by Natalie Ann
Melanie smiled and nodded her head, then left. He tried to put this behind him and went back to work, but for the first time in a long time, he found himself wishing his blood pressure cuff were here because he had a raging headache.
He pulled out a bottle of aspirin and took a few, then hoped his day got better.
21
Just Surface
“You’re joking, right?” Sarah said later that night. “They thought you were gay?”
She couldn’t help it and started to laugh.
“It’s not funny.”
“I think it’s very funny. Why would they think that? You don’t give off that vibe at all.”
“I didn’t think I did. Not that there is anything wrong with it.”
She waited a second and then started to put things together. “People were talking about Colleen being in your office, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And was she this week? Did she meet with you at all?”
“No. Not for a meeting with the door shut. She popped in a few times but for less than a minute.”
“And was she dressed provocatively?” she asked.
“Not like she had been,” he said.
“So maybe she is the one saying you’re gay because you didn’t want anything to do with her?”
“It crossed my mind, but I have no clue. I don’t know too many women that catty or high on themselves.”
“You’d be surprised,” she said. “Well, glad to know everyone doesn’t think it now. And it’s not like you knew and had me show up for that reason. So I guess your plan worked.”
“It wasn’t really a plan,” he said, looking away but part of her wondered otherwise.
“Really?”
“We talked about it. It was a good way to have it known without me walking around and talking about my personal life. Do you do that at work?” he asked. “Do your coworkers know you are dating me?”
He had her there. She hadn’t told anyone. “No.”
“And do they think you’re a lesbian because you might be single?”
“No. But I’ve worked there for a year. I’ve talked about men before. Though we don’t say everything about our lives, there is always a little bit of talk and past relationships.”
“I get it,” he said. “Men just aren’t that way.”
“I know,” she said. “The few men in our place don’t always talk about their family much, but it does come up. We could be in the kitchen or somewhere and just a comment about their weekends or something with kids or a spouse is made.”
“That’s not how I work. It’s not how things were done before I moved here. Hell. No one had time to talk about their personal lives. We were all hungry wolves trying to be the leader of the pack.”
Interesting. She figured as much about him but it was the first he’d come out and said it. “I couldn’t live that way. It’s not healthy. All the stress and pressure to be in the front all the time.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s the truth. That is no way to live your life. No time for friends or family. Just relaxing. It’s like it’s all a competition. Winner take all. Mr. Overachiever.”
“I did have that life. It wasn’t the best and you know that. I told you I was changing. Don’t you believe me?” he asked, smiling and reaching for her. “I’ve got a personal life and rarely talk about work, nor do I want to.”
What he said was the truth that she could see. “True, but after seeing your office today I’ve got to imagine keeping it all in isn’t good either.”
“It’s not that bad. No office is perfect and I didn’t expect it to be. I’ll be addressing a lot of things next week with everyone. One is going to be rumors and gossip.”
She laughed. “You can’t stop stuff like that.”
“Nope. But I can tell them I won’t tolerate it and if they’ve got questions, come to me. I’ve already said it multiple times that I don’t take information from third parties.”
“Better you than me,” she said. She’d worked with some petty nurses before but nothing like he seemed to have to deal with. She supposed being the boss made it harder.
“Thanks. So no more talk about that. I’d rather hear what you bought shopping today.”
“You’re trying to distract me,” she said. Jet was sitting on her lap like he normally did when she was here and they were relaxing in the living room.
She really liked the time she spent with him on the weekends together. If he was someone that internalized things, she never really knew or could tell. She supposed that was a good thing but all these little hints and conversations were what made her realize he never really fully opened up about much.
Sometimes he was just surface and she was anything but.
“Of course I am.” He picked Jet up and put him on the floor. “Give me some hints.”
She moved over and crawled into his lap before Jet could jump back up on the couch, her legs on each side of his hips. “It’s lace.”
“I like lace,” he said.
“And it’s black.”
“Black is a nice color.”
“I figured I could make up for not having a little black dress.”
He laughed, his hand going into her hair and pulling her mouth down to his. “You don’t need to make up for that, but I’m happy you thought of me shopping today.”
“I think of you more than I should,” she said and wished she could have taken those words back but then wondered why. Not that long ago they were both hinting toward feeling more for each other.
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.
“Not in my eyes.”
His hands were reaching under her shirt now, then slipping under her bra and flicking at her nipples. “Not in mine either.” He stood up with her legs around his waist and started to move toward his room. “Are you going to show it to me now?”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “You started something without it and I want you to finish that. We’ve always got tomorrow night.”
“So you’re staying both nights?” he asked, kicking the door shut to his room and coming down on top of her on the bed.
“If you want me to,” she said, grinding up against him. She loved his body, how strong he was, how he made her feel. She just loved him period and wanted to say it so badly.
“You can. You can leave a few things here if you want to.”
Leaving clothes over was moving forward. “If you’re okay with it, it might be easier. Just a pair of scrubs and some jeans,” she said.
“Whatever you want,” he said, his mouth going to hers. “I’ve got plenty of room in this house. No more talking. I’ve got work to do.”
She laughed and let him get the job done because she knew he was a perfectionist and she’d be one happy girl when his job was completed.
Caden was lying in bed with Sarah tucked under his arm an hour later. “You haven’t stopped smiling,” he said.
“I always smile when I’m happy. You said you had work to do and I think you deserve a bonus.”
He started to laugh. “You’re a piece of work.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“In a good way,” he said.
“So,” she said. “I haven’t wanted to bring this up, but I know you’d rather I tell you because you got all annoyed that Harris wanted to meet you and I didn’t say anything. But my parents invited us to dinner on Sunday. I can say you have plans.”
“I don’t have plans.”
“So you don’t mind going?” she asked.
“If you want me to, why wouldn’t I?”
“I just didn’t know if it was moving too fast or not,” she said.
He kissed the top of her head. “I think it’s going at the speed it should. Didn’t I just say you could leave some clothes here?”
“You did. I guess that is why I asked. Though I would have brought it up tomorrow at the very least.”
“I don’t have a problem with it. And
since we are talking about meeting family, my parents and sisters would like to meet you. They’ve been on my case to come visit Memorial Day weekend. What do you think? You’ve got that Monday off, right? Want to go for a few days?”
“Wow. Moving fast here.”
He wasn’t sure what to think of that statement. “Are we?”
“I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you.”
“Do I look like someone that falls prey to pressure?” he said, snorting.
“No.”
“Then I’ll tell my parents we’ll see them in two weeks. See? It’s all falling in line,” he said.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
He wasn’t sure how to answer. “I don’t know.”
“I think you do. So tell me.”
“You’ll think it’s odd you’re the first relationship I’ve had.”
“I don’t think it’s odd based on what I know about you. You’re way too good in bed to have been a virgin. Unless you did a lot of research on how to please a woman.”
“That is pure skill,” he said.
“We’ll let it go with that,” she said. “Anyway, I know you put your job first and now you aren’t. That’s good enough for me.”
“Good,” he said, glad he didn’t have to explain where his mind was. He didn’t need her to realize that it seemed he was putting things in order or in a list like he normally did. It was wrong and he wasn’t purposely doing it, but couldn’t help himself either. “Then you can let your parents know I’d love to meet them on Sunday.”
“And I’ll tell Harris to be on his best behavior.”
“Oh, you didn’t say your brother would be there too,” he said, tugging on her hair.
“Is that a problem? It’s more likely he’ll bust on me than give you a hard time.”
“Not a problem. Just don’t want to be the middleman between you two again.”
“I’ll tell him to cut the shit. But Kaelyn will put him in his place. No worries. Thanks.”
“For what?” he asked.
“For indulging me.”
“I don’t consider meeting my girlfriend’s parents indulging you.”
“So I’m your girlfriend?” she asked, her fingernails running up and down his bare chest.
“In my eyes.”
“In mine too,” she said.
“Anything else you want to say to me?” he asked. “It’s like you want to but are afraid to.”
“I don’t like that you know me so well.”
“Maybe what you want to say I want to hear.”
She turned her head and looked at him. “I get the feeling since I’m your first relationship, this is one thing you can’t be first at.”
“Could be.”
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll say it first. I love you, Caden.”
He laughed. “Thank you.”
She slapped his arm. “Not funny!”
“Yes, it was. But I happen to love you too.”
And it wasn’t as hard to say as he’d thought it’d be.
22
Facts And Proof
A few days later, Caden was walking into the conference room where the entire staff was sitting around the tables.
He’d had breakfast brought in and many were talking and laughing but got quiet as he entered.
“Sorry. I got held up on the phone,” he said. He didn’t want to be one of those people that purposely came in late to make an entrance, but in this case it might work in his favor.
Many had no clue what today was going to be about. It was only the second time he’d called an all-hands meeting, rather than leaving them for each department to hold.
He was sick of what he’d seen so far and was ready to nip it in the bud. The fact he was reaching for aspirin and wanted to look for antacids told him he had to get control of the situation when he never thought it’d be something he couldn’t handle.
His stomach had been fine. There was no reason for him to want to take something. It was habit though. One he thought he’d broken but obviously not. He’d even been checking his blood pressure more than normal, but that seemed to be fine too.
Maybe it was PTSD from passing out in a public place because of his lack of care that had him nervous he might be falling down that rabbit hole again.
“I told everyone you were on the phone,” Melanie said. He didn’t need her to explain anything but just nodded his head.
“Many of you are probably wondering why I called this meeting and I’ll get right to the point. I’ve been here a few months and though our client numbers are good, and our profits and revenue are great too, what I’ve found that I don’t care for is the atmosphere of this office.”
“People are too casual in their dress,” John said. He still wore his suit and tie daily even though he was the only one. “I told you that was going to be a problem.”
“That isn’t the problem,” Caden said. He looked around the room. “How many of you by a show of hands feel we need to go back to business professional rather than business casual when you aren’t meeting with anyone?”
There was no show of hands other than John’s. “It’s nice being more comfortable,” Marcy said. She was one of the financial advisers on John’s team. She was quiet and kept her head down, but she got a lot of good reviews from her clients.
“I’ve spent a lot of years in suits and it doesn’t make me work any harder,” Caden said. “I got some of my best work done at home at night in jeans or shorts.”
He didn’t need to tell them he was used to putting in fifteen-hour days on average. He didn’t want anyone to go through what he did. Life was too short and he was learning that.
“So we can wear shorts in here now?” Liam asked. He was new, just out of college, less than a year. He’d been all over the jeans to work and he was one of their top investors already. A real go-getter.
“I’ll draw the line at shorts,” he said after John snorted. “Back to my reason for this meeting. It’s not what is being worn but rather what is being said. The gossip and the rumors. The cattiness.”
“It’ll never change,” John said. “Women do it all the time.”
“It’s not just the women,” he said when plenty of them looked like they were going to jump the table in front of John. He knew damn well some of it came from John’s mouth too.
“You run your mouth just as much,” Colleen said, looking at John.
The last thing he wanted was a pissing match in this office or during this meeting. “We aren’t pointing fingers here. It’s not the time or the place. I’m just saying there have been a lot of things brought to my attention lately. I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again for everyone to hear. If I don’t get information from the source, I won’t always act on it. Not unless I get concrete facts and proof. That also means when people are talking and gossiping, that what you’re being told at that time isn’t always the truth or facts. If you hear something about me and it’s not out of my mouth, it might not be true.”
He looked around the room and saw a lot of heads going down and red faces. He could only imagine what else was being said and wasn’t going to let it get to him. He never did before and there was no reason for it now.
“Any questions to that?” he asked. No one said a word and very few were making eye contact. “Good. Then we can move on to more important matters.”
He spent the next hour talking about goals, incentives, the results of the surveys and getting more ideas.
He walked out of the meeting and was feeling pretty good about things. Better than he’d felt going to dinner at Sarah’s parents’ this past Sunday.
He wasn’t nervous, or he shouldn’t have been. He’d talked to Harris and felt they came to terms of some sort.
But then he realized he was meeting Sarah’s father. The man who’d raised the woman he was in love with.
He could honestly say he was never very protective of his sisters and he wondered if it was because he wa
s so consumed with his own life and goals that he didn’t bother with theirs.
It wasn’t that he didn’t love them; he did. It was just that he stayed out of their life and they stayed out of his…until recently.
But he knew Sarah had a close relationship with her brother and she talked about her parents a lot.
When they’d shown up, she was all smiles and relaxed, which should have relaxed him. Even the fact they brought Jet with them was nice. And Jet and Nicks played in the backyard of her parents’ house while they all sat on the deck and relaxed.
He wasn’t sure what he was expecting knowing who Harris was, but he found that Sarah and her brother came from a pretty normal middle class upbringing like he did.
Everyone was nice.
They were polite.
They were welcoming.
But they had questions and he felt like he was on the stand.
Sarah had jumped in a few times to say she’d already told them he moved here for his job. But her father asked, “So you don’t have any plans on moving back to Manhattan?”
“I wouldn’t have bought my house if that was in my mind.”
“You won’t get bored with it here?” her mother asked.
“Do you find it boring here, Harris?” he asked Sarah’s brother.
Harris had grinned and put his arm around his wife while he looked over at their daughter sitting on the deck playing. “I will admit I was at loose ends when I moved back, but my situation was different. You have a career. I didn’t at that point.”
“And my job takes up a lot of my time. When I’m not working, I’m with Sarah.”
“We know I’m enough for anyone,” she said.
He’d winked at her, but it didn’t seem to end. Everyone was determined to see why he moved here or if he was going to stay.
He wasn’t sure what he could have said to get them to believe him, so he just let it go. He’d have to prove it to them. He’d seen a lot of looks going back and forth between Sarah and her parents, which led him to think they might have realized the two of them had said those three big words to each other.