Brock leans forward. He places one hand, palm down on the table.
“What do you mean? You thought about it? And... what?”
“Jeez, you guys,” I sigh irritably. They’re really on my nerves this morning. I’m not a morning guy. “Give me an hour, would you? Let’s have lunch or something.”
Royce reaches a hand out and chucks Brock gently on the shoulder. Then he turns back to me with a completely reasonable expression on his face.
“It’s just that… well, she’s done very well. We all really like her, though Spencer hasn’t had a chance to talk to her yet. We’re leaning toward a yes. Just hoping you can expedite that for us.”
I can tell that Royce thinks using a business tone with me is going to sway me. Well, it’s not. It’s just making me more suspicious.
“And how is she with Sophia?”
Royce’s eyebrows go up. His face freezes.
Brock leans back in his chair so he can look at the reception desk for some reason.
“Uh-huh. I see,” I enunciate slowly. “So, what you’re telling me is that you guys are hot for her? And you didn’t even bother to check if her job—her main job—is something she’s able and qualified to do?”
“Well, you know… I mean, with the rules and all… I mean, we’re distracted,” Brock explains. “She’s hot. Super hot. And it’s been a really long time.”
I point at Royce. “You see what your rules have done? You see how ridiculous and irrational this is? You guys are so horny you didn’t even bother to check and see if the nanny could, you know, actually nanny?”
“We’re getting to that,” Royce grumbles, crossing his arms.
“Maybe you shouldn’t bother,” I remark. “Maybe the whole idea of nanny and shared girlfriend is never going to work out. Maybe we should separate those into different responsibilities. Can you think about that? We could each even find our own—”
Bang!
Royce’s hand lands like a foul expletive in the middle of the table. My cappuccino sloshes over the side.
“Absolutely not,” he growls between his clenched teeth. “We created this in order to protect Sophia. We all sacrifice a little bit… for her. That’s what good fathers are going to do. That is not up for discussion!”
“But we’ve been through this before, Royce,” I persist, lowering my voice and hoping that will calm him somewhat. “I mean, we asked Nina every question under the sun. We thought it would be fine. And then look what happened. At least if we found our own women, everybody’s heart wouldn’t all be broken at the same time.”
“I don’t think she’s like that,” Brock replies, shaking his head. The sincerity in his green eyes is appalling. Like, I feel bad for this guy.
“Jesus, what did she do to you guys?” I breathe. “Is she some kind of witch or something? I mean, she’s cute and all, but…”
“Just interview her,” Royce insists. He shakes his head as though sad or something. “You’ll see. Just talk to her for a little while. She’s not like anybody else. You’ll see.”
Look at these two. Can they really be totally gaga over this woman in just a day? Have they forgotten everything? How Nina threatened to take Sophia away from us? How she lawyered up without even talking to us, suggesting she was willing to do anything to get away?
Losing her was the single most painful thing that ever happened in my life, and I’m not even the most emotional brother. Royce took it hard. Spencer was sad but he understood it was final. But Trey and Brock were absolutely crushed. Crushed like teenagers. I can’t believe they want to risk it all again.
“Just talk to her, Sully,” Brock says in a low voice. “I’ll get her in with Sophia today. In fact, I’ll put it on a videoconference if you wanna pop in and take a look or something, okay?”
“That’s a good idea,” Royce agrees. “I guess you’re right, Sully, we got a little carried away. We should have had her and Sophia at least getting acquainted. But if we get that squared up, can you give her a chance?”
I stare into the silky brown surface of my cappuccino. Can I? Do I have more chances to give?
Is the alternative even worse? I mean, the whole reason that we put this all together was because we believed the alternative was worse. We believed that there was the distinct possibility that we could have ten to fifteen ex-wives among us by the time we were done. We could wipe out this entire fortune in one generation, just by thinking with our dicks. Other dynasties have done the same or worse.
And we had to really do some convincing. Everybody knew that sharing one woman was going to mean less individual attention. Unless she had eight arms and three pussies, that is, and we certainly haven’t found that.
But I can remember Bunny’s face, her keen expression and curious demeanor. She seems like the kind of woman who can take a challenge. Like she even seeks them out. And definitely not shy or virginal—that would never do. If August suggested her, he knows things about her that make her appropriate for this role. He even told me once that if he had had a chance to vet Nina, he could’ve s
aved us a lot of heartache, and about two million dollars.