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Cupping his cheek, I shushed him gently. “Shh… Please don’t fight. You guys have been friends forever. I don’t want to be the reason you fight.”
Bennett made a face but stayed silent, leaning into my hand. I glanced between them, biting my lip.
“If it makes it easier, we can just say we’ll only meet when we’re all together. I don't want anyone to feel left out or anything.”
Luka scowled. “That sounds like a huge pain in the ass. What if he’s busy? I’m not allowed to see you just because he can’t be there?”
“Luka, stop being an asshole,” Mr Andrews commented, his eyes still glued to his paperwork. “She’s trying to come up with a solution. Either come up with a counteroffer or stop whining.”
Luka made an irritated noise. “If you’re such an expert, then you come up with something.”
Mr Andrews finally looked up, an annoyed look on his face. I thought about suggesting moving this conversation to either Bennett’s or Luka’s office, but Mr Andrews gave a suggestion before I had the chance.
“If you’re going to share her, then I suggest keeping it simple. You each get a day with her alone and a day where you meet up together. That covers three days a week, giving Julie the opportunity to relax without overworking herself to make you two happy. No showing up to her place without her permission.”
It was a jab at Luka, and since his suggestion made sense, I wasn’t going to argue that I enjoyed Luka’s impromptu visit. It was a little awkward to be putting it all out there like this, but I didn’t want another issue with someone feeling left out again, so when they both looked at me, I nodded.
Luka frowned but seemed to begrudgingly agree. When I looked up at Bennett, he seemed a little more anxious about it.
“And… you’re sure you’re not just doing this because you feel like you have to? I–”
I put my hand over his mouth, stopping him before he could spiral again. “I’m sure, Bennett. I like spending time with both of you. Honestly, I feel a little selfish demanding both of your attention, but… I don’t want to choose.”
His face softened, and he ran his fingers gently through my hair. He still hadn’t released his hold on me and being cuddled against his chest eased the tension a little. Especially when Luka came up behind me and surrounded me on the other side. Being with them made me feel better. I didn’t know what that said about me that one guy wasn’t enough, but I wasn’t willing to look at it too closely right now. When I was with them, I wasn’t thinking about my heartache or the fact that Alan had already moved on. If he got to see someone else so soon, why couldn’t I?
* * *
The rest of the week was easier. The guys agreed to start the week fresh beginning on the weekend, so there would be no conflict over whose turn it was. They both came to eat with me at lunch and when I started bringing in enough food for the three of us, they seemed overjoyed. It was a lot more work, but I liked the distraction when I was home alone. I enjoyed cooking anyway, so it wasn’t a big hardship for me.
My week was busy with Mr Andrews. Between the many meetings he had scheduled, I also started working on an application to put online for the position of secondary secretary for Mr Andrews. He got it approved through HR pretty quickly. Apparently, everyone was thrilled with how easy Mr Vanderbilt had been to deal with this time around, so Mr Andrews’s interest in bringing me along to more meetings was met with avid enthusiasm. It made me really proud, and I was in a good mood all week. By the time Friday rolled around, I had the application submitted online and a few applicants already. Mr Andrews said I’d get to do the hiring myself so that I’d be able to pick someone who worked well with me. It was exciting and a little nerve-wracking. I’d never interviewed anyone before.
“When do you start interviews?” Luka queried. He was in the back seat of Bennett’s SUV. We agreed to meet after work and spend time together, though the guys never said what exactly we were doing. I assumed it’d be a repeat of last time and I kept having to cross my legs to ease the heavy ache between my thighs at the thought.
“Stephanie in HR said to give it at least a week to let a few applications come in, to avoid missing someone by choosing too early.”
Bennett frowned. “She’s not choosing for you, is she?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s all going through me, but I’ve never done anything like this before, so I asked for her advice when I brought her the application I wrote up.”
“Good. They suck at choosing secretaries. Need our help?”
“Yeah, Bennett is the one that found you. He’s an expert at choosing the perfect secretary,” Luka added with a smirk. The compliment made Bennett flush, but he grinned and tapped his knuckles against Luka’s when he leaned forward for a fist bump.
I shook my head, pressing my lips together to hide my grin. “I think I’m okay, but I guess I know who to go to if I need help.”
Bennett beamed at me. He was doing a lot better now that things were spelled out. That and I gave him permission to text me as often as he liked. He said he was worried about bugging me, but I enjoyed talking to him. It wasn’t like he was being possessive, demanding to know where I was or something. He was just talking about nothing. He liked to send me pictures too. Just this morning, he sent me a picture of a pigeon carrying an entire slice of pizza while it flew overhead. I thought for sure it was going to drop it.
When Bennett pulled into the garage of a building I hadn’t seen before, I looked around with a frown. I’d been to Luka’s place, and I knew what building Bennett lived in. Neither of them seemed interested in going there, so I had no idea where we were.
“Where are we?”
“You’ll see. Come on, sweetheart.”
I shot Bennett a confused look, but he just smiled softly and shook his head. Luka appeared at my door, opening it for me and grabbing my hands, forcing me out of the car. This wasn’t what I thought we’d be doing, and I was too embarrassed to admit I was disappointed. It wasn’t all about sex, after all.
They guided me to the elevator and once it opened on the top floor, they urged me down the hall and to the apartment at the end. Luka didn’t even knock, unlocking it and throwing the door open while he bellowed, “Honey, we’re home!”
Bennett guided me inside with a hand on my lower back. We followed Luka, pausing in the living room. It wasn’t until Mr Andrews came out of a room to the right with a frown on his face that I realized where we were. My mouth fell open, and I shot a wide-eyed look at Bennett. He shrugged.
