Reckless Entanglement: The Hunter Brothers Book # 1

by Iona Rose

  I can’t believe I let myself lose control that way, but Marco went too fucking far, especially when he swore at Callie and I just saw red. Who the fuck does he think he is? Some glorified little shit who thinks he’s more clever than everyone around him and has a right to just betray people and do whatever the fuck he likes. Well, at least that’s over. He has found out the hard way that isn’t the case.

  I lean back against the wall around the side of the restaurant. I close my eyes for a moment, trying to calm down and come up with some sort of a plan. It doesn’t matter how I spin this in my head. The first step I have to take is obvious. I really do need to make a phone call. A phone call I’m absolutely dreading having to make.

  With a loud sigh, I pull my phone out and scroll through my contacts. I hesitate for a moment before hitting call. I’ve really fucked this up and this call is going to make me feel like absolute shit. I have let my emotions affect me, something I swore to myself I wouldn’t do, and explaining that is going to be a low moment for me. I was trusted to do a job here, and I’ve fucked it up. Just like he was worried I would. I insisted I could do it, and eventually he put his trust in me. And look where that’s gotten us.

  I can’t put the call off forever though, and already the gossip mill will be turning. The only thing worse than making this call will be someone else beating me to it. At least if he hears it from me, I can tell him how I plan to fix it. The problem is, I have no idea how to fix it. I guess I’ll just have to wing it.

  I hit call, my stomach rolling as I wait for the call to be answered.

  “Matt? What’s up? There’s an issue I’m dealing with here that requires my full attention. Can this wait?”

  “Not really,” I say.

  “Then spit it out. But for the love of God, don’t tell me you’ve messed this up.”

  Oh fuck. This is going to be even worse than I thought.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Callie

  As I make my way onto the restaurant floor after Matt storms away, two things hit me. Firstly, with Marco gone, and me as the shift supervisor, that means I’m in charge, at least for the minute, and I have to be the one to pull this all back together and get everyone working properly again, instead of standing around gossiping. Secondly, I cross my fingers that Marco moved quickly on informing HR about my promotion, otherwise, that’s gone along with him and I’m back to just being a waitress again, after less than twenty-four hours in my new job.

  “Ok guys, show’s over,” I say. “Let's try and turn this shift around and have a great service.”

  The wait staff grumble but they move off and at least make it look like they’re busy. The order for one of my tables is up, so I go to collect the meals and deliver them. I’m glad for the moment of activity. It means I can’t get pulled into the gossip, even though I’m dying to know if anyone knows what’s going on.

  I move through the dining room, taking a few more orders out to hungry diners, taking a bill to one of my tables and cleaning down some empty tables in my section. Sasha beckons me over as I make my way back to her.

  She’s standing polishing the silverware, a sure fire sign she wants to gossip because the silverware is always polished before it even gets put out into the dining room. The staff use it as an excuse to stand and chat while still looking busy to any casual observers.

  “What’s up?” I ask as I reach her.

  “What’s up? Are you on another planet Callie? I mean what could I possibly want to talk about right now?” Sasha says.

  I roll my eyes. “I have no idea what’s going on,” I tell her.

  “Yeah right,” Sasha says. “So your boyfriend didn’t tell you in advance this was going to happen? Who is he really Callie? How did he manage to get Marco to just leave?”

  “I honestly have no idea,” I say.

  She must see the genuine confusion on my face. She frowns. “Don’t you kind of think you should know? I mean you’re dating the guy. I don’t know who he really is or why he’s really here, but he’s clearly not just another waiter.”

  Her words confirm everything I’ve been thinking myself. I’m not paranoid. This is weird. I deflect her question by asking one of my own, “You left with Marco. What did he say was happening?”

  “Nothing,” she replies. “Harriet and I tried to get it out of him, but he just point blank refused to tell us anything. He didn’t even try to make something up, he just remained completely silent, looking through us like we weren’t even there.”

  “Nice to know whatever happened seemed to make him see the error of treating people like crap then.” I grin.

  Sasha laughs. “Marco will always be that asshole. It’s just the way he is. But Matt seems different, so I’m willing to bet there’s a good reason for what he did. Look it’s quietening down. I’ll watch your section. Go and find out what’s going on,” she urges me.

  “How? I don’t even know where Matt is,” I point out.

  It’s Sasha’s turn to roll her eyes. “God Callie, I hope you never decide to become any kind of investigator. He’s around the side of the building. Go.”

  I decide to do as she suggests. I want to know more than anyone what the hell is going on. Depending on what I find out, I might not be willing to share it with everyone, but I need to know for my own peace of mind. I nod and take my apron off.

  “I’ll be as quick as I can.” I head outside and move towards the side of the building. It feels like ages have passed since Matt stormed out, but it’s been no more than fifteen minutes. As I approach the corner, I hear Matt’s voice. I stop walking, listening to what he’s saying. It feels wrong, but he’s not exactly open with me about anything, and if this is the way I have to find out exactly who Matt really is and what his agenda here is, then so be it.

  I am fed up of my head buzzing with possibilities and of hearing the whispered thoughts of my colleagues when they think I can’t hear them. Whatever is going on, it’s clear to me that they all think I know something.

  “Yes, I realize that,” I hear Matt say. He sounds agitated rather than angry, like he’s frustrated. “I know that too.”

  He goes quiet for a moment. “Yeah I get it. I fucked up big time. But in a way the problem is solved isn’t it? I know it’s not really the outcome we wanted, but the problem will go away now.”

  I cock my head at the words. What problem? What resolution?

  “For what it’s worth, I am actually sorry, but it’s done now and dwelling on it and beating myself up over it isn't going to fix it is it? I will find a way to sort the mess out and make sure everything gets smoothed over.”

  He pauses again. “I — God dammit!” he shouts.

  I hear a loud bang and I finally step around the corner. Matt’s phone is away and he’s cradling one hand in the other. His knuckles are grazed and bleeding and I work out what happened. Whoever he was arguing with on the phone clearly hung up, and Matt, in frustration punched the wall. I’m no closer to knowing what’s going on, but it’s obvious Matt has screwed up something big.

  “You know the wall always wins right?” I say, nodding towards his hand as I reach out to take a look.

  He pulls his hand back from me. “It’s fine,” he snaps.

  I glance up at him, shocked at how he replied to me.

  He shakes his head and runs his undamaged hand over his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. You’re right, punching the wall was stupid. I just have a lot on my plate right now.”

  I shrug off his apology. “It’s fine,” I say. “What’s going on Matt. What happened back there?”

  He shakes his head. “Marco stepped over the line and he’s paid for it,” he says.

  That doesn’t even begin to answer my question and Matt must know it. I can feel myself getting angry. “Did you blackmail him?” I ask.

  “Blackmail him? What are you talking about?” He looks genuinely confused.

  “You showed him something and he just agreed to leave. I mean you’
re a waiter Matt and he was the manager. You have to have something on him or he would have fired you on the spot the way you were yelling and swearing at him.”

  “It sounds like you’re taking his side,” Matt accuses me.

  “I’m not taking anyone’s side.” I sigh. “How can I when I don’t even know what’s going on? What do you have on him? And why were you so pissed that he fired James?”

  “I didn’t blackmail him Callie, jeez.” That’s all he says. No explanation for what he did and no explanation for why James is suddenly his chief concern.

  “For fuck sake, Matt!” I shout, getting angry now. “Will you stop avoiding the question and just tell me what the hell is going on here, because it’s clear to me that you’re not who you say you are.”

  “Go back inside Callie,” he says quietly.

  “That’s your answer? Go back inside? Or what Matt? Will you fire me too?”

  “You’re being dramatic,” Matt says. “I don’t know what you think is happening here, but whatever it is, I can pretty much guarantee it’s not as bad as you’re imagining it to be.”

  “So tell me what it is then!” I shout.

  He slams his palm against the wall and makes a groaning sound deep in the back of his throat. He shakes his head and looks at me.

  I can see the anger in his eyes.

  “Look, just go back to work. I can’t do this right now. I have to sort this shit out, and then we’ll talk.” He starts to walk away from me.

  I feel my anger bubbling up inside of me. “If you walk away from me now Matt, then you walk away from me for good!” I shout.

  He keeps walking, not even looking back. I feel like punching the wall myself, but I stop myself. Instead, I lean back on it, tipping my head back and sighing. I knew when I delivered the ultimatum that he might call my bluff. I hoped he wouldn’t, but I knew there was a chance of it. Now he has, I wish I could take it back, but I can’t.

  It doesn’t matter that I feel more alone than I have ever felt in my life. It doesn’t matter that I feel like I might be letting the love of my life walk away from me. It doesn’t matter how I feel about Matt, because the truth is, I don’t know him. Not the real him. I know the image he’s chosen to project, the lies he’s filled me with.

  I bite my lip, forcing the tears that threaten to spill down my face back inside. I can’t cry here. I won’t cry here. I won’t cry at all for Matt. He’s betrayed me, lied to me. And he doesn’t even trust me enough to explain.

  Fuck him.

  I know by the way I feel empty inside that my feelings for Matt are very real, serious feelings, the kind that make me think we were starting something special. But I can’t be with someone who hides things from me.

  I push myself off the wall and head back to the restaurant. I never should have allowed myself to break my no dating colleagues rule, because boy… did this just get messy. And now I will have to face the barrage of questions from my friends inside, with no real answers for them.

  How can I expect them to believe that I don’t know any more than they do about who Matt is and why he’s here, let alone how he got Marco to agree to resign?

  Chapter Twenty

  Callie

  I am so relieved when my shift finally ends and I can just be alone with my thoughts for a while. Except as I head for the station to catch my train, I find that my mind is working overtime, and I realize that I don’t really want to be alone with my thoughts – I just wanted to be out from that place with the side eyes and the whispering.

  I pull my phone out of my pocket and scroll through my contacts until I find Chloe’s name. I hit call and bring the phone up to my ear. Chloe answers the call in seconds.

  “Can you talk?” I ask.

  “Sure,” Chloe says. “What’s up?”

  “Everything,” I say. “And honestly Chloe, I’m not even being dramatic.”

  I tell her everything. About Matt and what happened with Marco and how the other wait staff reacted to me. I can picture Chloe shaking her head when I am done and she breathes out audibly, a half whistle.

  “Wow. You really do work with some nasty bitches don’t you?” she says.

  I shrug my shoulders although I am aware that she can’t see me.

  “I don’t know. I mean would you believe I didn’t know anything if you were them?” I say. The silence from the other end of the line tells me everything I need to know about that one. “See. It’s not them in the wrong really. It’s Matt. I feel like I have no idea who he really is.”

  “So ask him,” Chloe says. She makes it sound so simple. “Call him and ask him what’s going on.”

  “I asked him once already and he as good as told me to mind my own business. He had his chance,” I say.

  “So then you’ll never know and you might just throw away Mr Right because you’re so damned stubborn,” Chloe says.

  “Seriously, you’re meant to be on my side. I called you so you could call Matt all of the bastards under the sun and tell me I’m better off without him,” I say, half laughing.

  “Well if it turns out he really is some shady gangster type who is into who knows what, then I’ll say all of that. And if he turns out not to be, then I’ll say I told you so instead,” Chloe says. “I mean you said it yourself Callie – there’s nothing he could have said that would have made you walk away from him.”

  “But that’s the thing isn’t it? He didn’t say anything. I can handle difficult truths. What I can’t handle is secrets and lies,” I point out.

  “Right,” Chloe says. “Then tell Matt that. Give him a second chance Cal.”

  I open my mouth to tell her that I can’t do that, that it’s too late, but she gets in before I can interrupt.

  “And before you say it’s too late and you can’t do it, promise me you’ll at least think about it,” she says.

  “Fine,” I say, feeling my mouth spreading into a genuine smile for probably the first time today. “I promise.”

  “Good,” Chloe says. “Now go home and eat ice cream and drink wine and watch some crappy feel good rom coms.”

  I agree to this, although I’m not sure I am quite ready to become Bridget Jones just yet.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Callie

  I go to work the next day with a feeling of dread lodged in my stomach that makes me feel sick.

  I spent the rest of yesterday’s shift fielding questions and biting back tears. I honestly don’t know how I kept my cool as everyone fucking quizzed me, but somehow, I did. By the end of the shift, I felt emotionally drained, empty inside except for this ball of hurt and anger.

  I was angry at Matt for lying to me, betraying me, leading me on, and then walking away from me. And I was angry at him for leaving me in a situation where none of my friends really believed I didn’t have any more of an idea about what was going on than they did. And the worst part? It occurred to me that there was really no explanation Matt could have given me that would have pushed me away instead of having me stand by.

  I mean if he was blackmailing Marco, then he could only do that if Marco had done something bad enough he needed to keep it a secret, and I couldn’t say he didn’t deserve to lose his job after the way he treated me, and for firing James, which I did manage to find out was all because James had come to work ten minutes late.

  Instead, Matt had walked away from me, leaving me heart broken and angry. Well, he had made his choice and I was done letting him take up space in my head. My life had been just fine before he came along, and while I couldn’t deny being with him had made it better, I knew it would be just fine again.

  None of that stopped the dread from sitting in a tight ball in my stomach as I hung my coat up in the break room. Another reason for my rule of not dating a coworker. I would have to face Matt at work. Would have to close up with him, just the two of us. That would be awkward to say the least.

  I take a deep breath and walk out of the break room with my head held high. I’m not the one who has
caused this between us, and I’m damned if I’m going to be the one who feels like they have to hide away.

  As I step into the corridor, I see a man in a suit walking along it towards me. “Excuse me, sir?” I say. “The customer restrooms are back that way. I can show you.”

  The man smiles at me. “That’s good to know. Callie, right?”

  I nod, wondering how the customer knows my name. And why he’s still coming towards me, instead of turning around. I guess it’s going to be one of those nights.

  The customer reaches me and holds out his hand. “Stewart Gillespie. I’m the new manager,” he says with a warm smile.

  “Oh,” I say, taking his hand and shaking it. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea you would be starting today.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t know myself until a couple of hours ago. I was originally employed for a different restaurant, but well, here I am,” he says, returning my smile.

  Already I like him better than I ever liked Marco. His smile seems warm but professional, and I don’t feel like he’s trying to undress me with his eyes.

  “I was told you’re the shift supervisor here and that you could show me the ropes,” he says. “Obviously, I know how the whole manager thing works. I’ve been doing it for long enough. But if you could just walk me through the staff, who’s who, the hours they work, that kind of thing, I would really appreciate it.”

  So Marco did file the paperwork. I haven’t lost my promotion. At least something good has come out of this. “Sure,” I say, glad to have an excuse not to immediately go to the dining room and have to face Matt.

  I follow him along the corridor and into the office that was Marco’s and is now his. I am dying to ask him if he knows what went down with Marco, but I decide it’s extremely unprofessional, and I bite my tongue about the whole situation. “So did you get the short straw then?” I ask. “Coming here instead of the other branch?”