Page 1 of Wham, Bam, Marry Me, Ma’am
Chapter 1
Vaughn
"She's crying, Barrett." I wave a dismissive hand at the closed door behind which the weeping woman disappeared.
Barrett clenches his jaw, turning to stare at me incredulously. "Yes. After talking to you for an entire five minutes, she's in tears, Vaughn. Go figure."
"Precisely. That wouldn't work for me. For us." I replace the cap on my pen, leaning toward my brother who seems in need of more information to put two and two together. "I can't have someone bursting into tears every time I look at her."
"Vaughn, she isn't crying because you looked at her. You asked if she had any pets and then when she mentioned her cat, you inquired whether she was particularly attached."
Shrugging, I steeple my fingers together in front of my face. "Sometimes I require my assistant to stay for long hours. If she has a pet to get home to, it will be a problem."
"It's not an appropriate question. You might as well have asked if she has kids or if she wants to see your dick, Vaughn." Barrett glares at me and West burst out laughing.
"Please. I would never date anyone at work. I'm a professional." I roll my eyes.
"Don't waste your breath trying to explain this, Barrett. Vaughn needs to pick who he wants or we'll all be miserable." Weston leans back in his chair with a grin, watching the scene unfold like he doesn't have a care in the world.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, attempting to keep my composure in the face of their condescension.
Looks-wise, we are, without a doubt, all related. Same dark hair and features. And, thanks to sharing a personal trainer, our bodies are all relatively similar in size, although I'm an inch taller than both of my brothers, a fact that gives me immense pleasure.
Personality-wise, however, my brothers are the polar opposite of me. Barrett is the Chief Marketing Officer and everybody loves him. Weston can laugh and joke with people easily, and manages to keep us on board financially as the CFO, even if he does it while acting as if he doesn't have a care in the world. Both my brothers take their jobs seriously, but neither of them understands what is required to keep a company our size afloat. The number of systems required to keep everyone employed. I am not particularlywarm, but I know every single person's name who works for us. I've met them all and I appreciate anyone who values our mission and goals. I genuinely care about making sure our company thrives for the good of the people we work for, as much as for ourselves.
Barrett shakes his head. "No, he's not in charge of picking this one. Vaughn has hired the last four, and they all quit."
"You stole Marcus, so that hardly counts." My dream assistant filched right out from under my nose by my own brother.
"He deserved to get promoted and he's brought in more sales in the last month than we had in all of Q2 last year. It was the right move for the business, and you know it." Barrett glares at me. "You don't get to keep Marcus from success because you have an asshole complex bordering on Rain Man territory."
I rear back, appalled. "I am happy for Marcus. I want to see him succeed as much as anyone. I simply miss him. He was excellent at his job."
West snorts out a laugh. "I've never heard you say you miss me, brother. What gives?"
I bristle. "I'm not an asshole. I'm –"
"–particular," both my brothers finish for me in unison.
Clenching my jaw, I refill my water glass. "Why don't we hire two assistants? I'll pick one, and you two can share one."
Barrett sighs loudly. "Vaughn, we've talked about this. We need one person who can manage all our schedules and our time when we are in the office together. When West and I are traveling, the new assistant is yours, but we need someone who can keep us on track together."
"I don't trust you to pick the new assistant."
"Fine. West is picking for us."
West perks up. "Alright, now we're cooking with fire."
I roll my eyes. "He's going to pick someone unacceptable to fuck with me and we'll be right back here again in a week."
"I will not. I don't like a day of interviews any more than you," West protests.
"No." I shake my head, but Barrett grins at me.
He pulls out a short blue sheet of paper and my stomach drops. "Remember two months ago, we stopped by that smalllittle hole in the wall bar and you bet me they wouldn't have the scotch you wanted?"
I clench my jaw. "This is what you're wasting your win on?"
