Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jameson
I walk through the open doorway of Kalon’s office. “I’m here.”
He glances up from where he’s sitting behind his steel desk. “So?”
I bark out a laugh. “Nice way to greet your best friend, Kalon.”
“Nice heads-up that you were on your way over, James.” He points to one of the three visitor chairs that face his desk. “Sit. Talk. I have a meeting in five.”
This Kalon Beaumont is a far cry from the guy I knew in high school. That Kalon was determined to make it in the NFL, but a knee injury on summer break before our senior year shattered that dream.
Kalon jumped into a pond during a fishing trip in upstate New York with two of his brothers. He landed on a rock. His knee took the brunt of the hit, and the surgery that followed put all the fractured pieces back together again.
Even though he spent months in rehab, his chance to wow the college scouts had passed.
It was then that he switched his focus to a business degree so he could join his older brothers in running the family empire.
Beaumont International is a conglomerate of a multitude of enterprises. Currently, Kalon is heading up their hotel division. It’s a new undertaking for the Beaumont brothers, but it’s proving to be lucrative.
Kalon leans back in his chair. “If you’re here to talk about plans, leave.”
Holding up my hands as if I’m surrendering, I laugh. “I admit that I may have overreacted a bit when Sinclair mentioned that she had plans tonight.”
He smirks. “The first step is admitting it, James.”
I shake my head.
“So I take it, since you realize that you flipped the fuck out for nothing, that you won’t be trailing her tonight?”
“I will be,” I joke. “Want to come with me?”
He shoots me a look. “Stalker isn’t something I need on my resume.”
“Like you need a resume.” I glance around his spacious office. “You’re stuck here until the day you die.”
He stands. “You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
Even though Kalon complains non-stop about all five of his older brothers, I envy the relationship he has with each of them.
I haven’t been on good terms with Holden in years. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
“I’d offer to hang out with you tonight, but I have plans.” He tosses air quotes around the last word. “And yes, it involves a lovely young woman and my dick.”
I bark out a laugh. “You’re an asshole.”
“That’s not the first time someone called me that today,” he quips. “Before you ask, you don’t know the woman. You never will. We have fun when we both need it. No strings and all that.”
I move to stand too. “Understood.”
He motions to the doorway of his office. “You can get lost now, but when it comes to Sinclair, don’t let your ego get in the way of what’s always been there between you two.”
I start toward the doorway. “The only thing between us is hatred.”
His hand moves to grab my shoulder, to stop me from leaving. “You don’t hate her.”
He’s right. I don’t.
I was annoyed with her for a long time. I felt a sense of disappointment that I’ve never felt before, but hating Sinclair isn’t in my DNA.
“Don’t trail her tonight,” he warns. “If she wants you to know about her plans, she’ll tell you. In other words, don’t be a dick.”
“Don’t be a dick,” I mutter. “Got it.”
“Duty calls.” He nudges me toward the door. “I’ll catch up with you later, James.”
“Later,” I repeat as I watch him stroll down a long corridor toward one of the many conference rooms on this floor.
I didn’t intend to stop here, but I passed the building on my lunch break, and I’m glad I made the detour.
Kalon’s right. Whatever the fuck Sinclair is doing tonight is none of my business. I need to shake this off and get on with my day because a month from now, I’ll be alone, and Sinclair will once again be part of my past.
I walk into the penthouse after a hell of a long day.
Holden has become a magician of sorts. Whenever I show up at his office to discuss anything, he’s disappeared.
Our brief conversation on my first day back at Carden covered the basics of the company’s growth since I left. My brother touched on the new product lines and the long-time employees who had either left or retired in my absence.
There was no eye contact between us or any pleasantries. It was two men sorting through a short list of business matters before we parted ways.
Today, I needed to speak with him regarding the launch of a new store in Los Angeles. His assistant claimed Holden was tied up in meetings, but I have access to his calendar, which was bare.
I give him major points for avoiding me like a champ, but he can’t keep that up for the next year.
A bark in the distance reminds me that Dudley is lurking around. I suppose the helpful roommate thing to do would be to take him for a walk. I glance at the suit I’m wearing. Since I put in a rush order at Berdine, I’m in a new suit today. It’s pale gray with a light blue shirt and a navy tie.
I’ll handle dog-walking duties, then take a shower and change into sweatpants.
“Dudley!” I call out to him to lure him to the foyer.
Just as I reach for his leash on the table, a voice calls back to me. “What? Woof!”
“What the hell?” I mutter because that voice is too high-pitched to belong to Sinclair.
“It’s me Dudley.” The voice calls again, followed by a round of giggles. “What do you want? Woof!”
I may not have been able to place the voice immediately, but that giggle is unique. I know exactly who that belongs to, so I play along. “Do you feel like going for a walk, Duds?”
“A walk!” Soft footsteps pad along the hardwood in the hallway. “To the ice cream store on the corner? Woof!”
“Nope!” I call back. “Dogs don’t eat ice cream. If you were a person, I could get you some, but since you’re a dog…”
“It’s me!” Stevie Morgan jumps into view. “It’s me, Jameson.”
I have to take a step back because time really does not stand still for anyone. The last time I saw Sinclair’s niece, she was seven years old and missing a couple of teeth in the front of her mouth.
This little brown-haired lady in front of me is more than a foot taller now with a beautiful smile. “Stevie?”
She rushes at me with her arms outstretched. “I missed you, Jameson!”
I bundle her up in my arms and close my eyes. “I’ve missed you too.”
When my eyes pop open, I see Sinclair standing at the entrance to the hallway with her oldest brother by her side.
“Jameson,” Berk Morgan says my name as he steps toward me. “It’s good to see you again.”
The smile on his face is evidence that Sinclair never told him about what happened between us. If she had, Berk would be out for blood. He protects his family at all costs.
Our relationship wasn’t close because of the ten year gap in our ages, but I always felt his presence in the background, making sure no harm came to his sister.
Sinclair would take care of her niece sometimes.
That’s when I started a friendship with the little girl.
The three of us would hang out at the park or the library.
Occasionally, we’d watch a movie at Berk’s house when he was working late.
Sinclair was in charge of popcorn. My contribution was an assortment of candy from Carden.
Stevie would always choose a fairytale movie with a prince and a princess.
A few times, she insisted that Sinclair was the princess and I was her prince. She was a kid, so we always laughed it off.
“I was going to meet up with them for dinner,” Sinclair explains. “Stevie insisted on stopping by here first to see Dudley.”
The mention of his name brings the Yorkshire Terrier running toward his owner at breakneck speed.
“Why don’t you come for dinner with us?” Stevie tugs at the sleeve of my jacket. “We’re going for pizza. You like that, right?”
“I should stay here and…”
“We’d love to have you join us,” Berk interrupts me. “It’s low-key. Just some pizza and soda.”
“Say you’ll come.” Stevie grins. “You’re Auntie Sinclair’s best friend after all.”
I don’t correct her. Sinclair doesn’t either.
“I’ll come,” I say, unsure if it’s a mistake to agree to join them. “I just need a minute to ditch the suit for something more comfortable.”
“Wait.” Stevie takes a half-step back to look me over. “That suit is…” She brings her index finger and thumb to her lips. “It’s chef’s kiss.”
Everyone laughs.
I nod. “In that case, I won’t lose the suit.”
Stevie tilts her chin up. “I remember that you kept candies in your pockets for me.”
I remember that too. Not only did I keep a supply of small bags of Carden jelly beans in the pocket of my suit jacket for Stevie, but I carted around a box of Sinclair’s favorite sweet treats with me at all times.
I’d surprise her with those whenever I had the chance. It was never just about me handing the box off to her, though. Sinclair had a weakness for small pastel-colored heart-shaped candies with letters etched on them. They have always been one of Carden’s best sellers.
Sinclair would arrange them into words before she popped the candies into her mouth one by one.
The words usually mirrored her mood for the day – happy, pissed, fucking frustrated. We got a load of laughs out of the tradition.
I pat one of the pockets of my jacket. “The next time I see you, I’ll have something in here just for you, Stevie.”
She claps her hands. “Thank you. Let’s go eat pizza.”
I steal a glance at Sinclair, but her gaze is cast to the ground. I have no idea if she’s all right with me joining them for dinner, but it’s a done deal, so I, for one, will make the best of it.