Page 53 of Faking it with My Billionaire Bosses

My skin itched with panic. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I didn’t even know what I was going to do or say. I was afraid they’d say what Samantha told me was all true. Maybe they’d apologize and think I’d just be okay with everything. What if they said it wasn’t true, but they still didn’t want things to develop farther with me? I just had no clue. I knew if I let myself hope, the blow would be too great for me to bear. I had a dream in my head, but it terrified me to even think about it. If it never happened, it would be crushing to have the image of what could’ve been.

I was going to take an Uber to the park, but the guys sent a car instead. The entire ride to the park, I was a mess. By the time the car stopped outside of the entrance to the park, I’d cried enough I knew my entire face was red and I couldn’t do anything about it. I hadn’t brought anything to fix my face. The idea hadn’t even crossed my mind.

The guys were sitting at a picnic table in a corner of the park, waiting for me. When I spotted them, my feet quit moving and I felt another wave of nausea. I didn’t want to face them. I was too scared of how things would end. I stared at them, so afraid of making the wrong choice that I was paralyzed. Gia was right. My mommy issues were messing with me. I’d seen Mom makethe wrong decision over and over again and I just didn’t want to be like her.

Price spotted me and stood up. Without waiting on his best friends, he took long strides across the park towards me and didn’t hesitate to wrap me in his arms when he reached me. He held me tight and took a deep breath. “I fucking missed you.”

Before I could respond, he pulled back and took my hand. I stumbled along behind him as he led me to the picnic table. My body didn’t feel like my own. My limbs were too clunky and awkward as I tried to walk along. I realized I was on the precipice of the rest of my life and the idea scared the hell out of me. One wrong move and my future could be no better than my mom’s. The million panicked thoughts racing through my head were all variations of me ending up hurt in one way or another.

I’d been so much braver while texting the guys to set up the meeting. When it was time to face the music, I wanted nothing more than to run. Rosie and Gia could bully me for the rest of my life, I decided as my feet stopped moving a few feet away from the table.

Cole growled and closed the gap between us. He sat, tugged me onto his lap and locked his arms around my waist. When I shot him a frown, he just shrugged. “I recognize the look of a runner when I see one. You’re not running from us again, baby. We’re having this conversation.”

Price and Drake sat across from us and they both looked exhausted. I hung my head so I didn’t have to see it, but their expressions were burned into my brain that quickly. A quick glance up at Cole told me none of them had slept much. They all had dark circles under their red-rimmed eyes. They looked disheveled in a way I’d never seen before.

“Do you have anything you want to start with? Or can we start?” Drake’s voice was rougher than normal and when I methis gaze, I hated how clearly I could see his guilt. What all was he guilty of?

I cleared my throat and locked my hands together on the table in front of me. “I just… I need to know the truth. All of it.”

Price nodded and sat forward. “We wanted to make sure we covered every single doubt you might have about us. Every office in our building has a security camera. We had security send over a copy of what happened between you and Samantha. I didn’t want to miss anything so I took notes.”

A flash of heat scorched me at the idea of watching that interaction, but when Price unfolded a sheet of paper and I saw the neat list he’d made, I was thankful I wouldn’t have to watch myself crumble in front of Samantha. I was also slightly floored at his thoroughness.

“First off, I haven’t touched Samantha in years. She wasn’t lying about Cole and I sleeping with her, but it was a long time ago. Cole and I were both very drunk and it was right after the divorce. I think Samantha was trying to fix things, in her fucked up way of thinking. I’m not proud of it. I wish it’d never happened, but it’s the truth and I won’t lie about it. Not to you.” Drake leveled a stern look at me. “The idea I’ve been slipping away to sleep with her is preposterous, though. It’s offensive. Since I met you, I’ve barely been able to think about anything else. I’m behind on work, I can’t remember the last time I watched TV that wasn’t something Rosie picked, and I fuck you every chance I get, Sonnie. I’m not a machine; my dick is tired when I’m done with you.”

My mouth fell open. I hadn’t expected him to be so blunt. I opened and closed my mouth but I couldn’t think of an intelligent thing to reply with.

Price nodded. “He’s not wrong. We’re giving you everything, in every way, Sonnie.”

I gripped my hands together tighter. “So, no one has been sleeping with Samantha. That’s good.”

Drake grunted. “What’s next?”

Price looked at his list and tapped it. “The idea we knew about that contract.”

Cole shifted me on his lap so he could see my face. “The contract Drake brought you at first was the only contract we knew about. It was lucrative. Our lawyers were pissed with us about it but because we wanted to make damn sure that you were getting a fair trade out of all this, we didn’t care. After we all met, though, the contract was forgotten. Not because we didn’t want to protect you, but because what was happening between us didn’t feel like something you put in a contract. We felt something for you instantly, Sonnie. After that, we didn’t think about the contract.”

“It was careless. It left you open to be preyed upon, like Samantha and Paul did with that bullshit contract they made you sign. We should’ve protected you. I think we were just hoping things would work out in a way that would have you in our bubble…forever. We didn’t want to protect you any less, we just wanted to do it like men protecting their woman instead of a business protecting an asset.” Price held my stare. “That contract they tricked you into signing isn’t enforceable, Sonnie. They tricked you into signing it. No judge would uphold it, ever. Not that we would ever try to cash in on it. We don’t want money or anything else. We only want you.”

“I don’t have to finish their plan?” I looked at each of them. My heart was hammering away. Part of me wanted them to assure me I didn’t have to finish Samantha’s evil strategy, but another part of me wanted them to want me to keep seeing them desperately enough to toe that line. I was losing it.

“No. That’s over. Samantha’s gone. Paul’s gone. We’ll be releasing a statement regarding their behavior in a couple ofdays.” Drake sighed. “That gets us to the part of this that doesn’t feel so good.”

CHAPTER 41

Sonnie

“What is it?” I swallowed audibly, so many nerves bouncing around inside me I was struggling to choke them all down.

Drake flattened his hands on the wooden picnic table and looked out across the park. “When we went to meet Paul and Samantha when this whole thing started, we were given a few options. The first was to end it all right then and pretend like you were just a hookup. We’d still have to individually date other women to fulfill Paul’s bullshit mission. The second was to keep seeing you, dating you individually, and then they’d have us break up after a while and paint us as the victims.”

Cole’s arms tightened around me like he was terrified I would run at any moment. “We told them we wouldn’t do that to you, but we couldn’t give you up. We were selfish and we wanted you.”

“We told ourselves we could control the situation and if things between us did end, we would handle it. In reality, though, we were assholes. We couldn’t give you up and we took a chance with your life we didn’t have the right to take.” Price rubbed his jaw and let out a deep sigh. “We each just hoped it wouldn’t end. We thought if it didn’t end, the public would have to change their mind about the narrative and everything would be fine. That wasn’t our choice to make, though.”

Drake finally looked back at me and his gaze was haunted. “We did sacrifice you, Sonnie, but it wasn’t for our reputation. None of us could give you up and we decided our desires for you were worth the risk. I’m sorry. I don’t want things to end. I care about you, Sonnie, and last night was miserable without you. If you can’t forgive us, though, we’ll figure out a way to fix public perception. We’ll make it right, somehow.”

“I’m sorry, too.” Price nodded. “I don’t want to lose you. What we have feels fucking special, but we fucked up, but we have to give you the chance to choose.”

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