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  I can’t let her do that. Not to him. And not to me. She’s already done enough damage to my trust.

  “Are you kidding me? First my lamp and then him!” I say, trying to keep from yelling my accusations.

  It’s impossible. Impossible that anyone is this awful of a person. She knew how much the lamp meant to me and took it anyway. And she knew how I felt about Mr. Blake and she went after him.

  Does she even have a soul?

  She looks around us, speaking in a calm, even voice that pisses me off. “What are you talking about?”

  “What am I talking about?” I grit out each word. Is she serious? “Where’s my lamp?”

  She smirks and leans forward. “Careful, Jade, no one cares about the truth. They just care about how things look. And right now, it looks like a wealthy woman is being aggressively attacked by a filthy maid.”

  I glance around us and realize everyone around us is staring in our direction. There’s a moment when I feel like I’m floating above my body, looking down at the scene below. Yes, that’s exactly how it looks. Allie is an amazing liar, extremely manipulative, and now looks the part of a wealthy woman. I, on the other hand, have nothing but the truth.

  Unfortunately, if life has taught me anything, it’s that the truth doesn’t matter nearly as much as what people want to believe.

  I want to grab this woman by the hair and haul her down the street. I want to slap her silly until she tells me where my lamp is and takes me to get back. But if I do, I have a feeling I’ll end up in the back of a police car.

  The worst part? She knows it.

  My hands curl into fists. “You’re…a terrible person.”

  She’s smiling like we’re having a casual conversation about the weather. “Don’t act surprised. You knew who I was. You’ve always known who I am.”

  Moments of our lives flash in my mind. Us in first grade building in the sand at recess. Us racing down the road after school, planning to play with our dolls on the steps outside her building. Of her punching a girl who was hassling me in high school. Of us drinking on the playground at night in our twenties, complaining about guys.

  She’s so good at pretending. Better than anyone I’ve ever met. But did she pretend to care about me all that time? Or was there a time she cared and then just stopped?

  “I knew you stole and lied, but I never thought you’d do it to me.” The words come out more sad than angry. “I would’ve done anything for you. You’re like a sister to me. I can’t believe that you can be this cold and cruel. I just…can’t.”

  A flicker of doubt comes into her gaze, then is gone. “It’s already done, so just stop, before you lose even more.”

  “Allison!” I see Mr. Blake hurrying up to us. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

  She plasters on the biggest, fakest smile I’ve ever seen in my life. “Yes, dear, I just didn’t realize how high we were until I looked down. It scared me.”

  His face twists up in an absolutely pathetic way. “You should have told me you were afraid of heights!”

  He pulls her into a tight hug, and she grins at me over his shoulder.

  When he pulls back, he finally notices me, frowning. “Jade, what are you doing here?”

  Allie’s fake smile widens. “I guess your sweet maid has a job in the area. She saw me get upset and went to check on me.”

  Mr. Blake’s shoulders relax a little. “Oh, how nice.”

  I stand there feeling like the earth has dropped beneath my feet. Like I’m in a nightmare where I’m covered in garbage and sweat, and Mr. Blake has his arm wrapped around my best friend’s shoulder. And I haven’t just lost my lamp, but it’s been stolen. My one chance at having a better life.

  Only somewhere in the back of my head I know all of it is real, and I just want to melt into the ground and disappear forever. But instead, Mr. Blake makes casual conversation, and I try not to cry.

  When a red convertible pulls up and the valet hands Allie the keys, she smiles at Blake. “Maybe we could just have lunch at your place?”

  He nods, looking speechless.

  She tosses her hair over her shoulder and they both climb into the car. I’m still staring, dumbstruck, when she looks back at me and winks.

  For a minute, I almost tear after them. I almost tell Mr. Blake everything, even if I know I’ll look like an insane weirdo. But as I stand, breathing hard, fighting tears and a sinking feeling that life isn’t fair, something comes over me. I can’t do any of this. I can throw away my chance at getting my lamp back and getting my revenge because I’m throwing a pity party for myself.

  I need to get angry. And I need to use that anger to get what I deserve and to give Allie what she deserves.

  First she stole my lamp and then my man.

  This bitch is going down.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Evan

  I’d specifically requested Jade to clean tonight, so I hoped like hell she would be here soon. I’d dressed nicely, just for her. I’d even taken an extra shower and splashed on a little cologne, then stood by the door waiting for her like a dog waiting for his owner to get home.

  Which was absolutely pathetic.

  There was just something about this woman that I couldn’t put my finger on.

  It was like she was awesome; she just didn’t know it yet. And I was determined to show her just how special she was, with or without this lamp. It didn’t help that she was some odd mix of strong and vulnerable. My personal weakness in a woman.

  When she’d called me that night, her voice had been filled with the kind of pain I hadn’t felt since my parents died. And when I’d listened to her talk about her lamp, it was all too obvious to me that the lamp represented her family. Even if she didn’t see it.

  I saw a little of myself in her. Losing my parents was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through, but I had my brothers at my side. What would I have done if I was a little kid, completely alone?

  It was no wonder she was clinging to this lamp idea. She needed to cling to something when her life was chaos. But I was determined to show her that I could be that thing for her. And that I could help her realize that she didn’t need a lamp to be happy.

  If the beautiful, stubborn woman would just let me.

  As I pace near the door again, it finally opens. I spin, prepared to see the beautiful maid.

  I frown when I see my brothers.

  “What? Not happy to see us, bro?” Emmett says, then jumps forward and rubs my head.

  I shove him off. “Damn it, Emmett!”

  He laughs, not looking the least bit sorry.

  Owen gives us both that familiar “I don’t have time for this” look.

  Usually my older brother’s antics liven up life a bit, but I’m too wound up tonight to deal with him. I just have to hope these two will be in and out of here quickly enough not to scare off Jade.

  “What are you doing here?” I say, glancing at the door again. Even though I want to say, get the hell out.

  “I’m behind on paperwork,” Owen says, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “He’s a little distracted.” Emmett grins as he speaks.

  I want to get these two the hell out of here before they scare off Jade, but there’s something about Emmett’s statement that makes me curious. Nothing distracts Owen. He’s like a machine. An uptight, overworked machine.

  “What’s that?”

  “A woman.” Emmett emphasizes each word.

  I feel both my brows rise. “Seriously?”

  Owen gives a pained look. “Even though she won’t talk to me, because she thinks I’m a jerk.”

  If my brows could go higher, I’m sure they would. “What woman would think you were a jerk? I mean, Emmett I get…”

  Emmett snickers. “See, Owen shared a very special afternoon with this woman.”

  “Really?” I look back at Owen, seeing confirmation in his face. “Good job, man.”

  He pinches the bridge of his nose harder, shifting in
his suit. “That’s not the bad part.”

  I wait, then look to Emmett.

  He flashes his smile that usually makes the women who come here melt. “I took a little nap, unaware of our sexy visitor…until she crawled into bed with me, and may or may not have sucked my dick, thinking I was Owen.”

  He’s not joking. “And you never once thought it was weird to wake up with someone giving you a blow job?”

  His grin widens. “Not even a little.”

  Owen sighs loudly. “So now she thinks we’re perverts.”

  I’m actually kind of surprised how upset Owen looks. Since our parents died, I don’t think I’ve seen him relax once. Or look at a woman. Or even stop long enough to really be part of anything around him.

  “You really liked her.”

  He nods tightly. “It doesn’t really matter, if I can’t get her to return my calls.”

  “Sorry,” I say. “I’m sure she’ll come around.”

  Owen drops his hands, looking oddly defeated. “Do you guys ever wonder if—?” He stops talking.

  After a minute, Emmett shakes his head. “If what?”

  Owen’s light blue eyes take on a pained look. “Nothing.”

  “You thinking of mom and dad?”

  He stiffens. “No. I mean, kind of.”

  I wait, hoping he’ll finally open up to us. It’s been three years since our parent’s deaths, and Owen hasn’t once broken down, or slowed down. But tonight for some reason that wall he’s kept up so firmly seems to be crumbling, if only by a little.

  Even Emmett seems to realize something’s up. His humor fades away. He crosses his arms over the white, knit sweater that he wears, and his stance widens, as if he’s physically restraining himself from destroying this moment.

  Finally, Owen says, “If we did the right thing, starting this business.”

  Damn, that’s not what I expected. “It’s already a success,” I say, surprised to find myself reassuring him.

  “I know.” But there’s doubt in his face. “It’s just that running a company means a lot of work, and not a lot of time for enjoyment. We’ve all seen that no one is guaranteed a tomorrow. Should we… should we be spending more time living life?”

  Emmett and I exchange a worried look.

  But Emmett responds first. “You okay?”

  I know instantly it was the wrong thing to say. His entire body seems to snap back into the tense posture that he wears like a cloak. “Yeah, forget it.”

  I step closer to him, unable to stop myself. We’d seen his pain for just a second. The last thing I wanted was for him to pull away from us again.

  “You’re right about one thing, we should be enjoying life a little more. That doesn’t mean we were wrong to start this company, but we might be making enough to bring in more help.”

  Owen shakes his head. “It’s fine.”

  “We could get a business manager. Someone to run the books so you could take more time off.”

  My oldest brother gets that familiar, “I’ve shut down” look and starts toward his office. “I don’t need help. It was nothing. I’m just tired.”

  “Owen!” Emmett calls.

  I silently curse him. Emmett never knows how to talk to Owen. He only manages to make things worse.

  “You’re too serious. Sometimes you just need to relax.”

  Owen freezes and looks back at him. “Someone has to keep this place afloat.”

  Emmett rolls his eyes. “Paperwork will always be there tomorrow.”

  “That’s the problem with you,” Owen says, his voice taking on an angry note. “You can spend your days drifting around, flirting with housewives and smoozing rich assholes, but I’m always in the back crunching numbers and making everything work!”

  “My job’s hard too!” Emmett glares at him.

  “Like hell!” Owen says, glaring right back.

  I put my hands up. “Guys, let’s just stop.”

  “Shut up!” they both say at once.

  But Emmett continues. “If you want to do my job, by all means, deal with the people. Let’s see how fast your scowling face tanks this place.”

  Owen opens his mouth, when suddenly the door to the guard’s room opens, the sound of his TV blaring interrupting our argument. His rosy cheeks turn redder. “Sorry, but I need to let the maid in.”

  Jade. Shit. The last thing I wanted her to see was us fighting. Or to see my brothers at all.

  But the guard goes right to the front door, unlocks everything, and pulls it open.

  On the other side, Jade stands, holding her bucket and looking uneasy as she steps inside. I have one minute when her gaze lands on me and gentles, before she looks at my brothers, eyes widening.

  “You’re here!” Owen says.

  I turn to face him, confused. How does Owen know Jade?

  Emmett grins. “And this time you have clothes on.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jade

  This has got to be a bad dream. Like, any moment these guys are going to turn into wolves, and I’ll change into a steak and wake up screaming with them growling and surrounding me. Which would actually be a lot better than to get stuck standing in front of sweet Evan, the jerk Owen, and the complete world-class asshole Emmett.

  “What are you doing here?” I sputter out, taking a step back.

  Owen clears his throat and looks to the guard. “You can return to your station.”

  The old guy looks uncomfortable as he walks across the grand room and closes the door to his guard room, closing off the sound of his blaring TVs. Somehow I thought him not witnessing my humiliation would help, but I’m even more nervous now that I’m alone with them.

  “Jade?” Evan asks, moving closer to me. “How do you know my brothers?”

  Brothers? Oh, fuck me, that’s not good.

  “Uh…”

  Owen clears his throat again. “Uh, she’s the woman we were…we were discussing.”

  Evan’s dark blue eyes widen, and I feel sick. What must he be thinking? The first decent guy I’ve met in a long time just found out I messed around with his brothers.

  This has got to be one of the worst weeks of my life.

  “So you know Emmett and Owen?” he says.

  I nod, my anxiety making my blood race.

  And then, Evan gives a smile that makes his face light up. It’s kind of shy, but also strangely pleased. “Well then, at least we don’t need a formal introduction.”

  “Actually, we didn’t know her name until now,” Emmett says, oh-so-helpfully.

  I glare at him, trying not to notice that he’s actually pretty damn handsome. While Evan seems to love his clothes relaxed, t-shirts and jeans, and his hair with that just out of bed look, Emmett dresses a bit like a male model. His dark pants are too tight. His white, knitted sweater hugs his muscular, trim body well, but it’s also a little…soft-looking, and not super manly. Vastly different than Owen. He, as I’ve come to expect from him, wears a well-tailored dark suit. His hair is carefully styled and cut neat, and his slight beard looks less intentional and more like that of a man who hasn’t thought about shaving it.

  “How did that happen exactly?” Evan asks, and again I’m surprised by how well he seems to be taking this awkward situation.

  They all stare at me, as if waiting.

  “I—“ Uh, how do I explain this one. “Ran into Owen, and I decided to come over for lunch, but…”

  “Sex sounded better?” Emmett asks.

  I glare at him. “I think I hate you.”

  He laughs. “Hate me or love my hard cock?”

  Taking a step toward him, I get the overwhelming urge to land a solid punch right into that good-looking face of his. “That was a mistake that won’t happen again.”

  He winks at me. “Not if I can help it.”

  And then, Evan laughs.

  “What?” I ask, surprised.

  “Nothing,” he says, shaking his head. “We just haven’t shared a woman in years. I fo
rget how much Emmett can drive them crazy.”

  “Shared?” My jaw drops open. “I haven’t agreed to be shared!”

  Evan gives me a sheepish look. “Really? Then, what do you want?”

  I glare at Owen. “I don’t want that jerk.” I look at Emmett. “Or him.”

  Owen moves closer to me, and his brothers look at him in surprise as he comes to stand in front of me. “I called a bunch to say I was sorry. And I am sorry. I like you…Jade.”

  My treacherous heart beats a little faster. “That was embarrassing.”

  “I know,” he says, and those light blue eyes hold mine. “I get it, and I really am sorry. I just want you to give me a chance to make it better.”

  I exhale noisily. “I don’t know…”

  “They could help with our little plan,” Evan says, as if that will change my mind.

  A dark cloud comes over me at the change in conversation to my stolen lamp. “That’s the thing. I shouldn’t be getting involved with one guy, no less three.”

  “Why do you say that?” Owen asks, his brows drawing together.

  For a minute I consider just making a break for it and never coming back to this weird house of hotties, but then I decide to screw it. They think they like me, let’s see what they think when I unload a steaming pile of crazy on them.

  “There’s this guy, Mr. Blake, who I’ve had a crush on for the past two years that I’ve cleaned for him. I’ve gone on and on about him to my friend Allie, and after she stole everything from me, she’s remade herself into a blonde bimbo. I saw her on his arm a few days ago. She’s pretending to be his perfect woman, thanks to all the information I’ve told her about him over the years. And now, not only do I want to get back what she took from me, I want to destroy her. So, right now I’m not looking for a relationship. Maybe a little sex here and there, but definitely not a relationship, because I’ll be too damned busy trying to destroy this woman and get my stuff back to do anything else.”

  I stop talking, trying to catch my breath and trying to read the guys.