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“She’s your direct report,” Owen said.
“We flirted before she worked here!” I argued. “But you got involved with heraftershe was here. You may not be directly above her on the organization chart, but you’re still her boss.”
“Okay, okay, let’s just calm down,” Owen said. “This isn’t the end of the world. Tell me how long it lasted between you two.”
“Lasted?” I frowned. “It’s still going on.”
He gave a start. “So is our relationship. It’s just physical, but…”
She’s been seeing both of us?I wondered.Is this because I made it clear we couldn’t get serious while I was her boss?
Suddenly there was motion at the door, and we both turned to see Amber standing there with her suitcase. She looked radiant despite dressed in simple jeans and a T-shirt, and the smile she gave both of us was warm and loving.
“What are you two doing in Melinda’s office?” she asked.
50
Amber
I spent the whole flight home thinking about Furio. Reenacting the wonderful week in my head. I’d had such an amazing time, and I found myself missing the Italian man already.
But I also missed Owen and Judefiercely. Flying back to San Francisco felt like I was flyinghome, and a big part of that was the two of them. I couldn’t wait to snuggle up in bed with Jude, or have Owen fiercely tear off my clothes the moment we were alone.
This brought on an intense sensation of guilt. With two men, I had summoned enough cognitive dissonance to pretend like everything was totally fine and normal and not weird at all. But now that there was three? The illusion was shattered. This was madness.
I was juggling three men at the same time. Had I really become that kind of girl?
I tried to rationalize it as the flight descended into San Francisco. I wasn’t using them. I genuinely had feelings for all of them, more than they had for me. Owen told me he wanted to keep things casual, and Jude was emphatic that we avoid getting too serious as long as I was directly working for him.
But did that make this okay? What was I going to do?
I knew I had to figure it out soon. I couldn’t keep doing this, because eventually the day would come when it blew up in my face. But for now, I couldn’t wait to see them again.
It was tough to choose who to be with first, but I ended up picking Jude. I made an excuse about needing to come into the office to speak about some vague aspect of theeTodointegration. So I said goodbye to the luxury of Furio’s private jet and took an Uber straight to the ACS office.
I felt giddy as I scanned my badge and walked through the front doors. I had only been gone for four days, but it felt like far too long. I had really missed this place, even aside from the two strapping men who I knew were here.
The door was open to Melinda’s office behind the front desk, and familiar voices drifted out. To my surprise, both men I had been eager to see were inside.
“What are you two doing in Melinda’s office?” I asked with a laugh.
As soon as they looked at me, I realized this wasn’t a laughing matter. Something was very wrong. And when I saw what document they were both clutching.
Oh,my brain processed, strangely calm.Oh no.
“Owen found out about us,” Jude said.
“Jude found out aboutus,” Owen said. “We found out about each other, actually. Seriously, Amber?”
I had experienced shock once before in my life—when I found out my dad had cancer—so I recognized the signs immediately. It was like my brain detached from my spine and floated a safe distance away, watching everything unfold without reacting emotionally. Logically, Iknewthat day had come when everything was blowing up in my face, but I didn’t feel any of the panic or fear that I should have.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“I thought you two hated each other,” Jude said. He wasn’t hurt; just confused. Like he was looking at the last clue in a crossword puzzle he couldn’t solve.
“We did… at first,” I said. “But then our pranks turned flirty…”
“Can we go somewhere else to talk?” Owen hissed. “Someone might hear us.”
