Free A Firm Merger by Stephanie Ganon Page B

isn’t as fun as yours, Emily. In fact, Nick and I ran into each other right before the conference this morning. We got to talking and began to compare notes. That’s when we discovered that you like to have more fun than the average woman.”
    Oh. My. God. She would have laughed if she hadn’t been so completely floored. This was a joke, right? How many times did the thing you feared most really happen? Why would they have talked about her--especially after she’d made both of them promise to keep their relationship a secret? Seriously, which one of them had thought that was a good idea?
    “What’s the matter, Em?” Nick popped a maraschino cherry into his mouth and chewed. “Damn, that’s good.”
    “Nothing,” she whispered. Nothing other than the fact that her secret was out and she’d not had a chance to tell them on her own terms. But what did that matter now? She’d been seeing them both and had known they would discover her duplicity. She thought it almost fitting that the uncovering had been taken out of her hands. She’d been rendered powerless when at one time she believed she held all the cards.
    Relief flooded her system. What she had mistaken for power had in reality weakened her. She had no business playing with these men’s feelings. She’d had her feelings trampled on enough in the past to understand the fallout. “I--I’m truly sorry,” she said. “I never meant for either of you to find out this way.”
    William’s quiet reserve was somehow worse than the angry outburst she’d expected. “You should have told me, Emily,” he said softly. “Is he the reason you didn’t want to take the next step?”
    “Nah, I doubt that, my man. Emily played the same game with me. I think she just likes the all-you-can-eat buffet.”
    His words hit her like a slap. “It wasn’t a game for me.”
    “And somehow I still feel played.” Nick snarled, his expression no longer so jovial. “You’ve been playing me for a fool for months. What--you don’t expect me to have an opinion about that? Am I not allowed to feel something about it? Or are you the only one who gets a say?”
    “There’s no excuse for what I did.” She sighed and stood. Her legs were shaky, like they wanted to give out and send her to the floor. “I liked you both. As time passed, I knew I should make a decision, but it was too hard. I was cowardly, always coming up with an excuse to keep you both in my life.” She exhaled sharply. “Even after I knew it was wrong and both of you admitted to wanting more, I couldn’t stop myself.”
    William nodded. “I appreciate your honesty, Em. Except ... none of that changes the way I feel right now. I can only speak for myself, but so much was made clear when I learned you’ve been seeing Nick this whole time.”
    She ran trembling fingers over her damp eyes. “That’s why I asked you both up here today. I wanted to attempt to explain my side to you, plead my case, as weak as it is.”
    Nick glared. “I doubt the speech you prepared would have made any difference, counselor.”
    Numb, Emily lifted her drink, draining the glass. “How did it happen?” she asked, reaching for the vodka. “I mean, who told who what to whom ... or whatever.”
    William grinned without humor as Nick took the seat across from him. “Nick and I bumped into each other in front of the hotel. We started talking business--”
    “William wanted to hammer me about wheedling my way onto the Stainer account,” Nick interjected.
    William rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I thought it was a dick-ish move, and I wanted you to know about it.”
    Dick-ish move? That didn’t sound like William at all. How long had they talked?
    “Anyway, things got a little heated. I decided to walk away, come and find you and maybe grab a quick bite before the conference. When I mentioned my plans, Nick said--”
    “I told Willie here that if you were going to be eating with anyone, it would be me. Then he got all red in the