“Fair enough.” I’ve no desire to risk anyone’s life. Enough damage has been done today. I shake his hand. “Thank you for your help.”
“No worries,” he says. He hesitates, about to say something else. “You’re the billionaire on the Post this morning, right? My wife reads that rag.”
Damn Cyrus and Juliette. “I am.” My voice is curt.
He raises his hands. “I just want to tell you how wrong I think it is.” He frowns. “They have no right to be in your business that way.”
“Thanks.” I’m about to add something else, when I see a person I very much want to talk to. Juliette. “Mr. Williams,” I look at the fire chief, “will you excuse me? I need to catch up with someone.”
I’m having the morning from hell. We all are. At the university, Bailey’s worried about being fired. Sebastian is comforting his staff, most of whom are in tears. Juliette didn’t cause either of these two things, but if she was responsible for our picture in the tabloids?
I’m not in the mood to be kind.
Approaching her, I take hold of her elbow. “Juliette,” I tell her, my voice simmering with barely-contained anger. “Can we talk?”
42
Bailey
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.
Charles M. Schultz
I go through my day on autopilot. At three, I give up on the grading and head back home. Piper’s sitting on the couch, smothered under a pile of blankets, and Jasper’s fulfilling his role as paperweight, sitting on her stomach, looking smug. “You’re back early,” she says. “How come?”
“I might be getting fired.” I sit on the other end of the couch and draw the blankets over me.
“What? Why?”
I tell her the whole sorry mess. Her eyes get wider and wider as I relate all the events of the crazy day - the plagiarism accusation, the photo in the tabloid, Daniel’s phone call, the ‘I love you’ declaration.
“Wow,” she says when I’m done. “That’s a pretty eventful day. All I had to do was listen to Wyatt Lawless and Owen Lamb tell me that my menu was disorganized and scattered.”
“Ouch,” I say sympathetically. “I hope you told them where to stick it.”
She dismisses her partners with a wave. “Forget them,” she says. “I’m certainly planning to. So, your guys said ‘I love you.’ What happens now?”
“Only Daniel said it,” I clarify. “I still don’t know what Sebastian is thinking.”
She snorts inelegantly. “Sebastian Ardalan is a chef, Bailey. He’s been cooking meals for you? Packing your lunch? Making breakfast? The man loves you.” Her eyes soften. “We cooks tend to show our love with food.”
I think I’m going to cry. If that’s true, that’s probably the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. “You think?” Jasper stretches and lurches toward me, deciding that my lap resembles his next bed. I scratch him behind his ears.
“I do,” she says. “Are you stressed about your job?”
“Yeah,” I confess. “I love them, Piper. I really do. And I think that Daniel should fight back.” I sigh. “Still, I’m not looking forward to having my naked pictures all over the Internet.”
Piper gets up. “Where are you going?” I ask her.
“To put the kettle on,” she tells me. “Unless you want hot chocolate instead?”
That sounds amazing. Not as good as being snuggled between Daniel and Sebastian, but it’s a pretty close second. Jasper’s warm body in my lap helps as well. I feel slightly better. “Yes please,” I tell her.
We start spiking our hot chocolate with tequila and peppermint schnapps when Gabby comes over. She’s the only one of our gang who can make it tonight. Wendy’s working and Miki’s been scarce lately. I think her marriage is falling apart, but she won’t talk about it.
The three of us are a sad bunch. I keep glancing at my phone to see if I’ve heard from Sebastian or Daniel. Gabby’s distracted by something as well, though she insists she’s fine. And Piper’s still steaming about the criticism of her menu.
Then, Piper flips on the local news, and we discover that a fire has destroyed most of Sebastian’s restaurant. When I see that, I’ve had enough. I don’t care about the tabloids. I don’t care about Cyrus’ threats or Juliette’s conspiracies. All I care about is being with the men I love.
I rise to my feet, displacing Jasper, who jumps to the ground with an indignant yowl. “Fuck this shit,” I announce. “I’m tired of being miserable here. I’m going to find them.”
I text Daniel and Sebastian. ‘I’m coming over. Don’t try to stop me.’
Daniel replies back within seconds with instructions, because that’s the kind of thing he does. ‘The Plaza, room 221. Want me to send a car?’
‘Subway’s quicker,’ I type, a smile breaking out on my face. ‘See you soon.’
“You have to go see about a boy, Bailey?” Piper giggles, wildly misquoting Good Will Hunting.
I wink at Gabby and Piper. Now that I know I’m going to be seeing Daniel and Sebastian soon, I feel so much better. “Not one boy, ladies. I have to go see about two of them.”
43
Sebastian
The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“I’m so sorry,” she says as soon as I open the hotel room door. “I just saw the news about your restaurant on TV.”
I draw her into my arms and hold her, taking comfort in the feel of her softness, the smell of her hair, the sweet and trusting way her head rests on my shoulder. “I missed you,” I whisper. “What a fucking day.”
We stand there for what feels like hours. Finally, I disentangle us gently, and lead her in. “You hungry?” I ask her automatically.
She smiles at that and she hugs me again. “What’s that for?” I ask, surprised. “Not that that wasn’t very nice, because it was.”
She shakes her head. “Piper said something to me,” she says mysteriously, taking off her coat and tossing it on the back of a couch. She looks around the spacious living room, takes in the three doors leading off it. “Two bedrooms and a bathroom?” she guesses. “You guys don’t know how to do low-key, do you?” Where’s our resident billionaire?”
Her voice is fond, not mocking. “He’s on the phone with Stone Bradley,” I answer. “He’s the investigator.”
She sits on the couch, and pulls me down with her, resting her head on my shoulder again. “Are you okay?” she asks softly. “I know how much that place meant to you.”
“Yeah…” I hold her hand and it feels like home, sitting next to her, talking about our day. “We were lucky. No one except Ben was around.”
“Ben, your problem sous-chef?”
I nod. “I don’t know what he was doing there,” I say. “When I was starting out, I would go in on the days I didn’t have to work and try to teach myself new techniques. Maybe he was experimenting with a new recipe…” I swallow, thinking of Ben’s frail body in the hospital. “He’s been badly burned,” I tell her. “He was in a forced coma when we visited, but the doctors think he’s going to make it.” I close my eyes and tighten my grip on her hand. “Had it been any other day of the week…”
Her hand, the one that isn’t tight in mine, strokes my back. “You’re a good person, Sebastian,” she says softly. “What about the restaurant itself?”
“Closed for a minimum of six weeks.” I exhale. “We’ll work through it. We always do.” I bring her hand up to my mouth and touch the soft skin with my lips. “I love you.”
Her eyes twinkle. “I know. Piper told me.”
I’m confused by her words, but not interested enough to sort it out. It’s enough that she knows how I feel. “Clever woman, Piper. I hear she’s driving Lawless and Lamb crazy.”
“Is she? She won’t give me any of the good gossip.” She strokes my cheek. “I love you too, you know.”
The tightness eases in my chest. “That’s good,” I tell her. “
That’s really good.”
There are days when the sex between the three of us is heated and explosive and raw. Today’s not that day. The sex is sweet and sensual, slow and tender. When I part her thighs and taste her, her breath catches. “Sebastian,” she whimpers. “Oh god yes.”
Daniel lowers his mouth over her lush breasts. I see a flash of his teeth as he nibbles at that erect nub, and her reaction makes my dick ache. She pushes her hips against me. “More…” she begs. “Don’t stop.”
“I’m not planning on it,” Daniel replies.
Me, I’m enjoying the taste of her too much to break away. She tastes sweet and salty and right. Her body quivers when I peel back her hood and trace a tiny circle over her clitoris. “I’m going to come,” she gasps as I repeat that stroke, over and over. I can feel her tense, her muscles tightening as she nears her climax. Her hands grip tightly at my hair, and she pushes my mouth deeper into her pussy.
Her face distorts with pleasure as she comes, but I don’t let up. “Once more,” I tell her, my voice muffled by her pussy.
“I’m good with that,” she exhales, and both Daniel and I chuckle. That statement is pure Bailey. She likes her orgasms, my fiery redhead, and she’s not afraid to ask for them.
“Switch with me,” Daniel tells me. “I want a taste too.”
We trade places. I move up the bed and kiss Bailey deeply. I’ve never told a woman that I love her. Work has kept me busy, and my restaurants have been everything to me. Today, on a day when Seb New York has almost been destroyed, I feel the warmth of Bailey’s body next to mine, and the fire doesn’t seem to matter as much. Those three simple words - I love you - seem to bind us closer, deepening the intimacy between us.
She tries to wriggle away from Daniel’s mouth, her pussy sensitive as a result of her first orgasm. This is typical Bailey as well, and Daniel and I exchange grins. She wants the orgasm, but she’ll try to writhe away from it. “Stay put, sweetheart,” I tell her, pinning her in place with my leg.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she throws her head back on the pillow, her red hair a contrast against the pristine white of the sheets. “Daniel, please…”
Her body trembles and shivers as she comes with a moan. It’s too much. I need to be inside her right now, and from the look in Daniel’s eyes as he lifts up his head, he feels the same way.
Grabbing a condom from the side table, I roll it on and ease myself into her hot pussy. She’s wet and tight, her sex swollen from her two orgasms. The sensation is bliss. Pure, unadulterated bliss.
Daniel positions himself behind her and pushes in her asshole, after the application of generous amounts of lube. She groans as we both fill her. “This,” she gasps, “feels so good.”
Daniel kisses the back of her neck, pushing her curls out of the way. My palms graze over her erect nipples, and she hisses in pleasure and rakes her nails down my back. “Tiger,” I accuse her with a smile.
She starts to say something in reply, then Daniel nibbles at the curve of her shoulder, and she loses her train of thought, throwing back her head in a gesture of complete abandon. “Bailey,” Daniel mutters. “You are so beautiful.”
It’s been the day from hell. As my lips meet hers, it all fades away. In the softness of her body, in the sweet sigh of pleasure she makes, in the sheen of sweat on her skin as she rocks between us, I come home. As she writhes against us, I know I can’t last much longer. I’m going to come, whispering her name, kissing her skin, touching her and holding her.
This is love, and it’s the only thing that matters.
“I forgot to ask earlier,” she says, once our passion is sated, her voice heavy with exhaustion. “Did you guys ever talk to Juliette?”
Daniel’s playing with a lock of her hair, winding it around his fingers and releasing it, then winding it up again. “Yeah,” he says. “We talked to her.”
“And?” She props herself up on an elbow and looks at him. “What did she say?”
I think back on our conversation with Juliette. It had been unexpected. I thought she would deny what she did, but she had confessed to everything. Cyrus had lied to her and he’d used her. She’d given him the photo, but she swore to us that she didn’t know he would leak it to the press.
Though I’m furious, I think I believe her story. Of course, our business relationship is over. I won’t work with someone I can’t trust, and whether Juliette intended harm or not, she should have never gone behind my back.
“She confessed that she planted the camera,” Daniel says. He shakes his head. “Cyrus gave her the idea. He’s been grooming her for weeks, insinuating that Sebastian would be much better off without either you or me holding him back.”
“Oh.” She bites her lower lip as she thinks that over. “She gave Cyrus the camera?”
“No, thank heavens.” This is the bit I’m most grateful about. “Cyrus promised her that he’d just use it to scare Daniel into ending the threesome, but she grew uneasy with the plan.” I frown. “She’s a little too comfortable with the idea of blackmail, Juliette. I don’t like that.”
“She didn’t trust Cyrus, I take it?” she asks.
Daniel shakes his head. “No, she didn’t. She just gave him the one photo with your face obscured. Cyrus knows who you are, unfortunately, but at least there aren’t any photos. Or worse, video.”
“What happens now?”
Daniel exhales. “There’s more to the story. Have you ever wondered why I’m in the press all the time? I’m a CEO, not a celebrity. I might be rich, but in New York City, there are at least two dozen people richer than me, and they never get photographed. Stone Bradley figured it out. Cyrus has been selling me out to the tabloids all along. He’s been paying the paparazzi to trail me.” He looks grim. “He could never move directly against me. I have enough votes on the board. This way however? If he portrays me as an irresponsible playboy, and if he can blame the failure of the Ryan Communications deal on me?”
She hisses. “Suddenly, your board reconsiders. Damn it. What are you going to do?”
“Expose him. Juliette’s agreed to tell her story to the board tomorrow.”
“Is that going to be enough?” Her voice is skeptical. “It’s her word against his, isn’t it?”
“Stone’s looking for evidence,” Daniel says. “The board meets in the morning. If he’s found something by then, I’ll use it. If not, Juliette’s the best that I have.”
We’re all silent as we each contemplate the next day. Daniel’s going to be in the fight of his life to protect his company from Cyrus. Bailey has her hearing at NYU to contend with, and I have to go deal with the aftermath of the fire.
Tomorrow’s going to be another long day, but no matter what, I know we’ll all be just fine. Because today, we all discovered something really important. We can handle anything the world throws at us. As long as we are together.
44
Bailey
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets
I’m so used to staying over at Daniel’s that it takes me a few minutes the next morning to register I’m somewhere different. The usual morning aroma of coffee is absent, as is the sound of Daniel clattering around in his kitchen, trying to make breakfast, until Sebastian mutters a curse and swings out of bed to help him.
I’m at the Plaza. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that today’s the Day of Judgment for all three of us. Daniel meets his board. I have my review with the university and at some point today, Sebastian will meet the safety experts and the insurers and find out how long it’ll take for Seb New York to reopen.
Sebastian strolls into the bedroom, his hair damp from a shower. A towel rides low on his hips and I openly lick my lips. I’m not looking forward to today, and staying in bed and having sex with Sebastian seems like a much better plan.
“Don’t you dare,” he warns as he realizes my intent, though fr
om the gleam in his eyes, my horniness isn’t entirely unwelcome. “Come on. Out of bed with you. Don’t you have a meeting with your university president this morning?”
“Yes,” I groan, pulling the covers over my head, muffling the sound of my voice. “I would like to skip it entirely.”
Daniel enters the room, holding a cup of coffee. He’s fully dressed - he’s wearing a gray suit with some kind of darker weave running through it, a light shirt and a purple tie, and he looks good enough to eat.
With a grin, he waves the cup in my direction, and I emerge out from under the covers to glare at him. Damn it, that coffee smells really good. Good enough that I want to get out of bed for it. “That’s not fair,” I accuse him.
“But it’s remarkably effective,” he replies. “Come have breakfast with us before I have to take off. Is the tie too much, do you think?”
With a start, I realize Daniel’s nervous. Most of the time, Daniel’s in perfect control. He’s smart, he’s well-informed, and he’s entirely too self-assured for his own good. When he plays, he plans on winning. He doesn’t make bets he thinks he can lose.
Today’s situation is different. Anything can happen, and by the end of the day, he could be forced out of his own company. If it happened to Steve Jobs, it can certainly happen to Daniel Hartman.
“The tie looks great,” I reassure him, swinging out of bed and taking the cup of coffee from his hand. “Stop worrying. You’ve made the company too much money for the board to fire you.”
“We’ll see.” His tone is deliberately neutral. “Half the board are cronies of my grandfather, people who still resent my father for marrying my mother. Cyrus might not be what’s best for Hartman, but he’s one of them and I’m a wild-card.”
Ménage in Manhattan: The Complete 5-Book Ménage Romance Collection Page 22
