The Barrett Brothers Collection

by K B Cinder

  A rush of heat shot straight to my cheeks, my stealthy lunch habits outed as not so sneaky.

  “You only use black pens, and you cut your sandwiches diagonally like a monster.”

  My jaw dropped. “Okay, so you stalk me now?”

  “Nah, I have a knack for details.”

  He leaned over and pressed another frustrating peck on my lips, and then another, aiming at playfulness, but I had other ideas. I caught his jaw, holding his lips to mine as I deepened the kiss. He met the challenge, his tongue plunging in with a hunger I hadn't anticipated.

  It was a kiss unlike any we shared before, each move a back and forth of power and possession. He wasn't merely kissing me; he was claiming me.

  He pulled away, rigid beneath my touch. “I need this. I need you.”

  His words fired like arrows, joining the crusade against the protective bubble, testing its resolve with every syllable.

  “Let's enjoy this–each other,” he breathed, gesturing between us.

  He wanted to be my boyfriend? Holy shit.

  A thousand scenarios came rushing forward, from explaining to Dad I was banging my boss to hiding the fact from my nearest and dearest, Lee.

  Despite being the best of friends, she couldn't keep a secret to save her life. There was no telling if she'd slip.

  Aside from the other factors, could I handle dating him? He wasn’t exactly the run-of-the-mill guy. He was more intense than anyone I’d ever met.

  “You want to date?” I asked, hoping like hell my voice wasn't quaking.

  “No, like this.” He crashed his mouth back to mine with another round of devastating kisses, leaving me reeling as he pulled away.

  He wasn't willing to give labels or promises, but he wanted me as much as I wanted him. It was unconventional and everything I didn't want at that point in life, but it was Jason.

  “Like fuck buddies?” I asked, a knot in my throat.

  “Maybe.”

  A familiar burn crept across my cheeks, my heart plummeting. “But not exclusive?” I murmured, struck with sudden sadness.

  He kissed me again, sinking a hand into my hair and yanking to break the kiss before resting his forehead against mine. “If another man touches you, I'll destroy him.”

  Elena

  It was scary how easy lying came with practice. I couldn’t believe the things that flew out of my mouth, each new detail leaving a web of deceit for a foot to ensnare.

  I justified it as a necessary evil, our arrangement taking up enough time over the last few weeks I needed an identity for Bear. He couldn’t stay a carnivorous beast forever, though Jason’s voracious appetite for certain things warranted the moniker.

  Before I knew it, I created Jay, a not-so-clever riff off of Jason. I pulled it out of the air one day, deciding it needed to be similar enough to the real deal in case I slipped up. Jay was a manager at a technology firm who traveled a lot on business, hopefully delaying any double date requests from Lee for a while. When she pushed again, I’d come up with another excuse, hopefully, better than my attempt at naming him.

  In the meantime, we’d been hooking up regularly at his place, avoiding my complex as much as possible. It was No-man’s-land, not worth the risk of Lee showing up unannounced. She rarely did, but with my luck, she’d stop by with the kids while we were knocking boots on the sofa.

  Luckily things were easier in the office, both of us far too busy to have to worry about tipping anyone off. He rarely wandered into the sales office, paging Marty as needed, conference calls and high-level meetings dominating his days.

  On my end, the workload did even out as promised, and late nights at my desk were history, but Monica was worse than ever. She had daggers for everyone, mouthing off daily, hurling insults as she saw fit.

  She was particularly ornery that Thursday, happy hour at Crow Bar a must for Lee and I. As usual, we perched at the bar, Lee nursing a daiquiri while I settled in with a mojito. The place was packed, college kids flooding the scene as Columbus Day weekend neared. They usually preferred the hipster scene, but since they were halfway through the semester, they were likely burning through parental funds AKA beer money and needed a happy hour to hang at.

  “So, is Jay your boyfriend yet, or what?” Lee asked, stabbing at her drink with her straw.

  I shrugged. “We’re exclusive without titles, I guess.”

  Her lips pressed together for a long moment. “He still doesn’t call you his girlfriend?”

  “I don’t really see a need,” I explained, shrugging. “I’m content with how things are.”

  “Yeah right!” she shot back, swatting at me. “You aren’t the hit-it-and-quit-it type. You like to stick around for dessert.”

  “Maybe eventually,” I lied.

  Jay had an expiration date of January. I would have to come up for an excuse for that too. Just another lie to throw on top of the pile.

  “I don’t see why not? He’s thirty-six, right? That’s old enough to man up.”

  “Calm down, Mom!” I laughed. “Jumping into a relationship isn’t the best. Look at Justin and me.”

  He asked me out on the spot when we met, and we were boyfriend-girlfriend a date later. If I took the time to smell the roses, maybe things wouldn’t have spun so far out of control. I never should have dated such a self-absorbed idiot.

  “But look at Jesse and me,” she retorted, grinning.

  She had me there. They married fresh out of high school and were one another’s first and only loves. It was a sickeningly sweet story that made my teeth hurt.

  “You’re an exception to the rule.”

  “Do you want to be his girlfriend? Is he long-term material?” she prodded.

  He couldn’t be my boyfriend. He had a genuine time stamp, and I wouldn’t walk right into heartbreak again, regardless of how sexy he was. We’d have fun while we could and go our separate ways. For now, my heart was on ice.

  “I don’t know,” I replied, taking a sip of my drink. “I’m not forcing things.”

  “You’re a nut,” she shot back. “If he’s as sexy as you say, gobble that sucker up. They get harder to find the older you get.”

  I shrugged. She was right, but I’d worry about that when the time came. Once January rolled around, I could figure things out. There had to be other sexy guys that loved data and schedules wandering around.

  “How’s the job search going?” she asked.

  If I wrote one more cover letter, I would scream. I applied at almost every company in the region and received a steady stream of we’re not actively seeking new hires, but we’ll keep you on file responses.

  “No one is hiring!” I vented.

  “I know! I applied at the kids’ school for an office position and was told I was over-qualified. Such crap. I need to get away from that place.”

  It’d be interesting to see what happened once Lee and I left. Monica wouldn’t be able to handle the overflow, and she wasn’t the best person to train newbies you wanted to keep, not scare off.

  “I’ve been toying with moving home once everything settles down,” I admitted, knowing she would flip a lid, but I didn’t want to keep that from her too.

  Dad was getting older by the day, and I missed him terribly. Visiting him for the holidays only helped so much. First, I had to pay off a mountain of debt and squirrel some money away. Starting over wouldn’t be cheap.

  “Explains why you don’t want to get into a relationship...” she muttered, her expression falling.

  “I’ll still visit,” I assured, offering a weak smile and patting her hand. “I just think Ithaca and I aren’t compatible. You’re the only good thing to come out of this place.”

  “And Hank,” she reminded.

  “And my furry jerk,” I corrected with a laugh.

  I found him during my first summer in town, a stray kitten along with his mama and littermates. They all found homes except for him, his feral roots stronger than the others.

  “Would you stay wi
th your dad?” she asked, half-smiling.

  “If I needed to, I would.”

  Sharing the thousand-foot cabin again would be tight, especially having to crawl back up into the loft to sleep, but it’d be doable for a couple weeks. Apartments in Willits Bend were dirt cheap, most perched atop old storefronts lining the town square. Finding a job would be tricky, but I could always search for something remote with how the industry was trending.

  “I’d visit you,” she breathed. “I love it up there.”

  She came for Christmas once with Jesse and the kids, all of us stuffing into Dad’s cabin and setting up a fresh tree we cut down in the woods.

  “Me too,” I admitted. I never should have left. My heart was always there waiting for me. New York was great in a lot of ways, but it wasn’t home. It was so rushed and frantic, the mountain pace lost.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when it comes,” she assured. “In the meantime, enjoy the hell out of that sexy piece of ass.”

  “Cheers to that!” I laughed, clinking my glass with hers.

  “How sexy are we talking? Is he one of those eternally hot types or a matured fine wine?” she prodded.

  Jason was in a league of his own, faint crow’s feet the only hint of age. With his muscles and towering frame, he didn’t seem a day over thirty, let alone a few years shy of forty.

  “Eternally hot...” I replied, biting my lip.

  “Hotter than Barrett?” she asked.

  I took a sip of my drink to keep from laughing. “Maybe,” I breathed, walking a fine line, heart pounding.

  “Oh Jesus Christ, Elena!” she squealed. “You need to get a pic of him! Someone hotter than Barrett is something to document. Does he have a Facebook I can check out? What’s his last name?” She swiped her screen alive, ready to investigate.

  Crap. I hadn’t thought of that lie yet. “I don’t know,” I replied with a shrug.

  “You’ve been fucking him for weeks, and you don’t know his last name?” she asked, floored.

  “We’ve been a little preoccupied...” I trailed, hoping the subject would die.

  “Whore!” she laughed. “But seriously, that new furry look of Barrett? Fuck. I didn’t realize he could get any hotter.”

  I cringed inside listening to my best friend drool over the guy I was sleeping with. “Yeah, it’s nice.”

  “Come on, you can admit it! You’re not exclusive with that dude. Barrett is a whole new level of fine. You should bone him too while you’re free!”

  I laughed, shaking my head.

  “Seriously, fuck him before he leaves. He’s totally single. No rin,g and I heard he’s staying at a hotel alone — no wife or fiancée to speak of.”

  “How do you know?” I asked, keeping a hint of laughter in my voice. Inside I was quaking.

  “Girl, you know people talk. When those trainers were out here, they grabbed drinks at his hotel’s bar with Monica and a few people from the office. That skank probably fucked one and got away with it.”

  My heart dropped. I’d been strolling in that place without a care in the world, thinking no one knew where he was staying. Now hats and hoods seemed like musts.

  “Anyway, show up at the bar in Hotel Soros in a bustier and leather pants. I bet he’ll fuck you.”

  “Soros? Pricey.”

  Next subject, please.

  “Oh yeah. Corporate is too cheap to give us decent raises, but he’s living large,” she breathed. “But seriously. I think he’s game.”

  “What?” I screeched. I was more than shell-shocked. We were rarely in the same room, and when we were, I made a point not to look his way or give him a hint of attention.

  “When he walks through, his eyes always wander over to you. He might have been an ass about the whole wrap thing, but I think he wants to motorboat those titties.”

  Been there, done that. “You’re seeing things, girl,” I huffed, rolling my eyes. “Slow down on that drink. It’s hitting too quick.”

  “Whatever,” she shot back. “I know what I see, and Jason Barrett totally wants a piece of you.”

  My phone buzzed, and I smiled as I glanced down at its screen, knowing who it was.

  Jay: My place at 11?

  He wanted more than a piece. He wanted the whole pie.

  Elena

  Marty Radwell was the biggest wimp I ever met. A wimp mad at Jason and forcing me to play errand girl to avoid him.

  At some point over the last week, they stopped talking, but I hadn’t pushed Jason for a reason. I could only assume he told Marty off, earning a spot in exile that rivaled the one he held with Monica.

  Fortunately, I didn’t mind pinging back and forth, serving as a middleman while they figured out plans for upcoming conferences. It gave me a chance to stretch my legs and offered eye candy once I hit Jason’s office.

  Marty was on edge for a Wednesday, sweating up a storm and downing coffees faster than usual. He already sent me down to Jason’s office a few times with binders of information, the stacks growing with each run.

  Each time Jason looked irritated but didn’t say a thing, too wrapped up on conference calls. I was relieved he was busy, since the last time he chewed Marty out, the caffeine junkie went MIA for a day and left me with a to-do list a mile long.

  Now he was beckoning to in his office again while I was on the phone with an angry customer, another delivery later than late. Rosy-cheeked and sweating, he was waving his arms like an air traffic controller, ignoring the fact I was on the phone.

  “This is the third day I’ve called and been told the same excuse! I need to talk to a manager, NOW!” the man roared, rightfully pissed that his shipment was late.

  I wanted to tell him I could see the product team forgot to order it, but knew that was Marty’s bad news to deliver, not mine. Now that he’d said the magic words, I was more than happy to pass him on.

  “I’m sorry, sir. Let me forward you over to him. His name is Marty Radwell. Just one moment.” I merrily transferred the call, eager to see how Marty would handle it. He always choked on conflict, deflecting the best he could without solving the issue.

  He vanished from the door, allowing me to respond to an email before heading his way. “I’ll be back,” I muttered, eyeing Lee, who was stretching in her cube space, her long arms stretching high. “Marty either needs me to play Pac-Man down to Barrett’s office or forgot how to open a spreadsheet again.”

  I stalked to his office, adjusting my skirt on the way, the fabric clinging to my thighs thanks to the static in the air. As I stepped into his office, he gestured for me to shut the door, holding his phone and chewing his pen in agitation.

  I didn’t want to stay, but he waved me over, and I had no choice but to sit in one of the worn stacking chairs in front of his desk. His office was freezing, forcing me to pull my cardigan close.

  He was sweating up a storm, practically gnawing the cap of his pen off as he listened into the phone. “I understand, sir. I’ll have someone call you to discuss the issue at once. Yes, yes. I’m so sorry. Thank you.”

  He hung up and grabbed a sip of coffee, tapping a free hand on the desk loudly as he did. “That was Mark from Brigadier International. I need you to call him about a delivery, honey.”

  It was the exact call I sent him to handle since it was his job to handle escalations — not mine. “I sent you that call, sir. He needs to speak with management. Someone forgot to order his item, so it’s three weeks late.”

  “Did you notify the product department?” he asked, stupidly.

  “I did as soon as I noticed it wasn’t on order. It took days for them to order it, even with the intervention.”

  “Was I notified?” he asked, again, stupidly.

  “Yes, I told you twice in person and multiple times via email. If you check your inbox, you’re involved in chains between the product manager and me.”

  It took an act of God in the form of Jason to get the items ordered; the shipment pending direct overnight delivery to the cu
stomer. It shouldn’t have taken multiple bodies to get the job done, but hiring fresh-out-of-college kids who were paid peanuts wasn’t a winning strategy.

  “Oh, okay. I’ll look at that.”

  Yeah, right, and I would grow a ten-inch penis out of my forehead.

  “What can I help you with?” I asked, wanting to cut to the chase. I had too much work to do to be bogged down with his nonsense.

  “I need you to attend a meeting in my place and take notes. I’ll be out of the office.”

  “Uh...” I trailed, cocking my head. “When?” It wasn’t like I had free time out the wazoo like he did.

  “In five minutes in the large conference room.”

  I sighed, frustrated beyond belief. He left early almost every day. I didn’t understand how he kept a job.

  “You’re the only one on the team trained on both product and sales, so you’ll be able to keep up with the language. I have an appointment.”

  That caught my attention. Maybe he was finally looking for a new job. Perhaps he’d finally embrace his true calling and become something as equally useless like a pet rock.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Everything is fine, but you better get going, or he’ll bite your head off. Mr. Barrett hates nothing more than people showing up late to his meetings.”

  “Except being called Mr. Barrett,” I muttered.

  “What?”

  “He hates being called Mr. Barrett.”

  “Oh,” he murmured. “Is he still being short with you?”

  “He’s gotten better,” I replied, keeping things neutral. “Adjusting to our branch would be difficult for anyone, especially with the circumstances.”

  He nodded. “Just making sure. I was going to call Corporate about his treatment of you. He’s been hard on others as well.”

  “I can take care of myself, thanks,” I replied. He only cared when it affected him, not when I was the one getting the brunt of it. I stood, brushing off my skirt. “I’ll leave the notes on your desk. You’ll be in tomorrow, right?”