I was taking a self-imposed time out in Riley's office and it had lasted all morning. I was too mortified to do anything else. Meeting new people and small talk was a struggle for me on a normal day. After Mal's and my morning show, I couldn't imagine meeting my employees - that was weird to even think - and pretending as if I always yelled at 6-foot-something armed men in elevators. The fact I had been yelling about fucking him was just perfect.

Joshua had been at my side instantly, his eyes full of amusement yet keeping silent when he led me directly to Riley's office. Noah had thankfully already been in a meeting. After making sure I was okay, Joshua deposited me into the desk chair with orders to stay put.

"You three need to stop ordering me around."

He perched on the edge of the desk, looking down at me with his arms crossed. "And you need to stop acting like you don't like it."

I huffed. "You can fuck off right along with Mal."

He said nothing and just reached out to brush his knuckles over my cheek. "I can't wait to punish you tonight for that smart mouth."

Joshua stood and waltzed out of the office leaving me staring dumbstruck after him.

I could see him now from my seat behind Riley's desk, making his rounds, stopping to meet with groups of people, engaging in easy conversation with everyone, making them laugh, and putting them at ease. No one was glancing over at me. It was as if I wasn't even there and I was okay with that. He knew I was watching him because every so often he'd look over and smile at me, then go back to joking around with someone.

What exactly was his job here? Did he just hang out and provide the staff with good conversation? Once I had enough courage to leave this room, I'd go searching for his office. If it was like this one, then he had his name next to the door with his title.

Riley's corner space was surprisingly clean and neat. He kept his messes confined to his home. No clutter, no papers hiding the beauty of his black stained wooden desk, or the matching credenza that sat opposite it along the back wall. There were photographs lining the top of it – pictures of our parents and me. He had a copy of the one that sat in the hall at my parent's house, the one that Ann Marie's child had knocked over. Another one was of just me, sitting on our back deck at the house. Last year, maybe. The sun was setting behind me, my hair a wondrous shade of red, my skin tanned. I was laughing at the camera, no doubt at something ridiculous Riley had said to get my attention.

Having my picture out and in such an obvious place meant that Noah would have had to have seen it. Along with all the other photos I was in that my brother proudly displayed, along with some of my art. More proof that the two of them had worked out their differences and Riley was no longer trying to keep Noah from me.

Studying the pictures brought on another bought of tears so I had to distract myself by shamelessly digging through his desk and file cabinets. The lack of clutter made it easy to snoop to my heart's content. It kept my mind off everything happening outside of the office and my focus on finding out more about this place. There was nothing exciting in here, though. My mind was not in the correct space to process any of the client account information, vendor lists, or account ledgers.

Ugh, this could not be my new life.

I grabbed the phone from the receiver and jumped when a female voice spoke abruptly in my ear.

"Yes, Miss Masterson?"

I about dropped the phone before looking up to see a young woman sitting behind the receptionist's desk in the front of the lobby raise a hand and give a wave. A wireless earpiece hung over her ear.

Pretty.

She had dark, straight hair that hung to her shoulders and an olive complexion that showcased her crimson-stained lips beautifully. Lips that I was suddenly wondering if any of my boys had ever kissed.

It didn't matter. I took a breath. "I-uh- just need to make a call." Attempting to be civil, I gave a small wave in return and smiled.

She laughed softly but not in a friendly way. More so as if I was an idiot. "Yes. The number?"

Still startled, I rattled off the number to her. "One moment," she responded.

"Wait!" I rushed out, waving at her again to get her attention.

"Yes?"

"What's your name?"

"Melody. Melody O'Connor." She sounded a little affronted. As if I either should have known that already or not asked at all.

Whatever. This bitch was not worth my time.

"Okay, thanks."

But she already put me on hold. It was odd, sitting there waiting for her to make a phone call I was capable of dialing on my own. Was it poor office etiquette to hang up on her or refuse to allow her to do what seemed to be part of her job? Might have been worth it to see the look of shock on that snobby, pretty little face of hers. I glared at her through the window, my fingers drummed on the desk.

"Miss Masterson?" The red-lipped devil's voice was sweet in my ear.

"Yes, I'm here."

"I have Bethany Daniels for you."

"Thanks, Melody."

Before she had disconnected, Beth piped up. "You have some snooty bitch making calls for you now?"

I saw Melody frown a little before she went back to working on something, presumably off the call. I couldn't even imagine what Beth had said to her when she answered the phone but I wish I could have heard it.

"Melody is Noah's or Joshua's or maybe Mal's snooty bitch, not mine."

"Definition, please."

"She's an assistant or something. I don't know. She's irritating." I mumbled, and Beth laughed.

"She's really pretty, isn't she? You're jealous."

"No. She's just not nice."

Beth made a noise in her throat. "Well, Miss Masterson, you have beckoned, I have answered. What's up?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Need some advice."

Beth listened quietly as I relayed everything that had happened so far, even my explosion in the elevator, which she laughed about for at least a few minutes before getting herself under control. When I repeated what Joshua had said regarding my "punishment", she gasped, serious once again.

"Oh, that's so sexy! What do you think it is? Spanking?"

My cheeks flushed. Now I was thinking about that, and I squirmed in the chair. "I have no idea." God, it was hot in here.

"You two, or three, or four, are totally going to screw like bunnies before this day is over."

"We slept together last night, me Joshua and Noah." I sighed, finding calm in remembering the way Joshua held me. "Not sex. I mean, just slept. It was perfect."

"Uh-oh. You love him - them. Like totally love them."

The noise I made was a cross between a snort and a cough.

"Oh please, don't even try to deny it. You guys love each other and always have, always will. It's like a goddamn Disney movie."

"I don't think Disney makes movies like ours," I giggled a little. "By the way, is there a reason you packed my vibrator?"

Her carefree cackling made me miss her so much. "I'm hoping with your Triple Dick Brigade, you won't need to use that. Better yet, make them use it on you."

"Beth!" I gasped.

"Don't act like a prude, Regan. You are way past that."

"This is not the advice I was looking for when I made this call." I chided lightly, rolling my eyes as if she could see me.

"You're like stupid rich now, huh? And you're their boss!" She was enjoying herself way too much. "That really puts the kink into the whole Dom/Sub scenario. Like which one are you?"

"Bitch," I laughed. "None of this is supposed to be funny. And I'm not their boss. We're co-owners, co-workers. Hell, I don't know."

"The company is named after you. Embrace the dominance. This is better than TV. Why watch soap operas, or even porn, when I have you?"

I glanced up to find Noah watching me from across the office. He held my gaze for a moment and it was enough to make my breath catch. I broke eye contact and turned away.

"Talk me off of this ledge, Beth," I whispered. "Noah's pulling me in too fast and I feel like I'm drowning."

"Drowning is apparently good for you because I haven't heard you this happy in almost a year. Whatever is happening there is exactly what you need." She sounded genuine for a moment. Relieved even.

"Come on, this is crazy, right?"

"Take the leap, Regan. It's the only way to find out."

I thought about it for a minute. Beth would never purposely steer me into doing something she thought would hurt me. This is the girl who saved my shoes in kindergarten, pushed a girl down the bus steps in fourth grade because the girl had made fun of my hair, almost ran Jared over with her car when she found out about the Spring Fling, and, last but not least, took a bat to my brother's windshield when he was refusing to speak to me. She always had my back, with little concern for the consequences.

I was taking too long to answer her so she filled the silence. "While you're leaping, make sure you leap right onto those huge d–"

"No!" I interrupted loudly and she laughed at me again.

"What about moving here? Living with them?"

I could tell she was shrugging as if it wasn't a major issue. "Don't you technically own Riley's house now, where they all live? You are already living together."

I let out a loud sigh.

Someone was suddenly yelling in the background. It was a man's voice. "Who is that?"

The yelling was getting louder as if she was walking toward whoever it was. His voice was familiar.

"Oh my God, is that Greg?"

"I've decided he's nice to have around. He's like a Labrador. Furry, always happy to be in my presence, and likes to lick me." He shouted something again. It was muffled.

"What's he yelling?"

"I don't know. He's gagged at the moment. I should go."

"I'll call you tomorrow!" I shouted as she hung up. There was a rustle on the line. "Beth?"

She didn't answer but when I looked up, Melody was red-faced and glaring at me.

That haughty whore had been listening to the entire call.

I jumped from the chair, ready to go out there and cause another scene when Noah came in looking very serious. My heart sank.

But instead of dropping a bomb on me, he wrapped an arm around my waist and jerked me to him. His other hand gripped the nape of my neck. My hands rested on his biceps, powerful beneath my grip as he leaned down to kiss me.

It was soft and lingering, he was taking his time to savor it. His fingers splayed across my lower back, nearing dangerous territory as they slid lower to my ass. Thankfully my back was facing away from the rest of the office.

"What was that for?" I asked, breathless.

"This dress," he whispered. "You're beautiful in it."

Noah smiled and gave me another lighter but no less exhilarating kiss. "I've been out there watching you, nibbling on your lip, and I couldn't resist any longer." He ran a finger over my bottom lip. "I had to kiss you."

I was blushing furiously. "Everyone probably saw that."

"I don't care."

"Yeah, but –"I attempted to withdraw from his embrace as his hands held me even tighter against his firm, unforgivingly solid body. Daring a peek around him, people were staring.

I hadn't even been there for a whole day yet and these people probably thought I was insane. No one even knew yet that I had taken over Riley's part of the company.

"I'm not making a great impression on these people," I frowned, wishing we could just start the day over.

"If you aren't going to be sticking around, why do you care what they think?" I studied his face, looking for any anger or irritation.

"I see you've been talking to Mal."

"Yes."

"That's all you have to say about it?"

He watched me for a moment, probably weighing which smart-ass answer would get him in the least amount of trouble. Right as he opened his mouth to say something, a group of smartly dressed men stepped from the elevator. Melody greeted them, offering to take each of their coats. All the men, young and old, seemed charmed by her.

"I have another meeting," he sighed, not looking at me. "Be ready to leave within an hour. We're going to leave early to celebrate."

"Celebrate?"

"I'm about to close the biggest client we've ever had and make you a ton of money. So when we get home -" he trailed off as he realized what he had just said.

Home.

"We still need to talk, Noah," I said.

I hated that my comment made his smile fade.

"Yeah," he sighed, sounding sad. "I know."

He opened the office door and then turned back to wink at me. "Wish me luck."

"Only losers need luck."

We both faltered a little at my response. That was what he and Riley always used to say to each other. One would ask for luck, and the other would respond with that. It had been their thing before every game, every date, every test. I had heard them say it thousands of times. They probably would say it all the time here, before meeting with prospective clients just like this.

I wiped a tear from my cheek. Collecting himself, Noah gave me a small nod in understanding and shut the door. He didn't spare me another glance as he ushered the last visitor into the conference room and said one final thing to Melody.

She made a point to look right at me, squeezed his bicep in response, and then shut the door behind him. As she made her way back to her desk, she cast a smirk over her shoulder at me.

Screw this. I grabbed my coat and purse. I wasn't going to sit in here and let her try and intimidate me for the next hour. As I exited the office, a few people looked up, curious as to what I was doing. Melody came rushing around her desk to intercept me, stepping in my path to block my way to the door.

"Miss Masterson? Noah wanted you to stay here until his meeting concludes."

"I'm just going to grab something for lunch. I'll be right back."

"Noah wants you to stay here."

"Well, I don't always do what Noah wants." I tried to keep a smile on my face to camouflage my impatience with her since others were now watching our exchange. The girl sitting at the desk nearest us covered up her smile with the back of her hand as she watched us.

"But, Noah –"

I held up my hand to stop her from repeating herself again and tried to keep the contempt out of my voice. "What did you call Riley?"

"You're brother?" She was confused. "Mr. Masterson, of course."

"But Noah isn't Mr. Spencer?"

She stood up straighter and set her shoulders back. "He prefers I call him Noah." She seemed proud of that.

"You can tell Mr. Spencer," I gave her a pointed stare. "I'm getting lunch and if it's that big of a problem, then you can go interrupt his meeting to tell him I'm leaving."

Her eyes widened a little and I got the impression that she wasn't used to not getting her way. I bet she'd just have to sway those hips and bat her eyes, and the men in this office would give her anything she wanted.

She crossed her arms. "I'll have security stop you."

"You can try, but since I own this company now and, as everyone heard earlier, am fucking the head of the security firm, I don't think it'll do much good."

"Well, that's one way to announce it," Joshua drawled from behind me.

He was not smiling.

I was in so much trouble.