Family Ties
. . .
Cade
Five Days Earlier…
I was on a jet to Tokyo within an hour of dropping off Ellie’s phone.
Once we landed, I headed straight to the office despite it being a weekend.
Others were there working too, and they gave me a wide berth.
I threw all my focus into tweaks and negotiations for the deal—taking advantage of the distraction.
I worked until I couldn’t keep my eyes open, then caught a few hours of sleep on a couch in the office instead of going to my hotel.
Beds reminded me too much of Ellie.
On the second day of my trip, my mother strolled into my temporary office in Tokyo.
I glanced up from my laptop before doing a double take. “What are you doing here?”
“You weren’t returning my calls.” She eyed the big art piece taking up most of one wall. “Or texts.”
My jaw tightened. “So you flew to Tokyo?”
She sat across from me and smoothed her already pristine skirt. “It’s important.”
I straightened, imagining the worst. “Is Grandfather all right? You could’ve had Nate get me—”
“Relax. Everyone’s fine.” She waved me off, setting her tiny purse on my desk before leaning back in the leather seat. She eyed me for a long moment. “Have you spoken to her since we docked?”
She couldn’t have caught me more off guard if she tried, and I went still. “You flew all the way here to talk about Ellie.”
It wasn’t a question. There wasn’t anyone else her could mean.
My mother pursed her lips. “If you let her get away, it’ll be the most foolish mistake of your life. And I didn’t raise a fool, Caden.”
I snorted. “You didn’t raise me. Grandfather did.”
Her subtle flinch almost made me regret saying it.
“We all fell apart after your father died, but you and Harrison pulled it together faster than I ever could,” she said, avoiding my gaze.
“He was my everything. I didn’t feel like part of the family without him.
I’d married into the Westbrooks, and it was terrifying without Everett by my side.
I didn’t want to be found wanting or blamed for raising you wrong.
So, I acted out. Sending you to Tobias was for the best.”
It wasn’t, but I didn’t want to argue, and this wasn’t why she’d come.
“What does this have to do with Ellie?” I leaned back and crossed my arms. “You treated her like shit, but now you want me to go after her? I don’t buy it.”
My mother sniffed delicately, taking her time looking out the windows instead of answering.
“I was wrong,” she finally admitted, nose wrinkling like she didn’t like the taste of the words on her tongue. “Dr. Lovejoy helped me realize I was projecting my own insecurities onto Ellie.”
I stared. Lovejoy? … Lovejoy? After all the money my mother had thrown at therapy over the years, it was the fraud who’d finally gotten through to her?
I dragged a hand over my face, struggling to believe it.
“I think it would help if you spoke with Dr. Lovejoy, too,” she added. “I let my grief get the better of me, but now you’re doing the same with your pride.”
She couldn’t be serious. Pride wasn’t my problem, but I was running short on patience. “I’m sorry you came all the way here just to say that, but I have meetings today that can’t be rescheduled.”
“Of course.” My mother unfolded her legs and gathered her purse, smoothly rising to her feet. “Just think about what I said.”
She strolled out the door without another word.
Grandfather showed up the next morning, and I rubbed my temples.
They were tag-teaming me now?
“A phone call would’ve sufficed. You didn’t need to follow me to another country,” I said, then paused. “Should I expect Harrison to show up next?”
He cracked a worn smile. “I’m sure he’ll give you a call soon enough.”
I closed my laptop. “What are you doing here?”
Grandfather took in the room—the fake plants, floor-to-ceiling windows, and the couch I’d slept on. “The better question is, what are you doing here, Caden?”
My jaw twitched. “Brokering another deal for your company.”
“You could’ve done that over the phone, too,” he shot back. He glanced over the items on my desk—a laptop, phone, and my third cup of coffee. “Seems like you’re hiding.”
I gave him a flat look, and he settled into a chair on the other side of my desk.
“You know, I chose Ellie because of her blue hair,” he said out of nowhere and with absolutely zero context.
I just… stared at him, concerned he was having a stroke.
“From the very start, she was different,” he went on, oblivious to me not following. “I knew you wouldn’t know what to do with her, and that’s what you needed.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I squinted, studying him. “What do you mean you chose her?”
He motioned to the phone on my desk. “On that app. Sunshine Cuddle Services.”
What. The. Hell.
I kept staring at him, convinced I’d misheard until I replayed his words three times in my head.
“You’re shitting me. You’re the one who hired Ellie?” I leaned forward, fighting to process this. “Why? How? You can’t even change the input on a TV without help, but you know about professional cuddling apps?”
“My therapist recommended the app a few years after your grandmother passed,” he answered, calm as a cucumber. “I was lonely but didn’t want to jump into the dating pool, and he went on and on about the benefits of just having someone to talk to—”
“Stop.” I couldn’t listen to him give the same cuddling spiel Ellie had given me. “You know plenty of people. You don’t need to pay someone to spend time with you.”
His brow rose. “Says the grandson who’s too busy working to grab dinner with me.”
I grimaced, then another thought hit me. “So you already knew. The entire time, you knew who Ellie really was.”
“I’m afraid so. Seeing her on the yacht was a surprise, but a welcome one,” he said with a slow nod. “As much as it was a surprise to see you enjoying yourself.”
A strangled groan caught in my throat, and I coughed to clear it. “What was your plan with hiring her, then? Play matchmaker to set us up, and then what—we get married and have a bunch of babies?”
His lips twitched. “Is that what you want?”
That was a loaded question—one I couldn’t even begin to answer. I slumped in my chair. “I don’t know what I want.”
“Sure you do.” He chuckled. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t have any grand plans.
I made a last-minute booking after George emailed to say the deal went through.
My hope was you’d take the appointment with her and learn to relax a little after you worked yourself ragged in London.
I never expected you to put a ring on her finger and bring her along on that trip. ”
Neither had I.
But a question nagged at my gut the longer the truth had to settle in. A white-hot blend of jealousy and betrayal that sliced right through my chest. “Have you hired Ellie before?”
Grandfather snorted, holding both hands out. “Relax. I’d never met her before. If I had, I hope she would’ve recognized me on The Valencia.”
Some of the tension in my shoulders eased, but I still wasn’t sure how to feel.
“I understand if you’re upset with me,” he said with a sigh. “I just wanted you to loosen up. That you fell for her was more than I dared to hope for.”
My smile lacked any humor. “Yeah, well, that ship has sailed.”
He frowned. “What makes you say that?”
“You saw Ellie run away as fast as she could.” It was a memory that would haunt me for years. “She wants nothing to do with me.”
“Have you even tried talking to her?” he asked, frown deepening.
“I returned her phone, but she didn’t want to see me.”
Another snort escaped my grandfather, louder than the last. “Huh.”
My eyes narrowed. “You think this is funny?”
“It’s amusing to see you give up so easily,” he admitted. “Where’s the shark who won our board over? And the closer who just landed a deal with Pembroke? I haven’t seen you quit on anything since preschool.”
I considered it before shaking my head. “Ellie isn’t a business deal. I can’t strong-arm her into giving me another chance.”
“Then don’t. Win her over instead. Show her what you bring to the table and why her life would be better with you in it.
” He brushed an invisible piece of lint off his sleeve.
“She may not be a business deal—well, not anymore—but you know exactly how to win over our clients. Where’s that edge now?
Where’s the Cade Westbrook I know who could sell water to a fish? ”
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw, knowing exactly what was different this time. “I’ve never made a woman cry before.”
One side of his mouth curved up in sympathy. “It means she cares. Do you know what Ellie told me on The Valencia when she thought I was the captain? She said she was in trouble because she was falling for her fiancé.”
I swallowed, looking away and stifling a scoff. “Sure she did.”
“Swear it on my life.” He tapped a finger to his chest. “So you better show her why you’re a damn good catch who deserves a second chance. You hear me?”
I said what would get him off my back the quickest, because I was done talking about this. “Yeah, I hear you.”
“Good.” He tilted his head, getting to his feet. “I’ll see you back in Westport.”
“You’re not sticking around for the talks?” I asked. “If all goes well, we’ll know if this is a sure thing or DOA after negotiations this afternoon.”
He was already halfway to the door. “I said what I came to say.”
“Wait,” I called, frowning at his back. “One more thing. Why did you tell Ellie I like unicorns?”
Grandfather paused halfway across the room and turned, brow furrowed. “… Unicorns?”
“On the app,” I reminded him. “You said I was obsessed with unicorns. And that I was shy.”
A slow, shit-eating grin spread across his face, tripling the creases around his eyes. “I let my assistant fill in the profile. Jade’s always been a little sweet on you, so I should’ve expected some sabotage from her.”
A growl rattled my jaw, and my grandfather hurried the last few steps out the door—laughter rippling in his wake.
Negotiations wrapped up a few hours later, and only a handful of points needed to be ironed out by the lawyers before their board would sign off on it.
They didn’t need me for that, but I liked to stick around until the ink was dry.
Then I’d usually update Grandfather before starting on the next deal.
Something was different this time. I wasn’t thinking about the next merger or acquisition. I wanted to take some time to celebrate first—go out to dinner, get a few drinks. And it wasn’t Grandfather’s number I thought about calling.
Ellie was the first person I wanted to tell.
That was an… unsettling realization.
I was on a jet back to Westport within the hour.