32. Penelope
Chapter 32
Penelope
The next day we all head back to the office, and it feels good to get up and get dressed to leave the house after the nearly a week of being basically bedridden.
I’m in a good mood when Jonas brings the car up the driveway, and I wave to him excitedly when he hops out of the car to open the doors for us.
He smiles at me, inclining his head. “Ms. Penelope. It’s good to see you.”
“You too!” I gush. “How have you been?”
“Nothing exciting to report. I missed seeing you this past week. I hope everything’s okay.”
We all get into the car, and I buckle myself in before leaning forward to continue the conversation.
“I wasn’t sick or anything,” I tell him. “It was just… that time, you know?”
He raises an eyebrow at me in the rearview mirror. “That… time?”
I realize that could really refer to any number of things. “I was pretty indisposed. It was heat time.”
“Ah,” he says, cheeks going just the slightest bit pink.
There’s a shift in the energy in the car, and Dominic reaches forward and grabs the back of my shirt, pulling me to sit back against the seat. I’m wedged in between him and Tristan, and Tristan angles himself a bit so that he’s almost between me and Jonas.
It’s a protective move for sure, and I realize they must not want some other man hearing about me being in heat.
Something about that makes my heart pound. They’re so possessive over me, and while it should be annoying, considering they aren’t even my real husbands, instead, I just feel warm and wanted.
Xavier leans in to give me a heated look, and I can tell he’s thinking of what we would have been doing right now if I was still in heat. It’s on his mind, probably on all their minds, just as much as it’s on mine.
The rest of the car ride is uneventful. Jonas wishes us a good day, and we head into the building.
“Meeting in fifteen?” Dominic asks the other two.
They nod in agreement.
“What meeting?” I ask, not sure if it was on the agenda or if this is a spur of the moment sort of thing. I haven’t had the presence of mind to check my inbox in days.
“We’re having a team meeting to catch up on what’s been going on while we were out,” Xavier explains. “It’s pretty rare for all three of us to be gone for so long.”
“Oh.”
For a split second, I feel guilty for being the reason the three of them were out of the office for so long, but Xavier clearly clocks it because he reaches up and tugs a lock of my hair.
“None of that,” he says firmly. “We all made the choice, and it’ll be easy to catch up. If our business can’t run without us for a few days, then we need to delegate better.”
“Okay,” I relent. “Can I come to the meeting?”
The three of them exchange looks.
“You want to?” Dominic asks.
“Sure. I’m a part of the team, right? And it’ll be good for me to see how this kind of thing works.”
“You know what, it probably would be good,” Xavier agrees. “Sure, come on.”
Neither of the other two object, so I smile and follow them upstairs to one of the conference rooms.
Gradually the other members of the team start to file in, filling up the table, and I hurry to find a seat before they can all get filled up.
The team stares at me as I sit down, and I blink in confusion, not sure what they’re all so interested in. Maybe it’s just because they’ve never seen me at one of these things before? Maybe assistants don’t usually come.
Someone leans over and hisses lowly, “That’s Mr. Harrington’s seat.”
“Oh,” I say, cheeks coloring. “I didn’t know.”
But Dominic just drops into a chair farther down the table without a word. Xavier is grinning to himself as he sits down to my left and Tristan is stony faced as usual across the table.
Clearly Dominic isn’t bothered at all by the fact that I stole his usual chair, but I still feel a little hot under the collar for already messing something up before the meeting has even started.
There’s no time to focus on that though because Dominic calls the meeting to order a moment later, diving into the agenda with his usual confident manner.
“Where do we stand with Global Star?” he asks, and I recognize the name as one of their newer clients.
One of the team members, a young woman with curly hair and bright eyes pulls up a spreadsheet on her computer and projects it on the wall. “We had meetings with their IT division on Thursday,” she says and launches into an explanation of what all happened.
So much of it goes over my head, but I take notes, trying to keep up with what they’re talking about. Dominic fires off some questions, and the woman answers them easily, and clearly to Dom’s satisfaction because he nods, making his own notes and gesturing for someone else to speak next.
I’m glad to be here though. It’s good to get experience with this, to see how a team works and how people who know what they’re doing run their business. This is clearly a well-oiled machine, with people who know what their roles are and perform them well.
It’s harder to see when you’re just a cog in that machine—the way I am as an assistant, but with this pulled back view of the whole thing, it’s very impressive.
I bite my lip, trying to take notes as fast as I can, and when there’s a little lull in the meeting, while one computer is swapped out for another, I stretch in my seat, raising my arms overhead so I can stretch out my back.
A few seconds later, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Ordinarily, I would never pull it out during a meeting, but across the table I can feel Xavier staring at me intently and doing a ‘go ahead’ nod.
So I pull out my phone and see that it’s a text from him.
XAVIER: You can’t just do that, that’s indecent.
I frown, not sure what he’s talking about, so I text him back.
ME: What? I’m not doing anything.
Before Xavier can reply, another message comes in—from Dominic.
DOMINIC: If you keep that up, we’re going to have to clear this room so we can bend you over this table.
ME: Is this because I was stretching??
DOMINIC: You know what you look like.
DOMINIC: What you do to us.
Xavier isn’t one to be left out, and another text comes from him.
XAVIER: Whatever Dom is saying, ditto from me.
XAVIER: No fair teasing us at work, shortcake.
XAVIER: I’d hate to have to reschedule this meeting because we had to fuck you.
I keep my gaze on my phone in my lap, but heat creeps up my cheeks all the same. A smile twists over my face though because it feels nice to have their attention like this. Even in the middle of an important meeting, they still want me.
It makes me want to see how far I can push it, a spark of mischief making itself known.
When the next member of the team starts speaking, I casually push hair behind my ear and then let my fingers trail slowly down the curve of my neck, right in Xavier and Dominic’s line of sight.
I draw my bottom lip between my teeth and then let it slide out, bitten red and glistening. I don’t have to look at the two of them to know they’re watching. I lick my lips slowly while I take notes, and I can feel their gazes burning through me. They’re definitely watching.
When my phone vibrates several times in quick succession, I glance down quickly, biting back a smile when I realize the texts are from Xavier.
XAVIER: Fuck, shortcake. It’s not fair for you to be this damn tempting in the middle of a business meeting.
XAVIER: That lickable bottom lip of yours? That’s ours. And I might share with my packmates, but I draw the line there.
ME: I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just trying to pay attention to the meeting.
XAVIER: Uh huh. Sure.
DOMINIC: If anyone in this room looks at you too long, I’ll have them fired.
ME: No you won’t.
ME: And why would they be looking at me? I’m not doing anything.
DOMINIC: Nice try, little bird. You know exactly what you’re doing.
DOMINIC: And none of these people deserve to see my wife looking so fucking delicious.
God, it’s should be illegal how the words ‘my wife’ from Dom in this context make my stomach flutter and my clit throb. My heat is behind me now, but there’s still all these lingering memories of the things we did that make my body long for them in a way that has nothing to do with heat and everything to do with them being hot as hell.
I can smell the two of them, across the table and on me from where we were pressed in close in the car, and the scent of overwhelms my senses the way it always does.
XAVIER: If I didn’t need both hands right now, I would already have one of them between your legs.
DOMINIC: You’re making me think of filthy things, little bird.
ME: Like what?
DOMINIC: Like how the next time we have one of these meetings, I want you under the table.
ME: Oh? And what would I do down there?
DOMINIC: Put that pretty mouth to good use.
DOMINIC: Get my cock nice and wet before I use it to fuck you once everyone’s gone.
That one makes me blush so hard that I have to hurriedly lower my head so no one can tell.
XAVIER: You’re killing me, shortcake. I’m fucking dead. I want to spread you out on this table like a feast.
XAVIER: Fuck lunch, I’m skipping straight to dessert.
My heart is pounding from their words, and I don’t even have to fake being overheated when I reach up to undo the top button of my blouse, exposing more of my neck and just a bit more of my chest.
Dominic and Xavier’s eyes are glued to the spot, and I wonder if anyone else notices that they’re not paying even the slightest bit of attention to what’s going on.
Somehow we make it through the meeting with no one getting fucked and no team members getting fired, and as soon as Dominic calls it to a close, Tristan is on his feet and out the door.
It’s not surprising, even though it does dampen some of my good humor. Just more signs that now that my heat is over, he’s retreating back into himself, determined to put even more distance between us.
I tell myself that it’s fine, that it doesn’t bother me if he wants to keep his distance, but it’s not true, and I know it.
The door closes after the last person, and I’m alone in the conference room with Dominic and Xavier. Neither of them wastes any time in getting up and coming over to me.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Xavier says. “Teasing us in the middle of a meeting that way. What a dirty girl you are.”
Dominic takes my hand and kisses the back of it before sliding it down the front of his pants, letting me feel how hard he is. “Feel that?” he growls. “This is what you do to me.”
I bite my lip, cupping his cock through his nice dress pants.
It’s wild that this is just from a little teasing on my end, and it’s such a rush to know that I have this sort of effect on them.
“All this is for me?” I ask, glancing up at him through my lashes.
“All for you,” he rasps back. “Anytime you want it.”
I’m so tempted to tell them to make good on their threats from earlier, but there’s no telling who might walk in and see it.
“Since you’re such a tease, we should have you take care of us right here and now,” Xavier says, grinning. “It only seems fair. We missed so much of that meeting because you were over there being hot as fuck.”
I glance at him. “So I take it you liked the show?”
He smirks and takes my other hand, pressing it over the bulge in his pants. “What do you think?”
I have to bite back a moan at the feeling, and Dominic groans himself.
“You’re killing us,” he says. “How are we supposed to work like this?”
“Um… oops?”
“Oops, she says.” Xavier shakes his head. “You’re lucky you’re so beautiful.”
I laugh, feeling lighter. Even if Tristan pulling away hurts me, at least Xavier and Dominic don’t seem willing to let the connection we made during my heat die off so easily. They still want me, openly, and that feels good.
There’s a lot to get caught up on at the office for me, and I spend some time before lunch clearing out my inbox from everything that piled up while I was away. There are files to sort and copies to make, and I move through the backlog with a smile on my face, still feeling happy about how everything has been going today.
At one point, a woman I don’t recognize comes over to me. She’s shorter than I am, also curvy, with dark hair and glasses. Her smile is bright as she sticks her hand out. “Hi, you must be Penelope Dalton,” she says cheerfully.
“That’s me,” I tell her. “Sorry, who are you?”
“I’m Amelia,” she says. “The new executive assistant.”
I remember someone mentioning they had found someone to replace Sienna during the meeting, so this must be her. It’s funny how different she is from her predecessor. Where Sienna was all attitude and legs, Amelia is short and curvy and kind. Her smile is warm, and she seems genuinely happy to meet me.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I tell her, shaking her hand.
“You too,” Amelia says. “I’ve heard a lot about you, so I was excited for you to come back so I could introduce myself.”
We spend a bit of time chatting before going back to our duties, and I feel a stab of vindictive pleasure that Sienna was replaced with someone so nice and bright. It serves her right for being so mean to everyone all the time.
The work day passes quickly, and when we all gather in the lobby to wait for the car, Xavier casually puts an arm around my shoulders. “There’s a little errand we have to run before we head home,” he says.
“Okay,” I agree easily. “What kind of errand?”
“You’ll see,” he replies with a wink. “I think you’ll like it.”
I glance between the three of them, trying to figure out what it is they have planned, but no one gives anything away. So I just shrug internally and let them usher me into the car.
Jonas takes us down a very familiar street, and then pulls into a parking spot right in front of my old bakery. My heart clenches in my chest, and I swallow hard.
“What… what are we doing here?” I ask.
“You’ll see,” Dominic says, echoing Xavier from earlier.
We walk into the storefront, and it hurts to see it so gutted. It’s nothing like it was when I was renting it. The building manager, the man who raised my rent time and time again, is there, looking as unbothered and unrepentant as ever.
His eyes slide right over me, looking to the three Alphas who are with me.
“Mr. Blackwell, Mr. Sterling, Mr. Harrington,” he says, offering his hand out for one or all of them to shake. “I was surprised to get your call.”
They called him? For what?
“I imagine you were,” Dominic says, taking control of the conversation. “But we had a bone to pick with you and didn’t want to handle it over the phone. Thanks for agreeing to meet us.” His voice is chilly, and it’s the least sincere thanks I’ve ever heard.
The manager’s eyes dart between the three of them, standing tall and imposing. “A bone to pick? With me?”
“Do you recognize her?” Xavier asks, indicating me.
He looks at me. “Did I rent property to you?”
“Yes,” I say, feeling anger and annoyance in equal measure. “This property, to be exact.”
“Oh. And you want to renew your lease?” His eyes flicker between all of us now.
“No,” Tristan says, answering for me. “She does not.”
“Not with you, certainly,” Xavier chimes in. “Do you know what the acceptable amount to raise rent on a tenant in a one year period is?”
“I—”
“Three percent,” he says, not giving him a chance to finish his sentence. “Maybe five percent if the market really calls for it.” He glances around the building. “And I can definitely tell you that it did not. So tell me why you thought it was acceptable to raise the rent over ten percent not once, but twice over the course of eighteen months.”
“It is not illegal for me to turn a profit,” the manager fires back, drawing himself up. It’s not impressing anyone, and there’s a moment where I remember being intimidated by this man.
Now there’s nothing intimidating or impressive about him. He’s just a greedy, corrupt little man, standing in front of three Alphas who see him for what he is.
“No,” Dominic agrees. “It’s not. It is however highly exploitative and unjust to your tenants. Which results in them being priced out of the building and it sitting vacant until someone else comes along to continue the cycle. Was it worth it, the few months of extra rent money? Because good business sense says that if you’d just had fairer renting practices, this storefront would still be making you money instead of sitting here.”
The manager’s face turns red and he splutters. “Who do you think you are to come here and tell me how to run my business? If you don’t have legitimate business with me, then I’m leaving.”
Dominic slowly raises an eyebrow and folds his arms. Just that simple act draws attention to how much bigger he is than the manager, and some of the redness in his face goes pale, leaving him blotchy and pink.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Xavier says, moving in to smooth things over. “You won’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“Excuse me?”
“You won’t have to worry about it anymore,” Xavier repeats. “Because we’ve purchased this entire building, so we’ll be taking it off your hands. No more rent gouging for you.” He finishes with his most charming smile, but it does do anything to put the building manager at ease.
If anything it fires him up more. He demands to see the proof of purchase, and they show him a bill of sale and the proof that the building is in their ownership now. He splutters something about a lawyer, and Xavier just laughs.
Dominic takes a step forward. “Please, call one. I’d love to see them go up against the kind of lawyers we have on the payroll at Vantage.”
Dropping the name of their company is enough to make the manager realize he’s not going to win this. He turns on his heel and marches out of the building without another word, and a few seconds later we hear a car burning rubber as it speeds out off down the street.
“You know what they say about men who drive loud, shitty cars,” Xavier says, smirking. “Compensating.”
“I can’t believe you guys did that,” I say, looking at all of them. “Was all that just because he was shitty with the rent when I was here?”
“Not entirely ,” Dominic says, which is as good as an admission.
“What are you going to do with the space now?” I ask them.
“Well, this storefront is yours,” Xavier says. “And as much of the rest of the space as you want for your bakery.”
That stops me in my tracks and I stare at him, stunned. “What?”
“You heard him,” Dominic says. “It’s yours. So you can have your bakery again. Or whatever else you want to do with it. We’ll be having it put in your name this week.”
I keep staring, trying to wrap my head around the fact that they did this for me. “You… I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’re going to make more of those lemon bars and let me have some,” Xavier says, grinning.
“Of course.” I let my breath out in a rush and then laugh. “Oh my god. I can have my bakery again. Oh my god .”
“You like it?” Tristan asks, looking at me.
I nod. “I love it. Thank you. All of you. This is…” I shake my head, not even sure how to finish that sentence.
“That’s not all,” Dominic cuts in.
“What do you mean? You didn’t buy me another building, did you? I’m not ready for that responsibility.”
“No, we didn’t buy you another building. But you are fired from Vantage. Effective immediately. You took that job because you needed it, not because you wanted it. And it’s not your dream.”
“Well, no… but?—”
“No buts. You don’t see the way you light up when you’re baking or talking about your bakery. You get so happy, so passionate. And that’s what we want for you. We want you to be able to pursue that dream and make something of it. Working for us isn’t going to get you there.”
Again, I’m stunned into speechlessness. I can feel tears prickling behind my eyes, and I blink quickly, trying to hold them back. It’s my instinct to argue that I don’t deserve this. That it shouldn’t be this easy for me to get everything I want.
As if he can read my mind, Xavier comes over and takes my hand. “Let us do this for you,” he says softly.
All I can do is nod, laughing a little as the tears overflow and spill down my cheeks. “Okay. Okay, you win.”
“Good girl,” Dominic rumbles, looking pleased.
“I don’t mean to be ungrateful, I really don’t. It’s just that I’m not used to people taking care of me like this. I’m not used to anyone caring enough to… to do something this big.”
“You’ll need to get used to it,” Xavier says, squeezing my hand.
“Because we plan to take care of you from now on,” Dominic adds.
Even Tristan has a hint of a smile on his face, and I surrender to the feelings of gratitude and care.