The Renovation: A Reverse Harem Romance Read online

  Oops.

  “What did you say?” Tanner asked.

  Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

  I was frozen in place. I knew I should be calling someone for help before all hell broke loose, but I was in panic mode, and therefore mostly useless.

  Just then, Mr. Renner appeared in the reception area’s doorway.

  “What the hell’s going on out here?” He snapped us all out of our adrenaline-charged trance. Both Bob and Tanner backed away from each other.

  Tanner spoke first. “I think there may have been a small misunderstanding about responsibilities, but it’s all straightened out now. Right, Bob?” he asked, looking right at him.

  “Um, yes. Yes, it’s all good.” Bob rushed past Mr. Renner in the doorway, disappearing down the hall.

  Mr. Renner approached Tanner and me. “Is everything okay here?”

  We bobbed our heads in unison, uttering all forms of yessir’s, everything’s great. Tanner headed back to his office, after a sly wink at me.

  “Jayma, I’d like to talk to you in my office. Can you get one of the girls to cover for you?” Without waiting for my answer, he turned and left.

  Ohmygod. Shit. Was I in trouble?

  I got someone to answer the phones and tore down the hallway to Mr. Renner’s office with a pad and pen in hand.

  “Mr. Renner?”

  “Jayma, yes, come in and please close the door.” He gestured toward the seat opposite his desk.

  Good lord. Was this my last day at work? Because if it was, I’d have much bigger problems than just my house being foreclosed on.

  Who knew my life could get more fucked up than it already was?

  “Jayma, the other day you approached me with your interest in taking on more responsibility. Growing your career here at the agency.” He looked down at his hands, which were folded on his desk.

  I wished he would have just dispensed with the niceties. If I was being shit-canned, I wanted to know right away so I could pack up my stuff and get the hell out.

  But I wasn’t going down easy.

  “Yes, Mr. Renner. I really feel I have a lot to contribute and some very creative ideas about pulling in new business and serving the clients we currently have.” God, if that didn’t sound like corporate suck-up talk, I didn’t know what would. But it was true. I did have some damn good ideas.

  I thought of the guys at home—well, at Carter’s home—who seemed to really believe in me and who wanted to make me succeed against the odds of foreclosure. A wave of conviction welled up in me, and I found myself sitting ramrod straight in my chair. If Mr. Renner didn’t want my contribution, then I’d take my ideas elsewhere.

  Give me your worst, Mr. Renner.

  He took a deep breath and met my gaze. “I have something to talk to you about, Jayma.”

  It was all I could do to keep my eyes on the road on my way home. I’d gotten someone to cover the phones and left early to clear my head. My hands had been shaking so hard when I got in my car that it took me five minutes to get my seat belt buckled. I turned on some calming music and took deep breaths. They say you should never drive when you’re worked up, but what if you have somewhere to go?

  I pulled up at Carter’s and used my key to quietly enter. I wasn’t up for talking with any of the guys, if they were even home. I peered out of his kitchen window toward my house. It sounded like there was plenty going on with them all over there, anyway.

  I ran up the stairs two at a time to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I rooted through my purse for my phone, fighting back tears. My hands shook so badly, I had trouble pulling up Shelle’s number.

  It was such a relief that she answered right away.

  “Hey girl!” she yelled. I could hear waves and seagulls in the background. She must have brought the dogs to the beach. I tried not to picture them crapping all over the sand.

  “Shelle, you won’t believe what happened at work,” I said, trying to steady my voice.

  “Yeah? What’s up?”

  “Well, Mr. Renner, the founder of the agency, offered me a job.”

  Not one where I had to answer phones and make copies for assholes like Bob. No, he’d offered me a big, fat, motherfucking real job.

  Chapter 26

  TANNER

  Something was up. Jayma had bolted out of work and then texted us all to gather for a “family dinner.” I guess we were sort of like a family. Dig had to reschedule a couple meetings, so he was expected to be somewhat late, but everyone else would be there, no problem.

  Personally, I could have stayed at work longer. I had a ton of stuff to do on the damn tampon account. We were just wrapping up our research on how we stacked up against the competition, and I was quickly becoming the male expert on “flow.” Boy, could I talk about menstruation now.

  Great topic of conversation for the next cocktail party I attended.

  Yeah…no.

  Christ, that accounting asshole Bob had pissed me off. I mean, even if I hadn’t been romantically involved with Jayma, I still would have stuck up for her. I fucking hated bullies. I was always ready to take them on.

  That’s why I had a little scar above my right eyebrow. But that was a long story involving neighborhood kids and a little weakling with glasses. Who finally learned to stand up for himself.

  And yeah, that kid was me.

  I pulled up at Carter’s and was blown away by all the activity next door. Someone had delivered a giant dumpster very early in the morning, and by god, it was already nearly full. Those guys weren’t messing around. I’d be pitching in over the weekend, and I had a feeling Carter and Wyatt were going to work my ass hard.

  I didn’t want to get in the way of the assembly line of workers he had pulling waste and other construction debris out of the house in one wheel barrow-full after another, but I was dying to see what was going on. I jumped out of the way of the latest worker to come flying out the door and poked my head inside.

  “Carter!” I called.

  “Yo. Up here,” he answered.

  The once-rickety handrail on the staircase was now completely gone, so I walked up hugging the wall, which looked like someone had pounded the shit out of it with a sledge hammer. Which they apparently had, as evidenced by the one leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs.

  “Wow,” I said, once I’d found Carter. “You weren’t kidding when you said you could move fast. Good grief. There’s not much left of the place.”

  He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around. “Yeah, we’ve pretty much gutted everything except Jayma’s bedroom.” He pointed toward a closed door sealed off with a large sheet of plastic. She’d be very happy the construction dust was being kept out of the one good room in the house.

  “So,” I said, “another family dinner tonight? Is something up? Do you know?”

  He shrugged. “No idea. I got Jayma’s text and said I’d be there. You’re coming, right?”

  “Oh yeah, for sure. I’m just going to grab a run and shower in time for dinner.”

  “All right, man. I’ll see ya later. Hey, when can I put your lame ass to work?” he asked with a laugh.

  “Ha, funny guy. I’ll be getting down to work here on the weekend. And I’ll try not to show you up. No promises, though.” I gave him the finger as I left.

  How was it I was already so comfortable with someone I’d only just met? It was the strangest thing when I thought about it, but he was such a cool guy, it was easy to like him. Actually, they were all good guys. We all liked the same woman, and there were no jealousy issues. I guess we all wanted what was best for Jayma and weren’t going to let our own insecurities get in the way.

  When I got back from my run, I heard someone banging around in the kitchen. Sure enough, there was my Jayma, cooking up a storm like she had a few nights before. I sneaked up behind her, grabbing her around the waist, and planting a kiss on her cheek.

  “Ack, you scared me, silly boy,” she
said, turning in my arms to plant a big one on my lips.

  I took a step back to admire her. “Hey, you ran out of work early. Everything okay?”

  She nodded. “Um, yeah. Everything’s good. I just needed a little time to myself. Thank you for chasing Bob off.”

  “That guy is such a dick. I don’t know why Renner keeps him around.”

  “Well, I don’t think he means any harm. He’s trying to get his shit done like everyone else. He just doesn’t know how to ask in a way that makes anyone want to help him out.”

  “So what’s the family meeting about? Something up?” I asked.

  Jayma turned back to stirring something on the stove. “No. Not really. Just wanted to talk with everyone.”

  Something was definitely up. But if she wasn’t ready to talk, I was good with that.

  “Okay, baby. I’m running upstairs for my shower.”

  “Dinner’s in one hour. Be on time,” she said with a smile.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’d never be late for one of your dinners.”

  Not forty-five minutes later, Carter, Wyatt, and I were sitting in the living room, all showered and shaved, downing some beers, and waiting on Dig.

  “One of the coolest things about reno’ing a house is getting to see how they did construction back in the day,” Carter said. “All that lath and plaster they used to build walls. Incredible. It took so much work. Unlike the drywall we slap up today.”

  “How’d the house end up in such bad condition, anyway?” I asked.

  “Not sure. I guess Wagner, the guy who lived there before Jayma bought it, had just gotten old and eccentric. Plaster falling off the ceiling must not have bothered him,” Carter said, shaking his head.

  “Well, you’ve done an incredible job with this place, Carter,” Wyatt said, looking around. “I can only imagine how Jayma’s house will be when you’re done with it.”

  “Ha. What do you mean when I’m done with it? You’ll both be busting your asses on the place soon. I’m not gonna do it all on my own.”

  “Now that you’ve got the walls down, I’ll dive into the plumbing tomorrow,” Wyatt said.

  Dig came flying in the house. “Guys. Am I late?” he asked breathlessly.

  “No man. Go get a beer.”

  “So Carter, how long you letting us all live at your house?” I asked.

  “Well, the idea was to let Jayma see which of us she wants to be with in the long-term.”

  Dig settled into the sofa. “But Carter and I are a package deal.”

  “Do I hear you guys talking about me?” Jayma called from the living room entrance.

  She was wearing some sky-high heels and a pretty little halter dress that revealed almost all of her back. The red hair tumbling down against her fair skin was stunning. I held out my hand.

  “Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes. Hi Tanner,” she said, snuggling into my lap.

  I did a quick inventory of the other guys’ faces to see how they felt about me helping myself to our girl, but they all looked completely cool with it.

  She looked at the other guys and leaned down to give me a soft and juicy kiss that I didn’t think I’d ever forget. Then, she looked back around. Our baby clearly liked being watched.

  “Okay, guys. Show’s over,” she said, popping up from my lap.

  Groans echoed around the room.

  “C’mon. Dinner time.”

  Once again, Jayma served a dinner that blew me away.

  She was a keeper, for sure. Question was, who’d end up with her?

  “I wanted to say something to the four of you,” she said, standing up.

  The expression on her face was pretty serious. Could it have to do with whatever went down at work earlier? Christ, I hope there wasn’t some sort of problem.

  “I think you all know—Tanner does for sure, since we work together—that I’ve been receptionist at the ad agency for a long time now. Well, I wanted to share with you that the founder, Mr. Renner, called me into his office today.”

  Oh shit. Was she in trouble over the Bob thing? Had I made it worse?

  “And,” she looked around the table, “he told me he liked my work ethic, and that he wanted me to be part of the account team. He offered me a great new job!”

  The table erupted in cheers, which she quieted by waving her hands.

  “There is a, um, complication, though,” she said.

  We all looked at each other, then back at her.

  “What sort of complication?” Wyatt asked.

  A strange sadness washed over her face.

  “The position isn’t here in San Francisco.”

  “So where is it, baby? Down in Silicon Valley? That’s not that far,” I said.

  She looked around the table at each of us.

  “No, the job is in Chicago.”

  Chapter 27

  JAYMA

  What?”

  “You’re fucking kidding.”

  “They couldn’t find you a job here in California?”

  The questions came at me like a driving rain. I had known they would, though.

  I’d thought Mr. Renner was throwing me out on my ass. But he offered me a job in the Chicago office working on a new account. He said he liked the idea of someone from the home office being there.

  I’d just about fallen off my chair when he said that. Then I nearly cried. But I held it together until our meeting was done. It was then that I had to run to the bathroom, where I got sick.

  But what an incredible break. Life had been so shitty, with Lance taking off, and then the house going into foreclosure.

  An incredible break. Right. My dream job.

  In another fucking city.

  The universe was having one big, huge laugh at my expense.

  “Are you really going?”

  “What timeframe are you looking at?”

  “Do you have to go?”

  More questions were lobbed at me. Questions I didn’t have answers to. But I owed these guys responses. I owed them way more than that, actually.

  “I leave at the end of this month.”

  Saying those words felt like someone reaching down my throat and tearing out my heart. I could hardly believe I was even able to spit them out.

  “Why? Why are you going?” Dig asked. The look on his face made me want to run away.

  “The main reason is,” I took a slow look around the room, “that I’ve fallen for all of you. And I can’t eliminate anyone. So, I’m leaving town. I’ll be alone, and my house will probably have been foreclosed on, but at least I won’t bear the burden of hurting any of you by making a choice.”

  “You think it won’t hurt us that you’re leaving?” Tanner asked, pulling off his glasses to rub his eyes.

  “I know it probably will. But not as much as if I made a choice and rejected anyone. I can’t do it. I won’t do it.”

  A lump slowly built in my throat. Dammit, the last thing I wanted was to be a crybaby in front of the guys.

  “Jayma, you don’t have to leave town. Stay here. We’ll figure it out,” Carter said.

  Everyone around the table nodded. They’d all put their forks down a while ago and dinner was now cold.

  “Please, guys. I’ve made my mind up. Let’s finish eating.”

  But dinner was over.

  Hey! Over here!” Shelle called. She had only three dogs with her. Light day, it looked like.

  I ran to catch up to her in the dog park, watching where I stepped in the hope of avoiding dog poo. I had to go directly to work from here and couldn’t drag dog shit into the office.

  “Good morning. Fancy you being out here so early.” She didn’t look happy with me.

  Hell, I wasn’t so sure I was happy with me, either.

  “So. You’re out of here? Leaving on a jet plane, as they say?” she asked, avoiding my gaze.

  “Don’t know what else to do.”

  “The old balance of job versus love. Either way you go, you’ll have some sort of re
gret,” she said, putting a hand on my arm. It was clear she’d been ready to give me all levels of shit, but when she saw how torn up I was, she backed off.

  I couldn’t hold it in any longer and exploded into sobs. “I…I…it’s…so…messed…up.”

  Shelle led me to a bench and sat me down, her arm around my shoulders.

  “C’mon,” she said. “Let it out.”

  I buried my face in her shoulder, covering her fleece with my snot and tears. But she wouldn’t care. She was on my side, no matter what I did.

  I pulled myself up and blew my nose on the tissue she’d handed me.

  “You could come with me, you know,” I told her.

  Yeah, right. Fat chance. No one in San Francisco would move to Chicago unless they absolutely had to.

  She looked down. “I don’t know, Jayma. I don’t think I could. I mean, Chicago’s so cold…”

  “I know,” I said, catching my breath and nodding. ““I feel bad. The guys are working so hard on the house. They’ve been so good to me.”

  “And you’re leaving town…why?”

  “Well, one, for the job, but mainly because I can’t choose among the guys. I like them all, Shelle. Wyatt, the quieter one with that crazy man bun, takes such good care of his dad. I love that about him. Then there’s Tanner from work, with his Mad Men glasses. He’s helped me so much with my career by mentoring me. Dig, Mr. Italian Stallion, wants to sell my house for me before the bank takes it, and his best friend Carter, my blue eyed guy, is leading the charge to renovate the place.”

  It was true. I could never choose, because there was something about each of them that was just incredible. I wanted them all. Like that was a possibility. Maybe in another universe.

  “Who’s better in bed?” Leave it to Shelle to ask that.

  But to be honest, I’d asked myself that, too.

  And I couldn’t answer it.

  “They’re all great. Each one in his own way. I can honestly say that I’ve never had sex before like I have had with those guys. Each one is different. And each one’s amazing.”