"I'm sorry," Elliot said in disbelief. "You want to what?"
"I'd like to be included on a date with you and Kate," Eric explained, his patience wearing thin.
"Newsflash, little brother. If you're there it won't be a date."
Eric sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Elliot—" Eric stopped when he realized Elliot was gaping at him. "What?"
"Are you…lonely?" he asked as a wide grin spread across his face.
"Of course not," Eric answered, but he wasn't entirely sure he was being truthful. "I've just never dated anyone before."
"You've had your share of women," Elliot pointed out.
"Exactly. I've had my share of women. Have you ever seen me on a date?"
"No," Elliot bit out. "And unlike you, apparently, I don't want to. I—what prompted this?"
"You know me. I like to expand my horizons."
"Bull shit," Elliot shot back. "This is about Ana."
Even as Eric opened his mouth, he knew his brother would see right through him, so he snapped his jaw shut again.
"She's gotten to you," Elliot said in astonishment.
Eric didn't say anything, but he could feel his jaw begin to tick. Was he that transparent? And why did it bother him so much that he was? "She hasn't 'gotten' to me," he bit out.
"She sure as hell has," Elliot argued.
Eric sighed. "About this date—"
"You've already been on a date with us," Elliot reminded him.
"Elliot, I was sitting across the table from you beside the woman who, according to you, has 'gotten' to me. Do you really think I was paying any attention to you and Kate?" he asked dryly.
"Probably not since you were feeling her up," Elliot conceded as he crossed his arms over his chest and quirked a brow at his brother. "And considering the second time you and Ana were on a date with us you fucked her in the coat room, I'm guessing you weren't paying any attention to us then either."
Eric's eyes widened. "How in the fuck did you find out about the coat room?" he asked incredulously. It was a detail he hadn't shared with his brother and had never planned to. It was obvious Ana had been mortified by the whole ordeal, and he wanted spare her any further humiliation.
"Ana accidentally told Kate," Elliot admitted. "Let me tell you…it was a sobering thought; I've never seen you lose control before."
"And you never will again," Eric growled as he remembered the look in her eyes when she'd realized what they'd done.
"Of course, it does bring to light why you need to learn how to date." Elliot clapped Eric on the back and chuckled. "Dating 101—if you're gonna bang anyone in the coat room—it should probably be the woman you showed up with."
"Did it occur to you not to sign the contract?" Kate asked as she broke up some angel hair pasta and dropped into the boiling water.
"Yes," Ana admitted as she popped a chunk of the tomato she was chopping into her mouth and began to chew. "But when I was able to speak to him alone—Kate, everything he was doing made good business sense."
"It doesn't change the fact that he manipulated your situation to get you to work for him," Kate pointed out.
"No, it doesn't," Ana agreed.
"This was your chance to break away from him. Isn't that what you wanted?" Kate pressed.
"I thought so," Ana said, picking up a handful of tomato chunks and tossing them into the salad bowl. "But then he started talking about his employees, and how what happened to them depended on him, and—oh, Kate. I bought the whole thing and couldn't sign fast enough."
"So you don't think he was sincere?"
"I think he was sincere," Ana said firmly. "I just think that…he can't resist the fact that I don't want him, and I don't know what he's going to do next."
"But you're excited to find out," Kate said knowingly.
Ana sighed. "I'm just…thinking maybe he's not as shallow as I thought. Maybe there's more to him."
"Don't fall for him, Ana. No good can come from falling for your boss. Trust me—I tried that once," Kate informed her. "It didn't end well."
"I'm not going to fall for him, Kate. I'll probably never even see him. I mean—how much time is he actually going to spend at The Lux. I'm sure he has more important things to do than spend every waking moment by my side."
Ana hadn't believed the words when she'd spoken them, but in the month she'd been working for Eric, she'd seem him only twice. After attending two staff meetings run by Callie, Ana had led the next two. Eric had been in attendance both times and to her surprise, he'd met with her after the first one, offering her encouragement on what she'd done well and providing her with feedback on what needed improvement. He'd been courteous and professional, and she'd begun to think he'd forgotten about her altogether.
After an exhausting work week, there was nothing Ana wanted more than to go home, put on sweatpants and a t-shirt, and curl up on the couch in front of the television. And when she arrived home at six-thirty, that's exactly what she did.
When her phone beeped at seven to indicate a text message, she reached forward, her eyes glued to the television, and glanced down.
Text message from KK.
She slid the button on the bottom of her screen, and Ana laughed when Kate's message popped up before her eyes.
Someone needs to start fucking your boss. He's cramping my style.
With a grin, Ana's hands flew over the touch screen. Kate had been grumbling for the past week how Elliot had been inviting Eric wherever they went. Though she'd never admit it, it needled her a bit that Kate was seeing him more than she was. Have at him. I'm not allowed to, remember?
It was less than thirty seconds before her phone beeped again. It was falling that I forbade. Fucking is permitted. Say in…an hour or so?
Sorry. I'm in for the night. Ana tossed her phone back on the coffee table and was settling into the cushions again when her phone started ringing. She snagged it back up.
"Now I see why you don't like him," Kate snapped before she could utter a word.
"Hello to you, too," Ana said with a laugh. "And I never said I didn't like him."
"Good," Kate said. "Then you'll have no problem joining us for dinner tonight."
"Kate—"
"It's been a month since I've been out on a date alone with Elliot, Ana! I feel like I'm dating my boyfriend and his brother. That's just weird, because it means one of my dates took my best friend's virginity!"
"Kate, it can't be that bad."
"I don't know what the hell is going on, but Eric listens intently to everything we say, and I swear to God he is taking notes on his cell phone, Ana!"
Ana laughed. "He's probably just texting someone about work."
"Really? Because sometimes he asks me to repeat what I just said," Kate remarked dryly. "And then…before we leave wherever it is we are, we 'summarize' the evening. His words."
"That does sound a little odd," Ana conceded.
"So you'll come?"
"Kate, I'm in sweats."
"I can stall until eight," Kate informed her, preying upon the fact that her friend hadn't said no. "That means we won't get to the restaurant until eight-thirty. It should give you plenty of time to change since it'll only take you fifteen minutes to get there."
"Kate—"
"Ana, I am begging you."
Though she wished she didn't, Ana did want to see Eric again. Maybe if she wasn't so focused on what his hands and other key parts of his anatomy could do to her, she'd be able to manage decent conversation and learn a bit more about him. The idea was too tempting to resist.
"I'll see you at eight-thirty."