Chapter 6

The walk to my office felt like a funeral procession with an open casket, like everyone could see me dead and at my worst.

The glass walls of the hallway were the windows of an aquarium. I and the Carter twins were on display for the people to watch.

The moment the door to my office clicked shut, I rounded on them both.

"Get out of my company," I said, the tone sharp enough to draw blood.

Killian didn't even blink. He sauntered over to my guest chair, and claimed it casually, propping his Italian leather loafers on the corner of my clean mahogany desk, right over the files I had just finished slaving over.

My temperature heated up enough that I was turning red from the anger alone. Insensitive bastard. "Is that any way to speak to the man who just saved your firm from a rude collapse?" Killian asked, his eyes dancing with a manic, playful light.

"Saved?" I scoffed. My chest was heaving, my professional mask finally cracking under the weight of their absurdity. "You didn't save anything. This place was doing just fine. You walked into my lobby and took a sledgehammer to five years of my reputation in sixty seconds. And for what? What exactly is the point?!"

I turned my gaze to Kade, who remained standing by the door, a silent sentinel, like a door guard. For a single second I regretted obsessing over him for saving me, and in the next second I felt immense guilt. "And you. I thought you were different then you enable this? You’re moving in across the hall? This isn't management, it's just a very expensive way to stalk me!”

Kade’s expression didn't shift. He didn't look offended, he looked intrigued, as if he were watching something rare. I could sense that he was still trying to figure out how he knew me. He always was. Every time he looked at me, it seemed like he was trying to look through me.

"The litigation department is the heart of this firm's value, Ms. Perez. My presence here is a logical business move to ensure the ROI on such a large investment."

"Don't lie to me," I hissed. "You're both here because of whatever twisted game you two are playing, I’m not going to be your scoreboard."

"You're making yourself sound like a victim, Mia. It doesn't suit you," Killian said, his shoe scuffing my desk. I wanted to smack it away. I wanted to smack him away, back to wherever the Carters usually stayed, before they met me and tried to upend my life."We’re just two brothers who appreciate talent. And beauty. Is it our fault they happen to come in the same package?"

"I am your Managing Director, Mr Carter," I reminded him, my voice trembling with a mix of rage and terrifying anxiety. "Not your girlfriend.”

Killian just laughed, a rich, dark sound that made my stomach flip. "I think I like you better when you're angry. You get this little spark in your eyes. Doesn't she, Kade?"

Kade didn't answer with words. He simply walked toward me, forcing me to back up until the edge of my desk hit my thighs. He leaned in, his shadow swallowing me whole. "We’re here for business, Ms Perez. You don’t need to be defensive."

He wasn't apologizing. Neither of them were. In fact, as I looked from Killian’s smug grin to Kade’s unwavering stare, a sickening realization settled in my gut. They were enjoying this. My distress was just another layer of the "culture" they were so interested in exploring.

The rest of the morning was a slow-motion car crash.

I tried to bury myself in work, but the office had become a hive of speculation. Every time I stepped out to go to the breakroom, the silence that followed me was louder than any shout.

"Did you see the way the tall one looked at her?" I heard a voice whisper from behind a row of filing cabinets.

"Which one? They’re exactly identical."

"The one in the charcoal suit. Mr Kade. It was like he wanted to eat her. But the other one, Mr Killian... Madeline and Linda said they were talking about breakfast together."

"Wait, is she dating both of them? Is that how she got the M.D. spot?"

“If that’s true, it’s so messed up and gross. Why is she dating two brothers? Ew.”

The words felt like physical blows. My authority was hemorrhaging. I went to pick up coffee. To clear my head. My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Killian: “Lunch at 1? I’m thinking Italian. Or we could just order in and lock your office door. Your choice. I’m willing to let you be the boss.”

I turned the phone off.

As I walked back to my desk, trying to keep my head high, I was intercepted by Clover. Her eyes were wide with a predatory curiosity. She blocked my path near the coffee station, a forced smile on her face.

Not my best friend too.

"Mia, honey, we're all a little confused," she said, her voice loud enough to carry. "The office pool is already at three hundred dollars and we need a tie-breaker."

I tried to push past her. "I have a briefing, Clover."

She didn't move. She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Just tell us the truth so we can get back to work," she said, her eyes gleaming. "Which twin is it? Are you with your Savior guy or the flirty one? Which Carter are you actually dating? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Was this going to be my life from now on? People asking me which twin I was dating like I jumped from man to man.

I’d been single for years, keeping myself for Kade. Everything fell apart the second I grabbed Killian.

"I'm not dating anyone," I said, my voice cracking.

"That's not what it looked like in the lobby," Clover countered, her smile widening. "So, who is it? Kade or Killian?"