“So knowing them makes you not want to work with them?” he asked.
“It’s not that,” I replied. “They’re great guys, but with their heads in the wrong places. I’ve found myself wrapped up in their personal drama over a girl that left them some time back. They act like children and fight constantly. So, I have to decline your offer.”
He sat in his chair behind the desk and sighed.
“They’re a handful. I’ll give you that,” he said.
I took a seat in the chair opposite him and tried to avoid looking too nervous.
“So you’re sure that you want to turn down an offer like this?” he asked.
I picked up the pages again, looking at the absurd amount of money he wanted to offer me for the job. But I knew what would come with it.
“Think about it. You could be there to guide them. You could make sure they don’t fall apart and bicker like they do,” he added.
I shoved the paper away and stood back up.
“Sir,” I started, “there’s no amount of money in the world you could pay me to be a babysitter to those two.”
I turned around to leave and then stopped in place. Adam and Zach had snuck in without me being aware. There was a pit in my stomach and I just wanted to be anywhere but here.
“Babysitter,” Adam said.
“I thought you were just going to be our accountant,” Zach added.
I started walking toward the elevator as confidently as I could.
“As I told you earlier, I can’t be that close to you two. I thought I had found a couple of men, but instead I met a couple of boys. Maybe if you two grew up, I would find my way back. For now, I have something better in mind.”
I clicked the elevator button, leaving them once again in silence. I hated feeling like the bad guy, but that was the only way they would take me seriously.
They had both played me over the last couple days, and even though I was absurdly physically attracted to both of them, I couldn’t see past their faults. Adam was a wonderful lover, while Zach was a truly compassionate and caring man. But I couldn’t handle the two of them together.
I needed to find my own path.
8.
I didn’t talk to them much over the following six months. My mother and Tom continued to stay in touch while on their honeymoon. In fact, they took an extended vacation and were gone for almost three months. If only I were so lucky as to take a vacation longer than a week.
After a month of soul searching, I finally figured out what I liked to do. I was good with numbers, and I wanted to share that gift with everyone who needed it, so I started my own free accounting service. The money wasn’t the best, but I always had to stay afloat, mostly due to my mother.
Then, one afternoon, the twins found me.
“Hey, Liz,” Adam said.
Zach just stood like a professional and waited.
“Hey, guys,” I replied. “To what do I owe this surprise?”
Zach pulled an envelope from his breast pocket and handed it to me without a word.
“This is for you, from the two of us,” Adam said.
I opened the envelope, pulling out a single check with more zeroes than I had ever seen before. I looked back at them, puzzled.
“You’re our sister, and after we heard you started your own company, we thought we’d provide you with some seed money.”
I pushed the check back into the envelope.
“I don’t need it,” I said.
Adam pushed back.
“Listen to what we have to say first,” he replied.
I crossed my arms and waited.
“You told us what we needed to hear. We really were acting like children. We’d been like that since we were young, so it was only natural that we continued into our adult years. But then you called us on it. At first we just laughed it off, but over the last few months we reconciled and have bonded again. Really, we have.”
I laughed. “You expect me to believe that?”
“We do,” Zach said.
I pulled out the check and looked at it again. It would set me up for life if I invested it properly, which was a hard thing to even consider turning down.
“Where did you get this money?” I asked.
“We raised it,” Adam said. “Smart investments always pay off.”
Tears started to well in the corner of my eyes. I didn’t know if what they were telling me was true, but I wanted to believe it.
I raised my arms and brought them in for a group hug.
“You know, the money is great and all, but why didn’t you guys ever visit?” I asked.
“I thought you hated us. I thought you were waiting for us to come up with a grand gesture to win back your approval,” Zach said.
“You left us pretty broken up when you left,” Adam added.
I laughed uncontrollably, and they both stared at me quizzically.
“You guys really are idiots. We’re family, and family is supposed to stick together. Maybe you still have a lesson to learn after all.”
We all laughed heartily that afternoon. I still loved them, but not as lovers. I loved them as the brothers they had become.
*****
THE END