Break Free: MMF Bisexual Romance

by Bianca Vix

  “Revisit?” Matt echoes. “How would that work? You just expect Rachel and I to wait for you? It can take a long time to establish a new brand. A very long time. And a scandal could bring it down at any stage. The beginning’s key, sure. But nothing will change in the future either. As long as we’re involved in a threesome, it’s always going to be an issue. Say we get back together, some day in the future. What would you want, for us to hide our relationship from the world? I can’t see that working out. Nothing will change.”

  He’s angry. I don’t blame him. But of all people, Matt should be the one who understands. He’s as much a business man as I am.

  “I have to keep my focus on the present. That’s all I can do right now. And this is the only solution I have.” My own words come out sounding angrier than I mean them to. But Matt’s acting like this is an easy decision for me.

  It isn’t.

  It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

  “There’s always another way, Jay.”

  I glare at him. “Not always.”

  “This isn’t helping.” Rachel breaks in. “Can’t we just try to figure something out without arguing?”

  I hug her to me. “This is what I have to do for now, Rachel. Once the dust has settled around our launch, I’ll figure something out. I’m not asking you to wait for me.” I shoot a glare in Matt’s direction. He stares right back at me, his expression unyielding. “I couldn’t ask for that. I just want you to understand the position I’m in. There’s no other choice.”

  “Because of my ex. Dennis is the one that’s causing this. So I’m going to help fix it. I know you’re swamped with the launch coming up. Matt and I can see what we can do.”

  “Why, Rachel? Why would we do that, when Jay’s mind is made up already?”

  She stares at Matt in disbelief. “Why wouldn’t we? Don’t you want us to be together?”

  “I did.” His voice couldn’t be colder. “But that was before, when I was all in for this relationship. And I thought Jay was too. You know. Committed to us. Like we meant something to him.”

  Rachel’s eyes widen. “Matt. You can’t mean that.”

  He stays silent. His words sting. But I can’t argue with him. What I’m doing now, breaking us up, isn’t exactly showing how I really feel. And when Matt gets this angry, there’s no talking to him. It so rarely happens, I forget what he can be like. And I’ve never before had it directed at me. There’s nothing I can say to convince him that doing what I have to do now is killing me.

  “I should go.” I get up and walk out before Rachel can say anything else. This is hard enough as it is. I stop in the kitchen before I go to the bedroom.

  “What are you doing?” It’s Matt that’s appeared in the doorway, not Rachel. He’s followed me here without sparing more than a moment.

  As if he doesn’t know what I’m doing. I grab one of the shirts I managed to leave here at his place and shove it into the plastic grocery store bag I retrieved from the small stash under the sink.

  “No sense in leaving anything behind.” I jam a pair of pants in too.

  “You’re the one that started all this, remember? This whole threesome thing was your idea.” Matt comes over to me, grabbing my arm. For a second I hesitate. But I can’t let him stop me. I yank my arm out of his grasp.

  “So? Things have changed.”

  “So, it’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”

  My lips curl up in annoyance. “If everything could stay the same, just as it is, I wouldn’t be walking away. Why are you being such an ass about it?”

  Matt’s eyes narrow. “I could say the same thing to you.”

  I turn back to the task at hand. I know this stuff doesn’t matter. I could walk away without my clothes and personal items. They’re just things. Easily replaceable.

  But I need to do this. If I don’t take everything with me, then in my mind we’re not done. It’s like keeping links intact. And even with small, insignificant things like these, I can’t do that. If I have to end this, I need a clean break. No ties to Matt’s place.

  Or anyone in it.

  Especially him. But that’s complicated as fuck. How can we go back to being just friends after all the intensity of this relationship we’ve had?

  Maybe we can’t.

  I try to shove that thought from my mind. This was a huge mistake. All of it. The threesome. Being with Matt. If I could go back in time, I’d never have done anything that could ruin our friendship.

  “Maybe it wasn’t the best idea. Maybe it was never a good idea at all.”

  I regret the words as soon as they’re out there. Matt’s taken aback. He can’t hide the hurt and shock from the blow I just dealt him, so he turns his back on me and walks out of the room.

  This is why we should never have done this. I didn’t think it through at the time. Or ever. Not even once during all those moments that came about and led us to where we are now. Talking to Matt about the idea of a threesome. Confessing my feelings to him. Him doing the same to me. Rachel fitting in perfectly with both of us, like the glue that holds us together. All I could think about was what I wanted, which was both of them.

  And now everything’s fucked. Rachel feels like it’s her fault. Matt’s beyond pissed at me.

  Yeah. Great idea I had. Just perfect.

  Chapter 20

  Jay

  Automatically I head down to the coffee shop. I’m about to place my order when a very unpleasant thought strikes me.

  Will Matt show up?

  In spite of the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I order anyway. If he doesn’t show, I can use the time for myself. Things are getting tight. Right down to the wire, what with our launch coming up this Friday. It’s good to get away from the chaos in the office, even if only for a little while.

  Usually I like working in an environment where there’s lots going on. It’s energizing for me. But not now. Not when all the activity and rushing is only making the noise in my head worse. The noise that’s been there ever since I walked out of Matt’s penthouse with my things stuffed ridiculously into a damn grocery bag.

  We haven’t spoken since then. Rachel and I texted briefly, about pretty much nothing. It was still nice to hear from her. I can’t count how many times I’ve wanted to pick up the phone and call both of them, or better yet go see them. Instead I make sure I never run into Rachel at the office. Matt’s gone scorched earth on me.

  Or at least I think he has. Today will tell. If he doesn’t show up for our regular coffee session, that’s it. I’ve lost my best friend.

  Right along with everything else.

  I can’t think about that now. I can lament later. There’s too much work to do. All the major aspects are taken care of, and I’ve got a good team in place to handle everything. But the aspects that keep coming up that require my attention can’t be avoided.

  Rachel told Dennis to back off, since he has nothing to reveal now. From what she texted, he’s no longer a concern. Once again, I’m confident everything will go smoothly with the launch.

  Still, all the joy I usually get from my job is missing. I love throwing myself into my work and seeing the results pay off. And this new line is it. The biggest payoff I could have.

  It’s all hollow now. I’m staring at my tablet, trying to review the final report on where we’re at. It’s all good. Couldn’t be better, in fact.

  And I just don’t care.

  I should be overjoyed. Happy. Something. All I feel is numb. A whole lot of nothing.

  I blink, trying to get my focus back. It was a mistake to order decaf. I decided to at the last minute because I don’t need to be any more wound up than I already am. If anything, I need to relax.

  But my concentration’s shot. I suppose I’m addicted to the caffeine. Everything’s blurry, like I’m looking at the screen through a distorted layer of glass. I can see the numbers in front of me. They just don’t mean much.

  Or maybe it’s the lack of Matt.
Once we sit down together, magic happens. I could tell him where everything’s at and right away he’d give me back a quick, accurate assessment. I do the same thing for him. That’s what’s missing.

  I rub at my eyes. This is a waste of time. I’m about to get up and head to the counter to get a real coffee when I stop short. There’s a familiar figure coming towards me.

  Without a word, Matt sets down a big cup on the table, dropping down into the seat across from me. Every move he makes has a sharp edge to it. He’s acting like he’s just as pissed off at me as he was when I left his place.

  Part of me’s glad he came. But this is the last thing I need. I’m not going to be the one to make the first move. I raise my eyebrows. I can wait as long as it takes.

  He stares at me, his face expressionless. “So?”

  I frown at him. “What?”

  He gestures at my tablet. “Hand it over.”

  After a moment, I do. He’s acting impatient, as if I’ve kept him waiting. Yeah. Right. Screw that. I fold my arms across my chest, glaring at him as he swipes through the pages on the screen.

  “Looks good.” Matt sets my tablet down on the table instead of handing it back to me.

  For fuck’s sake. “Thanks. As you know, I live and die by your approval.”

  My sarcasm catches him off guard. That’s not my usual style of communication, but I’ve had about enough of this. If he can’t even be civil, the why the hell did he even show up?

  Matt picks up his coffee, taking a slow drink. His lips are curving up as he sets his cup down.

  My annoyance at him is heating up into anger. “What the fuck are you smiling about?” I keep my voice low, talking through clenched teeth.

  “I’ve been seeing Rachel a lot lately. And we’ve found something interesting. Something that could solve everything.”

  “You have?” I can’t believe it. I never thought they’d get together without me. Of course, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t see each other. I walked out on them. But the idea that Rachel and Matt are still together knocks the wind right out of me. It makes the gaping hole in my heart even bigger.

  “We’ve been talking. A lot. We’re not sleeping together, if that’s what you’re wondering. ”

  I shrug. “Not my concern if you are.” Not that I’ll admit it, but that does make me feel better.

  “We might have a way to get Dennis off your case permanently. And then we can go back to the way everything was before. Win-win. Rachel’s pretty determined to bring him down.”

  I look out the window at the streams of people hurrying along the sidewalk. “Is that right.”

  Matt was obviously expecting me to say something else. “That’s all you have to say? I’ve got a solution to our biggest problem. Why aren’t you more excited? Or even interested at all?”

  I toy with my coffee cup. “Because I don’t think it’ll make a difference.”

  “How can you say that, when you have no idea what we’re going to do?”

  “You’re talking about Dennis. And as much as I’d like to knock that loser on his ass, he’s irrelevant.”

  Matt waits for me to continue, his eyes questioning me wordlessly.

  “If it wasn’t him, it’d be someone else. I know he’s gunning for me because he thinks he can get Rachel back. But the problem is, what you said before is correct.”

  “What’d I say before?”

  “Sure, we can remove Dennis from the picture completely, which would be fine with me. But the problem is, the new direction that Avoca’s going in won’t work alongside with me being in a threesome. And being with a man, no less. You know as well as I do that our new line is completely geared towards families with children. If our relationship came out at any time, brand new launch or not, it could destroy the new brand entirely. How can I take that risk?”

  Matt sits back in his chair. “I was wrong.”

  I snort. “As much as I enjoy hearing you say that, you’re actually not. Not this time.”

  “All we have to do is keep our relationship out of the spotlight in the early days. Once you’re established in the new field, you’ll be more immune.”

  “Not with a family values brand I won’t be. Anything out of the ordinary draws attention. Even if nobody cares about me, the man who runs the company, the moment something like a threesome got out there, it’d be big news. The damage would be done and it couldn’t be fixed.”

  “And none of that would really affect the rest of your company. Avoca’s very well respected and established. If anyone would stop buying your furniture because of something like this, then it would be a very tiny segment. You don’t need this expansion.”

  Unbelievable. “You’d dismiss all my work, just like that?”

  “I’m not dismissing it. I’m saying that maybe your focus might be better elsewhere.”

  “What are you talking about? This is my work. This is what I do.”

  Matt polishes off his coffee. “I know that. That’s one of the many things you and I have in common. Work as life. But maybe it’s time you let go of some of it. Take a chance on something new.”

  I meet his eyes. “But this isn’t just about work. It’s about everything. There’s a reason that a threesome would bother some people. It’s different. Really unconventional. We haven’t been open about it, and that’s why.”

  “Yes, it’s different. So what? The people that matter will get used to it, if they care in the first place. Your company’s solid. Don’t you think there might be something that’s more important?”

  Matt leans in closer to me. In that moment, it hits me full force. Just how much I miss him. I swallow hard, staring into his eyes. “Like what?”

  “Isn’t love more important? Aren’t Rachel and I? If you can sit here and tell me we’re not, then I’ll walk away and never bring it up again.”

  He sits back in his chair. “So what do you say, Jay?”

  Chapter 21

  Jay

  Rachel and I are sitting in Matt’s office. I glance between them, not quite taking what they’ve just told me. “Is that true?”

  Matt nods. “It’s true. The idea came to me when security recommended that I install cameras throughout the office. A lot of places already do that. It’s never been a priority for me, but they convinced me to look into it. That’s when it hit me, and so I brought it up with Rachel.”

  He turns to her, and she picks up the story. “It’s not something we had when I was at my last job. But I remembered that when I left, there was talk about some changes that were going to be made. So I checked in with my sister.”

  I clasp my hands together. “Your sister?”

  “Yes. Lianna still works there as an office manager. She’s the one who got me my first interview with the firm. And she told me that now there are cameras everywhere, but almost no-one knows about them. She knows because she was the one assigned to order them.”

  “So, what does that have to do with us?” I can’t see where Rachel’s going with this.

  “Dennis likes to have sex in the office. That’s where I caught him out with Dakota. It’s guaranteed that they’ve been caught on video.”

  “And there’s no way that a law firm would tolerate that kind of behavior from their employees.” I straighten up in my seat. “Can you get access to the video?”

  “No.” Rachel shakes her head. “Lianna says she doesn’t have access to view it.”

  “But Dennis doesn’t know that.” Matt leans back in his chair. “Given that it’s likely he doesn’t know about the cameras, he won’t know for sure if he’s been recorded.”

  “So we turn it around. Tell him we’ll out him if he threatens to out us.” I think it through. “That could work.”

  “Could? It’s brilliant. There’s no downside. He doesn’t have any way to find out what’s on the videos either. He can’t check it out. He’ll know if he’s done wrong, and can get called out for it.” Matt raises his eyebrows. “So, what do you think, Jay? Are y
ou in?”

  Nothing would give me greater satisfaction than to take Dennis down. Not just for myself, but for Rachel’s sake. He’s caused her more than enough harm.

  “Of course. Let’s go.”

  Rachel blinks. “Now?”

  “Now. No time like the present, and I’d like the reassurance that he won’t try to pull something anyway on the day of the launch. I wouldn’t put it past that little bastard to say something anyway, true or not. Will he still be at work now, Rachel?”

  She checks the time. “It’s late, but it’s possible. We could always wait until tomorrow, when he’s sure to be there.”

  I give my head a firm shake. “I’d rather get this done. Let’s get going.”

  Dennis’s office isn’t far. The building’s mostly quiet, seeing as it’s well past normal office hours. He’d better be here. I don’t want to wait any longer than I have to. Rachel texted her sister to see if Dennis was still in the office. All Lianna could tell her was that he was there when she left for the day, but that was awhile ago now.

  “It’s so strange to be back here. I never thought I would be.” Rachel hesitates for a moment before she gets into the elevator with Matt and I.

  “You don’t have to be if you don’t want to be.” I look over at Matt. “I can do this by myself. I’m the one he’s got it in for. There’s no need to get yourself involved, Matt.”

  “No.” Both Rachel and Matt say it at the same time. “I’m fine with it. In fact, I can’t wait to see his face.”

  Matt’s resolute. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I really appreciate them being here at my side. Before I can tell them that, the doors slide open.

  “Here we are,” Rachel says in an undertone. “My old hell. Made that way by Dennis.”

  The whole floor’s pretty empty. Rachel leads us to Dennis’s office. The door’s open and there’s no sign of him.

  “Damn.”

  “Hang on. Do you hear something?”

  We all listen. At first there’s nothing, but then I pick up on it. It’s too far away to make out what’s going on.