Tease Me - Page 164

“It’s over, kitten.” Noah’s dark eyes capture mine. “You’re free. He’s gone.”

The limo stops at the restaurant and I look at the door, suddenly nervous about what may wait for me on the other side. As soon as this hits the news, I’ll need to stay in for probably a week. People will want to talk to me again.

“Is the news out yet?” I ask Blake.

Blake shakes his head. His green eyes search mine. “No, the family has asked to keep it under wraps until they explain it to the children.”

Relief flows through me. “Then it’s done. He lived rent free in my head for months and I’m done with it. I’m not happy he’s dead, but I’m glad to be free of the burden of him. I’m glad to finally escape him.”

“Do you still want to go out to dinner, princess?” Seth tips my chin his way.

“Yes, boss. I want one night where I don’t have to worry about the man that terrorized me. I want to celebrate that Coop is whole again and only a scar remains of his bullet wound. I want to enjoy all my men. But first I want to go out with the men I love.”

Seth rubs his thumb along my jaw. “Anything for you.”

When we walk into the restaurant, eyes turn to us. My four handsome men and me. Each of them touches me in some small way as we make our way to our table. There’s a slight delay as they determine who gets to sit where.

I just shake my head as Noah and Seth sit beside me. We order our food and talk about work for a few minutes. It’s not uncommon. Work is kind of the center of our world.

“This is a date. Not a business meal,” Seth finally interrupts. “We’re more than Morrigan Technology Group.”

Blake chuckles. “Work has consumed us since college. It’s hard to shift gears, especially when the woman we love works with us.”

“That’s something I want to talk about.” I clear my throat as they all look at me with questioning eyes. I’ve been hesitating to bring this up, but now seems like a good time.

“You’re not allowed to quit, tiger.” Blake leans back in his chair as his green eyes lock on me.

“No, I’m not quitting, but we need to discuss the future. This job was always supposed to be a stepping stone. A leg up in the business world. I love you and will always stay with you as your girlfriend, but to achieve what I want to in my career, I will eventually need to move on from Morrigan Technology.”

Seth nods. We’ve talked about this in our weekly meetings. He likes to touch base on where I’m at, what I’m learning, where I think I need to learn more. He also has me stripped naked while doing it, but it works for us.

“I want to run a business.”

“You can help us run Morrigan.” Blake arches an eyebrow.

I smile softly and shake my head. “Morrigan is your dream and baby. Not mine.”

“What do you want to do, kitten?” Noah takes my hand on the table and squeezes it.

“I don’t know yet, but I want to explore some. I’m not leaving tomorrow, but a year or two at Morrigan will be enough to launch me into the next phase of my career.” I focus on Blake because he seems determined to keep me there.

“Whatever you want to do, we’ll support you. If you want, I’ll buy you a business.” Coop flashes me a grin.

“And I appreciate that, but I think I want to do it on my own.” I blush. “Well, not entirely on my own. I have friends who will help me. Maybe we’ll find an established business or start one from scratch. But we want it to be ours.”

“I can appreciate that.” Blake blows out a breath. “I just hate having to train a new assistant.”

My eyebrow rises. “About that.”

Blake clears his throat. “I’m not talking about training my assistant. You’re our girl. We’re not replacing you for that.”

“I know.” I cross my legs. “But maybe you guys hire a guy assistant when the time comes?”

I look around at them. Coop smirks.

“Probably. We wouldn’t want anyone to assume we have a contract with the new assistant as well.” Coop leans on his elbows. “You know, sweetheart, if you’d sat next to me, I would have made you come at least twice by now.”

My body heats. Coop loves to play in public. I like it too. That risk of getting caught fires something naughty in my brain. Coop is usually very discreet, and I know he’ll take care of whatever comes of it if we get caught.