“And just like that, the Three Musketeers become the Fantastic Four!”
“You said it, Handsome.”
41
EXCERPT: BABY MAKES THREE
There are some bad decisions, and then there are somereallybad decisions.
Jared, my brother’s best friend, falls in the latter category.
He had me obsessed from the very first moment I laid my eyes on him as a teenager.
Of course, I knew he was older.
I also knew that he was Steven’s business partner.
They say love is blind, and now I personally know it to be true.
Steven has told me things about Jared that I didn’t want to believe.
His playboy lifestyle being one of those things.
Jared hurts my heart.
But he also makes it beat for him.
And now, I’ve got another heartbeat to worry about.
I’m pregnant and I’m hiding the news from him.
Yes, I might be living a nightmare, one that neither of us could survive…
Silvie
A chorus of celebratory shouts rang out as the cork to the champagne bottle was released. A stream of bubbly shot across the room, and Steven poured a bit in each flute carefully lined on the conference table in front of him. I cheered right along with them, a hopeful start to my internship at Vortex, my brother’s marketing firm.
Steven handed me a flute and grinned like an idiot. He practically glowed with pride, his business taking off after several years of struggle. And I was proud of him too. I was only 12 years old when Steven and Jared started this company—a late-in-life baby for my parents. And Steven, well he was actually more like a father to me at times rather than a big brother, what with my dad dying, when I was 16, in a tragic car accident. That had taken its toll on our entire family.
This was Steven and Jared’s moment, and they deserved it. I was glad to be a part. I sipped the champagne as I watched the two pass out flutes of champagne to their executives. Vicki Peters, the director of operations, had already consumed her share of alcohol and stood a little too close to Jared‚ COO. And Karen, Jared’s personal assistant, had rosy cheeks too, though I thought she just looked happy for them. Not the way Vicki’s talons clawed at Jared’s arm possessively.
“To Vortex!” Jared raised his glass, simultaneously offering a toast while dismissing Vicki’s grip on his suit coat. I stifled a chuckle at how obnoxious the bitch was as the room echoed the chorus. He seemed to be annoyed by her hanging on him, and it made me wonder what had transpired between them to make her so clingy and him so irritated with her.
“To Vortex!”
After a rousing five-minute speech from Steven about how their dedication and commitment paid off and it was only the beginning, the room dissolved into various conversations. The CFO, Thom, pulled Jared to the side, and I noticed a look of relief flash across his features as he strolled away from Vicki. I waited patiently as Steven separated himself from a few other employees and came my way.
“Sil…” He kissed my cheek. His breath reeked of alcohol, but I was sober driver, so it didn’t bother me so much. I’d seen him down at least four glasses to my one.
“Stevie, I’m so proud of you.” I hugged him, wishing Dad could have been there to see it and give him the pat on the back he deserved.
Steven gestured to a pair of leather armchairs nestled in the corner of the room and I followed. We sat facing each other, the drone of the room fading away as he patted my knee.
“So, you ready to get started on Monday?”
“Sure, what do you have in mind?” A flutter of excitement passed through my stomach. With graduation only three short weeks in my rearview, I was eager to get started on this internship. He’d been reluctant to start with, but Mom convinced him to let me get my feet wet with him, despite what it might look like on my resume to have my brother’s company name there as my first job post-college.
“So, like anything, it’s best if you work from the bottom up.” He held his hand in defense as I rolled my eyes. “Now listen. You may run your own firm someday, so if you learn everything from the ground up, you’ll know how to do it all. You’ll start by being a PA—”