Not that they did. Just because I wanted more didn’t mean I was entitled to it.
Neither of them said anything, so I scooted closer to the edge of the cushion. “Do you mind if I go back to work now?”
Langston looked at Landon, then back at me. “Go ahead.”
My breath caught in my lungs. Admittedly, I’d been holding out hope that they would take the next step in progressing this thing between us. Unfortunately, it looked as though they weren’t going to do so. And I certainly wasn’t willing to do it.
Which told me everything I needed to know.
Putting on my secretary hat, I glanced between them both. “If you need anything…”
“Thank you, Luci,” Landon said dismissively.
And those words felt like a knife to the heart. Rarely had Landon or Langston ever referred to me by my name, yet it seemed to be a trend today. It hurt more than I expected it to, but I pretended otherwise and made it to my desk.
I noticed that Ben’s office was dark, which meant he’d left for the day. Although I felt like shit for how things had gone between us, I was glad that he’d left to be with Justin. The man shouldn’t be alone at a time like this.
As I was taking a seat at my desk, Landon and Langston came out of Langston’s office and the light went off behind them.
“We’re leaving for the day. If you need anything, let us know,” Langston said, not even looking my way before they headed down the hallway.
Once again, my anger ignited, but I held it in. Clenching my fists at my sides, I stared at the space they’d vacated.
Knowing I had to do something to keep from losing my shit, I pulled up my email and started going through them one by one. It was only four, so I still had an hour and a half. That would give me plenty of time to take care of any fires, as well as to draft the letter of resignation that I intended to email to them before I left for the day.
My chest tightened just thinking about it. I didn’t want to leave, but I felt as though I was causing more harm than good by being here. To them and to myself. Unfortunately, there was no way I could continue working here and have a platonic relationship with them. It would hurt too much.
It was a decision I didn’t want to make, and quite frankly, it was possible I was jumping the gun, but something felt really off right now. It was as though they didn’t want me here, and honestly, if that was the case, then I didn’t want to be here. I had enough self-worth to know that I’d be an asset to any company, didn’t matter what my role was.
However, relationships were an important key to a functional work life and it seemed as though I’d worn out my welcome here. Still, I needed to take care of a few things, because I certainly wasn’t going to leave them in the lurch. They would find someone to take my place, I was sure of that. Until it was time to leave for the day, I was going to do everything I could to ensure that transition was a smooth one.
Forty-Seven
BOSS MEETING
——————————————————
Landon
“SHE’S GOING TO DO SOMETHING drastic,” I told my brother as we sat in the main-floor lobby of the building we owned.
“That she is,” he confirmed, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee as he sighed heavily.
Luci had clearly been pushed to her limits. Her reactions were overly emotional and it hadn’t taken long to realize that we were to blame.
In the same regard, though, we had attempted to get her to open up to us. That was one thing the girl couldn’t seem to wrap her head around. She was not the type to communicate her feelings. And when we’d taken her into Langston’s office earlier, we had tried to pry her open, but it hadn’t worked. The girl was nothing if not stubborn.
I peered over at Langston.
Then again, I knew someone else who had that trait.
Put the two of them up against one another and the ending was much like dynamite sealed inside an airtight space. Everything would cave in; there was no other place for it to go. And since Luci refused to look at what was right in front of her face, this was getting to be too much for her.
Then again, the rest of us knew how Luci felt about us. I was well aware of the fact that she loved me and Langston in a way she didn’t love Justin and Ben. It was the very reason I’d been holding on all this time, waiting for my hardheaded brother to come around.
I could admit that we’d handled things badly. There was probably a reason this type of office arrangement didn’t take place. Had the four of us been looking for one submissive, perhaps it would’ve worked out. But there had been forces working against each other from the beginning and Luci ended up in the middle of it.
