Page 11 of Room Thirty: Perfect Little Doll

“Got it,” Carey muttered, putting in her order and then setting his phone on top of his desk, “I should go talk to her.”

“Not if you’re going to be a dick,” Fox bluntly said. I agreed by nodding.

“I’m not an idiot, Fox,” he groaned.

“Could have fooled me,” Fox responded. I watched as Carey stepped toward him, and I stood and got between them.

“This is stupid!” My hand rubbed my face before I sighed. “We need to make a move. A bigger one, and fast.” Fox’ blue eyes flashed with something, and my brow rose. “What? You have an idea?”

“I do. But I don’t know how much you’ll like it.” I turned to look at Carey. He seemed as intrigued as I was.

“Let’s hear it.” Carey took the words from my mouth. Fox’ sly smile didn’t put me at ease. And in the end, he’d been right. I didn’t like it, but I was more than okay with it.

Anything to get the damn ball rolling and got the four of us to Club Sin in New Orleans. The sooner, the better.

Carey

I’d fuckedup by pulling Serena away from her lunch with her friend.

In the moment, I couldn’t see past my own selfish need of needing her close to me. Needing her within reach. But I was man enough to admit when I screwed up. I wanted to be the one to take care of her.

Watch and protect her.

But I was doing a shit job.

Because of me, she had gone hungry. I felt like the world’s biggest jerk. Ronan and Fox were not shy about letting me know they agreed that I was just that. I left to meet up with the delivery guy down at the lobby of the building then snuck back. Quietly setting up a spread with all her favorites in my office.

Fox’ plan, as crazy and risky as it was, held merit.

He’d proposed we each have a moment with her. If at any time she resisted our advances, we pulled the plug. My control of keeping my hands to myself had shattered after seeing that damn Post-It on her desk.

Lunch date.

I frowned, shaking my head. The only lunch dates she should be going on should be with one of the three of us, or all of us.No one else.I exhaled slowly.Calm the fuck down!I yelled at myself. I couldn’t become a controlling asshole. I’d seen what that did to a relationship.

For a moment, the past caught up to me. I stared at Serena through the screen on my phone. The security camera was aimed right at her without her knowledge as she typed out an email. She stopped and looked toward our offices. Each door was closed for our own reasons. I swallowed hard. A buzzing started in my ears as I remembered the reason I had never wanted anyone for myself.

What if I become like my father?

He was a mean son of a bitch to my mom. Controlling wasn’t a big enough word for the way he kept her under his thumb. The man was obsessed, much like I was. But he was abusive, too.

That’s not what you want to do,a voice of reason whispered in my ear, and my eyes shut as I breathed in deep. The scent of Mediterranean food filled my lungs, and I exhaled slowly just as my own stomach started to grumble. I didn’t want to control Serena. I wanted to cherish her. Spoil and protect her. Love her until the day I died. I’d fucked up and gone about it the wrong way. A text pinged, and I rolled my eyes at the sight.

Fox: What’s taking you so long? Are you going to call her in and make sure she eats, or do I have to take her out?

Me: Fuck you. I got it.

I hitSendand stood. Shoving the phone into the pocket of my dress jacket.

“You can do this. Don’t fuck up… again,” I muttered to myself. I sucked at pep talks.

I walked toward the door of my office and opened it. Not two seconds later did I feel her eyes on mine. Knowing she was so in tune with us and our movements made me feel better. She wanted us. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones.

“Mr.—” she started to say. My shoulders slumped forward with defeat. Fuck! Maybe I had set us back more than I thought if she was calling me Mr. Monroe again. “Carey,” she corrected herself, unknowingly giving my heart a double dose of hope. “Do you need me?” Fuck, she had no idea what a fucking loaded question that was.

“Yes,” I rasped. “I need you,” I admitted, not that she understood just how much I meant it.

“Of course.” She stood, grabbed her iPad, and started making her way toward me. I opened the door wide enough for her to slip in but, because I was a greedy bastard, made sure she brushed up against me. I didn’t miss the way she stopped and looked at me from over her shoulder.