by Parker, Ali
Her hand struck my cheek with enough force that the slap echoed down the halls.
I stared at her in shock, cheek searing with pain, as her face screwed up with anger and hurt. “I hate you, Caden Taylor. Stay the hell away from me.”
She marched toward the doors.
“Olivia,” I breathed.
Dana looked back over her shoulder at me. “Don’t, Caden. Leave it alone.”
And then they were gone.
I stared after them, my cheek and split knuckles burning.
Confusion and anger fought for control inside me as I stormed outside and went to my truck. I got behind the wheel just as the school principal came out, shouting for me to get back inside.
I pulled out of the parking lot. My hands shook. My jaw was clenched so tight it hurt. I drove home and barely made it up the drive before I had to throw open my door, lean out, and puke my guts out. I didn’t see Luke standing at the bumper of my father’s luxury sedan with three suitcases, but he saw me spitting on the drive and walked over to stand near my door.
He stared at my puke and then looked up at me as I slumped in my seat. “Rough morning?” he asked.
“Fuck off.”
“Hey.” Luke frowned and gripped the door as I tried to pull it closed. “What’s going on? You all right?”
I swallowed bile. No, I was not all right. I was so far from all right it wasn’t even funny. My stomach rolled, and my gut tightened, and I leaned over to hurl again. Luke stepped back and grimaced and then shook his head at me. “Get out of the truck, bro. Let’s go inside and get you some water. Fuck.”
I slid out of the truck and let Luke walk me up the rest of the drive with a hand on my shoulder. He gave me a gentle shake, and for a moment, it felt like he was my blood brother.
“Caden?”
I glanced warily over at him.
“Is there someone I need to beat the shit out of for you?”
If my heart hadn’t been shattered in a million pieces, I might have laughed.
But it was shattered. And so was I.
I hung my head as the grief and pain overwhelmed me, and Luke stopped walking, sucked in a sharp breath, and pulled me into him the way a real brother might. I stood motionless in his embrace, trying to kick my brain into a response.
Luke sighed. “I’m sorry. Whatever happened, it’ll be okay.”
He didn’t understand. He couldn’t.
It would never be okay.
He pushed me back with his hands on my shoulders and bent down a little to look me in the eyes. “Tell me who’s to blame for this. I’ll fuck them up for messing with my little brother.”
I shook my head and finally managed to find my voice. “I don’t need your help.”
“Fine, tough guy. How about a stiff drink instead? I have liquor in my room and our flight to New York doesn’t leave for another five hours. What do you say?”
Alcohol wouldn’t put me back together, but it might numb this soul-crushing pain that threatened to bring me to my knees right then and there, and that was better than nothing.
I nodded and Luke grinned.
“Awesome,” he said. “I have a very expensive bottle of whiskey we can crack open.”
Chapter 20
Olivia
Present Day
Nerves raced through my insides as I got out of my red beamer and stood in the busy parking garage beneath the skyscraper where the office was located. I dropped my keys three times as my hands shook.
“Get it together,” I mumbled under my breath and stood up as Jeremy stopped beside the car.
“You all right?” He looked me up and down, a concerned but friendly smile lingering on his lips.
“Yes. Good to see you again.” I pulled the strap to my bag over my shoulder and moved up beside him. “How are you?”
“I’m great. You?” He pointed to my bag. “That thing is unzipped. Looks like a tragedy waiting to happen.”
I chuckled and paused outside the door to the building as the wind howled through the parking garage and blew my hair all over the place. Most inconveniently, it got stuck in my lipstick.
Jeremy pushed through the doors to the elevators and held it open for me as another strong gust tugged at my wide leg pants and blew McDonald’s wrappers all over the place.
“Damn.” I hurried in behind Jeremy, who still held the door open, and set my bag down on the floor beside me as I tried to tame my hair. “Why am I nervous?”
“Because it’s a new job and a whole new group of people to impress?” He picked up my bag and put it over his own shoulder. “You’re going to do great. Luke will take good care of you. And when he’s out of the office, his brother Caden is a great coach and mentor. There will always be someone around for you to turn to. Me included. Try to relax. You’re going to fit right in. Besides, Luke is the big cheese and he says you’re top level, grade-A quality. You’ll have us looking to you for support and direction in no time.”
“Did Luke tell you to flatter me so I wouldn’t be so nervous?” I walked to the elevator and reached for the button on the wall, hating how badly my hands were still twitching. I shot him a smile over my shoulder and stood back to wait for the elevator. “And I know Luke and Caden are both great guys. I’m in good hands.”
“I’m not sure they’re both great guys.” Jeremy laughed and relinquished my bag back to me when I reached for it. “Caden is without a doubt. But Luke is a shark. You should make sure to remember that. If it’s not good for him, we aren’t doing it. Then again, I suppose you already know that.”
I was a little surprised by Jeremy’s openness, but maybe something had happened with him and Luke that left him a little more ballsy than anyone else might have been when talking about their boss.
The elevator arrived with a soft chime. The doors slid open, revealing a mirrored-wall interior with shiny green marble floors and pleasantly warm lighting. Jeremy put a hand on the door to keep it open.
“How long have you worked for them, and how did you start?” I moved into the elevator.
“I went to NYU with Caden. We’ve been friends since we were eighteen.” He tilted his head a little, but his expression didn’t change. We rode up two floors to the ground level where more people got on dressed in business suits and knee-length skirts.
Did Jeremy know about us? About me? How much had Caden told him?
My stomach hardened into a knot of nerves.
“Oh nice,” I said, hoping my tone sounded as light and airy as I wanted it to. “I’ve been with Luke since my junior year. I had no clue he had a brother until a week and a half ago. Sad, I realize.”
Jeremy shrugged. “Luke isn’t much of a talker. He communicates in other ways.”
I felt my cheeks begin to burn. “Um. Yeah.”
Jeremy laughed. “Sorry, Olivia. I shouldn’t have said that. Not very professional of me.”
The doors opened. Jeremy moved out into a wide hall with gray wood floors and soft white walls paneled with wainscoting. It had a luxurious and yet simple feel with dramatic iron light fixtures lining the ceiling.
I got out of the elevator and walked down the hall, trying hard not to let it be too obvious that I was scanning the name plates on the doors, looking for Caden’s.
“I’m not surprised that you didn’t know about Caden actually. Luke is a private man.” Jeremy shrugged and stopped beside a wide arched doorway. “The coffee bar is right in there, and the restrooms are in the far corner. They have you in an office right across from me so that I can help out if Luke or Caden are out of the office for the day.”
I peered around at the little in office café. It was simple but chic with a very expensive ruby-red espresso machine taking up most of the room on the countertop. It boasted chrome buttons and knobs and steaming wands, and set up on the racks on top of the machine were rows upon rows of glossy white mugs.
“That sounds great. I’ll drop my stuff off and grab a cup.”
“Olivia, right?”<
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I turned at the sound of a new, feminine voice and found myself looking at a pretty petite woman with a tight dress and dark hair pulled into a bun. “I’m Annie. I’m Caden’s secretary, and I’ll be yours as well. Luke has been gushing about you all week. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
I shook her hand and tried to assess if she were being genuinely nice or just putting on a show. It was sad that it was so damn hard to tell any more, and experience told me that female coworkers in this industry were the ones I had to watch out for. I could talk circles around the men. I could bat my eyelashes and strut in my heels and get my way without them ever realizing they compromised to meet my needs.
But another woman? That was a different story. And there was something in Annie’s eyes that flashed with warning.
“Nice to meet you too, Annie. Luke has also spoken about you. Only good things, of course.” I smiled as sweetly as she had.
“He’d better only have good things to say. He’d be drowning in his own paperwork and business appointments if it weren’t for me keeping him on track.” Annie brushed a couple baby hairs off her forehead. “We have you set up down the hall, but if you have time, Perry Barden, our third partner, is here today. He’s heading into a day of visiting with clients but would love a few minutes with you, if that sounds all right?”
“Absolutely. Luke mentioned that he was mostly a silent partner. Is that not true?”
“No, he is, but he has legacy clients that he still meets with from his active days of being an adviser. You’ll love him. We all do.”
I smiled and nodded toward the end of the hall. “Is my office down here?”
“Yep. Your name is on the door.” She smiled.
“You want me to grab you a coffee and set it on your desk?” Jeremy asked and nodded toward the coffee bar. He was sweet. He’d remembered I wanted to go in there and help myself to a cup.
Personally, I’d always thought it was important to treat your office as such on your first day, use the coffee bar and the sugars and the complimentary snacks. It sent out the right message to my new fellow colleagues that I was already settled and ready to call this place home, even though my insides were still squirming with uncertainty.
“No, I’ll get it later. Thanks though.” I walked down the hall and reminded myself that I belonged here. I couldn’t let someone like Annie ruffle my feathers. So far, she’d been sweet, but there was something in those eyes of hers that suggested she might have a bit of an edge to her.
But she didn’t matter. What mattered was navigating this job with Caden working down the hall from me. I was at the top of my game and smart as hell. There was no reason to let the underlying situation between me and Caden overshadow anything. It had been a thorn in my side for as long as I could remember. The last thing I wanted it to do was ruin my future the way he had destroyed my past.
After dropping off my stuff and looking around the office, I walked back to the front and stopped by Perry’s office. I knocked softly and poked my head into his open door. His head was down and he was reading documents of some sort. He wielded a shiny black pen in one hand which he twirled over his knuckles as he read.
“Mr. Barden? Annie said you wanted to see me.”
“Yes!” The large older man stood up and laughed loudly. “I know exactly who you are. You’re an up and coming star in the world of finance. I got my ass chewed good by Sarah last week for stealing you away.”
“Did you now?” I smiled and walked in. “Well, she’s been a great mentor to me.”
“She’s a good woman. Have a seat and let’s chat for a minute. You’ll have to forgive me as I’ve overbooked myself today and only have a few minutes, but I wanted to make sure we got to connect face to face.”
“I’m glad you did.” I sat down in the chair in front of his desk. “Are you in the office much?”
“Me? Hell no.” He sat down and leaned back in his chair. He reminded me of a well-dressed Santa Claus of sorts. It was oddly comforting. His belly pulled at the buttons of his cream-colored shirt and hid the belt I was sure he had to wear as he stroked at the white and gray whiskers on his face. “I spend most of my time doing all the things I wanted to do at your age but had to make the money to support.”
“Well, at least you get to say you did them.” I crossed my legs and settled in as he asked a few personal and then professional questions. By the end of the mini-interview, I’d determined that I liked him quite a bit and could see why Luke and Caden did as well.
A knock at the door pulled us from our conversation on the best way to skin a catfish, and Annie leaned into the room.
“All right. Time’s up, sir. Your first appointment has been waiting ten minutes.” She smiled and shook her head. “You have to forgive Perry. He’s forever behind, but he’ll make it up somehow, no matter what.”
“Right. No bathroom breaks. It’s going to be a long-ass day.” He laughed and stood up. “Good to meet you, Olivia. Great to have you with us. I’m here if you need anything.”
“Thank you, sir. I know where to find you for business and fishing tips alike.” I turned and walked out of his office, pausing by the door as Annie closed it. “I like him.”
She gave me a warm smile. “We all do. He looks like Santa and his wife bakes cookies like you wouldn’t believe, or she used to. She’s been battling cancer, but she’s a fighter and a half.”
I frowned. Why was it the kindest of people who always got hit with the cancer bullshit?
“I’m sorry to hear that. That must be hard for them.” I brushed my fingers by my lips and tried to think of something lighthearted to change the subject. “Please tell me you have a Christmas party where he dresses up.”
Annie snorted and laughed. “Every year. It’s my favorite event. Perry is an all or nothing sort of man.”
“Oh, I can’t wait.” I glanced down the hall, not quite sure of what I was supposed to do next.
“Wait here and I’ll walk back down the hall with you. I’ll give you a quick download on everyone and some of the projects I know Luke has earmarked for you. That sound good?”
I sighed with relief. Maybe Annie wasn’t what I’d originally marked her to be. “Really good. Thank you.”
“Of course. I’m here if you need anything.”
She turned and walked back to the front as I pressed my back against the wall and scanned the hallway. “Where are you, Caden?”
A few minutes later, Annie was back and ushering me back down the hallway. “So it looks like I’m going to book a flight and hotel for you to go to Texas next week. The boys told you about that, right?”
“Yeah, Luke told me. I could use the client files to review and an update on what we’re scheduled to do on the trip if that stuff is available.”
We stopped in front of a frosted-glass door with my named etched in cursive gold lettering into the glass. The D in Desmant had a dramatic swoop and I found myself staring at the letters.
Annie waited a beat for me to kick back into gear. When it didn’t happen, she cleared her throat. “Well, this is your office.”
“Right. Sorry. It just… it doesn’t feel real yet.”
I wasn’t lying. As I turned the handle and moved into the office, I was struck by how surreal all of this felt. Caden left my mind momentarily as I reveled in the moment I’d been waiting for for years. I had my own office at Taylor, Taylor, and Barden. And good lord, was it beautiful.
The far wall boasted two large windows that were so sparkly clean it looked like there was no glass in them. They were framed by light white curtains and one window was open a crack, letting in a cool breeze and the sounds of honking car horns down on the street some thirty stories below.
The office was twice the size of the one at my old firm. The desk, a massive white behemoth of a piece of furniture, sat upon a periwinkle-blue patterned carpet right smack in the middle of the room. The matching white leather chair faced the door. A large desktop computer was on the desk as w
ell as some recruitment documents I imagined had been left there for me to sign. There were fresh-cut flowers in a crystal vase on the opposite side of the desk and a large floor plant in the corner by one of the windows.
“Wow,” I breathed. “I didn’t expect this.”
“Nice, huh?” Annie stepped into the office. “I can get all the Houston client files from Caden. He was working on their account last week. Did you get to meet him on Friday?” She let out a girlie sigh and sat down in my extra chair, the one across from the white leather one. She crossed one leg over the other and tightened her bun. “He’s so damn dreamy. Don’t tell him I said that. That man doesn’t need to be reminded of how hot he is.”
I laughed and leaned back in my chair, almost wanting to hear what she thought of Caden. I knew the boy that had the balls to steal my V-card and then spread horrible lies about me to the cheer squad where I was captain. I couldn’t walk down the hall the last week of my senior year without being called a whore or a slut. I’d been kicked off the squad and hadn’t been able to cheer at the last football game of the season, and my parents were called to the school to be informed about all of it. My life was ruined in my young mind. Changed forever. There would be no going to UT or A&M for college. I was going to have to recreate myself and move halfway across the country—and I did.
“I met him. He seems like a nice guy.”
“Oh man, he’s the best kind of guy in the world. If you’re ever in a bad spot and you need help, he’s the guy you call. He’s just such a sweetheart and fucking hot as lava.”
“Hot as lava?” I laughed again. “He is a good-looking man.”
“Well, you might just think he’s okay, but he’s by far the best guy in the world. Ask any of us but Luke. Luke is like the evil queen with the mirror on his wall.” She smirked. “You can tell him I said that. He already knows.”
I was about to swing down into my new chair when someone filled the doorway. I looked up and froze. Caden.