Knights of the Boardroom (27 page)

“What do you mean he is gone?” Lawton held back his grin because he’d been working with Cressi long enough to recognize the shift in her voice.
Oh yeah, our woman is about a fast five seconds from detonation.
Cressida was facing off with Parker, and Law was pleased it was their friend’s ass on the hot seat rather than his own. “Like dead gone or took off gone?” Glancing over Cressida’s shoulder, Lawton watched as Brodie hid his smile, he obviously knew exactly where this was headed as well. Her voice was probably an octave higher than normal and he doubted she even realized how frantic she sounded. She’d once told him she thought she sounded like a shrew when she was upset, but he’d disagreed. In his opinion it was one of a very few small chinks in her armor and this particular tell had served as a red flag for both he and Brodie on several occasions.

When he and Brodie had spoken with Parker yesterday, they’d warned him delaying this conversation wasn’t wise—they’d also explained in vivid detail how prepared they were to throw his ass under the bus. Keeping the secret from Cressida in order to buy time to set up more security for Carli’s upcoming trip to Europe wasn’t going to matter in the end. Lawton hated the fact they weren’t going to see a resolution to this thing anytime soon, but if there was a good side to the whole mess—it was the fact they now had plenty of ammunition to get their lovely sub to move in with them, something they planned to address as soon as Parker finished pissing her off.

“When? When did this happen?” Cressida’s tone let him know she was probably going to put all four of them in the same boat she planned to torpedo
.
Lawton saw her glance at Brodie just as he winced—
yet, fate sealed. We’re all going down.
Going toe-to-toe with Parker probably wasn’t her favorite thing to do—she didn’t work with him often enough to know how to read him, but the look on his face would have told her he’d known longer than he wanted to admit.

“Cressida, you need to understand—”

She cut Parker off before he finished, “No, Parker, you need to understand—it is disrespectful to withhold information from me when it relates to my safety. When did you tell Lawton and Brodie? And where is my
damned sister
?” Lawton wanted to laugh at the look on Parker’s face, clearly the head of their security division hadn’t butted heads with Cressida before today because he seemed far too surprised to find himself facing the determined woman Law and Brodie knew well.

Leaning casually against the marble mantle of his living room fireplace, Lawton tried to observe Cressida objectively. Those who didn’t know her well simply saw a gorgeous woman who was almost too good at her job to be believed. They didn’t know the professional clothing now covered lingerie so racy he nor Brodie could barely look at her without remembering what tiny slip of temptation she’d chosen that morning. It seemed like they were both continually walking around with erections that stole so much blood it was a wonder their damned brains still functioned. Tristan had established charge accounts for her at several of the small boutiques and department stores her sister had suggested, now they just needed to make sure she was making good use of them. Last night Lawton had taken great pleasure in shredding the pretty pink thong and bra set Cressida had been wearing—it was something he planned to do regularly. Brodie enjoyed unwrapping his gifts with meticulous care, Lawton just wanted the woman—he didn’t care about preserving tiny scraps of elastic and lace that stood in his way.

When this conversation was over, he and Brodie were planning to propose to the petite ball of fire currently challenging a man nearly twice her size—God, he loved her so much it humbled him to think he and Brodie had finally won her heart. Letting Dale Roberts slip through their fingers rankled Lawton, but there really had been very little they could have done to prevent it. The man had tapped in to so many different servers and set up so many web-crawlers it had been impossible for them to make a move he hadn’t known about immediately. They’d have liked to wait until they could ease her mind about Roberts before moving on, but since there didn’t seem to be any way to predict how long this would drag out, neither he nor Brodie intended to wait. They had always intended to make her their own, the fact they now faced long term safety concerns only make them more determined to shorten the timeline.

*****

By the time she’d finished railing at Parker, Cressi should have been exhausted but she found herself pacing the considerable length of Lawton’s living room like a caged cat. How had her life gotten so out of control in such a relatively short amount of time? Everything started spiraling when she joined that damned chatroom. She’d simply been seeking answers from like-minded people—she hadn’t intended to attract the attention of a crazy tech-savvy stalker. “Why that Looney Tunes piece of shit decided I belong to him is a mystery for the ages. Damned man must be blind to think I’m a better catch than Carli—the T.E.G. team may think he’s brilliant, but I’m just not feeling it when I remember the bullshit he’s pulled.”

The more frustrated she became the faster she walked until she was almost panting from the exertion. On her next pass Brodie grabbed her arm and spun her around until she faced him, “There are too many reasons to list why you are perfect, pet. Don’t compare yourself to your sister. Carli is a beautiful woman—the entire world knows it, but
you
are even more beautiful
and
you are our well-kept secret.” Cressi hadn’t realized she wasn’t alone in the room, talking out loud while trying to work through a problem was a habit she evidently needed to break—quickly. She’d picked up the practice as a young girl living at home because her father had barely spoken to her once Carli had become involved in school activities that kept her away from home. And once her sister had actually moved out, she’d essentially become invisible as far as their dad had been concerned. “I know what you are thinking and personally I hope you always feel safe enough to work through a problem in ways that work best for you. It’s a special treat for a man to get that brief glimpse into the inner workings of the female mind—and even better when it’s the woman he’s in love with.”

When he finished speaking, Cressi was too stunned to respond and Brodie grinned as if rendering her speechless was one of his greatest accomplishments. “Come on, pet. We have a surprise for you.” He tucked her hand into the bend of his elbow as if her were escorting her into some grand and glorious party before walking her to a well-concealed elevator she hadn’t realized existed. It was enormous and when she looked at him in question, he grinned, “We kept the building’s original service elevator because it makes it easy to move large items.” She must have looked confused because he leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose as the enormous door slid closed, “You’ll understand soon enough.”

Cressi was surprised to feel the car ascending, she wasn’t aware the T.E.G. building had any useable space on the roof—but stepping out a few seconds later she was stunned at the oasis greeting her. Taking in her surroundings was such a visual treat her earlier frustrations melted away quickly. Most of the area was covered by a large fine mess fabric that was oddly transparent and when Brodie noticed her interest in it, he chuckled. “State of the art privacy protection, pet. It will keep the drones and passing aircraft from intruding on our time together. We love showing you off, but only on our own terms. It also limits your exposure to the damaging rays of the sun, so you can enjoy as much time up here as you want.”

There was a huge stone wall where water cascaded down into a small pool lined with water lilies with enormous koi fish swimming in lazy circles. The nearby bar featured very limited seating letting her know this wasn’t a place intended to entertain guests. She’d barely begun taking it all in when she noticed Lawton standing to the side. The tall table he leaned against held the most enormous arrangement of tropical flowers she’d ever seen. His smile drew her like a moth to a flame.

Brodie didn’t release her until she was only small step from Lawton’s open arms and the unspoken message of his gesture wasn’t lost on her. Knowing that one of them would always be close by filled a place in her heart she hadn’t even realized was barren. Lawton pressed a kiss against the crown of her head before she felt him groan with satisfaction, “You fit perfectly in my arms, baby. And I want you to always know this is your safe place. Brodie and I wanted to make sure you understood how important your happiness is to us—you’d mentioned how much you loved water, so we created this for you.”

Cressi gasped as she pulled back to study the two men standing in front of her, “You made this for me?” When they nodded in unison, she felt tears sliding down her cheeks. “No one has ever listened to me the way you do. I’m so grateful to have you in my life.” The next few seconds were such a flurry of activity, Cressi decided it would probably take her a lifetime to sort it through. They slipped a ring on her finger before she had even realized what they were doing and when their words began to settle in her mind, she finally managed to interrupt long enough to tell them she couldn’t possibly choose between them.

“Pet, we’d never ask you to choose—hell, neither of us is willing to step away from you. We’ve managed to find a few loopholes in the law that I’m sure you’ll appreciate. Since marriage is technically a contractual arrangement, I’ve drawn up a contract that binds us all together. You’ll belong to us just as we’ll each belong to you. To satisfy the State of New York, you’ll be Lawton’s wife on paper, but the three of us will know the truth of our lives together.”

“I don’t want to have a wedding that has you standing to the side while I marry Lawton, it would break my heart.”

For the first time since she’d known him, Cressi saw a crack in Brodie’s armor as his eyes became glassy with unshed tears. He leaned his forehead against hers and spoke softly, “And just when I didn’t think it was possible for me to love you any more…”

“Baby, we don’t want that type of wedding either, so we’re eloping—tonight. We need to leave now because we have a limited time to get in the air and the pilot is already performing the pre-flight checks on the jet.”

Cressi was overwhelmed and finally managed to halt their progress right before they ushered her into the waiting elevator. “Wait. I need to pack. Have you already packed? Oh, do I need my passport? Oh, my head is positively spinning. You want to marry me? Are you sure?”

She got her answer when Brodie scooped her up in his arms and stepped into the elevator, “We’ve already taken care of everything, pet. And I can’t ever remember being more sure of anything in my life, pet. Besides, we’ve already promised Law’s parents and my dad we’d bring them home something special from our trip—and I’m convinced finally making you their daughter is going to exceed every one of their expectations.”

One Month Later
…

Cressida stood in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom and wished she was back on one the beaches they’d visited on their honeymoon. Lawton and Brodie had taken her to some of the most luxurious resorts in the world—locales she’d only dreamed of visiting, but it had been Thailand and Bora Bora that had stolen her heart. The private hut they’d stayed in while visiting Bora Bora had been so secluded they’d kept her naked almost the entire time. And the glass floor afforded the three of them hours of entertainment as they looked down on some of the most spectacular undersea life she’d ever seen. Cressida had wondered at all the special treatment they’d received until Lawton had let it slip that he’d purchased the small resort shortly after he’d met her, then had it completely refurbished while he and Brodie waited to claim her heart.

She’d loved the time they’d spent there and planned to return again as soon as she could talk the men into it. Cressida had tortured her sister with pictures hoping they might persuade her always “on” sister to take a break and steal away for a few days—maybe she’d get lucky and have a couple of Doms join her as well. Cressi had seen the way Carli looked at Tristan and Parker when she didn’t think anyone was watching, and holy hell she’d certainly noticed how the two men looked at Carli. She also knew her tough as nails sister well enough to worry Carli would fight falling in love every step of the way because she didn’t believe in it—or more specifically, she didn’t believe it was in the cards for her.

Cressi had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t heard her husbands step up behind her and meeting their gazes in the mirror was a pleasant surprise. “Pet, what put that contemplative look on your pretty face?” Brodie trailed the backs of his fingers from just under her ear tracing an invisible line down the side of her neck and then along her shoulder. Rotating his wrist, it was then the calloused pads of his finger that followed the outside of her arm all the way down until his hand encircled her wrist. Goose bumps might have been racing over the surface of her skin but the heat that followed his touch seeped all the way to her core.

“If you are having second thoughts about the party, we can call and cancel.” Cressi would have laughed at the tinge of hope she’d heard in Lawton’s voice if she hadn’t thought it might encourage him.

“And disappoint all three of my in-laws? Not on your life. They’ve worked hard putting this all together—with very little help from any of us, I might add. And I’m looking forward to showing off my men. You both look amazing.” And
amazing
was probably the understatement of the decade. Lawton Hill and Brodie Walsh dressed in tuxedoes was almost more than a woman could take. “I’m grateful beyond words for all your parents have done.” Turning to Lawton, she added, “I know your mom was disappointed that she wasn’t at our wedding and I wouldn’t take this from her for anything.”