Chapter 33

33

Cass

A fter our long night, Cole sleeps in. I shower, have some breakfast, and then go look for Eli.

He's in my father's office, slouching in the executive seat behind the big wooden desk as if he's pretending he's in charge.

"What's up? Your shift doesn't start until six tonight."

"I know."

Sitting up straighter, he says, "Have you come to beg me not to tell Daddy you're fucking Cole?"

"No. I know you won't because you don't want to admit you saw me naked."

"Fine," he huffs, slouching again. "What do you want?"

"I sort of need your help with something," I admit as I take a seat in one of the two less comfortable chairs in front of the desk.

"Okay."

"Two things, actually. And I need you to keep them both quiet."

"Oh, something else you mean, other than the fact that you're fucking your stepbrother?"

"This isn't going to cause as many problems, but I need your help since I don't know how to book reservations at the hotel yet."

Cole told me he got plenty of experience with it yesterday, which gave me an idea.

"Who do you need to make reservations for?" Eli asks.

"See, that's the thing. I'm going to be inviting twenty men to a Sigma Chi fraternity reunion, so we'll need to also reserve a ballroom for this weekend. A small one is fine. And then rooms for them. I hope all of them will show up on such short notice, but if we can get ten that would be a win."

Eli barks out a laugh. "Do I even want to know what you plan to do with twenty frat bros?"

"I want to get samples of their DNA."

Now he just stares at me blankly. "You want to invite all those men here to...swab them with a Q-tip and run their DNA?"

"Yes."

"How…why the fuck would you want to do that, Cass?"

"Because one of them could be Cole's father."

"Holy shit," he whispers before he leans over and starts slamming his forehead into my father's desk.

"Eli! Eli, stop!" I tell him before he splits his head open. When he does as I ask, I add, "Please don't tell Cole. I don't want to get his hopes up, you know, in case it's all for nothing."

"Don't tell him what?" he says with a longer, louder bark of laughter. "Don't tell him that you're trying to find his father or don't tell him that you're head over heels in fucking love with him?"

"I'm...ppfft, whatever," I scoff. "I am not in love with him. We're just screwing. And we're getting it all out of our systems this week."

Rubbing at his now red but thankfully not bleeding forehead, he says, "You are so full of shit it's about to start running out of your ears."

My nose wrinkles in revulsion at that metaphor. "Gross. "

"Seriously, Cass. You know your father will lose his mind when he finds out, right? And poor Vanessa, it won't end well for her either. I can't pretend like I'll miss Cole. There's only room for one handsome blond man in this penthouse, and that's me," he rambles.

"Nothing is going to happen because other than me and Cole, you are the only other person who knows about us. And you're not going to say a word, right? Right, Eli?" I repeat when he doesn't respond.

"What about your guards?" he asks quietly.

"What about my guards?"

"Your guards and Cole's must know you're humping by now."

"How would they know?"

"Let's ask them, shall we?" he suggests. "Those men are paid to be observant. I'll have your lead guard, Brian come in first, then August." He types out the messages on his phone while I dig my fingernails into the leather chair arms and tell myself he's wrong.

Less than two minutes later, my guard, Brian is his name apparently, walks through the open office door in his usual black suit.

"Hey, Bri." Bri? Maybe Eli gives everyone nicknames. "Thanks for meeting with us," Eli says to him, still seated in my father's chair like he's king for a day. "Quick question. If I strung you up by your ankles from the chains in the basement, put a knife to your dick, and asked you who Cass here is fucking, your answer would be..."

"Cole." He blurts his name out in less than a second.

"Oh my god!" I exclaim, jumping to my feet to turn to face the man. "How did you..."

"You two have been making eyes at each other all summer," he replies simply.

"Making eyes?"

"Yeah, eye contact, as in the look that says, I can't wait to fuck you again."

"That…that is not true!" I argue.

"I've been talking with Sam, August, and Mike, trying to figure out how to handle this when Dante finds out. "

"And he will find out," Eli says confidently. "I can't believe he hasn't noticed yet."

"Wow," I huff before sitting back down, elbows on my knees, face buried in my hands. Everyone knows. It's only a matter of time…

"So, what is the plan?" Eli asks Brian. "Since I'm now in the same category as being fucked over by their stupidity."

I look up in time to see the guard shrug his wide shoulders. "Our plan is to deny noticing anything, let the boss assume that they were better at hiding it than they were, so we never noticed anything. It's not like we are ever inside the penthouse. And they've never fucked in the SUV or while we're guarding them, so we figure we should be clear."

"Well, hell. Good for you all, but now I'm fucking screwed," Eli grumbles. Pushing the executive chair back a little, he props up his feet on my father's desk, crossing them at the ankle as if he has nothing to lose. "I live in the penthouse. I won't have the same plausible deniability as you four. Dante will know that I know and kill me for not telling him. Which means…" He looks at me then heaves a heavy sigh. "I have to tell him."

"No, Eli!" Surging from my chair, I plant my palms on the desk in front of him. "You don't have to say a word! I swear that once my dad and Vanessa are back, it's over for good."

He scoffs at that. "Yeah, right."

"It is. Cole is leaving for New York soon. Once he's gone, it'll be like it never happened, especially since I plan on marrying Alistair or someone else soon."

"Why in the world would you marry..." Eli trails off then grits his teeth. "Brian, leave and shut the door," he orders the guard like he's his boss. When the door shuts, he holds up a finger to me. "No, nope. Don't tell me. I am fucking done trekking through your piles of shit-filled mines, woman. You swear to me it's over when Dante gets back, and I'll keep my mouth shut about you and Cole…and everything else."

"I promise," I agree, even if it sucks to even think about him not coming to my room again after this week. Straightening up again, I ask him with a calmness I don't feel, "Now, will you help me with the reservations or not?"

"Fine. At least that won't get me killed."

"Oh, that was the other thing. I'm also going to need your help killing someone."

Eli slams his head onto the desk again followed by each groaned word, "Jesus. Fucking. Christ."