Unexpectedly Yours: A Forever Love Story (InterMix)

by Jeannie Moon

  Caroline was already gone, having an early call at a job site, and that meant he would have to face a grilling from Tessa before he even got out of the apartment. Walking into the living room, he saw her at the breakfast bar, sipping her coffee and flipping through a magazine. Her eyes tilted in his direction a few times before she finally said something.

  “If you hurt her, I will kill you.”

  Josh, who had been trying not to make eye contact, turned to face her, and he couldn’t help but grin. It wasn’t a good thing to do, because it was going to piss her off, but he couldn’t stop himself. “That sounds like a line from a movie.”

  “Don’t mess with me, Campbell. She’s my best friend and I will make your life a living hell if you do anything to make her unhappy.”

  Josh didn’t know how he was supposed to respond to Tessa’s ultimatum. On one hand he admired her willingness to protect Caroline, but on the other hand he was pissed. She had no idea what Caroline meant to him. It was pissed that won out.

  He took two steps toward her and shot his hip into the wall next to where she was sitting. “You know, I don’t know what everyone’s problem is, but trust me on this: first, Caroline can take care of herself. She doesn’t need protecting, but in the event she does, I’m there. She does not need protecting from me.”

  “I don’t trust you.” Tessa folded her arms and stuck her nose right in the air. “Not at all. You’re too perfect.”

  “I’m far from perfect, but I’m not stupid. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I have no intention of doing anything except making her happy. Now, is there anything else?”

  “You’re not going to ditch her?”

  He laughed. “Because you sniped at me? I don’t think so. You’d better figure out a way to get used to me, because I’m not going anywhere.” He stood and grabbed a biscotto from her plate. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to meet my brother for breakfast.”

  He enjoyed leaving Tessa speechless because he had a feeling it didn’t happen too often. Just as he was about to open the door, she called to him. “Josh?”

  Turning, he saw she was smiling. What the hell? “Good answer,” she said. “See you around.”

  ***

  Josh walked into Junior’s, the landmark New York City restaurant, and saw his brother Jason seated at a table, reading something on his iPad and sipping coffee. He was only a few minutes late, but as expected, when Jason saw him, his eyebrows shot up and a shit-eating grin crossed his face.

  “You’re dressed a little casual for the office today.”

  Josh glanced down and shrugged. “Nothing important today. I can get away with it.” He couldn’t. He had a meeting at eleven with the engineers, so after he ate he was going back to his apartment to shower and change.

  “Yeah, right.” His brother slipped the tablet back into his briefcase and opened his menu, examining it like he’d never been here. “I think I’m going to have pancakes today.”

  “The pancakes are good here.” They’d slipped into small talk. Great. The waitress brought Josh some coffee and he was waiting for Jason to say what was on his mind because the silence was driving Josh nuts. Thanking the waitress for the much-needed caffeine, Josh looked over at his brother, who was still grinning. Grinning like a fucking idiot. “Crap, Jay. Just say it.”

  “How’s Caroline?”

  Damn. He figured he would get shit for being out all night, but he had no idea Jason would be dead-on. How had he found out? Kevin? No. He wouldn’t have said anything. This was not what he expected. “You suck, bro.”

  Perfect. Way to sound like a fifteen-year-old.

  “Why do I suck? You’re secretly dating my sister-in-law!”

  “Obviously it’s not much of a secret. How did you find out?”

  “Someone from my office saw you two all dressed up and eating in a diner.”

  Josh ran his hand through his hair. “We actually went out to a nice restaurant, but... ah... never mind. It was a few weeks ago.”

  Jason was still chuckling under his breath and Josh was getting more and more pissed off. “I should have just canceled on you.”

  “Right.” Jason rolled his eyes. “’Cause I wouldn’t have found some other way to talk to you about this.”

  “We’re going out to dinner with Mrs. Rossi tonight, to let her know we’re together. Caroline wanted to talk to her mom before Meg found out.”

  “Oh, Meg already suspects. She’s known you liked Caroline since the day she stormed out of our house.” He sipped his coffee. “You’ve been dubbed The Boyfriend.’’

  “The Boyfriend? Great.” Josh locked his hands behind his neck and blew out a breath.

  The waitress came back and Josh and Jason ordered breakfasts large enough to feed a small army. “Did Meg say anything else?”

  “Nah. She’s just wondering when you two are going to tell everyone. Now that I know dinner is tonight, we’ll definitely be there.”

  “Be there?”

  “Oh, yeah. Mom asked us to come, but we had plans. We’re canceling now because I really want to watch you squirm.”

  Josh sat back and considered his younger brother. Jason and Meg had been married about six months, and the first two were no walk in the park. He remembered Jason saying they needed time to get used to each other. And now they were going to make a big joke out of what was going on between him and Caroline? Not a fucking chance.

  “Don’t come,” he growled. “Just don’t.”

  Jason froze and Josh guessed it wasn’t what he said, but how he said it. “Caroline is nervous enough about all the changes going on in her life and our relationship is part of that. It’s not a joke.”

  “I didn’t mean...”

  “I won’t have you and Meg making Caroline uncomfortable. We’re taking Mrs. Rossi out to dinner. The three of us. That’s it.”

  Jason was about to argue and then Josh saw he’d reconsidered. Jason took a sip of his coffee and was obviously considering how to change his mind. “Meg wants to be there. It’s important that she and Caroline make peace with this.”

  Another long silence settled over the table and Josh knew he owed Jason more than a bad attitude. He and his brother had been at odds for too long, and he wasn’t going to allow another rift to develop, not when things were finally improving between them. “She’s important to me, Jason. I don’t want anything to mess it up.”

  His brother picked up the teaspoon that rested next to his coffee cup and twirled it in his fingers. “If it’s meant to be, nothing will. You might be surprised that you have more people in your corner than you thought.”

  Josh laughed. “I know, but tell Meg to keep in mind Caroline has no patience for her right now, and if she pushes too hard, she might lose her sister altogether.” That was something that would kill Meg. His brother’s wife could be the most headstrong and difficult woman he knew, but she didn’t do anything halfway, especially for people she loved.

  “I’ll pass it on for later.”

  By the time their breakfast was delivered, the tension had ebbed a bit and the conversation went back to more neutral topics, like business. Josh was glad he could talk to his brother, because he was facing some tough decisions with Campbell Holdings. “I’m thinking about pulling out my investment and leaving the firm.”

  That got his brother’s attention. “Are you serious?”

  “Dead serious. I can’t work with Dad anymore.”

  “If you pull out, will the company fold?”

  “I don’t know how it would survive. There would be some legal wrangling to do, but the investors would be okay. Except Mom and Dad. They’d be broke.”

  “Shit. That’s a big step for you. You’ve been fighting to save Grandpa’s legacy for years. What happened?”

  “Dad is going to drive it into the ground anyway, and I don’t wan
t my money and the other investors’ money to go with him. I can’t keep watching him steal and cheat.” He paused. “As it is I may have to call the FBI. Grandpa wouldn’t want that.”

  “How much are we talking with your money?” Jason asked.

  “Of mine?” Josh hated mentioning numbers out loud, but nothing he said would surprise Jason. “About three-quarters of a billion. Pocket money to you.”

  “Pocket money, my ass. That’s some serious coin. You started with like a tenth of that.”

  “Yup. I’m very good at growing money.” Josh winked and enjoyed the fact that his brother the billionaire was impressed.

  Jason raised his coffee cup in salute. “Well, good luck, man. Let me know if you need help kicking the old man to the curb.”

  Josh raised his own mug. “Will do.”

  ***

  Caroline set her briefcase and hardhat on her desk and dropped into her chair. Her visit to her latest project was a disaster. The engineer in charge hadn’t followed protocol and there were water problems around the foundation of the new building. He had tried to pin it on her initial assessment of the site, and her foundation design, but the hydraulic engineer backed her up. It wasn’t her fault.

  She didn’t know how she was going to spin this one to the higher-ups. The hydraulic engineer may have agreed with her, but Keith, the project’s lead, was one of the most senior engineers in the firm and he’d screwed up. Bad.

  But as Caroline had been reminded over and over in this business, shit rolled downhill, and since she was at the bottom of the hill, she would probably catch the blame for this. Thank God she was giving her notice today.

  She’d received her hard offer from the new firm and was set to start in four weeks. She’d leave her current position in two, and then Josh had a vacation planned for them. She couldn’t wait.

  But that didn’t solve the problem she had right now.

  She’d gone off the rails at the job site and that wasn’t going to help the situation. When Keith had chastised her about the survey she’d supposedly messed up, about the supposed design flaws, Caroline hadn’t held back. Oh sure, she should have been diplomatic. She should have held her tongue until they were in private. She should have found a way to defend herself without making Keith look like an incompetent blowhard in front to the construction foreman, the project manager, the architect, the hydraulic engineer and the building inspector.

  But deep down, Caroline guessed she had nothing to lose, so her years of feeling put down and dismissed shot out like a bullet and no one was safe.

  No, this day wasn’t going to end well. Keith arrived back at the office around the same time she had and had made a beeline for the director of engineering’s office. Yup. Chances were she was going to be fired by the end of the day. For a girl who’d never failed before this year, she sure was pretty good at it now. She could not wait to start fresh someplace new.

  The employee dining room was empty when she walked in and Caroline relished the quiet while she made a cup of coffee and added some flavored creamer. The company prided itself on taking care of its employees. Her salary and benefits, the perks in the office were all terrific. The problem was her gender. In this firm, gender bias still found its way into the culture. It wasn’t practiced by everyone and it wasn’t all the time, but the fact that they allowed a guy like Mark Strickland to set the tone of the office was a problem for her.

  He was a misogynist of the worst kind. The kind who could hide it well. But no matter what he did in public, his actions behind the scenes were all about fostering the boys-club environment. He was a disingenuous back-slapper. And she didn’t have any use for him whatsoever.

  The reality of her situation had come to light about eight months ago. The firm had just landed a major restoration project and was looking for an engineer to lead the team. The job had a lot of geophysical challenges, including the fact that the building was near an active fault line, and Caroline’s experience was a good fit. She knew how to work with geologists, hydrologists and structural designers. She was excited about the project and the buzz around the office was that she could get the nod on this one.

  And then the bottom fell out.

  There was some gossip in the office suggesting that a new engineer, Shane, who had been there maybe a year, was going to get the appointment to lead the project. Caroline blew off the speculation because she knew he didn’t have the experience and the firm wouldn’t risk its reputation on someone so new. Shane was a nice guy and had great skills, but he was still green and had just passed his professional engineer exam. Not to mention he was a generalist. He could build you a great bridge, but the restoration project needed a specific skill set.

  It was right around then that Mark hit on Caroline for the first time. He’d invited her to lunch to discuss the project and Caroline was thrilled. She kept looking for something in her job to be excited about, something to care about. It was her livelihood, and although her heart may have been in her writing, she wanted her career to be fulfilling. She didn’t have any delusions about being able to quit work to write full time, so she tried to make the best of it.

  But when the business lunch got personal—when Mark’s hand covered hers, when he invited her to dinner so they could discuss her career without distractions—is when Caroline knew she was in trouble. She wasn’t seen as an equal. She would always be a girl to them.

  When she told him no he seemed to take it okay, but lunch was over. And, she soon found out, so was all the forward movement in her career.

  Shane got the lead position on the restoration, and an office, and an engineering intern of his own. What she discovered later is what had Caroline reeling. She had an early call at a job site one day and had forgotten a file on her desk. She stopped at the office around six-thirty that morning to pick up what she needed and saw Shane, along with Mark and a few other higher-ups, arriving at the gym housed in their building.

  After a little small talk she learned the guys got together to play basketball every Friday morning before they started their day. It may have seemed like a little harmless male bonding, but the significance wasn’t lost on Caroline. No women were included in these games, and women weren’t getting ahead in the firm, either. Caroline guessed if she’d gone out with Mark, slept with him, things would have been different for her, but she wasn’t going to pay that price to get ahead. She didn’t think she’d have to.

  Especially when all the men had to do was shoot some hoops.

  Disgusted, Caroline looked around and wondered what the hell she had to do to catch a break.

  It turned out she had to make her own break and she did.

  Mel came flying from the corridor near the executive offices looking like someone had set her pants on fire. “Jesus Christ. What did you do to Keith? He’s in Mark’s office screaming his head off!”

  “This is going to be ugly.” Caroline figured she should just pack the contents of her desk. It was over.

  “And your guy was here. Actually, I don’t think their meeting has ended.”

  “What?” Josh had been there? She knew he wanted to have another meeting, but she didn’t realize it would be so soon. Was he in the building? She was tempted to find him just so she could get a hug. She could really use it.

  “Mr. Big, Blond and Beautiful? He had a meeting with Mark and Gary. No one looked happy when they went into the meeting room. You didn’t tell me he was a client. How are things going with him? I need deets.”

  “Awesome. He’s a doll.” Caroline paused and looked down the hall. “Could you hear anything with Mark and Keith? Should I be boxing up my stuff?”

  “Not sure. Mark wasn’t happy that he was putting out two fires at once, especially since you seem to be at the center of both. I did hear Keith say things like ‘obnoxious bitch’ and ‘undermined my authority’.”

  “Why is it they always resort to ca
lling us bitches? He was a bitch.”

  Mel laughed. “Was he? Seriously?”

  “Completely. You should have heard the way he talked to everyone, and he’s the one who caused the problems.”

  “Caroline?” The voice was deep and angry. Looking up she saw Mark, standing about ten feet away. His hands were planted firmly on his hips and he looked pissed. Really, really pissed. “Conference room. Now.”

  Mark turned and walked away. He didn’t wait for her. Didn’t say another thing. His stride was long and purposeful and by the time she reached the conference room, Mark was already seated at the large table with Keith, Gary, and two of the partners. Damn.

  “Close the door.” Mark was at the head of the table and was leaning forward, his hands folded on the dark wood. When the door clicked shut, Caroline felt trapped.

  “Sit down.” Mark motioned to the chair next to him and it was clear that he was running this meeting. He was the boss. This was really bad.

  “You have some explaining to do. First with regard to this morning. You completely undermined the confidence and authority of one of our senior engineers. Second, you second-guessed a colleague on a site assessment, forcing us and the client to begin expensive and unnecessary testing.”

  “It’s not unnecessary.”

  “Look, that’s a matter of opinion...”

  “The right opinion. How can they proceed with the purchase and the development of the land if they don’t know what they’re buying?”

  Gary jumped in. “They don’t have time. They need the assessment done so they can present to their investors and lock down the sale. There’s a window they have to get through if they’re going to have their permits filed before zoning changes.”

  “I know all this,” Caroline shot back. “But their permits won’t be worth anything if there’s a problem with the site. If the EPA has to come in, forget it.”

  No one around the table had anything to say. For the second time that day, she’d contradicted a superior and she fully expected fallout. It didn’t matter if she was right. Sad, but not unexpected.