Chapter 49
JETT
The beer bottle in Dex’s hand thuds against the table as he sets it down.
I’ve been busy at work, trying to get caught up with things back in the office, while half-heartedly looking for a new nanny. I’ve been slammed with urgent and important tasks and back-to-back meetings. I slacked off more than I should have in Bermuda and I’m paying the price for it, but I’d do it all again if I had the chance.
Despite this craziness, I can’t help thinking about Bermuda and everything we had there. Fun, laughter, togetherness—the things Brooke longed for. But it was also the start of something special with Cari.
I haven’t been in the office much since that smoldering kiss with my little shortcake, but Cari’s sudden aloofness hasn’t gone unnoticed. I plan to see her later tonight—a surprise appearance at her apartment, because we clearly need to talk and the office is not suitable for that conversation.
Dex leans back in his chair, giving me a look that’s all-knowing and too casual for my liking. I've just finished telling Dex everything about the arranged marriage deal with the Brazilian heiress.
“Damn, bro. That sucks.” He drags a hand through his dark hair.
“Understatement of the year.” I swirl the whiskey in my glass.
Zach slides into the booth, raising a brow. “What sucks?”
“Nothing,” I snap.
“Bullshit,” Zach counters, his eyes flicking between Dex and me. “What are you two hiding?”
Dex smirks, sipping his beer, but I shoot him a glare that screams drop it. The last thing I need is for Zach to hear about the arranged marriage from me. He’ll hear it from our father soon enough, and I don’t have the energy to repeat this all over again.
The silence stretches, heavy with unspoken words, until Zach shifts, restless. “Fine. Keep your secrets. But you know we’ve got another family dinner in a few days, right?”
“Joy,” I deadpan, tipping my glass back. It falls on the same day that Cari is leaving.
“Don’t act like you’re not going,” Zach says. “You know Dad will guilt-trip the hell out of us if we miss it.”
Dex chuckles. “Let’s take bets on how long it takes before he brings up the future of the empire.”
Zach shakes his head. “I’m putting money on five minutes in.”
I grunt, already feeling the oppression of that forced family dinner. Our father’s obsession with control knows no bounds.
“I don’t want to be there,” I groan. Coming from paradise, where time seemed to stop and I didn’t have to deal with my father’s bullshit, to this—it’s unnerving. Unsettling. And it's even worse because Cari and I are still an unfinished chapter.
My father made sure of that by showing up unannounced.
Even here, I haven’t been able to get her to myself. She leaves after the weekend. Monday is her last day. I should have let her leave now, instead of making her work her full notice, but I need whatever time I can get with her. I have so many questions. So much I need to say.
I have a short list of potential nannies to interview, but I doubt she’ll have the time to help. She’s drowning in loose ends at work.
“You sure your assistant can help out until I get a new one?” I ask Dex. As of Wednesday, I won’t have one, and I haven’t had time to even think about interviews.
I’d planned to have Cari help me sort it all out, but we’ve both been swamped. And she’s been avoiding me.
Dex nods. “Kirsty’s fine with it.”
“Yeah, Cari’s leaving soon, isn’t she?” Zach chimes in. “Raeanne was talking about it with the others.”
I flinch involuntarily. Of course, office gossip has spread and all the assistants would be talking about it. Looking at it now, dragging Cari on vacation with me probably raised some red flags. But I hadn’t cared at the time. I’d been desperate after Anna quit and had no one else to turn to.
It was the best thing that ever could have happened.
My chest tightens, warmth spreading through me as I recall the memories forever etched in my heart. I got something priceless.
Cari.
And now I’m desperate to see her, to fix whatever it is that’s bothering her.
“Why’s she leaving?” Zach asks.
Dex chokes on his drink.
“What?” Zach looks between us, his brow furrowed. “Why am I always the last to know? What’s going on?”
“Fuck me,” I mutter, swiping a hand down my face.
“What?” Zach repeats, more annoyed this time.
Dex glances at me, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face as he lifts his beer bottle. “Tell him. Just put him out of his misery already.”
Dex and I haven’t spoken about it. He hasn’t, much to my surprise—and relief—mentioned catching Cari and me almost red-handed after our kiss. But he knows. He’s not stupid.
“He’s in love,” Dex declares, rolling his eyes.
“You’re what?” Zach’s voice pitches higher.
“I wouldn’t go so far as that,” I snap. I hate Dex for making assumptions about something I haven’t even admitted to Cari yet.
“You are in love, brother.” Dex leans forward, eyes blazing. “Call it what it is. And this is different.” He jabs a thick finger at me. “You know it’s different. I was just wondering when the fuck you were going to admit it.”
“You knew?” Zach complains, throwing up his hands. “You guys—”
Dex raises his hand, cutting him off. “I didn’t know, but I walked in on him and Cari smooching. She looked how I’ve left plenty of women before—bee-stung lips, red face, shiny eyes.” He smirks. “She’s mad for you, brother. She's got it bad.”
Dex’s words settle the prickling unease in my chest. I needed to hear that. Between Cari’s coldness, my father’s reminder of the Brazilian alliance, and the chaos of work, I hadn’t had time to think straight.
But Dex is right.
She has feelings for me.
And damn it—I love her. I love that woman with all my heart.
“Cari? Your assistant?” Zach’s disbelief is almost comical. “You and her?”
“Three weeks in Bermuda,” Dex adds with a wink. “No wonder he wasn’t on his A game.”
“Fuck you,” I growl, downing my whiskey in one go and motioning for the waiter.
“But she’s leaving.” Zach still looks dumbfounded.
“She is,” I admit.
“Is she pregnant?” he asks, wide-eyed.
“Shut the fuck up,” Dex snaps at Zach. His head whips toward me. “Tell me she’s not.”
“She’s not pregnant,” I grind out, teeth clenched. “She resigned before we left,” I add quietly.
“Are you going to let her leave?” Dex asks, his tone sharp.
“I’m not holding her prisoner.” I pause, exhaling heavily. “But we’re going to figure this out. Her working for me wouldn’t be a good idea now.”
“You and Cari are sleeping together?” Zach blurts out.
I level a hard stare at him.
Dex chuckles. “Oh, I’m sure they’ve fucked each other’s brains out—”
“Shut the fuck up. Don't ever talk about us like that.” I snarl, cutting him off.
Dex leans back, affronted. “You’re in love with her, brother,” he says quietly. “It’s written all over you. You look fucking miserable.”
“I am miserable,” I admit, pinching the bridge of my nose. “She’s gone cold on me. And the old man…” My voice trails off as my father’s looming expectations sit on my shoulders, heavy like bricks. “He’s still pushing for me to marry the heiress.”
“What heiress?” Zach asks.
“Fuck.” I shake my head. “You tell him, Dex. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion the old man’s going to bring it up at the family dinner.”
And if that’s the case, I need to get my ducks in a row.
Cari’s too.
***
Later, I stand outside her apartment, the city buzzing around me. Cari opens the door, her expression guarded. Her walls are already up, and I haven’t even said a word.
She steps aside to let me in, her arms crossing defensively as she leans against the kitchen counter. “What are you doing here, Jett?”
“I needed to see you. I’ve been out of the office and I miss seeing you,” I say, moving closer. Her eyes retain the glimmer of hardness, and she doesn’t back down.
“Well, you’ve seen me. Now what?”
Her cold tone cuts, but I push forward. “What’s wrong?” Has she forgotten our kiss from the other day? I sure haven’t.
“Nothing.”
I lean in and try to put my arms around her to kiss her, but she moves back and out of my reach. It’s like this, is it? “Don’t lie to me, Cari. Tell me what’s bothering you. Or who’s bothering you.”
She looks away, her fingers tightening on the edge of the counter. “I’m leaving, Jett. It’s probably best if we leave what happened in Bermuda there. In the past, in our memories.”
She just sucker punched me with her words. “Just like that?” I manage to say, feeling winded.
Her gaze locks on mine, and I can see the conflict swirling there, but she holds firm. “We’re back in the real world now. We have to face reality.”
“We are.” I try to reach for her hand again, but she pulls away.
“Please don't make this any harder than it already is,” she begs.
My chest tightens, frustration bubbling to the surface. “You’re breaking up with me?”
Her voice wavers, but her stance is resolute. “I don’t know. How can we break up if we were never really together? We never talked about what we were in Bermuda.”
I scrub a hand across my neck, exasperation making me see red. She seems different, more resolute and determined than ever. “Because we never got the chance to. Had my father not turned up—”
“But he did, and he made me see something. I don’t fit into your world.”
“The hell you don’t,” I snap. “What’s happened?” I move towards her. “You kissed me just the other day like we belonged together.”
“What happened in Bermuda was ... special, but it won’t work here. We have to be pragmatic.”
“Pragmatic? This isn’t a business deal, Cari. This is us. This is—”
“It’s sex,” she says, wearily. “We had feelings for each other, and we acted on them—”
It’s sex? She sounds like a different person. “We made love. Lots of love in the heat of the It’s sex? night. We have a connection, you and I, and we finally got to be together after all those months and years of wanting to be.”
Her mouth falls open, just slightly. And then she closes it again. “It won't be enough.”
I’m confused. “Enough? I’ll get you anything you want, name it.” Someone’s put things in her head, because this isn’t my Cari. My shortcake. “It's more than I dreamed of. It's more than I ever thought I'd get to have again. Someone who understands me like you do.”
“It's sex, Jett. We both had feelings for one another, and we got to fulfil them.”
“What are you saying?” I cannot believe my fucking ears.
“I'm saying, we had a great time and we should move on.”
I shake my head. “You don't mean that.”
“I do. It's for the best.”
I step closer, my jaw tight. “You don’t mean that.”
Her eyes glisten, but she doesn’t falter. “I do.”
“Has something happened? Did someone say something to you?” Her silence speaks volumes, and I feel the pieces clicking into place. “It was him, wasn’t it? My father.”
She looks down momentarily, and that tells me all I need to know.
“What did he say to you, Cari? Tell me.”
“Tell me the truth, Jett,” she counters, her voice losing its steadiness. “Did you know about the Brazilian heiress before we went to Bermuda?”
Fuck. That old man has spoken to her, and he’s messed with her head. It all makes sense now, Cari being like this. Her question presses down on me and I hesitate. “Yes, but—”
“That’s it. A simple yes or no. That’s all I needed.”
“It’s not what you think. You need context—”
“No.” She cuts me off. “What I need is honesty. That’s it.”
“That son of a bitch.” Rage boils inside me. That man will do whatever it takes to keep his legacy safe. He doesn’t care for people, for emotions and feelings. I should know that because of what he did to my mother. Yet, somehow, we’ve all kept going—living under his rules, working for him, in the family business, needing and wanting the money. But it comes at a price. And now the price is too high to pay. I don’t want this. I won’t let him dictate who I love and how I live, but I’ve also fucked up big-time. I should have told Cari about this. It’s not just my father’s fault. I’m to blame as well. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before, but … the truth is, I’m not interested—”
“You can’t keep something like that from me, Jett. I don’t even know if I believe you.”
I shake my head, my heart splintering at the thought of her leaving me, not believing me. “I have no intention of marrying a woman I barely know. He said I needed a wife and Brooke needed a mother, but my relationships aren’t transactional.”
Cari’s expression is unreadable, but I see the hurt lurking beneath the surface. She folds her arms, her voice soft but resolute. “I think it’s best if you go.”
She hasn’t heard me. She’s not listening to me. She’s already decided she can’t trust me. A hollow ache fills my chest. “Is that what you really want?”
“It’s what’s right,” she whispers, and for the first time, I see the cracks in her armor.
I grab my briefcase, heading for the door, my head ready to explode in anger. Cari stares at me in silence, and I know. “He told you not to say anything to me, didn't he?”
She remains impassive. “He made you think that you and I don't belong together, because he has some fucking plan for his legacy. Of who we should marry, of how to preserve and keep the bloodline going. Whatever the fuck that means.” She still doesn’t answer. “This isn’t over, Cari,” I growl, as I leave.
Paul Knight getting the better of me? The fuck I’m going to let him.