13. James
13
JAMES
I had to admit I was more than a little jealous.
I’d scheduled the cruise on my boat as a belated birthday gift for Scott, letting him know from the start that the whole trip would be on me—but that I wouldn’t be able to join them. Not when I had so many commitments keeping me at home. But now that everyone was showing up to board, I found myself wishing I could be a part of the fun. I watched the group gather on the dock at the far end of my property, laughing and chatting. There were seven of them total, and I strained to spot Kaitlyn among them from my position on my office balcony.
They were headed to Key West as honored guests at my brand new investment, Club Obsidian. It was a two-birds-with-one-stone situation. The night would be comped and they’d get to have a fabulous time, while I would get reports back to me about every detail of their experience so I could make sure it was perfect before we held the press and VIP launch in a few weeks. I’d been there myself, of course, but everyone was always on their best behavior when the boss was around. Scott and his friends would be able to give me a better idea of the average guest’s experience.
I finally spotted Kaitlyn throwing her head back and laughing at something a too-handsome guy was saying and decided I needed to walk down to see them off. It was the least I could do and polite.
I passed my mom and Harper in the shade of the patio making a mess, or as Harper said, “Doing art.”
“Our girl has quite a gift,” Mom said. “Little Junior Picasso over here. I might have some of these framed.”
Harper beamed and held up a painting that was a mass of colors. “Kaitlyn showed me how to make a rainbow!”
“Wow, sweetheart, that is good!”
I jogged over to plant a quick kiss on her head and mouthed my thanks to my mom.
It was funny to me that Kaitlyn was always top of mind for Harper, even when they weren’t together. The bond between them had grown quickly, to my great relief. Sometimes it felt like Kaitlyn was destined to wind up in our home.
Everyone applauded and cheered when I finally reached the dock.
“Look who decided to see us off, the man who’s too busy keeping his nose to the grindstone to sneak away for twenty-four hours! Nice to see you, bossman,” Scott said, grabbing my shoulder.
Kaitlyn smirked at his comment.
“Hey, hey, it’s not just work that has me busy. I want to keep close to Harper,” I protested. “She’s still dealing with some stuff.”
But the truth was my mom was staying for the weekend, and Jess was due to arrive any minute. I could sneak away for the night, but I was waiting for confirmation about a property I wanted to buy in Miami. It was an absolute gem of a spot, in an up-and-coming area that no one else seemed to recognize as such. Well, no one but the person selling the spot. I was still about to pay a pretty penny for it. Once the deal went through, there’d be paperwork to attend to, and I never liked to wait once things go through. The sooner the property was fully mine, the faster I could get started on my plans. I glanced at my phone to see if word had come yet.
Scott grabbed Cassie’s hand and pulled her over to us. “I heard you treated Cassie and her friends to quite a night at Bloom, and now this. We can’t thank you enough.”
Just mentioning that night was enough to set me on edge. It would forever be linked to Kaitlyn. I glanced to where she was standing, and she was still talking to the guy, who kept edging closer to her.
“Yes, thank you so much for this incredible gift,” Cassie said, smiling broadly as she leaned in to kiss my cheek. “I hope you stocked up on champagne because I might drink your boat dry, right, ladies? Woooo, champagne!”
The sound set off a chain reaction of “wooo”s from the other two women, while Kaitlyn just smiled at them like she was a bemused babysitter. I glanced between the sisters and could see the similarities between them. Same eye color, same wide smiles, but there was something about Kaitlyn that no one could touch. She was incandescent.
And standing way too close to that good-looking guy. What was his problem anyway? Hadn’t he ever heard of personal space?
“I recognize your friends from the bachelorette party, but who are the guys going with you?” I gestured toward the rest of the group.
Cassie glanced where I was pointing. “The dude who looks like he just played eighteen holes is Scott’s friend from work, Matt,” she gestured to a guy wearing a golf shirt and visor. “And the guy talking to my sister is Matt’s boyfriend, Malcolm. He does some modeling. He had a billboard up on I-75 for a while you might’ve seen.”
I relaxed. He’s gay. Okay, good.
Not that I had any claim to who Kaitlyn talked to, but still. I had to look out for my employee. At least, that was what I kept telling myself as I mentally stomped down my jealousy.
My phone rang. “Excuse me, I have to take this.”
My pulse kicked up a notch as I stepped away to take the call from my business manager. Nothing like the thrill of the kill. I’d make the call quick, send off the booze cruise, then get to work on next steps for the property.
“James, I’ve got news,” Walter’s voice was strained in a way that didn’t sound like good news, and I felt my pulse trip into double time.
“Don’t tell me?—”
“We lost it.”
“ Fuck ,” I growled.
“To Lucas. Again.”
I was so angry that I started pacing in circles on the lawn a few feet away from the end of the dock. “How the hell did he find out we were considering it?”
“No idea. He must be paying off contractors and surveyors. I’m sorry.”
“Did you try topping his offer? Or calling his people to see if they’d be open to letting it go?”
“Yes, but they said Lucas was dead set on it.”
“ Damn it.”
I hung up and stared at the ground. That fucker kept grabbing everything that mattered to me.
“Hey.”
I turned to find Kaitlyn looking at me with concern.
“Oh, hi,” I said, shoving my phone in my pocket and trying not to look as pissed as I felt. “You guys all set to go?”
“Yeah, shortly.” She gestured to where I’d just shoved my phone. “What just happened? Are you okay?”
For a second, I worried that I’d been too loud and everyone had heard me raging, but it seemed Kaitlyn was the only one to pick up on my distress.
I sighed. The way she was looking at me made me feel like confessing could do me good. There was a calmness about her, a willingness to listen which was probably the reason my daughter opened up to her so quickly.
“It’s just business. Someone swiped a property out from under me. A professional rival, you could say.” I wasn’t about to go into Lucas and Jess’s history.
“Oh, I’m sorry, James. You must be disappointed.”
I forced out a laugh. “More like pissed.”
Kaitlyn moved a few steps closer to me. “Why don’t you come with us and get your mind off it for a night? Might do you good to blow off some steam.”
I started to answer that getting away would be impossible, but she was the one person who’d be able to see through my lie. She knew Harper was in great hands with her grandmother. With Kaitlyn standing just a foot away from me, looking up at me wearing a worried expression, it was impossible to say no.
“Okay. Yeah, maybe I will.” I paused for a moment. “Fine, I’ll go with you.”
“Fantastic! Jess is supposed to come over for the weekend, right? Would she want to come too? I think everyone would love her.” The smile she beamed at me lifted some of the weight from my shoulders.
I glanced at the women singing and dancing together on the docks without a drink in them yet, and yes, my sister would fit right in.
“Okay, give us thirty minutes and we’ll meet you on the boat.”
Why didn’t I do this more often?
I tipped my head back and let the sun warm my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken the boat out. It was a goddamn delight, and when I glanced around it was clear that I wasn’t the only one enjoying it.
Everyone was either in or around the hot tub where Jess was holding court. My sister was good at many things, but nothing topped her ability to keep people’s focus. It was one of the traits I envied about her, that easy way she commanded the spotlight. I could hold my own, of course, but it took more of a conscious effort. She did it naturally.
“You good, bro?” Scott asked. “You’re mighty quiet.”
“Other than losing out on a deal I’d been counting on, I’m fine. Better than fine. This is great.” Wow, that sounded way too chipper even to my ears.
We’d been catching up, smoking cigars and really talking for the first time in ages. It felt good and reminded me that I needed to connect with people other than my business contacts more often.
A text from my mom buzzed in, a photo of her and Harper playing Go Fish. I smiled. Things were good. Really good. I needed to learn to let some things go instead of dwelling on what was out of my control. I glanced at Kaitlyn and watched her watching everyone else, still wearing a diaphanous white cover-up. It was short—when she turned around I could see the lower curve of her ass in her blue bikini bottom, but it obscured everything else.
“She’s an amazing woman,” Scott said, clinking the edge of his beer bottle to mine to try to pull my attention away from my staring.
“What? Who?”
He laughed. “Dude, you’ve never been subtle. You’ve been staring at Kaitlyn the whole time.”
“I’m looking at…everyone,” I said, gesturing to the group, knowing he didn’t believe me.
“Yeah, uh-huh.” Scott drained his beer. “There’s no one more loyal than a Thorn girl, let me tell you. And you never have to wonder where you stand with them. Oh, trust me, you’ll know. When they love you, they love you. Fierce love. And if you piss one of ‘em off, hoo boy. That’s fierce too.”
Almost against my will, I considered what it would be like to be loved by Kaitlyn. Loyal, I could definitely see that. Fierce…wasn’t the first word that came to mind, but I remembered our night at Bloom, how passionate she could be. Then there was the way she’d instantly been on my side the day CPS showed up. Yeah, I’d seen her fierceness too.
I swallowed the rest of my beer. I didn’t drink much these days, but I felt like a freshman again, needing a few beers to take the edge off my nerves.
“Their mom really screwed them up, though. Took forever for Cassie to actually trust me.”
“What happened with their mom?”
“Their dad walked out and she blamed Cassie and Kaitlyn for it. Then, when Cassie was in high school, she kicked her out for failing a bunch of classes. Kaitlyn stood up for her, and their mom turned on both of them. It’s a whole thing, they all haven’t talked in years. Needless to say, Momma Thorn ain’t invited to our wedding.”
I realized I knew nothing about Kaitlyn’s family. Not that it was integral for her position with me, but still. She’d never even mentioned her family in passing.
“I know Kaitlyn has the same big heart as Cassie. She’s going to make someone very happy someday.”
I narrowed my eyes at Scott. “Why are you telling me this? Kaitlyn is my employee.”
“Mm-hmm,” he replied, nodding and pursing his lips. “Right. And that’s all she is?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
I avoided looking at Scott because I knew he’d see right through me. Instead, I peered across the boat at the group of laughing, dancing people and let my eyes trail farther, to the woman sitting off to the side, watching the action and wearing a little smile.
Kaitlyn. Loyal, fierce Kaitlyn, the woman who was bringing my confident, adventurous daughter back to life. Yes, she was my employee. A damn good one.
And it was going to take everything in my power not to ask for anything more.