Chapter 17
Caleb
Because of storms inDallas, the trip to New York took me twice as long as usual, leaving me plenty of time to mull over the progression of things with Aneka—from our comfortable dinners to the conversation I overheard with her having with her ex.
We landed at LaGuardia, and I followed Jeni off the plane to the car waiting to whisk me into midtown.
Even on hearing one side of the conversation, my bullshit meter was on high alert.
He’d clearly asked to delay the divorce because he was going through rough time, and his girlfriend had dumped him. Or he could have dumped her.
But I doubted it.
I’d seen it a thousand times.
Men dump their reliable wives to chase some young, seductive woman. It’s all exciting until life gets real. The woman bails. The guy slinks back to his wife, expecting the comforts of home.
I could smell it, and I hadn’t even met him.
Unless my suspicion was just the green monster who’d taken up residence on my shoulder, cursing every time a thought of Elijah Shaw popped into my head.
I shouldn’t be jealous.
Aneka gave me no reason to be, and the divorce was imminent. She insisted on it and was making plans to stay in Bliss and get her own place. I had everything I could want.
Fuck, Elijah Shaw.
Men were jealous of me. Not the other way around.
I had been on the cover of Forbes. And Fortune. And Time.
But he had Aneka’s memories. Her children. And, at one point, her loyalty.
Seeing vestiges of all of it in her sadness and worry twisted me up.
I pursed my lips and huffed silently.
“What’s got you in a sour mood?” Jeni asked.
I looked up from the papers I was pretending to read. “Nothing. We have a lot going on. I wasn’t happy with Pedro’s proposal for the new manufacturing facility. I think we should build it closer to home. Tennessee makes sense. We can have the shipping hub in Memphis.”
Pedro Delgado was an old friend from college who helped orchestrate his company’s buyout of mine. Even though that deal was done, I still sat on the board.
“Overseas is cheaper,” Jeni argued.
“Is it?”
“We’ll review the numbers again,” she mumbled.
“We should spread our risk. It takes so long to bring a factory online. Building one here now while we have the capital can save us a lot of supply chain trouble down the road.”
“That’s what’s bothering you? Supply chains?” Jeni lifted her brows over the top of her reading glasses.
I didn’t answer.
“We could stay in town another couple of days to iron this out,” she suggested.
“No. I want to get back.”
“What’s the rush? Pedro—”
“No. We can do the meetings remotely. It’s not a problem,” I answered.
“Or here. Face to face. If you’re concerned.”
My eyes narrowed at her smug expression. “I’m not worried about the damned factory. Okay? I admit it.”
Her green eyes popped wide with innocence. “So what’s the problem?”
“Leave me alone. Let me be grumpy.”
She laughed. “I’ve never seen you like this. It’s fun.”
“You like me miserable? Nice. I’ll remember you said that when it’s bonus time at the end of the year.”
I knew nothing got to Jeni like messing with her money.
“My bonus is contractual,” she mused. “I’m not worried. And you’re not miserable. You’re smitten. And it’s so much fun.”
Her laughter echoed above the din of horns blasting in Manhattan traffic. I could see flickers of amusement in my driver’s eyes reflecting in the rearview mirror. Carl had driven me around New York for six years. No doubt, he also thought my love life was hilarious.
I sighed. “It’s too soon to say shit like that. Her divorce is still in the works. I’m probably being an idiot getting in this deep so fast.”
Admitting as much out loud felt better and worse at the same time.
“Love isn’t always smart.”
“But I am. I don’t do stuff like this,” I complained, ignoring her use of the “L” word.
“No. You don’t. Neither does she.”
“You’ve met her once.”
“Twice. I ran into her at the bakery once. She and her Natalie had their heads together giggling, and when they saw me, they stopped, straightened up, and pretended to be talking about something else. Your name was lingering in the air so bad I could practically smell your cologne.”
Satisfaction curled my lips into a grin. “Really.”
Jeni cackled. “You two are like teenagers.”
“Except we’re not. That was a long time ago.”
“But you have history. That’s why I don’t think you’re rushing. Have a little fun. Neither of you is going to do some crazy thing, and even if you did, you’re almost fifty. Live a little.”
I rolled my eyes at my thirty-four-year-old assistant’s assessment. “You make us sound like we’ve got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.”
“No. I mean you’re grown adults. You can handle complications,” she answered with her best diplomacy.
“We can. I’m not sure about her ex, though. I have a bad feeling.”
“I saw the way Aneka looks at you. You don’t need to worry about her ex,” Jeni assured me.
“The way she looks at me isn’t the point. He’s family, and he always will be. I think he’s the type to use that to get what he wants. I have a feeling he wants her back.”
I kept thinking about what she’d said. She wanted to stay together for the kids and to maintain her life. If she hadn’t caught him having one more affair, they might still be together. And now he had health problems. What if he got gravely ill? Would Aneka feel like she owed him? He was the father of her children.
The green monster chirped in my ear again.
Being a parent was a bond I’d never wanted with anyone, but Aneka had that with Elijah. She’d do anything for them, missed doing things for them. Did that include giving their dad a second chance?
I felt foolish even thinking the question. She made her feelings clear.
I was panicking over nothing.
Jeni rushed in to tell me I was being as silly as I figured I was.
“Please. After the way he’s humiliated her? Plus, I heard—” She started, but snapped her mouth shut. “Never mind. I know the last thing Aneka wants is more gossip.”
I jerked my chin back. “What gossip could you have?”
“You know Jim’s wife Felicia is on the board of that church.”
“Really? I didn’t know.” They were both from Houston, but I hadn’t made the connection.
“Pedro’s admin only mentioned it because when I was scheduling our calls, she said Felicia was going to be in Houston next week and Pedro might be able to come to Bliss. Felicia has church board meetings because they found out Elijah took even more money to cover his expenses. I pressed for a few details, and she clammed up. But it sounds like he owes even more. Aneka needs to get away from all that while she can.”
I gripped the armrest in the back of the SUV. “You’d think he’d have learned his lesson.”
How could he keep doing this to his family? Weren’t the first two scandals enough?
Jeni chewed her lip. “I almost didn’t say anything.”
“No. Thank you. I’ll talk to Aneka. She doesn’t deserve anymore surprises.”
I patted Jeni’s hand, and we rode the rest of the way to the airport in silence.