Almost Fired by the Cowboy - Natalie Dean Page 0,55

motions as he dried off, put on evening loungewear, and left his room. Eventually, he found himself in the twins’ wing. Theirs was actually the smallest out of the whole family, after having switched with Simon in his senior year of high school.

It wasn’t hard to find them in their gym, laying out on the mats and bouncing a ball off the ceiling back and forth to each other. They weren’t even talking, just communicating in that silent way of theirs. For a moment, Sal allowed himself to be jealous of their closeness. All of the brothers had drifted with age, that much was obvious, but the twins had always had each other. Two sides of the same coin, at least they would never truly be alone.

“Hey,” he said as he opened the door. Silas tipped his head back to look at him while Sterling sat all the way up. They clearly hadn’t been expecting him, but Sal hadn’t exactly planned his trek out either.

“Hey, Sal, what’s up?”

For just a breath, he entertained the idea of turning around and leaving them mystified. He hated admitting his mistake in front of people, if only because they were usually used against him later. But what choice did he have? He needed help.

“I’ve done something wrong and I don’t know how to fix it. Or if it can even be fixed.”

The two exchanged a look, doing that twin-talk thing again, before Sterling gestured his hand for Sal to take a seat beside them. “We’re happy to listen. Come have a seat.”

Sal took the offer, settling next to them. It was almost like back in high school, when he would come to them with girl problems or needing help with homework. How long had it been since he’d trusted them enough to be vulnerable in front of them?

It felt like a whole age. He was uncomfortable and his pride was outright spitting, but he put that all aside and began to explain.

19

Nova

Nova was going to lose her job.

She was sure of it, so sure of it that she had been pacing her apartment for hours, working herself into a tizzy, and wondering if she should start to apply for jobs. Or maybe she should apply for unemployment and skip town so she didn’t have to worry about repercussions for striking a billionaire for the second time.

She was screwed. She was so monumentally screwed.

Her mother always said she didn’t think—that she was so sure of what was right and wrong that she didn’t stop and think about what was best. And nowhere on the best list was slapping her employer across the face.

But she also knew that it wasn’t wrong of her to defend herself. That he had no right to kiss her. That had been rude, it had been invasive, and it made her feel… weak.

Nova hated feeling weak.

Yet, at the same time, she was struggling internally. She was very attracted to Sal. From his thick hair to his blazing green eyes, to his stubborn chin and to that ridiculously jacked body of his. But it was more than just his looks. He was funny. He was clearly a mama’s boy in a cute way, not a creepy way. He was lost, like her, just wanted to be accepted and loved, like her. He was gentle and patient and a great listener.

He also had a lot of issues to work through. Big ol’ red flag issues.

And it was arrogant to think she could be some sort of leader for him. She couldn’t be a “guiding light” and also an employee of his family and also mack on him like a lovesick high schooler. Not to mention that he was older than her, richer than her, and bigger than her.

Nova was a smart girl. She knew that all of those things were risks. Sure, not all men were predators. Heck, she’d even go out on a limb and say that most of them weren’t. But the trouble was there was no way to know who was who until she was put into a vulnerable situation, and well, if Sal hadn’t just put her right into one.

Thank goodness it was Friday, at least. She spent the weekend hiding in her home, sure at any time her phone would ring, or a knock would sound at her door and that would be that. She would be happy if she was just fired. Anxieties and terrors about him showing up at her home, or sending a threatening letter