Life Changers Ch. 04

"It's, uh, it's just a business thing." He moved to the door. "I need to go to the office. Will you be all right for a few minutes on your own?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Ella watched him moved to the door, still engrossed in the document in his hand.

She snapped. "Connor, what kind of business do you have with your ex-wife?"

Halting his retreat, he looked over his shoulder until he met her gaze. She wanted him to throw some offensive comment back at her but he simply shook his head and left her alone. Her temper exploded as she began pacing through the room. She wanted to throw something, scream and shred the packages that had excited her only moments ago. Now they lay there almost mocking her gullibility.

In a rage, she lifted one bag and tore it open. As the white silk robe slipped over her fingers, the sensations she had searched for earlier saved her from insanity. Scott had selected this item. Having seen the choices Ryan had placed in her online cart, she knew that this robe had more material than everything he had selected put together.

Thinking of Scott cooled her temper. The two brothers would be home tomorrow and, while Ryan would tease and excite her, Scott would manage to keep her calm and explain the things she did not understand. Things like why the hell was Gloria still contacting Connor? Why did he refer to her as a business thing? And why was she still Gloria Montgomery?

Scott would ground her. Ryan would make her laugh. She needed both men right now but would have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, she would attempt to refrain from asking Connor questions that he was unwilling to answer.

Feeling less irritated, Ella opened the remaining packages until her bed was covered with clothes and the floor was littered with trash. She wondered what the two men had been thinking when they were selecting the items. She wondered what they were thinking about now. She wondered if they had any clue that she had agreed to their proposal.

With a blush, she considered a variety of ways she could greet them when they returned home and announce her big decision. Then she remembered the phone they had given her and decided that she would tell them now. Her skin tingled with excitement when she considered their responses. If only she could remember where she had left the damn thing.

Hurrying to the kitchen, she was relieved to find it still on the counter. She scrolled through the messages and paused before choosing a name. Ryan would be happy, naughty, funny and cute. Scott would be kind. Without further delay, she chose Scott. Kindness would heal the hurt she was feeling. Humor would be the finishing touch to make her forget it.

Hey, Scott. Hope you're not busy. Not sure if you know yet

She accidentally hit 'Send,' groaned and hurriedly tried to type another message. Leave it to her to try to inform a lover that she had agreed to become his lover and end up sending a message that could be interpreted as an emergency.

That you said yes? I've not been able to concentrate since Connor told us. Pretty sure this banker thinks English is my second language.

Stomping her foot, she read the message again. Connor had told them even after he had denied doing so. She read it again. He was happy just as she should be, and she was, or would be after she was given a chance to slap Connor and scalp his ex.

Are you ok Ella? C told me he had to leave in a hurry.

"I don't want to talk about C," she snapped at the phone in her hand. "Damn, I'm crazy."

I'm great. Excited to see you.

She stared at the silent phone, wondering if he was busy with work or talking with Connor.

FYI...C is taking the kids to Mom's tomorrow. Get ready to prove just how excited you really are.

Nervousness seized her for a moment. She had agreed and now she was facing the moment of truth.

To be with you and Ryan?

"I can do this. I can do this," she repeated as she inhaled and exhaled slowly. "I want to do this."

To be with me! Fuck Ryan...not literally...well, not yet. He can stand at the door and whine like a puppy, but tomorrow...

YOU'RE MINE!!

Cradling the phone in both hands, she smiled at his words. Oh yeah, she had no regrets texting him first.

Can't wait. I know you're probably busy and I should tell Ryan too but first, thank you for the beautiful clothes. Connor said you chose them for me.

1. I'm bored listening to an asshole tell me how valuable he is to the bank because of his high repossession and foreclosure numbers. This deal will be our best yet.

2. Tell Ry but don't get upset if doesn't react the way you'd expect. C just ripped him a new one so the healing process has yet to begin.

3. You're very welcome, sweet Ella. You'll make them beautiful. I bet C had more to say about it too. I know the Neanderthal well.

Forget C. He is a Neanderthal, but why did he rip Ryan?

The same reason he left you just now. It's just business.

Seriously? What's with the secrecy?

She stared at the phone, impatient for his explanation. Reading her text again, she cringed at the tone of her words. Only a few hours in and she was already nagging. Typing a quick apology, she paused when she read the next message.

Not a secret, baby. Just details. Explain better in person.

Sorry for the tone.

You've got teeth. Don't say sry. Shit, gotta go.

Scrolling through the texts, she smiled as she imagined him trying to work and appease a wailing woman. Yeah, she should be embarrassed, but instead, she felt comforted. With a tap on the screen, she moved to the list and was about to select Ryan's name when a new message opened. Connor was joining the party.

Sorry about leaving like I did. Mom can help w kids if you need her. C

No prob. Will check on boys in a minute. Invite Jack and Margie for dinner. Maybe she can watch kids while I figure out a menu. Any suggestions?

Surprise me.

Tempted to respond with suggestions of various poison, Ella decided to leave the conversation altogether. Whatever had happened, Connor had apologized, and Scott appeared to justify his brother. Finding Ryan's name, she sat on the bench hoping that he would be able to talk with her.

Hey you.

Damn woman. I was beginning to think you had forgotten me.

Forget you? Hell no! Save the best for last.

Sending a screenshot of that to bros as we speak.

Uh...I'm still here alone with one so let's not wake a sleeping grizzly.

She laughed at her text and waited for Ryan to respond. As she continued waiting, she reminded herself that she was on vacation. Her men were not.

Baby, are you ok? Connor told me how he left. It's my fault.

Oh, I'm fine. Surprised. He said sorry. All is good.

And everything else?

Did everything else include everything or was it a vague question? Before she could ask, he clarified.

He told us about last night and that he's been walking on eggshells all day. Almost pissed myself laughing at him.

I guess I'm fortunate that pictures weren't taken and shared.

Well...

WHAT?!?

Calm down. It was one of you with the boys. What are you wearing?

His shirt.

If I can get an earlier flight out of this hellhole, I'll be home ASAP.

Scott had threatened to lock Ryan out of the room and now Ryan was trying to change his flight. So, this is what it felt like to be the shiny new toy. Either way, her tomorrow was sure to be exciting.

Did your deal close?

Not yet. 5pm Denver time.

Ella blinked at his text several times. He was in Denver. Gloria was in Denver. The envelope had been sent from a Denver address. Scott had blamed Ryan for whatever was in that envelope that had disturbed Connor.

How long she waited, she could only guess. Exiting the messages, she focused on the home screen reading each icon until one caught her attention. A tap on the number opened the calendar and forced her to do quick math.

"That's it," she said aloud. "I'm PMSing. It's the only reason I'd be so emotional about agreeing to sleep with three men while on the same day one hears from the ex and another just so happens to be coincidentally in the same town with her. PMS."

A sound interrupted her ranting. She looked around the kitchen until she heard it again through the intercom. Saved from continuing her line of reasoning, she opened the messages and quickly responded.

Good luck then. Boys just woke up. Gotta go.

Dropping the phone to the counter, Ella raced through the house, on a mission to reach the boys before they started crying. If her theory was correct, Josh woke, and, without understanding the effects of his crying, scared his little brother in the process.

As she stepped into the room, she was relieved to find Josh not yet fully awake. He sniffed and moved as though he were fighting the pull to consciousness but in the end, his eyes finally opened and looked directly at Ella. With her fingers to her lips, she motioned for him to be quiet as Danny still slept.

The child rubbed his eyes, blinked and then smiled. She dramatically crept toward his bed, snarling as the sheets rustled under her weight. They quietly giggled as she pulled him into her arms.

"Did you dream about me?" she asked in a whisper.

Watching him contemplate his answer almost made her laugh aloud. Of course, he did not dream about her, but he also had no nightmares either. Before he answered, she pressed a kiss to his forehead and saved him from the temptation of lying.

"Maybe next time. I'll just have to keep checking, ok?"

"Ok," he answered with a relief that she hoped was in response to her promise of staying.

They were almost noiseless as they left the bed and tended to Josh's personal needs. The moment his clothes were in order, a little voice alerted them to the fact they were no longer alone. After Danny joined their group, they proceeded through their afternoon with a trip to the kitchen for snacks and returned to their playroom.

Hours passed and the daylight began to fade before Ella considered the conversations she had had with her men earlier. After a few hours with the children, she could no longer remember why she had been so irritable earlier. Maybe it was PMS.

"Or jealousy," she admitted aloud.

Why would she be jealous? She had no promises of affection but she did have one hell of a contract and a promise of financial protection no matter her decision. Ryan had laughed about Connor walking on eggshells. She wondered if he found her position just as funny. Maybe humor was not what she needed. And just like that, she caught herself sinking into a foul mood.

"Ella." Margie's voice broke through her musings.

"In the boys' room, Margie. We'll be right down," she called out, hoping her voice traveled down the stairs.

"No need. Granddaddy Jack wants to come up."

Ella was relieved to see a happy face walk into the room. On the other hand, she was a little set back to see how excited the boys were when they saw their grandfather. If she continued down this path, she would be angry at the world or overdose on Midol.

Relieved of duty, she descended the stairs to find Margie in the kitchen. Two cups of steaming black coffee were waiting on the counter. With quick thanks, Ella joined the older woman and savored the brew in silence. When they had emptied their cups, Margie moved to the espresso machine and began working on their seconds. The woman was an angel.

"So you've decided to stay," Margie simply stated. "I have to tell you, Ella, as happy as I am for my boys, I'm even happier that I didn't bet against Ryan."

"He always wins."

"I guess you could say that. Personally, I think he works hard to achieve his goals. Still, I didn't know how they were going to win you over."

"I'm not sure how they did," Ella mumbled. "I hope I don't snap back and regret anything. I think Connor believes I will."

"I know Connor believes you will. But then, he expects everyone to betray him."

"What?"

"Well, it's the reason for that ridiculous contract. You never see anybody sign a pre-nup with promises of great rewards if they stay in the marriage."

"I sort of like the contract,"

"Then it's worse than I thought," Margie said as she returned with their refills. "I could tell that you protected your heart a little more than Scott does, but I was afraid that you'd try to laugh off life like Ryan."

"So what am I?"

"You're like Connor."

"Ha! I seriously doubt that."

Ella watched quietly as the woman looked at her with sympathy. It riled her until she realized she didn't want to be pissed at the only person who would probably be able to explain the day's events.

"You both control your hearts. Love who you choose, which is a very short list, and ignore the rest," Margie explained. "You both forget that there are other hearts you cannot control. It's those that you can break or they can break you."

"Are you trying to depress me?"

"I'm trying to reason with you."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Oh yeah, you're exactly like him," Margie declared with a laugh. "For the record, I love him. God, how I love that boy. But no, I don't want you to leave. I want you to be certain."

"I am certain. I didn't agree to stay when they were all doing what they were doing...you know."

"About sex? Honey, please." Margie laughed with a wave of her hand. "Marriages are difficult when it's one man and one woman. Walking into this with three men, all damaged thanks to me, and two little boys will be damn near impossible."

"If they were damaged at all, I thought it would be Gloria's fault."

Acknowledging Ella's words with a nod, Margie drank her coffee. Ella watched the woman struggle with a response until finally she just inhaled in resignation. Thank goodness for impatient women.

"It was my fault," Margie started. "I was a rich, spoiled brat concerned with only my interests. My father, bless the dead hypocrite, was not the tyrant that you may have been told he was. He was a pawn like so many of us have been. Anyway, Connor was nine years old when my husband died. His life came crashing down soon after."

"It crashed on Scott and Ryan too, didn't it?"

"Not the same way," Margie answered. "Not nearly the same way. Ella, there are things you can't be told yet about my life, about their childhood and even about that hellcat they were with years ago."

"Gloria? I thought she just left fourteen months ago."

"They sent her packing fourteen months ago but she left years earlier," Margie explained. "If she were ever here at all."

"Because her work pulled her away?"

Margie's answer was an exaggerated roll of her eyes. Ella wanted to know more but then she had just been told that there were things she could not be told. Yet.

"Can you tell me what kind of business Connor has with her?"

"Connor has no business with her other than the fact she manages the boys' office in Denver. I'll answer your next question with the old saying of keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I'll even tell you what happened today. Apparently, Gloria and her loyal followers deceived Ryan somehow and managed to have him sign over a significant amount of authority to Gloria. She's made some deals that are...well, trouble."

"Deals? The buyer meets seller kind of deals?"

"Yes, actually."

Ella dropped her head in her hands and thought back over the day. Wanting to kick her own ass, she finally let out a sharp laugh and then sighed.

"Is that supposed to mean something?" Margie asked.

"When that envelope arrived today, I just knew it was something interfering with my new little life here. I didn't imagine anything specific but I felt like she threw this life away and, now that I was here, she wanted it back. I was horrible. I snapped at Connor and even gave Ryan the cold shoulder."

"Ryan? Why?"

"Because he's in Denver with her."

Watching Margie laugh until she was crying did nothing to help Ella's mood. She considered the possibility of this dreamland actually being an insane asylum. Since she had voluntarily committed herself, she could probably leave without too much hassle. If she had a car. If she had some money. If she had any friends or family.

"Then you wouldn't be here," she thought to herself.

Life was tough. She had learned that lesson. Dealing with people was tougher. She had a history there too. If she were honest with herself, and why not start there first, she wanted to stay. Tempering her doubts and emotions, Ella decided to glean as much as she could from her future mother in law.

"Forgive me, Margie. I'm missing the joke."

"Oh dear," the woman said, looking truly repentant, "I'm so sorry. If you only knew. If you had seen him with that sledgehammer. Trust me, he may be in Denver and she may be in Denver, and that's only if she doesn't know he's there, but there is no way in hell they would be in the same...the same..."

"I think I get it," Ella said with a smile. "I took a coincidence and made it an assumption."

"I'm so sorry, Ella. I forget that you've only been here two days whereas we've..." Margie covered her mouth with her hand as though she could not voluntarily quit speaking.

"Oh, I understand. Well, I understand a little of it, anyway."

"You do?"

"The guys told me that this way of life has been, well, your way of life for a while."

"Oh! Oh, yeah. I'll admit that I would love to know how my sons have presented their mother's polyamorous preference."

Frowning as she considered the thought, Ella tried to remember how it was presented to her yesterday.

"If I had to use one word, it would be 'pride' I think. They were so...I don't know...certain, I guess, that it was the only way of life."

"For them," Margie added. "Obviously, it was what I wanted, but never managed to have."

"They told me that you were with Jack and Greg for a while."

"For a very short while. Too short. Unlike your men, mine were never friends. I don't know how I managed it, but somehow I loved three men who were complete opposites."

"You loved your husband?" Ella asked in haste and quickly regretted her question. "I'm sorry. It's just that...It's none of my business."

"Oh, I loved him," Margie answered. She looked across the room as though she were seeing something in her memory. "He loved me. We were so much alike and in our case that wasn't a good thing."

"You are a lovely woman, I can't imagine..."

"I had to grow up," Margie interrupted. "It may be difficult to understand, it's difficult for me to say, but when we lost everything, Connor was nine years old and more mature than me. Unfortunately, he tried to be a man while he was still a little boy and he ended up in trouble more times than I could count."

"Rebellious?"

"You could say that, but not hostile or dangerous," Margie whispered and she frowned at her empty cup. "I was a horrible mother."

Silence settled between the two women as those words played through Ella's mind. What should she say? What should she do? While confessions were difficult, she hesitated to say anything that would diminish the transgressor's responsibility and yet, she wanted to be compassionate. Reaching for Margie's hand, she was relieved when, after a moment, the older woman relaxed and gently squeezed her hand in response.

"Thank you, Ella, for not showering me with hollow words or arguing that I was anything else. I lost my children because I was unfit. While people took advantage of my plight, I can't disagree that my boys were suffering under my care."

"They were in foster care?" Ella asked with curiosity. "I was too. I guess with everything we've shared, I thought that would have been mentioned."