Chapter 15
I’m in a foul mood when I get in around twelve. Steven waves at me from his desk. “I got you a muffin in case you were hungry. It’s on your desk.”
“Thanks, Steven,” I say gratefully. Settling down, I set up my laptop before taking out the blueberry muffin.
Munching on it, my keys slam on the keyboard as I get to work.
Seeing Luis outside my apartment this morning has ruined my day.
If the cab hadn’t shown up when it did, I might have punched him.
He wanted to know why I was going to work so late, where my car was, who dropped me home.
He’s not mentioned Caleb to my mother yet, and I wonder why.
If my family knew about Caleb, I would have been bombarded by calls.
But I’m starting to wonder if Caleb had a point.
Luis is clearly stalking me at this point.
And the way he was behaving this morning—bright-eyed, tripping over his words, an intense energy to him—it made me nervous.
Maybe I should talk to Marco. But the idea fizzles out before it even fully forms. My brother is reliable but not when it comes to matters concerning my mother. He knows our mother wants me and Luis to get married. He says he’ll protect me, but I have a hard time believing it now.
My appetite fades away as I look at the muffin in my hand.
I can’t rely on Marco. I could call Rafael, but I don’t want to distract him with his exams coming up.
Antonio and Daniel might do something. But if they bring it up in front of Gabriella, my sister will tell our mother, and it will just snowball down from there.
That leaves Miguel, but Miguel is close to Sebastian, who tells my sister everything.
Gabriella and her husband love gossiping. And word will get back to Mamá.
I let out a quiet groan, resting my head on the edge of the table. What do I do?
I don’t want to take up Caleb on his offer.
He keeps acting as if I’ve said yes. Cheek resting on the desk, I stare at the mug he gave me, recalling how he punched Luis in the face.
It’s sad I can’t rely on my own family for that despite how much I love them.
I haven’t been able to rely on them for a long time.
After Dad died, it was just me against the world.
And now it’s me against Luis. Me and Caleb, if I agree with Caleb’s ridiculous scheme.
Sighing, I straighten up. I don’t even know why he wants to help me.
Does he feel sorry for me? Is that it? My bad mood returns almost instantly.
If that’s the case, fuck him! I don’t need him feeling sorry for me.
Muttering under my breath, I settle down into work, trying to forget all about Luis and Caleb.
An hour later, I get up to make myself a cup of coffee, and when I return, Joshua slides up to me like a shark scenting blood in the water.
“So,” he says, perching on the edge of my workspace with a grin, “want to tell me what’s going on with you and Caleb?”
“Mind your own business,” I snap, shoving him away from my desk.
“I like your business more than mine,” he counters, wiggling his eyebrows at me. “Something is definitely amiss here.”
I roll my eyes and busy myself organizing papers that don’t need organizing. “Why don’t you get your face away from me, Joshua, before I plant my foot there.”
“Don’t flirt with me. It won’t work.” Joshua clicks his tongue, waggling his finger in my direction. “The two of you have been acting weird around each other.”
“You’re paranoid,” I tell him calmly.
“That I am,” he agrees readily, “but I also have a nose for these things. You and Caleb, your auras are off.”
“Our auras?” I give him a narrow-eyed look. “What the fuck kind of crack are you smoking?”
Joshua makes a face. “You see, this is why you’re still single. You have a foul mouth. Women should be soft-spoken, delicate…”
“Is that why you bring all the crazies home?” I shoot back.
“...and tactful,” Joshua retorts. “And I just brought one crazy home. The rest were normal.” When I stare at him, he shrugs. “Well, kind of normal.” He leans forward. “And don’t change the subject. I can tell there’s something going on between the two of you.”
“Yeah, we’re overworked.” I put my hand over his face and shove him back. “Steven?” I look over at the older man working away on his computer. “Get him away from my desk before I stab him with something.”
Steven looks up, and I see how tired he looks. “Joshua, now is not the time. Go back to your seat.”
“Yes, Dad.” Joshua grins but not before kicking me lightly in the shin for tattling. I glare at him, but he’s too far away from me to hit him back so I have no choice but to restrain myself.
I’m already pissed at myself for letting things get out of hand with Caleb.
The more I tell myself to draw lines, the more I keep letting him get under my skin.
I know now more than ever, I should never have crossed that first line to begin with.
Letting him into my bed was a mistake, one that I can’t seem to undo no matter how hard I try.
It’s like a dam was broken, and he’s more than happy to go along with the flow.
I should have just kicked him out this morning. I shouldn’t have let him hold me last night. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to mess with him this morning. It doesn’t matter how infuriating he was being and how much I wanted to knock him down a peg or two. I still fucked up.
My eyes dart toward his empty chair, and I frown. Where is he?
“Steven, have you seen Caleb?” I call out.
Steven rubs his eyes. “He was just here a minute ago when you went to the kitchen. He was rifling through your desk for something.”
“My desk?” I ask, suspicious.
Steven just shrugs.
“Are you alright, dear?” Flora gives him a concerned look.
He rubs his hands over his face. “My oldest fractured his foot last night. We had to take him to the ER. I was there till six in the morning. I’m exhausted.”
“Oh, no!” Flora looks horrified. “No wonder you’ve been so snappy this morning. Children are a handful. I’m so glad mine are out of the house and settled. I cannot go through that entire process again. How is Elias?”
“Fine. Happy about missing school. His mother’s not that pleased, though.”
Flora makes a sympathetic face. “I can imagine. Why don’t you leave early today?”
Steven runs his fingers through his hair.
“It’s already one. What would be the point?
Besides, we still have to sort out the whole situation with the craftsmen.
I’ve been trying to look up potential replacements this entire morning, but I’ve only found a handful and none as talented as the ones we initially chose. ”
I open my mouth, then snap it shut recalling what Caleb found on my computer the other night. Iris mustn’t have told them about the meeting Caleb has tonight. The only people with access to my computer are my team. What if—?
I can’t bear to finish the thought, but if Iris didn’t tell anyone Caleb has a meeting with a potential craftsman, I’ll keep my mouth shut as well.
Just then, I see Caleb walk into the office.
He looks like he's just stepped out of a magazine spread, which is particularly grating when I feel like I'm still recovering from whatever cosmic force keeps throwing us together in the mornings.
Stopping by my desk, he reaches into his pocket and tosses something onto my desk. My car keys land with a small clink.
“I borrowed these to move your car back to its spot,” he says casually. I narrow my eyes at him. I know payback when I see it, and this is definitely payback for this morning. The bastard is always finding ways to get under my skin.
“It was already parked in my spot.”
“No. It was parked in another spot, which now happens to be mine,” he sneers. “I had HR give it to me.”
I press my lips together in a thin line. “You little—”
“What?” He gives me a mocking look. “If you wanted it so badly, you should have gone to HR first.”
I stiffen, hissing, “The only reason she gave you the spot—”
Caleb raises his brows at me, and I fall silent, suddenly remembering that his identity is a secret here. I let out a gust of air, forcing myself to calm down. He wants a reaction out of me. I know him.
Getting to my feet, I cover the distance between us in two steps and look up at him, my smile sweet.
“You think this is over?” His lips curve as he watches me, anticipation in his eyes.
Lifting my hand out of sight of everyone, I wrap it around his tie before yanking him down in an abrupt move.
He jerks forward, stabilizing himself with his hand on my desk.
“Enjoy it while it lasts, Wilder,” I whisper, beaming at him. “Because payback’s a bitch.”
Instead of backing down, Caleb leans closer until there are maybe two inches between us. I can feel the heat radiating off his body, and I refuse to let myself get affected by his breath on my lips.
“Oh, I’m so scared,” he whispers, his voice taunting. His gaze drops to my lips for a split second before meeting my eyes again.
“You should be,” I inform him. “I’m not afraid to hit below the belt.”
“I’m aware of that,” he murmurs, but his voice has gone even lower, more gravelly.
The office around us seems to fade away. All I can focus on is the way he’s looking at me, the infuriating smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. One of us needs to step back. It should be me. I should be the mature one here.
But I don’t move. Neither does he.
“Okay, break it up, you two,” Joshua calls out, not even looking up from his computer. “Save the deathmatch for after work hours.”
I jerk backward, my face heating up. Caleb just grins wider, the smug asshole.
“Professional disagreement,” I mutter, smoothing down my blazer.
“Right,” Flora says dryly from behind her desk. “Very professional. Try not to actually murder each other before the Serastra launch.”
I shoot a glare at Caleb, who’s already walking away, whistling under his breath. The sound makes my eye twitch.