La Petite Mort

Chapter Ten

"Bria! Where's the Maguire folder?"

Angie's screech of anger could be heard clear across the large room and into the offices on the other side of the building. Wincing, Bria walked into the woman's office and began to dig under the pile of folders on the woman's desk. When she found what she was looking for, she dragged it out and dumped it on top of the heap.

"There you go."

Rather than thank her, Angie snatched it up and opened it. Bria started to leave when the woman said, “Oh, by the way, I can't make the Victory meeting this afternoon. You'll need to cover it for me."

Bria turned to face her and hoped she could keep her temper under wraps. “I asked for this afternoon off yesterday and you approved it,” she reminded the woman.

"Well, I'm going to have to un-approve it. I got a phone call today from their main office, and the meeting's been moved to the Candelaria Restaurant at one.” Angie closed the folder and gave her one of those evasive looks Bria hated.

"I thought you were excited about snagging this new account,” Bria commented. “I distinctly remember you telling me this thing was worth a double-figured million mark."

Angie waved a French-tipped finger to dismiss the reminder. “Doug Pelosi called with an emergency,” she finally admitted. “I need to take care of him, or else we'll be losing a double-figured million mark account! Besides…"

Bria tried not to roll her eyes. Here it came, the big schmooze. The I-can't-do-this-without-you hook that would make it impossible for her to turn away.

"Miss Victory said she was sending her CEOs to the meeting because she couldn't make it either. But she's so insistent to make this deal work, she guaranteed she would have her representatives there. I promised her we wouldn't let her down. You have such wonderful people skills, Bria! Please? Pretty please?"

"Angie, I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for two o'clock!"

"Take the lunch meeting and go late to your appointment. You probably wouldn't get in to see the doctor for another hour, anyway. Come on, Bria, I'm relying on you! Have you ever been to the Candelaria Restaurant?"

No, she hadn't. It was an exclusive, high-priced establishment, well out of range for her pocketbook. But word on the street said it was well worth the cost. Bria shook her head. The admittance was as good as a nod to her boss.

"Great! Take the company credit card and splurge. Bring me back a signature, or at least the promise of a signature that will legally hold up in court, and you can take tomorrow afternoon off!"

Sighing in defeat, Bria relented. “All right,” she said and left the office. After all, what else could she say? At least she would get a free meal at one of the city's best restaurants out of the deal. Things could be worse.

"Yeah, like what?” Bria muttered to herself as she tried to hail a cab. Ever since Saturday, she'd been in a slump, both mentally and emotionally. Dammit to hell, was it possible to fall in love with three men all at once? How in the world would she ever be able to go to bed with a single, ordinary-looking man, and expect to feel the same kind of perfection she had experienced that magical night?

She wouldn't. Not again. Not ever again. And she knew it. And now, if such a thing was possible, she was in worse shape than when she had dressed up as a Grecian semi-goddess and gone to the masquerade.

The weather had turned as downcast as her mood, and drizzly. By the time the cab stopped in front of the restaurant, it was pouring. Bria dashed through the door and tried to shake off the stray drops from her suit.

"Can I help you?” the maitre d’ inquired politely.

"Yes, thank you. Party for Summers Professionals?"

"Yes, Miss! Your party is already waiting. Follow me, please."

Bria tagged along behind the smartly dressed young thing that outgunned her by fewer years and several less pounds. Get over it, girl! Concentrate on the job, and one of these days if you're very good, Santa just might-

"Oh. My. God."

The booth was located at the furthest end of the restaurant where it was practically secluded from the rest of the room. At first, she didn't recognize the young man rising from his seat to greet her until he smiled… and a curl of licorice black hair fell over his forehead.

"Uhh… Zel?"

She was unable to take her eyes away from his dark blue gaze or the magical smile spreading across his face. At least, not until she was aware of movement rising up from behind him.

"Hello, Persephone,” his deep voice rolled over her, dark with memories.

"We're delighted you could join us,” a second voice responded.

Somehow, Bria managed to jerk her eyes away from Zel to see Cray and BJ standing beside their table. It was nearly impossible to believe these devastatingly good-looking men dressed in business suits were the same three who had dominated her dreams these past three days. “Y-you're with Victory Enterprises?” she managed to ask.

BJ chuckled with the same resonance as his brother. “Bria, we are Victory Enterprises. We three and our sister, who fronts as President when she feels like it."

"How are you doing, Bria?” Cray inquired as Zel led her over to the booth.

How was she doing? Besides feeling totally numb? “I'm… okay."

"We've missed you, Bria,” Zel told her. “In more ways than you can imagine."

"Oh?” she almost squeaked. And then it hit her. “You arranged this! Just like you sent me the invitation, you fixed this meeting so that I would show up instead of my boss!"

"She's quick,” Cray noted with a grin.

"She's learning,” BJ corrected him.

"Doesn't matter,” Zel said as he reached for the flagon of champagne sitting in the bucket at the end of their table and poured Bria a glass. “We brought you here for a very selfish reason, Miss Bingham. Are you open to a proposition?"

She clenched her hands in her lap and tried to nod. She no longer trusted her voice. Just being with them again was turning her insides into fiery magma. Not to mention the nasty little pictures in her mind's eye that were starting to make her inner thighs slick.

Zel gave her another melting smile. “We want you to come and work for us. For Victory Enterprises."

"Don't tease,” Bria snapped, although she felt they were telling her the truth. They had always told her the truth. Why would they start lying to her now, especially after Saturday night?

"I'm sorry,” she hurried to apologize.

"Don't be,” Cray told her, holding out the glass for her to take. “We've known for quite some time who was the brains are behind a lot of Miss Bergman's decisions."

"You do?” The glass felt cold to the touch, and immediately she wondered if the champagne would taste as sweet as the liquid she'd imbibed that night at the island.

Zel snorted. “It didn't take us long to figure it out, Bria. Ten minutes with your boss, and we could easily see she didn't have the smarts, much less the imagination, to come up with some of those ideas she claimed to author. So we decided we no longer wanted to work with a company. We thought it would be better to hire a consultant who knew the ropes to work in-house."

Cray winked. “We'd pretty much made up our minds about you. But it was the night of the masquerade that sealed it for us."

"Of course, you realize, Bria, that there is a very personal offer attached to the job,” BJ added. “Not to mention the fact that each of us would like to get to know you better… individually, of course."

"Oh?” As if she didn't already guess. She may be slow, but she wasn't stupid. What was it Zel had told her that night before he left?

Sometimes, the thing we least expect to happen can occur, and our hearts are suddenly…

They were in love with her. All three of them.

Holy fucking hallelujah.

Suddenly hope bloomed warm and promising, and filled the low-lit room with sunlight. Giving them a wide smile, Bria raised her glass of bubbly. “Fulfilling your greatest desires again, Gentlemen?"

BJ snorted softly. “Deny it all you want, Bria, but getting away from Summers and being in charge of your own company has always been one of yours, yes?"

Never let it be said that Bria Bingham passed up the perfect opportunity when it presented itself. “In that case, shall we toast our, uhh, this exciting new merger?"

Three grown men let out the breaths they had been holding, much to her delight. As four glasses clinked together to seal the bargain, Bria knew this was one partnership she would never regret forming.

Not for as long as she lived.