Just Pretend (Just… #1)

38. Hallie

CHAPTER 38

HALLIE

I was already wide awake when my alarm went off this morning. I tossed and turned the whole night, unable to sleep because my head was spinning, and I couldn’t get my brain to turn off. All I could think about, for hours and hours, was one question—why would Rupert Sinclair change his mind about the camp? After all of the pressure he and his lawyers have put on my dad to come up with the money to buy him out, why would he suddenly agree to let the property go for nothing in return? My father has offered in the past to set up a payment plan or to extend the lease and Rupert always turned him down. Suddenly he wakes up one day and decides he doesn’t want the property and he’s willing to give it to my dad for free? It doesn’t make sense. Rupert Sinclair doesn’t do anything out of the goodness of his heart. He must have gotten something in exchange for the camp—but what? Is it some kind of tax write off? Can he claim the loss so he pays less in taxes? I have no idea how these things work, but there has to be something.

The other thing that kept me up last night was wondering why Rupert went to the trouble of getting James to use me for intel, only to sign the land over anyway? All night long, I went over every conversation I can remember having with James about my family, trying to consider if I gave him any information his father could have found valuable. Did I tell him that some of the cabins needed repairs? Or that the roof in the mess hall leaks during heavy rain? Even if I did, I can’t see why that would deter Rupert from buying the property. He was only going to tear all of the old camp buildings down to make way for whatever new construction he felt would make him the most money.

Before I even put my bag down in my office, I head straight for the break room, needing a very large cup of coffee to get me through the day. There are a few downsides to driving a Vespa to work, and the lack of cupholders is one of them. I already feel like I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open and Chase and I have a busy day with the sales team ahead of us.

I find Jasmine at the Keurig when I walk into the room and she starts to smile as she glances over at me, but then she does a quick doubletake.

“Whoa,” she says, her eyebrows raised.

“I know,” I sigh, grabbing a mug from the cabinet. “I look like shit. There wasn’t enough makeup in the world to hide the bags under my eyes this morning.”

“It’s not that bad,” Jasmine says, lying through her teeth. “What’s going on?”

“I was up all night,” I sigh. “My dad called to tell me that Rupert Sinclair is giving him his half of the property so my family can keep the camp open.”

“Oh my god!” Jas gasps. “Hallie, that’s amazing!”

“Yeah, definitely,” I nod, “but I can’t figure out why he would do that. Rupert doesn’t have an altruistic bone in his body, so why give up his half of what could be a highly lucrative property?”

As Jasmine’s coffee finishes brewing and she takes a sip, I can see her brain spinning.

“What?” I ask.

“Well,” she says with a quick exhale, “I’m not sure you want to hear this, but do you think James had something to do with Rupert’s sudden change of heart?”

I close my eyes for a moment, thinking about the scent of James’s cologne, the feel of his arms around me, the way my pulse sped up when we kissed. We had only been together for a week, but it feels like I lost someone I’ve known my whole life. The ache in my heart hasn’t lessened and I’ve been walking around with my stomach in knots. When I open my eyes, Jasmine is watching me carefully.

“I have to admit, I had that same thought myself,” I sigh, selecting a k-cup and putting it in the machine.

“And?”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” I reply. “Why would James help me after using me to get information for his father?”

“Okay, I’ve been thinking about that,” Jasmine says, looking anxious. “Don’t get mad, but what if you’re wrong about what Rupert said?”

“I know what I heard, Jas,” I say, shaking my head.

“I know, I know,” Jasmine says defensively. “But maybe you heard wrong? Maybe the conversation wasn’t what you thought it was? I don’t know, but there might be an explanation you haven’t considered. I just think you need to talk to James before you write him off forever.”

I shake my head, folding my arms over my chest. “So, he can charm me again? No thanks. I don’t know why my family is getting to keep the camp, but there is no way it’s because of James.”

Despite all of the questions and confusion rattling around inside my head, I manage to focus on my work all morning, eat lunch at my desk in the afternoon, and finish up everything I have to take care of so I can leave a little early. Unfortunately, this means missing a call with a distributor in Asia who Chase and I have been trying to work with, but Chase assured me that he had it covered. In the past, I wouldn’t have trusted him, assuming he was going to make the deal without me and take all the credit, but he has made every effort to change ever since we decided to share the promotion, and I have to give him a shot to show me he’s different now. And while I’ve spent a lot of time researching and connecting with potential distributors, Chase really is better at meetings when it comes to schmoozing and making personal connections.

“You sure you’ve got this?” I ask as I head out for the day.

“I’m sure,” Chase replies from his desk. “I’ve read through your notes several times and I feel completely prepared. This is going to be huge, Hallie. I think you landed on the best company to partner with. I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t,” I reply.

“Now get out of here,” he says with a smile. “Go celebrate with your family.”

“Thanks,” I reply, smiling back at him.

I wouldn’t have left work early for much besides a chance to be with my family up in Lake Berryessa to celebrate the great news about the camp staying open. I probably wouldn’t be going up at all except that it was my sister who called and asked me to come. I know what the camp means to her and I can’t wait to see the excitement on her face and give her a huge hug.

Stopping at my apartment to pick up my duffle bag, I fill up Fred’s food and water, giving him enough provisions to last the weekend, though Trevor and his mom said they’d stop in on Saturday afternoon to check on him.

“Please watch your mouth around the kid,” I sigh as I say goodbye to Fred.

He squawks back at me, ruffling his feathers and shaking his head.

“Shit!” he shrieks. “Shit! Damn!”

“Get it out of your system now,” I laugh, shaking my head as I head out.

As I’m coming out of the front gate, I spot a man making his way towards me, staring at me as he approaches. I try to keep my head down while I strap my bag onto the back of the Vespa, but he picks up his pace suddenly, walking right at me.

“Hallie?”

I look up, surprised that he knows who I am. I try to recall if I know him from somewhere, but while there is something oddly familiar about him, I can’t quite place him.

“I’m Trey Sinclair,” the man says, reading the confusion on my face. “James’s brother.”

“Oh,” I bristle, realizing why he seems familiar. I can see the resemblance now in the shape of their faces and their coloring.

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” Trey asks.

“I’m on my way out of town,” I explain, though I can’t help but be intrigued. “I’m going up to Lake Berryessa.”

“I promise it won’t take long,” he tells me.

I know I should get on my Vespa and drive away, head up to the lake and spend the weekend with my family, and try to forget all about James. I should protect myself from having anything else to do with the Sinclairs, knowing that nothing good will come from interacting with them. And yet, I find myself letting out a long exhale, too curious to do the smart thing and say no.

“Sure,” I say before I can stop myself. “There’s a place down the block.”

As we walk to the corner, I glance over at Trey, struck now by how much he looks like James. I can’t believe I didn’t see it right away, but as I take in Trey’s dark eyes and the arch of his eyebrows, it makes me miss James even more. Stop that, Hallie! I tell myself, stiffening my spine and resolving to hear what Trey has to say and then get going.

“My brother is miserable,” Trey tells me as soon as we sit at a table with our coffees. “I’ve never seen him like this.”

“I’m not sure what that has to do with me,” I reply coldly, thinking about how I’ve been miserable too, because James betrayed me.

“He loves you,” Trey says.

I swallow hard, feeling my stomach tighten despite how hard I’m trying to stay strong.

“What do you want?” I ask bluntly. “What’s your family up to?”

“My family?” Trey asks, sounding confused.

“I know James was using me to get information on my father and the property,” I tell him. “So, what made Rupert suddenly change his mind and give the land to my family after all? And why are you here, trying to lure me back in? What gives?”

“Whoa, I think you have this all wrong,” Trey insists. “James was not using you for anything.”

“Nice try, but I heard him with your dad,” I say. “I heard everything Rupert said—praising James for using me for information.”

“That’s what my father thought James was doing, because that’s how my father thinks,” Trey nods. “But I promise you that James made it very clear he wasn’t using you. He begged Rupert to sign over the land to your family.”

“And your father decided to go along with it because he’s such a nice guy?” I ask sarcastically.

“No, of course not,” Trey shakes his head. “He went along with it in exchange for James giving up woodworking and moving back to San Francisco to work for the family again.”

A chill runs down my spine as I stare at Trey in disbelief.

“That’s crazy,” I say dubiously. “James hated working for your father.”

“He still does,” Trey nods. “He is absolutely miserable, but he did it for you, Hallie. He loves you and he wanted to make you happy. I don’t think I have ever seen my brother this in love with anyone before—or as heartbroken over them.”

“But I heard them…” I whisper, going over the conversation between James and his father in my head, realizing for the first time that I only heard Rupert speaking. I ran out of the woodshop without waiting for James to reply. “Oh my god.”

I look up at Trey as it hits me that I was wrong. James wasn’t using me—just the opposite. He was helping me, sacrificing his own happiness for mine. I was so sure that he had betrayed me that I shut him out of my life without giving him a chance to explain. This is all my fault. I’ve been walking around blaming James and blocking him out, and the whole time I was completely wrong about the situation.

“What can I do?” I ask, feeling a surge of panic. “How can I fix this?”

A smile spreads across Trey’s face as he sets his coffee down on the table.

“I was hoping you’d ask that,” he says. “To be honest, I’m not sure exactly how to pull this off, but we somehow need to convince my father to follow through with the deal without holding James to this ridiculous agreement. I’m honestly worried about my brother and I don’t know how long he can keep up working for my dad.”

“Damn it, this is all my fault,” I groan. I take a few deep breaths, feeling horrible and wishing there was something I could do to make it all better. “Wait a second.”

“What?” Trey asks.

“Do you think you can get your dad and James up to Lake Berryessa?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” Trey shakes his head. “I’m not sure how I’d swing that. They’ll both fight me on it.”

“Maybe you can make up something convincing about signing papers?” I suggest. “Please, any reason you can come up with. Just get them there and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Okay,” Trey says with a nod. “I’ll do what I can.”