Chapter 2 #2
The color drained from Lynn’s face as the guys moved closer, their heads turning back and forth as if following an invisible tennis ball being lobbed between Lynn and me.
We stood statue-stiff while the Sheppards put two and two together.
Fuck.
Lynn. Here at SSI. For the holiday party.
She doesn’t work here.
FUCK!!
Is she related to them?
Jamie finally broke the silence, asking, “Madi, why did Matt call you Lynn?”
Madi? As in his twin sister? Lynn was Madi Sheppard?
Double Fuck!!
Lynn was the name she gave me when she hit on me at the bar, leading to our one-night stand my last night in Spain six months ago.
How the hell had I ended up working for her family? What were the odds?
Maybe I should play the lottery.
I lifted my left eyebrow and grinned, wondering how Lynn, aka Madi, would answer. And she had to, because there was no way in hell I’d risk accidentally sharing more than she’d want.
Madi glanced towards the crowd in the reception area.
“They’re in your dad’s office,” Cate answered Madi’s unspoken question.
Her dad. Right, because her brothers were the sons of Sheppard & Sons, so of course John was her father.
Triple fuck.
I hadn’t been this fucked since…
Ever. I’d run through exploding buildings while dodging a hail of gunfire and hadn’t felt as absolutely fucked as I did in that moment.
Madi sighed and, ignoring Jay’s question, said, “You told me your name was Robin.”
Jay stepped into my space. We were the same height and build, so he couldn’t use his size to intimidate me.
He tried to use his authority instead.
“Did. You. Sleep. With. My. Sister?” Jay punctuated every word with the kind of calm control that precedes all hell breaking loose.
I prayed I wouldn’t have to fight one of my bosses, or all of them, as I crossed my arms to give the impression I wasn’t worried.
Keeping my expression neutral, I lifted my chin ever so slightly, letting Madi know it was up to her to answer as she saw fit.
Admitting I’d slept with her was not something I’d do.
I slept around, but I wasn’t a kiss-and-tell kind of guy.
Telling her brothers was completely out of the question.
Madi blinked several times, before whisper-yelling, “Jaden Henry Sheppard! Who I sleep with is none of your damn business.”
He’s in trouble. I almost laughed, then I remembered the bigger picture.
Madi had admitted we slept together, and from the look on her face, she hadn’t meant to.
Three heads turned to me. It was the kind of slow-motion turn that meant trouble, and if I’d seen this scene in a movie, I would’ve been highly entertained knowing the poor sap on the receiving end of those glares was in for a rough day.
But I was the poor sap.
There was no avoiding their anger or questions. The only thing I could do was remain calm and keep my mouth shut.
“She told me her name was Lynn.” I shrugged, pretending it was just another day at the office, and we weren’t having our one-night stand outed in front of my bosses, coworkers, and their spouses.
Her entire fucking family.
“Madi Sheppard, I presume?” I asked, holding out my hand to shake hers while ignoring her brothers and their threatening presence.
“Madeleine, actually,” she said. That explained how she’d chosen the name she’d given me. “Matt…?”
“Matthew Robinson. My SEAL teammates called me Robinhood.” I grinned. “Robin, for short.”
She nodded and stepped towards me, ignoring the wall of Sheppards and reaching out to shake my hand like she hadn’t gone home with my skin under her nails after a night of scratching the crap out of my back as she screamed my name.
It’d taken a week for those marks to heal. A week of being reminded of her every time the scratches stung when the hot water hit them.
A quick glance around the room told me everyone, except her parents and Beth and her son Chase, were in the lobby watching.
“Madi?” Judgment coated the words.
“Shut up, Jack.” Madi’s tone was a flashing neon sign—she was done with their interfering bullshit.
God, she’s sexy when she’s mad.
He ignored her. “Did you sleep with Matt?”
“None of your business.”
That a girl. I smiled as I silently cheered her on. Madi was beautiful, and seeing her flush with anger reminded me of her flushing for other reasons.
Down boy. Getting hard in front of her brothers, my bosses, is not a good idea.
I figured if I reminded myself enough, it’d work.
Their focus was on Madi, so I stepped back and gave them space. It was my turn to watch the match playing out.
“The hell it isn’t,” Jack argued.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Madi whisper-yelled, so her parents wouldn’t hear.
“Did you guys date?” Jamie asked, his head turning from Madi to me and back to Madi.
“No,” Madi and I answered together, adding fuel to the fire.
“You didn’t mention that in your interview,” Jack said.
Was he not listening? We’d given each other fake names. Sort of.
“So you had a one-night stand?” Jay asked, still standing uncomfortably close.
I glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, before returning my focus to Madi.
I’d bet my next paycheck it pisses Jay off that he doesn’t intimidate me.
Not that he can see, anyway. Only a fool wouldn’t be a little intimidated under the circumstances.
The corner of Madi’s lip lifted. Does she like that I’m not afraid of her brother?
Cate, who’d moved beside Jay, tried pulling him away while shushing him.
He refused to budge. Apparently, he felt it was more important to harass us than to keep the peace with his fiancée.
Back and forth, three sets of eyes analyzed the situation and surmised the answer.
I finally realized why Jamie seemed familiar when we first met.
He and Madi have the same expressive hazel eyes.
“I can’t believe you had a one-night stand.” Jamie sighed his disappointment. He turned to look at me, his eyes narrowing as he reassessed his newest employee.
“Fucking hypocrite. It’s not like you’ve never done it,” Madi snapped at him before glaring at all of them.
“I haven’t,” Jamie answered.
Color me shocked, but then I didn’t know him that well.
“I have,” Jack and Jay answered, overlapping Jamie’s reply.
Ignoring Jamie’s response, Madi spat out, “Why is it okay for you, but not for me?”
“Because…” Jay’s answer faded as he stepped back from me and faced Madi with his chest puffed out.
His intimidation failed as Madi leveled him with a glare that challenged him to finish.
Cate was less subtle. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “I dare you to finish that statement.”
Way to go, Cate. I appreciated that she was on Madi’s side, and mine by association.
Madi and I shared a look. I grinned, hoping to assure her I was fine. It was a bit of an overstatement, but I wasn’t worried they’d physically harm me.
Once her brothers recovered from the shock of the news, I trusted that they’d calm down.
Madi stepped into Jay’s space and poked his chest. “Because I’m a woman? Is that what you were about to say? Cause that’s some seriously chauvinistic bullshit.”
“They’re consenting adults. What happened between them is none of your business,” Cate stood at Madi’s side, earning a growl from Jay.
“Matt, I’m sorry my brothers are idiots,” Madi said, making me smile. “And if they give you any shit, tell me.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need you fighting my battles for me,” I answered.
Jack and Jamie held a private conversation off to the side, looking relatively calm. Maybe they’ll let it go.
“Robinson, my office, now,” Jamie ordered.
Maybe not.
“Yes, sir,” I answered with a nod, half expecting to get fired on the spot.
Madi opened her mouth, but John’s door opened.
We all turned.
John looked at me, assessing me much like his sons had, before dipping his chin. “Robinson, now that you’re here, we’ll get started,”
How much had he heard? If he hadn’t heard, would his sons tell him? No way. They’d deal with me themselves. But how? Would they listen if I told them to mind their own business?
Probably not. They were protective alpha males, and I’d slept with their sister.
It wouldn’t matter to them that she hit on me.
It wouldn’t matter to them that she suggested we get a room.
It wouldn’t matter to them that she gave me a fake name because she wanted less loose for a night.
I’d said all I’d say. Madi could tell them as much or as little about our history as she wanted them to know.
I tried to hang back to talk to Madi, but her brothers herded me away from her.
The image of three Sheppards herding one man would’ve been funny—if I wasn’t the man.
I’d survived the big-brother lecture from Madi’s three younger brothers the week after the company Christmas party.
I’d sat in three different offices and heard the same message delivered three different ways.
Jamie gritted his teeth through the entire talk. He accepted we knew each other and said he wouldn’t hold it against me two seconds before he warned me to keep my distance.
Jack gritted his teeth less, but he delivered the same message.
Jay ground his teeth so hard, I thought he’d chip a tooth or three. He clenched his fists so tight that I had no doubt his nails left crescent marks on his palms. His threat was rather detailed when he explained what he’d do to me if I ever touched his sister again.
Now it was time to face John. The patriarch of Sheppard & Sons.
Madi’s father.
My CEO.
How will he act? What will he say?
I tapped my knuckles on John’s door, causing it to open as I did.
“Come in,” John said, putting his phone down.
I closed the door as I said, “Morning sir, you wanted to see me?”
Thanks to years serving as a Navy SEAL, I looked and sounded cool as a cucumber, even if I didn’t feel it.
“Thank you. Have a seat.” John’s tone was casual, but I obeyed the order nonetheless.
“How was your vacation?” John lobbed a soft ball at me. I’d spent the break in Colorado with Shane, the man who raised me while my father drank himself to death.