“Because I had to, Lora. I didn’t have a choice. You know how bad that would have made me look with Aaron as an employee of my company? He had a bad background. He was arrested too many times and the background checks are heavy. Not to mention, Aaron was trying to get one of our highest paying positions. I couldn’t have it. That would have left me sunk and I’ve worked too hard to build Tempt to lose it over his terrible reputation.”
She rolled her eyes, but didn’t respond to it because she knew I was right. Aaron was smart, but only street smart. He had no manners whatsoever, but I couldn’t blame him with the way he was raised. He had a similar past to mine when it came to his parents, only his father wasn’t physically abusive. Only mentally.
He would have been a major liability and because of that, I refused to let him be an employee. I did tell him he could be a driver for Lora and myself if I needed one, but he told me to fuck off. That was two years ago and Lora had resented me for it ever since. She said that it wouldn’t only be helping him, but her as well. And that’s when I gave her the ultimatum: if she left him, I would give her a great job that paid well, but Lora had too much of a free spirit. She didn’t want to work. All she wanted to do was chase thrills and shop and sleep. To put it simply, she was a lazy twenty-eight year old.
Because I wouldn’t hire her fiancé for a real job, she stopped talking to me. Stopped calling and refused to answer my calls or texts—said they’d make it on their own without me. Eventually, it got so bad that I flew out there, only for her to tell me to my face that she never wanted to speak to me again unless I was dying or unless I gave Aaron a real job with Tempt. In the building and all. Neither happened, obviously.
I looked up, and Lora’s eyes were focused on the plastic bracelet around my wrist. “Why do you have a hospital band on? Is something wrong?” Her eyes were serious now and she searched my face and looked me all over, like she was looking for signs of sickness or disease.
“Oh. I don’t know,” I sighed. “I don’t wanna talk about that shit right now.”
“Well, make it quick! What is it? Are you sick? Is it AIDS? You have fucked a lot of random bitches, like that dumb one Juni, who would sleep with anyone—“
“No. No.” I shook my head. “It’s…a long story.”
“Well—” she threw her hands in the air, “—I have nothing but time, Brother. What the hell happened to you? You look like a bulldozer hit you.”
My lips pressed together as I glared at the band. Why hadn’t I cut this shit off already? Was it because I wanted to be reminded of how badly I’d fucked things up?
I met her eyes. “You remember my friend Derek?”
“Yeah, D? The cop who helped Mama?”
“Yeah, him.”
“What about him?”
“He…found something out about me and didn't like it. Punched me so hard I hit the ground and got a mild concussion.”
“What? Are you serious right now?” she gasped. “Is that why you have the black eye?”
I nodded, then shrugged.
“Well, what the hell could you have done to make him do that? He seemed like such a nice guy and he looked after you a lot!”
I debated whether or not to tell her, but then I thought about Kelly, and how I was certain she would show up and pour it all on the table, leaving me to look like a fucking fool. “I slept with his daughter.”
She frowned so hard her brows stitched together. “You did what?”
I looked away—anywhere but at her. “Q—” she gasped. “How old is his daughter?”
“She turns nineteen in September.”
“You slept with an eighteen-year-old girl? Oh my fucking gosh, you really can’t keep your dick in your pants, can you?”
“It’s not what you think, all right? I…cared about that girl. I didn’t come onto her and I didn’t force her into anything. It just fucking happened and don’t ask me how. It’s hard to explain it all. It still blows my mind when I think about it sometimes, but it happened. Can’t deny it.”
Lora looked me over twice, her head going into a slight tilt. She pressed her lips and did the thing that used to annoy me most. Just stared—stared like she could read me like a book and knew my deepest, darkest secrets. Truthfully, she was one of the few who knew the most about me.
“You love her.” It was a statement, not a question.
Knowing they would have been a dead giveaway, I snatched my eyes away.
“Wow, Q. I… I mean…wow.”
“What?” I mumbled, finally meeting her gaze.
“Nothing…it’s just…I’ve never seen this kind of love on you. It’s…weird.” She lowered her line of vision, focusing on the bracelet again. “How did her dad find out?”
“By a conniving bitch, who still happens to be in the picture.”
“What?” she scoffed. “Why would you still have her in the picture?”
“She knows too much about me—about us, Lora. She’s threatening my company, but I’m working on a way out of it.”
“Fuck, Q. We stop talking for, like, two years and your life goes to shit. I guess you can’t live without me, huh?” She was teasing, but her smile didn’t touch her eyes. There was no spark in them, no humor. They were dull, and in the depths of those cloudy irises, I could tell she was crying for help. She wasn’t just here to tell me what had happened to Aaron. Like she said, she could have called for that.
Lora rubbed her arm, staring at the floor again.
“If you’re not here for Aaron, then what’s going on with you? Must be serious for you to call and show up at my place around the same time.”
Her eyes flashed up to mine and I swear her face had paled. She ran a hand up and down the backof her arm, over the tattoo she’d gotten to cover one of her worst scars caused by a cigarette burn.
“I—I talked to Mom the other day,” she said, avoiding my eyes. “She sounded a lot better.” She took a lengthy pause. “She also mentioned that she’d gotten a letter in the mail.”
“From who?”
Lora’s eyes swooped up to mine, and in them I saw panic and worry swirling like never before. “From Buck,” she answered, and my fists immediately clenched. “Mom has been writing him, Q. She initiated it. She was dumb enough to believe his lies and to think he was getting better, so she sent him my address because he wanted to ‘check on me’, and then I get this.” She pulled out a piece of folded paper from the pocket of her jean jacket, handing it to me.
I opened it up rapidly, and while reading every word, fury burned at my fingertips.
Hey, bitch. I don’t have much to say to you. Your mother told me all about how you’re still with some fucked up drug dealer, and since I can’t seem to get your worthless brother to take me seriously or get him to respond to my letters, I thought you could deliver a little message to him for me.
Do me a favor and tell your piece-of-shit brother that I’m coming for him and my million-dollar company. Tell him to be ready, because I ain’t backing down without a fight.
Your favorite man, Buck
I picked my head up, staring at her, lips parted. “This is real?” I rasped.
She nodded. It was all she could do.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“That’s not the only thing,” she murmured, focusing on the paper I had clutched in hand. “Mama told me that since the jail he’s in is overcrowded and he’s been out of trouble in there, he’s getting released in four to five months.”
“What?” I barked. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’m in the same fucking state as she is and she couldn’t tell me that shit?”
“You know why she didn’t tell you, Cane. She knows how you would have reacted, especially with her writing to him!”
“That’s bullshit! He needs to be in there for fucking life after what he did to us! To her! How could she fall for his shit?”
“I know,” she mumbled. “And I really came because Aaron isn’t around, which means his people aren’t around to look
out for me. I have no one to watch my back there. I—I couldn’t fucking sleep. I was so worried Buck would come looking for me first or I—I don’t know. I’m freaking the fuck out, Q, and right now you’re all I’ve got.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Fuck. I know, I know. You did the right thing by coming here.”
Her shoulders relaxed and I pushed off the counter to place a hand on her shoulder. “Take your stuff upstairs to one of the guest rooms. We’re going to visit Mama tomorrow. She has some serious explaining to do.”
“But what about Tempt? You read the letter right? He’s coming after it. You’ve worked hard on it, Cane, but if Buck comes out and starts telling people it was his—”
“He can say whatever the hell he wants, Lora. I have lawyers. Heavy hitters too. He won’t be able to come near us.”
She pressed her lips, like she was highly doubtful. See, that was the thing about Lora. She always doubted me until I proved myself. I don’t know why she was that way. Everything she’d asked for, I’d done, other than give her ex-fiancé a job at my company.
When she needed a car, I bought it. When she was tired of seeing Mom laying face flat in her own puke, I was the one who took Mama to rehab and paid them twice, while getting her to agree to stay.
I guess doubt was what kept her on her toes. Doubt was what made Lora, Lora. Like miracles, she didn’t believe in them unless she could see one happen for herself, and sadly a miracle had never happened for my little sister.
Fourteen
KANDY
I’d caved. Like, truly, honestly caved.
I couldn’t even go three measly days without giving in.
Don’t get me wrong, I had a great third day. My new friends gave me a tour around campus and let me come to the mall with them for smoothies. Morgan and Gina were great girls with big hearts and I loved that…but something was still missing.
Morgan and Gina decided to hit the field again after our smoothie run. They were rebels that way. They’d told me that the fields were still under maintenance and that they weren’t supposed to be on them, but of course they didn’t give a damn. I warned them not to get caught, especially by the snobby teammates who would snitch in a heartbeat.
I had yet to see Coach Carmen or Coach Tally, then again their offices were way across campus and meetings weren’t starting until next week. For all I knew, they probably weren’t even here yet. If they were, I was certain they’d have come to greet us at the least.
I sat on top of my bed and pulled out my laptop, lifting the lid and going to the search engine. I searched for Tempt, something I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do, and a few articles popped up, all of them with split candid photos of Cane and a heavyset Asian man. All of the red and yellow made it clear the articles were important and yielded warnings. I clicked the first one:
Tempts very own Quinton Cane blows big deal with big-time Tokyo investor, Mao Zheng.
The article went on to report how Cane’s party led to a disaster. A few anonymous guests reported that a man had shown up at Cane’s house with a temper and threatened and assaulted Cane, and when Zheng was asked how he felt about the night, he told the media that he would never invest in a man who dealt with ruthless people like the one who’d assaulted Cane at the party. It also went on to say that the man who’d threatened Cane was toting a gun and had even pointed it at Cane, and that they seemed familiar with one another.
Wait…a gun? I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Mom didn’t say anything about a gun. The man with the gun was Dad, but…why would he do that to Cane? Bring a gun and point it at him too? Was he really going to kill him that night? What the hell was Dad thinking?
My first instinct was to call Dad and blast him. Literally yell at him for being so reckless, no matter how bad the situation was. He handled it improperly and jeopardized Cane’s business. Because of this, so many others probably felt the same as Zheng and were thinking of backing out of contracts too. He’d truly put Cane’s company on the line, and all because of his horrible temper.
I advised myself against it, though, and climbed off the bed with my cellphone. I wanted to call and ask Dad what all had happened that night and what all was said. Yes, I knew Dad had assaulted Cane, but I didn’t know a gun had been brought into the mix. I had reason to believe Mom didn’t tell me that detail for a reason.
No wonder Cane hadn’t called me. He was probably too wrapped up in the scandal and getting his company out of the flames to bother.
I hated that thought and needed to know he was okay, so without mentally preparing myself for what I did next, I went to my call log, found his name, and called him.
Fifteen
KANDY
It took everything in me not to hang up after the first ring.
I didn’t even know what I would say to him after what he’d gone through. What do you say when your own father threatens a man you slept with, with a gun? How do you help him overlook that and accept you, without that horrible memory coming into play?
The phone rang several times and defeat washed through me when I got his voicemail. I hung up before the beep, a sigh pushing through my lips. Of course he wasn’t going to answer. He was probably knee deep in work shit, trying to dig himself out of a hole.
I was the reason all of this had happened. If only I’d kept my hands to myself, he would be fine now. I closed my laptop, slid it back in the case, and then grabbed the room key, locking it up before walking down the hallway.
I needed fresh air, and the weather was pleasant, so I took a trail that wasn’t too far off campus. On the trail, green and yellow leaves were scattered on the ground. The trees were covered in moss and snaked with green vines. This was way different to Georgia. Everything was fresh and real here. I had my phone clutched in hand, praying he would call back during the walk.
When I’d reached a bench on the path, my phone vibrated and I jumped, like it’d shocked me. I checked the screen and my heart immediately stated racing when I saw his name.
Suddenly, I felt like it would have been dumb of me to answer. Why put myself through this? Why bother, when it would only lead to nowhere? He was over ten hours away—miles apart with nothing to really pull us together again. Surely, nothing would come of this.
Despite the back and forth matters in my head, I lifted the phone and answered. I took a seat on the bench, worried my knees would buckle from the sound of his voice. My pulse thundered in my ears, my heart jumping to my throat.
“Hello?” I answered.
A sigh. “Kandy.” He breathed out, and even from miles away, I could sense the relief washing through him. “How’ve you been?”
I looked down. “Good, I guess. And you?”
“Could be better.”
I smiled a little. Vague, but I could understand where he was coming from.
“How was the move in? College life treating you well so far?”
“I’ve made two friends already, so I think so. They’re on the softball team. We agree on a lot of things. One of them is my roommate.”
“Oh, well that’s good, right?”
“Yeah, she’s a pretty cool person.”
We were quiet a moment, and as I sat there with a bouncing knee, I let all of my worries sink in.
“I’m happy you called,” he’d finally said, and my worries hit the back burner.
“I’m happy you called back. I didn’t think you would.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. After what happened, I—I assumed you would stay away. Never look back…”
He let out a tattered breath. “You know damn well I can’t stay away from you. I made a promise to you. Do you remember?”
“What promise?”
“That I wouldn’t avoid or ignore you. You said that things would change, but to not let it be for the worse. You remember that?”
Oh, yeah. That’s right. I asked him to promise me at the lake house. I was surprised he’d remembered. “I
remember,” I said softly.
“I’m trying to fulfill at least one of my promises.”
“I’m glad,” I murmured, and I really was, though I knew he was hurting. He’d promised my dad a great deal of things. He’d betrayed him, and I knew that alone was eating him alive.
“Sir, here is the paperwork you were asking for,” I heard someone say in the background. I knew that voice. It was Cora. He was at work.
“Thanks,” he mumbled.
“You’re working late,” I noted.
“Yeah. A lot to catch up on.”
We were quiet a beat. I could hear paper rustling and a scratching noise, like he was signing off on them. “You know, I met Cora that night…when my dad confronted you?” I told him.
“You know about that, huh?” he asked with an uneasy laugh. He was trying to keep the conversation light but that was going to be damn near impossible. This conversation felt thick and heavy and not at all like us. He went on. “How did you meet her?”
“I drove to your house to check on you. She’s the one who told me you were in the hospital.”
“Really?” He seemed surprised. So surprised that I no longer heard the paper rustling or the scratching of a pen. “Hmm. She hasn’t said anything to me about it.”
“She also told me that your girlfriend, Kelly, wanted to ride alone with you on the way there.”
Cane gave a bitter laugh. “Kelly is a bitch. Fuck her. ”
“I sent you a text that night too,” I went on, before he could rant. “She responded and told me to leave you alone.”
The Cane Series: Complete 4-Book Box Set Page 34