“It looked like it to me,” Terrance said as he stepped forward.
“Those are pretty serious accusations,” another board member came over to us.
I tugged on Drake to set me down. I was tired, I was hungry, and I was cold, but I felt at a disadvantage. At the look of hurt on Drake’s face, I quickly grabbed his arms and wrapped his arms around me. I no longer wanted to be held, but I needed his strength.
“Well it’s a good thing we have monitors and cameras on the course,” Will said resolutely.
The female board member I had never met, gasped. “Why would there be cameras on the course? That’s an invasion of their privacy.”
She was tall and almost resembled a bird in her fragile appearance, with a pointed nose and chin. Her hair was jet black and was cut severely to her chin, not a perfect strand was out of place. Her best features were her sapphire blue eyes. I didn’t like the feeling I got around her.
“Ms. Bullock, when they signed their contracts, they were made aware of the possibility of us recording them while on the facility or on a job, for training purposes. Why wouldn’t we record it to learn everyone’s strengths and weaknesses for mission readiness?” Will said patiently, but I could see the annoyance in his eyes.
“But you didn’t tell them they were being recorded today,” Ms. Bullock argued. “Don’t you think that’s an invasion of their privacy? We had monitors out there. Wasn’t that enough?”
Steven narrowed his gaze on her. “Why are you so opposed to this? When you have never had an issue with it in the past. Are you hiding something? Do you know something we don’t?”
Ms. Bullock pulled herself to her full height. “No! This is ridiculous. Is this what we’ve become?” she asked before storming off.
“And that is a lie,” I heard Rachel murmur to Will and Steven.
Out of good sportsmanship, we decided to wait for all the other teams to come back in. They tried to convince me to go home, but I refused to leave. If Rose did this to me, and I suspected she did, I wasn’t going to let her run me off that easily.
The rain had started to come down in sheets. Will had erected tents and ushered us under one of them. Blankets were brought out and distributed. Jace had hunted down some towels for Drake and me.
I was glad they had the forethought to have food catered in. They had ordered food from the We 7 down the street. Remy had his General Manager pick a menu and deliver it to the facility. I found myself huddled on the ground, picnic style, between Drake and Troy. I leaned my head against Drake as I ate my wild mushroom and chicken penne. Once my stomach was full, I found my eyes wanted to close, but I could also feel my other appetite rising.
I began stroking Drakes leg. I could feel the guilt in him. The fear he had felt. I tried to rise my empath barriers, but I couldn’t. I had once been very sensitive to Drake’s feelings. I had always felt his pain, anxiety, and desolation, until I learned how to build my barriers against it. I waited until he was done his food, before I crawled into his lap.
I know he was shocked by my behavior. Other than the other night, I had never initiated our interactions. I never wanted to rush him, but he was my connected and I knew I had to reassure him.
“It’s not your fault,” I murmured against his neck.
He tightened his arms around me and arranged my blanket around us. “She used to be my girlfriend, and I know…it was her attacking you today. If she wasn’t carrying my child, possibly, I would have already called the cops on her.
“She keeps calling me, texting me, showing up at my job. I loved her once, but any residual feelings I have for her are long dead. She’s driven me away. I don’t know how to proceed. If she is carrying my child, I don’t want to give her any ammo to take my child away from me.
“Now she’s targeting you, and it’s tearing me apart. I want to protect you. I want to be with you, but she’s still between us. I can’t wait to find out if this baby is mine or not.”
I kissed the side of his neck. “You’re my connection. You’re my forever. She can’t drive me away. Let her crazy ass try.”
He sighed and pulled me in closer. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll wake you up when the last team gets in.”
I stroked his inner thigh and felt him tense up as he hissed a breath out. “I don’t want to sleep.” I said petulantly.
“I wish I could have you right now,” he groaned in my ear, his voice sounding pained. “But you need your sleep right now.”
Troy pulled my feet into his lap and slid in closer to us.
I started to mumble another protest but the warm cocoon of Drake’s embrace, the blankets draped around me, Troy rubbing my feet, and the rain falling on the tarped roof, lulled me to sleep.
I woke up when I was being loaded into the vehicle. Troy slid over on the bench seat and helped me in the truck.
“Is everyone done?” I asked drowsily as I yawned and leaned into him.
Troy chuckled. “The last team came in two hours after we did.”
“What happened to the meeting?” I asked sitting up suddenly.
Jace turned from the front seat. “Will and Steven called a change on the play. Terrance’s team is picking up the kids. Dad and Steven are pulling all the tapes and bringing them to our house. Beth and Cora are meeting us there. We’re going to have Micah and Patrick mind the younger kids. Gavin and Jemmy are picking up Japanese. The meeting is moving to our house. After today’s events and some of the board members responses, we have to make sure our rescue mission goes off without a hitch.”
“Sushi?” I asked hopefully.
Remy chuckled from the front seat. “After all that, all you heard was food?”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “I heard everything, but I’m starving.”
“Don’t stick that out, unless you plan to use it,” Remy challenged me, raising an eyebrow at me from the review mirror.
“You know, I used a lot of my gifts today, so I may very well use it…later,” I said coyly.
There was a collective groan in the truck. “You’re going to kill us, Blake,” Troy muttered.
“Good,” I replied smugly. “Just want to keep you on your toes.”
I had time to take a hot shower when we got home. I came out of my bathroom and noticed a few sweatshirts, sweat pants, and tshirts lying on my bed. I giggled. The guys had given me some of their favorite articles of clothing.
They always were sharp dressers. Especially when we were out in public. I felt like they almost had dual personalities like their clothing. They seemed formidable and untouchable when they were out in public. They wore their button up shirts, polos, and nice slacks. At home, they were more laid-back, relaxed, and their barriers were down. That’s when the ‘comfy’ clothes came out.