Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
CALEB
M ason parks on the road outside the building. The area requires a lot of work to regenerate it, but it’s the challenge I love. Once we’ve finished with it. This place will become another thriving community.
I step into the reception area. It’s small and compact but well-maintained. It makes my blood boil even more that we didn’t feel the need to question the legitimacy of the landlord’s statement.
I hear the thump of the base coming from inside the studio and recognise April’s voice as it echoes around the room and through the door.
“Stretch up to the ceiling. Give yourselves a round of applause, ladies and gentleman,” she says before I hear clapping followed by a masculine whoop. I find myself smiling, the energy coming from inside positive, energised.
I start to push open the door, only to stop at the sound of voices.
“This morning’s meeting was exciting,” a lady says. I can’t see her, but I can make out her voice .
The voices have moved away from the door, and I wonder if they surround April.
“You did good,” the same voice continues. “Standing up to Frazer Development. These companies can’t get away with just coming in and taking over.”
I flinch at her words. Is that what they think we’re doing? Coming in and displacing them. Nothing could be further from the truth. That’s not our company ethos.
“Thank you, Alice. The same goes for all of you. It’s been amazing to have your support.”
I recognise April’s voice immediately and inhale sharply.
The door jerks under my hand, and swings open, exposing my position.
A dozen faces turn to face me.
My gaze moves to April’s face, her eyes widening as she takes me in.
“Ooh wow, he may be a shark, but I can understand why he’s won the Most Eligible Bachelor,” another lady whispers loudly, only to be elbowed by one of the others.
My lips twitch, but I refrain from smiling. I get the impression that it would not sit well with these ladies, who are currently scowling at me.
My eyes find April’s, the colour rising in her cheeks.
Samuel steps up behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“Come on, ladies, Betty and Don are calling. They have coffee cake this afternoon.” The woman whose voice I heard before says, ushering everyone from the room.
The leader of the pack, a grey-haired, perfectly made-up older woman, presses a finger into my chest as she passes. “Be nice to Ms April. We’ll be watching you,” she says through squinting eyes.
I smile down at her. “I have no intention of upsetting Ms April. I promise you. ”
She glares at me as she ushers the other women out of the door, each shooting me their fiercest look. Before leaving, the leader turns, giving April an exaggerated wink. I watch April stifle a groan, as she knows I saw it all in the mirror.
“April, Samuel,” I say, stepping further into the room and allowing the door to shut behind me. My eyes take in April in her dance attire, memories of her body and how she felt pressed against me flooding my senses.
April turns without acknowledging me and walks to the back of the dance studio, grabbing a grey sweatshirt from one of the benches and pulling it on in silence. Samuel stands still, his arms crossed over his chest while his gaze burns holes into me.
I remain silent, watching as April makes her way to the front of the class and picks up her drink bottle. She unscrews the lid before taking a long swig of whatever it contains. I stop myself licking my lips as I watch her throat bob as she swallows, having no idea of the effect seeing her again would have on me.
Eventually, she turns, her gaze locking on my face.
“What do you want, Mr Frazer?” she asks.
“April. I?—”
A movement stops me, and I watch Samuel grab his sweatshirt.
“I’m going to leave you to it,” he says. “Coffee cake is my favourite.”
April looks like she’s about to commit murder as her best friend heads to the door. Samuel shoots me a don’t mess with her look as he passes.
We both flinch as the door slams shut.
I take a step towards April but freeze when she glares at me.
“You left,” I say.
Unsure if I’m talking about her leaving today’s meeting or that she disappeared into the night without so much as a goodbye note.
“I had a class,” she says sharply.
“I’m not talking about now. I’m talking about New York,” I say.
Sudden clarity. It’s the answer I’ve wanted since I woke up in an empty bed five months ago.
Her body tenses at my question, and she turns away. She picks up some papers before returning them to the almost exact spot.
“No point in drawing out the inevitable,” she says with her back to me, her shoulders shrugging. “No one wants the awkward morning-after conversation. You should be thanking me.”
I frown.
She inhales, her eyes locking with mine in the wall-to-ceiling mirror in front of her. “What do you want, Mr Frazer? I have things to do.”
It's my turn to inhale, and I run a hand through my hair.
“I didn’t know about your business. This morning was the first time I knew the business was here.”
April harrumphs, turning to face me once more.
“It’s the truth. We were told you were leaving,” I say, holding out my hands.
“So much for due diligence,” April says, her expression disbelieving.
“The information we were given was false.”
The words sound weak even to me. This is her livelihood, the business she talked about with such passion the night we met.
I take a step forward and stop.
“So, no one came to see the property before you purchased it?” she asks.
“Of course they did,” I say, knowing I sound exasperated. “ I wouldn’t invest this kind of money in something we hadn’t viewed.”
“So you just didn’t care enough to ask? Speak to the current business owners?” she says, her voice incredulous. “You cared or didn’t care that much?”
I run a hand down my face. April’s eyes spark, reminding me of when I first approached her.
“Five months ago, my team came and scouted the property. The property was locked up throughout the entire week they were around. We were told you were moving out.”
“I’m always open. Someone on your team lied. I’m never closed. I even run classes through the holidays.”
She freezes, and her shoulders slump.
“The bastard.” She hisses. “New York. I let the landlord know the building would be closed in case of any issues.”
“And he invited the team to review the buildings that week,” I say, realising how we’ve been duped. “According to my team, he got the keys from your neighbours.”
“Yes, Don and Betty. They mentioned he’d been in when I got back. He told them he needed to carry out some maintenance work. They gave him the keys so he could let himself in.”
April drops onto one of the benches positioned around the perimeter of the room. “Not that it matters. My tenancy agreement is about to expire. He’s refused to renew it.”
I move across the room and lower myself onto the bench next to her. I watch her lips twitch as she takes in the awkward angle of my legs and knees.
April turns to face me. Memories of our time together spring to the surface as the scent of her shampoo and her perfume invade my senses. But that’s not why I’m here.
“I meant what I said at the meeting,” I say quietly. “I want you to come into the office. See if we can come to an arrangement. When I said Frazer Development does not look at kicking out local businesses, I meant it. Especially ones that offer a service to the community.”
“Look, Mr Frazer,” she says, raising my heckles. I want to hear her using my name. Not my bloody title.
“Mr Frazer was my dad,” I say, plastering a fake smile.
“Fine, Cal or Caleb, or whoever you are?—”
I almost sigh as the words leave her mouth.
“I’m Caleb to most people, but I liked the way you screamed, Cal,” I add, my tone lowering.
“Don’t even say it, that night was…” she snaps, and I instantly regret my words when she gets up and puts some distance between us. This woman does strange things to my body and sends my mind into turmoil.
“Amazing? Unforgettable?” I say before I can stop myself.
“I was going to say regrettable. And nothing to do with our current situation.”
Her eyes once again flash fire, shooting sparks of desire south.
I lean back against the mirror, stretching out my legs. And watch as April’s fists clench by her sides.
“Let’s be honest about New York, Cal. I won’t give you a cliched response and say it wasn’t me or that I’m not that kind of girl. I slept with you,” she says, although the fact she hadn’t done it for a while tells me she’s not being entirely truthful.
“There wasn’t much sleeping as far as I recall,” I say, finding I want to get a reaction out of her. I want her angry enough that she doesn’t roll over and walk away.
She grits her teeth, and I bite back a smile.
“I had sex with you—whatever. But that was it, one night, two strangers, working off their sexual frustrations in a different city,” she says, shaking her head. “Look, Cal, you’re Mr Big Business. We’re from different worlds. I’m just a dance teacher, you’re a CEO of the biggest property development firm in the city. Our worlds are poles apart.” She shakes her head and looks at me. “In terms of why you walked through that door. You and your company have all the power here. Whatever I say to you is meaningless. Your business is about your bottom line. Every business is. Hell, my business is.”
“That’s why I’m inviting you to a meeting. I mean it, April. I want to find a solution.”
I push up off the bench and move towards her.
She steps back, but then something makes her stop and hold her ground.
“You forget, Cal. I’ve just been to your meeting. Seen your plans. My dance school doesn’t exist.”
Shit , she’s right. That must have been hard to swallow.
This space has been carved up into smaller retail units.
“That’s fair enough. Until today, I didn’t know you were here. That there is an issue. Agree to a meeting, April. Give me a chance to put this right.”
Her eyes widen as she looks at me.
She remains silent, and my head begins to spin with possibilities.
“Look, I think we’ve got off on the wrong foot. Can we start again?”
I hold out my hand, but drop it when she doesn’t even look at it.
”Meeting again was a shock—for both of us. But, April, I want to find a solution. Come to my offices. Discuss your business and its future. Something that should have happened five months ago if Finnigan hadn’t tried to con us both.”
She looks taken aback, but remains silent, so I try again.
“How about this Thursday or Friday? ”
“I…” she says, her arms wrapping around her waist. April defeated is not something I want.
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.
When I drop my hand, I find her watching me.
“Why? Why, Cal? Why do you want to help me all of a sudden? What about all the emails I’ve sent? Not one person from your team has taken the time to respond to any of them, except for acknowledging that my issue will be looked into .”
I stare at her, my stomach hardening. A picture is beginning to form. One I know I’m not going to like.
“Emails?”
“Yes. Ten now. All ignored. We even came to your offices, some of the community members and me. We were told, if we didn’t leave, management would be calling the police.” she says, her words suddenly making sense of her hostility. “So, please, Cal, maybe you can understand why I’m a little cynical about your offer.”
“I promise you,” I say, taking a step forward only to draw up short at the look she sends me. “I haven’t seen any emails, but I promise I’ll look into it as soon as I get back to the office.” I make her meet my gaze. She nods at whatever she sees there, and I exhale slowly. “As for the protest. My team and I weren’t even in the office that day. We were on an off-site. I didn’t hear about it until I got back, and then all we could do was set up today’s meeting.” I move to stand in front of her. “Give me a chance, April. Please. Let me try to make this right.”
“Fine. Two o’clock, Thursday,” she says, stepping back.
“Done. I’d like to invite you to dinner,” I say.
April raises an eyebrow and I grin.
“But I’m getting the distinct impression you might poison my food,” I say, earning myself a harrumph.
“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not worth going to jail for. ”
I smirk at her scowl.
“I’ll see you Thursday, April,” I say, deciding it’s time to leave while I’m ahead.
“Thursday,” she replies as I make my way to the door.
I step out through the door and head towards Mason, my heart suddenly feels lighter than it has in months.