“You should be nicer,” Declan nodded. “That’ll help.”
“Cool, thanks for that information,” Brian snapped. “Anything else you’d like to say?”
“Nope,” Declan grinned and turned to leave. He headed back to his office leaving Brian to clean up. By the time he finished, he was tired and worn out. He hadn’t meant to spend his morning like this.
That was what he was doing, though. He was spending his morning cleaning up spills and wishing that he was anywhere but here. He was in a funk, and he needed to break free.
“Don’t be an idiot,” he told himself, and he got to work.
BRIAN DIDN'T WANT TO talk to his brothers that afternoon. Not at all. He didn't exactly have much of a choice, considering the fact that they not only worked together, but that they owned a shared company.
Whether it was because they were triplets or because they were shifters, Brian didn't know, but his brothers seemed to realize that he was in something of a terrible mood just by looking at him. As
usual, Christopher was the one who called him out.
The three of them were gathered in Brian’s office going over some numbers when Christopher had finally had enough.
"What's your deal?" Christopher asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s Friday afternoon and you have literally nothing planned this weekend, so what’s wrong?”
"Nothing."
"Leave him alone," Declan was the voice of reason.
For that, Brian was grateful.
"No, I won't leave him alone," Christopher said. "He's being a sourpuss."
"It's just been a long day," Brian said. That was putting it lightly. The dragon felt tired. Worn out. He felt the weight of the world bogging him down, and he didn't know what to do about it.
"It's always a long day," Christopher pointed out.
Brian looked at his brother. Christopher was...happy. He and Declan both were. In the past year, they had each found their mates, and they were truly content. Brian was happy for them.
Really, he was.
He was also wildly jealous, and that was a feeling that made him uncomfortable.
He wasn’t supposed to be jealous of his brothers.
He was supposed to look after them, take care of them. He was supposed to make them feel like they were safe and that he’d handle all of their problems. That was the kind of thing a big brother did.
Right?
"Look," he said, "I have a big meeting on Monday."
"Oh yeah," Christopher nodded, "with that reporter, right?"
"The writer, yes," Brian wasn’t really sure what to expect from the meeting, but he’d agreed to it, and he’d stick to his word.
"I thought she wrote for a tabloid."
"No." Brian was curt, but that was only because he didn't feel like explaining anything more to his siblings. Winter March was more than a reporter, and if she was half as hot as her voice, Brian knew he was in major trouble.
When she’d called to ask him if she could interview him for her newspaper, he’d been hesitant at first. Then he’d realized that not only did he not have anything to lose, but that meeting someone new could be fun and exciting. At the very least, they could flirt over lunch, he could answer her questions, and she could pull him from the eternal funk he seemed to be stuck in.
Savannah appeared, and she cleared her throat nervously. She looked at the dragons standing around Brian’s office. Brian could practically feel the anxiety rolling off of her in waves. She needed to calm down, and fast.
"Mr. Monster?"