Page 87 of Our Sadie

DOMINIC

The thing I’ve come to know the best about Jerome is his calm, cool, and collected nature. Yet when he returns to us after his conversation with Sadie, he’s not any of that. I don’t even know how to describe the man who launches back into our common area and drops onto a sofa with his head in his hands.

I glance wide-eyed at Zach to see him mouth, “Holy shit,” as we both go to stand in front of the man meant to find out what all our futures will hold.

“Jerome,” Zach speaks his name like an adult addressing a frightened little kid. “What happened?”

But Jerome shakes his head, his hands still blocking his face. This can’t be good. Then, he laughs. Not his typical chuckle but a sound so grim that my intestines go icy.

“It’s over. It’s all over.”

“What’s over?” I demand to know.

“This thing with her.” He stresses the pronoun as if reluctant to speak Sadie’s name. “It’s all been a lie. She’s not just some lonely woman looking for sex and companionship. She’s the fucking CEO of the company.”

“What company?” Zach asks, and I’m as confused as he sounds.

“Elegance. The third-party website we all signed up with. The one that vetted our clients so that not only will they be safe but so will we.” Irony is thick in Jerome’s tone. “Supposedly. But it’s all bullshit.

“Sadie is the CEO of Elegance. Her and her BFF, Winter. They were on the phone talking about a landing page and how this thing with us was some sort of experiment she’s conducting. I don’t know what her true motive is, but she’s been portraying herself as someone she’s not. It’s all fake. A façade. She must be doing all this to serve some fucked up agenda.”

It does sound sketchy.

“Are you sure about this? Is it possible that you misheard what she was saying?” I question him, but he seems certain. Also, bleak. I’ve seen more cheerful expressions at a funeral.

“This has been a trap. We’re nothing but rats in a maze to her.”

Had this come from someone else—especially someone outside this residence—I would doubt it. But I’ve come to know Jerome really well, and the guy isn’t one to accuse someone without a smoking gun.

Has the woman we’ve all been making love to and sleeping beside been up to no good?

It’s an hour later when Sadie makes an appearance in our common room, knocking on each of our doors and asking us to come out. Zach and I take a seat, each of us eyeing her warily, but Jerome is nowhere to be found. He’s not in his room, so he could be anywhere in the chalet.

Unless he left altogether.

I can’t believe we’ve gone from a fledgling family building a future together to this. Whatever this is.

“Neither of you have seen Jerome?” she asks.

“Not since he came back from talking to you,” Zach informs her, and when she clutches onto his forearm, he doesn’t flinch.

“I’d rather he were here, but if he’s not, he’s not. I’m assuming he told you what I said about Elegance.”

“About you being the leader of the company, you mean?” Zach tells her, and at her nod, bobs his head. “Yes.”

“Is it true?” I ask her. I have to hear it from her own mouth. “That we’re nothing but an experiment to you?”

“No, Dom, it’s not true. I mean, yes, I did sort of look at this as an experiment., but for myself, not you. I wanted to find out if I could utilize our personality assessments and vetting process to make a real romance happen. But it wasn’t intended to dupe any of you. I just wanted to give us the best chance to make a connection.”

“But you weren’t upfront with us,” I have to say. “You let us believe that you were just some random client hiring contractors. When really, you were fixing the game.”

“I didn’t fix any game, though. I can totally understand why you might doubt that, but I promise you, getting to know each of you has been an eye-opening experience for me. I never expected to have chemistry with each of you, much less something that flows deeper. Yet I do. I’ve developed feelings for you. All of you.”

“Why not lead with that when you spoke with Jerome?” Zach asks, and I have to agree.

“Because...” She blows out a long breath. “Because he caught me by surprise. I overreacted by getting mad and covering everything up. When all this started, it was with this hope that I could discover love, but I didn’t think it’d actually happen. That’s the realization Jerome caused me to come to.”

“Wait,” Zach throws his palm up like a stop sign. “Are you saying that you love us?”