But the other part of me didn't believe this was realandmy life. It wasn't long ago that I sat in these meetings wondering whether I'd made a terrible decision by joining the family firm because I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I'd bumbled through school and come out fat on wild stories and thin on practical skills. All of that had been immediately obvious to my siblings, and I'd labored under their reeducation program for a couple of tediousyears.
But then Matt had trusted me to manage a project on my own. I didn't work the way my brothers did, and my thoughts followed different paths than theirs, but I'd discovered a niche alongside them nonetheless. I'd taken the long road to this point, but now Iwashere.
And life was fuckinggreat.
"We just need to meet this girlfriend of yours," Shannon said. "Those Halloween pictures from last weekend were really cute. She seems like a lot of fun." She reached for her ever-present bottle of sparkling water. "I just wish we could get to know her outside of yourInstagramfeed."
"She's cute as hell and we have to meet her immediately," Andyagreed.
"It's almost like you'retryingto keep her away from us," Matt said, his voice loaded with sarcasm. "I can'timaginewhy."
Sam shook his head and signaled for time out. "I fully support avoiding the tribe. There should be a three-month waiting period before introducing anyone to these hyenas," Sam said. "Sell her onyouas long as you can. Don't let anyone pull her aside and unload the greatest hits of your ungentlemanlybehavior."
"Stop," Andy chided with a glance to Patrick. "Some people find ungentlemanlybehavior—"
"Save it, Asani," Patrickwarned.
"There just hasn't been a good time," I said, keeping my eyes on my notebook. "Her schedule is crazy, and…I don't know." I ran my palm over my tie and shifted. "I like being with her more than I like being with anyofyou."
Sam whistled from the opposite side of the table. "Someone's not a baby bird anymore," he remarked. "But here's the real question: are your trouserszipped?"
A glance at my lap revealed that no, my trousers were not zipped. I knew my fly had been up when I'd left Alex's apartment this morning, but gravity wasn't always on my side. A quick maneuver had everything set torights.
"Nothing to see here,"Isaid.
"Nothing we haven't all seen many times," Matt said. "I think your dick is burned into the back of my eyelids. I see it every time I go tosleep."
"That's because you wish it was yours," Ireplied.
"When you're done with this sword fight, could we briefly touch base on Wellesley?" Tomasked.
The light, airy feelings of this morning burst like a bubble. Jovial expressions were fast replaced with scowls, and all the easy body language turnedguarded.
"Certainly, Tom. I do like getting fucked in the ass early in the morning," Sam mused as he tugged his cuffs. "It keeps me onmytoes."
Patrick growled inresponse.
Shannon rolled her hand in Tom's direction. "Get on with it,"shesaid.
"I've scheduled an invitation-only showing for reporters and real estate agents," he said. "It's a small-scale showcase. You're getting calendar invites for the event later today. It's next Thursday. There's no obligation for any of you to attend but she"—Tom wagged a finger at Andy—"will be getting a lot of attention. We should celebrateherwork."
"I'll be there," Patrick said. "Ofcourse."
"We'llallbe there," Shannon said, and her tone invited no dissent. "Andy deserves oursupport."
Sam dropped his head back and he moaned like an animal being mauled in the woods. "Please tell me there's going to be anopenbar."
"Open bar with top-shelf liquors, and an assortment of vegan and gluten-free appetizers especially for you," Tomreplied.
Matt slammed his laptop shut. "Lauren has a school thing that night," he said, a defiant jerk in his shoulder. "She won't be there untillater."
"That's not a problem," Tom said easily. "We'll save her a plate of minicupcakes."
Andy twisted the thin necklace at her throat. "Guys, you really don'thaveto—"
"They do," Patrick interrupted. "End ofdiscussion."
"Since it's obvious we can't end on that sour note," Shannon said with an exaggerated page-turning gesture, "we should talk about theholidays."
