Chapter 21
CANDRIN
Not again!
The house was empty, except for me.
Huston and Tanner were staying elsewhere for a few days leaving me alone with my festering guilt.
My life was in the toilet and the only thing that’d make it worse was for me to sleep with the third brother.
“Stop it, Candrin,” I yelled at the walls. “You’ll jinx it.”
The phone beeped and I ignored it. I should have turned it off but part of me was curious as to which brother was texting. The device was face down on the bed, and I lifted it a little. Not Huston or Tanner but Saul.
My heart speeded up, not because of lust—gods no, this was Saul, my de facto dad—but both he and Molly avoided talking to me during the day in case you know who overheard the conversation. They couldn’t afford to lose their jobs. But it was evening so they’d be at home
Call me.
Saul answered on the first ring.
“Everything okay?” I asked, not giving him a chance to explain why he needed to talk to me.
“A letter arrived for you today. It was sent to the wrong address which is why it took so long to get here. It’s really thick.”
“And Charles didn’t snatch it up and read it?” I asked, curious to find out if the guy knew more about my life than I did.
“Nah he was out and I hid the damned thing because he’s always sniffing around when the mail arrives.”
“I give you permission to open it.” Whatever it was, it can’t have been that important.
And there was no point Saul driving to me for some garbage letter selling property.
I refused to go near my old home, and not just because of the memories.
I couldn’t risk Charles seeing me and giving Saul and Molly a hard time.
They lived on our… no not our… the grounds and they were beholden to my so-called brother.
I waited as the phone amplified the ripping of paper.
“Wow! It’s from your father.”
“What?” Now I needed to see the letter in person, no matter what it said. Was it a newer will than the one that gave everything to Charles? Gods how I’d love returning to my former home and evicting him.
“It’s about your office. And there are official-looking papers in the envelope.”
Shit. The charity was being kicked out of the office space. I’d anticipated that but assumed it would come via Charles and his honchos.
“It’s yours, Candrin.”
“Mmmm. Yeah, my office space is in Father’s building. But no more I’m guessing.”
“No, I mean the office belongs to you. It’s in your name. And there’s a bank account. You need to see it.”
“What?” Was this real?
We arranged for Saul to drop it off in thirty minutes.
Weird how my issues with me sleeping with two brothers had been pushed aside now my future was looking less uncertain.
Not that money was going to make me fucking both any more palatable.
Tomorrow I’d be back to wondering how I’d messed things up to a degree that I’d fallen for two men and that might tear their relationship as brothers apart. I was a home-wrecker.
But uppermost in my mind were the details in Father’s letter and why’d he chosen to gift me the office.
I was ecstatic—or would be if it weren’t for my other troubles—but with all the upheavals, starting with the death of my father, I refused to see a way out of my financial mess until those papers were in my hands.
The thirty-minute wait for Saul had my mind going places such as picturing Tanner’s cock and Huston’s length. No, one thing at a time, but as that thought popped into my head I visualized both their dicks.
I raced into the bathroom, flung off my clothes and jumped into the shower. Standing under the cold water did little except make me shiver. My hand crept to my dick but chattering teeth and trembling hands didn’t entice me to jerk off.
Damn! I stomped out of the bathroom, leaving a trail of water leading into my bedroom. Once dry and clothed, I tore down the stairs, peering from behind the curtains as I waited for Saul.
And when he arrived, I went out to greet him. He didn’t come empty-handed. As well as the letter, there was cake, quiche, lasagna, and soup.
“You can freeze these.” Saul handed me the bag of goodies. “But this is what you’re waiting for.”
While I was eager to read the letter, I couldn’t ignore Saul.
I loved him and Molly. But perhaps he was more attuned to my needs than I thought.
He clapped me on the back and said, “I’ll leave you but Molly wanted me to ask if your roommates are nice.
She’s worried you might not get along with them.
And as I was the one who found you this place, Molly would never forgive me if you were unhappy. ”
He paused and something flashed over his face. Maybe he was thinking that I had every reason to be unhappy. Poor, Saul. He had no idea what he was getting himself into and if I told him, he and Molly would worry even more.
“They’re really nice.” That much was true.
“I’m so glad. Molly will be relieved to hear that.”
I waved as he drove away and walked into the house reading my father’s letter, with the other papers tucked under my arm.
Saul was right. The office was in my name.
No more leases or rents. It was mine. I skimmed the deed and it appeared legit.
It had my signature so I must have signed it.
Father used to put papers in front of me and tell me to sign.
This was probably one of those. I had to get it checked out by a lawyer but then I remembered I couldn’t really afford one.
While I was in a much better place financially than when I got kicked out of my home, my income wasn’t enough for legal fees.
Returning to the letter, I read that the bank account was in the name of my charity and there were enough funds to keep the charity running, pay salaries, including something for me for…” I did a quick calculation in my head. “Approximately five years.”
I wouldn’t be buying champagne and caviar but it would pay my rent, food, utilities and have some left over. With the money I was getting from the car lease, I’d be comfortable.
There was something else in the envelope and I dug it out. It was a note in my father's secretary’s—now former secretary’s—handwriting.
Your father asked me to send this to you just before his death. I forgot about it when he died suddenly and I was forced into retirement.
Father had paid Evelyn an excellent salary, a pension and she had a tidy nest egg. She had been close to retirement. That would have been one more burden if she’d been living in poverty.
Slumping onto the sofa, I wondered when Charles would discover this.
I suspected he had forensic accountants going through everything but that would take ages.
If he tried to retrieve the office saying father wasn’t of sound mind, he had access to lawyers which I did not.
But I couldn’t worry about that now and I shot off an email to the staff with the good news.
With my financial worries solved for the moment, my mind wandered to Tanner and Huston. I couldn’t text one and not the other and if we spoke, their voices alone would get me hard.
I turned off the light, pulled a cushion over my head and lay still on the sofa. Perhaps I should meditate. One of my colleagues swore it helped him relax.
I was almost asleep when the front door creaked as someone opened it.
The room was dark and there was nothing nearby that I could whack an intruder with.
But as my mind scrambled for how to get out of this situation, a scent, similar to Huston and Tanner’s but with its own unique twist slapped me in the face.
Gods no, not again.
I flipped on the light. An alpha whose features reminded me of the two men I’d fucked stood frozen in the doorway. He was gorgeous and my cock hardened. I was tempted to yank my pants down and beg him to suck me off.
“No. No, this can’t be happening.” He raked his fingers through his hair.
“Wait, that’s my line!” I shouted.
“Candrin. But you can’t be mine. You’re Huston’s.”
“Hey, I’m nobody’s anything.” I was peeved at him thinking I belonged to Huston.
“That’s not what Huston told me.” A mixture of fear and something else was etched on his face.
“Well fuck him.”
“Mmmm.” The guy gripped the door handle as if something was propelling him into the room and he was resisting.
“And who are you?” I guessed he was the other brother. He was aware of who I was as he’d used my name.
“Oberon.”