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“I knew you’d see reason,” I said, beaming at him.
It softened him up, but I could tell he was still in a pretty messed up mood and there was no convincing him to get out of that state. So I didn’t bother.
“I need to go back to work soon, by the way, so I probably won’t be here when you take off your cast. But I can’t wait to get home when it’s gone, baby.”
That gave him pause.
“You called me baby.”
“Only because you’re being a baby now,” I teased.
He pouted again but relented. “Maybe I deserve that.”
I chuckled and kissed his cheek, loving the way he lost some of that grouch whenever I sweet-talked him. I hoped his good mood lasted in the next few days, especially when I wasn’t around.
Or I hoped that if he did get into a bad mood, it wouldn’t be too terrible.
***
It was fun returning to work but also stressful trying to make up excuses of why I hadn’t been around frequently, so I kept it simple and said it was a family emergency. To be fair, Matthew was already family from the start, and by extension, so were the two other men. I thought it was a good start to a wonderful day and nothing could kill it.
I was wrong.
When I got back to the apartment with takeout food and customer stories that Sebastian would love hearing about, I was greeted with faint shouts coming from one of the bedrooms. That became loud shouts when I opened the door to Sebastian’s bedroom and found Sebastian and Rupert having a shouting match about… looks?
“You’re an ugly piece of shit and you should get out of my apartment!”
“It’s our apartment, you goon, and you’re not looking very good yourself! Who the hell cares that much about how their cast is taken off, anyway? It’s just a goddamn cast.”
“You tore it off and could have broken my fingers! How the hell am I going to function without my fingers, you bozo?”
My brows rose so high as I tried to process how ridiculous the argument was getting, with neither party ready to back down. My gaze zoned in on Sebastian’s hand, free from its cast. But he was still having trouble wiggling his fingers, and I wondered if that triggered the fight.
“Guys—”
“Your hand isfine.It’s your attitude that needs some adjusting at this point.”
“I didn’t start this,” Sebastian protested.
Rupert scoffed. “You started it the moment you began to act like the world’s against you. Guess what? It’s not. You’ll be fine. And I’m not going to tolerate your ridiculous demands anymore.”
“Fine by me.”
“Guys!”
My second call of warning was louder and more effective, cutting off the rest of the argument. The two men glowered at each other, still highly agitated. But one look from me was enough to have Sebastian turning his head away. Rupert stalked out of the room without a backward glance. I kissed Sebastian on the forehead, deduced he didn’t want to talk, and closed the door. Then I went to Rupert’s bedroom and tried not to ogle as he changed his clothes in front of me.
“That was partially my fault,” he muttered. “I might have yelled at him first.”
“Why?”
“Just… work stuff.” He ran a hand through his hair, then stopped when I did the same and eventually took over. Rupert closed his eyes when I began to massage his temples, a sign of trust that never failed to leave me in awe considering our rocky start. I kissed his cheek.
“Slow business?”
He was silent for a while before he patted his lap. My eyes widened, but I didn’t hesitate sitting there. Then it was my turn to be silent as he told me about the tampered goods and how the client not only canceled the contract but announced to a lot of her peers how unreliable Rupert’s service was.
“Does Matthew know?” I asked.
