By Chance Read online

  The building had been clean, but also inviting. Not sterile so you felt you were in a hospital, but more like an upscale hotel. They’d each been given a number, and told to have a seat until their number was called. Seth remembered thinking that though he’d never had the desire to see his best friends naked, he’d deal with it so he didn’t have to go in alone. He’d sat there, twisting the tiny slip of paper the receptionist had given him in his fingers.

  Luck had found him that day, because all three of them had been called at the same time. They’d followed a very pretty girl with one of the nicest asses he’d ever seen into a small room with a bunch of computers and things. There’d been a few chairs, and they’d once again been told to have a seat, that someone would be right with them.

  The process had not been unpleasant. The employees of Lily and Oak were one of the things that Seth, Aaron, and Gideon had always loved about the place. They were always super friendly and never made you feel ogled or self-conscious.

  They’d learned a lot of lessons about running a business from their experiences with Lily and Oak. He hated that they hadn’t just let them leave on their own. The line they’d created in their likenesses had sold so well, it had pulled the company from financial difficulties. It spurred a lot of other lines, and when the boys left the powers that be were not happy.

  All the thinking about Lily and Oak reminded Seth that he had a conference call with Amanda on Tuesday. He wanted to have a good idea what they would walk into on Friday when he and Gideon went into the city and visited her office.

  Not wanting to call the car service, combined with wanting to review the paperwork the firm had sent over, had Seth deciding to go to his office rather than his new apartment. He missed living with the guys. They hadn’t been out of their shared space long, but it felt that way. It had been nice not coming home to silence every day. Loneliness washed over him as he descended the stairs. His baby sister was married. His parents had basically disowned him. Aaron had Julie, Gid had whatever flavor he was courting that month, and Seth was alone. He was more alone than he’d ever been in his life, and he somehow hadn’t realized it until the moment his thumbprint scanned once again, and the door to gain direct access to the main building beeped and opened. As he entered the space that he and his best friends built, he thought about how he could change his situation. Thinking of sharing his life with someone other than Aaron and Gideon made him break out in a nervous sweat. Being with the guys was one thing, but Seth had never been great with girls.

  Sometimes, when he thought about his life, the irony hit him so hard he laughed out loud even when only he could hear. Millions of people all over the world spent time pleasuring themselves and their partners with his likeness, but the real deal saw action almost less than never. Thinking of all those lonely ladies made one lady’s face appear before his—their sexy new assistant, Shannon. Since the moment he’d seen her, he’d been instantly attracted to her. She was everything anyone could want in a woman. Smart, beautiful, and her body … he couldn’t think about it without making himself uncomfortable. Seth stopped and focused his imagination on remembering the tight curve of her ass. He thought about what it would be like to run his tongue across that part right where her tight cheek met the top of her thigh. He felt the front of his pants begin to get tight, so he shook himself.

  Despite all his daydreams, he knew it would never happen. Girls like her weren’t in his repertoire. Hell, the only girls he’d been out with in the remote present were ones that Gid had hooked him up with. They’d been the friends he was tasked with keeping busy so Gideon could claim his prizes. He didn’t fault his friend for it. Gideon was the one born to be with women like Shannon. The son of a wealthy influential rancher from the heart of Texas, Gideon couldn’t help it. Sexy, wealthy cowboy beat small, nerdy runner every single time. It just didn’t stop Seth from being green with envy on occasion.

  The stairs didn’t take long to navigate, and with all his musing Seth ended up in front of his office without remembering the path he’d taken to get there. He took a moment to look around after a chill went down his spine, making him uneasy. All the doors that he could see on the floor were open, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. No one had access to the floor other than him, Aaron, Gid, and Shannon. After the debacle with Aaron’s ex, Bella, they hadn’t taken any chances. Security was on point throughout the building. They all knew leaving their offices open wasn’t an issue.

  Gideon’s office was the only one he couldn’t see. On the semicircular floor Seth’s office was furthest to the right, Aaron’s in the center, and Gideon’s all the way to the left. Shannon’s reception desk sat in the center with a high waterfall wall that created some privacy for each of them. He couldn’t see past the wall to Gideon’s office. A small squeak echoed across the floor followed by a noise Seth couldn’t place. He stepped away from his office and lightly stepped toward the wall.

  Hoping the sound of falling water would cover his movements, Seth moved around Shannon’s desk to discover that the low light behind Gideon’s desk was on. There were also shadows flickering against the glass wall that hadn’t been covered by the privacy blinds.

  Seth froze, watching. He was almost sure it was Gideon, he just needed a visual or even to hear his voice to be sure. He didn’t want to call security and have them storm the floor without reason, but he couldn’t just assume either. He couldn’t figure out where the shadows were coming from. There wasn’t much light, but there was enough for Seth to deduce that if it was Gid, he wasn’t alone. A small female laugh carried through the space at that moment. Seth swallowed as a figure came into view from behind the large desk.

  A man stood, his broad chest heaving with exertion and a wide smile across his face. He kept his eyes trained down, but only before his head fell back toward the ceiling. Seth watched the cords of muscle tighten in his throat as the man reached down and twisted a hand in a full ponytail of hair. Once he had hold of the unknown girl’s tresses, he used the hold as leverage and began to move in earnest, rhythmically.

  A few moments more and the shadow was using his grip to pull the female to her feet. Seth watched as a tight body unfolded from the floor. Her back was muscular but graceful. She was lean, and he could just see the tippy top of the contour of what looked to be a perfect ass—an ass that looked an awful lot like the one he’d been trying to picture only moments before. His throat got tight, and he felt his cock start to swell despite the pit in his stomach. He knew he should go, but he was pathetic ... he had to know. He needed to be sure.

  The man took hold of the girl, lifting her and setting her on the desk before capturing her mouth with his own. His hands traced lines up and down her back before disappearing to other parts of her body. Seth couldn’t tear himself away. He tried but his feet seemed cemented to the floor. He took a deep breath as he watched, now knowing it was his best friend who gently laid this woman back on his desk. Seth had to bite his lip when two classically perfect breasts came into view as she was dipped into the single stream of light coming from behind the desk. Hard nipples protruded into the cool air of the office while she squirmed under Gideon’s touch. Seth felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach as the light caught her blonde ponytail. Gideon gently caressed each breast, paying each one attention with his hands and his mouth before tracing soft kisses down the girl’s flat stomach. He stopped his caresses and lifted her knees, one in each hand, until her high, red-soled stilettos were perched on the desk, leaving her legs spread wide, baring her core to Gideon while affectively confirming Seth’s suspicions. Seth’s knees felt like they were going to buckle, and all the events of the evening came crashing down on him as he turned and rushed back to his office.

  Seth crashed onto the long couch in his office. He laid face down in the cushions for a while, letting the feeling of his heart swishing around in his gut sink in. He should have walked away when he’d had the chance. He could have waited to see if it was her when they left the room, but
he didn’t … and now he couldn’t get the scene out of his head. Each time it played out against his eyelids, his brain added some new horror to it. First it was sound. He hadn’t been able to hear anything because of the fountain, but now, alone in his office and half suffocated on his couch, he could hear every moan. He chastised himself for doing so, but he couldn’t stop. He kept playing it out over and over again, each time the scene becoming more intense until he finally had to sit up because he could no longer breathe.

  He sat gasping on the edge of the sofa, staring at his shoes, thinking about everything that was currently happening, everything that he hadn’t seen. Thinking about how Gideon was getting to touch her, to taste her, to claim her, while Seth sat like a pathetic loser on the couch. Worse yet, sat on the couch like a pathetic loser after having secretly watched his best friend and the girl he wanted enjoying each other’s bodies. He shoved himself up and quickly ducked into the hall, headed for Aaron’s office and the stash of scotch he knew was in the cupboard behind the desk.

  Four

  His brain was hammering against his skull, making his eyelids heavy and creating the feeling of sandpaper against his eyes, so he struggled to open them. His mouth tasted horrible; he smacked his lips together, trying to make it go away.

  “Dude. When did you get here?” A voice broke through the pounding.

  Seth shifted his body, still struggling to open his eyes. Something crashed to the floor and shattered, causing his head to ring instead of pound. He brought his hands up to cover his ears.

  “Make it fucking stop.”

  Shadows of laughter echoed through his hands to his ears. He finally opened his eyes. “You’re a fucking mess, man. I thought you weren’t coming home till later today?” Gideon slapped Seth on the back and sat down roughly beside him. “Hot Suzie’s thing not go as planned?”

  Seth swallowed hard, lowering his hands to his lap. “Fuck off.”

  Gideon laughed. “For real though, when’d you get in?”

  Seth tried to stand, but wobbled so he stayed put. The ringing in his head had dissipated but the pounding had returned, and with it came the overwhelmingly nauseating feeling of wanting to beat the shit out of his buddy for something that he didn’t even know about. Which wouldn’t be fair, obviously … but Seth was still pissed off. He wanted to get away from Gid. He was too close. Seth swore he could still smell her on him, even through his own stench.

  “Chopper.”

  “You took the chopper here?” Gideon turned serious. “Must have been something. Is everyone okay?”

  Seth looked over at his friend. “Everyone is fine, just blew up the family secret and all.”

  Gideon nodded in understanding. He knew how Seth’s family felt about Genesis Inc. “So you came in drunk this morning?”

  Seth sat silently, unsure of what to say. He had no right to be pissed at Gid. Fuck, Gid didn’t even know that he had a thing for Shannon. Seth was positive that had his friend known, he would have tried to help him out. Because that’s how Gid was. He’d always done all he could to include Seth, to help him be a little more extroverted. So in that moment, he decided the best thing to do was swallow his anger. He built a mental fortress around himself, then crawled inside and shut the door before opening his mouth. “Nope. Got here, semi-drunk just in time to catch a bit of the show.” He looked up at his friend, swallowed, and turned on the salesman. “She’s fucking hot, bro. Kudos.”

  Gideon smiled bigger than Seth had seen in a long time. He nodded. “She is at that.” He wiped the smile off his face and looked back at Seth. “Sorry, though. I thought everyone else was gone. We wouldn’t have stayed here had I known.”

  Seth waved him off. He felt his anger solidifying at Gideon’s flippant discussion of the situation, but kept that part hidden deep within. He felt something break, something deep … and before he could figure out what it was, he heard himself spewing typical male bullshit to Gideon. “All good, man. To be honest, I’ve been curious if you’re as good as you seem to think you are. No need to wonder now … you were very thorough.” Seth gave his friend a fake grin even though the whole conversation left him feeling sick inside.

  Gideon stood and offered a hand to Seth. “She’s a wild one. I can’t seem to stay sated. I’ve been with a lot of females, but rarely do I find one that intrigues me.” Seth took the offered hand and listened to Gideon’s speech, all the while fighting the urge to cold-cock him. “She does though. You know …” Seth stood next to Gideon as he paused and looked at his friend. Seth didn’t like the gleam he saw twinkling in Gid’s eye.

  “Dude. Don’t give me that look. I know that look.”

  Gideon smiled. “Naaaaa … it would never work.”

  Seth knew better but couldn’t help himself. He had to know what the twinkle was for. He knew it was trouble but still, he had to know. “Spit it out, man. You’re like a chick, playing games and shit.”

  Gideon laughed and let go of Seth’s hand. “I was just thinking that since she’s so feisty, it might make sense to see if she needs more than just me to satisfy her.” He winked at Seth.

  Seth’s head hurt. His whole body hurt. He started to try to walk over to his desk and suddenly realized that there was glass all over the floor. He was going to have to replace Aaron’s bottle of scotch. “Dude, you have the key to the toy chest downstairs.” He shook his head, but stopped when he felt the pounding increase. His anger was all that held him up. He slipped a little. Let the wall crack, and tossed out a sarcastic comment to confuse his friend. “Sorry you’re not man enough for the hot assistant, but for real, I’m sure any one of the rubber cocks in the chest can help you out.” He plastered his best I’m fucking with you smile on his face, as he took in Gideon’s reaction. Gid looked disappointed, but in a way that Seth couldn’t fully understand. His head hurt too much. He needed a shower, and to not be talking to Gid anymore. “Okay, fucker, out with you. Can you have Shannon call downstairs for supplies and for this mess to get cleaned up.”

  “Sure thing, man.” After one last twisted brow look, Gideon turned away and left Seth alone. Alone and seething.

  Seth practically fell into the bathroom that was attached to his office. As soon as he’d shut the door, he leaned his back against it, slowly sliding to the floor. He let the self-loathing wash over him and the pounding in his ears overtake his senses. The miserable situation he’d created in his world melted away, and a hollow blank space took its place. It was a comforting place. He sat for a long moment before crawling over to the shower to turn the handle. He didn’t even bother taking off his clothes. Once the spray shot out of the shower head and started to pelt the tile floor, Seth became very grateful he hadn’t had a tub installed. He was able to crawl directly under the water without much effort. He lay there slumped over, fully clothed and soaking wet, and began to hate himself.

  Seth lifted his face to the water and opened his mouth. Water filled his mouth and ran slowly down his throat, causing his chest to get tight as he was forced to try to breathe through his nose. He started to choke as he took a desperate breath. Water filled his nostrils, adding to the already-cresting amount in his throat. He spat and sputtered, heaving his tired body against the hard tile, punishing himself further. The coughing brought more of his senses alive, and once he’d caught his breath, he pushed himself off the floor enough to remove his sodden shirt. After a few revitalizing breaths, he managed to stand and fully undress.

  Flashes of the scene he’d happened upon last night were impeding his vision and contracting his chest. He shut his eyes as tight as possible as he quickly washed and rinsed himself before turning off the water. Leaning his head against the tile, he forced the image of Shannon stretched out wantonly across Gid’s desk from his mind, only to have it replaced with Gideon’s face this morning. He’d looked uncomfortable and mildly disappointed at finding Seth, the good one, drunk and passed out in a mess of shredded clothes and glass, reeking like whiskey. Thinking of Gideon’s disapproval brou
ght him back to the reason he’d even been in the building last night; his parents. He’d need to call them and apologize.

  Five

  Seth wrapped himself in a fluffy white towel, feeling only marginally better as he made his way to the sink. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he cringed. He had a black eye, and no idea where it’d come from. No wonder Gideon had looked so concerned.

  Seth found himself boiling again at the thought of Gideon. Every time the guy crossed his mind he immediately saw him in shadow, lifting Shannon’s lean legs into the beam of light coming from behind his desk. He had to get out of the building. Out of the city. Away from Gid, and Shannon, and the office.

  His mouth felt even more disgusting than his face looked, so he proceeded to load his toothbrush with toothpaste, shoving it in his mouth and making an attempt to scrub the enamel off his teeth. He rinsed his mouth and spat, wiping it with the hand towel just beside the door as he walked into his office and began searching for his phone.

  He remembered using it the night before at his desk, but when he looked, it was nowhere to be found. He made his way to the couch Gideon had found him on, tightening the towel around his waist as he went, noting that the glass had already been cleaned up. He heard a faint noise, followed it the best he could, and found his phone nestled deeply in the cushions. He had many texts to go through, but he didn’t care. He went into his recent call list, found Aaron’s name, and pushed send.

  The ringing echoed against his skull, leaving it raw. Seth held the phone away from his head to minimize the pain. He sighed when Aaron picked up before the third ring.

  “Gid called this morning. You good?”

  Seth shook his head. “Fucking asshat. He’s such a tattletale.” He rolled his eyes.