“Of course, Mr. Grange. I will be right up.”
“Is Melody pretty?” Scarlet asked from behind me, her voice a little more quiet than what I was used to.
“Why, love? Jealous?” I turned around to face her and leaned against my desk. She shrugged, her tough-girl armor fully back in place.
“I spoke to Sebastian earlier today about all of us,” she said, still making her way around the office. “You guys all know I’ve been with both you and Seb in some sort of way.” She paused and looked at me. Her awkwardness was written all over her face. Even the way she was standing was unusual for her. Scarlet was normally so sure of herself, but right now she looked vulnerable. All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms, but I knew she needed to get this out.
Sebastian had told me what she had told him earlier. She was worried that she would end up having to choose one of us. Seb and I had agreed a while back though that it wasn’t right to make her do that. And, truthfully, neither of us minded sharing her. We shared everything else in life, and he was someone I trusted completely. Did I like to think of her on anyone’s dick other than my own? No. But I wasn’t going to make her make a decision she clearly didn’t want to make. She could be our girl.
“So is that going to be a problem? Sharing me? And what if Elliot enters the equation as well? Are you guys going to be okay with me being with all of you?” She planted her hands on the back of the couch that was across from my desk. Her fingers gripped into the soft fabric, and I smiled at her, trying to put her at ease.
“Babe, you were ours the moment Sebastian tackled you in the woods. All of ours.” I made my way over to her and took her face in my hands. “I want you to stop worrying about this. As long as I get a piece of you, I am more than happy to share you with them. But only us.” I felt a mood come over me at the thought of her with anyone else but us. “If anyone else touches you, I will flay the skin from their body.” She smiled. “Understood?”
“Understood.” I slanted my mouth across hers, and she opened hers immediately. She tasted like cherries and something else that was just so Scarlet it made my head spin. A knock at the door had me reluctantly pulling away from her.
“Come in,” I called to Melody. The sweet older woman with greying hair and an outfit any grandmother would be envious of walked in and smiled widely at Scarlet.
“Mr. Grange, how lovely to see you again. And you must be Scarlet!” She advanced on us and took Scarlet into her arms. Scar’s eyes went wide as saucers, and I held back my laughter. Melody always had been a hugger. From the day she interviewed for us all those years ago, she had been the mother hen, always making sure we were eating and taking care of ourselves.
“Lovely to meet you,” Scarlet wheezed.
Melody let her go and patted her cheeks before turning to me. “Are you all taking care of yourselves? I haven’t seen you in far too long. You look too skinny.” She poked my stomach, and I slung my arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.
“Melody, we are fine. But you’re right, we haven’t been around enough lately. How about we all have dinner tonight at the loft?” Her eyes lit up.
“I would love that.”
“Now, Scar,” I said, turning my attention back on her. “Don’t let Melody here fool you. She’s all smiles and hugs now, but this woman is tough as nails. She doesn’t take any shit from anyone.”
“Exactly,” Melody said as she looped her arm through Scarlet’s. “So if any of those boys give you any issues, you come to me and I’ll handle it.” Scarlet looked at me and smirked.
Great.
“Same goes for anyone here. Anything you need, anyone bothering you, you let me know. I will take care of it.”
“Perfect, thank you,” Scarlet said.
“I’ll have her back in a few hours when your meetings are done,” Melody said. And with one last smile, Scarlet followed her out of my office and to the fiftieth floor where she would get acquainted with everyone. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, looking out the windows over the city.
I didn’t know what the fuck we were going to do about her family. If they were still trying to test us, to take over our shit, we were going to have a problem. I knew that meeting with them had gone too smoothly. The pit in my stomach grew. What if taking and keeping his kid had the opposite effect? What if we had just pissed him off instead of tightening the leash?
“Fuck.” I picked up my jacket and hung it up before making my way back behind my desk. Just a few meetings to get me through the afternoon and then a dinner. Then I would worry about what our next step was going to be in this mess we created.
I sent off a quick text to the boys to let them know we were going to have dinner with Melody at the loft tonight and then settled in to get ready for the meetings I had slotted for the next few hours. I hoped Scarlet enjoyed her afternoon much more than I was about to enjoy mine. As much as it frightened me, I wanted her to want to stick around.