Abyss (Elements of Rapture Book 4)

14. Hudson

HUDSON

Temporary insanity can be defined as a brief loss of rational thinking at the time a decision was made.

Less than two days of living with the woman sitting at her desk outside this conference room, and I can unequivocally claim temporary insanity at the time I made the decision to move her in. There is no other explanation for it.

Why else would I purposely torture myself this way?

I knew it that drunken night when I told that weasel, Corbin, to keep his hands off my admin.

I knew it when my brain no longer had control of my mouth, and I told her she was perfect before succumbing to sleep in my hotel room.

I knew it when she stood in the foyer of my apartment this weekend, filling it up with her vanilla and lemon scent.

And I knew it when I was inches from her lips, seconds from doing something I’d forever regret, when she sat on my bathroom countertop with that innocent expression, searching my face like she was looking for something to grasp. To claim.

I knew I’d lost my goddamn mind and that I shouldn’t have ever moved her in.

Barely listening to updates my executive team is giving me, I watch through the conference room window as Kavi rises from her seat, picking up a colorful notebook and pen. She clasps both under her arm before picking up the large platter of cornbread and walks to the entrance.

Against my advice to let her hands heal and stay off her feet, she proceeded to make the damn cornbread on Saturday night. As if she was on a mission to solve world hunger and end wars. As if without baking it, children everywhere would starve.

The pained look on her face, the blood seeping through her tights where her knee was, and her mangled hands had my pulse racing so fast, I was at risk of overheating. The last time my heart had pounded like that was a couple of years ago, when Maddy was in a car accident. Thank God she was okay, but I swear I thought I was having a heart attack when I first heard the news.

I didn’t want to, nor did I have any intention of it, but after seeing Kavi wince while using her hands to bake, I came and stood next to her in the kitchen, following the recipe along with her to make a second batch. She clarified that one was for the art class she was teaching on Sunday, and one was for the office.

“Everyone loved the pound cake and muffins I made. I feel like they’ve come to expect treats around the office now.”

I begrudgingly held back an eye roll. I didn’t, however, hold back the grumbled rebuke about the only thing they should expect is to work the fucking hours I pay them for, but she didn’t seem to care or be listening.

No one fucking needs muffins and cakes around here. What they need is to get their jobs done.

I won’t deny I was a little curious about this art class she taught. For free, apparently. I recall Maddy telling me about it briefly a while ago, but as Kavi buzzed around, telling me about a couple of the kids in her class while she gathered her supplies and snacks, there was a part of me that wanted to go along with her. There was something about the excitement in her voice, the spark in her golden-brown eyes, that betrayed the timid and quiet woman she showed the rest of the world.

Not me, though, clearly.

Somehow, I didn’t intimidate her any more. Somehow, she was all about practicing her sass and quips on me.

And, somehow, I didn’t hate it . . .

I had to practically beg her to take my damn chauffeured car yesterday. Me, beg!? It’s fucking unheard of.

I don’t know why she’s been adamant about taxis and walking on her own, but at one point, I threatened her to either take the damn car or risk having me haul her over my shoulder and set her ass in it myself.

Thankfully, that made her comply. Probably because she knew I would, given I’d done precisely that on Saturday when she banged up her knee.

But then, today, she got to work an hour before I did. And I know from talking to Aaron that he didn’t bring her. The woman is frustrating to an alarming degree.

I don’t get up to open the door for her, relishing the way she lingers outside, hoping to get someone’s attention.

Her body-hugging cream shirt is tucked into high-rise pine-green corduroy pants that are folded at the bottom. Save for her signature shoes, the outfit looks new—though I can’t be sure, given her interesting taste. I wouldn’t be surprised if she bought it from a higher-end thrift store.

She sways, this and that way, her pants only accentuating the curvature of her hips, those thighs rubbing against each other so provocatively, I’m tempted to call a break and take care of myself in my private bathroom.

Right as Gail, our head project manager, rises from her chair to assist Kavi, the elevator doors open behind her, revealing the face of someone I’ve done everything in my power to avoid over the past couple of years.

What the fuck ishe doing here?

A few members of my executive team turn to follow my gaze, their faces puzzled and anxious. I must look as murderous as I feel.

Kavi hands the platter to Gail before turning to greet him. A moment later, she waves her hand toward another meeting room, giving me an apprehensive look from the window.

I don’t think she’s ever met my brother before, but knowing him, he hasn’t wasted time introducing himself.

She doesn’t reemerge from that room.

Not after five minutes, and not after ten.

My hands ball into fists as I try to keep my composure in front of my staff while they continue to pretend they have not seen my brother.

Losing patience, I excuse myself from the meeting, telling them to continue. I head out of the room, stomping down the hall toward the other conference room. My blood rushes through my veins like an untamed wildfire, making me wonder if my apprehension is just based on having to see my brother again or something else.

Something I’m afraid of; something I can’t quite put into words.

My irritation spikes when I hear a burst of Kavi’s laughter through the door. What the fuck is so funny? And why . . . why, since the time she’d hurtled into my life like a goddamn storm, haven’t I been on the receiving end of that laugh?

My brain tells me there are a few reasons it can name, specifically having to do with me humiliating her in public a couple of times and firing her outright once, but I shove those thoughts away.

I got it. They weren’t my best moments, nor my best decisions.

But neither was the little slip of my tongue, telling her she was perfect the night I was drunk. Neither was showing her I was raging with envy at the sight of that asshole, Corbin, touching her. And neither was almost kissing her on Saturday in my bathroom.

Jett’s voice carries through the door, humor evident in his words.

Between the two of us, he’s always been the life of every party. The kid who’d win over his teachers, our neighbors, and even our dad, getting out of trouble for shit he’d blatantly done because of his blue puppy-dog eyes and the flash of his perfect teeth. The man who came into a room and garnered attention just by being there.

The listener, the sympathizer, the fucking jokester.

I just never thought the joke would be on me.

Given the fact that I practically helped raise him, gave him every opportunity right along with me to climb the ladder, manage a huge portion of my business—despite not having the background in Earth Sciences like I did—and be my daughter’s godfather, I didn’t expect his betrayal.

And that became my single biggest mistake.

For him to leave with a portion of my staff and go to a competing firm? For him to hurt the man and brother who would have stood by his side until the end of time?

Yeah, I’m not sure our relationship will ever recover.

As for the sleeping-with-my-girlfriend part? I could give two shits about that. Sure, it was like icing on the fucking cake at the time because the knowledge came on the heels of him leaving Case Geo, but thank God for small miracles.

Kenna was always needy and selfish. She’d shown me that time and time again; I was just too lazy to do much about it. She was good company, and I’d never wanted a real commitment, aside from exclusivity. She seemed to be okay with that, so it worked. But I should have seen there was no future for us.

I still remember the day Maddy was in the car accident. I had joined Kenna in New York at a dog show where her purebred French bulldog was up for a “Best in Show” award. I was already having a crazy week at work with my travel schedule at an all-time high, but because of her constant begging for us to spend more time together, I’d canceled an important meeting to be there to support her.

I still can’t believe the words that came out of Kenna’s mouth when I got the call from Brie, telling me Maddy was in the hospital.

“Are you sure? Or is this another excuse for you to bail on a weekend with me?” She’d kept her eyes locked on the arena where other dogs were being showcased, not even sparing a glance at my face to see how it had gone pale.

I was having a fucking heart attack because my kid was in the hospital, and she thought I was trying to bail on spending time with her? The lack of concern in her voice should have raised the biggest flag in my head.

“No, Kenna. As much as you think the worst of me, this is not some sick plan to get away from you. In case you hadn’t noticed, I flew across the country to be here, and now I have to fucking go back because my daughter needs me.”

I was rushing toward the exit when she grabbed my elbow. For a moment, I thought she was going to apologize, but what came out of her mouth sealed the deal for me. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. It’s not like rushing over there is going to get her out of the hospital any sooner.”

I knew I’d be breaking things off as soon as I got a chance to sit down and talk to her again. As fate would have it, I never did get that chance, since the next time I saw her, she and my brother were walking into my office to tell me they were resigning.

At least he had the decency to look ashamed, but I still remember the way her lips pursed and the haughty attitude she displayed when she told me, “Oh, and by the way, we slept together.”

Jett messaged me right after to say he was sorry and that he and Kenna had only slept together once—apparently, on a night when he was completely wasted—but I’d blocked his number that day.

I knew that from then on, if he wanted to get a hold of me, he’d have to do it through my office number or, like he has today, by showing up at my place of work.

Without more thought, I burst open the door to the meeting room, convinced I’d see . . . I don’t know what I was convinced I’d see. Jett cornering her, showering her with his charm and personality.

Instead, I find Kavi standing with her arms crossed in a corner while Jett is on a chair, relaxed, with his ankle on his knee. He’s leaner than me, but we both share the same eyes and nose as our father, but where I have dark brown hair, he has more blond mixed in.

“Good to see you, big brother. Kavi and I were just talking about you,” he says, his smile sweeping over Kavi before turning to me. “I was telling her about some of our past shenanigans, running the charters for Dad. Remember when I used to throw that rubber barracuda into customer tackle boxes? They’d open it and nearly have a heart attack when it tried to snap at them.”

He laughs, not getting the same response from me, given I was always the one apologizing to customers for my brother’s childish pranks.

I flick a glance at my admin, noting the laughter in her eyes, which only heightens my temper. “Kavi, perhaps Belinda never specified this, or maybe you forgot, what with all the baking that’s been consuming your time, but I loathe impromptu meetings. If they’re not on my calendar, please tell any unwelcome surprise guest to find a spot appropriately. Or in this situation, tell them to fuck off.”

My accusatory tone makes her wince, guilt splashing over her features as she stammers. “I . . . I thought that because he was your brother—”

“Please leave,” I cut her off, turning my icy gaze on the person who’s the true target for my wrath. “What do you want?”