by Harper West
He sneered. “I hate when you call me that.”
“And I hate when you call me Jackie.”
“It's just a nickname.”
“And so is yours.”
I folded my arms and let my head drop back, bringing the ceiling into view. “You're so impossible when you're like this.”
“Like what?”
“When you get into your damn head!”
I stood from my chair and let it snap back a little too hard, hitting the table behind me. He would surely have a fit now. It would only be a matter of minutes before something triggered him into a rage.
“Well, just disrespect our furniture, why don't you,” he remarked sarcastically.
“You're the one who is being the most here. You're acting like a goddamn diva.”
“You take that back!”
I laughed sarcastically. “I'll do no such thing!”
“Jack, you're getting on my damn nerves. Take your attitude outside!”
“When we have a deadline to reach? That would just take even more time! You're letting this woman get between us and into your head. What happened to being the rational one?”
“I am being rational!”
I shook my head. “Far from it, brother. Go take a look in that mirror over there and tell me you're not losing your mind over something you probably imagined.”
“I didn't imagine anything! She's up to something, Jack!”
“You're so full of paranoia that you can't even hear how crazy you sound right now!”
He rose from his chair, his face red, and his muscles tense. "Don't you dare call me crazy. You know that's not what this is!"
“It's exactly what you're being--crazy. Ever since we met up with that chick, you've done nothing but pick at my behavior and try to tell me what to do."
“I've been doing that the whole time, Jack! How is it just now bothering you?”
I groaned. “How can you not see that your behavior is ridiculous?”
“Well, if it's been so ridiculous, maybe we should separate the magazine.”
“You... what?!”
“You heard me, pal.”
I shook my head, rage filling my head with all sorts of insults and even the thought of a wild haymaker. I wanted to punch him square in his smug smile. He was being rude for the sake of being rude at this point because things were boiling. I knew I had to leave the office to cool down, but I couldn't back down.
Not when he had made a threat. “You take that back.”
“You would like that, wouldn't you?”
“That's why I said so.”
"Say sorry, and I'll take it back."
I growled, “Don't do this, Cooper.”
“Say you're sorry.”
“I don't need to apologize for a damn thing when you're the one being impossible here!”
“You're the one resisting resolution.”
I pressed my fingers into my temples. “And so are you. So, I guess we're at a stalemate, aren't we?”
“I guess so.”
He threw his hands up and went for the door. I turned away and faced the plant in the corner. I was beyond pissed. With Cooper acting like a damn child, we wouldn't get anything done, let alone this damn article. It was all his idea. He wanted to lure her in with an article, give her some exposure while exposing her, and then get some more tail while we were at it.
Now, it seemed things were taking a turn. It wasn't about the article anymore or the tail. It was about something else. I heard the door slam behind me and swatted the branches of the plant, immediately feeling guilty about lashing out at such a harmless thing. I whispered an apology and fixed its little branches before tending to the leaves inside the pot.
Something silver caught my eye. “Huh, that's weird.”
I poked at it, noticing a little red light blinking.
It was a camera.
My face sank. “What the fuck is this?”
The camera was small, but it appeared to have a USB port. I took it over to my laptop immediately, thinking maybe Cooper just wanted to up our security. I'd probably see him on the screen with his stupid mug taking up most of the view while he set it up. Sure, he was a smart man, but technology seemed to baffle the guy.
That's why I always ended up doing most of our communication.
“Let's see what this baby has,” I said while plugging it in. “Probably something stupid.”
My laptop dinged, indicating that a new device had been recognized. I clicked on the notification in the lower right-hand corner, taking a breath and sighing with annoyance. I clicked on the footage and blew it up to full screen.
And what I saw was Brooklyn.
“Cooper...”
I paused the footage, framing her perfectly within view. It was definitely Brooklyn—and she was smiling rather viciously at the camera.
“Cooper!”
I was being an idiot. He couldn't fucking hear me in here with our noise-proof door and all the other shit happening in the main office. I hopped up from the desk and jetted to the door, poking my head out like an idiot while screaming across the office.
“Somebody get Mr. Stevenson, right now!”
A flurry of motion erupted while people scrambled out to locate Cooper. I retreated back into the office with a look of shock on my face, unable to process exactly what I had seen.
Cooper had been right—she was up to something.
And it was something quite malicious.
"Did you need something?" Cooper asked, dryly from the door. "Or did you just want to rehash our argument so it would work in your favor?"
“Cut the shit and come look at this.”
“Is it another email? I told you we didn't need that interview, Jack. Not when we're busy with...” He stared blankly at the screen, caught off-guard. His lower lip twitched slightly. He licked his lips before continuing: “Brooklyn.”
“I'm sorry, brother. I think you were right.”
He collapsed into the office chair and held his head in his hands. “Brooklyn...”
“I think she was setting us up, Coop.”
“She was.”
I patted his shoulder, unsure how I should comfort him. “Hey, I'm sorry.”
“No, don't be sorry. You were being the rational one while I was exploding. But I was right. Sure as hell, I was right about her.”
“She was hiding something.”
“Now you believe me?”
“I do, Cooper. And I'm sorry I didn't believe you before. We just see things differently sometimes, you know?”
He nodded slowly. “We do.”
“Alright, what should we do about this? It would be a PR nightmare if she were to go over this footage and release anything she saw.”
He perked up. “We didn't do anything in here.”
“What's that?”
“We didn't have sex in the office. She's got nothing, Jackie.”
“Still, we should call PR and let them know about this. If it happens to explode, they can handle it.”
“What if there're other cameras?”
My eyes widened as I tried to get a hold of my panic. “That's why we should call PR.”
“Alright, get them on the phone now.”
“And what about Brooklyn?”
Cooper sat back and calmly folded his hands together. “Oh, I think I have a plan for her.”
Chapter 19
Brooklyn
I hadn't heard from the boys all day. I was getting restless in my office with all these files and all these requests. I was shuffling through them in record time, but the longer I went without hearing from them, the more anxious I became.
The only people I had heard from were my sister and that dreadful Brett, who wouldn't stop drilling me about my boys.
My boys, I thought with a smile. Could I really make that happen? I mean, not many women can boast of having two men to protect them and care for them.
I reached for my phone again, ignoring all of Brett's texts. I opted to respo
nd to Peyton instead. I hadn't spoken to her since the night of the ball. I mean, she hadn't really spoken to me either. We were both busy bees.
“Hey, girl. I've been working through requests,” I replied to her message. “What have you been doing?”
“Oh, you know—the usual.”
I rolled my eyes. “Still sorting through all those marriage proposals?”
“Since the ball, I've been trying to juggle a few guys. Although from what I saw that night, you were juggling two.”
She sent a winking face with her text, and I giggled like a schoolgirl. "Well, I'm smitten."
“Did you go all the way? Are you still seeing them? God, they're like the hottest guys in town. You need to tell your sissy all about it!”
“You would love those details, wouldn't you?”
“Duh, that's why I asked!”
I bit my lower lip, dreamily glancing at the window behind me. When I turned back to my phone, there were three more messages from her with a pleading smiley emoji.
I laughed. “You're so dramatic. Alright—I'll tell you.”
“Are they as big as everyone says they are?”
“Peyton!”
“I mean, come on! We were all thinking it...”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, they're pretty big. No, I didn't go all the way. Yes, I'm still seeing them.”
“What have you been doing?”
“Well, they hired me for an interview, but we've been doing a lot more than merely talking.”
“And?”
“And it's been... well, it's been nice.”
I could feel her inquisitive eyes through the phone. It was the same look she gave me whenever I wasn't giving up all the details she wanted to hear. I laughed as I continued typing another text: “Actually, it's been like a dream. They've taken me to dinner, taken me out on their yacht, and I even went to their house last night.”
“All this in a week? They must like you.”
“I'm kind of hoping that's the case. I'm starting not to care about the contract.”
“They drew up a contract?”
"Yeah, but it doesn't say anything about romance, just that if I suspect foul play, I get a huge chunk of cash, and I can walk away from it."
“Oh, that's a good deal. Any foul play?”
I giggled mischievously. “Nothing I haven't condoned.”
“Wow, my sissy is finally coming out of her damn shell! I'm so proud!”
“I do have you to thank. If you hadn't forced me to the ball, I wouldn't have met them.”
“Is Brett still bugging you?”
I groaned. “You know it.”
“Tell him to buzz off.”
“I have! That's the thing—I've told him a million times to get out, but he's so persistent.”
“I can talk to him.”
“Will you, really? That would make you the best sister in the world.”
She added a laughing face in her next message. “I'll do my best. It's not like he's ever listened to me before.”
“He's a hard-headed one.”
“So, when are you seeing the guys again?”
“Hopefully, soon. I haven't heard from them all day since they dropped me off. I'm getting worried.”
“Shoot them a text. I'm sure they're just busy. Remember, they're billionaires.”
“Yeah, they are. You're right. I'll do that.”
I bit my lip again, trying to think of what I might say from them. While Peyton responded with a bunch of updates about her potential suitors, I tried to come up with something cute to say to Jack. He was the one that usually answered the phone. I mean, I wasn't a joker, but I could try to come up with something clever.
But no matter my effort, I couldn't come up with anything good. I felt embarrassed having an English degree under my belt—among other degrees—and having trouble with words at the same time. What kind of studied woman was I who couldn't come up with a clever phrase?
To my relief, a text from Jack rolled in: “Can we pick you up for dinner?”
I smiled and responded, “Please!”
It was all I could think of. I didn't know what else to say. I mean, how do I express in so little words how they were making me feel? I had already abandoned my original plan. I didn't need to blackmail them and walk away with a ton of money. Besides, they were showing me their true nature which was totally different than their reputation. They really were gentlemen.
I glanced at the clock, feeling antsy with how late in the afternoon it was getting. They would probably grab me around 7:00 PM, which was fine, but I wanted to go right now. I had plenty of work to occupy my time until then. I had plenty of phone calls to make.
But what if I ran out of work?
I sighed as I set down my phone. “It's just a few hours.”
I stared at the stack of folders on my desk. I was barely halfway through them. It would take all night to sort them, but I didn't plan on being here for much longer. I glanced at the clock again.
“I ought to run home and refresh myself.”
I shoved the stack aside and gathered my things, making sure I didn't have any pressing engagements. As long as I didn't have anything immediately to do, the stack could wait until tomorrow. As I headed for the door, I heard a light knock.
“Come in,” I called out as I grabbed my purse.
And who else but Brett appeared?
“I don't need this today,” I said. “What do you need?”
“I need you to listen to me.”
“I don't think so.”
He held up a patient hand. "Brooklyn, please. You've gotten yourself into a mess, and I think you really need to hear this."
“I really don't have time. I need to run home and change.”
“It'll only take a few minutes.”
I stared at my watch impatiently while sighing. “Alright—three minutes. Go.”
I folded my arms across my chest while he stammered over his words. My eyebrows shot up in the air as I waited for him to blurt it out.
God, he always took forever. “Come on, Brett. Spit it out.”
“It's those men, Brooklyn. You really need to stop seeing them.”
“And why's that?”
“Because they're going to hurt you.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“I have plenty of evidence to the contrary,” he said while waving a folder. “You really should look through this before you see them again.”
He handed me the folder, and I popped it open, looking through a bunch of black and white photographs that had been clearly taken by a sleuth. "And what's this supposed to tell me?"
I noticed a woman in the photographs. She wasn't familiar, but she was particularly pretty. As the photographs progressed, her and Cooper drew closer. It looked like they were kissing in one, but there was a person's head blocking the view. I dug beneath the photographs and found a marriage license.
It had Cooper's name on it.
I arched my eyebrow into the air as far as it would go. “What's this?”
“What I was trying to tell you. Cooper has managed to collect women in nearly every state, marrying them and divorcing them while collecting what he needs from them,” Brett explained. “And he's about to do the same with you.”
“There's only one certificate here.”
“Obviously, the others were voided and taken out of existence.”
"This is speculation, at best, Brett."
“No, Brooklyn,” he said firmly. “This is evidence that your precious boys are up to something. They're going to screw you over. Whatever they've got you in, you should get out of it—right now.”
“I need you to leave.”
“I know this is a lot to chew on, but you should really reconsider my offer for a dinner date. I would be so happy to treat you the way you deserve to be treated.”
I glared at him. “You're full of shit, Brett.”
“I'm more full of love than shit, Brooklyn. Just consider it.”
>
He turned confidently and left me in my office with the stupid document in my hands. I was already having trouble juggling the file and my purse—now I had to juggle my emotions.
I glanced at the certificate again.
Is this real? I considered seriously. Or is this a ploy to keep me away from them?
I watched the familiar black car pull up to the curb just outside of my apartment. I wore a huge smile on my face despite the file I had just rummaged through for the fifth time in a few hours. When the door popped open, I felt myself melt—there sat my Jack and Cooper all dolled up like I was.
How could they hide such information from me? I reflected as I hopped into the car. Like I don't think they would do that. They couldn't possibly do that.
“And how is the princess today?” Jack cooed from across from me.
I smiled. “I'm alright. Had another run-in with that Brett character.”
“He's still bothering you?”
“Yeah, he keeps proposing dates and shit like that. I keep turning him down.”
“Well, you might want to consider accepting those soon.”
My heart dropped into my stomach as my eyes widened. “What... What do you mean by that?”
Cooper dropped a photograph into my lap—it was me.
I was setting up the camera in the plant in their office. And I hadn't erased the beginning of it so it wouldn't be obvious. Fuck, how could I have been so stupid?
I looked between them. “This isn't what it looks like.”
“Oh? It sure looks like it's you putting a camera in our office for some reason,” Cooper snapped. “Although I can't quite think of a reason. Can you, Jackie?”
Jack hummed. “No, brother. I don't believe I can. We should ask Brooklyn.”
“We should ask Brooklyn.”
They both glared at me. I still had the file in my briefcase, and I was tempted to whip it out. Sure, they had shit on me, but I had shit on them, too.
“Well, I guess we're both liars, then.”
I snapped the folder from my bag and dropped it into Cooper's lap, watching his features shift as he went through the contents. He tossed it to the ground.
“That doesn't mean anything,” he claimed.
“Oh? Are you so sure about that, my dear?”
He sneered. “It doesn't mean shit.”
