Changing the Rules [Club Libertine 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (4 page)

She finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning. She didn’t wake up when the two men got up early to run errands. They did leave her a note.

Last night was amazing, baby. We’ll be picking up a set of butt plugs on the way home to get you stretched out enough to take us both at once. Can’t wait. S&M

She looked at that note for a long time, her face coloring, noting the ironic initial combination at the end of the note. Could she do it? Could she stay and be with both of them? She and her sister had been raised by grandparents after the death of their folks just after Serena’s birth. She’d had the values of a far earlier generation drummed into her. No sex outside of marriage. And she could only guess how her grandparents would react to her having sex with two men.

She needed a sign.

And then the phone rang. Of course it was a religious telemarketer asking her if she loved Jesus. She hung up and got out of bed. She was pleasantly sore. She saw the nipple rings sitting on the nightstand along with the two crumpled ties.

Making her decision, she packed quickly. She didn’t have much. She just took her clothes, cosmetics, and some books. Then, before she left, she turned the note over and wrote,
I’m sorry. I love you both, but I can’t do this. Please don’t come after me. M

And then she walked out, expecting never to see them again.

Present day

The cabby pulled up in front of a hug steel-and-glass structure, with the Whelan Corporation logo at the top. She went through the revolving door and approached the security desk. She gave her name, and clearly she was expected. She didn’t even have to mention who she had come to see. An assistant of some sort came haring out of a back room to personally escort her up to see the big boss. She tried to make conversation, but the young man was too nervous to speak without stammering. Clearly, it was his first time to see the big boss, and he wasn’t going to say or do anything to give offense.

He ushered her to a private elevator then zoomed up to the penthouse floor. When she exited, it was clear that these were private quarters and not offices. She turned to the young man to thank him, but he’d already pressed the down button, and from the look on his face, he was counting the seconds until he could get out of there.

She took a moment to compose herself and to look around. The place was magnificent, a mixture of old and new. The lines were clean and modern, but the materials were older and warm, lots of wood rather than cold metal and glass. Above each window was a stained glass insert in the design of a daisy, her favourite flower. The floors were thick dark planks, just like she’d admired all those years ago. Could it mean something?

Slowly she made her way down the hall to the doorway indicated and stopped outside. Her heart was thumping. Had Mac changed? Would Sean be there? Would they think she changed? She smoothed down her skirt. She was wearing her highest professional-looking heels that gave her an extra four inches of height. She’d lost a few pounds and added some muscle, but it was long and lean due to her running and yoga. But unfortunately, she didn’t lose any at the bust line, and her thinner figure just served to call attention to her breasts, so she dressed to minimize them, wearing some seriously ugly bras.

Her hair was still long. She could never bear to cut it. But it was tucked up in a very professional chignon. She was as ready as she’d ever be. She raised a hand and knocked. There was an automatic lock on the door like one normally saw in offices. Once she knocked, the light changed from red to green, and the door swung silently open.

Reluctantly, she stepped through. It closed behind her. Automatic? No. She looked around and saw Sean close and change the status back to red. She was effectively locked in.

She tried to catch his eye, but he pointedly refused to look at her, instead gesturing for her to take a seat in front of the large desk at the end of the office. It was a beautiful piece of furniture. Indeed, the whole office was amazing, with a big picture window looking out on the water. Sean leaned against a credenza, clearly waiting. He looked good. His hair was shorter and a shade darker, and he seemed a bit more muscular than before. He was dressed in jeans and a polo shirt with the company logo on it, a stylized W in yellow on a green background. The Whelan logo was distinct and almost as well known as Apple or IBM. It wasn’t quite in those leagues yet, but all the analysts said it was just a matter of time due to the foresight of its visionary founder.

The office was huge, with a big desk dominating one end of the room. It had several computer monitors on it, which was to be expected, given the Mac she had known.

There was also a sitting area with a low-backed couch and a couple of chairs. There was a coffee table and two end tables, all three covered with padded leather that coordinated with the sofa and chairs, rather than the traditional glass or wood.

A door she hadn’t noticed initially opened. Mac stepped through. He looked good. A little thinner, but in a way that suggested whipcord power, tamed and clothed in a five-thousand-dollar suit and silk tie. His hair was cut short in a way that looked expensive. He probably had his own barber.

It was like the years fell away. Her stomach gave a flip. She was in the same room with the only two men she had ever loved. They probably still hated her for walking out the way she did, but she had been young and scared. Ten years was a long time. Could they still be interested? But if they weren’t, why get her out here? Maybe…

Mac sat behind the desk and opened the file and waited.

She recognized the tactic. Always get the other guy to speak first. She sat back and waited. And practiced deep breathing exercises. As she half expected, both men’s eyes were drawn to her torso. Damn, she should have worn one of her sexy bras that emphasized her assets, rather than the minimizing one, but then her silk tank and suit jacket wouldn’t fit right.

She waited.

Mac glared at her. Sean smiled. It seemed their personalities hadn’t changed.

Mac flipped through the papers in the file. He schooled his expression to neutrality, but Michelle thought she could see a hint of pain. Did he miss her? What that why he’d had her come here? Did he want to try again? But why wait ten years? And why did he lend her sister so much money?

He skipped the preliminaries and got straight to the point. “Your sister borrowed money from me, Michelle. She signed two promissory notes over the last year. The first one is due today. The other is due in thirty days. Collateral was a farm in the names of Jacob and Martha Edwards.” His tone was cool, almost cold as if he were talking to an acquaintance about the weather and not to a woman he used to love about a debt that could bankrupt her.

“Yes, they are my grandparents. Why did you lend Serena the money? She’s barely out of school. You knew she probably couldn’t repay it. Besides, since when does the Whelan company handle loans? Expanding?” She realized she was babbling, but she was nervous seeing the only two men she had ever loved again. She was looking for a sign about their feelings for her. Did they hate her for running out like a coward all those years ago? Had they forgiven her?

“The loan was personal, not through the company. It seems your grandparents got behind on their bank loan for the farm. And then the local bank was bought out by a bigger one, which eventually went bust. The loan was bought up by a lender whose sole purpose was to liquidate everything. They couldn’t pay, so Serena came to the only person she knew with that kind of money. Me.”

“Why did my grandparents need a loan? And why didn’t they come to me? And how did she even know you?”

Sean spoke. “She was your younger sister. We kept an eye on her. Gave her a summer job with Whelan.” Her eyes widened. “No. Relax.” His tone was bitter. “No, we didn’t fuck your sister.”

“There’s only one Edwards sister we’ve had our cocks in,” Mac added crudely causing her to blush.

Well, she had her answer. They were mad. Now she was really nervous bordering on scared. Why had they brought her here? If they wanted simple revenge, they just needed to foreclose on the farm. It would kill her grandparents and destroy her. But if it was only revenge they wanted, why wait ten years? Surely they would have done something years ago, if that was what they wanted.

“The loan initially was to pay for your law school and Serena’s university. Serena had come home for Thanksgiving, but you were still at school struggling with a punishing course load, and unable to visit. She read the threatening letters from the bank, and she badgered the grandparents into explaining. They begged her not to tell you. They knew how hard you were working and how close to graduation you were.”

“They should have told me. I’d have found another way to pay or transferred to a cheaper school.” The tears spilled down her face. “Why didn’t they tell me?”

Sean handed her a tissue.

“They planned to, once you graduated. They knew once you were working, you would help with the payments, but with the bank failure, they ran out of time. So Serena came to me. I paid off the loan, and now the farm is mine if I don’t get my money. We structured the debt into two promissory notes. The first one comes due today in the amount of $25,000. The remainder is due in thirty days.”

“How much in total?”

“Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

Her jaw dropped. She picked up her briefcase and set it on his desk. “She never told me about the second one. I wouldn’t have wasted your time if I’d known how much the total debt was. I sold everything I had to get this first $25,000.” She thrust the briefcase at them. “And now I’m unemployed because I couldn’t get time off to come out here to pay you off. I have no idea how or when I’ll get the rest of the money, but please don’t foreclose. It would kill my grandparents if they had to move.”

“Do you really believe I’d do that?” Mac was offended.

“Why wouldn’t I? I don’t know you anymore. It has been almost ten years since I’ve seen either of you.”

“And whose fault is that? You left us.” Now he was mad.

Sean said softly, “You can’t argue with that, Michelle. You left us, and we spent the last ten years trying to get over you. Hell, we even moved across the country. I know I thought I’d moved on, but then Serena showed up, and it was like you’d left yesterday.”

Mac ran his hands through his hair. “We showed you our true selves, and you cut and ran. You didn’t even try to work things out.

“I’d put you out of my mind and concentrated on growing my business. We played at the club, sharing women and exploring our dominant sides, but there was never anyone serious, as hard as we looked. We couldn’t move past
you
.” He looked at her accusingly. “And then Serena showed up. She looks so much like you. It all came rushing back. We both still wanted you, so we cooked up this plan with her to get you here so we could get you out of our systems and move on. She didn't know about the “out of our systems” part of the plan. She just thought we wanted to see you again.”

“So she didn’t know the plan included getting me fired so I’d be forced to come here and, what, sleep with you both again?”

“No one ever intended that, the firing I mean, not permanently. We did get you fired, but that’s only temporary.”

“Temporarily fired? That’s supposed to make me feel better?”

“We simply told your employer that we were thinking of giving them a share of our legal business, but in return we wanted the opportunity to hire you away from them. But we knew you were loyal and wouldn’t even entertain an offer while you were still employed by them. They were reluctant, but $10,000,000 in fees a year was pretty substantial. And they also were very happy to agree to the condition that if you turned down my job offer, they would offer you your old job back and I guaranteed I wouldn’t pull my business. It was a win-win for everyone.”

“For everyone but me.”

“Yes, I can see how it would seem that way. But can you honestly say that you’ve never thought of us in all those years, and you aren’t wondering what it would be like to be with us again? We’ve learned a lot since then. We could do things to you that you’ve never dreamed off, make you come harder than you ever have with any other man.” His voice was cold and mocking, and she couldn’t help herself. She wanted to be with them both.

Ignoring his comments, she said, “So what’s happening with the rest of the promissory notes? I’ve got $25,000 here.” She put her briefcase on his desk. “But I have no way of getting the rest, not right away.”

“I don’t care about the money. Yes, my original plan was to blackmail you into giving us another chance, but I need, we need you to stay of your own free will. We’d always intended to tear up the promissory notes and return your $25,000. And if you move back east afterward or even decide to stay out here, we’ll replace the condo you sold. Don’t argue. I’m rich, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“I don’t want your charity. We aren’t together anymore. I’ve looked after myself for the last ten years. I’ll find a way to pay you.”

“God damn it, Michelle. You left
us
!” Mac shouted. Somehow, that made her feel better, but then the cold mask came back and he was speaking in that eerie, calm tone again.

She glared at the both of them. How dare they. Michelle looked from Mac to Sean. She’d never stopped loving them. Any relationship she’d had since had been a pale imitation. No sex had lived up to the threesome that last night together. No men had ever meant as much to her as friends, not just lovers. But she couldn’t tell them that. She had her pride.