Spare Room (The Trouble With Triads Book 1) by E.M. Denning

Author:E.M. Denning [Denning, E.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paper Gold Publishing
Published: 2021-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

16

Ben

Something touched Ben’s arm, making him jump.

“Ben.”

He turned and gave Maggie a sheepish smile. “Hi. Sorry. What?”

She smiled at him. “Someone’s off in La La Land. What’s going on?”

Maggie was an employee, but after working together they’d become close friends. She was there for Ben when Eric left, and she danced with both him and Tristan at their wedding.

“You’re going to think I’ve lost my mind.”

“Try me. My baby sister is a drama major. I’m familiar with people doing outlandish things.”

Ben took a breath and gave her a pointed look. “Do you remember when Tristan’s ex had that apartment fire, and we took him in.”

Maggie narrowed her eyes, immediately suspicious. “Yeah.”

“We’re sort of, well, Tristan and I… we’re dating him now.”

Maggie’s face lit up, then came crashing down. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Tristan’s ex-boyfriend is your new boyfriend? And you’re okay with this?”

“It wasn’t Tristan’s idea, not completely.” He wasn’t sure he was ready to articulate why he felt attracted to Alex or why he sensed a connection to him. “Do you think we’re insane?” Ben bit his lip.

“Benji, sweetheart, there’s nothing wrong with wanting people, even your husband’s ex. Is it what people normally do? No. But that doesn’t make it wrong.”

Maggie was wise beyond her years, not that he’d ever tell her that. Instead, he told her, “You know you’re the only person who calls me Benji.”

“I know,” she grinned.

“Benji is a dog’s name.”

Her grin widened. “I know. I had a dog named Benji once. He was this cute little puff ball. Loyal to the end, sort of like you.”

Ben frowned. “Do you mean loyal like me, or cute and fluffy like me?”

Maggie’s eyes sparkled. “Yes.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“Seriously, what are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you be hanging with your husband and your new boyfriend? You pay me to work, Ben, so go away and let me earn my money.”

“Man, you’re bossy.”

Maggie straightened her spine and rolled her shoulders back, adding a full inch to her barely five foot tall stature. “I’m not bossy. I have leadership skills, Ben.”

“Noted.”

“Now get out of here. How can I flirt with all the cute customers if you’re looming over me?”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“The word is amazing.”

“An amazing pain in my ass.”

Maggie beamed at him. “Thanks. I try.”

“No Christmas bonus for you.” Ben said as he walked back to his office to shut his computer down and grab his jacket. Maggie’s laughter followed him and when he came back out, she gave him a pointed look.

“You better not turn into Scrooge.” Maggie warned playfully.

“I’m not afraid of ghosts.”

“But are you afraid of teenage girls? I have sisters, Benji. All younger than me. And do you know how many friends those girls have? You’d never sleep again.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.”

“Hell hath no fury like an army of teenage girls. Think of them as pack animals, Ben. If you cut one of us, we all bleed.”

“You are a frightening person, Maggie.”

Maggie waggled her fingers at him. “Bye, Benji. Give Tristan a kiss for me.”

Ben said goodbye and made a quiet mental note to pad her Christmas bonus this year, just in case.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.