15. Penelope
Chapter 15
Penelope
Over the next several days, the four of us settle into something of a routine. Which is a weird thing to think, that I could have a routine with Xavier, Dominic, and Tristan, but here we are.
Our mornings start at home, with coffee and breakfast in the kitchen. Xavier is a morning person, surprising no one, and even Dominic manages to be in something of a good mood at least sixty percent of the time. Tristan is still quiet, almost sullen as he watches the proceedings over the rim of his coffee cup, but it’s mostly amicable.
We all head to work together, and I chat with Jonas and Xavier on the way, getting to know more about their driver. He’s always so nice to me, always friendly, and it’s nice to have someone who seems happy to see me every morning and eager to hear what I have to say.
That’s definitely not the case when we all arrive at the office, because if Sienna is there and sees it, all I get is dirty looks from her for the rest of the day.
At the end of the day, we all head home together and have dinner at the expansive dining room table in the house. Sometimes Xavier cooks, and I usually help him prep on those nights, cutting things to his specifications or stirring when he needs an extra pair of hands. Sometimes we order out, and I learn more about the kinds of foods my husbands like, taking notes for the future.
It’s a business arrangement of a marriage, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do well at it.
Xavier has been true to his word, and he’s been helping me learn more about business logistics. There’s a lot that goes into it, and when he forwards me a bunch of articles and information to read, I spend lunch breaks poring over it so I can ask him questions later.
Dominic is still Dominic. Demanding and brusque on a good day, no matter that I’m his wife. But I can tell he’s softened toward me a bit, and I feel less intimidated by him when we cross paths. He’ll actually stop and say hello instead of just bowling me over the way he used to. So that’s something.
And then of course, there’s Tristan. I rarely speak to him directly in the office, but I always seem to be crossing paths with him, adding to the weird tension between us. I’ll see him in the copy room, or when I go to scan in documents. When I take a break to get coffee, he’ll be there, even though I’m pretty sure he has his own private coffee maker in his massive office that he could use.
I never say anything, not wanting to annoy him even more than I probably already do, but I do give him polite nods and smiles. Sometimes he’ll return the nods, and I take what I can get when it comes to him.
But it’s nice to have a routine. It’s nice to have that to fall back on and to know that no matter how hectic things are at the office for any of us, we’ll all be riding home together at the end of the day, and there will be dinner to look forward to and a soft bed to climb into at night.
Toward the end of our second week of being married, I take the elevator up to the C-suite offices to drop something off for Dominic. One of the other assistants handed it to me, and I don’t know if it’s because he thinks I should be the one delivering files to my husbands or because he’s scared of pissing Dominic off, but I take the file either way.
I can hear their slightly raised voices as soon as I come to Dominic’s door, and I slip in to see all three of them there.
Dominic is behind his desk, imposing with his arms folded and his face set into displeased lines. Xavier is leaning against the corner of the desk, posture loose and easy. It must not be a serious argument then, if he’s so relaxed. Tristan is sitting in one of the nice leather chairs across from the desk, and he looks impassive, almost bored as they go around and around in circles with each other.
“Are you going to do this every time this comes up?” Xavier asks, giving Dominic a lopsided smile. “You’re right sometimes, but when it comes to something as simple as?—”
“Simple?” Dominic shoots back. “You think setting an encryption on the information for a multi-million dollar company is simple?”
Xavier shrugs. “Sure? I mean, yeah, it’s more sensitive information, but the basics don’t change just because Company A has more money than Company B.”
“But you’re suggesting giving them more features because they have more money,” Tristan points out.
“No, I’m suggesting that we take their wants into account when we build their tools. Just because they can afford more of what they want doesn’t mean they deserve it more.”
“A backdoor passkey is a bad idea,” Dominic says. “Some idiot will use it the wrong way, and then we’ll be liable for what happens.”
“No we won’t. That’s in the contract,” Xavier replies. “Do you read the contracts, Dom?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“All I’m saying, all I’m always saying, is that giving the clients what they want isn’t a bad thing. If we go into every single contract with the expectation that our clients are morons?—”
“Most of them are morons,” Dominic cuts in.
Tristan sighs with a surprising amount of feeling for him. “We’re getting off topic here anyway,” he points out. “The question was whether we should invest in new marketing or upgrading our cybersecurity infrastructure.”
Dominic raises an eyebrow. “And my position on that hasn’t changed. Protecting what we already have is the most important thing we can do.”
“And I keep telling you that I helped to build what we already have myself. So I know it’s more than fine. We can afford to shunt some money into marketing to bring in more clients.”
“You know,” I say, speaking up for the first time. “I think all three of you want the same thing.”
The argument stops abruptly, and they all turn to look at me in surprise. Probably this is the first time they’ve even noticed that I’m here, and my face flushes at having interrupted them the way I did.
“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean—it’s just… I think you all want the same thing. You want what’s best for Vantage. You want the company to thrive, you just have different ideas about how to best go about that.”
“And what do you think we should do?” Xavier asks, his lips quirked in a smile.
“I think you should build off that common ground and try to find a compromise.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I want to snatch them back. I just barged in here and started telling them how to run their business, like I have any idea what they’re up against or how to handle things on their level.
I’m fully expecting Dominic to tell me to butt out and just do the job they’re paying me to do, but instead, he gives me a thoughtful look.
Xavier is grinning. “That’s not a terrible idea,” he says. “Half our problem is always that we’re so convinced that we’re right we can’t see any other way to do things.”
“What’s the other half?” Dominic asks.
“Oh, it changes from day to day.”
Dominic snorts. He rips a page out of legal pad he’s been scribbling on, balling it up and throwing it into the open trash can. “All right, what would a compromise look like then?”
“We’d have to consider doing both,” Tristan speaks up. “They are both important.”
“Right.” Xavier nods. “I really do think that the security infrastructure is fine—” he holds up a hand before Dominic can argue. “For now. We could make gradual upgrades over time, instead of trying to do everything all at once.”
“That’s an idea,” Dominic agrees, nodding slowly. “And then we allocate part of the budget for immediate marketing efforts, while setting aside some to make those gradual changes over say the next quarter?”
“That seems sound,” Tristan agrees.
“All right, I’ll send this to accounting,” Dominic says, writing another few lines. “And have the marketing team start doing some research on where we could make some improvements or new strides.”
“Sounds good to me,” Xavier says.
I smile, a bubble of warmth in my chest that grows at seeing them working so well together. It’s easy to see how they ran their own companies well before the merger, and if they manage to do cooperate like this more often, they could turn Vantage into something even better than it already is. And there’s something really nice about having my input be helpful to them.
“All right,” Xavier says after a moment. “What did you need, shortcake?”
“Oh. I had this file for Dominic.” I hand it over, and he takes it, flipping through it quickly. A look of boredom flits over his face before he tosses it down onto his desk.
“This can wait until tomorrow,” he says. “I want to get out of this office.”
Xavier stands up and stretches, his body bending in a graceful line. “Thank fuck,” he groans. “Let’s go home?”
“Are you sure,” I ask, glancing at the folder. “They made it seem like it was important downstairs.”
“Not so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow. It’s after six anyway, and we keep regular business hours when we can,” Dominic replies. “Scoot.” His flicks his fingers toward the door, and the other two make moves to get up and start heading out.
“I need to go back down and get my things,” I tell them.
“We’ll meet you in the lobby then.”
I take the elevator back down, still smiling about how all of that went. It feels nice to be a part of something. To feel like I might have some value to add.
Fifteen minutes later, all four of us step out of the building, heading for where Jonas is waiting with the car.
The warm afternoon has given way to a chilly evening, and a sudden gust of wind kicks up cold air that makes me shiver. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to conserve heat until we get to the car.
I shuffle along with the men, but notice Dominic shrugging out of his jacket. Without a word, he hangs back and wraps it around my shoulders, pulling it in close around me.
My heart skips a beat in my chest as my senses are flooded with the scent of him where it clings to the jacket. I can smell his cologne under it too, and I grab on to the edges of the jacket to pull it in tighter. It’s warm from his body heat and does an excellent job of blocking out the wind. Even if it didn’t the warmth of the gesture would probably do the trick.
It’s such a classic move, one of the ones I would have swooned over in a movie or a romance novel, and now here’s my own husband trying to keep me warm. Butterflies flicker in my stomach, and I just give him a little smile of thanks, trying not to look like too much of an idiot about it.
Jonas is waiting by the car when we get there and he gives me a smile and a salute as I climb into the car with the others.
The men talk about business as we drive home, and I stare out the window watching the buildings and other cars go by. It’s warm enough in the car that I could have given Dominic his jacket back, but I keep it instead, still clinging to it. I don’t even have to sniff the collar to get the warm, rich sent of Dominic. The scent of him is all around me, and it’s easy to sink into, like a warm bath.
One of the streets up ahead is blocked off because of an accident, so Jonas turns down a side street, finding a new route to the house. I recognize the area instantly, and I sit up a little straighter as we head down the street that my old bakery is on.
I don’t come here often anymore, mostly because it hurts too bad. All I see when I look at the building is what could have been. All the plans I had, all the hopes and dreams I hung on that place and how it all turned out. It just leaves me feeling defeated more often than not.
As the car approaches the building, I note with a pain in my chest that it looks the same. Same green and pink striped awning, same bright, cheery windows. The door is painted a sunny yellow, and it’s still just… perfect.
I can’t help but remember how good I felt the day I signed the lease on the place, and a sigh spills out of me as I sink down lower in my seat.
Xavier cuts himself off mid-sentence to look over at me. “Are we being that boring right now?” he asks, a teasing twist to his mouth.
“What? Oh, no, I’m sorry. It wasn’t about that. You can talk about what you want.”
“Then why the long face?” he wants to know. He reaches over and pokes me in the arm. “What’s going on?”
I hesitate for a second, but then figure I may as well tell them. They all know I had a failed business by now anyway. I point at the building as we pass it. “That was my bakery. The one I had to close because of the financial issues.”
“Ah,” Xavier says. “It’s cute. I can definitely see you in a place like that.”
Tristan grunts his agreement, turning his head to keep the bakery in sight as we continue on down the street.
“Was it a lack of funding or a lack of customers?” Dominic asks, sitting back in his seat.
I fidget with my hands in my lap, staring down at them. The idea of discussing this with three successful men who managed to make their businesses work makes me feel a little terrible, if I’m honest. But I brought it up, and it’s not like I can hide the truth of it from them. Especially if I want Xavier’s help to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“Both? I mean, I had customers, but I just didn’t have enough in the bank to keep up. So I had to cut back on what I could offer because I couldn’t afford all the ingredients I needed. That made the customers drop off because I didn’t have as big a selection as other places. The fewer customers I had, the harder it was to make ends meet, and then…” I trail off. They can see the picture from there, I’m sure.
Xavier reaches out and covers one of my hands with his own. “That’s always hard,” he says. “Running a business is never as easy as anyone makes it out to be. Everybody wants to be an entrepreneur, but no one really talks about the hardships that go along with the job.”
“Yeah,” I sigh.
I can feel eyes on me, and I glance up to see Tristan staring at me with his usual guarded expression. At times like this I wish more than ever that he was easier to read. I can’t tell if he feels sympathy for the situation or if he just thinks I’m an idiot for getting into it in the first place.
“The truth is most businesses fail,” Dominic says.
Xavier rolls his eyes. “Helpful, really.”
Dominic gives him a sharp look. “What I mean is that most businesses fail without help. Whether it’s financial or otherwise. Were you juggling things on your own?”
I nod, and Dominic makes a ‘there you go’ expression.
“I wasn’t good at running a business back then,” I can admit. “I was caught up in it being my dream, and I didn’t realize how much other stuff went into it. I had some savings, and I thought that would be enough, but the amount of overhead you need is crazy. There was no way I was ever going to keep up, and I know that now. I’m learning more now than I ever knew back then, and I’m so grateful Xavier has been helping me learn more about being a business owner.”
Xavier shrugs, grinning. “It’s nothing, really. I just hope you remember all my lessons so when I swing by to get free baked goods as payment, there won’t be any problems.”
I laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ll make whatever your favorite is every day.”
“This arrangement is going to be so beneficial,” he says, sighing happily. I don’t know if he means the one between us two or the one between the four of us, but either way, I definitely agree in the moment.
Jonas drops us off at home, and we pile out of the car and into the house. Xavier starts making noises about being hungry, but too tired to cook, so he and Dominic devolve into an argument about what to order for dinner.
Tristan ends it by ordering Italian while they’re in the middle of bickering, and I smile, at how weirdly domestic things have already gotten between us.
The food is hot and fragrant when it comes, and I tuck into a plate of pasta with rich red sauce and huge meatballs. A platter of garlic bread gets passed around the table, and by the time we’ve finished eating I’m stuffed and warm and happy.
I didn’t realize how quiet and lonely it was, eating dinner in my apartment alone every night. And I definitely wasn’t eating food like this. It was noodles in a microwavable cup or eggs on toast if I had it. Sometimes I’d treat myself to picking up fast food on the way home if I’d had a good day.
But none of that compares to this.
We all help clean the table, throwing out containers and loading the dishwasher before Tristan and Xavier disappear up the stairs to their rooms to do whatever it is they do to wind down.
Dominic starts the dishwasher and then turns to leave, but I realize I’m still wearing his jacket. I’d gotten so used to the way it felt to have it on, that besides having to shake the sleeves back so I didn’t trail them in my pasta sauce, I barely noticed it was there while we were eating.
“I should give this back to you,” I say, starting to shrug out of it.
Dominic pins me with that intense stare of his, his eyes gaze making me flush a little. After a beat, he shakes his head. “You keep it,” he says.
“What? I couldn’t?—”
“You could,” he counters. “It looks better on you anyway.”
My eyes widen because that’s the last thing I expected him to say. I pull the jacket back on properly, and I can hear my heartbeat in my head. It feels so loud that he must be able to hear it too.
“Are you sure?” I ask, the words coming out soft and unsure.
Dominic’s lips twitch in something like a smile. “I don’t say things I don’t mean,” he says, not looking away from me for a second. There’s heat and tension winding between us, and it makes it hard to breathe. We’re standing so close together now that I can smell him all over again, the scent fresher than the one embedded into his jacket. It washes over me like the tide, and I’m struggling to stay afloat.
I wonder if he can feel it too. If he can feel the way the moment stretches, the way the tension builds.
If he can, he doesn’t show any signs of it. Instead he’s calm and collected, but just as intense as always. He holds my gaze for a moment longer and then turns to head up the stairs, leaving me down there alone for a moment.
I hold the jacket close to me, trying to make sense of the moment. Dominic doesn’t seem to half ass anything, and he rarely seems unsure, so he must really mean what he said. But why?
His motivations are unclear, and it doesn’t seem like a good idea to chase him down to ask. Instead I just make my way up to my own room, closing the door softly. I lean against it for a minute, just trying to collect myself.
There was something in Dominic’s eyes down there. Something almost… possessive. Something almost pleased. I don’t know why and I don’t know what it means, but it’s hard not to think about it.
As I get ready for bed, going to shower and change, all I can think about is the way he looked at me and the feeling of his jacket around me. Even when I’m bundled under the covers to sleep, it’s not far from my mind.