He bypassed the driveway to his place and turned down the long paved driveway to his friend Jonathan’s house. The ranch style brick house sat at the bottom of a hill in the middle of acres of pasture fields. Large pecan trees surrounded the house and the driveway. Light from the motion sensor illuminated when he pulled next to the house. It was almost seven and already dark, but he knew Jonathan’s property almost as good as his own. Andre couldn’t see the cows in the pasture as he stepped from the warmth of his car to the frosty night air, but their soft moos wafted on the breeze. He pulled his overcoat close and hurried through the open garage into the kitchen.
“Yo, John, you in here?” Andre called.
The latest sports updates echoed from the small television into the empty kitchen. He walked through the kitchen into the attached living area.
“John,” he called again. When there was still no answer, he figured Jonathan was still out tending to the cows and went back into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of beer out of the fridge.
He settled in at the bar with his beer just as Jonathan entered the kitchen through the garage.
“Are you comfortable?” Jonathan pulled off his thick coat and work boots and set them beside the door.
“Don’t leave your door wide open if you don’t want company.”
Jonathan shook his head. He hung his baseball cap on the wall rack and ran a hand through his curly hair. When Andre first met Jonathan in college, he’d taken one look at Jonathan’s light skin, curly hair, blue grey eyes, and assumed he was soft. After hearing Jonathan’s country boy drawl, he’d figured his assumption was right. He smiled now when he thought about the fist fight they had that not only revealed Jonathan was no softie but landed him a best friend.
Jonathan lumbered over to the sink and washed his hands. “I don’t usually get company in the middle of the week. Your dad and brother must really be driving you crazy to send you to the country on a weeknight.
Andre took a swig of his beer. “Long story.”
“I was wondering when I’d get to hear it. I figured something was up when Isaac came looking for you on Sunday. Was the wedding that bad?”
Jonathan went to the fridge and took out a bowl with what appeared to be a marinade inside. He set the bowl on the counter and pulled out a stovetop grill from beneath the cabinet.
“I only got one steak, but I’ll split it with you.”
Andre shook his head. “I can find something at the house.”
Jonathan scoffed. “You haven’t been in your house for at least two months. There’s leftover chicken in the fridge. Have at it, then tell me why you’re here.”
Andre cringed and ran a hand over his face. Had it been that long since he’d taken a break from the family? He forgot about the food and recounted the Angelica and Ryan fiasco. His friend didn’t look surprised in the least. Jonathan had never liked Angelica. And, the feeling had been mutual.
“I hate to say I told you so,” Jonathan leaned back against the counter next to his steak cooking on the grill.
“You might as well. I’m just glad I found out before asking her to marry me.”
Jonathan grimaced and crossed bulging arms over his brawny chest. “I can’t believe you even considered marrying that woman. You deserve what you got with that one. Whenever you do something because it’s expected, you end up getting burned. Angelica was the type of pretty side piece you thought you needed. And like most pretty girls, she wasn’t about a damn thing.”
Jonathan had a deep aversion to beautiful women. It wasn’t that he dated women who could be considered unattractive, but any woman, who spent a fortune on clothes, jewelry, and beauty treatments instantly turned him off. One of the reasons he hated Angelica.
“Lesson learned,” Andre gulped down his beer. “It doesn’t change the fact that eventually I need to find someone. As much as I hate to agree with Curtis, if we want the business to stay in the family then eventually I need kids to pass the legacy on to. I’ll be damned if I let my step-sister and her husband get their claws in the business. They’d suck all of the money out in no-time.”
Jonathan pulled the steak off the grill. “I can understand, but damn, man, you’re only thirty. No need to rush. Next time, pick someone worth having kids with and not just a pretty face and a big ass.” Jonathan paused then pointed his finger at Andre. “On second thought, don’t give up completely on the big ass.”
Andre laughed and thought about Mikayla’s pajamas hugging her backside. She wasn’t just a pretty face. There was more to Mikayla and he might as well face the fact that he wanted to learn more. He hadn’t heard from her since they returned. Not that he was surprised. They’d both agreed they didn’t need to act on the attraction between them. He was dying to know how things went when she returned. Had she held her head up and handled the reunion with grace, or had she forgiven Ryan.
Jonathan dropped the bowl with the cold chicken from the fridge on the counter. “Why are you frowning?”
Andre relaxed his face. “Just thinking about this woman I met over the weekend.”
“You didn’t like her or something?”
“No, that’s the problem. I want to see her again. I just don’t know if I should.”
Andre recounted the rest of the weekend in the mountains, including his dads order to stay away from Mikayla.
Jonathan grabbed his steak and sat across from Andre. “As difficult as it is to say this, I agree with your dad.”
“And, usually I’d agree. Look, nothing’s wrong with talking to her. She’s cool. We can be friends.”
“Since when did you ever want to be just friends with a woman? Come on, man, I know you better than anyone. You want to sleep with her.”
“That doesn’t mean I will.”
“Are you dumb as well as ugly?” Jonathan grinned then took a bite of his steak.
Andre flipped the bird but chuckled. “To hell with you. I can see her without something happening.”
“Yeah, tell yourself that. You didn’t listen about Angelica and look where that landed you. Stay the hell away from this woman. The rift in your family is deep and both sides play dirty. Don’t fraternize with the enemy.”
“She’s not with Ryan anymore.”
Jonathan shrugged. “You don’t know that. She’s still got to work with him every day. Do you really want to find her in the closest with Ryan next? Leave that woman alone.”
Andre stood and put the cold chicken in the microwave. If Jonathan said leave her alone, then he should consider the advice. His friend could read women easily, and he couldn’t deny he’d been right about Angelica.
Andre’s phone rang. His mother’s number appeared on the screen. “Hello, Mom.”
“Hi, Andre,” his mother’s over-exuberant voice replied. Dawn Caldwell always tried too hard to sound happy. “I heard what happened at the wedding. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Who told you?” Though he already knew the answer.
“Your father. I spoke to him yesterday.” She hesitated. He could picture her twisting her shirt in her hands. “You know I’m visiting next week.”
He gripped the phone blood draining from his hands. “Yes. I know. Where are you staying?” He held his breath and hoped in earnest she’d say a hotel in the area.
“You know where I’m staying. Let’s not get into that. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Andre’s didn’t lash out and his muscles quivered with tension. She always stayed at his father’s apartment in the city. The only reason Dawn gave for becoming Curtis’ mistress after he cheated with his best friend’s wife, left her, then married his mistress was because she still loved him. If what his parents had was love, he could do without.
“Thanks for checking, but I’m fine. I’m at Jonathan’s. I’ll call you later.”
“Oh, okay. I just…I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I love you, Andre. You can do better.”
“Yeah…you too, mom.” He ended the call.
> “You cool?” Jonathan asked.
“I’m good.” He punched in a minute warm up time on the microwave. “I’m going outside to smoke.”
Jonathan didn’t say anything as Andre walked out. That’s what Andre liked about Jonathan, he knew when to talk and when to shut the hell up. Andre went to his car and pulled the pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment. His family’s bullshit had tired him out. The headaches weren’t worth the lies, deceit, and stress. He wanted an outlet. Hell, he needed an outlet.
His cell phone chimed. He yanked the phone out of his pocket. The cold outside seeped into his fingers as he punched in the code to read the text. His heart raced. Mikayla finally reached out to him.
“Hey you.”
He stared at the screen. Contemplated what to do. Already, his tension had eased.
He texted back. “Hey you.”
To hell with staying away from Mikayla.
CHAPTER 12
“I think there’s a problem with the deal in the Hartsville.” Ryan poked his head through her office door.
Mikayla turned away from her computer and cut her eyes at him. “What do you want, Ryan?”
Hurt flashed briefly across his face. Yet, he still walked into her office and made himself comfortable in the chair across from the desk. She clamped her jaw shut fighting the urge to yell for him to leave. All week long he’d tried to rekindle their friendship. Popping into her office to say ‘how are you doing’ and sending jokes via email the way he’d done before. Every time she ignored him and deleted any correspondence not related to work. His cause wasn’t helped at all with Angelica popping into the office every day to ooh and aah over him. Their constant display combined with her coworkers sympathetic stares made Mikayla’s stomach twist and roll like she’d gorged on a toxic honey bun.
“I’ve heard rumblings that the deal in Hartsville may fall through,” he said. “The land we bought is useless if Dalmtrix doesn’t locate there.”
Mikayla scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. “I got that information from a good source. Dalmtrix has Senator Leventis’s approval. Dalmtrix plans to announce the location of their manufacturing plant in the coming days.”
Ryan shook his head. “They should have announced it already. There’s word of possible contamination from the nearby landfill into the wells of residents. Concerns are spreading that having Dalmtrix move in will further degrade the environment. If this deal falls through, we’re stuck with 100 useless acres.”
Mikayla’s stomach dropped. She turned away from Ryan and struggled to take in steady breaths. Her cousin’s tip that Dalmtrix was moving into the area was the reason she researched available land nearby for a potential new subdivision. With the location of a worldwide manufacturing facility also came the need for housing. She’d gone to Ryan with the information and convinced him to persuade Philip to purchase the land. Once they discovered the deal was almost closed, they’d bought the area with plans to have the engineer design the layout in the upcoming months. This deal made her a shoe-in for the acquisitions position. If things fell through, her brilliant plan would be nothing more than a million dollar mistake.
“How could Dalmtrix possibly have anything to do with the pollution from the landfill? They aren’t even there yet. This is no reason to kill the deal.” She turned back to Ryan.
His elbows remained on the armrest, but he lifted his hands. “I agree, but somebody must have something on Senator Leventis. I gave him a call earlier to ask about the announcement and he acted as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.”
Mikayla’s hand slapped her desk. “That’s ridiculous. We talked to him last week.”
“I know. Which means either he’s going senile or someone’s convinced him to hold out on the deal.”
She fell back into her seat. “This deal can’t die. What are we going to do with all of that land?”
“We’ll figure that out. We bought it cheap, maybe we can sell cheaply.”
She raised a brow and Ryan tried to smile. They both knew that was unlikely. They’d gotten the land so cheap because there was nothing going on in that county. The previous owner held onto it even though he could barely pay the taxes. At the time, they were able to easily convince him to sell because the Dalmtrix plans were secret. If the deal had been public, the land would have cost a lot more. But with no deal, the land was back to being useless.
She sat up. “I’ll find out what’s going on. You work on Senator Leventis and find out why he shifted his position. Just because the landfill is crappy doesn’t mean Dalmtrix can’t locate there.”
“It won’t be the first time a deal fell through. It’ll be okay.”
“No, it won’t.” she said sharply.
Ryan froze and she lowered her eyes. He wouldn’t understand she needed this deal to go through. Her first big deal. Proof she could make the decisions required to head the acquisitions section. That she belonged.
“Why don’t we get a drink and think about our next step,” Ryan said.
Her eyes snapped to him. He appeared…hopeful. In his world, ex-girlfriends didn’t harbor hard feelings for long.
“I’m not having a drink with you. In fact, now that you’ve delivered the bad news, you can leave.” She turned back to her computer.
“Mikayla, come on, baby, don’t be like that.”
Her head whipped around. “Like what, Ryan? Like the girl you cheated on, with some woman in a closet.”
He sighed. “I explained that.”
“And everything is supposed to be okay now? Well, it’s not. We are not friends. Will not be friends, and I doubt we ever really were.”
He slid forward in his chair and reached across the desk. “You know that’s not true. I don’t want there to be hard feelings between us.”
“There are no hard feelings, Ryan. You are exactly who I originally thought you were. Selfish, conceited, and not worth my time.”
His face hardened. He pulled away slowly. Her words were intentional, meant to inflict the blow, and she wouldn’t feel guilty. He’d confided about hating the way people viewed him as a rich boy with no depth.
Angelica glided to Mikayla’s door. As if sensing her man’s feelings were being hurt. Her pretty face twisted into a fierce frown when her gaze landed on Mikayla. A second later, she smiled and called to Ryan.
“My dear, isn’t it time for you to leave? We have plans.”
Ryan stared at Mikayla. She raised her chin then turned away. Without another word, he trudged across the room. Ryan’s voice, low and urgent, trailed behind as he hurried Angelica away from Mikayla’s door.
Mikayla released a shaky breath and rested her head on her hands. Damn this deal falling through. She couldn’t keep playing this back and forth game with Ryan. She could barely stand to look at him, much less watch him and Angelica fawn over each other. If the deal in Hartsville were actually falling through the repercussions would be devastating. Everything she’d strived for in her perfect life completely ruined. She wouldn’t let that happen.
She lifted her head and pushed a lock of stray hair away from her face. Now wasn’t the time for a pity party. Now was the time to find a solution. Reaching for the phone, she called her cousin, Dennis. He managed the Dalmtrix facility in Chicago and oversaw the plans for the move to South Carolina. Although Ryan had no reason to lie, she needed to find out for herself if her brilliant career move would turn into a career-killing mistake.
*
Mikayla slammed her apartment door and threw her black Kate Spade purse onto the floor. Lipstick, a calculator, mints, a pack of cigarettes and coins scattered. She stared at the pack of cigarettes in the middle. Her head ached, she had cramps, and her skin itched with the need for a nicotine fix. She snatched up the pack and step over the mess.
The phone call to Dennis confirmed some of what Ryan told her. Someone warned Dalmtrix about the landfill contamination, and though the company hadn’t originally planned to cancel the move, rumors circ
ulated they were no longer welcome. He planned to continue to push for the move, and Mikayla hoped that her cousin’s efforts proved useful.
A small glimmer of hope at best. Ryan’s idea, that Senator Leventis no longer backed the move is what really pissed her off. The man represented the area, knew the need for a boost to the local economy, and avidly supported Dalmtrix. To find out he would flip on a decision that directly impacted his district, for no apparent reason, didn’t seem right. She wanted to believe that all politicians weren’t corrupt, but there was something wrong about the Senator’s change in plans.
Mikayla stomped into the kitchen and turned on the faucet. With one hand, she clutched the pack of cigarettes, the other filled a glass with ice from the freezer. When she made her way back to the sink the water slowly backed up instead of going down the drain.
“What…not again,” she said. Scowling, she flipped the switch for the garbage disposal. The machine gave a sorry hum. She threw down the cigarettes. “Damn.”
She turned off the water and went back into the hall to snatch up her cell phone. She made a quick call to the after-hours maintenance line and left a message.
A few seconds later her phone rang. That was quick. She glanced at the number and froze. Her heart seemed to stop, then jump back to life.
Her terrible afternoon faded with the sight of Andre’s number. “Hey you.”
“Hey you.” Andre’s deep sexy voice sent her heart rate into a frenzy. “I decided to call instead of text to see how your week went.”
She sighed heavily and slumped against the counter. “Terrible.”
“Was it that hard working with Ryan?”
“Ryan was only part of the overall crappiness that was my week. A deal I was key in getting may be falling through. I found out right before leaving work. Then I came home to a broken garbage disposal.”
“What was the deal? Maybe I can help.”
She smiled. His offer to help sent a comforting warmth through her body. “I don’t want to talk about that right now. I’m just glad today’s Friday.”
Show Me How to Love (Caldwell Family Book 1) Page 9