Page 98 of Sexting My Best Friend's Brothers
He reaches out, his hand hovering near my face, shaking slightly.
“Tessa,” he says. “We need to fix this. We can’t do this while we’re at war with each other. We need to focus.”
“I know,” I say.
My phone buzzes in my purse.
The offer letter.
I step back, out of his reach. The movement hurts both of us.
“I have a solution,” I say.
Ethan frowns, his hand dropping to his side. “What solution?”
“You said I couldn’t leave because of the money,” I say, my voice steadying. “You said I owed you the signing bonus. You said you’d sue me.”
“Tessa, that was?—”
“It was a trap,” I say. “But I found a key.”
I pull my phone out. I open the email. I see the PDF attached. Offer of Employment - Nebula Corp.
“I got another job,” I say.
Ethan freezes. He looks like I just spoke in a foreign language. “What?”
“I secured a consulting retainer,” I repeat. “From Nebula. Markus Vance has a bonus ready to wire that covers what I owe you. Plus twenty percent.”
Ethan’s face goes pale. Paler than I’ve ever seen it.
“Nebula? Our competitor?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t,” he says in disbelief. “You have a non-compete. Legal will bury you before the ink is dry.”
“Markus says he’ll bury you,” I shoot back. “He told me he’s paying my legal bills just to spite you.”
Ethan grips the edge of the desk, harshly. “You think Vance gives a damn about you? He’s using you as a pawn to get back at me. The second the lawsuit gets expensive, he’ll drop you.”
“I know,” I say, my voice trembling but defiant. “I know you’ll sue me. I know I probably won’t last a month there. But I just need the signing bonus to clear so I can pay you off. That’s all I care about right now.”
“You’re destroying your career for a check?”
“I’m destroying it to buy my freedom,” I correct him. “They want the strategist who built ‘Be Seen.’ They want the girl you told to just ‘do her job’ and shut up.”
“You would go to them?” he asks, his voice filled with a betrayal so deep it sounds like heartbreak. “You would take our work… your work… to them? To Markus Vance?”
“I have to,” I say, tears pricking my eyes. “I can’t stay here. Look at us. We’re a mess. I slept with all three of you. I lied to Harper. I’m tearing you guys apart.”
“You aren’t tearing us apart,” Ethan says desperately. “You’re…”
“I’m the catalyst,” I finish for him. “And the only way to stop the explosion is to remove the spark.”
I hold up the phone.
“I haven’t signed it yet,” I say. “But I’m going to. I’ll work the launch on Saturday. I’ll make sure the press goes smoothly. I’ll do my job. And then, on Monday… I’m gone. I’ll sign the contract, take their bonus, and transfer the money to you the second it hits my account.”
