The Reed Security Relationship Manual: A Reed Security Romance - Giulia Lagomarsino (best book club books of all time TXT) 📗

celebrating our birthdays.” My jaw dropped. “I know, it’s hard to believe, but every time one of you says ‘happy birthday’, it’s just a reminder of how old we are. As long as you don’t say anything, we can go on pretending that we’re still young and beautiful, just the way you’ve always thought of us.”

“So, all those happy birthday wishes, the birthday parties, the flowers—“

“The jewelry,” she rolled her eyes. “That’s the worst. It’s like saying, I’m really sorry you’re getting older. Here’s some sparkling jewelry to make you seem shinier and new.”

I ran my hand through my shorn hair, shaking my head in amazement. It wasn’t possible. Could it really be true? And if it was, this changed everything we had written so far in the manual. All that advice everyone was giving, it was all bullshit, because they didn’t have the secrets to the universe in their possession. I stared down at the piece of paper before me and wrote the final note.

7. Women hate celebrating their birthdays. Stop doing it.

And just like that, I felt like power was rushing through me. I knew what women wanted. It was amazing, and as much as I wanted to pick her brain some more, I had to get back to work and share this news before they wasted any more time on that manual.

I stood and kissed her hard. “Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I think I’ve always underestimated you all along.”

“Oh, trust me, you have.”

I smiled at her again, shaking my head. “I have to get to work. The guys need to know this.”

“Okay, babe. I’ll have dinner on the table for you at six sharp.”

I laughed lightly. “And I won’t clean up the dishes.”

“See? Don’t you feel better already?”

“Fucking amazing.”

I ran out to my truck and headed over to the Reed Security building. This was like a scientific breakthrough, something that most people only ever dreamed of discovering. And I had the fucking list in my hands. I grinned as I went through all the steps to get into the building. When I walked into the conference room and saw Rocco, Cap, and Craig all bending over their papers, looking completely stressed, I felt like the man of the hour.

“Gentleman, your search for answers is no more.”

They all looked up at me, but it was Rocco that spoke. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

I leaned on the table, making sure I had their full attention before I continued. “I have discovered something that completely changes the direction of the manual. This is something that no man knows about, except me.”

“And how did you find out?” Craig asked.

“Simple. My woman loves me, and she wants me to be happy.”

Cap waved his hand. “Let’s see this miraculous discovery.”

Smirking, I slid the papers over to him and crossed my arms as I waited for him to read through my list. Running his finger over his lips, I could tell that he was really trying to decipher if this was true. His eyes finally lifted to meet mine.

“And you say Jessica told you this.”

“Yep.”

“Just out of the blue.”

“Well, she caught me working on my section. She said we all had it wrong, and it needed to be corrected.”

He nodded slightly, his eyes flicking back to my notes. He set the paperwork down and linked his fingers in front of him as he rested his arms on the table.

“Storm, I’m going to tell you something that I shouldn’t have to say to any man.”

I frowned, not liking where this was going.

“She’s fucking with you.”

I shook my head. “No, she told me—”

“Lies,” Rocco said, snatching up the papers. “They don’t want foreplay?” He threw his head back with laughter. “If you ram your dick in her and she’s not ready, you’re gonna get punched in the face.”

“No, she said that all it takes is a touch.”

“Yeah, and does that work for you?”

“Well, yeah,” I admitted.

Craig chuckled. “Women are not men. They need love and attention. They need to be caressed and shown they’re loved. They need a connection.”

“Well…what about the other stuff?”

“Like the dishes?” Cap asked.

“Yeah.”

“Have you ever heard of Lorena Bobbitt?”

“Of course,” I laughed. “Who hasn’t—” I stopped and stared at him. “You don’t think…”

“Well, she didn’t cut it off because she was madly in love with him.”

I slumped down in my chair, running my hand over my head. “What the hell? Why would she do this?”

“Payback,” Rocco said bluntly. “At some point over the last year, hell, since you’ve known her, you’ve pissed her off. And women don’t forget a single damn thing. Anything you say or do can be used against you at any given time, and she just did it to you.”

A sliver of fear raced down my spine. “What do I do?”

Cap tossed the papers at me. “Well, burn that, do the exact opposite of everything she said, and whatever you do, don’t turn your back on her. That’s when she’ll strike. You need to act like you’re in enemy territory for the foreseeable future.”

“How do I know when I’m in the clear?” I asked, my throat closing up.

Cap sighed. “You never do. Hell, I wake up every morning with Maggie, wondering if today is the day she’ll kill me. There’s a sort of peace that comes with knowing your death is impending.”

“How do you figure?”

He grinned. “I must have done something really shitty to piss her off so much she would kill me.”

Chapter Eleven

Emma

“Shit!” I swore, banging my fist on the steering wheel. “I forgot my goody bag at the hotel.”

Ivy perked up from the backseat. “You forgot the sex toys? How could you do that?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I remember putting the bag on the bed, but I don’t think I grabbed it when we left.”

Raegan tsked beside me. “Somebody’s going to have a surprise when they clean the room.”

“I really doubt anyone’s going to use those. It’s not like they were in the packaging,” Ivy reminded us.

Sighing, I leaned my head