What the hell was he getting at?
“We’d like you to come work for the record label. Head up our PR department.”
Chapter 40
HUGH
Coral just looked at him blankly. No reaction whatsoever. But I knew her well enough to know she was about ready to fall off her chair.
“Thank you. That’s very flattering—”
The female Suit held up her hand. “Coral, before you say anything, just think about it. I’d be happy to discuss the particulars with you. I think you’ll find our compensation package very generous.”
I bet. Dicks.
Bryan stood, extending his hand. His earlier forced smile was now long gone. “Thank you, everyone. We need to get to work, so if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way.”
Trying to poach Coral was not making these people any friends.
In the limo on the way home, I turned to Coral. “So. What did you think? You know, of their proposition?”
She looked out the window, shaking her head. “Do they think I want to babysit rock stars all day long? Working with you guys has already taken several years off my life.” She dropped her head back and laughed the way I loved.
“Say, Coral, since people are throwing job offers at you, what do you say to coming to work for the band?” Bryan looked around at all of us, and we nodded.
This time, Coral was not as composed. Her eyes widened. “Oh… um… well, that’s an interesting offer.”
After her non-answer, she sank back in her seat, scrolling through her phone. But I knew the wheels were turning.
When the limo dropped us back at Ennis’s house, Bryan headed for his car. “Hey, guys, I gotta take off. Pixie has a playdate. But Coral, think about my offer. I’m sure we can work something out with Randall. We’d love to have you join us.”
That’s not all we wanted her to join.
Ennis settled into the sofa after opening an expensive bottle of scotch. “Well, that was an interesting meeting.”
It might have been early to celebrate, but I felt like we’d walked through the fire. At least the first ring of it.
Coral nodded slowly. “I’d definitely say it was positive. Our work is paying off, but we have more to do. They weren’t entirely committed.” She sipped her drink. “But I have something else to discuss.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to her. Another situation that could be good news or bad. But really, as long as she was in our lives, we’d be happy. She didn’t have to be with us per se. Working with us would be enough. If she were happy, we’d be happy.
“I… I’ve thought over your offer, of you know, being with you guys.” She looked at each of us, one by one. “It sounds so complicated.”
I jumped in. “It doesn’t have to be…” Shit. I didn’t want to sound desperate.
“Coral, we don’t want to pressure you. Our first priority is to make sure you are happy. So, whatever decision you make, we will support,” Ennis added.
She got to her feet. “I care about each of you. So much,” she said, looking from one of us to the other.
“But I feel compelled to choose one of you. Just one. And there’s no way I can do that. I want to continue working together. I know we can do great things. But as for being in a relationship… I can’t.” She looked down at her hands.
“I just can’t.”
My stomach sank, and the expensive scotch I was sipping was suddenly nauseating. I couldn’t look at the other guys, but it was safe to say we all felt like the air had just left the room.
Before I could even think of a way to compose myself and say something, Ennis’s doorbell rang several times in a row with the urgency not used by a casual visitor.
“Who’s that?” he murmured as he crossed the room to the front door.
“Delivery for you,” a perky voice sang. “Sign right here, Sir.”
“What the hell is that?” Stone asked, craning his neck to see the large white envelope Ennis returned with.
He studied it for a moment, then passed it to Coral. “It’s for you. Maybe something from the office?”
She turned it over, frowning. “Huh. I don’t know. There’s no return address.”
Sighing, she tore into it, pulling out another, smaller envelope. When she’d opened that, she pulled out several photographs. As she shuffled through them, her face turned deadly white and her bottom lip quivered. A small slip of paper fluttered out of the pile and to the floor.
Glancing at it from where she sat, she gasped.
“What is it, sweetie?” I asked, walking over to her.
Holy fuck.
I took the photos from her limp hand. It was clear now why she looked like she might get sick.
I passed them over to the other guys. After rifling through them, Ennis dropped his head into his hands. Stone jumped to his feet and threw them, scattering them all over the living room.
Which really just made things worse, because we were now looking at a collage of images of all four of us, naked, in and out of the pool, with Coral blowing and fucking us.
Holy fucking shit.
I picked up the piece of paper that had landed on the floor near her foot:
Hey slut. Looks like you enjoyed being tag teamed by the guys. Maybe you should make sure you’re really alone before the next time you act as their cum dumpster.
Chapter 41
CORAL
I couldn’t breathe.
The room spun around me, and as it did, Hugh’s, Ennis’s, and Stone’s faces morphed into one horrifying deformity of all their features, like some sort of dystopian nightmare.
All I could hear was the blood rushing through my ears, and my stomach was hinting it might reject the couple sips of scotch I’d just consumed.
I somehow got to my feet. I wasn’t sure where the guys were, or what they were doing, but I ran out the door to my car and somehow managed to turn the key and drive down the hill. When I reached the bottom, I turned onto Sunset Boulevard and pulled into the first strip mall I saw. I grabbed a parking spot in a far corner and doubled over in my seat, sobbing.
What had I done?
Actually, that was a stupid question. I knew what I’d done. In one passionate, thoughtless moment, I’d ruined my career, the reputation of the agency, and the future of Dirty Bandit.
Worst of all, I’d humiliated myself. Beyond repair.
Why had I fallen prey to my passions, and the guys’ flattering attention? Was it vanity, trying to prove to myself—or them—that my awkward, painful years were so far behind me I could take risks and there’d be no penalty to pay?
Or had the guys really grown on me, getting under my skin and into my heart?
It didn’t matter. There was no future for us. There never had been.
I took a look at the text messages that had begun to roll in the moment I’d driven away from the house.
coral, c’mon, let’s talk about this
you don’t have to run off, sweetie
where did you go? please, let’s talk
I deleted them as fast as I could, and after twenty more minutes of bawling like a baby, I rummaged through my glove box for some napkins. Wiping the runny mascara off my face, I looked in my rear-view mirror to find I was nothing but a red, swollen, snotty mess.