by E. L. Todd
Man, he was smooth.
My parents watched us intently.
Then Cato made small talk with my parents, keeping up with their aristocratic tones and customs. He fit right in, like he belonged at this benefit. But then I remembered he did this for a living, so he had a lot of practice.
Cato politely excused himself then headed to the bathroom. When he was gone, my parents immediately rounded on me.
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”
“Where did you find him?”
“What about Joey?”
All the questions came out at the same time. I felt like I was in a batting cage and the ball machine wouldn’t stop throwing high-speed baseballs at me. “We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks and I really care about him. I think this is going to go somewhere.”
Mom’s eyes shined with joy, but there was also apprehension. She turned to Dad, having a silent conversation with him. I knew they were rooting for Joey, hoping we would settle down together. We’d been friends since we were kids. I wasn’t sure why they thought anything would ever happen between us. Men had come and gone from my life and Joey was never one of them.
“Honey, maybe you should at least give Joey a chance,” she said gently. “You guys are so perfect together.”
I tried not to snap. I knew she meant well. “Mom, no. It’ll never happen.”
“Even if you don’t love him, the marriage is so convenient,” Dad reasoned. “He’s your best friend and business partner. That was the original reason marriage was practiced.”
A loveless marriage was ideal for me. I would never love anyone else for as long as I lived. It wasn’t an option for me, and it never will be. I understood why my parents wanted a relationship with Joey to happen. It gave me what I needed.
But I didn’t want that. “No.”
Mom lowered her voice. “I was always under the impression that…”
“Things change.” I didn’t want to hear her say it. Even after all these years, it was still too painful. Perhaps repressing my emotions was making me feel worse but I couldn’t confront them head-on. I simply wasn’t strong enough. “I appreciate your concern but Joey isn’t right for me. He and I can still be great business partners as friends. It’s what we’ve always done.”
Mom and Dad fell silent, losing the argument.
Fortunately, Cato returned and his arm moved around my waist. “Did I miss anything?”
“No,” I said. “Nothing at all.”
Cato ate with perfect manners and I didn’t have to keep an eye on him. He made appropriate conversation with the people joining us at the table, keeping his hand on my thigh as he did so. It was unfortunate we didn’t get along personally because he seemed like a wonderful guy when he wasn’t sending jabs my way.
I sipped my drink and noticed Cato and I hardly spoke. He spoke to strangers easier than he spoke to me. He even traded phone numbers with a man from my office so they could go golfing sometime. Would anyone think it was odd that Cato and I hardly spoke to each other?
“Having a good night?” I asked.
“The food is good.” That was all he said. He didn’t even answer my question.
“And the booze?”
“That’s even better,” he said. “So, did I help you reach your goals?”
“I think so—for the most part.”
“Meaning…?”
“My parents still want me to be with Joey. They accept you and even like you, but they find our relationship a little odd.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t usually date.”
That caught his interest and he turned his full attention on me. “Why is that?”
I didn’t want to talk about it—especially with a man I hardly knew and who was rude to me most of the time. “I just don’t.” I took a drink after I spoke, something for me to do so I wouldn’t have to look at him.
He backed off. “Maybe they want you to get out a little.”
I ignored the jab because he didn’t know what he was talking about. If he’d known what I’d been through, he’d shut his mouth and stay quiet.
Fortunately, the auction began and people bid on different bottles of wine, including a very special one that was two hundred years old. That sold for a whopping half a million. I was surprised people thought it was worth that much. At least it was going to charity.
Cato kept his hand on my thigh but remained silent. He and I didn’t speak much because there was nothing to talk about. Perhaps he was just a good actor, but I wondered why he could be so pleasant to everyone else but me. Did he not respect me because I paid for his time? That would be hypocritical. I wish it wouldn’t bother me.
But it did, for some reason.
After the dinner was over and people began to mingle again, I grabbed another drink and walked around with Cato. I made a few more introductions, and by the end of the night, Cato seemed to have met everyone important.
“That’s a lot of names to remember,” he said.
“You get use to it,” I said vaguely.
Cato remained by my side, being affectionate with me like a man deeply in love.
I sipped my wine and looked around the room when I came upon a face, I knew so well I froze. Joey was watching us together, and he didn’t look happy at all. He was ghostly white and bloodless. His expression was blank but his eyes were full of disappointment.
Should I talk to him? What would I say?
“That’s Joey, isn’t it?” Cato said without looking directly at him. He was talented at talking about someone without making it obvious.
“Yeah.”
“Makes sense.”
What did that mean?
“Should we talk to him?” he asked. “How do you want to proceed?”
Sometimes he behaved like a robot. “I guess we should. I don’t understand why he’s being weird.”
The corner of his lip upturned in a smile. “You really can’t figure it out?”
“Do you know something I don’t?” I snapped slightly, getting sick of his little comments coming at the most unsuspecting times.
“All I had to do was look at him and I figured it out.” His voice carried his indifference. Offending me didn’t bother him in the least.
“Then enlighten me.”
He turned to me, coming dangerously close to my face. “When a guy doesn’t like seeing you with another guy, it usually means he wants to fuck you.”
His crude words didn’t surprise me even though he’d never spoken that way before. “Joey doesn’t want to fuck me.”
He released a sarcastic laugh. “Woman, you are blind.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“You’re blind no matter what I call you.” He kept his arm around me but the touch felt cold.
I refused to believe that. Joey and I had been friends forever, and if he had feelings for me he would have said something by now. There was no reason to bide his time. “Let’s go. And be polite.”
“Have I been anything else this evening?” he demanded.
“To me you have.”
An annoyed look came into his eyes and he turned away.
Whatever. “Come on.”
Cato held me close as we approached Joey.
Joey didn’t look at me. His eyes were glued to Cato. He looked him up and down, sizing him up. There wasn’t that usual welcoming look on his face. Joey had the ability to make anyone feel welcome no matter how out of place they felt. But now he just stared at Cato like he was a nuisance at the party.
Cato extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Katarina has told me so much about you.”
Joey took it but he dropped the embrace quickly, like he didn’t want to touch him for a moment longer than he had to. “Likewise,” he said coldly.
An awkward silence filled the room.
We stared at each other, unsure what to say.
I cleared my throat. “Having a good time?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t elaborat
e or try to carry the conversation. It was completely unlike him. He glanced at Cato again before he turned back to me.
There was clearly something on Joey’s mind but he wouldn’t admit it when Cato was there.
I turned to Cato and tried to be affectionate. “Babe, can you excuse me for a moment?”
“Sure.” He walked away, probably glad to be rid of me.
Once he was out of earshot, I turned to Joey. “What’s going on, Joe?”
“I don’t understand your meaning.”
“You’ve been weird since we had lunch. What’s the deal?”
“Deal?” he asked. “Nothing.” He put his hands in his pockets and kept looking at different things, the floor, people nearby, anything but me.
“Did I do something to offend you?”
He stared across the crowd like I wasn’t there. “He’s good-looking. Where did you find him? At a gym?” His voice was full of loathing.
“No. Why do you ask?”
“Because he looks like a jackass meathead.”
“You met him for two seconds…”
“I can just tell.” Joey never said anything mean about someone else. It was completely out of character. His behavior was so unusual I didn’t know what to make of it.
“Seriously, what’s your problem?”
“Problem?” He released a fake laugh. It almost sounded maniacal. “I don’t have a problem. You’re the one with a problem.”
I was clearly getting nowhere with Joey. He was obviously too upset to tell me what was really on his mind. Since I didn’t have any magic up my sleeve to pull it out of him, I gave up. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” he said coldly. “Enjoy pretty boy.”
I gave him one final look before I returned to my date.
Cato was leaning against the bar, looking like a model waiting for his picture to be taken. He had the body fit for an athlete and the face a photographer would kill for. “Told you so.”
“Told me so what?”
“He’s so into you, Katarina. I hardly know the guy and I can tell.”
I was starting to wonder if he was right. I couldn’t figure out any other cause of his behavior. “I’m ready to go.”
He set his drink down quickly, like he’d been waiting for this night to end just as much as I had. “Then let’s hit the road.”
Cato walked me to my door, and I was surprised he even did that. After the way he discreetly insulted me throughout the night, I was surprised he had any desire to make sure I got to my door in one piece.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said politely, hoping to kill him with kindness.
“Yeah…” He kept his hands in his pockets and didn’t seem interested in looking at me. “Let me know when you need me.”
His detachment was getting annoying. His lack of maturity was getting under my skin, and now I wanted to sink my claws into him and rip him apart. “If you hate your job so much, why do you do it?”
“Who said I hated my job?” He turned his blue eyes on me.
“You don’t act like you enjoy it much.”
“Perhaps it’s just the company,” he said coldly.
“Seriously, what did I do to you? I’m a pretty nice person.”
“That’s debatable…”
I pushed him hard and he stumbled into the opposite wall. “I’ve been nothing but polite to you from the start. When we first met—”
“You don’t even remember when we first met.”
“Excuse me?”
He shook his head and didn’t say anything.
“What am I missing here?”
His blue eyes looked colder than an ice-berg. “You seriously don’t remember?”
“Remember you from where?” I demanded. “Maybe if you told me it would come back to me. You do look familiar but I can’t place you.”
He held up his hand then lowered it. “Forget I said anything.”
“No, there’s obviously something bothering you.”
“And I doubt you give a shit. You only care about your own feelings, not mine or Joey’s.”
Why was he being dragged into this? “If you hate me so much, maybe you should just quit.”
“I don’t bail on a client who needs me. And we both know you can’t afford to lose me. You’ve already introduced me to everyone. There’s no going back.”
“Well, if you aren’t going to tell me how you know me and why you despise me, then can you try to be somewhat civil to me?” I put my hands on my hips. “Because I will kick your ass if I have to.”
“Kick my ass?” he asked incredulously.
“Hell yeah I’ll kick your ass,” I snapped. “I know a front guillotine choke, a stable headlock, and a rear mount. You want to try me?”
He came closer to me but was more than an arm’s length away. “Those are all military moves.”
“Your point?” I hissed.
“How do you know all that?” He suddenly turned serious, no longer angry or cold like before.
“None of your damn business. Now, are you going to stop being a jackass? I can’t deal with you, Joey, and my family. So decide.”
He regarded me for a long moment before he headed toward the hallway. “I’ll try.”
“You’ll try?” I yelled after him.
He looked at me before he turned the corner. “It’s the best I can do.”
A knock on my door sounded after midnight.
Who the hell would drop by so late? It was unusual. I was on my guard when I approached the door. When I looked through the peephole, I saw someone I didn’t expect.
Joey.
What was he doing here?
I opened the door and studied him closely. “Hey…kinda late to drop by.”
His hands were in his pockets and his hair was ruffled like he ran his fingers through it too many times. His eyes were slightly red like he was exhausted. He was still wearing his clothes from the benefit, a suit and tie.
When he didn’t respond, I spoke again. “Joey?”
He looked at me like he finally noticed me. “Katarina.”
I held the door with one hand just in case I needed to slam it in his face. “Can I help you?”
His eyes were practically black. “What happened to never falling in love again? You said you would never have anyone as long as you lived. But then you bring some boy toy around. What the fuck is that, Katarina?”
He never spoke to me like that before. I didn’t think he even had it in him. It was clear he was drunk because his inhibitions were far lower than normal. “You’ve been drinking.”
“What does that matter?” he snapped. “These thoughts exist either way. So, what the hell are you doing?”
“My personal life is none of your business, Joey. You should be ashamed of yourself for talking to me this way, for making me feel guilty over something I shouldn’t feel bad about. I’m sick of having our parents push us together. They won’t stop unless I give them a reason to stop.”
“So you start dating some loser?”
“You know nothing about him.” I wanted to confess the truth and say he was an escort but I couldn’t trust Joey to keep my secret. With his behavior I wasn’t sure if I could trust him at all.
“I know he’s not right for you. And that’s all I need to know.”
I knew I should end this conversation before it went somewhere we could never come back from. Joey was obviously upset and he was saying things he would never spit out if he were sober. I would cut him some slack. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”
“I want to talk now.”
“Joey.” My voice cut through the air and even made me flinch. “I have a feeling you’re going to say something stupid that will ruin the friendship we have. I’m more than happy to talk to you in the morning. But now, you need to leave.”
He stared at me but held his silence. It was clear he wanted to burst and scream. But he made the smart move. “Good night, Kat.”
“Good night, Joey.”
/> 3
Cato
I was such a dick to her.
I couldn’t stop myself. Years had come and gone, and I thought I was over what happened between us. But when I was around her, I remembered how much that morning hurt. What we had was special but she didn’t see it that way. She left me in the middle of the night or early in the morning without saying a word to me. I was grateful I even got a note.
There was no justifiable reason why I should be angry with her. What she did to me, I’d done countless times to others. It was biting me in the ass because I deserved it. I didn’t believe in Karma but I was starting to.
For just a moment, I thought I was going to tell her how I knew her. I was going to come clean and say it. But something stopped me. The fact I said we already met and she still couldn’t figure it out just pissed me off. What if I told her about that night and she still didn’t remember it?
It would be devastating to my ego.
The fact she was even more beautiful than I remembered irritated me. Why couldn’t she be fat and ugly to make it easier on me? She was graceful and intelligent, beautiful beyond description, and she had a no-bullshit attitude that I immediately loved. When she threatened to attack me, I knew she was being sincere. She wasn’t a pushover like most girls.
Katarina was a whole new breed.
I needed to let go of that night and just move on. She was my client now, and being an ass to her wouldn’t get me anywhere. It would just make us argue and fight, something I’d rather not do.
I didn’t like her friend Joey one bit. He eye-fucked the shit out her, not caring who saw or what they thought. Katarina insisted their families were trying to push them together, but I had a feeling Joey had a hand in that. It seemed like the only person who didn’t want it to happen was Katarina.
Why wasn’t she dating? She said she never did it. Why? It was an odd thing for a gorgeous woman to say. If that was her philosophy, it made sense why she ditched me the night we met. Maybe she was looking for something quick and simple, what I usually wanted.
But on that night, I didn’t want that with her. I wanted something more. It was the first time that ever happened to me, and it wounded me she didn’t feel the same way. How could I feel something so extraordinary but it completely escaped her notice?