Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Rhett
Everything is too loud, too bright or too dark, and too…people-y. But my employees deserve the opportunity to unwind and have some fun. So, I give you the annual Cane Christmas Party. I always try to show up even if it is only for a few minutes, like last year.
Really, these past couple of years have been…dull, static, the same shit different days. I used to really love what I did for a living. Now…the parties are too loud, the people are too fake, and everything seems to be… a special kind of hell. Yes, everything is gilded in gold, and I am very comfortably well-off, but there is a definite lack of innocence, of good, of fucking purpose.
Maybe the hell is deserved. Maybe all the shit I have done to get where I’m at has led me straight to the very pit of hell. I pulled myself up out of the muck by doing what I had to do to never be down that far again. You show me a businessman who says they didn’t do shady shit that might be on the verge of illegal and I will show you a liar. I try to make it up to the universe now by doing some good through my charities and by making my employees’ lives as good as I can. The people who work for me have excellent healthcare, plenty of time off if they become sick or need vacations and we offer a state-of-the-art childcare program that also focuses on after-school programs. The building also has a gym and a cafeteria that would put some restaurants to shame.
I catch the head of my security’s eye and nod my head signaling it is time for us to get the hell out of here. Javier isn’t just the head of my security; he is my friend. The best friend a guy can have since he is willing to take a bullet for me and not just because I pay him to. In the early days, when I didn’t have a pot to piss in, Javi stayed with me, kept me safe when I made shady deals and knew where the bodies were hidden because he helped dig the holes. The guy is like my right hand, my shadow in the best way possible. My brother, my friend, and the one person who I let get close.
He starts moving through the crowd to reach me as I turn to the doors to leave…just as a woman comes through them with tinsel in her hair and light shining down on her. It’s like she’s emitting the glow from inside of her at the same time it’s coming from above. She looks…like an angel.
I’m so stunned I don’t realize Javi is beside me before he speaks.
“Ready to go?”
He has to say it more than once before I realize he’s talking to me.
“You okay, Barrett?”
No, I am anything but okay. “Who is that?”
He looks over at where my gaze seems to be focused. “Sarah?”
I don’t miss the fact he straightens up a little taller when he says her name.
“The dark-haired one is named Sarah?” A hot sizzle of jealousy goes through me so fast I can’t control it. The fact he knows her name right away without even having to think about it eats at me.
“Oh,” he seems to relax somewhat, “no, the one she’s standing next to is Sarah from the daycare. I'm not sure who the brunette is.”
“Find out.”
I should ask him how he knows who Sarah is, but I can’t be bothered with that right now.
“Yes, sir. I’m on it.”
I don’t care how he has to do it. I want to know.
“Mr. Cane, Mr. Cane. I’m Julia from Accounting. I wanted to tell you how much I love working for your company.”
She bats her eyes and if I’m not mistaken sticks her chest out further when she says it. Her hand lands on my forearm as she pouts her lips.
“Good, I’m glad. If you want to keep working here, I suggest you take your hand off me right now and find someone else to celebrate with.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth falls open in shock as she goes pale but quickly removes her hand from me. I don’t wait for a response before I walk away. Having her touch me just makes whatever is inside of me that sprang to life when I laid eyes on my angel that much hungrier.
I should wait to hear back from Javi, but I can’t wait that long. I won’t wait that long. I move through the crowd as I watch her walk to the bar at one side of the room. I wait until she’s got her drink and turns to face the crowd to come up beside her.
“Enjoying the party?” She jumps a little and almost drops her drink. I wrap my hand around hers to help steady her. Or so I tell my sensible self. The other side of me knows it’s because I want to touch her and this is the only way I can do it without sending her running for the door. “Careful.”
Again, I’m talking to myself more than I am to her. I will have to be careful not to frighten this little angel away before I can tie her to me.