Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“God, it’s just like when we were in school,” Ford said.
The four of us had attended boarding school together. When Ford was caught kissing a local boy, some classmates started bullying him. Carter jumped right in and beat up the boys badly enough to send them to the infirmary. Worth and I stood by Ford while Carter served his suspension, and I’d had my parents—some of the school’s biggest donors—intervene to make certain Carter wouldn’t be expelled.
From then on, the four of us were inseparable. Eventually we each confessed to being either bi or gay. Over the years, various ones of us had considered dating the others, but that never worked out. Now we knew we were all better off as friends. I shared things with the three of them that I would never share with anyone else. I trusted them, and it took a hell of a lot to earn my trust.
While we remained at school, we all made certain that anyone who went after any one of us suffered. Sometimes that involved violence, but we often used our connections to make our enemies’ lives hell. Worth and I could accomplish pretty much whatever we wanted with a snap of our fingers. I wouldn’t say we’d reformed by any stretch of the imagination, but we were slightly more discreet now than we’d been back then. Ford was raised by his grandparents who were reclusive and not as easily swayed as mine and Worth’s parents. Carter’s father saw him as the black sheep of the family and interacted with him as little as possible.
“It’s good to see all of you,” I said.
Worth laughed. “Of course it is. Everyone always wants to see me.”
Ford turned his “bullshit” into a cough.
Carter caught my eye and raised his brows. “So, did you hire Ben?”
“I told you I was going to.”
“And I told you that was foolish.”
Ford’s eyes widened. “You actually hired him to be your assistant? When you know his father and brother want to steal from you?”
“Oooh, this is going to get good,” Worth said.
“I don’t know why you’re surprised. I told you that was my plan. Keep your enemies close and all of that.” I’d talked to both Ford and Carter when I had received Benjamin’s application. Carter had been the one to oversee his extensive background check.
Carter studied me for a moment. “I’m not convinced you actually think Ben is an enemy.”
“He isn’t so far. He’s just related to them.”
“And probably working for them,” Ford said. “Why do you think he applied for this job?”
“We’ve already been over this.”
“Not with me,” Worth said. “Spill it.”
I gave him a short version of the story.
“So you hired him for revenge?”
I glared at Worth. “No.”
“He hired him because he’s fucking hot,” Ford said.
“That is not true.”
Carter snorted. “You actually think we’re going to believe that?”
It didn’t matter how well I could lie—and I was damn good—these guys knew me too well. “Fine. He is hot, but that’s not what I hired him. I want to figure out his motives. I want to know if he was forced to apply by his family or if he’s here of his own volition?”
“You could find that out without hiring him,” Carter said. “Admit it. He intrigued you.”
Worth was grinning so wide his cheeks had to hurt.
“All right. Ben does intrigue me. Today was the first time in years I’ve had fun an interview.”
“You interviewed him yourself?” Ford asked.
“How else was I going to figure out if I wanted to hire him as my assistant?”
Worth laughed. “Don’t you have people for that?”
Normally, someone applying for Benjamin’s job would have gone through several preliminary interviews before I spent time with them. I would only meet them if the others thought they were a top candidate. “This is a unique situation.”
“Anybody else want to make a bet on how fast Miles is going to get his dick in this guy?” Worth asked.
“Two days,” Ford said at the same time Carter said he’d give me a week.
“You’re going to get yourself in trouble if you keep hiring people you’re attracted to,” Ford said.
“I’ve had one scandal. One.”
“That’s only because you haven’t been caught with anyone else.”
“Why would I want to work with people I don’t like.”
“You hate Frank.”
“True, so I need to balance things out.”
Carter rolled his eyes. “You like us, but you don’t want to fuck us.”
“Y’all are different. And I work with plenty of people I have no intention of sleeping with.”
“You wouldn’t be in need of a marketing director if you hadn’t slept with her either.”
I huffed. “Maggie was here temporarily.”
“She was damn good at her job,” Ford said. “She could’ve been permanent.”
“Well, she’s very happy in her current position.”
“You two still talk to each other?” Worth asked.
“Sure.”
“She hated your guts when she left.”
I shrugged. “Time heals all wounds.”