Competing for Lisa [The Callens 11] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  The Callens 11

  Competing for Lisa

  When pediatric oncologist, Trevor Callen, is paired with the stocky, aggressive lawyer Lisa Brightner at his brother’s wedding, he’s intrigued, but he refuses to get involved with a woman who lives in another state. His roommate, hardware store owner, Dante Williams, doesn’t mind the travel, but since he and Trevor share, he won’t pursue her—it’s just not done.

  After Lisa is laid off, she returns to Intrigue for a month to help Mandy Callen with her new baby. Not only does she rekindle her attraction with the men, but she falls for a third man, Mitch Dawes, a NYT best-selling author. Too bad Mitch and Trevor have a bad history together—the woman they both wanted to marry dumped Trevor for Mitch. Now Trevor won’t even return Mitch’s calls. What can Lisa do to get all three men to forgive the past and join forces to love her?

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 67,302 words

  COMPETING FOR LISA

  The Callens 11

  Melody Snow Monroe

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  COMPETING FOR LISA

  Copyright © 2013 by Melody Snow Monroe

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-361-0

  First E-book Publication: August 2013

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

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  DEDICATION

  To Vicki. One of the bravest little girls in the world.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  About the Author

  COMPETING FOR LISA

  The Callens 11

  MELODY SNOW MONROE

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter One

  Lisa Brightner’s instant messenger dinged at the same time a flag popped up on her office e-mail. “A or B?”

  A quick glance at the instant message had her body tensing. Oh, shit. The memo came from the CEO of Eastman Environmental—her boss’s boss. Rumors of downsizing were running rampant, but no one was saying who might be let go. The message merely read, “Please come into my office.”

  She tried to swallow her anxiety, but then told herself that since her fiscal year was coming to an end, he must want to talk with her about her annual raise. At that wonderful thought, her blood pressure lowered.

  You’re deluding yourself.

  Her stomach then flipped, and she immediately responded she’d be right there. To be sure she hadn’t misread or overlooked a piece of the message, Lisa read the comment once more, but the words remained the same.

  Think raise.

  She grabbed her purse and pulled out a mirror to check that her lipstick hadn’t faded. She was one of Eastman’s corporate lawyers, and in case Mr. Eastman wanted her to confer with a client, she needed to look good.

  “Christ.” Her long, auburn hair that she usually managed to keep in a twist had frizzed out to the max and too many loose strands had clumped around her neck.

  She opened her desk drawer, located the travel-sized canister of hairspray, and spritzed some on the sides. She tucked and patted to restore it to its morning condition. Now her hands were sticky. Yuck. If she had to shake the client’s hand, it wouldn’t do to have goo on them. Lisa fumbled through her drawer for wipes and cleaned her fingers.

  You need to go. Think positive.

  She inhaled a deep breath then slipped her feet into her uncomfortable heels. She wore the five inchers because she was so damned short. With shoulders straight, she strode toward the CEO’s office, a sick feeling swimming in her gut.

  No negative thoughts allowed.

  When she reached her destination, she ran her hands down her skirt to press out the wrinkles, but ran into bulges on either side of her hips instead. She knocked and stepped inside without waiting for an answer.

  Her heart dropped to her stomach the moment she spotted who was there. Not only was the big kahuna at his massive mahogany desk, but so were her boss, Todd, and the chief financial officer, Tom Randolph. The lack of a client confirmed the worst. “Gentlemen.” She swallowed past the l
ump.

  She glanced around for a chair, but the men occupied all of the seats. I guess this is not about my raise. Her pits dampened and acid rose up her throat. Be cool.

  Neither man stood to offer her his seat. This was bad. Very bad. Mr. Eastman leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingers. “Let me say you’ve been an exemplary worker, but due to financial conditions, we have to let you go.”

  Oh, my God. The rumors had been true. Adrenaline spiked her pulse and a giant claw dug into her belly. Images of her mortgage payments, car payments, and college loans floated in her head.

  When all three men looked up at her, she figured they expected her to respond. “Seriously?” she blurted out.

  She glanced to her boss who immediately shot his gaze downward. After two years, eleven months, and fourteen days, this was the thanks she got for giving up her weekends and holidays to work whenever they asked for a hand?

  Eastman turned to her boss. “Todd, will you escort Miss Brightner to her office so she can pack her things?”

  Her fists clenched and her mind raced as she searched for the silver lining. If she didn’t find something positive to cling to, she might punch someone. Maybe this would give her the impetus to find a better job, but hell, her savings wouldn’t last that long.

  Eastman cleared his throat. “We’ll give you one month’s severance pay.”

  A brief wash of relief streamed through her, but even after paying her car and condo payments, as well as her monthly bills, she could last maybe two months.

  Eastman’s words about Todd escorting her to her office registered. Her office? That was a joke. It was a wimpy cubicle. She understood why they wanted to walk her out the door. A former employee had erased everything on his hard drive just to fuck with them.

  As soon as she and her boss stepped into the main room that housed the other “offices,” she halted. “Where is everyone?” The entire room had been cleared.

  “We didn’t think you’d feel comfortable with everyone staring at you.”

  Comfortable? “This is better?” As soon as she walked out, everyone would zoom back in and start talking about her.

  “We’re doing this for all of the others in the residential department who we’re letting go.”

  “Did they lay off the entire department?” That meant Todd would be laid off, too. His faced turned to ash. He and his wife were about to have their first child, and not long ago he’d purchased a new home.

  “I’ve been moved to commercial.”

  At least one person had been spared. “That’s good.”

  A box already sat on her desk. She spotted others scattered about the room and her body ached. Even though she kept telling herself that being let go had nothing to do with her performance, it was still a failure in her eyes. She dumped most of what was in her drawer into the box and sighed as she remembered all of the good people who worked here.

  He nodded. “Let me carry that out for you.”

  She was about to object, but he seemed to need to do something for her. As soon as they reached the front door, he handed her back the box, and held out his hand.

  She shook his for the last time, but part of her wished she hadn’t washed off the sticky stuff. He could have fought for her to stay. Todd spun on his heels and strode back inside.

  Okay, now what? Lisa tried to push back the frustration and feelings of despair and embrace the day, but the dismissal left too bitter a taste in her mouth. At least she didn’t have three mouths to feed or an ill parent to support. She could do this. Having to tell her proud parents she’d been let go might be the hardest chore she had to face.

  Lisa inhaled and closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the cluster of cars whirring by that blended with the chatter of people sitting in front of an outdoor café. The June day was deliciously wonderful, and by Denver standards, this was an unseasonably warm day.

  She could hear Mandy and Candy telling her to go have some fun. Right. What was that?

  Play tennis! Getting in a good workout always helped relieve stress. Her country club membership was paid up for two more months, but if she didn’t find another job, she’d have to let that go. Another wave of depression slammed into her until her mom’s voice rang in her head. She’d tell her to put on an alternate pair of colored glasses and see the world differently, but even rose-colored ones wouldn’t help now.

  Lisa trudged to the parking garage, carrying her box and placed her possessions in the trunk.

  On her drive home, she let her mind wander to all the possibilities that lay ahead. Yes, she’d need to find another job, but not right this minute. With her month’s severance pay, she debated taking a trip to Europe, but then realized that would be dumb to squander what little money she had left.

  As it so happened, just last night she’d spoken with her friend Mandy who was now living in Intrigue, Wyoming. She’d just had her first baby, and her mother had come in from Virginia for a week. However, once she left, Mandy was finding it hard to sleep. Perhaps Lisa would visit her friend to take some of the burden off her. A bit of excitement bolstered her energy and a plan formed.

  She pulled into her covered parking space and decided she could leave the box in her trunk for a little while longer. Lisa took the elevator to the eleventh floor. Before she called her parents or headed to the club for a workout, she wanted to tell her best friend, Beth Simpson, that she’d be taking a little vacation for a while.

  Beth might be in the middle of handling a wedding detail for her company, or she could be sitting at home working from her computer. In case her friend was free, she dialed her number.

  Her friend answered on the first ring. “I thought Eastman Environmental frowned on personal phone calls.” Beth’s cheery voice was welcome.

  Now came the hard part. At least Beth would never judge. “I got the old pink slip today.” She tightened her hold on the phone.

  As expected, Beth gasped. “Oh no! Lisa, I’m so sorry. Did they say why?”

  Lisa explained about the downsizing, but even in the retelling it still sucked. “But the good news is that I get a month’s severance pay.”

  “You so have to do something you’ve always dreamed of doing but never had the courage to follow through on.”

  Lisa laughed. “Like what?” Her mind blanked.

  “Are you kidding? For weeks after Mandy’s wedding you wouldn’t stop talking about Trevor Callen and Dante Williams.”

  She placed her purse on the counter and withdrew a bottle of water from the fridge. “They were divine.” She’d even kissed both of them, one after the other, and long after they’d dropped her off at the hotel, her body had sizzled with desire and left her with a seed of hope that maybe someday she could be with two men. Mandy was thriving with her new husbands, so why not give the alternative lifestyle a chance?

  “Are you still Facebook friends with them?”

  Dante was willing to try a long distance relationship, but Trevor said that with his intensely busy schedule at the hospital, he couldn’t afford the two-hour drive from Wyoming to Colorado each weekend. “Only Dante, but he still flirts with me on Facebook.”

  “Then head to Intrigue, and for one month go wild. Make love with two men, skinny-dip, ride a horse. Hell, I don’t know. Just have fun!”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “Because it is.”

  “I honestly was thinking about visiting Mandy and giving her a break with the baby.” She yearned for a child of her own, and loved the idea of babysitting.

  Beth sighed. “If I weren’t in the middle of this wedding, I’d come with you.”

  “That would be so awesome.” She, Mandy, Beth, and Candy used to do everything together. Then Mandy and Candy moved to Intrigue and found the loves of their lives. That left just her and Beth in Denver. “It’s only a short drive. See if you can make it, even if it’s only for a weekend.”

  “I will. Text me when you arrive and when you snag those two hunks.”


  That made her laugh. Leaving her best friend would be hard, but seeing Candy, Mandy, and the new baby would make up for it.

  Don’t deny it. You want to see Trevor and Dante, too.

  * * * *

  When Lisa eased in front of Mandy’s home in Intrigue, so many good memories surfaced. The adventure vacation Lisa, Beth, and Candy took with her last year had been one of the best times ever. And of course, there was Trevor and Dante. Her pussy did a quick clench as she thought about them for the millionth time since she’d left home.

  Lisa left her suitcase in the trunk and rang the bell, excited to see her friend. A few seconds later Mandy pulled open the door and squealed. “You made it!”

  They hugged and Lisa held Mandy out at arm’s length. “Look at you, momma. You’re glowing.”

  She laughed. “It’s the hormones.” She fluffed her hair. “I’ve never had more hair or bigger boobs. Come in, come in.” She placed a finger to her lips. “The baby is sleeping. Finally.”

  Mandy ushered her into the big kitchen where she pulled a cold Coke from the refrigerator and handed it to her. “So how did you swing the time off?”

  Once more she had to relive the humiliation. “I’m no longer working at Eastman Environmental.” She held up a hand. “I would have called to tell you, but I wanted it to be in person.” When Mandy found out she was pregnant, she’d waited until the wedding to tell her for the same reason.

  “Oh, no.” Mandy slid onto a stool and faced her. “What happened?”

  She told her about the layoffs. “I’m learning to deal, but you know how much of my heart and soul I put into that job.”