Chapter 32 Calliope
CALLIOPE
Stacey is watching Nick and I never told her when I’d be back, so there’s room for me to oblige, but the thought of being alone with Elijah right now feels like walking into the jaws of a lion.
What more could he say that I don’t already know? Betrayal is heavy in my gut, mingling with the hurt that I was already falling for him again just for him to do this and accuse me of stealing from a company I’ve put my heart and soul into.
I don’t want to even look at him.
But he’s hard to resist. Elijah stares at me with these big, earnest eyes and he clutches his hands together. “Please, Calliope. I can explain. It’s nothing like you think, I swear.”
“Oh, so I’m stupid? Unable to work it out by myself?”
“No! Not at all, it’s just… you don’t have all the pieces. Please… please let me explain.”
My gut says no and demands I kick him out of the car and drive home. Unfortunately, my gut isn’t in charge as my heart thaws ever so slightly to the pleading in his voice.
“Fine,” I say coldly. “You have five minutes.”
Elijah’s hotel might be the fanciest building I’ve walked through in my entire life. The floors gleam with polish, gold detailing wraps around ornate pillars reaching to the ceiling, and the elevator is definitely almost the size of my bathroom.
I have a really tiny bathroom, it seems.
We ride the elevator in silence up to the eight floor, then Elijah leads the way down the red carpeted hall to a door at the end where the numbers 818 decorate the wood in gold leaf.
“Fancy,” I murmur as he opens the door and ushers me inside.
Elijah doesn’t reply, likely wary that I’ll snap at him again, so as he disappears into a door just off the short hallway, I walk into the living room and stop dead.
The open plan lounge to my right is lowered into a cutout in the floor with several long couches and a fireplace that lights up with orange flame just as soft, cream lights sweep across the ceiling matching my movements.
It’s almost as if this room is alive. I walk a little further, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows that showcase the beautiful city lights as the world grows dark, and to my left is a large archway leading to a gigantic bed up on a platform and draped in blue blankets and a dress shirt Elijah must have left here.
My mind wanders. What would Nick’s life be like in this kind of world? Where money isn’t an issue?
I shake the thoughts free and wrap my arms around myself. It doesn’t do well to dwell.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Elijah’s voice rises behind me and I turn on the spot, ready to tell him to shove his drink and just tell me the truth, but he stands there barefoot, holding a box of hot chocolate mix, and something stops me.
Maybe a drink would be nice. “Fine. But if this is a stalling technique, know that I have to get back to Nick soon.”
“Not stalling,” Elijah replies quietly. “Merely trying to feel more human before we get into this.”
I grunt softly and turn back to the living room, eventually taking up a seat on one of the couches.
The cushions are soft and firm, hugging my ass and back in such a way that my anger starts to deplete in favor of comfort.
Maybe this is the real delaying tactic. I study the flames in the fireplace and quickly realize they’re fake, but the warmth is just as inviting as the real thing.
Elijah reappears five minutes later with two steaming mugs. He hands one to me, and I’m hit by the scent of chocolate and a slight drizzle of peppermint. As he sits across from me, I wrap my hands around the mug and soak up the warmth, then I fix him with a steady stare.
“Alright. You said you want to explain, then explain.” It’s hard not to launch back into a tirade of anger against him because the acidic curl of betrayal still lingers underneath my ribs, but I let him talk, favoring sips of my drink instead.
“You’re right,” he says quietly, balancing his elbows atop his knees and holding his cup between both hands.
“I did ask the lawyers to speak to you. And your name did come up in relation to the fraud we found. I can’t go into too much detail because that’s still an active legal case, but Buster found discrepancies between stock and profit, as if someone were using company funds to purchase stock and then pocketing the profits of the sales.
And when I brought this to the attention of Jimmy…
” He pauses briefly. “He fingered you. He said you were the only person with stock access to your department, the warehouse, and the stores. That you were in charge of orders and more. So for a brief moment, it did look like you were the one who would be doing this.”
My heart starts to pound. It never once crossed my mind to steal, but when he lays it out like that, it sounds like it’s something I and only I could do.
Of course Jimmy would immediately point the blame at me.
I’ve never given him a decent reason to fire me and he doesn’t want the responsibility of the website and everything else, so having me taken out by a crime? It writes itself.
“When I came to San Francisco, I came for you. Well… not you, initially, but your subscription service. Telling people I was here to check on my stock was a good cover because everyone knows how sensitive gem suppliers are. But I was here to see how the subscription was run, how you dealt with customers and managed your stock, how sturdy your model was, and if it would survive being duplicated and expanded.” Elijah sips his drink slowly and shakes his head as he licks away some froth from the corner of his lip.
“I’ve always been impressed by it and when I saw the inner workings?
It was a dream. In fact… I wanted your subscription service.
I thought I would have to bid for it, but Jimmy was happy for Amber Limited to absorb Angelic Jewels as long as he got a big paycheck and job security.
On paper, that seemed fine, but upon arrival, I saw his focus was more on the stores, and I have no interest in that. ”
As he talks, I drink slowly and savor the sweetness of the chocolate mingling with the bright rush of peppermint.
I had no idea he was that interested in my business, and thinking back to the phone call I overheard at New Year’s, it suddenly makes more sense.
Of course, all Jimmy would care about is lining his own pockets.
“I signed on the dotted line last week after a fight with Jimmy about the Valentine’s stock.
I could see him running what I wanted into the ground and I’d delayed enough.
I wanted to tell you but I was… I was worried it would make you run in the other direction.
And yes, when Jimmy pointed you out as the culprit, I did look into you.
But full disclosure? My lawyers are now working to clear you, not blame you.
I see your passion, Calliope. I see how much you love your work and I’ve seen the warmth in your life.
I ruled you out almost immediately, but legally, they need to test everyone.
I’m so sorry it made you feel targeted, and I was going to warn you and prepare you, but then…
” He sighs deeply, like air escaping a bottle.
“I was arrested and couldn’t. I trust you, Calliope.
I do. and I should have told you the truth from the beginning, but I was so…
” His hands tighten around his cup. “I was so caught up in finding you again that I didn’t want to rock the boat in any way.
You wanted to spend time with me, and I wanted that so badly.
I still do. I can feel myself falling for you so fast and I was desperately clutching at all the good moments.
But I swear to you.” He lifts his head. “I wasn’t using you to sleep with you or taking advantage of your kindness.
I love spending time with you. I swear my lawyers are only working to clear you ASAP so work can begin on our projects.
I’m sorry it made you feel like you were just being used. ”
He speaks with such a deep honesty that I don’t know what to say. Every word is carefully chosen and slow, like he’s putting great thought behind everything he’s saying.
Maybe I jumped the gun a little. As much as I felt those lawyer’s questions were targeting me as a culprit, they could just as easily clear me from any suspicion that only exists because my boss is a dick.
Hearing how much he enjoys spending time with me lifts my heart and for a moment, he’s not Elijah Baird, rich CEO and charming Elite.
He’s just Eli, the hot guy from the conference that I fell head over heels for at first sight.
“I…” The word catches in my throat, and Elijah’s brows twitch as if he expects another tongue-lashing.
“I don’t know what to say. It did… it really did feel like I was being set up and you were just using me.
But listening to everything, I think I have to admit that my…
my fear that it was the truth overruled everything else.
I was so hurt, Elijah. You didn’t call or text me back and then I was dragged into an office with a scary lawyer who threw all these questions at me like I was a criminal.
Everything was fitting into a fear and I may have… let it get ahead of me.”
“I can’t blame you.” His voice remains soft and he looks toward the fireplace. “I can’t even blame Imogen because I should have told you the moment I signed the deal. But I was scared too.” He laughs softly, betraying his own nerves. “It’s so silly, but at the same time, it’s terrifying.”
“Did you… mean what you said?” I ask cautiously. “That you’re falling for me?”
Elijah’s eyes remain on the flames for a few seconds longer, then he looks toward me. “Will it change things between us if it’s true?”
My heart begins to race. “Maybe.”
“I don’t know if I want that,” he admits. “But at the same time, it’s out of my control.”
“How so?” This is a dangerous path to lead, considering Elijah’s beating himself up for not telling me the truth and meanwhile, I’m sitting on a secret bigger than both of those.
Nick.
Will Elijah be as forgiving when we finds out the truth?
“Because I don’t want to lose this.” He sets his cup down and loosely laces his fingers together.
“It’s selfish, I know. Back then, I didn’t know what age you were, only that you were old enough.
Back then, I was young and stupid. Not an excuse, but you were the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and when you approached me, I felt like I was in a dream.
I feel like I’m back in that dream but…”
“But?” I tilt my head.
“But I’m your boss now. And not just a manager.
The acquisition makes me CEO of Angelic Jewels with Jimmy demoted to CCO.
A relationship between us could put the entire company in jeopardy, so I admit I was delaying signing because I was trying to find a way that kept us both safe.
And then Jimmy was being such a cunt and I was tired of watching him destroy something I knew was good so I signed, and now…
” He lifts one hand and runs it through his hair.
“Now I’ve put us both in this terrible, terrible position because I think I’m falling in love with you and I don’t want to let that go.
” A tired, weak laugh escapes him. “I’m a selfish man, Calliope. A selfish, selfish man.”
He is.
But he’s falling in love with me.
I can’t count how often I dreamed of him turning up on my doorstep while I was pregnant and telling me he was in love with me. Even after Nick was born, I dreamed of him leaving his then-wife to be with me. Fantasies built on only half the information, but the core desire remained the same.
And it lingers now.
Anger dissipates within me like fog as I set my cup down and stand. I reach him in a few steps and stand in front of him, waiting for him to lift his head.
Elijah remains staring down for a few long seconds, then he slowly looks up at me.
I don’t have a plan.
I don’t know if this will work out or if I’m signing the end of my life as I know it.
But I do know in this moment that I feel the same about one thing. I’m falling for him and I’m just as selfish as he is.
Cradling his face with both my hands, I stroke my fingers over his cheeks and stare deep into his eyes as I slowly lean down. “Be selfish,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “Just this once… be selfish.”
I’m not sure if I’m talking to him or myself, but it hardly matters. A second later, our lips gently collide and my mind goes blank.