t a paying client, she was now our top priority.
14
JASMINE
The fourth candidate I interviewed seemed like a good prospect. I told her we’d be in contact with her soon. After she left, I made some notes in her file about how I thought she’d fit in with the team. I replied to some emails and turned down a job because we were booked solid. While I worked through voicemails and signed for a delivery of toner for the copier, my stomach grumbled. As if on cue, Jake walked out to my desk and asked if I could come to the conference room for a meeting. The bookkeeper would man the phones since it was time for my lunch break.
We didn’t usually have formal meetings in the high-tech conference room unless it was to impress some client. We just sat on the couches out in the waiting area and had a chat, so I was a bit thrown off. Maybe my nerves were just on edge because of the situation with Chris making an appearance.
A sick sense of shame rushed through me and twisted my stomach, taking my appetite instantly. I was the idiot who had gotten with him and stayed even when things got bad. I’d been a dumb, stubborn teenager, and I was still paying for it to this day. I cleared my throat and blinked hard. I was not going to cry and feel sorry for myself and I wasn’t going to throw up. Even though I felt so much regret that it was physically sickening.
In the sleek conference room, all the Burns brothers were seated at the long, gleaming table.
“Wow, Avengers assemble,” I wisecracked. “What’s the occasion?”
“You,” Drew said.
I saw the upscale white paper shopping bags from a nice food delivery—not tacos or burgers, but some kind of real food that smelled amazing. I scanned their faces, looking from one to the other, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Have a seat,” Jake offered, pulling out a chair for me. I sat down, still bewildered.
“Is something wrong?” I asked as evenly as I could manage. It sounded more mature than ‘am I in trouble?’ which was what sprang to mind first.
“No, there’s no problem, Jasmine,” Eli said, reaching into a bag and removing big containers of food. It was Italian food from a little place downtown we all loved. My mouth watered at the smell of it.
“Just pick what you want,” Drew offered. “I ordered it family style.”
I took a bite of minestrone, hot and rich, and smiled. “This is great. Thank you. But I still don’t know why we’re in the conference room and making this like a meeting.
“This was my idea,” Jake said. “But I’m not sure how to begin now that it comes to the point.”
He was usually the shyest of the four and I wasn’t surprised he hesitated a little about introducing a difficult topic. Which was when my sympathy for him ebbed away because I realized what this was about. I put my spoon down, head swiveling to look at the door. Panic poured into my veins. They were going to make me choose one of them. I choked on the drink of water I tried to take to steady myself. There was no way I could do this. They wanted to bring up the enthusiastic threesome we’d had and how it was a problem for the brothers.
They were famously open and straightforward, never wanting any kind of grudges to develop between them. I could have accidently caused trouble, and now they were going to be gentlemen about it and tell me it could never happen again.
The job I loved, the friendships I valued—I’d ruined all of it. I was going to have to quit my job and leave the firm over it, because I could never choose one of them over the others. They were too precious to me, and they’d been so instrumental in helping me get back on my feet and survive and learn to value myself again after I moved here.
This was how I’d repaid them. By getting stupid and fucking two of them at once in their house. I put a hand over my mouth. I had to calm down and be rational.
“I can’t do this,” I said, pushing back my chair and getting to my feet. “I’m sorry. I know I crossed the line the night I moved in with you. I was distraught from everything that had happened, and I took advantage of the comfort you offered innocently. I’m sorry. I never wanted any of you to get hurt, and it’s my only regret, that I did something to hurt you or cause division between you. Forgive me.”
I swallowed hard, knowing that I’d said all I could. There was nothing else I could do other than wait for them to confer and reach a verdict on whether they could stand the sight of me at the office or not. I tried not to give in to the urge to beg for my job. I loved my work and it made me feel strong and capable after everything I’d been through, but I wouldn’t take pity. If they didn’t want to deal with me after I crossed that boundary, I would accept it without argument.
“You’re not understanding,” Ty said, “We’re not upset with you. Wewantyou.”
“What?”
“If you’re up for it, we talked about it and decided that we don’t want to ask you to choose. We all have feelings for you, we’re all attracted to you. So we just want you to consider the possibility of having a relationship with all of us if you think you could.”
“This isn’t something we’ve ever done before,” Jake offered. “It’s completely new, but we all feel this way. So instead of making things awkward and asking you to choose, I know it sounds unusual, but just take a little time and think about it. Whether you’d be interested in spending time with all of us. One on one, in pairs, all of us at once, whatever you feel comfortable with.”
