Page 47 of Bossed By Three Billionaire Brothers

I let out a laugh that was half relief and half nervous. “Totally fine. Really. OK, I’ll be right back.”

As eager as I was to spend time with the guys, I needed a moment or two to catch my breath. I hurried into the house, then into the kitchen, poured myself a glass of water, and leaned against the counter, closing my eyes and trying desperately to get my out-of-control pulse to slow down.

Footsteps sounded out, and I opened my eyes to see Mathilde entering the kitchen. She regarded me with an expression of mild confusion, as if she couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on with me.

“Are you OK, Gen?”

“Yeah, fine now. Just had a little bit of confusion with the guys.”

She stepped over to the coffee pot and checked to see what was in there. “I have to admit, you seemed ratherenervewhen I saw you. I wanted to ask what was wrong but did not want to force myself into your affairs.”

I smiled, watching as she dumped out the old coffee into the sink and washed out the pot.

“I swear, I have no idea how youAmericainsdrink this sort of pot coffee. I mean, it does the job, but it is nothing like a freshcafé.” Regardless of her thoughts on the matter of filter coffee, she went to work preparing another pot. “You are feeling better now, yes?”

“Much. It was all kind of silly, really. Just a big misunderstanding.”

The coffee pot started percolating once Mathilde had it ready. She turned to me, leaning against the counter and folding her arms. “Would you like to share? If it is none of my business,je comprends. But I have to admit, I am curious.”

“No, you should know so you don’t think I’m crazy.”

I filled her in on the ridiculousness of the last hour since I’d been up. Mathilde listened with an amused expression. The coffee was done at the same time I was, Mathilde pouring me a cup without me asking.

“You know what the lesson of the story is to me?” she asked when I finished talking.

I poured a bit of milk into my coffee. “What’s that?”

“It tells me that you do not know the men very well.”

“How do you mean?” I sipped the coffee, feeling my vitality restored with every sip.

“What I mean is that, well, when you live here long enough working for them, one of the first things you learn is how they work together, look out for one another.”

“Is that right?” I was totally intrigued. The truth of the matter was that I hadn’t had that much of a chance to get to know the guys on a more personal level.

“They are like a unit, all three of them. That is how they operated before you joined the team. One would wake up Bobby, the other would get breakfast ready, the other would make sure diapers and such were stocked. It is as if they share the same mind. When you see it in action, it is very easy to understand how they managed to create such a successful company.”

She smiled and went on. “And it is more than just taking care of matters around the house. They are truly there for one another. Not only one another, but the staff as well. I am sure that one of them spoke to you about taking a day or two off here and there.”

I laughed. “Yep. Said I had to take at least one day off a week.”

“That is because they are looking out for you. They do the same for me and the rest of the staff, noticing when we’ve gone without some time off. They will practically shoo me back to my bungalow when they think I have been working too hard. Not to mention they always remember birthdays, family events, all of that. They are truly very special men.”

The way she warmly smiled as she spoke made it clear her words were coming from the heart. I sipped my coffee, eager to learn more.

“You will enjoy your time here, I know it.”

“I already am. I mean, it’s hard to even wrap my head around how… unreal they seem.”

“Three handsome brothers, all brilliant and kind, they are indeed like something from another world.”

I smiled again, glancing down at my coffee. “I’ve been friends with Amy for a long time. I’ve known Sam, but only heard stories about her amazing uncles. They were both so involved in her life. I remember once she went off to visit Sean for a month during the summer and she told me while she was with him, he treated her like a little princess, even learning how to do a French braid just for her.

“And Sam would always do nice things for her too, like how it was their little tradition to do high tea on her birthday. Oh! And when it came time for her to go to college, I remember her telling me about the conversations she’d had with her Uncle Seth, how she’d wanted to go into STEM but was worried it wasn’t for her.”

“Oh, I bet he had all kinds of things to say about that.”

“He sure did, like ‘smash that fucking glass ceiling with both fists!’” We both laughed as I did Amy’s impression of her uncle.

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