The Promotion (Contemporary Reverse Harem 3)

She crossed her arms, her face screwed up with thought. Christ, was it that big of a deal to her? She needed to get a life.

“I suppose.” Spell broken, she walked back behind her desk. “See you tomorrow,” she said, dismissing me without looking up.

Finally home, I smiled as I passed the painting Anson had bought me at his friend’s gallery. It was the perfect piece for my foyer and best of all, I saw it every day when I went in and out of my apartment. And thought of him, too, of course.

Throwing my things aside, I tied on an apron to protect my work clothes. The pizza dough I’d made the night before came out of the fridge, along with several different toppings, and the oven was set to five hundred degrees. The cork on the Chianti Classico was pulled, and I set three wine glasses out. The gelato maker was switched to on and filled with the pistachio mixture I’d also made the night before. I had even warned Sparkle, that if she came around, to make sure she was fully dressed. I was ready.

And not a moment too soon. My bell rang, and there stood Cato at the door, looking even more handsome than he had the other night at his boss’s penthouse.

What a night that had been.

“Hey, handsome,” I said, letting him in. “I barely saw you all day.”

He hooked his finger under my chin and tipped up my face for a delicious kiss.

“With this new job at the firm, it’s amazing I ever see the light of day.”

I took his hand and led him to the kitchen.

Handing him a glass of wine, I said, “I appreciate your being open about this. You know, meeting the others.”

“Happy to support the cause,” he said, settling into a barstool at my counter and raising his glass in a toast.

But something in his tone didn’t ring true. I turned to the sink to wash the vegetables and hide my face at the same time. His words had brought tears to my eyes. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was hurt Cato. My dear, dear Cato.

Was I being selfish in bringing the guys together? I’d gone into it with the best of intentions.

Shit.

But it was too late now. The wheels were in motion. They all knew about each other, and they’d all soon meet. The best thing I could do was be honest.

So I walked over to Cato.

“Hey,” I said, snuggling up to the stool where he sat.

“Hey, yourself,” he said, pulling off his glasses and setting them on the countertop. He’d loosened his tie, and goddamn if he wasn’t the epitome of the guy at work you most wanted to fuck.

I ran my hand along his thigh. “I don’t want this to be a bad experience. I know it seems unorthodox. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

He looked down at his wine.

I’d been right. There was something eating at him.

His gaze returned to mine. “I’ve had feelings for you for so long. I’d always hoped it would some day be the two of us.”

He might as well just have stabbed me in the heart. Because it sure as hell felt like it.

CHAPTER

Cato

I didn’t want to make Maizy feel bad. I really didn’t. But I’d set my sights on dating her so long ago, that now we were finally coming together, I wasn’t thrilled about being one of four. She had to choose one, and if I were perfectly honest, I wanted it to be me. The other guys might be great, but I didn’t really want to see her with them.

I wanted to see her with me.

You couldn’t blame me, really.

But I wasn’t going to be a dick about it. If she wanted us to get to know each other, hang out, even become friends, I was fine with that. On the positive side, it was going to be great to hang out with someone other than attorneys. I was the only scumbag lawyer in the group, thank god.