Page 30 of Deliverance

Just then, Marcus’s raised voice echoed down the hall.

“It sounds like it’s going well,” I said wryly.

Marcus was usually pretty level-headed in contract discussions, but Keenan must really be pissing him off.

“Let me be very clear.” Marcus’s voice got louder as he walked into the living room, phone pressed to his ear. His fierce expression looked like it was carved from stone. “You were given every opportunity to add those buildings at the start of your contract, and you declined. That ship has sailed.” He stopped by the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers, a scowl on his face. “And I’ll tell you something else: the way you spoke to our employees the other day is grounds for us to terminate this contract regardless of what you decide. So I suggest you think very carefully about your next words.” He paused, listening to whatever Keenan said on the phone. “Good. We’ll be in touch.” He hung up and cursed. “That fucker. I’m half tempted to terminate his contract right now.”

“Do it,” I said, shrugging when his shocked gaze swung to me. “We’re overloaded as it is, and he’s already starting shit before the contract has even started. We don’t have the time to deal with his shit. I can call and tell him if you want.”

Marcus grinned, his smile devious. “No, it’ll be my pleasure to tell him.”

I laughed along with the others as satisfaction filled me. The last thing we needed was to be dealing with problematic clients. As I told Evelyn earlier, I would burn our business to the ground if it helped her. Plus, no one spoke to Evelyn that way.

“Food’s ready,” I announced.

Dominic helped me carry the dishes over to the table while Sebastian grabbed the juice. Marcus finished typing on his phone and slid it into his pocket.

I waited until we were settled with food before circling back to the topic Adrian had raised earlier this week.

“Dominic, there’s something we wanted to talk to you about.”

Dominic froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. “Yes?” he asked, eyes wide.

I hesitated. I didn’t really know how to bring this up. How did you tell another guy that you were fine with him being your girlfriend’s boyfriend as well? It was awkward. So straight to the point was probably best.

“We’ve seen how you and Evelyn look at each other, and we’ve talked it over. If Evelyn wants you in her life, that’s her call to make. But we wanted you to know that it wouldn’t be a problem with us.”

“Wants me…in her life?” he asked haltingly, his gaze sweeping to each of ours.

“Like, as a boyfriend,” Sebastian helpfully clarified.

Dominic set his fork down slowly. “I…”

I bit back a grin, watching him process. I felt for him. We had all had a few weeks at least to process it; he was getting hit with it all at once.

Dominic blew out a breath. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting that. Obviously, she’s an attractive woman, but I would have never?—”

“We know,” Adrian said. “We’re not saying anything happened. We’re just saying that if anything does happen—as long as it’s her decision—we’re fine with it.”

Dominic looked around the table at each of us, like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. “You all actually talked about this.”

“We did,” Sebastian said simply, his usually cheery face uncharacteristically serious. “Open communication is important in a relationship like ours.”

A beat of silence passed. Dominic nodded slowly, something settling behind his eyes. “Okay.” He picked his fork back up. “I don’t really know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” I said. “It’s not our call to make; it’s hers.”

“I do have a question, though.” Marcus leaned forward. “I want to know what your plans are after this. Once we’re done with Kingfisher. Are you going back to the FIA?”

Dominic sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t know,” he said. “I thought I would be an agent for life, but now I’m not sure I can ever trust the organization ever again.”

Marcus nodded. “That’s fair. That’s what I thought about the military too. It sucks when the curtain gets pulled back and it feels like your foundation is rocked.”

“It does,” Dominic agreed. “I honestly don’t know what I want to do after this.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to offer him a job at SDS, but I waited. I didn’t want to influence his decision to stay. I wanted him to choose to stay for Evelyn.

“Just don’t hurt her,” Marcus said.