But I can’t say that. I have responsibilities here. Triada is successful because we all pull our weight, leveraging our strengths and working together.
“I know.” I look both my brothers in the eye. It’s the least I can do after the mess I’ve made. “I’m working on it.”
“Not good enough.” Nick crosses his legs and smooths his tie, in complete control, as usual. “We’ve been—”
“Dude.” Beck cuts him off, but his attention is fixed on me. “You’re a mess, and whether or not you realize it, the chaos is spreading.”
“What he means to say,” Nick drawls, “is that this isn’t the time to lose focus. We’re getting close with the new technology. We might even be ready to roll out the new system next year.”
Next year?
Damn. I really have been checked out for the last four weeks.
What else have I missed?
“What’s the status of the new advertising campaign?” Nick asks. “I assume Lucy’s signed on the dotted line.”
This conversation is going to require a delicate touch.
“Not exactly.”
Nick straightens. “What’s the holdup? You said she was on board.”
My eye twitches. “It’s possible I misread the situation.”
Understatement of the fucking year.
If there were clues she was falling for me, I missed them all.
So much for personal growth.
“How is that possible when you just spent two weeks with the woman?” Beck asks. “I mean, you talked to her about the idea, right?”
“It didn’t go well.” I clear my throat. “There were some unforeseen complications.”
Beck frowns, but Nick doesn’t miss a beat.
“Cut the bullshit and just tell us what happened.”
Leave it to Nick to get right to the heart of the matter.
“Lucy and I were involved. I thought with the new agreement in place, things could go back to the way they were before. She disagreed.”
“You were sleeping with her?” Nick bellows. “Christ. You’re the head of HR. You know that’s an ethics violation, right?”
I snort. “Give me some credit. We didn’t start sleeping together until after she quit.”
“Great,” Nick deadpans, rubbing his temples. “That makes me feelsomuch better.”
“Let me get this straight,” Beck says, brow furrowed. “She left Triada, and your life devolved into chaos. So, like any industrious game hero, you went on a cross-country quest to win her back, and during that time you spent every waking moment together, collecting coins and making potions, and then when it was time to enter the boss battle, you thought you’d just pull rank and dictate strategy because you’re the one with the sword?”
It sounds like a dick move when he says it like that.
“That’s not how it—” I press my lips flat, searching for the right words. “She said she loved me.”
The words hang in the air between us, and my brothers exchange a look.
Fucking fuck.
