Page 20 of Icing on Top
“Hey, Sugar. Have a good workout?” Lincoln teased knowingly. “You all hopped up on endorphins now?”
“It keeps going like this, and I might need rehab,” I joked. “Where should I put my towel?” Linc took it from my hands and disappeared. I looked at Grant shyly. We interacted less, so I wasn’t as comfortable with him as with the other two. He reached for me as I approached, tugging me between his legs, and kissed my cheek. He then pulled the seat Linc had vacated and lifted me onto it.
“How are you today, Nova?” He asked politely. He was pleased I was there but was more reserved than the others. It felt like he was trying to calculate how much of a wrench I would be in their lives.
“I’m good. I made a lot of calls this morning about the Christmas Festival.” He looked confused, so I filled him in on what I was trying to do after visiting the orphanage the day before. When Lincoln returned, he pulled the empty stool on my other side closer to me and sat.
“Well, Triple Tech is more than willing to help with anything you need to pull this off. Why don’t you stop by sometime thisweek to discuss it more? I love the idea,” Grant replied. “And then, whether physical or financial, just call Joel; he’ll get you what you need. Speaking of,” Grant pulled an envelope out of his briefcase and slid it toward Ben. “Here’s the file you asked Joel to pull. Why do we care about Paul Altman?”
My eyes widen, and Ben looks at me sheepishly. “That’s my ex. Why are you looking into him? How did you even know who he was?”
“Stef told me who he was this morning. I just wanted to know more about the idiot that let you go,” Ben replied.
“Please don’t do anything to him,” I plead. “He loves working for you and was so happy when you trusted him enough to send him on business trips. I don’t want to be the reason he has problems at work.” The three men looked at each other and then at me with confusion.
“We’ve never sent him or any other employee on a business trip, Sugar,” Lincoln said gently.
His words and their meaning slowly sank in. At best, Paul lied to get away from me. At worst, he had been cheating on me. I was such an idiot.
“Oh,” I said, feeling angry and embarrassed.
Plugging Holes
Grant
Iwatched Nova’s face as she put the pieces together. Hurt bloomed across her face and conveyed in one tiny word.
“Oh.”
At that moment, I would have happily strangled her ex with my bare hands for causing her pain.
“We should fire his fucking ass,” Ben growled. I could tell she had planted herself under his skin as well. I would be suspicious of her intentions if it weren’t obvious how oblivious she was about the depth of my brothers’ feelings for her.
“N-no, please, not because of me,” Nova said. “I don’t want that on my conscience.”
I hated the wounded look on her face. I absolutely hated it. I also hated that she was still championing Paul after what he did to her. It was more than evident that he never deserved her. I had planned on keeping it platonic between us since my brothers were already a lost cause. I understood why that was the case. I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t also intrigued and surprised by myreaction to her pain. I knew I was starting to sound like a broken record, reminding them that we had a contract and that our time with her was temporary. One of us needed to keep our head on straight.
“She’s right. We can’t fire Paul without reason,” I said begrudgingly.
“Don’t worry, Sugar,” Lincoln assured her, “we’ll make sure he gets what he deserves.”
I rolled my eyes and glared at him until he met my eyes over Nova’s head. As much as I wanted to avenge her honor, it wasn’t our business and definitely wasn’t good business practice.
Ben changed the subject to the festival before I could get into it with Lincoln. I gave him a look to say that this wasn’t over. We will be discussing it further. After dinner, we watched another Christmas movie. This time, Nova chose “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and I tried not to draw similarities between my current mood and the old guy in the wheelchair. When the movie ended, Lincoln and Grant walked her to her car while I went back into the kitchen and started flipping through Paul’s file.
“You two need to fucking chill,” I said when they returned. “Nova isn’t ours to keep or protect.”
“Uh huh,” Linc replied. “If you feel that way, why are you reading that douchebag’s file?”
“I was curious. I wanted to know what kind of man throws away a girl like Nova.”
“He went to see her this morning after he saw the picture of her and Linc,” Ben said. “Caused a scene and called her a cow.”
My fists clenched at that information. Paul definitely never deserved her. “I’m sure we can find something to give us grounds for termination,” I growled.
“That’s what I thought,” Linc said. “You aren’t immune to her charms either. You just hide it better.”
29 Days Until New Year’s Eve
