Chapter 2
Chapter Two
BLAKELY
Dear Diary,
Love at first sight can’t exist. Because if it did, he’d have called.
Three Months Later
By the time the seventh door had been metaphorically slammed in my face, I probably should have taken the hint. Only I didn’t know exactly what hint that should be at this point in my desperation.
Me:
They said no, and this time didn’t even bother to put on a fake smile as they pushed me out of their lovely high-rise.
Isabella:
Seriously? Not even a real “excuse?”
Me:
Nope. I’m out of options.
Isabella:
As much as I hate to say it, you know there’s one more option.
Me:
I know. I have an interview with them at 3:00.
Isabella:
You didn’t tell me?
I winced knowing that it probably sounded as if I had been hiding things from her, but I had. But there were reasons. Tricky, complicated reasons on more than one level.
Me:
I really hoped not to have to use this last straw.
Isabella:
I see. You’re meeting with them.
Isabella:
I know why you didn’t tell me. And it’s not just because of the obvious reasons. But good luck. Okay? And I’m pretty sure I can kick somebody in the shins if it doesn’t work out.
My lips twitched, a smile nearly covering my face after staring at her words for far too long.
Me:
It’ll be fine. I’m going to make this work.
Isabella:
And if it doesn’t?
Isabella:
Forget that. It’s going to work. I’ll stop being Debbie Downer over here.
Me:
First, you aren’t the only one, as that’s pretty much the only feeling I have right now. My own Debbie Down-ness. Is that a word?
Isabella:
We can make that happen.
Me:
Okay, I have to get ready. I love you. Have fun at work.
Isabella:
You know I won’t. But you’ve got this. I believe in you.
I set my phone aside and went back to my bedroom to see exactly what suit I should put on. I’d already worn a suit for my first interview, and since I hadn’t even been able to finish the awkward meeting, I figured wearing the same one for this second interview of the day was probably not a good idea.
It had been three months since I lost my job. Three months because my former boss was an arrogant asshole. And in that time, I’d worn more suits than I could count, all of my wardrobe at this point, just to see if I could make a living in what I was good at.
I sighed, searching through the various colored blouses that I had hanging up, wondering what color would show that I was smart, good at my job, and innovative.
“Not red, I wore red yesterday for that terrible interview. Not green, because that’s what I’m currently wearing.”
I looked at the pale pink top that would go great with dove gray pants. I hated the fact that this color reminded me of everything that had gone wrong. However, maybe that’s exactly what I needed. I pulled out the silk top, and set it aside, knowing that this had to work.
I still couldn’t quite believe that I was nearing thirty, unemployed, and running out of resources and plans to figure out my next step. I had rent due, and while I had a decent savings account, thanks to my previous job and the fact I didn’t like spending money, it was going to dwindle fast if I kept having to pull out money just to survive.
The problem, however, I was a business manager of sorts, but one that specialized in strengthening business assets. Meaning I needed to work for somebody else to help them work better. And while it made sense in action, on paper, it looked like I had many skills, but I wasn’t brilliant at any of them. The term jack-of-all-trades had been bantered a few times to me, but I knew it wasn’t because of who I was. Okay, maybe it was exactly because of who I was.
I had worked for Howard Enterprises since graduating from college. I had been top of the class in business at Boulder, which wasn’t an easy thing to do. Especially since most of the people surrounding me had been legacy students, guys who had known exactly what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives because they could work for their families’ empires. At least in a smaller sense. We weren’t an Ivy League college, so I wasn’t rubbing elbows with those who would one day rule the world, but I wanted to at least help those ruling our part of the world. And I had been good at it.
Howard Enterprises had taken me on as a college grad and not even through internship. I’d had a full paycheck, a retirement fund, medical insurance, and my own desk. Yes, the desk had been a little wobbly, and there hadn’t been a single window in the office I shared with four other people, but eventually I had worked up to my place. I had worked right under Mr. Howard and had dealt with his inability to save a PDF and his blowups at every single little thing. And while he had been a jerk, and prone to temper tantrums, he had never treated me with anything but respect. At least in the sense of his respect toward anyone else. I didn’t have to fight in the boys’ club that so many of my other friends—including Isabella—had to do every day.
I had been an equal, and I had been damn good at my job.
Even though Mr. Howard didn’t always listen to my advice, which would inevitably end up with some form of downward spiral, I had still done good work. And yet, it hadn’t been my whole purpose. I’d wanted to do more, do better. I hadn’t always agreed with the business practices that man had chosen, but I had done my best.
And then I had lost it all.
Lost it all because Mr. Howard hadn’t liked a single dance.
I shook my head, pushing that thought out of my mind.
No, he would’ve found another way to fire me, like any other egotistical asshole who didn’t want somebody telling him what to do. Because while I had been good at my job, I had been expensive, and did voice my opinion. Maybe that had been wrong, but it hadn’t been why I lost my job.
Nor was it why I couldn’t get a job now.
The Howards had power. Maybe not as much power as their rivals, but enough. And now, every time I tried to get a job in this city, doors were slammed in my face because they did not want to get involved in the rivalry between the Howards and the Cages.
A rivalry that I wasn’t even sure that the Cages were aware of .
I quickly put my hair up, and then let it fall down again, not knowing what to do with it, and feeling itchy beyond all reason.
The problem was that I was an idiot. I had shared a single dance and a single cup of coffee with Aston Cage. The sexy and chiseled president of Cage Enterprises. And because I had dared to dance with him in front of Mr. Howard, he had seen it as disloyalty.
One pink slip later, I had found myself booted out of the comfort of a job that I was damn good at but didn’t love.
And here I was, unemployed, and really fucking annoyed.
Aston Cage was not my enemy, and yet it sure felt like it.
He probably didn’t even remember my name or my face. It had been a kiss, a dance, a touch, and then nothing.
No call, no text, nothing.
He had walked away after promising to speak to me again and left me behind in shambles. Then again, I wasn’t even sure Aston Cage was aware. Because why would he be aware of anything that was beneath him. Just like Howard Enterprises and Mr. Howard himself was.
Just like I was.
But now, I needed him to give me a job.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and quickly took a deep breath, trying to remember the meditation that Isabella had taught me. Which was ironic considering Isabella was way more high-strung than I was. But I wasn’t going to dive too deeply into that.
There was a knock on my door, and I frowned, going to answer it, wondering who could be here around lunchtime.
And as if I had conjured her up, my best friend stood at the door, hair a little frazzled, with stress all over her face.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling Isabella into a hug.
My best friend hugged me tightly. “I figured you needed your person.”
We rested our heads on each other’s shoulders and stood there, both women in business attire, and with the weight of the world on our shoulders. Even if it didn’t always feel like that.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” She pulled back and looked me up and down. “That’s a good look. You’re going to do great.”
“Are you sure it’s not weird?” I asked, speaking of the giant elephant in the room. Or was it a gorilla?
She cringed but shook her head. “No, it won’t be weird. However, it has been three months.”
I frowned, until everything clicked. Because Isabella wasn’t only my best friend, she happened to be the secret sister of the Cages.
It seemed that Daddy Cage had been busy in his all too short life and had fathered twelve children—over two sets of families. And while apparently Isabella’s mother knew of it, and actually knew Aston’s mother, they hadn’t told their kids until the reading of the will.
That evening my best friend had shown up to my house and raged for a good hour before breaking down into tears. Tears I knew she wouldn’t have shown anyone else in the family.
And that was when I blurted that I had made out with her brother.
Things weren’t awkward at all.
“So you have to have the big family dinner soon then?” I asked, knowing the three-month reprieve was now over.
“I don’t understand how this will is legal, but it is. And I have to have dinner with that side of the family. Once a month. For three years.”
She said each word with such fierceness, that I worried that she was going to have an aneurysm or something.
“But it doesn’t have to be you each time, does it?”
“I’m not going to force my family to do it if I can’t.”
“Are they all that bad though?” I asked, hating myself for even asking.
Isabella scowled at me. “Ford seems fine. He knows Phoebe at least,” she said, speaking of her sister, and apparent brother. It was very confusing.
“I still can’t believe that the Cage I went on a coffee date with happens to be your Cage.”
“I don’t like the fact that our Venn diagram has become a circle. It’s very annoying.”
My lips twitched at that .
Isabella just rolled her eyes. “The Cages, I hear, are decent with business. They’re not going to push you out of the office just because you worked with Howard. In fact, I’m pretty sure they owe you.”
I cringe. “I probably shouldn’t put that on my resume, right?”
“You damn well should. It’s all Aston Cage’s fault.”
My heart did that little twisting motion that I hated so much whenever I heard his name. It wasn’t as if I really knew him. There had just been heat and chemistry and then nothing. Not a single communication. Not even a pigeon to send over a note. I would’ve preferred an owl, or something. But no, there was nothing.
And while I realized he had enough on his plate with his business, the funeral, and apparently this new family, I still felt slighted.
“He should have texted you back. I’m sorry, we all have things to do even though we’re dealing with our father, the evil mess. He should have texted.”
I cringed. “I really shouldn’t have told you about that. It’s going to cast him in a bad light for you.” I didn’t want Isabella to start off on an even worse foot with the people she could now call family. My twinge of regret shouldn’t have a bearing on the family she now had—best friends or not.
“Of course it’s a bad light. He’s egotistical, and growly, and wanted to take over the whole meeting.”
I raised a single brow at her, and just stared, before she rolled her eyes again. “Stop it. It sounded like you were describing yourself. I mean, I love you, but you are bossy when it comes to your siblings.”
“I am not.” We both burst out into laughter, and I felt lighter than I had in days.
She shook her head. “Fine, I’m a mess. Maybe not as messy as dear old Daddy was.”
I blanched. “I don’t know how he had the time. I mean, two families?”
“Dad was rarely around in the end. He was too busy playing with his real family.”
I reached out and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry about your father. And I am annoyed that I have to go ask the Cages for a job, and yes, disgruntled that he didn’t text.”
“I wish I could kick him,” she mumbled.
I waved her off. “I have complicated feelings when it comes to Aston and the family, which I shouldn’t. Because it didn’t mean anything.”
“Clearly.”
“That doesn’t mean you should cast a bad light on them. You don’t know how he was to the others, do you?”
She shook her head, her gaze going distant. “No. I don’t know them. Phoebe knows Ford, and he seems like a good guy. But he doesn’t really hang out or work with his brothers as much. At least that’s what I’ve been able to gather.”
“So maybe you should get to know the family? I mean it’s not going to be easy. They could all be horrible people for all I know. But you won’t know until you try. And you don’t have to put all of it on you. You do have a few sisters and a brother who can take your place for a dinner or two.”
Isabella crossed her eyes at me and sighed. “That is true. However, I’m going to be the one that stands in from my side of the family. At least at first. Until I get to know these Cages.”
“Aren’t you a Cage too?” I asked, knowing that while I needed to get out and get ready for my last-ditch effort at getting a job, this was just as important. If not more so.
“I don’t know who I am anymore. Which isn’t the greatest feeling in the world. However, this isn’t about me. I took a lunch break, which I never do, so I need to head back to the office. And you need to go get this job. And if they don’t give it to you, I’m going to hate them even more than I probably will.”
“Don’t hate them. They’re family. Family you don’t know yet.”
“You have amazing parents, and I’m happy that you do, but apparently I didn’t have the parents I thought I did.”
And with that, we hugged it out, she helped me pick up my jewelry, and we each headed out in different directions. I had no idea how that family was going to handle what they needed, and I was grateful that I didn’t have to deal with it. However, I needed a job.
And thankfully, my interview was not with Aston. I knew he had more important things on his mind than a single dance and promise that he failed to keep. So I would push that out of my mind and focus on the desperation of my bank account .
Cage Enterprises was in one of the familiar high rises of Denver, and gorgeous. Everything was high-end, and yet didn’t look cold and stuffy. There was a warmth in every aspect of ambiance. I had to wonder where that came from. I had only met three of the brothers, including the man I’d be interviewing with, so perhaps they just hired a decent decorator.
I went up to the front desk and the man there smiled up at me. “Hello, how can I help you?”
My stomach tightened but I reminded myself I didn’t have another choice…and the Cages would be honored to hire me. And if I kept telling myself that, I’d believe it. “Hi. I am Blakely Graves. I’m here to meet James Cage for an interview.”
He nodded, that pleasant smile on his face. “Of course. You can go up to the elevator and up to level eighteen. Someone will be at the top and will be able to help you. I’ll let them know that you’re on your way.”
“Thank you.” Again, tension slid into me, wrapping it’s spindly fingers around my chest.
“No problem. And good luck.” He winked as he said it, and I warmed a bit, liking the friendly atmosphere.
Everybody seemed as if they weren’t on the edge, stress pounding into them, like they had at Howard Enterprises. They all had work to do, but they weren’t growling in every corner. Or maybe that was just what the first floor felt like.
I made my way up to the eighteenth floor and rolled my shoulders back as I walked out into the upper lobby. The person who met me there smiled softly and gestured for me to go to one of the offices in the corner. I really wanted this to work. I needed it to work. But I tried not to look around too much soaking in my surroundings. I didn’t want to like this place too much and have to walk away. I kept having to do that every time.
I sat down in the chair opposite a large desk and sat my bag next to me. “Thank you so much,” I said to the woman who had taken me to the office, and she smiled softly.
“No problem. Can I get you some water? Some tea? Coffee?”
“I’m fine, thank you so much.”
“No problem, Mr. Cage will be here soon.”
“Do you call them all Mr. Cage?” I asked, and then could have kicked myself. “I’m sorry. Forget I asked that.”
The woman laughed and shook her head. “Sometimes. Usually we go by first names here, but I was trying to sound a little more professional since it’s an interview.”
I held back a laugh, feeling as though I might not have stepped in it after all. “I’m so glad I could put my foot in my mouth for that.”
“You didn’t even come close to that. Don’t worry. He’ll be here soon.”
She winked and walked away, and I had to hope no one else overheard. While that was a friendly exchange, it probably wasn’t the greatest way to start an interview.
I looked around the office, at the usual fare of dark furniture, the full glass wall behind it, and knickknacks and awards all over the bookshelves. It seemed like a typical office, and I was wondering why I was trying to figure out if I could sense something about the Cages from knickknacks. Honestly, this probably wasn’t even a main office. It could just be a meeting space that they had for interviews and small meetings. Yet I couldn’t help but be curious. The Cages had always interested me, even though I hadn’t really focused on them too much until that fateful date.
And now, they were Isabella’s family. Like it or not, the connections remained.
A familiar man in a dark gray suit and bright blue tie walked in, and I stood up quickly, holding up my hand. “Hello there,” the man said as he shook my hand and tilted his head as he looked at me. “Good to see you again.”
I held back a cringe, letting my hand fall. “Hello, James. Mr. Cage.”
The last time I had seen him had been when he had walked in on me and his brother making out in a hallway. Oh good. Maybe I could just hide somewhere underneath this chair and the interview could end quickly.
“Call me James. There are way too many Cages here.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your father,” I said, and when his eyes tightened ever so slightly, I realized I had stepped in it again.
I was oh for three so far.
“Thank you. He’s missed.”
I cleared my throat, going full into my insanity of this situation. “Before this starts, I should probably also add that Isabella’s my best friend,” I blurted, realizing that if I was going to strike out completely, I should put all things on the table.
His eyes widened for a moment, before he swallowed hard. “Interesting. The world’s pretty small, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice soft.
“It seems so. I mean, I think the first time we met is when you added me to a group chat?”
His eyes filled with laughter then, and he shook his head. “I’m not the one who added you.”
“Didn’t they blame you?” I asked.
“No, that might’ve been Theo.” He waved it off. “Theo is a chef. He owns The Teal Door.
My eyes widened at his comment. “I’ve never been able to get into that restaurant. And I’ve tried.”
“It’s hard for me to get in and I’m family.” A pause. “So… I’m going to be honest.”
I braced myself.
James leaned forward. “I don’t know why you haven’t been snapped up. Or why you’re still looking for a job after three months since leaving Howard Enterprises.”
That made me blink. “That’s not what I thought you were going to say.”
“I figured we should lay everything on the table since you did the same.”
“The truth?”
“That would be nice.”
I cleared my throat. “Mr. Howard didn’t like the fact that I danced with Aston. That’s it. He found a way to get me out and has used everything in his power to make sure I can’t get a job in this city. I don’t understand why exactly, because I never did anything to that man other than try to help his business, which I did. But if you talk to him as you probably should since he’s my former employer, he fired me. He found a way to do it so it was legal, but the real reason is because I danced with your brother.”
“Do you want me to kill him?” he asked, his voice low.
I was a little worried he was serious.
“Mr. Howard? Or your brother?”
He burst out laughing, and I relaxed marginally. “We can fight that, you know. You shouldn’t have been fired for a single dance. And it’s not like we’re in a rivalry with the Howards.”
A smile covered my face, and he gave me a quizzical look, raising his brow. “I thought to myself earlier that I wasn’t sure you guys were aware you were in a rivalry. And it seems that I was right.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ll never understand some business practices, but here we are. Blakely? We need you here. You’re good at what you do, and we wanted to snap you up before, but you were a constant at Howard Enterprises. Now you’re not, and we want you. Are you going to be okay working here?”
It felt as if everything skidded to a halt, and it took me far too long to catch up. We had sat down as we had begun talking but I stood up then, confused.
“Just like that? I’m hired?”
He shrugged as if he hadn’t just changed my life. “We can go over salary and benefits and hours and everything, but we want you. And I know you need the job. And to be fair, I was a little worried that you weren’t going to want to take it because of well…”
And the other elephant in the room raised its trunk. “You don’t have to worry about that. I haven’t spoken to him since that evening.”
Confusion covered his face. “He didn’t call you?”
I winced. “I don’t know if that’s any of your business in an interview, but no.”
He flinched. “I think we are past the point of not allowing any personal things into this interview. I apologize.”
I shook my head, wondering why I’d snapped back as I had. “No. You’re right. I’m the one that blurted that Isabella was my best friend.”
“And that’s the second thing. Is she going to be okay with you working here?”
This time I smiled. “I think she promised to come and kick shins if I didn’t get hired. So thanks for that.”
He grinned then. “I think I’m going to like this sister of mine.”
“She’s my best friend. And one of the most amazing people I know. So I hope you do. And I’m really sorry all of this happened and it’s such a mess. But we do not need to talk about that. And I’m sorry that I know so much about it.”
“It’s actually kind of nice that someone else knows outside of the family. I mean the media pretends they know, but they don’t. ”
I shook my head. “I can’t even imagine.”
He waved it off as if it was nothing, though I knew it couldn’t be. “So, are you okay then working here? We’re complicated, we’re demanding, but we’re not going to fire you because you dared to even breathe next to our supposed rival.”
I press my lips together, wondering what the catch was. Who were these Cages? And why was I inevitably connected to them?
But in the end, it didn’t matter.
“Yes. I’m in.”
He held out his hand again, and I shook it, as a wide smile covered his face. “Good. Now we can let the world know we poached you from our new rivals.”
This time I rolled my eyes. “Oh, he would love that.”
“Oh, we’ll make sure he knows.”
“As long as it doesn’t blow up in our faces.”
“We can handle the embers.” He looked over my shoulder and from the way that he stiffened ever so slightly, I froze.
I knew exactly who was behind me in that moment, and who I knew I would inevitably see here.
However, James was my boss. My new boss. And as I turned to see Aston Cage there, I was afraid of what I was going to see.
And afraid of what I wasn’t.