by May Sage
His jaw fell. That was breaking the sibling code. How many times had he let her break down, crying on his shoulder, without threatening to involve their overly sensitive, overbearing mother? "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
He narrowed his eyes. "Call our mother, and I'll retaliate next time you have a bad breakup."
Richelle shrugged. "No, you won't. I'm a brat. You're my honorable big brother, remember?"
Damn if she wasn't right.
He sighed. "I'm okay, I promise. It's just…personal."
Richelle chuckled. "Which is why Ben didn't ask, but I can. I'm your sister. You bought me tampons. It doesn't get more personal than that. Not until you get hitched."
Cade looked up to the cloudy sky, asking the heavens for help against his sister.
No divine answer came. Dammit.
"I met someone."
Her gasp made him laugh. He wasn't that much of a recluse.
"A female someone? Wait. A male someone? It's fine if you swing that way."
The fact that she didn't even know whether he was straight was a testament of how private he'd kept his personal life. Cade wasn't a monk, by any stretch of imagination, but he hadn't felt a connection to anyone for a long time. What was the point in introducing women to his family, to his friends, if he knew they weren't going to last?
Helene was…different.
She could be.
"She doesn't like me much."
Richelle snorted. "Any woman with a pulse likes you, Cade. Most of my friends are half in love with you. They would have made a move if you weren't cold and closed off."
He shrugged. He knew he was pleasing enough to look at, and the power of his wallet was appealing to most females.
"Oh, she likes me physically." He grimaced. "It's everything else she isn't fond of. The money. The company. The second and third homes, when the rest of the world has to think about feeding themselves."
Richelle nodded. "I know. Brooke's a bit like that, too. Even now, although her photography is worth thousands and thousands. We can't help that we were born with money, though."
"But we can choose what we do with it." He was man enough to admit that he hadn't chosen as wisely as he could have. His preliminary findings with HR had shown as much.
"True. So, what, she'd have you sell the house and give the proceeds to charity?"
He shrugged. "I don't think so. She was talking about long-term things—treating employees better, improving the lives of those around me as much as I can."
Things he should have thought about himself.
"Well, that doesn't sound that bad, so long as you make sure that your decisions are sustainable. If the company goes under because you're overly generous, it won't help anyone."
"But if the employees’ lives are improved, won't they be likely to work better for me?"
"I suppose you'll find out."
Yes, he would.
"And you'll get the girl."
That remained to be seen.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Moving two of the bags to his right hand, he took it with the left one and stared.
One new personal email had just come in.
From her.
"Given that goofy grin, I take it all is not yet lost"
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, squirt.”
Helene
Monday was always a little hectic at the office. Their industry technically didn't stop on weekends. Helene had earned her Saturdays and Sundays off because of her own results. She managed to get more than her share of work done during the week, reeling in accounts that stayed faithful to her over the years. But the fashion weeks, catwalks, Broadway premieres, and new shows needed injections of innovative cosmetics twenty-four seven.
It looked like the office had an interesting weekend.
Everyone was running around and either screaming or whispering. By nine o'clock, Helene had gathered that the core of the problem was that one of their big buyers, a fancy brand who spent hundreds of thousands worldwide on their products, had received an incorrect delivery. A newbie error that should never have happened. The juicy part of the story was that the account was overseen by no other than Carrie herself. But naturally, the head of sales was taking none of the responsibility, blaming everyone else instead. And maybe she was right; her intern was the one who'd set up the wrong sale…but the bottom line was, for an account as important as that one, she should have checked it. Twice.
Helene should have been relatively indifferent to the drama—it had nothing to do with her—but negative energy poured out of the end of every corridor. She could feel the stress and fear ooze out of her coworkers.
She focused on her own sales, flying through dozens of communications, skipping her lunch to get through the weekend's unanswered calls and messages, plus check on the clients she had set up for a call back on that day.
She managed to surface for long enough to go inhale a terrible instant coffee in the staff break room at four.
Naturally, Carrie cornered her there. "What do you think you're doing, taking a break? Haven't you seen we're trying to fix things? It's supposed to be a team effort. If we lose the account, we're all going to suffer."
Breathe.
To her surprise, not only could she hear Cade's voice, Helene also felt his hands on her shoulders. Pressing hard on the balls of her feet.
"I know, which is why I worked through my lunch." Helene was proud of herself for not pointing out that Carrie was also clearly in the break room. And she was the one who'd messed up.
She grimaced and downed the rest of her coffee, burning her tongue. It tasted like gas, but if it got her through the next hour alive, it was worth it.
"Being friends with Emily isn't all it takes to make it in this company," Carrie spat. "You'd better pull your weight."
Helene managed to keep a straight face.
It was well known that Carrie and Emily were college friends. Never one to like to step outside of her lab, Emily had left the running of the sales department to her friend, and entirely relied on her for the day-to-day management of Bijoux Skin, while she ruled in her white, sterile room.
Sure, Helene had made a point to get to know the wonderful brain behind their brand, and she got along with the owner just fine, but she certainly didn't owe her job to anyone. She got it on her own merit, and had topped the sales department for years without any help.
Pointing out any of that wasn't likely to help her cause. Arguing it in front of an audience to try to get a raise or a promotion? Sure. But she knew that there was zero point to telling Carrie any of that. Carrie knew her worth. She just wanted to keep Helene right where she was.
"Right. I'd better get back to work."
By the end of the day, she was practically running to the elevator. The tense atmosphere was seriously stressing her out. Checking her phone on her way down, she replied to a couple of texts, one from Cassie and one from her ex-roommate, asking whether she was open to finding another apartment together. She wasn't. She might be desperate to split rent, but nothing justified another house fire. Absentmindedly running through her personal emails for the day—mostly ads, with a few replies from rental agencies—she paused, catching an email sent much earlier that day.
His name flashed, making her blush. Cade Lawson.
Part of Helene hadn't expected to ever hear from him again. But here he was, in her inbox, with the subject line "As promised."
What had he promised her?
Numbly, she clicked on his email, and remained flabbergasted as she read line after line.
He was running a survey. He wanted to know if his employees earned enough to feed themselves. He'd remembered their conversation, and right on Monday morning, he was doing something about it.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
Helene pressed on the reply button, and stared at the blank page.
What was she even supposed to say to that?
Hey Cade.
Good
start, right?
All right, you've managed to surprise me. I didn't think you'd care to follow through. Now, the question is, what are you going to do if you find out I was right?
Yours,
Helene Franklin
PS: I am right.
She sent the reply before overthinking it, glad she'd managed to sound like herself.
Deciding to walk to Cassie’s, rather than waste money on a cab or wait for Carter, who likely wouldn't be done until six or so, she took a shortcut through Central Park. All right, it wasn't much of a shortcut. It added over ten minutes to her half-hour walk, but she liked the park. She kept her phone in her hand, checking if she'd received a new email way too often for her liking.
Crossing a bridge, eyes on the water, Helene smiled without any reason, other than the fact that the sun was shining in October, and they had a day without rain. Things were looking up for the rest of the day, now that she was out of the office.
"Helene?"
She turned, frowning. That couldn't be right. It couldn't be him calling her name. The world didn't work that way.
And yet, Cade Lawson was standing right there, on the other side of the bridge, just as delectable as she remembered. Part of her had thought—hoped—she’d built him up in her mind. He couldn't have been that gorgeous, right? But he was.
He was also standing next to the most beautiful brunette Helene had ever seen. Long, dark silky hair, and green eyes with endless lashes. She was tall, slim, with a perfect manicure and shoes so expensive Helene wouldn't even think to drool over them.
Cade's eyes went to the brunette, and back to Helene. Then he grinned. Oh, he knew she was green with jealousy, and the dick liked it.
"Helene, meet my sister, Richelle. Richelle, Helene."
Helene could feel her cheeks heat. Dammit. She'd been all ready to hate the stranger, Cade, and herself, imagining their time last weekend had been some sort of sordid affair. Although what man would cheat on a stunner like that?
She crossed the space between them, hand extended.
Richelle beamed and shook hers. "My, aren't you a vision? We were just talking about you, Helene."
They had been?
Cade sent his sister a look that held a warning. Richelle laughed, and moved to take the bags Cade had been carrying in his hands. "I'll find my way home, Cadence. Catch you later."
Cade rolled his eyes, but didn't stop her.
They watched the model-worthy beauty cross the bridge, turning heads with each step.
Then, Helene turned back to Cade, lifting a brow. "Cadence?"
Cade
"That's my great-grandfather's name. He died a few days before I was born, so I inherited it." And Cade was going to make Richelle pay for revealing it.
"Don't think the tragic story is going to stop me from making fun of you, Cadence."
Sassy minx.
"Your sister seems nice."
Cade wasn't inclined to agree right then. "Debatable. We get along, though. She's staying at my place at the moment." Rather than launching into an explanation detailing Richelle's unfortunate choice of husbands, he chose to switch the subject. "Funny running into you now. I was just about to reply to your email."
Helene beamed. "The survey. I have to admit, I didn't expect you to run it at all. But what will you do after you get the results?"
Of course she was pushing for more. Cade doubted she would ever let him settle on anything short of excellence.
He shrugged. "I'll bring the findings to the board and propose a pay increase for the lower pay brackets, so that our employees reach a livable wage in the city."
What other choice did he have? It was that, or lose his soul. And potentially Helene, too.
They'd started walking side by side.
"What if the board votes against it?"
"They won't." He was adamant.
Helene didn't mask her surprise. "They'd be willing to lose some profits to improve people's lives, just like that? If that's the case, why wasn't it done before?"
He cracked a smile. "Because you hadn't brought it to our attention yet." Cade tilted his head back. "You met one-seventh of the board just now. Richelle was just twenty-one when we started the company, but she had access to her trust fund. Rather than letting me empty mine, she opted to give us half of hers. She and I have equal shares. Then, there's James, Kenneth, Archer, David, and Penelope. We only need four votes for a motion to pass, and I know how to get to at least two of them."
In fact, it was generally easy enough to get most votes, although they rarely reached unanimity. Penelope's representative—she hardly ever attended board meetings herself—never voted in the same direction as James. Thankfully, little changes like these wouldn't need the full board's approval.
"You don't have any random, old, rich guys on your board?"
"We wanted to make sure to keep the power among us, so we've never accepted outside investments."
Thankfully, they hadn't needed to rely on anyone else's money.
"Must be nice," she said.
"How about you? How's work?"
She groaned and grimaced.
"Ask me another day—any other day. It's normally fine. But the boss messed up and she's not one to ever take the blame for anything, so she's lashing out at all of us. Me, in particular."
Cade didn't like that. Not one bit. "If your superior is being unfair, it may be worth bringing it up to HR."
Helene sighed. "Easier said than done. I work for a small brand, you know. It was founded by Emily, the brain behind all of our products, but because she doesn't have a head for business, she's let her best friend run the show. Carrie's a dragon. If I go to HR, they'll just speak to her about it, and I'll end up in more trouble. She already can't stand me."
"So, quit." It sounded like a terrible environment, and he hated that she had to deal with that.
Helene was already shaking her head. "I love my job. I have tons of clients that I'd miss there. There aren't many brands doing what we do, and I couldn't work for the competition anyway. We have a non-compete. I'd have to start over again. Which wouldn't be easy, given that I've done nothing else. My resume is pretty abysmal."
He wanted to fix it for her. He wanted to fix everything that wasn't perfect in her life. Fortunately, he bit back the suggestion that she should come work for him. The last thing he needed was for Helene to become his subordinate.
"If you could do anything at all, what would you do?"
She looked up, her face pensive. "I don't know. I like working in cosmetics, but I think the reason I enjoy my job the most is because it allowed me to make genuine connections with people. I could do that in a bunch of different industries. I enjoy the interaction I get at a pet shelter where I volunteer just as much. I'm not sure whether I have a real vocation, though. I guess I'd travel, first. See the world. Decide later." Her shoulders fell. "That's not likely to happen. What I need is to find a place to rent, so even if I was tempted, I wouldn't quit right now."
Real life problems. The ones she'd said he didn't have. She was right.
"Where would you travel?"
"Where wouldn't I travel?" she shot back. "I want to see Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia…everywhere. Cassie's traveled a lot over the last few years. I'm so jealous."
But she didn't look envious of her sister as she smiled with fondness.
"I have to go to Australia soon, for a few months. We're expanding the company."
Come with me. Another offer he didn't say out loud.
People didn't invite women they'd only just met to the other side of the world.
"Lucky you! When are you leaving?"
Was he mistaken, or did she seem downcast at the thought of his leaving?
"In a few weeks, after James finishes negotiating the purchase of the site. I'll be there to supervise our expansion. That usually takes a few months."
He paused. "But I can come back for the holidays, and a few weekends here and there."<
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"Weekends?" Helene echoed. "From Australia? That won’t be worth the trip. You'd be exhausted."
"That depends on what I have planned on my way back. I can think of a thing or two that might keep me quite stimulated." They'd reached the end of the park by then. "Are you going to your sister's?"
The Parkers' house was only a few streets over. Cade lived a few blocks north.
"Yeah. Being homeless is so much fun." She rolled her eyes.
"Not many get to be homeless in an Upper East Side mansion."
"I know. I should check my privilege." Still grinning, she waved her hand. "Until next time, then?"
Cade took a moment to consider his options. He most definitely didn't want to seem like that guy, pushing a girl who wasn't interested in repeating their fun. On the other hand, he wanted it to be clear that he was interested in more. More than one time. More than one night. More than having the physical part of her and discarding the rest.
So, instead of behaving like a civilized gentleman and bowing out of her way, he took her hand, and tugged her closer. "Just one thing first."
Slow, giving her plenty of time to move out of the way or stop him, he slid one hand to her waist, bringing her flush against him, and cupped her chin with the other. Then, he kissed her again.
Just like last time, his entire body shot with a jolt of pure adrenaline the instant their lips touched. She was fire. Electric. Her soft curves felt like perfection against him.
For one moment, she was all his.
Then he had to let go. "Until next time."
Helene
Helene had suffered through a rotten week, but she was grateful for everything—the double-booked appointments that had messed her schedule up, and the coffee that stained her white blouse and forced her to run back home to get changed instead of having lunch on Wednesday. At the very least, all that pulled her focus away from a certain Viking with broad shoulders, soft, wavy hair, and the darkest of eyes. And the way he'd made her come, and come, and come again against Cassie's bookshelf. Who'd kissed her until her entire body caught fire in Central Park. And who'd emailed her simple, mundane things every day, making no allusion to either incident.