Best Friend Temptation

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There were times I loved my job. Then there were times I wondered if being a Hollywood body double showing my ass or even my dick would be easier. Though then I wondered if my ass and dick were even good enough for TV and movies. Perhaps I needed to do more squats, or ignore the fact that my job gave me such a headache that I was considering just selling myself.

There was seriously something wrong with me, and I probably needed more sleep, but I knew my dick could make good TV. Maybe I could go into porn. I mean, I did set up cameras for a living, though that wasn’t the only thing that I did. But it was one thing to set up cameras for security and be a bodyguard and ensure that the security layout for businesses and high-profile clients was set up. It was a whole other thing to set up cameras and a ring light in your bedroom to try to get the perfect angle as you were thrusting.

Hmm, yes, that could work. I could do that until nobody wanted to see what I was doing anymore and hoard my money like a dragon. Anything would be easier than listening to this client on the phone complaining that the cameras she bought weren’t the right color of taupe.

I didn’t even know what color taupe was. But here I was—thinking about going into porn or becoming a body double so I wouldn’t have to deal with color schemes.

There really was something seriously wrong with me.

“Understood, Mrs. Wiseman. We will go in and change the cameras to a gray we have on hand. That should work with your color scheme?” I asked, though in reality I didn’t care. However, she was a paying client, and satisfaction was our guarantee.

Hey, that could be the tagline for my new porn career. Satisfaction, that was the way to go. My lips twitched and, considering nothing funny was going on over the call, my best friend Ford raised his brow at me from his desk across the room.

I shook my head, knowing I had no need to explain what I was thinking.

No, let’s not even get into that.

“Okay, we’ve got you. You’re on the calendar, and I will send out Daisy to work on that.” I paused as the woman screeched on the line, and I nodded though she couldn’t see me. “Understood, I’ll send Kane or Kingston. We’ve got you. Thank you again.”

I hung up and rubbed my temples as Ford glared at me from his desk.

Montgomery Security was a family-run business, though over half of our staff weren’t Montgomerys at all. They were either friends, or people who were simply damn good at their jobs. We had our main staff who worked in this building and on projects, then at least twenty others who were contractors, but were still employed through us and received benefits.

Ford wasn’t a Montgomery, he was a Cage, and though his family was bigger than mine in some respects, my family tended to adopt anyone in their periphery. Ford’s brothers didn’t want him to be adopted into my family, but Ford didn’t really have a choice. Not when it came to Montgomerys. We were cult-like in that way.

“You’re part of cybersecurity, and are the big boss, why the hell are you taking installation questions?” Ford asked, brow furrowed.

I shrugged, it was a good question. I was just unlucky enough to be the one answering the phone. “Well, with Aria no longer working on this side of things, we’re playing catch up. Daisy, Kane, Kingston, Gus, and Jennifer are all out. They’re working because apparently we like to do a thousand things at once and we have overbooked.”

“We’re not overbooked. The clients are just adding things on at the last minute, and we’re trying to satisfy them.”

I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t laugh at the word satisfy, but Ford saw me. That was the problem when it came to Ford. He was my best friend, had been since we were kids. He was also my roommate, and occasional fuck buddy. No matter what I did, Ford always saw beneath the surface. Even when I did my best not to let him.

That was the problem with us. One of the many, anyway. Ford always saw too much, and I did my best to act aloof so he wouldn’t.

It always failed.

Another problem was I couldn’t seem to understand Ford. Somehow, in the last year or so, things had changed, and I couldn’t read my best friend’s face.

That had to be on me. Not him. Because Ford knew what he wanted, and he got it done. That’s why he was our number-one installer and bodyguard for the company. He got shit done, while I handled everything else and usually stayed in the office ensuring that all of our firewalls were up to date, and coded my ass off.

I stayed here and tried not to be transparent, while Ford successfully closed himself off.

“The lady didn’t want Daisy?”

“No, Mrs. Wiseman wanted a man, I think.” I rolled my eyes as Ford narrowed his. There really wasn’t a good answer to statements like that, and there was a reason that I didn’t answer the phones normally. I wasn’t good at it. I was a little grumpier than usual, though I had good reason.

I had messed something up with my best friend, and now I needed to fix it. I had no idea how to do that, and it seemed every time that I tried to fix it, I failed somewhere else.

“Daisy’s going to be pissed when she hears about that,” Ford said, speaking of one of our lead installers, and my cousin.

Technically Daisy was a second cousin, because her stepmother and my mother were cousins, but when it came to Montgomerys, we didn’t care about little things like that. We were more of the mindset of once you’re family, you’re family. In terms of labels, it was easier, because Daisy and I were of the same generation, to say we were cousins. Daisy was also a couple of years older than me and could kick my ass. Not that I would ever let her.

Or, at least I would try not to let her.

“Daisy would be pissed, but we’re not going to tell her. Got me?”

Ford just raised that brow.

I hated when he did that. He was way too sexy. And I was doing my best not to think about my best friend as sexy. We had our new routine of ignoring the fact that we’d slept together a few times, and it always ended up being angry sex. At least on my part. I had no idea what Ford was thinking, and that was our problem. One of many.

So now Ford and I were just best friends, coworkers, and roommates. It wasn’t complicated at all.

Even I could hear the sarcasm in my mental voice.

“I guess she wants to watch a man with muscles lift things and change out the cameras. And honestly, I wouldn’t want to force Daisy to work with this woman.”

“But you’ll force one of your other cousins?” Ford asked.

I shrugged. “Well, Kane and Kingston are family. I’m allowed to do things like that.”

“Only not Daisy, because you’re afraid of her?”

I looked around, as if she would jump from behind a corner. And, knowing Daisy, she was sneaky enough to do that. “No. And I have no idea why you keep bringing that up. Don’t make her hate me. She punches really hard.” I jokingly rubbed my shoulder where she had last punched me in a sign of solidarity. It hurt, because she was fucking strong and had been annoyed.

“You won’t inflict this client on Gus or Jennifer?” Ford asked.

“Well, they’re new, and that would be rude. Plus, Kane annoyed me last week at the hockey game, so I might put this on him.”

“Good, at least we’re doing our best to put all of your issues into work. Makes things easy.”

I flipped him off, and Ford just beamed at me with his bright eyes and perfect smile.

I swallowed hard and did my best not to think about that. Ford really did have that perfect smile.

No, I wasn’t going to go there. It just made things harder for us.

“Do you want some coffee?” Ford asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

I couldn’t read his face. And again, that was a fucking problem. I didn’t know if Ford wanted to walk a couple of doors down to the coffee place just to get caffeine and some sugar, or if he wanted to see a certain person working behind the counter.

I studied his face, and because he was doing his best to look nonchalant, I could finally read him, just for an instant, before he blinked it away.

I did my best to ignore the sense of relief hitting me. I didn’t want to worry like this so much. I wanted to move on. Only, it wasn’t easy.

“Coffee’s good. Just thought you’d like it.”

“I do. I like coffee.”

Again, there was subtext. Both Ford and I had been attracted to Greer the moment we met her. She had long brown hair with honey highlights, high cheekbones, kissable lips, and big eyes that seemed to see everything, and yet never hinted at what she was thinking.

Greer was hot, and because both Ford and I were attracted to her, neither of us would make a move.

We had tried a poly relationship once, though it couldn’t even really be called a relationship. It was just us having sex with a woman that we both liked, and wanted to see if she liked being with two men. But she hadn’t liked the fact that Ford and I touched each other. We hadn’t done more than graze fingers, or slide our hands up and down each other’s backs. You couldn’t help it when tangled in a bed with a woman between you.

She hadn’t liked that, had wanted to be the center of attention, and while we agreed for that relationship, it ended up being too much for her, and Ford and I hadn’t enjoyed it as much as we wanted to.

We weren’t going to put Greer between us because we didn’t want to ruin everything. Of course, now I was thinking about Greer between us, all those limbs and sweaty bodies. My cock pressed against my jeans. No, I was not going to think about that.

We weren’t going to go poly, although my parents were poly, and I had grown up in a world where it was normal. My parents were the original Montgomery triad, as everyone put it, and that meant I had grown up with two dads and a mom. And all three of them loved each other, and they made it seem like that was just a normal part of life, and while it was, not everyone thought so. So I had also grown up with other families not wanting their children to hang out with me, or the fact that my first girlfriend’s father had literally threatened me with a gun because I dared to mention my seemingly unusual family life. He called me all sorts of names, and then my dad, and the man who had taught me all I knew about the security business—Border—had taken care of it for me.

I never knew what was said, only that if Border was there, it was because my other dad, Jake, was holding my mother back from doing it herself. Mom would’ve probably ended up in jail, but everything would’ve ended the same way. With the man never threatening me again, but me never seeing that girl again, either.

I grew up with a family that loved me, knowing that other families might not understand my homelife. So me having a few poly moments with my best friend and another woman had just made sense—until it hadn’t.

Because Ford didn’t want me that way, or at least not in the way I was able to give, and I didn’t want to hurt that little barista because Ford and I were messed up.

I hadn’t even realized I was staring into space until Ford came up and punched my shoulder where Daisy had the day before. I frowned and rubbed the aching spot.

“Why is everyone so violent?” I grumbled.

“Because you’re not paying attention. Come on, let’s go get coffee.”

“We can’t just leave the place closed.”

“You won’t, we’re here,” Gus said as he walked in. He had dark hair, a large build, and looked like he could break you with his pinky. Which was good for us because he was usually the one that we sent in when we needed a bruiser lookalike for a bodyguard. The tiny woman beside him was his partner on most shifts. When Jennifer walked into a room, everyone thought she was weak and innocent, until she had you on the ground, arms behind your back and her knee pinning your spine. It was quite amazing to watch her work and, like Daisy, I was just as afraid of her. But I was glad they were on my team.

“You guys done with your job?” I asked.

“Yes, boss,” Jennifer said with a wink.

Gus rolled his eyes. “Stop calling him boss. You know he hates it.”

“Actually, I don’t mind it,” I said, as Ford snorted.

“You guys are a hoot, come on I want coffee. And you need it too.”

“I’m fine,” I growled.

“Crabby pants,” Ford mumbled.

Gus pressed his lips together as if he didn’t want to laugh, but Jennifer threw her head back and just let it all out. “I love when the bosses fight. It’s fun.”

“Just wait till Daisy is done with work. Then the fighting really gets fun.”

“And Kane and Kingston. I don’t know how we ended up with five bosses though,” Jennifer said. She frowned looking between us. “Seriously, at least you guys know what you’re doing.”

“Or at least we pretend really well,” I said, deadpan.

Jennifer gave me a thumbs-up as she moved out of the way of the door. “I would love a crème brûlée latte.”

“What the hell is that?” I asked.

“Just the best thing ever, and it is one of the weekly specials on Greer’s menu. I am so glad that they opened the coffee shop only a couple doors down. I am very spoiled.”

“We’re all spoiled. It’s a lot better than the coffee shop that was in before Greer and Raven bought the bakery.”

Gus nodded as he went to his desk. The whole office was open concept, our desks all outside of the back offices. That way we could work together on things, but there were also secure rooms where we could work on sensitive material. Considering we were a security business, we didn’t need everything out in the open, but we also needed to work as a unit. Each office in the back was made for anyone, and were secure. I liked the way we made this work. It was different than the way my dad had run his business, since he had been solo. We worked as a unit, and not only installed security systems, we tested them, and were security ourselves. We tried to keep the people that we secured safe. And we didn’t fail, at least, that’s what I told myself. Because we had failed. I had failed. My job was not only testing the cybersecurity of each of our systems, but it was running background checks beyond what some of my team could do.

And I had missed a big one.

Because on the other side of that coffee shop had once been a bike shop. And the man that owned it had passed every single check that our family had put him through. Because the Montgomerys owned this building, and everybody working in this building had to be above reproach. But Wyatt hadn’t been. No, not only did he kidnap and hurt his ex-girlfriend, but he hurt Raven. Had taken her from our cousin Sebastian, and I would never forgive myself for nearly being too late. For fucking up and letting her get hurt. Raven was family, and I had let my family down.

Ford punched me again and I frowned at him. “What?”

“Get out of your head. We’re going to go get your coffee. Maybe getting some fresh air will cure whatever funk you’re in.”

I didn’t think that was the case, but I nodded and followed him, ignoring the worried looks that both Gus and Jennifer gave me. They hadn’t been working for us when Wyatt had opened his business, so they didn’t realize I was the screw up. I would find a way to atone. But I still felt guilty as hell.

“Are you done pouting?”

“I don’t pout.”

“Sure you don’t. Not at all.”

I flipped off my best friend, and he just smiled at me.

“No thanks. We already tried that remember?”

I nearly tripped over my feet as we walked past the tattoo shop my family owned and headed towards the bakery café.

Ford never joked about us fucking. He never brought it up, because we weren’t ever going to do it again. What the hell was going on with him?

Maybe I did need coffee.

“Are they almost done with the new part of the building?” I asked, pointing towards the end of the area where Wyatt’s bike shop had been.

We had left it empty for a bit, not knowing what to do. Not only had the authorities needed to comb over everything for evidence and to see if Wyatt had done anything else, it had felt weird to put anything else in there.

“They’re adding the extension and splitting up the place. The space was really too big for the bike shop anyway.” Ford paused. “Let’s not talk about him anymore.”

“Damn fine with me,” I growled.

“The office and gallery should be ready to be set up soon. It’s a whole lot of construction, and I’m glad that Raven and Greer don’t mind the noise.”

“I’m just sorry they’re dealing with it,” I said as we walked inside.

The place smelled of baked goods and coffee, and my stomach growled. I hadn’t even realized I was hungry until I walked inside.

Greer stood there, a sad smile on her face as she waved at us, and we made our way to the front counter.

“Hey there,” Ford said.

“Hey. I didn’t think you guys were coming in today. It’s a bit late for you.”

I shrugged and stuffed my hands in my pockets. It was always so weird to talk to Greer. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I wasn’t usually like this, but I was off my game. Ford, however, didn’t seem to be.

“We had a busy workday, and Daisy brought us coffee from your place earlier.”

“Oh, that must have been from Raven. I came in late today.”

There was something about the way she said it that made me frown.

“What’s wrong, Greer?” I asked, my voice low. She looked around the busy area, as if afraid to be overheard, but there was no one else behind us. People were settled at their chairs and tables with big coffee cups and their meals, but nobody was waiting other than us.

Greer just shrugged. “Matt and I broke up this morning. It took me a little while to get ready for the day and come in. Thankfully, Raven had it handled. But yeah.”

I froze, not knowing what to say. Greer and Matt had been dating for a few months, and I hadn’t really liked the guy. I knew that was probably because I was attracted to Greer and didn’t think anyone was good enough for her.

From the sadness dripping off her, I wanted to find Matt and punch him. Or run another background check. And yes, I had done that. Sue me. It hadn’t been a full one, nothing illegal. But I’d wanted to make sure she was safe.

And Greer would never know I had done that. Only Ford knew, and he hadn’t stopped me.

While I was thinking though, Ford immediately went around the counter and brought Greer close into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry.” He kissed the top of her head, and I ignored the little clutch of jealousy. Because it really wasn’t jealousy, it was something that said “that is right.”

“I’m fine.” Greer shrugged in Ford’s arms but didn’t let him go. In fact, the two of them stood there behind the counter, holding each other, as I stood awkwardly on the other side with my hands in my pockets.

“What happened? Do you need us to beat him up?” I asked, the words coming out of my mouth before I even thought.

Greer laughed. “No. I’m the one that sort of ended it. I think. We had a fight over my long hours, and then Matt said that if I loved him, I’d spend more time with him. And I realized that I didn’t love him and I wouldn’t ever. You’re supposed to know when you fall, right? Or at least know when it might happen. And now I’m at work, something he hated because I do it too often, but I’m a business owner. What did he think?”

“Asshole,” I said at the exact same time as Ford. We met each other’s gazes, and I ignored the heat there, because it was just a memory. It wasn’t real anymore.

Ford and I were better off as friends and roommates. And the moment I realized that, Ford would be able to move on.

And from the way he still held Greer, and the way she smiled up at him, I figured that maybe Greer could be what he needed. Once she was ready.

And that meant I needed to stop watching both of them. Not just Ford, but Greer too.

Things would be better when I moved on. Or at least got back to reality.

My best friend wasn’t for me. Nor was the woman in his arms.

And once I understood that, I’d be better off.

I just had to ignore the temptations first.