She was officially screwed. She didn’t want any other men. First, she had to make the
Go Green
conference and tradeshow a monumental success. The rest she’d worry about when they were back. The reality of the depth of her feelings made her tense, but Owen and Jar spread her legs, and the two tongues in her pussy made all her worries vanish—for now.
Chapter Five
Jar found New Orleans even raunchier than he’d expected. The conference was in a hotel just off Bourbon Street. Wild bars and people drinking in the streets were nothing. Being flashed by women and some very erect men last night had left Jar wondering where he really belonged.
Not in a big city, that felt clear. Small towns like where he’d grown up were out, as well. Most suburbs meant a long commute. Jar mulled his future as he and Owen strolled through the rows of vendors at the
Go Green
tradeshow. The booths were well decorated, and Zoe was back watching theirs.
His mind should be on business, but with Zoe’s uncertainty about the group thing, Jar felt the whole world was off balance. “She’s going to bolt,” he said.
Owen paused and looked around. “Save it for home. Don’t think about it. We’ve got a job to do. This is important to her career and ours. You want to keep Zoe and the group happy, don’t screw up here. Focus on the sales.”
“You’re not disagreeing with me.” Jar shrugged.
“Anything could happen. She could bolt; I could bolt. Hell, you could go back and find your family’s religion again.”
“Never.” Jar had pure conviction on that score.
“Okay, but it took you time to get to that conclusion. Don’t assume it’s all gloom and doom. The ceiling could come crashing in. There could be a late season hurricane, and we’re all dead. No one knows what’ll happen.” Owen smiled at Jar. “She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t want to be.”
“It’s business.” Jar wanted to stay gloomy for some reason. Maybe, it was all the wildness outside, but he wanted a family and commitment. A quiet life and happiness called to him, even if it wasn’t totally traditional. It was still better than drunken people hanging from balconies.
“No, it’s a commitment of sorts. She’s put herself on the line with us and with this sales attempt. That booth cost money, and if this is her idea, we’re all in it together. Don’t discount business mixing with personal. It always happens.” Owen headed for a particular booth.
“You’re right. Business now. Fun later.” Jar followed along.
“Morning, gentlemen.” Owen shook their hands and introduced them.
Jar shook hands and grabbed some rainbow-colored items to inspect their giveaway. “Very nice.”
“What do you do?” Owen asked casually.
“We actually consult and show companies how they can save by going green. Lighting and sensors. That’s usually where it starts.” The tall thin man handed over a business card. “We love adding companies to refer people to. What exactly do you make?”
“Parts for electric and hybrid vehicles. We’re also making our own line of carts and lifts that run green. Maybe we can meet up and discuss?” Owen handed over his card.
“Lucky Springs? Where is that?” the guy asked.
“It’s a small town making the most of hard-working people. They took an old factory and retooled it. Reliable service and quality.” Jar smiled.
“No offense, but we’re here in New Orleans. We’ve also got an office in San Francisco and New York. Our clients are forward-thinking people. A lot of them are a bit ahead of the mainstream. We’re trying to get the big guys. But are you okay selling a bunch of green carts to the pride parade in Chicago? Decorating them as specified? We need companies our clients are comfortable working with.” The guy started to hand back the card.
Owen stiffened, and Jar saw the meeting falling flat. A consulting group was exactly what they needed to connect to. “I’m sorry to hear they don’t want to work with small town America. Just because we’re not a big city, that doesn’t mean we’re not progressive and open.” Without missing a beat, he kissed Owen in the middle of the tradeshow.
The hum of voices and background noise vanished as Owen deepened the kiss. Jar swore he heard applause and decided he’d made his point. Backing off the public affection, which was a first for him, he nodded. “Lucky Springs has its own pride parade. Might be small compared to Chicago, but we’d have no problem decorating it or delivering it.”
“I see. Well, maybe a meeting is in order. Sorry, but we need to make sure our clients are comfortable with the people we connect them to. You understand.” The man handed over cards. “Tomorrow morning over breakfast, before the show starts up again?”
Owen nodded. “Perfect. Say eight-o-clock in the hotel restaurant? We’ve got an engineer and our marketing guru here, as well. We’ll get the whole group to talk to you.”
“See you then.” The man glanced over at his booth mate with a smile.
Owen looked at Jar with shock as they walked away. “That was bold.”
“Do you want the deal or not? It’s hardly a lie.” Jar smiled. Maybe big cities weren’t so bad.
* * * *
As Zoe and her guys walked back to the hotel after dinner at a fabulous seafood place, she almost wanted to skip. Owen and Jar’s contact, plus getting the word out that Lucky Springs wasn’t a backward one-horse town, was a win! She needed a win or that bitchy boss of hers wouldn’t listen to any more of her ideas.
Zoe hadn’t wanted to put pressure on the guys, but things were working out! “So he’s up for a meeting. Did you text the engineer?”
“Done.” Jar held up his cell phone.
The engineer had family or friends in New Orleans and had spent the evening with them. Zoe and the guys didn’t mind at all. A sixth wheel might make for even numbers, but he’d have been the odd man out.
They entered the hotel. Zoe and Owen grabbed a table at the bar while the three others hit the washroom.
“Great work. Consulting firms like that can really get our name and custom carts on the map,” Zoe said. She leaned over and kissed Owen.
It wasn’t meant to be a passionate kiss, but Owen pulled her in. She knew that need, the fear that someone would leave you. Or never be there. Broken homes left scars no matter how many marriages ended in divorce. She wrapped her arms around his neck and took her time. Nothing in her wanted to leave these guys, even though commitment scared her.
Then she felt eyes on her. Something told her it wasn’t the rest of their party. Pulling back, she saw a tall, thin man and a shorter, round man staring at them.
“It’s not what you think,” Owen told the men.
“No?” The tall man folded his arms. “I think you’re a very convincing actor. So sorry, my breakfast meeting was already booked.”
“Wait!” Zoe stood up and followed him.
“Please, don’t make a scene. Your boyfriend is exceptionally good, I’m sure.” The tall man rolled his eyes.
“He’s very bi, and he’s only one of my boyfriends, thank you. Nothing you saw today was acting.” Zoe felt Owen stand next to her, and then more people. She looked back and saw all four men stood there, three of them very unsure what was going on.
“Bisexual? You’re saying you’re dating all four? How odd.”
“One minute, Lucky Springs is too backward, and now, it’s too progressive? If you like gay sales guys, what’s wrong with bisexual? A group relationship is wrong, but gay isn’t?” Jar demanded.
“Wouldn’t your clients love to hear how narrow
your
views are?” Zoe folded her arms.
The man fumbled for words. “This is highly unusual at a conference in public.”
“We don’t have a problem with it. What’s yours?” Cam chuckled.
The entire bar watched them now. “I suggest you think over the message you want to send and if you want to limit who you do business with. We’ll meet in the morning for breakfast as planned, and see how you feel then. If you don’t show up, we’ll understand.” Zoe nodded.
“We’ll be there.” The man walked away, shaking his head.
As soon as the potential customers were gone, Zoe’s hands shook. She leaned on Jar. “What the hell just happened?”
“I think you struck a blow for group love everywhere. Are you okay?” Don asked.
“I need to lie down.” Zoe shook her head.
“Let’s get you a drink. Sit down,” Cam suggested.
“No, I’ve had enough public displays.” She focused on the elevator and forced herself to move in that direction. Jar stayed with her, which was reassuring. The other men followed along. Once the five were alone in an elevator, she could breathe.
“How could you let me do that?” She punched Owen in the shoulder.
“Like anyone could stop you from doing anything.” Don laughed.
“I told them about us. This isn’t Lucky Springs. It’s not normal here.”
“It’s New Orleans. What isn’t done in the streets here?” Cam countered.
“But that’s just it. Some of our potential customers aren’t from here. Those guys are extremely progressive, but not everyone in the south is. Oh God, I just screwed it all up!” She leaned on the wall as the doors slid open to their floor.
“Come on. It’s not that bad.” Owen picked her up and carried her out of the elevator.
“This is helping?” She wiggled to get free.
“Helping us get turned on,” Jar teased.
“Stop it!” She kept her eyes closed so if anyone else were in the hallway, she’d never know.
Finally, Owen dropped her on the soft hotel bed, and she opened her eyes. “That was ridiculous.”
“So is you getting pissed because you shot off your mouth.” Cam sat next to her. “You’re not a kid. You stood up to that guy and told him you’re with all of us. That’s nice. I liked it.”
“It could hurt our business or your sales. This is about your customers.”
They didn’t get it. Without a decent income and security, all the love and sex in the world didn’t make things okay.
“There’s more to life than that. One conference won’t make or break the business.” Don tugged her high heels off her feet.
She wanted to argue and fight, but the intent looks in their eyes told her she’d lose. Even Owen seemed to be on their side. Four against one. Now, wasn’t the time for a big debate about the future. Her declaration stroked their egos, but for her, it only made it more real. “Sorry, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have lost control like that. It’s unprofessional.”
“You told the truth. Don’t apologize. You straightened out the misunderstanding and kept the meeting for us. Thank you. Honesty never made anyone ashamed.” Cam hugged her tight. “At least, not in Lucky Springs.”
Part of her wanted to change the subject and just have wild, hotel-room sex. That would feel good but not right for some reason. What the five of them had was becoming too real. Not just in Lucky Springs but everywhere now. A public group relationship? Her heart and her head wrestled to believe it was sustainable and acceptable. Could she live without these men, or more importantly, could she find a way to live with them?
Chapter Six
The breakfast meeting had been a total success. The clients were intrigued by this progressive little town they’d
discovered
. Better still, they had a lot of contacts who could use little carts for various functions. Don smiled at how the four salesmen had spun their great personal life to their advantage.
Zoe had passed cloud nine and was now orbiting earth somewhere. Now, they walked down the main drag of New Orleans and sampled drinks, as well as grabbed food that looked interesting. Cam and Don had closed a few smaller deals, but the consulting firm was the big story. So immense that Zoe wasn’t pushing them to spend the lunchtime of their last day of the tradeshow making more deals. They were goofing off.
Don knew a significant part of it was the engineer arriving early for breakfast and talking with the customers. Topher was a casual guy with big brains. He’d obviously confirmed the group love story because the customer didn’t push or question it again. The meeting was all about the products and what the companies could do for each other.
Money trumped sexuality and relationship. That’s all they really needed. Don required no one’s approval for his family. It felt odd to think of it that way, but he did. Zoe was impulsive and creative. It brought out his overprotective side. She deserved better than what she’d had as a kid. Her dad should’ve been there for her.
Don and Cam had families that are more traditional. Jar did as well, but not in a supportive way. Owen seemed good with the arrangement, but he’d had a rough childhood just like Zoe. The way she strutted up to the Absinthe place and ordered one made Don relax. She took a sip and handed it to Owen. He sipped as well and sucked in air.
Jar shook his head when she offered it to him. “We really shouldn’t be drinking on the job.”
“I thought I was a good employee.” She handed it to Don.