Kade inclined his head, listening. Neither confirming nor denying. For now.
“You know I’m more than willing to ride it out. I trust the three of you. But the reason I asked to meet with you alone is that my people have heard rumblings about a threat to the deal going through. Something beyond Julian’s claim on partnership.”
Kade narrowed his gaze. “Like what?” Because he was in the thick of it, and he hadn’t heard a damned thing … except the hidden landmine from his past.
But unless and until they completely shut Julian down, he wouldn’t dare use the date rape accusation against him. That would be a sure way to guarantee he received nothing from his supposed involvement in Blink’s infancy. He needed the leverage.
“Let’s just say there’s talk of something in your past coming back to bite you in the ass and derail the IPO. I don’t know what, but it’s enough to make me … and some of the institutional investors nervous.”
Fuck. Kade shoved a hand through his hair before lowering his arm and letting his fingers run over the glass of his watch. He wasn’t wearing the Patek, but the smoothness of the crystal beneath his fingers calmed him.
“Is there any truth to it?” Ian asked, then held up a hand before Kade could respond. “Let me rephrase. Is there anything for me to worry about?”
“No,” Kade immediately promised his friend. “Your money is safe. The company is fine. The IPO will go forward.”
Whatever was going on with that bastard Julian, Kade had no doubt he was behind the rumors, trying to rattle Kade and push him into over-settling. That wouldn’t happen. Kade would admit the truth himself and step aside before he’d let a company he’d worked his ass off creating be derailed. Nor would he let his friends lose out on gains they deserved.
“Fair enough.” Ian, always a man of few words, didn’t ask for more.
Kade understood Ian had flown all the way in to look him in the eye and get reassurance. Knowing the lengths he’d go to in order to protect Derek, Luke, and Blink, Kade had no problem giving it to him.
“Then let’s order food.”
For the next hour, Kade and Ian talked about the football team Ian was president of, the Miami Thunder, and their chances for another Super Bowl run. Ian filled him in on his family, and Kade talked about the excitement of taking Blink public.
They were waiting for the check when Ian asked, “So, anyone serious in your life?”
Good thing Kade had finished his drink, because he hadn’t been prepared for the question and would definitely have choked on his scotch.
“I’m seeing someone,” he said vaguely. Since the gala, Lexie had become increasingly entrenched in his life.
Not only because she was his PA and they spent even more time together, at work and outside of it, but because he couldn’t stop thinking of her. She filled his waking and non-waking thoughts in a way no woman ever had. None. Because she understood him on a level no one had bothered to reach before her.
He liked to think he got her the same way. On the outside, she was tough, capable of standing up to him at his most difficult and able to cope with a less-than-easy family life. The pain her mother’s illness caused her was never far from her mind. He often saw her eyes glaze, and she would go somewhere distant and painful. Kade knew how much it hurt to lose someone close to you. True, his mother had left by choice, but Lexie’s mother was gone just the same. And that was a hurt he could comprehend deeply.
Ian grinned. “That’s good. I want you to find what I did with Riley,” he said, breaking into Kade’s thoughts.
“Don’t rush it. We’re just beginning.” Kade wanted to believe they filled an empty space in each other’s lives, but any time he let himself have faith, fear returned, lodging in the pit of his stomach.
Ian studied him intently. “The idea of one woman for the rest of your life used to spook you. Don’t waste time on nerves or worrying about things you can’t control.” The man always had a way of seeing deeply and getting to the heart of the matter. “I did that, and I nearly lost the most important thing in my life.”
Kade didn’t know Ian and Riley’s history, but before her, no one woman had been able to pin Ian down. “How’d you do it?” Kade asked.
“Do what?”
“Stop … worrying. Give up that control you mentioned.” Because that’s what scared Kade the most. Letting himself go into a freefall over a woman and having his heart ripped out of his chest. Although, he had to admit, he was pretty far gone for Lexie already.
“Who says I did?” Ian asked. “I said to stop worrying about things and just enjoy life. But when it comes to your woman, even if you don’t have control, always, always maintain the illusion.” Ian laughed, and Kade joined him because he’d seen Ian with Riley, and it was clear she had him wrapped around her finger. He just wouldn’t be surprised if that changed inside the bedroom. A place Kade had no desire to go.
The waiter walked over, and Kade snagged the billfold before Ian could do the same, determined to treat his friend, considering he’d made the trip out of concern for his financial stake in Kade’s company.
Ian scowled but let it go.
He left the lunch knowing he had to deal with the Julian situation sooner rather than later. But for the moment, he wanted to see Lexie.
* * *
Lexie had expected an enjoyable lunch with her sister, but she’d forgotten the cardinal rule of living with Kendall. Never get too comfortable. No sooner had they left Kade’s apartment than Kendall became agitated. She was unable to sit still, wouldn’t look Lexie in the eye, and kept rubbing her hands on her thighs anxiously. She bailed on lunch, claiming she had a headache and wanted to go home and lie down. Lexie was skeptical but she’d agreed.
She also stayed close to home, her gut screaming that something bigger than a mere headache was going on, a hunch that was confirmed when Kendall bounced out of her room, grabbed her keys from the counter, and yelled, “Be back! Have to meet Jay.”
Lexie blew out a long breath and settled on the sofa with a book and Waffles by her side, to wait for her sister’s return. She read and she dozed off. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, so she pulled out her phone, surprised to see it was late afternoon and she had a text from Kade.
Pleasure filled her at the sight of his name. She knew he had a lunch meeting with an old friend who was also a major investor in Blink. The timing worked perfectly because she’d had lunch with her sister, or she was supposed to.
Come by tonight?
Everything inside her wanted to see him. She wanted to lock the door and close them in alone, not just in his apartment but his bed. When she was alone with him, his big body covering hers, nothing existed but them.
With Kendall gone, there was nothing she could do to find out what was bothering her twin or help her at all. She lifted her fingers to respond to Kade with a big YES, I’ll see you soon, when her sister barreled into the apartment, an anxiety-ridden mess.
“Hi,” Lexie said, dropping her phone to the couch, putting her own wants on hold for the time being.
“Hi. Do we have any ice cream?” Kendall asked, opening the freezer and peering inside.
Lexie narrowed her gaze. “Where were you?”
“Out.”
“I know that,” Lexie said, her jaw clenched tightly. “You mentioned seeing Jay.”
“Yeah. Oh! Mint chip. Yum.” Kendall grabbed a spoon from the drawer, opened the container, and began to eat from the pint.
Lexie wrinkled her nose. “Can’t you use a bowl?”
“No,” she said, pacing as she ate.
Waffles, who had jumped off the couch when Kendall walked in, ran to her side. And as if sensing Kendall’s distress, the dog began barking and dancing around Kendall’s feet, as agitated as his owner.
“Is everything okay with Jay?” Lexie asked, pushing harder for answers.
“Yep. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because one minute you were calm, happy, and we were s
et to go out for lunch. The next thing I knew, you canceled because you had a headache, but a few minutes later, you ran out of the apartment like it was on fire.” Lexie pushed herself up from the sofa. “Kendall, what’s wrong? I want to help.”
“You’re nagging me because I canceled lunch?” she asked in what was surely feigned disbelief. “How selfish can you be? I didn’t feel well. Then Jay called and I was feeling better and I wanted to see him. Do you really have a problem with that?” Kendall rocked on her heels and looked everywhere but at Lexie.
She blew out a long, frustrated breath. “I have a problem with you ruining my day too if you weren’t really sick, but that’s not the point. You’re suddenly agitated and—”
“Oh! We’re back to me being crazy?” Kendall asked, her voice rising. “I’m going to my room. Waffles, come!” She spun around and stormed toward her bedroom, leaving Lexie alone in the kitchen.
She grasped the counter, dizzy from her twin’s mercurial mood swing. Especially since she’d been doing so well. A few weeks ago, this was behavior she’d have expected and was used to living with. Since she’d adjusted her meds, Kendall had seemed better, with fewer highs and lows. Today’s had come out of nowhere.
God, she wanted nothing more than to escape by going over to Kade’s, but if her sister truly was suddenly spiraling and she left her alone, there was a good chance she’d walk out of here later and head for a bar. Pick up a guy for quick, meaningless sex, despite having a boyfriend. Though it had been awhile since she’d exhibited such reckless behavior, Lexie wanted to be able to talk her out of it or join her and play buffer to her destructive tendencies.
She walked over to where she’d tossed her phone, a lump in her throat and pain in her chest. How many times in the past had she had to pass on something she wanted to do to play her sister’s keeper? Too many to count, Lexie thought. But had she ever felt so bad before? Like she was suddenly on the verge of losing something she hadn’t even known she desperately wanted? She swallowed hard, wanting to believe she was jumping to conclusions. She hadn’t lost Kade. She was just skipping one night.
But that’s how it started, a little voice reminded her. With guys, with friends, it always started innocently enough. A canceled plan here. A sorry I can’t make it there. Until the guy or the friend stopped calling altogether.
She glanced at the closed bedroom door and flopped onto the couch in defeat. It didn’t matter how Lexie felt. She was needed here, she thought, and picked up the phone to let Kade know she wouldn’t be coming by tonight.
* * *
Sorry I can’t make it tonight. I’ll see you at work on Monday.
Kade read Lexie’s vague text with no explanation as to why, after spending most of their free time together, she suddenly just couldn’t make it.
He settled in to eat meatloaf that Helen had prepared for him, wondering what she was doing tonight that was so important. More important than him. Not exactly the kind of thoughts he was used to having.
He frowned and rose from his seat, rinsing his plate off in the sink and placing it in the dishwasher.
His cell rang, and, figuring it was a good distraction from everything circling in his brain obsessively, he answered without checking who it was.
“Hello?”
“It’s Evan Mann.” The investigator Kade had left a message for after finishing lunch with Ian Dare. “Got your message, but I was tied up until now, and I have pictures you’re going to want to see.”
Kade raised an eyebrow. “What kind of pictures?”
“Your ex-partner and some chick. You and your partners said you wanted anything I could dig up. Well, this woman seems to be important to him. I sent them over to your email.”
“Thanks. Does this woman have a name?” Kade asked, picking up his plate and carrying it to the sink.
“Working on that. More soon.” Mann disconnected the call.
“Nice bedside manner,” Kade muttered. He leaned against the counter and switched apps on his phone, opening his email.
Mann’s message came through. Kade tapped the email, and a photograph loaded onto the screen.
A photo of Lexie and Julian.
He blinked, but the view on the screen stayed the same.
Lexie and Julian.
What. The. Fuck.
What was she doing with that bastard? Kade didn’t want to believe she could betray him that way, but the proof was in his hands. He glanced down once more, taking in the delicate features he’d memorized, her small nose, full lips, and the hand he’d often held. That Julian was now holding.
Dammit!
He opened a cabinet and grabbed a scotch, taking a long swig straight from the bottle. Lexie. Sweet, caring, sexy Lexie. The woman he’d opened himself up to. The woman he’d showed his greatest weakness and to whom he’d revealed his flaws had played him.
He thought about texting her, but he wasn’t about to put himself out there again, not even for an explanation there was no way he’d believe. He’d invited her tonight and she’d said no. Now he knew why.
End of story.
End of them.
His hands began to shake as reality set in. From their intimate position, it was clear they were close, physically and emotionally. She’d stabbed him in the back, and she wasn’t the first female to do so.
He could make himself crazy, thinking about his long string of failures with women. He took another pull, letting the liquid burn down his throat. His mother. Another mouthful of whiskey. Angela, the woman who’d stolen things from him and pawned them for cash. He chugged again. Lila, who’d accused him of date rape. He’d sworn never again, but his organized, gutsy assistant who’d held her own with him and played Mario Party like a champ had betrayed him.
He carried the bottle into his bedroom, and that was the last thing he remembered until the sun streamed through the window, waking him.
He rolled over and his head began to pound. His mouth felt like it was full of cotton. And the memory of the photograph on his phone flashed through his mind, an unwanted memory and a painful fact he didn’t want to think about. Unfortunately, it was all he could do. Visualize Lexie and Julian.
Nausea rose, and somehow he managed not to lose all the alcohol he’d consumed last night. He reached for his watch on the nightstand and didn’t find it. He sat up and, ignoring the throbbing in his head, looked at the empty place where he always kept his Patek Phillipe. The watch that soothed him. The same one he’d touched yesterday before he’d left the apartment to meet with Ian.
Before his entire life had gone to shit.
Where was it? Kade was ridiculously organized, and if there was one thing he wouldn’t misplace, it was this particular timepiece.
He headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth, recounting yesterday in his head while he did so. He’d placed the watch on the nightstand and left to have lunch. Saturday was Helen’s day off, but it was dry cleaning day, which meant … Lexie had been to his apartment.
No, he thought, rinsing the toothbrush and replacing it in the holder. History would not fucking repeat itself. Lexie hadn’t taken something that belonged to him. Not for any reason. But she’d been with Julian … and he hadn’t thought her capable of that either.
He returned to the bedroom and picked up the phone, dialing the doorman downstairs. “Joseph, this is Kaden Barnes. Penthouse. I was wondering if you could tell me who signed in yesterday?”
“Just Ms. Parker and she’s on your approved list.”
“Helen wasn’t in?” But he felt guilty even asking. Helen had been with him for over two years, and she’d been an exemplary employee. She’d taken good care of him and had proven herself trustworthy.
“No sir.”
“Thank you,” Kade said, everything inside him withering even more.
How could he consistently choose wrong and pick women who stole from him and had no problem hurting him to get what they wanted? Did his money make him that much of an easy target? Or was he just t
hat fucking stupid?
He raised his hand, but the splint on it mocked his ability to hit another wall.
His cell phone rang. Derek’s name flashed on the screen. He hit accept. “Hey.”
“Hey. Luke and I were going to get brunch at that fancy new place that makes killer mimosas. The one near the office. You in?”
Kade groaned, the thought of any alcohol turning his stomach. “The PI sent me a picture of Lexie and Julian together,” he said, his stomach twisting painfully at the reminder.
Derek muttered a curse. “We’ll be right there.”
Twenty minutes later, both men arrived and made themselves at home on Kade’s couch. They’d already examined the photo.
“I’ve tried and tried, and I can’t come up with one good explanation for it,” Kade muttered, and that was only part of the reason he hadn’t returned her calls.
“I know it doesn’t look good, but you should probably talk to her,” Derek said. “I don’t see Lexie as someone capable of … what? Corporate espionage? Playing both sides?”
“You just like her,” Kade muttered.
“I do too, but he’s right. This looks extremely bad,” Luke said. “So what are you going to do?”
“Fire her.” Kade’s stomach twisted into knots as the answer came to him, loud and clear.
Chapter Eleven
Lexie had a crappy weekend. Kendall’s headache that wasn’t had turned into a raging migraine by Sunday night, which had necessitated a trip to the emergency room for IV meds. She’d tried to call and text Kade more than once, but he wasn’t returning her messages, and that wasn’t like him.
By the time Monday came, she felt like she hadn’t slept much all weekend. Because she hadn’t. Between missing Kade, not understanding his silence, and her sister’s off-kilter behavior, her own head was spinning.
Although she overslept, she wasn’t about to miss work. She piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun, put on some blush, along with mascara, and rushed out the door, miraculously making it to work before Kade. The minute he stepped out of the elevator, she headed for the coffeemaker and prepared his morning brew the way he liked it and walked over to his office.
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