Quality Assurance (2 page)

She still made Eli’s pulse pick up. Eli couldn’t deny the attraction but luckily others turned him on as well. Some even returned the affection. Looking at Fred, Eli was so glad he’d tried men in college. Fred’s short black hair and sharp blue eyes stood out on his pale but nicely built form. Along with Xavier, Fred had moved here from the gulf for a job. Somehow, things just worked out for Eli and Fred. Small towns didn’t seem the norm for bisexual men, but Eli couldn’t imagine a real life anywhere but home, and home would always be Lucky Springs.

“She’s probably a stuck up princess. She’s our liaison to the sales team? Please.” Xavier shook his head.

“No, she was nice. Head cheerleader and prom queen, but not an uber-bitch. She got decent grades too.” Jackson shrugged.

Jackson was another Lucky Springs alum who’d had a crush on the popular Ms. Tassin. He’d been smart enough not to make any move, though Jackson could have. As a jock, he was popular by accomplishment if not in the top rung of cool. He’d shocked Eli six months ago when Fred and Xavier had joined them at the factory. Jackson had flipped from straight to bisexual when Xavier had bewitched the first baseman from the Lucky Springs varsity baseball team.

The group thing worked for them, as it did for a lot of people in their little town, but they all wanted to add a woman. Eli had tried not to think about it since women were scarce around here. Fred supported the idea but didn’t seem at all frustrated by the lack of a naked lady. Yet they all felt the missing piece on some level.

“At least, we’ll have something pretty to look at. Don’t get many women down on the floor or in the QC lab.” Xavier winked at Jackson.

“No, no. Look, I know she’s hot, but when I asked her out, she wasn’t exactly nice.” Eli hated reliving the moment.

Jackson leaned his head back on the sofa. “You asked her in front of her family and friends at a football game. Yeah, you’d gotten a big scholarship and science award, but in her world, it meant nothing.”

“I know. I had the confidence for once and blew it.” Eli remembered the blank stares from the family and smirks from the friends.

“What happened?” Xavier asked.

Eli groaned. “She said no thank you and turned her back on me. I walked away, not three feet, and they all started laughing. It was all over school, and I had football players telling me to get back to the nerd herd and shoving me into lockers.”

“Sounds like my high school experience. Of course, most of my secret boyfriends were on the hockey team. I loved the fighters.” Fred smiled.

Jackson gave Eli a sympathetic look. “You’d stayed under the radar before that. Smart, but un-bullied. Hate to say it, but you put yourself out there when you had no shot.”

“I know. At least, I never had to wonder if she might’ve taken a chance on me.” Eli wasn’t looking forward to seeing her tomorrow, but maybe, he’d get a little revenge. “I don’t have to make her life easy.”

Fred glared at him. “Don’t be a dick.”

“I didn’t have a girlfriend or boyfriends in high school. The one brave thing I did, and she made me a joke. I took crap until graduation for that. She wouldn’t even look at me, but all her friends taunted me. I’m not talking about getting her fired or anything. Just don’t be nice to her.” Eli needed some support.

Xavier nodded. “We can do that. She might not notice. As a hot new woman in town, she’ll get plenty of attention from other men.”

“I heard she brought three friends with her,” Jackson told them. “All single women working in the office. The prospects aren’t bad. Maybe, we can use her to meet a friend of hers and romance her—sort of revenge by showing Ashley what she missed. Four hot and successful men.”

“I love it. We do need a girl around here.” Fred nodded. “Maybe her looks went downhill?”

Eli folded his arms. “Not Ash’s. But it’s a start. I don’t want us to miss out on the right woman, but Ash needs to learn her lesson. You can’t treat people like that and have all forgiven because you’re hot.”

“Maybe she’s matured?” Jackson tossed out.

“Maybe you just want her that bad?” Eli returned.

Jackson shook his head. “I’m not trying to cause trouble. I’m happy with what we have here. But admit it, Eli, if she’s still under your skin, maybe you want her as much as you want to get back at her. We could try her out for our group. That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a good fit. Maybe she is and maybe not?”

Frowning, Eli understood the inference. He loved having smart guys around him. They all saw things a little differently, but it made for a good group at work and in life. His guys, however, were also nice. “I’ll wait and let you guys judge her for yourself tomorrow. We don’t need to rush into anything. A woman would be fun but I don’t want anyone getting hurt. I had so little luck with women as a teenager, it’s a shame I didn’t get to have fun with the quarterback. If only I’d known how much fun men were in high school.”

Fred moved in and kissed Eli until he relaxed. In college, Eli had discovered men who appreciated his body and helped him come out of his shell. With new glasses and a tighter hair cut, he looked less like a nutty professor. He dragged Fred back to the couch with the other men and tossed the yearbook of bad memories aside. College had helped him expand his world, but he’d had to come home to find love and trust. It was unconventional but better to be loved by three than rejected by one.

As the men undressed and kissed playfully, Eli knelt by the couch and sucked each of them to full erection. Finally, Fred gripped Eli’s hair and pulled him up for a real kiss. Eli stripped then grabbed protection and lube from the drawer of the end table before settling on the oversized sectional.

“Don’t worry; we’re on your side. We’ll help you put this behind you,” Xavier assured him. He grabbed protection and laid on the couch, his head resting on an arm. He lubed Jackson’s ass and teased him.

“I know, but she didn’t do anything to you guys.” Eli watched as Jackson lowered himself onto Xavier’s long cock.

The smile on Jackson’s face reassured Eli that this was no act because ladies were scarce in Lucky Springs right now. Most of the available ones had been scooped up as the mass hiring had begun. Men without women for a long period of time could turn ugly.

Jackson moaned and reclined, bracing on his hands as he rode Xavier slowly.

“You don’t hate her.” Eli leaned over and kissed Jackson.

“No, but she’s not perfect either and definitely wasn’t in high school. To be popular you have to step on others. Don’t discount the opportunity to make up if she’s grown.” Jackson sped up his hips.

Eli turned and kissed Fred. Two steps ahead, Fred had protection on and a lube pack in hand. “On your knees.”

Smiling, Eli knelt facing Jackson and sucked his cock as the Jackson and Xavier fucked. Fred’s probing fingers worked Eli’s ass with lube until Eli backed up, demanding more. In one hard thrust, Fred filled Eli’s ass. Groaning, Eli gripped Jackson for balance and let Fred do whatever he wanted.

Normally the least domineering of the bunch, Fred had his moments, and Eli loved them. Deep down, Fred had a great sense of right and was far more positive than Eli. It was the perfect balance. Yet Eli couldn’t deny his love and attraction for the others. Jackson had been a friend in high school. If only they’d known they were this good together. Xavier, on the other hand, was a brooding type that made Jackson melt.

They needed each other, and while Fred normally preferred being fucked, this need to screw someone was a subtle signal that he wanted a woman as much as the rest of them did—even if she was only temporary. Not that Fred wanted to give her up yet, but Eli felt things deeply. It was part of what Fred loved about him. What they had was strong or Fred couldn’t share his man with others so easily. Even watching Eli turned Fred on more.

Eli sucked Jackson hard as Xavier and Jackson ground together. Jackson held Eli’s head down. Eli didn’t flinch when he got a mouth full of cum. Grinding on his ass, Fred leaned on Eli’s body until Eli turned and they shared the cream.

Truthfully, they didn’t need a woman in the strict sense of survival, but there was something missing in their group. They wouldn’t fall for just any woman, but maybe, one of Ash’s friends was the right one.

Chapter Two

Navigating a labyrinth of cubicles and hallways, Ash knew she’d get lost. The place was still expanding and reorganizing for all the added heads. The newer areas all looked the same. Her work area was newer but basic. Clearly, the company was keeping costs down, yet the employees were happy and friendly. She knew a lot of the people in the office and hoped that this wouldn’t be a bad job to hold her until she found something else.

Unfortunately, she was due in Quality Control to meet the guys and talk about the basic process. She headed there, not wanting to be late, but her stomach knotted in dread. Eli could make this easy or hard on her.

The door to QC was gun-metal gray and heavy. She felt the change in the air immediately. From front office to factory side. These were the guys in the middle the engineers and experts who kept the factory producing good stuff and fixed things when they went out of spec. The room was large with two huge drafting tables pushed together. Samples of the parts were strewn in the center, tagged with numbers. It was orderly but dirty and noisy. The mills were on the other side of that wall.

What caught her eye were the hunks in the room. Two were strangers and sexy as hell. Two were very familiar, and only one made her feel better. Jackson had been a varsity baseball player and a fairly popular guy. He hadn’t been in the out crowd, anyway.

Ash stopped her trip down memory lane and shook it off. She’d changed a lot in the last ten years. Why wouldn’t they? Falling back into the high school cliques would only make this worse.

She knocked on the door to let them know she was there. They all looked in her direction but only three smiled.

“Hi, I’m Ashley Tassin.” She went for the professional approach and shook hands.

“Welcome home.” Jackson gave her a quick hug. “This is Fred and Xavier. You know Eli.”

She nodded and ignored Eli’s harsh glare. “So nice to meet you guys. You’re going to give me the basics of your procedure?”

“Absolutely!” Fred rolled a chair over for her. “Coffee? Tea?”

“I’m good, thanks.” She liked Fred already and took the offered seat. His flirty eyes and overly friendly manner made her feel welcome. Something about him said he was into guys so he’d be the safest of the men to bond with first.

Fred sat down next to her as Jackson and Xavier settled in with a good view of the visitor. Looking at those guys was easy on the eyes for her as well.

Eli dropped a binder in front of her. “All you need to know is in here. Our manual of procedures and specifications.”

His hostility was right beneath the surface. She wanted to clear the air but not in front of his staff. “Thanks. Great for reference. Eli, maybe we can have a word in private?”

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary. Just because we went to the same high school doesn’t mean we need to be friends. Most of the work is done through our computer system. You’ll input the quality issue from the customer, get us samples if you can and investigate where they were storing the product and all that. We need to be sure it’s not customer error.” Eli sounded official and cold.

“Okay.” He made her sound like a clerk rather than an important part of the team.

Fred smiled brightly. “It’s not all boring. We pick up the info from the system and pull samples from the floor. Check the specs. You’ll bring us the samples and we’ll test those. We’ll work together to find out if we have a bad run, a bad spec or a customer who doesn’t know how to store the product until using it. You’ll be down here a lot. Hope you don’t mind a little dirt.”

“No, not at all. Are there a lot of quality issues?” she asked.

“As we expand and try new things, sometimes they go wrong. A new guy on a mill can cause a bad batch. We try to catch them—that’s the other half of our job, randomly testing stuff before it goes out the door. But we’re shipping like crazy and can’t get it all.”

“Maybe I can help there? Spend time on the floor?” Ash wanted to appear helpful not afraid of a little noise and dirt.

Jackson chuckled. “You can’t go out there dressed like that.”

She looked down at her skirt suit. It was fitted but not low cut or inappropriate. “What do you mean? The men can’t control themselves?”

Eli scoffed. “Please, those men aren’t animals. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of men after you, with fewer women in town, but they moved here for work. They’re not going to screw it up.”

“No open-toed shoes on the floor,” Xavier clarified. “Actually, they prefer no high heels either. Safety. We’ll order you some safety shoes and can provide you a hard hat and safety glasses.” He handed her the hat and the glasses.

“I see, thanks.” Her face burned, and she avoided Eli’s gaze.

“She can order the shoes. Put it on sales budget, not ours.” Eli frowned.

“Sounds good to me.” Ash forced a smile. “I understand there’s some traveling involved?”

Fred jumped in to save her. “We’ll travel to the customer together to reassure them we’ve thoroughly investigated the problem or to do on-site inspections of the products in use. It’s maybe one every other month. Nothing major.”