Page 1 of Wham, Bam, Marry Me, Ma’am (The Billings Brothers Trilogy #1)

Vaughn

"She's crying, Barrett." I wave a dismissive hand at the closed door behind which the weeping woman disappeared.

Barrett clenches his jaw, turning to stare at me incredulously. "Yes. After talking to you for an entire five minutes, she's in tears, Vaughn. Go figure."

"Precisely. That wouldn't work for me. For us." I replace the cap on my pen, leaning toward my brother who seems in need of more information to put two and two together. "I can't have someone bursting into tears every time I look at her."

"Vaughn, she isn't crying because you looked at her. You asked if she had any pets and then when she mentioned her cat, you inquired whether she was particularly attached."

Shrugging, I steeple my fingers together in front of my face. "Sometimes I require my assistant to stay for long hours. If she has a pet to get home to, it will be a problem."

"It's not an appropriate question. You might as well have asked if she has kids or if she wants to see your dick, Vaughn." Barrett glares at me and West burst out laughing.

"Please. I would never date anyone at work. I'm a professional." I roll my eyes.

"Don't waste your breath trying to explain this, Barrett. Vaughn needs to pick who he wants or we'll all be miserable." Weston leans back in his chair with a grin, watching the scene unfold like he doesn't have a care in the world.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, attempting to keep my composure in the face of their condescension.

Looks-wise, we are, without a doubt, all related. Same dark hair and features. And, thanks to sharing a personal trainer, our bodies are all relatively similar in size, although I'm an inch taller than both of my brothers, a fact that gives me immense pleasure.

Personality-wise, however, my brothers are the polar opposite of me.

Barrett is the Chief Marketing Officer and everybody loves him.

Weston can laugh and joke with people easily, and manages to keep us on board financially as the CFO, even if he does it while acting as if he doesn't have a care in the world.

Both my brothers take their jobs seriously, but neither of them understands what is required to keep a company our size afloat.

The number of systems required to keep everyone employed.

I am not particularly warm , but I know every single person's name who works for us.

I've met them all and I appreciate anyone who values our mission and goals.

I genuinely care about making sure our company thrives for the good of the people we work for, as much as for ourselves.

Barrett shakes his head. "No, he's not in charge of picking this one. Vaughn has hired the last four, and they all quit."

"You stole Marcus, so that hardly counts." My dream assistant filched right out from under my nose by my own brother.

"He deserved to get promoted and he's brought in more sales in the last month than we had in all of Q2 last year.

It was the right move for the business, and you know it.

" Barrett glares at me. "You don't get to keep Marcus from success because you have an asshole complex bordering on Rain Man territory. "

I rear back, appalled. "I am happy for Marcus. I want to see him succeed as much as anyone. I simply miss him. He was excellent at his job."

West snorts out a laugh. "I've never heard you say you miss me, brother. What gives?"

I bristle. "I'm not an asshole. I'm –"

"–particular," both my brothers finish for me in unison.

Clenching my jaw, I refill my water glass. "Why don't we hire two assistants? I'll pick one, and you two can share one."

Barrett sighs loudly. "Vaughn, we've talked about this. We need one person who can manage all our schedules and our time when we are in the office together. When West and I are traveling, the new assistant is yours, but we need someone who can keep us on track together."

"I don't trust you to pick the new assistant."

"Fine. West is picking for us."

West perks up. "Alright, now we're cooking with fire."

I roll my eyes. "He's going to pick someone unacceptable to fuck with me and we'll be right back here again in a week."

"I will not. I don't like a day of interviews any more than you," West protests.

"No." I shake my head, but Barrett grins at me.

He pulls out a short blue sheet of paper and my stomach drops. "Remember two months ago, we stopped by that small little hole in the wall bar and you bet me they wouldn't have the scotch you wanted?"

I clench my jaw. "This is what you're wasting your win on?"

"What is it?" West asks.

Barrett's grin grates on my last nerve as he hands the paper over to our brother.

"I, Vaughn Billings, lost a bet. This paper allows Barrett Billings, the winner and handsomest of all the Billings Brothers–" West stops reading, tossing the paper back to Barrett. "You wish."

Barrett chuckles. "He lost the bet, I get a company decision of my choice with no complaints." He taps the paper West put down on the table.

"Fine." I grit out. "But, I'm not keeping someone on who can't do the job."

"Fine, but you can only fire them if it's about their job performance. Nothing of a personal nature." Barrett points his finger at me, and West nods in agreement.

I take a deep breath and West shifts over to Barrett's seat in the middle of the table when Barrett gets up to call in the next applicant.

West turns to me. "Due to the added handsomest brother nonsense, I promise to choose wisely, Vaughn."

Glaring down at my papers, I glance at the next person's name: Rachel Diver.

"Hello." A soft, melodic voice travels across the large conference room.

I look up, swallowing hard when my eyes lock with Rachel's.

Her long dark brown hair flows freely in loose waves, dark brown eyes shine with a positive energy that would typically drive me crazy, but instead my heart squeezes in delight.

My cock stands to attention as her pink tongue darts out to lick her plump lips, and she settles into the chair across from us.

If you had asked me moments ago if I believe in love at first sight, I would have dismissed you like dirt beneath my shoe. But, in walks Rachel, and, call me filthy, I am in love and ready to make this woman my wife.

Fuck. No.

Absolutely not, I write and then slide the paper over to West, giving him a side-eye as I shake my head slightly.

West furrows his brow at me, shoving the paper back to me and smiling at Rachel.

Barrett asks the first question, getting the interview started. "Rachel, tell us about your experience managing multiple schedules at once."

I don't even know what she says. I underline the two words three times, aggressively sliding it over to West again, but he doesn't stop the interview.

For twenty minutes, I listen to Rachel answer question after question with poise, grace, and stunning capability. Had she been any other applicant I would have hired her on the spot. But, I cannot have Rachel around me all day, every day. I can't.

"I'm sorry, but you are not a good fit." I suddenly break in, as Barrett starts to ask another question. My dick hardens like a teenager going through puberty as she turns her dark chocolatey brown eyes toward me and blinks. I shift uncomfortably in my chair, gripping my pen tightly.

Barrett turns sharply, glaring at me.

"What? Why waste her time?" I avoid making eye contact with either of my brothers, but I also can't look at the goddess sitting in the chair in front of me, so I end up circling my head around like I'm chasing a bug.

"Oh. Okay." The disappointment in Rachel's voice forces me to look at her, against my better judgement.

Her soft voice calls to me like a siren on the water, but her lovely eyes look so sad, I have to glance down quickly at the papers in front of me to keep from leaping over the table to comfort her.

My brothers' eyes are boring holes in the side of my head and I turn toward them with gritted teeth.

Before Barrett can say anything to me, her soft, melodic voice, says firmly. "It's okay. I'll get the next one."

We all turn to stare at her and West chuckles.

"You'll what?" I ask, genuinely curious what she means.

Then, there's a shift, like her body lets out all the emotions begging to burst forward and she releases them into the air. Rachel smiles at me with a soft peaceful look on her face. "I'll get the next job," she clarifies, like she's referring to catching a bus or something.

West's laugh booms out into the room. "I like you." He turns toward Barrett and me giving us both a wink before he turns back to Rachel. "You're hired."

Barrett and I both turn to look at him, and he shrugs.

"She's perfect." Weston winks at Rachel and the rage, boiling in my blood as he flirts with her, threatens to consume me.

I have to grip the table so I don't punch my own brother in front of the goddess clearly sent here on a mission to break me.

Yes, she is perfect.

And, a walking HR nightmare.

I'm a dead man.