“You should come to the club with us so we can talk to you. I don’t think you’re going to need any want ads.” Axel pushes Ben off my chair and pulls it back holding his hand out for me to take.
Ben hits Axel’s hand away and helps me up. “Come on you’ve made us late.”
“Be nice,” Damien says with a wide smile.
“Come on, Clara. Get in my car.”
“I don’t think so, Ben. I think I’ll go with one of your brothers, they don’t look so growly.” Axel turns a laugh into a cough and I shrug my shoulders.
“It’s your fault I’m growly. Come on we’re going to be late.” Ben grabs my hand. I hate the electricity flowing through me at his touch. I wave goodbye to Axel and Damien and they chuckle as they wave back.
I climb into Ben’s Range Rover. I wiggle into the seat in a better mood since being fired today. It seems annoying Ben is healing to my bruised ego.
But, why is he annoyed so much? Doesn’t he want me to have a better job?
Chapter 14
Ben
Of course, I think Clara should work with us. I’m not a fucking moron, ok? But, I’m trying to play by her rules.
She wants to keep things all business. And all I want to do is kiss the fuck out of her. It’s becoming a real problem.
So, when my brothers both decided it would be the best idea in all the land to have Clara come work for us at Big Willie’s, I just had to step up and say something.
But, instead I acted like a fool.
“I might have to get a Range Rover.” Clara strokes the interior of my car as if she doesn’t have a care.
It’s distracting.
I grab her hand and place it on her thigh, holding it down with mine. “Just stop.”
“Stop what?” she asks as if she’s swimming in my aggravation with glee. I grind my teeth together and push down even harder on her hand.
“You know what you’re doing.”
“And what do you think I’m doing?” she asks, keeping the innocent act going.
When I left the parking lot of her work, I was ready to respect her wishes. I refuse to admit my heart stuttered when she came into my house after being fired. And I mean it, she deserves a better job. I just don’t think I can survive keeping my eyes off her if she’s working for us, and it pisses me off. I won’t be in control.
And I’m always in control.
“You’re enjoying this aren't you? This making me angry, pretending like you don’t know you being here is pissing me off.”
And she no longer appears pleased. I feel bad. She acts like I siphoned her happy pool, and now she’s sitting at the bottom with no where to go. I squeeze her hand as an apology.
“Yes, I was enjoying the growly attitude you were throwing at me. I like that I can throw you off. You threw me off by coming to my work today, so it’s payback.” The truthfulness makes me smile. I lift her hand and brush a kiss over her knuckles. Her blatant disregard for social niceties, being able to say what she means is refreshing. I like that she doesn’t care that I'm a part of the Trifecta. I like that she fights with me and doesn’t try to flatter me.
“Wait, does that mean I put you off?” I ask.
“So tell me about the club?” She changes the subject.
I crack a grin and put her hand on my thigh. “Ok, I’ll let you avoid the question for now.”
“There are still gentlemen in the world.” She puts her free hand over her heart and I smile.
“My brothers and I are triplets.”
“What? I had no idea.”
“Ok, smartass. We were tiny and got picked on a lot when we went to school. We had to stick together because we were all we had.” It’s Clara’s time to squeeze my leg, and I wink at her.
“We kept the bullying away from my parents but a concerned teacher let the mean kid out of the bag. My dad took things into his own hands.”
“He didn’t beat the kids up, did he?”
I smile. “No, he didn’t beat up the kids picking on us, but he did help us learn how to work out. He woke us up everyday before school and taught us about nutrition. We started gaining muscle. The kids stopped being mean to us and started to be friends with us. We became the popular kids."
"That must have been nice."
"Yeah I guess, but it was confusing. All of a sudden we were popular. Girls were taking notice of us. I didn't know what to do. In college, I just went with the flow. It was nice being the center of attention, and I liked not getting picked on."