Chapter Nine:"The Ringmaster's Rules

"You can date both of us, then you can make the choice."

Kade’s voice had played on a loop in my mind all weekend. Perhaps in an attempt to pacify me, they had refrained from their usual, suffocating habit of hovering wherever I went. I had enjoyed a rare, peaceful weekend, free from the constant barrage of calls and texts.

However, I knew this was merely a fragile truce. The Carter twins were demanding answers, and I realized that if I didn't provide them, my work life would become unbearable. I could resign, of course, but who was to say they wouldn't simply purchase my next workplace as well?

I briefly toyed with the idea of assuming a new identity, faking my own death, or forging documents to disappear forever. But I was still too attached to the life I had meticulously built as Mia Perez.

My thoughts were broken by my ringing phone. I looked down, startled to realize I had been stirring my coffee with my finger instead of a spoon. I sucked on my finger and glanced at the screen.

It was Cole, my truest best friend. Clover was fantastic, but she was a workplace friend; Cole was my all-around support.

"Hey, short stack!" Cole bellowed the moment I answered.

I rolled my eyes. "I’m five-foot-seven, Cole—significantly above the global average for women."

A wave of loud, scratchy static crackled on the other end, forcing me to pull the phone from my ear and switch to speaker.

"Yeah, right. You’re the size of an ant," he yelled. Why was he shouting?

"Why are you screaming? And why are you calling me?" I fired back. He didn't answer immediately, subjecting me to another burst of static.

"I’m sliding down a mountain and the reception is terrible!"

*What?*

Sliding down a mountain? I shook it off; Cole’s reckless, daredevil activities were his favorite pastime.

"Why would you call me if you’re currently descending a mountain? I wouldn’t think this is an ideal time for a chat."

More static.

"I remembered you when a guy here screamed 'Mamma Mia!'" I could hear the amusement in his voice despite the distortion. "And it reminded me of a rumor I heard about my short stack."

*Oh, no.

Cole was incredibly detached from the real world, preferring to spend his time surveying new ways to flirt with death. If he had heard a rumor about me and the Carter twins, my reputation was truly decimated.

"What rumor?" I asked tentatively, already accustomed to the constant buffering.

"People are saying some powerful dudes bought your company because you ran off with their baby."

"What? Ran off with what baby? Where are you reading these rumors?" I demanded, my brow furrowing. What kind of insane blog was Cole following?

"There's no smoke without fire, Mia. Why didn't you tell me I was going to be an uncle?"

"What fire? This smoke has to be coming from a vape; there’s no fire anywhere. I am not pregnant."

"You know you can tell me anything," he said, his voice dropping into a soft, teasing tone that made my lips curl into a smile against my will. "And I’d forgive you, even if you’ve been hiding my niece or nephew."

I pressed my lips together firmly. "I am not pregnant. I’m just caught in a love triangle," I blurted out in frustration.

There was a pregnant pause pun absolutely intended on the other end. I valued Cole’s opinion immensely, and I cared what he thought of me. He sounded let down.

"So, no nephew? No niece?"

I rolled my eyes. *That* was why he was disappointed? "None, Cole! Focus! I’m in a love triangle."

"It’s hard to focus when I just lost my niece."

"I was never pregnant! There was never any niece, Cole!"

He burst into laughter. "Fine. No baby… yet. Why are you in a love triangle? Oomph!" I heard a dull thud, and the underlying static ceased. He had stopped his descent.

"Finally," I muttered, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Did you hit a tree? Please tell me you did; it might knock some sense into you."

"Actually, it was a very sturdy rock," Cole wheezed. "Now, back to the drama. A love triangle, Mia? That is so... unlike you. Who are the unlucky suitors brave enough to try and handle your temper at the same time?"

I took a sip of my lukewarm, finger-stirred coffee and winced. "It’s the Carter twins. Kade and Killian."

There was a heavy silence on the other end.

"The Carters?" Cole’s voice lost its playful edge for a split second, replaced by the sharp, analytical tone he reserved for serious matters. "So, you’ve got your protector and a side dish? Mia, that’s not a love triangle; that’s a criminal murder documentary waiting to happen."

"Tell me something I don’t know," I sighed.

"Kade told me this morning that I should just date both of them until I can 'make a choice.' It’s like I’m test-driving two models of the same car. One is more aggressive, the other is more... well, they're both aggressive. It’s just a matter of whether they’re yelling or whispering while they ruin my life."

"And you're considering it," Cole stated. It wasn't a question.

"I am not considering it! I'm weighing my options."

Options that currently included witness protection, a fake death, and plastic surgery.

Mia, look," Cole grunted, and I heard him shifting his weight, likely checking for broken bones. "You've always been an intellectual masochist, but this is high-stakes, even for you. If you play along, you're handing them exactly what they want."

I hated that he was right. It stripped away the comforting layer of denial I’d been wrapped in all weekend.

"So, what do I do? If I date them, I’m a cliché. If I run, I’m a fugitive. If I stay and do nothing, I’m a sitting duck."

"You do the one thing they aren't expecting," Cole said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial hum. "You stop being the prize and start being a player. They want a choice? Fine. Make them compete, Mia. Not for your heart you’d better keep that locked in the vault but for your convenience. If they want to share you, make it the most expensive and exhausting experience of their lives. Let them see a woman and run away.

I leaned my head back against the cabinet, a small, wicked spark of an idea forming. "You want me to HR- ify my dating life?"

"I want you to be to them the same headache you are to me," Cole laughed, though it turned into a groan. "Anyway, I have to go. A very large mountain goat is looking at me like I owe him money. Don't get pregnant, and don't get married."

The line went dead.

I stared at my phone for a long beat. The silence of my apartment felt different now in a good way. Kade and Killian thought they had cornered me. They thought they could offer me a "choice" as if they held all the cards.

I stood up, dumped the ruined coffee into the sink, and rinsed my finger.

If they wanted to date me, they were going to get exactly what they asked for. But I wasn't going to be the girl caught in the middle.

I was going to be the ringmaster, and I was going to make these pretty boys jump through hoops for me.

Maybe they’d get tired and leave.

My phone buzzed again. A text from an unknown number.

I didn't even check it; it was almost certainly Killian. Instead, I went to my laptop and opened a fresh spreadsheet.

If we were going to do this, we were going to do it by my rules. And my first rule? No one gets out of this without a headache.