Page 41 of Notorious Park Avenue Prince

“Nope.” Archer finished off his drink. “But you just answered one of the questions I was wondering about.”

“Which is?”

“Are you going to entertain this little threesome fantasy of theirs? I can see the interest in Zac, but East is such a shit. If you take him on, you’d have to employ one hell of a stiff hand to that arrogant ass. Actually, you might be the right fit for that task.”

I finished up my meal and reached for my napkin. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. If anyone found out?—”

“They’d what? Fire you? You’re planning to leave after graduation anyway, and they both only have a couple more months…”

“Are youencouragingme to do this?”

“As you pointed out, I live with my college-aged boyfriend, so it’s not like I can really take the high ground now.”

I let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose, the ramifications of my actions still weighing heavily on my shoulders. I’d known it was a bad idea to engage with Zac and East, yet the second I saw the two of them naked in front of me, I’d been helpless to stop the release they incited.

Was I really entertaining the idea of more?

I already knew the answer to that. I’d known before I sat down to dinner with Archer. I couldn’t stop thinking about Friday night or erase the visuals that would creep up on me at any given minute of the day.

It was so unlike me. But then again, so was what I was contemplating doing next.

“You’re going to do it, aren’t you?”

Archer was smart enough to know I wasn’t going to answer. I was a private person by nature, whether it came to my job, my business, or my sex life, and that wasn’t about to change now.

“I guess I don’t have to say ‘be careful,’ because if anyone can handle East, it’s you. But that boy is cunning and smart, so don’t underestimate him.”

“I’m aware.” Which was another reason what I was thinking was a monumentally bad idea. “Just as I’m aware of who his father is and what’s going on there.”

“Bad business deals get made all the time, though. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“I’m not.”

“So do you still think East is a good asset, then?”

“East isn’t his father. Whatever is happening there has nothing to do with James. But we’ll have to keep a close eye on it.”

“Agreed. But you’ll have to have someone else keep tabs over spring break. Preston and I are heading out of town for the week.”

“Oh? Where are you escaping to this time?”

“Saint-Tropez. I have a nice little villa I want to introduce him to. What about you, any plans?”

“Not yet.”

“Then maybe you should plan something.” Archer gave a knowing grin. “You and I are very driven people, Ty. Relax a little. If there’s one thing Preston helped me do, it was stop for a second and look around at what I was missing. Clearly, you’re doing the same. Maybe there’s a reason for that?”

Or maybe I’d just lost my mind contemplating all of this. Either way, I was thinking about it, and I knew myself well enough to know that I was more than interested. It was just a matter of whether the risk was worth it.

But I hadn’t gotten to where I was by playing it safe.

EIGHTEEN

east

THE ENTIRE CREW had gathered in Daire and Gavin’s condo Wednesday night, and it wasn’t until I saw the way every available surface was taken up by one of them or their significant others that I realized how big our group had gotten.

West commandeered one of the loveseats with JT pulled onto his lap the way he liked it. Donovan sat on the corner of the kitchen island with Kelly standing between his thighs, the both of them picking through the spread of snacks laid out and chatting with Preston, who was Archer-less for the night. Daire grumbled in his armchair that the massive bruise on his shin from MMA practice didn’t need attention, while Gavin swatted his hands away and told him he was “putting ice on it whether you like it or not, so stop bitching.”

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