There was still a part of him—albeit a worn-out, broken-down part—that clung to his childhood hope of one day making his father proud. Of finally feeling like he was every bit as legitimate as his brother.
Caleb shoved the thoughts aside. There wasn’t any point rehashing those old desires. Logically, he knew nothing would ever change. “When did he find out?”
“Last Thursday.”
The night Caleb was supposed to go for dinner. But instead he’d blown it off because he was still pissed about their meeting. It was a petty thing to do, because Caleb was punishing his mother by not showing up. But he’d wanted to avoid yet another fight with his dad, and sometimes the only way to achieve that was to stay away.
Clearly Gerald had swung back by keeping him out of the loop.
“Are you going to let this grudge go?” Jason asked. He motioned for Caleb to follow him and they headed out toward the elevators.
“Because he’s sick?” That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?
Should Gerald get a free pass for all the years he’d committed the ultimate parenting sin by favouring one child over another? Should he be forgiven for doing everything to advance one child in life while acting as though the other was a burden?
“The doctor is confident that he’ll beat it.” Jason jabbed at the elevator’s down button.
“But?”
“There are always people that fall into the unlucky five percent.” His brother sighed. “All I’m saying is, he won’t be around forever. It might not be now or even in ten years, but one day he’ll be gone.”
“I know that.”
“Then I would think long and hard about what you do next. Because once he’s gone, you don’t get a chance to do things over.”
A memory flashed in Caleb’s mind. He was seven years old, lying in a hospital bed after being hit by a cyclist. He’d broken his arm and had been knocked out for a few seconds, but it could have been worse. All he’d wanted was to impress his dad by walking on his hands.
Dad, Dad! Look at me!
He’d slipped and stumbled into the street outside their house. The cyclist had tried to avoid him, but it had been too late. He remembered waking up in the hospital, his mother’s face streaked with tears. Jason and their friend from next door both looking on with worried eyes.
Gerald hadn’t been there. He’d been called away to work.
“Don’t make a decision now,” Jase said, cutting into his thoughts. “But think about it.”
“I will.” He nodded.
For some reason, his mind strayed to Imogen and the way she’d touched him under the boardroom table. Not after things got heated—though that definitely played on his mind—but the way she’d stopped him from storming out of his father’s meeting, the gentle pressure of her palm against his leg soothing him. She made him feel grounded, wanted. She restored his balance and helped him feel in control even when the rest of his life was a shit show.
Why was she different?
She cared. About her job, about her boss, about her sister. She cared about things so intently and so outwardly, it made him wonder if he was cutting his life short by bottling everything up and pretending it didn’t matter.
But did she care about him? Why else would she have stopped him leaving the meeting? It would make no difference to her if Caleb’s relationship with his father imploded. There was no reason for her to intervene unless it was because she felt something for him.
For the first time in days the dark cloud lifted off Caleb’s shoulders and hope took its place. No one else had succeeded in making the shitty things in life more bearable. Most women he dated were a welcome distraction from it all—good company, a way to keep his mind off his problems. But Imogen was something more. It was like she saw through his cheeky, happy-go-lucky persona to the guy underneath. The one who wanted desperately to be a valued member of his family. The one who was at his wits’ end.
And she hadn’t turned away.
You sure it’s not simply because she’s hanging around to get the dirt on Daniel?
It was a good thing they were catching up tonight, because he wanted to know if his suspicions were true.
CHAPTER TWELVE
IMOGEN WANTED DRINKS with her colleagues as much as she wanted a hole in the head. The knowledge that she would be seeing Caleb later tonight—at his place, no less—weighed on her in that confusing and exciting yes/no way she’d come to associate with him. Her brain and her body were at a disconnect, and her heart refused to take sides.
She shouldn’t want him. But she did...so very much.
“I’ve barely seen you all week.” Mina, Caleb’s executive assistant, handed a drink over. It was tall and colourful in a way that indicated it would go down far too easily. “How are you holding up? The news about Gerald was quite a shock, right?”
Imogen sipped her drink. “Yeah, it was. I know he’s been out of the office more than usual lately, but I had no idea.”
Three sets of eyes peered at her curiously. Did they think she was lying? Imogen was friendly with the other executive assistants, but she mostly stayed out of gossip, which left her a little on the outside. Mina waded a swizzle stick through her drink and then tapped off the excess before setting it neatly down on a napkin in front of her. She was flanked by Dave—their CFO’s executive assistant—and Petra, who’d been with the company since its inception. The latter was a goldmine of information and Imogen often wondered if she had compromising pictures of someone stashed away, since no one ever crossed her.
“Do you think Mary knew?” Dave asked.
“Mary knows everything,” Mina replied, running a hand through her chin-length black hair. “Not that she’d ever give anyone the heads-up.”
“It’s certainly possible,” Imogen agreed. “She books most of his personal appointments, and he probably asked her not to say anything.”
“Apparently Gerald didn’t even tell Caleb,” Petra said. “Shay heard someone talking about it after the big meeting, said apparently he looked like he was about to storm out.”
“He’s been in a foul mood all week.” Mina drummed her fingers against her desk. “That would certainly explain it.”
Petra shot a sly grin in Imogen’s direction. “I’m sure he can find someone to cheer him up.”
Imogen almost choked on her drink. What on earth was that supposed to mean? She tried to play it cool by swirling her straw through the chopped-up pieces of fruit and coral liquid like she hadn’t even noticed Petra’s expression.
Oh God, what if someone had seen them at the club? Or heard them in her office? Or worse, what if someone had noticed her touching him under the boardroom table?
You’re two consenting adults. It’s no one else’s business what you do with your body.
Except that only worked in theory. In practice, she’d broken at least one HR policy, a handful of personal rules and had compromised her reputation at work. For what? The thrill of a man wanting her?
Not just any man.
Caleb made her feel so...alive. So desired and powerful and deliciously out of control. But it was a slippery slope, and she still had the bruises from when she’d landed hard on her butt the last time.
“No comment, Imogen?” Mina asked.
“Why would I have something to say about that?”
“Come on.” Petra winked. “Don’t be coy, you can tell us.”
A dull throb started at the base of her skull. Stress headache, a sure sign things were going south. Fast. “Tell you what?”
“She’s not going to admit it.” Dave patted Imogen on the arm. “I’m afraid your cover’s already blown, girl. Shay saw you at Samantha having dinner with Caleb.”
“Dinner.” Imogen nodded, relief filtering through her bloodstream. “Yeah. It was nothing. Business.”
“Bullshit.�
�� Mina dug an elbow into Imogen’s ribs. “You do not go to the hottest restaurant in the city for a business dinner unless you’re a CEO or a celebrity. And what the hell would you two be discussing there that couldn’t be done at work?”
They weren’t buying her lame excuse. Not even a little bit.
“I...” Think! How are you going to explain this? “I won a bet.”
Her colleagues raised their eyebrows, but this time there wasn’t any protest. “A bet?” Dave asked.
“Yeah. Caleb bet me that he could...crack my laptop password.” Oh God. So lame. “And the loser had to buy dinner. I won and I picked Samantha.”
“Good taste.” Petra nodded. “So he bet you for a date?”
“No.” Imogen shook her head, but the instant denial did nothing but make them laugh and roll their eyes. “I picked Samantha because I know how hard it is to get a table there. I didn’t think he’d be able to do it.”
“Sneaky thing!” Petra looked on with approval. “I’m not so interested in the dinner, though. I want to know what happened afterward. Was he as good as the rumours say?”
Imogen gritted her back teeth together. The thought of Caleb sleeping with anyone else made her want to Hulk-smash the fancy cocktail glass in front of her.
That was before you. Even if it wasn’t, why should it matter? You’re not in a relationship and you don’t want to be, either.
But the internal pep talk had the opposite of her intended effect. Her mind automatically spun like a rabid hamster on a wheel. Had he slept with anyone since her? What if she was one of a few women he had on the go? Her stomach pitched. This was exactly why she should never have let it go so far.
“I didn’t sleep with him,” she lied.
“Why the hell not?” Mina squeaked. “I’d give my left arm to have a night with him. One of the girls that used to work in his team said he got her off three times before they even had sex. Apparently, he’s really into going down on women.”
“We’re colleagues. It wouldn’t be appropriate.” Imogen cringed. Now she sounded like the world’s biggest prude. This whole situation was precisely why she stuck to business with people from the office—her best friends had been trained to laugh off her epic awkwardness, but Mina, Dave and Petra looked at her like she had a second head. “I have a rule about that,” she finished lamely.
“Probably for the best,” Mina said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love working for him. I think he’s a great guy, but I’m constantly fending off bullshit meeting invites where it’s obvious the woman wants to get him alone in a room. He’s hot property. I’m way too jealous for that.”
“You think he does things in the office?” Dave raised a brow.
Mina lifted her shoulder into a delicate shrug. “I’ve never heard anything from his office, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening elsewhere.”
“That sounds like a whole lot of speculation,” Imogen said, staring into her drink. “Without much substance.”
“Well, I heard that he got sprung in flagrante when he was supposed to be exclusive with someone from the office.” Petra shook her head.
“You mean he cheated?” The question slipped out of Imogen’s lips before she could stop it. She knew Caleb had slept around a bit, but having an active sex life and engaging in infidelity were two totally different things.
Petra nodded. “Remember Neila Anderson? She used to run the staff induction program.”
Imogen remembered her, all right. Tall, long-legged, perfect platinum hair. Gorgeous. Rumour had it she’d walked away from a modelling career to finish her business degree. And not only that, she was whip-smart. The perfect package.
See? Even the perfect woman wasn’t enough to hold his interest. What makes you think you’ll be any different?
“Good for you, anyway,” Petra said. “You don’t want to get messed up in something like that. It’s hard enough to be taken seriously in this industry without sleeping with the boss’s son. Well, the boss’s brother, now.”
For a moment, Imogen thought the cocktail would come rushing back up. She clamped her lips together and forced herself to swallow the sick feeling down. How could she have let herself be lured into doing something so stupid? How could she have let herself believe that he desired her for who she was?
“Speak of the devil,” Dave said with a conspiratorial look.
A few feet away, Caleb stood with Jason, Daniel and a blonde woman. They were all laughing and drinking beers, the setting sun a perfect backdrop against the well-suited foursome. The blonde woman stood next to Daniel, her hand coming to rest on his arm. In an instant all of Imogen’s worries about her own bad decisions were gone, and she squinted. Was that the same woman she’d seen with Daniel previously? It was hard to tell, but all the key points lined up. She looked to be the right height and weight, her hair cut into the same neat bob.
When her eyes landed on Caleb’s appreciative stare, she wanted to cry. He looked at the woman standing next to Daniel with open admiration, as though Imogen had never even crossed his path. Let alone his mind.
“Excuse me,” Imogen said, slipping her bag over one shoulder. “I need to head off.”
“You’re not going back to the office, are you?” Mina admonished.
“No, I’m heading home. I promised my roommate I’d help her sort through things for her move.” She waved goodbye and slipped out of the bar as stealthily as she could.
Tonight she would see Caleb, but only to get the information about the blonde woman. Their fling—or whatever the hell it was—was over right now.
* * *
After a few beers, Caleb was starting to see Daniel in a different light. What he’d initially written off as pompousness was actually nerves. Turns out he’d been anxious about attending the Carmina Ball for weeks because his father was going to be there and they hadn’t spoken much after he got engaged to Penny. Their relationship was severely fractured already and him deciding to marry someone “below him” had been the final straw. It was an unlikely thing to bond over, but Caleb certainly understood his pain.
And as for him calling his fiancée the old “ball and chain,” that seemed to be his way of trying to fit into the nonexistent boy’s club he thought Caleb and Jason had going. But now, listening to what he had planned for their wedding was kind of sweet.
Sweet? Good Lord, you’ve been drinking from the crazy fountain. Imogen has gotten too far under your skin.
It shocked him that instead of wanting to stick his fingers down his throat at all the mushy wedding talk, he found himself feeling happy for the other man. And perhaps a little jealous. Would wonders never cease?
“Daniel has been involved every step of the way,” Emily, Daniel’s friend and jeweller, said. “He came up with the design and then worked with my team to refine it. He picked the stones and the engraving message. Penny is going to love it.”
“Don’t you think that’s risky?” Jason asked. “I mean, if she hasn’t seen the ring before the wedding there’s a chance it might not fit, right?”
“Oh, I’m not going to wait until the wedding day,” Daniel said, pausing to take a sip of his beer. “I’m going to surprise her with the ring this weekend. We’ll try it on and make sure it fits.”
Caleb leaned back against the wooden railing that rimmed the bar’s balcony. “How have you kept it a secret from her?”
“It hasn’t been easy. We’ve been meeting in secret to discuss tweaks to the design and so I can pay her in cash. Penny is like a hawk with the credit card statements.” He laughed. “It helps that Emily and I have known each other for years. We went to the same high school and our families have been friendly since before we were born.”
“Penny is a lucky woman,” Emily said.
Was it Caleb’s imagination or was there a hint of sadness in Emily’s voice? Daniel appeared none the wiser and he happily
prattled on about the inspiration for Penny’s ring. Caleb had no idea why Imogen had been so convinced that her future brother-in-law was a cheating scumbag.
“I should be going,” Jason said, checking his phone. His brother had seemed preoccupied all evening, constantly looking at his watch and glancing around the bar like he was waiting for someone. It was probably the weight of their father’s news and his impending promotion.
“Me, too,” Emily said. “I’ll walk out with you.”
Caleb knew his brother was taking it all hard, even though he put on a brave face.
The two of them said their goodbyes and then wove through the crowded outdoor bar, leaving Caleb and Daniel alone.
“I’ve been trying to set them up,” Daniel said with a smile. “But he’s not interested. Seems he’s got some mystery woman in his sights.”
“Really?” Caleb rolled his beer glass between his hands, watching the foamy liquid swish and dip, leaving residue around the inside. “I’ve been telling Jase for ages that he needs to get out more. Any idea who it is?”
“None at all. He’s an enigma like that.”
Caleb chuckled. “He does play his cards close to his chest.”
“And he’s fussy.” Daniel grinned. “Not a bad thing, mind you. I’m the same, so when Penny came along I knew it was right.”
Caleb didn’t want to push the issue, but he’d promised Imogen he’d dig around and now was the perfect time. “And you never get tempted to go elsewhere?”
“One of the reasons I have nothing to do with my father is because he screwed someone at work and broke my mother’s heart. I’m not inviting him to the wedding, either. Does that answer your question?” Daniel snorted. “It’s not the only reason we don’t talk, but it’s certainly part of it.”
“Yeah, I guess it does.” Caleb bobbed his head.
“It’s not saying that I don’t notice a beautiful woman if she walks past. But seeing what it did to my mother... I could never do that to Pen. Or anyone.”
“Families are kind of fucked up, aren’t they?”
“Not all of them. Pen’s lucky like that. Her parents are still married, and she’s close with them and with her sister. Zero drama. It’s refreshing.”
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