9. Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Malcolm
“ O h, excuse me. That's my phone.” Clare says apologetically.
I wave her off. “That’s fine. Go ahead and answer it.” We’re almost finished eating our lunch. The waitress thinks that we're on a date. She keeps referring to us as, ‘you two’, and neither of us have bothered to correct her.
“It’s just my da checking up on me.” She explains.
“That’s fair” I frown. “Does he know where you are and who you're with?”
She nods as she types in a message. “Aye. He was reluctant at first, but I reminded him how good you are.”
I feel my face heat.
She glances up and sees it. “Oh, I mean...you as a company.” She clarifies, almost bashfully.
I wave again, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Of course that's what you meant.”
With a smile, she sets her phone back down on the table. “To be truthful, Malcolm, I wasn't sure if you would agree to meeting with me. I know that the way you and I ended was quite unsavory.”
“It was for my Uncle Dougall, as I've mentioned. I suppose that in business, one of the most difficult lessons to learn is to set your personal life aside for business. This is a test.”
“Well, I'm glad that we've both evolved. I'm not the person that I was when we were together, Malcolm. I went through a lot in the last few years, actually. Nothing that I want to get into here, unfortunately. But I believe that people come into your life for a purpose. When we were together, I was a spoiled brat, and I know it. But part of that was fear. I didn't know that at the time, of course. And if I had known then what I know now, I would have ended things a lot sooner, and I wouldn’t have waited until we were both so miserable, and for you to end it. I know that that could not have been easy for you. I just wanted to get that out into the open, so that we can move on.”
Something doesn't add up. “Then why the affair with Rush?” I challenge.
She shrugs. “That was a mistake. And one that I'm still paying for.”
My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“I can tell you soon, but not now. There are a few things that I need to figure out first. I know that that doesn't make any sense right now, but trust me, you'll understand when it's time.”
At first, I was starting to feel forgiveness for Clare for her past wrongdoings, but her elusiveness is proving to me that she hasn't changed one bit. She's still a drama queen. Only, now she's slicker about it. Half of me wants to pull out of this business deal that's pending. But a small word of warning to my uncle should fix that. Besides, whatever secrets she's hiding will soon come out, once I get word back to our security team. They'll be able to dig up what she's hiding, and if it will hurt us.
And it's like she's reading my mind. “It has nothing to do with the business, I assure you.”
That's a lie if I've ever heard one. Clare, while slightly less transparent, still holds her cards a little too far from her own face. I make a mental note to have a conversation with Rush and find out what his side of the story is. “I’m sure.” I say, concealing the doubt in my voice by clearing my throat, covering my mouth with a fisted hand. Clare doesn’t pick up on it.
“Anyway, I look forward to doing business with you. Do you feel like I can be your client, or would you rather me deal with Caleb or Ethan, or maybe even Maverick?”
My grin is sly. “How about my Uncle Dougall? Since he likes you so much.” I wink, but I’m thinking that would be the perfect karma for him, since he wanted this account so badly.
Clare finds the humor in that as well. “I’m sure my da’s millions pale in comparison to some of your top clients, Malcolm. Your Uncle Dougall would laugh in my face. I’m surprised that he was so adamant about taking on our account.”
“You’re being modest. I’ve seen your numbers, Clare. You’re in the billions.” I tell her, wondering why she’d even think that I wouldn’t know that. Fool.
Now it’s her turn to wave. She was kidding. Thank God. I was about to stand up and point at her and shout ‘fake!’. Well, not really, but I'm feeling more and more like I’m being played the longer that I sit here with her. Good call on breaking up with her years ago. The more things change the more they remain the same. And for the life of me, I can’t seem to figure out what Rush ever saw in her. Then I remember that I saw some redeeming qualities in her when we first met, too. Her true colors weren’t revealed until much later. When it was too late.
The waitress asks us if we want dessert, and we both look at each other and decline, since we’re both full already. “Maybe we’ll take a rain check?” Clare offers. “This was fun. Unless...well, it’s none of my business...but I didn’t know if this lunch meeting would cause you any problems...personally speaking, that is.”
She’s asking me in a roundabout way if I’m spoken for. I decide that now is the time to set the record straight. “Clare, regardless of my personal life, this is business and will only ever be business.” My tone is slightly clipped, and she picks up on that.
“Certainly.” She nods once, indicating that she understands. “Well, thank you for lunch, Malcolm. It was very nice to catch up with you.”
I tip my head slightly, amicably, and add warmth, but not too much. “Likewise.”
“Well?” Declan says, the second that he sees me enter the office. I’m soaked from head to toe from the rain. I just give him a look and head to my office, so that I can change clothes before my meeting in thirty minutes.
“Uh oh.” He says, almost teasingly, following me.
“Where’s Rush?” I ask, all but stomping to my office.
“I think he’s in with my da, why?”
“I need to speak with him.” I look at Declan. “In private.”
He raises his hands in defense. “Fine, dude. What’s crawled up your ass?”
“I’m soaked, and I need to talk to my brother.”
“I take it lunch didn’t go well. Should I tell my da that the deal is off?”
My gaze shoots to him as I arrive at my office door. “I’ll take care of it, thank you. And I never said anything about the deal being off, so keep your mouth shut to your da. I’ll speak to him after I speak to Rush.”
“Why are you so pissed at Rush?”
I stand in the doorway so that he can’t follow me inside my office. “Like I said, Declan, it’s none of your fucking business.” I shut the door in his face and change clothes quickly, just as I hear a tap at the door. “Come in.” I say with an exasperated sigh.
While I’m expecting it to be Declan, trying to nose his way around some more, I’m surprised to see that it’s Rush. “Declan said that you’re pissed at me?” He asks, confused.
As I gesture with my hand for him to take a seat, I wonder if he already knows. “Has word gotten around?”
“I was in a meeting, man. Shit’s about to hit the fan with one of our Swedish clients.”
I’m suddenly interested. “Oh yeah? So, you didn’t hear then.”
He’s frustrated as he rakes a hand through his hair. “What’s the problem, Malcolm? I don’t have time for games today. Uncle Dougall is going to ream my ass for this one. And the worst part of it is that they wouldn’t stick around with this fucking hurricane on its way. I even offered to charter our private jet so that they could get home safely before it hit, but they all but told me to fuckoff.”
He really doesn’t know. “Shit.” I decide the only way to deal with this is quick, like a band aid. “Dougall wants me to get Clare and Angus Mackenzie’s account.”
His eyes don’t reach mine. Instead, he lowers his head, scraping his hands through his hair, and growls. “Fuuuuuck!”
“Take it easy, man.” I pat him on the back. “You knew Uncle Dougall had a hard-on for that family. Why do you think he wanted me to marry Clare so fucking badly. He’s promised to remove Farley Watson from my roster if I get the Mackenzies to sign a contract with us.”
He lifts his head and slides a hand down his reddened face. “You know, sometimes I wonder if this fucking life-size game of chess is really worth it.”
“Are you saying that you want out?” I check.
“Aye, sometimes, I do. But then the bastard comes and redeems himself in some way. I don’t know how he does it. He’s a son of a bitch, but he sure knows how to get under your skin, and then how to smooth it over.”
I come out with it. “Were you ever going to tell me about Clare?”
He shakes his head, staring at the floor, whimsically. “At first, I thought it was best just to come out with it, before things got serious. But then she dumped me, and I didn’t even want to speak her name.”
“I get it.” I concede, understanding him. “She gets under your skin.”
“What I don’t get is why Dougall wanted you to marry her, and not me, since I know damn well that he knew I was fucking her.”
My brows furrow. “You mean...it happened more than once?”
He looks at me. “Isn’t that what she told you?”
My chuckle is mirthless. “She told me it was a one-time fling, man.” I shake my head. “What a lying bitch. I knew it.”
Rush purses his lips together. “I ended it a few weeks ago. We’ve been on again and off again since you two split up.”
Laughing mirthlessly, I sit down, still shaking my head. “I can’t believe her. Clearly nothing has changed.” I motion to him. “And why didn’t you tell me? Shit, I made an ass of myself. She nearly sucked me back in, man.”
“Like I said, I ended it.”
Now I’m pissed. Both at him and at her. “And why, pray tell, did you finally end it?”
“I just...did. We couldn’t work things out between us.”
“How the fuck did you keep this from Dougall? Or did he know?”
“He didn’t know. We only were ever together in Scotland. While she was there, mostly. And she was never at my place. I was only ever at hers. Her da didn’t even know about it. Nobody did.”
“And you didn’t think about that at all? The fact that you knew how much of a hard-on Dougall had for that account? And the fact that he wanted me to marry her? What were you thinking? I know she wasn’t that great a piece of ass.” My voice is direct, and my voice is raised an octave.
He raises a hand, face set like stone. “Look, I thought that we had something, but then she’d string me along and dump me again. I was like a lost fucking puppy with her. So, I finally ended it. I’d had enough of her dicking me around and playing me for the fool.”
“So, now that she’s agreed to a contract with us, how the fuck do you think that’s going to work? Jesus, Rush. You need to tell Dougall this whole fucking story. And I don’t know what that manipulative bitch has up her sleeve, but I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”
“I get it. I get it.” He repeats. “I figured Dougall had lost his hard-on for that account. That’s why I didn’t say anything. No offence, man, but it’s tiring having the family know every fucking move you make. I didn’t think it was any of his business.”
I’m facetious and annoyed. “I get that, seeing as you didn’t think that it was any of my fucking business, either.”
“Brother, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. At first, we were just fucking around. We were like fuck buddies, you know? She’d call me when she was going to be in Scotland, and I’d follow her, like a fucking puppy. We’d spend weekends together and shit, and next thing I know she’s acting like we’re getting serious. Then she wouldn’t call me for weeks, and then she’d call and apologize, and we’d be back on again.”
“But, I don’t get it, Rush. I mean, us Harris boys, not to sound like my head’s bigger than my britches, but we can get any lass we want. Why didn’t you just move on?”
“Like you did?” He asks, but his tone is cutting. “Just look at you, Malcolm. You’ve been fucking around here and there from what I can tell. But this Steph lass, I don’t know, man.”
“What don’t you know?” I prompt, feeling my fist ball up.
He catches the motion and raises a hand. “Take it easy, okay? I just meant that you’re all fucked up from so-called ‘moving on’.”
“What are you suggesting? That I should have married the high maintenance, manipulative bitch, who seems to have given you just as bad a treatment?”
He pushes his fingers out, halting me. “No. What I mean is that you seem to attract lasses that are totally fucked up. I know this firsthand, since I fucked around with one of them for so long.”
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, Rush. At least I wasn’t keeping secrets. At least I was staying true to myself and to the family. Which is more than I can say for you.”
“Malcolm, I didn’t come here to start a fight, man.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me! I made a complete ass out of myself today! She thinks that she totally snowed me over! At least if I had known about you two, I would have had some shred of dignity! Now I just look like a fucking fool thanks to you!”
“I’m sorry.” He says angrily. “I can’t take it back, Malcolm. What’s done is done. I told you I ended it with her, and now you know everything, so let’s move on. You know what’s going to happen if Uncle Dougall catches us fighting over a fucking lass, right?”
“A lass that is signing over her da’s billions to us. I think Dougall will be okay with us working this shit out. You’re just too much of a fucking pussy, Rush.” I say through gritted teeth.
“You think I’m a pussy?” He points to himself, voice laced with ire. “At least I did something for myself, not for this godforsaken company. You...you’re so far up Dougall’s ass, he’s shitting through your fucking mouth!”
That does it. I crush my body against his, so we’re chest to chest. “You son of a bitch! At least I’m not lying to my family for tail! At least I’m not stabbing my brother in the back, you asshole! I’d never do that to you! What the fuck did I ever do to deserve this!” I push him and he pushes himself back to me. Lifting my fist, I go to punch him in the face, but he ducks, and that’s when Uncle Dougall enters the room, like he’s got fucking feelers on for when us lads fight.
“Okay, lads, out with it!” Dougall says, standing between us. Declan is in his wake. I’m guessing that Declan tipped him off, letting him know about our meeting that could turn heated.
It's not that Dougall is any more imposing than any of us. He's just as tall and just as built as we are, being Scots, but it's his glare. The look in his eyes says that he will kill you just with one glance. The man could disarm a warrior with little effort. But that being said, both Rush and I are very passionate lads. We still try to dodge our uncle and our cousin, in an attempt to take a round out of each other. “What is it that you two are fighting about? Let me guess, a lass?”
While our uncle is accurate in his assumption, it isn't quite what he thinks. “Go ahead, Rush! Tell him!”
Declan, as pleased as punch, folds his arms over his chest, waiting to hear the story. Slightly deflated, my brother takes a step back and straightens his shirt. But I don't give him a chance to speak. “Go ahead and tell Uncle Dougall what you've been doing for the last few years.”
He buys time, straightening his shirt further. And I grow more annoyed. “Go ahead and tell him how you've been fucking around with Clare Mackenzie!”
Impressed, Declan frowns, and nods. It takes everything in me not to throw a punch at him, too. I continue. “You know? The lass that I just had lunch with? The lass that I've potentially signed a deal with? The lass that I was in love with three years ago, and you knew full well?”
I'm almost impressed by the look on Dougall’s face. Seldom does anything shock him, but it's shock that I see on his face, if I’ve never seen it before. “Is this true, Rush?”
There. Eat that . “He’s been fucking her in Scotland, in secret. But don't worry, she's just as much as a foul-mouthed liar as he is. She told me it was just a one-time fling, the bitch. Cutting her off was the smartest thing that I ever did. You were a fool for falling for her antics, you idiot.” I seethe.
“And you are the idiot that signed her.” He spits back.
That's when Dougall intervenes. “You’re both fools. The lass outsmarted the two of you.”
Rush gives him a sideways glance. “And you're not at all worried about taking on a venomous bitch like that for business?”
Dougall smiles too sweetly, eyes slit. “I think I like the lass even more, actually. In fact, I'd like to hire her.”
Rush and I both look at our uncle. Our jaws are on the floor. “Are you crazy?” I squeak.
“I've never been so serious, lads. That's one thing that we do not have on our staff, aside from your Auntie, and that's a smart woman. She's out to get what she wants, and as sure as the nose on my face, she gets it.”
“We have plenty of lasses on staff.” Rush counters.
“Not like that, lad.”
I'm really annoyed. I thought that Dougall would eat him for lunch. “So you're not pissed that he deceived you? And worse, that he didn't marry her? You were so hell bent on me putting a ring on her finger, so why is he any different?”
“Do you want to marry her, after all? Is that what this is about?”
My face sours, like I just ate a lemon. “God, no. But, aren't you pissed that Rush didn't marry her?”
“Well, she and her da are coming in to sign a contract. That's all I wanted.”
I’m so pissed. “And you don’t give a damn that he lied to you?” I shout.
He pushes his hands onto my shoulders and talks through his teeth. “Listen, I'll be the judge of when I’m pissed off, and I’ll deal with your brother, lad. You just keep your dick where it belongs and keep your mouth shut! You do anything to jeopardize this deal with the Mackenzies and you’ll wish that you weren’t born, got it?!”
My eyes bulge. “Aye, sir.”
He pats my shoulder, face relaxed. “Good. Now. Let’s get back to business. When Clare and her da come in to sign, Malcolm, I want you to deal with them. I want her to feel right at home, doing what she’s comfortable doing. If she wants to do anything, no matter how ridiculous, you do it. Understand?”
“Aye, sir.” I repeat, stunned.
“Good.” He pats me again, pleased. Never in my life have I been more confused. Dougall follows Declan out the door and Rush and I stand there, staring at each other.
“Fuck, he’s good.” Rush says finally. “You see what he did there?”
It takes me a moment to realize how strategic the man is. He diffused a fight without effort. He removed the anger between us and set us both straight. He also reversed some of the ill opinion we have of Clare, and he did this all with grace and dignity. “Aye. He knows what he’s doing, that’s for sure.”
That's when Uncle Dougall sticks his head back in again. “And this storm?”
“Aye?” I say.
“Make sure your staff know the protocol, hm?”
“Aye.” Rush states.
“Good.” He frowns. “I’m heading back to Scotland with your Auntie before it hits. Call me when it passes, or if you need me.”
“Will do.” I nod.
When he closes the door again, which Rush and I agree that he just came back to ensure that we weren’t fighting again, since everyone knows the weather protocols here, Rush says to me. “So, what are you going to do about Clare? Are you going to tell her that you know the truth?”
I scoff. “You heard Uncle Dougall. If I confront her, I could face her ripping up the contract and walking away, and then he’ll have my balls for sure.” I tip my chin at him. “And what are you going to do if you see the bitch around here? Do you think Uncle Dougall was serious? That he’d hire her?”
“Don’t be a fool, Malcolm.” He tuts. “She’d never leave her da’s business. And as for seeing her here, she already knows that we’re finished. I’ll go my way and she’ll go hers. It’s simple.”
“So, what are you going to do? Are you heading home to work remotely, as per hurricane policy?”
“What are you going to do? What about keeping watch over Steph?”
“I think I’ll leave Rory to that. She’s more than I can handle, frankly.”
“Are you sure? I mean, you did fuck Clare before me.” He teases. Then he sees my face and takes a step back. “Too early?”
I feel my lip curl into a snarl. “A tad.”
When I head home to work remotely, I wake up the next day, and I find myself a little surprise at my front door.