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  Double Bossed

  Taken Book 1

  KL Ramsey

  Double Bossed Copyright © 2019 by K.L. Ramsey.

  Cover design Copyright © 2019 by Miblart

  Imprint: Independently published

  First Print Edition: August 2019

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Airiana

  Justin

  Jarrod

  Airiana

  Justin

  Jarrod

  Airiana

  Justin

  Jarrod

  Airiana

  Justin

  Jarrod

  Airiana

  Justin

  Jarrod

  Airiana

  Justin

  Jarrod

  Airiana

  Justin

  Jarrod

  Airiana

  Jarrod

  Airiana

  Justin

  Airiana

  Jarrod

  Justin

  Airiana

  Jarrod

  Epilogue

  West

  Nash

  About K.L. Ramsey

  More works by K.L. Ramsey

  Airiana

  Airiana Scott watched as her brother-in-law, Holden Kade passed by her new boss’s office and gave her a smile and a wave. She was so grateful to him for helping her land the secretarial position at his firm a few months back. Airi loved that she and her son, Milo, got to live in the same town as her big sister, Ivy. She was excited about the fact she was going to be around when Ivy, Holden and Slade decided to have a little one of their own. Judging from her sister’s little belly and her growing aversion to alcohol, she was pretty sure Ivy was going to be a mommy very soon. The thought of having a little niece or nephew around to spoil, made her giddy. She also loved that Milo would have a little cousin to run around with. But, being around Ivy’s happy family came with pangs of jealousy and longing for something she was never sure she would have. Milo’s father wanted nothing to do with either of them and honestly, they were better off for it. Her loser ex wasn’t someone she wanted in her life and she certainly didn’t want him in her son’s life.

  Cole Summers took off after Ivy, Slade and Holden found her and she knew he’d done her a favor disappearing from her life. Her sister tried to get her to track him down, to go after him for child support but it would open the door for Cole to see his son, and she wasn’t sure that would be a good idea. Airi wanted to make it on her own, not only for herself but for her son. She owed him that much as his mother. Milo didn’t ask to have an asshole for a father or be born to a single mother but this was his life. She just hoped she could make it better for him because Milo deserved the best of her—from her.

  When Ivy and the guys first found Airi living with Cole, she wasn’t sure how she felt about Ivy being in an open poly relationship. She worried her sister had been brain washed into a lifestyle which wasn’t right for her. But seeing just how much the three of them loved each other, needed and took care of each other, made her long to find someone to share her life with. First, it would help if she could get some semblance of her life together, and then maybe find a guy to date. Still, it would feel damn good to at least be on the right track. Any man she dated would have to accept she had an almost one-year old son and at her age, a man like that would be hard to find. Most guys in their twenties didn’t want to be tied down to an instant family and that was exactly what she was. They were a package deal and the few dates she had been on, since having Milo and moving to town, were disasters. Once the guy she was out with asked about her personal life and she shared she was a single mother, they would come up with some lame excuse to cut the date short.

  At least they didn’t waste her time trying to get in her pants; she had that to be thankful for. Airi decided not to date for a while. She wanted to really settle into her new job and she had enough going on, getting Milo accustomed to his new daycare and starting her search for a bigger place for them to live. She was thankful her new company had a great in-house daycare and she could visit Milo on her breaks and lunch, which was a huge bonus. Ivy’s boss, Cash, let her and Milo crash in the apartment above his bar and she was grateful she had a place to call her own. She and Milo were cramped and had to share a bedroom but for now, it worked. Airi hoped to save enough money to get herself a nice little house in town but it would take some time. Ivy offered to help but she had already done so much for her and Milo, there was no way she could accept her sister’s generous offer. Besides, a part of her liked the idea of making it on her own. It was time for her to grow up and learn to fend for herself.

  When Airi thought Ivy had gotten out of the foster care system and just left her, she felt lost and hopeless. She really didn’t care where she ended up and with whom, that was why she let Cole hurt her for so long. Airiana didn’t feel she was worthy of better and that was something she was working on. She was seeing a therapist, once a week, to work on her self-esteem issues and her anger over being abused. Mainly, she was mad at herself for letting someone do that to her but she had some anger towards Ivy and her parents, along with the typical abandonment issues from being left. Airi knew she was eventually going to have to work through all the tough issues but for now, it was nice to have someone to talk to, even if she was paying her therapist to listen. She would do whatever it took to be the best mom she could be for Milo.

  Starting her new job was a fresh beginning for her. Airi’s bosses were great and it didn’t hurt that they were sexy as sin. Jarrod and Justin Grayson were the owners of Grayson Industries, and were sought after by businesses and women alike. Besides being one of the top fortune five hundred companies in the world, they were both wealthy, eligible bachelors who made the local women in town completely gaga. Airi had to admit, she could see the appeal. They were both hot as hell and her main job was to keep out the unwanted attention. She spent her mornings opening the guys “fan mail”, which usually consisted of panties and love letters, dripping with perfume and naughty suggestions. She read a few and had to admit they made her blush but most everything did anyway. Every day, Jarrod and Justin would make a big deal of throwing the letters and trinkets into the garbage, unfazed by the unwanted attention. The guys seemed to be oblivious to the fact they were garnering so much attention, more fixated on their company than conquests. Although, she did overhear Ivy and Holden talking about her bosses joining Pandora’s Box. That fact shouldn’t surprise her though, since they did lend Cash and Slade the money to start the BDSM club. Airi imagined it had to be hard for either of her sexy bosses to meet women outside of the gold digger fan club, which seemed to gather in their lobby on a daily basis.

  Airi peeked into Jarrod’s office to find him sitting behind his desk staring at his computer screen and she almost hated to interrupt him. Jarrod was the more intense brother; Justin was easier going and even flirty but she was sure he was like that with all women. In the last few months, Justin had taken her to lunch or showed up at her desk with takeout every day. She felt like she was monopolizing his time but she had come to cherish their daily chats and time together.

  As if on cue, Justin showed up with a smile on his face and from the delicious aromas c
oming from the bag, Asian takeout. “Yum,” she hummed. She couldn’t think of anything better to cure a case of the Monday’s then noodles with one of her hot bosses.

  “I take it Asian is alright, then?” Justin cocked his eyebrow at her and the way he looked her up and down, waiting for her response had her squirming in her seat.

  “Asian is perfect, as long as you tell me there is Pho in that bag,” she said. Justin’s smile told her she had guessed correctly and he pulled up a chair to her desk. He sat so close to her their legs touched, causing her to feel a little overheated. Justin paying her any attention had her overly active imagination dreaming of him offering her more than just lunch dates. Airi needed to remember he was just showing her kindness and helping her to get settled in her new role. Most of their lunches involved him showing her how to run the numerous systems they required her to understand. She really had no experience, so Justin had taken it upon himself to train her as his and Jarrod’s personal assistant. Airi knew the score—they hired her because of her brother-in-law Holden, working for them and she would do anything not to let him or them down. She needed this job, not just for herself but for her son.

  As if he could read her thoughts, Justin asked about Milo and she couldn’t hide her smile. Thinking about her little guy always made her perk up. He was such a happy baby, she couldn’t imagine her life without him, no matter how hard being a single mother was.

  “He’s good,” she gushed. “I ran upstairs to the daycare center to check on him during my morning break.”

  Justin nodded, “I feel badly about keeping you from him during our work lunches. If you want to take a few extra breaks during the day to check on him, we’d understand.” Airi looked past Justin into where Jarrod was still hard at work. The man never seemed to take breaks, not even for lunch. She found it hard to think of him as being as understanding as Justin about her running up to check in on Milo.

  “I’m good,” she whispered. “You both have already been so accommodating when it comes to working with me and my schedule. I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity.” Airiana knew she was lucky to find a company with such lax policies about bringing children to work. She never dreamt she’d find someplace like Grayson Industries to work for and she didn’t want to push her luck.

  “Well, the offer stands, if you would like to have more time with him. I was just up there myself and he seems so happy playing with the other kids.” Airi gasped, not hiding her surprise at Justin’s words.

  “You were up checking on Milo?” She asked. Justin smiled and nodded.

  “He kind of grows on you after a while, doesn’t he?” Justin admitted. “Besides, I love kids and I try to run up to the daycare just to check on everyone. It really brightens my day. I almost wish I could spare an hour or two just to sit and play with them. Their lives are so simple, I need more of that,” Justin said. He looked back over his shoulder to where his brother worked and Airi didn’t miss the sadness in his eyes. She couldn’t help herself; she reached across her desk and covered his hand with hers. Justin looked down at her hand, and Airi instantly regretted being so forward, pulling hers back.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have done that. It was very forward of me.” Justin smiled at her and reached across her desk, taking her hand into his own.

  “Not forward at all, Airi,” he said. “You just surprised me.”

  Airi looked down to where their hands were joined and wasn’t sure if she should push but she had so many questions when it came to her bosses. Most of them were too personal to ask but she wanted to push her luck, just a little.

  “You sometimes seem so sad when you look at your brother, Justin,” she almost whispered.

  Justin put his fork down and started to clean up his lunch, causing Airi to instantly regret her statement. She wished she could take her words back but it was too late for that. She was screwing up their whole lunch.

  “I’m sorry, Justin,” she apologized. She reached over to touch his arm and he flinched. “I, um I-” she stammered, wishing she could just hide. “I need to run to the ladies room, please excuse me.” Airi stood and hurried past him to the executive washrooms. She found the ladies room empty and breathed a sigh of relief, slinking back against the wall.

  “I’m a fucking idiot,” she said, covering her face with her hands. She didn’t want to cry, while standing in the middle of the ladies room but once the flood gates broke, there was no stopping her tears. Airi wiped at her face. She wouldn’t allow herself to break down now. She needed to get herself together and get back to her desk. Hopefully, Justin would just forget she was an idiot and they could move past her saying inappropriate personal things to him. If not, she always had the ladies room to hide away in.

  Justin

  Justin watched as Airi ran off, saying she had to use the ladies room. He knew he had fucked things up during their lunch together and he hated how he made her feel uncomfortable. Hell, she had him pegged and he wasn’t quite sure how to react to her astute conclusions about he and Jarrod’s relationship lately. In the past few months his twin brother had pushed him away and it hurt like hell.

  Things between them seemed to go downhill after they agreed to hire Holden Kade’s sister-in-law. Their new, sexy assistant seemed to turn both of their heads and when he admitted to Jarrod he wanted her; his brother shut him out. He became obsessed with work and even stopped going out to the local club they had helped to fund, Pandora’s Box, to have a little fun and blow off some steam. Justin had to admit he wasn’t as interested in finding a pretty little sub to spend his time with since meeting Airi but his brother had shut himself off from everything except work.

  Justin wished Jarrod would let him in, just tell him what was eating at him. If he knew his brother, like he thought he did, Justin would guess his brother wanted Airi just as much as he did and didn’t know what to do about it.

  He had even caught Jarrod up at the daycare center, playing with little Milo a few times and he usually grumbled out something about just liking kids and walked away. Justin worried their attraction to Airi was going to drive a wedge between them, and he would never let that happen. He would walk away from her before he’d lose his brother; he just wished Jarrod could see that.

  Jarrod appeared in the doorway. The walls were literally made of glass, so he was sure his brother had witnessed the whole exchange between he and Airi. He was sure most of their floor was now talking about how he had made his poor assistant so upset she had to run to the bathroom just to escape him.

  “What happened to Airiana?” Jarrod asked. He looked angry but he didn’t give that away with his carefree tone. Justin knew his brother well enough to know when he was upset or even angry, like now.

  “I kind of fucked up and upset her,” Justin admitted.

  “What the fuck did you do to her?” Jarrod asked, finally showing his hand.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Justin barked back. He sighed, knowing it wasn’t entirely true. “Fuck,” he growled. “Airi made an observation about me and it hit a little too close to home, so I acted like an ass,” he admitted.

  “What was the observation?” Jarrod asked.

  “She said I seem a little sad when it comes to you,” Justin whispered. He didn’t want to draw any more unwanted attention from the office gossips. They seemed to come out of the woodwork whenever he and Jarrod got into a heated conversation and usually, by the next day, rumors were circulating that they were closing Grayson Industries and laying everyone off. Theatrics ran high around the office and he didn’t want to have to deal with anymore HR meetings and reassure everyone that their jobs were safe.

  “Sad? Why would she say that?” Jarrod feigned ignorance but he knew exactly what was going on between the two of them. Justin was just more sensitive about these things than Jarrod would ever let on being.

  “You know exactly what she means, Jarrod. Things haven’t been the same with us since I admitted to liking Airi. You feel the sa
me way about her but you’re just too chicken to admit it. It’s alright if we both want her,” Justin dramatically whispered.

  Jarrod shook his head, “You don’t get it, brother. What good would come from us both falling for the same woman? Sure, we share women but falling for the same one would only drive us apart and I won’t have that. She’s only twenty-two years old and I’m pretty sure we just celebrated our thirty-fifth birthdays, which makes her much too young for either of us. Plus, there’s the fact she works for us and HR would have a fucking field day with us dating an employee. I don’t want Airiana,” he shouted. His eyes darted past where Justin stood, at Airi’s desk, and Jarrod closed his eyes and groaned.

  “Shit,” Justin said, knowing she was standing just behind him before he even turned around to check. He turned to find Airi’s tear-stained face and it nearly did him in. Her face was a beautiful, angry mask and she looked as if she could strangle his brother. Honestly, Justin felt the same way about Jarrod at this point. Not only was his brother denying his feelings, now he was being a complete ass and hurting Airi.

  “I’m so sorry, Airi,” Justin said. “Jarrod didn’t mean-”

  “I meant every word, Justin. Don’t put words into my mouth. I’m sorry if I upset you, Airiana,” Jarrod barked. He nodded as if dismissing her and turned to go into his office. Jarrod frosted his windows, effectively shutting them both out and Airi brushed past Justin to take her seat.