Chapter Twenty-Four
A Good Swift Kick in the…
Cal hung up the phone wearily. It would be tight, but the linen rentals for Saturday would be here in time. Flopping back into the chair, he stared absentmindedly at his desk, automatically cataloging the gala paperwork and checklists scattered across it.
After the blowup with Rachel, her friends worked around him to clean up from lunch.
Before he could shake himself out of his paralysis, Jess came flying back and read him the riot act.
Even now he had to smile remembering the creative ways she would kill him and hide his body should he ever speak to her sister like that again.
He thought that would be the end of it, but then she’d pulled up a chair and they’d spent two hours walking through every facet of the gala.
As horrible as the day had been, working with Jess was the bright spot. She gave him hope they would pull off the event. Unlike Trace, she had a keen eye for detail along with a boatload of knowledge. And she was a lot easier to work with.
By the time Jess left, their to-do lists had to-do lists, but he felt more positive than he thought possible.
While Jess hadn’t accepted the job offer, she had agreed to help him for now.
She was rightfully concerned about what his parents would decide to do with the property.
With the estate’s future uncertain, he couldn’t fault her for being cautious.
When his phone chirped, he had the wild hope that it would be Rachel. Rationally, he knew it wouldn’t be, however that didn’t stop the thought. He wasn’t even sure what he would say to her right now.
They hadn’t talked since their argument on Sunday. And it had been the longest two days of his life since then. Between fixing the gala and reliving the argument with her, he wasn’t in the best head space.
Seeing Vinny’s name on the screen, he accepted the call, angry at himself for being disappointed it wasn’t Rachel.
“Hey Vin,” he said, trying to rally his spirits. “How are you?”
“Good man. Hey, you coming to watch the game tonight?”
Cal’s first response was to refuse. He wasn’t good company right now. And a mountain of work remained to be done.
Before he could refuse, he remembered how he’d spent last night.
Staring at the blank walls of his condo, his mind racing in circles, the lack of artwork adding another layer of pissed off.
He never bothered to fully decorate because he was always at the estate.
The estate that was on borrowed time because of a certain amazing, beautiful woman with a report to write.
A report that would kill everything he’d worked for.
Looking at the lists on his desk, Cal assured himself everything that could be done, was done or scheduled. At least for today. So it was the bare walls of his condo bearing down on him or mindlessly watching the game with Vinny.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “Sounds good. You need me to bring anything over?”
“No. I got it covered. See you tonight.”
Hanging up, he went over the gala file one more time.
Thank god, Jess set them a clear path. She could only give him time when she wasn’t working her regular job, but between the two of them, they’d made a solid start on fixing everything.
Every day leading up to the gala on Saturday was jammed with appointments, deliveries, pickups, and phone calls. The schedule was hectic, but doable.
He made a few more notes, then was out the door and over to Vinny’s. He didn’t bother knocking, knowing the door would be unlocked. Stepping inside, he could already hear the TV blaring from the living room.
Entering the kitchen, it was clear that Vinny really did have it all handled.
A platter of deli subs sat next to a plate of nachos and his friend was busy arranging a charcuterie board.
Cal’s stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him of just how long it had been since he’d last eaten.
But even at his hungriest, this seemed like overkill.
“I heard that,” Vinny laughed.
“I skipped lunch,” he explained. Breakfast too if he was being honest. But telling his friend he’d been existing on very little food and barrels of coffee was not something he wanted to share.
“But Vin, this is a ton of food.”
“I convinced him we needed to go big,” Jacks said, waltzing through the doorway.
“Jacks! I didn’t know you’d be here,” he said, hugging her.
“I ended up being free tonight, and then Vinny mentioned something about food and watching the game. It was actually pretty easy to talk him into going a little wild with the snacks,” she joked.
Their friend group all knew how easy it was to talk Vinny into anything concerning food.
The tough thing about Vin living alone is that he never bothered to make anything for himself.
But he always got excited to cook for others.
They’d teased him for years about creating a rotating schedule of friends to come for meals.
Whatever Vinny touched turned out delicious.
It was why his deli was consistently voted among the best in the state.
“Grab yourself a beer and a platter, Cal, and we’ll move all this into the living room.”
In short order, Cal was slumped into one of Vinny’s overstuffed chairs with a drink and a plate heaping with food.
For the first few moments, he could only focus on eating.
He really needed to keep some nuts or something in his desk, but it was so rare that he didn’t eat a lunch of some sort.
He’d never thought of having an emergency food stash.
Several moments passed before he registered his two friends staring at him. “What?” he demanded when he finally swallowed a bite. “I told you I’d skipped lunch.”
“It’s not that,” Vinny replied, his friend’s eyes scanning his face. “Well, it’s partially that, it’s just…”
“You look like crap,” Jacks interrupted.
“Bloody hell, Jacks,” Cal replied sharply.
She gave a dismissive wave of her hand and looked at Vinny with a shrug of her shoulders. “I’m not sugar coating it or dancing around it.”
Turning back, she said again, “You look like crap. How long has it been since you got some sleep?”
“I sleep,” he replied defensively.
“The luggage under your eyes begs to differ. And your coloring isn’t good.”
“What in the world does that mean?”
“Your skin looks kind of sallow. You looked stressed. And you’re missing meals? You never do that. What the going on, Cal?”
Cal looked at Vinny, imploring him to bring some sanity to the conversation. His best friend shrugged and said, “Don’t look at me. I’m with her on this one.”
Cal blew out his cheeks. He loved his friends, but sometimes they were a right royal pain in the ass. That said, he appreciated their concern, and that they were watching over him. It was more than he could say about his own family.
Taking in Jacks’ expectant look and raised eyebrows, he knew she wouldn’t let it go. She was one of the most upbeat and cheerful people he’d ever met, but once she decided on something, there was no dissuading or distracting her.
Looking at Vinny, he saw the concern reflected there.
Vinny may not be as confrontational as Jacks, but he was just as invested in the answer.
Grabbing a napkin, Cal wiped his hands before taking another sip of beer.
After a brief pause, he brought them up to speed.
The gala, Trace’s resignation, the planning holes, right down to the fight with Rachel.
Taking a beat once he was done, he grabbed some more food. “Thankfully, Jess stuck around and helped get most of the event sorted. It’s not all the way there, but it’s a lot better off than I thought. I have some optimism now that I might pull this off.
“And regarding Rachel, well, I’m sure the work she’s doing for my parents will wrap up soon, so I won’t be seeing her much. It wasn’t like that would go anywhere, anyway.”
Jacks’ frown took him by surprise. “What?”
“God, you’re stupid.”
“Jacks!” What was with his friends today? He’d come over to relax and have five minutes of peace escaping from the nightmare that was currently his life. He didn’t need this garbage.
“No. No getting around it,” she replied. “You’re so busy making sure you don’t fail in your parents’ eyes; you’ve missed what truly matters.”
Cal leveled a hard stare at his friend. His relationship with his parents was and probably always would be a touchy subject.
He ignored the part of himself that agreed with Jacks’ assessment.
At least about not wanting to fail in front of his parents.
He justified his feelings because he was attempting to save his grandfather’s legacy and a piece of family history.
But deep down, in places he didn’t let into the sunlight, he knew that no matter the subject, the prospect of failing, particularly before his parents, was a spectral demon that tore into his flesh every moment of every day.
Undeterred, Jacks continued to educate him on his stupidity. “Rachel really likes you. Big time. For some reason, the two of you can’t see the forest for the trees, but the rest of us see it clearly.
“We also see that the attraction between you two is the real deal, or could be if you gave it a chance. It isn’t some passing flirtation. She’s good for you, and I bet if you asked her sister, or those friends of hers, they’d say you were good for her, too.”
Cal was shaking his head even before Jacks had finished speaking.
As much as he may secretly want what Jacks was saying to be true, it wasn’t.
Yes, he was attracted to Rachel. Hell, she knocked him on his knees from the first moment he met her.
It had been a rocky start, granted, but you had to admire her passion and loyalty.
“Yes, there’s an attraction between us, but it’s nothing serious.
At least nothing Rachel considers serious.
It’s temporary at best because we’ve been thrown together on this project.
A few fleeting moments between two people.
” He had to believe that. If not, then he would need to acknowledge all that he lost when she stormed off.
He’d have to admit he had feelings for her, which were anything but fleeting.
“You’re kidding yourself,” Jacks called him out as if she had a direct line into his soul. “You think she’s going to reject you, so you won’t even allow yourself to feel what you feel for her.”
Vinny tilted his quizzically, scowling. “Does that make sense?” he asked Jacks.
“Shut it,” Jacks said humorously, launching a pillow at his head. “I’m right. He’s rejecting the idea of her because she scares him.”
Cal's head snapped back. Solid emotional blow by Jacks with that one. His nice, relaxing evening was winding itself into a tornado-sized pummeling.
“Cal has some big feels here for her,” Jacks continued to explain to Vinny.
“But he won’t even allow himself to explore that.
He’s rejecting her before she has a chance to reject him.
I’d even wager a guess,” she continued thoughtfully.
“Rachel may be doing the same thing. But.” She shrugged.
“I don’t know her nearly well enough to place a bet on that. ”
Cal ran his fingers through his hair, wanting to pull every last hair out. Which would be preferable to having his life dissected and served up to him on an enormous platter. “Guys. I’m sitting right here,” he sighed. Besides slicing him open, he could not allow them to talk like he wasn’t there.
“You don’t get it, Jacks,” he said. “I’m her assignment. Her path towards proving herself at her job. She told me that when we first started working together.”
“Didn’t you say she helped around the estate?” Jacks pressed, her gaze boring into him. “Not just observed, but got her hands dirty?”
Obviously, Vinny had been keeping their friends up-to-date. It made him restless to know his friends discussed his supposed romantic endeavors. It was part annoying, part creepy, and part sweet. He just wasn’t sure which third was the most egregious.
“Yes,” he finally replied, frowning in Vinny’s direction. “She got hands-on. Helped on several things. So what?”
“And she reached out to her sister more than once to help you out?”
“But that’s different…” he said slowly, his mind adding points to the argument. Rachel had called her sister. The sister who went through a hell of a time and was rebuilding her life. The sister that Rachel fiercely protected. Rachel had called Jess anyway.
“She even went so far as to kiss you?”
“Yes, but…” Cal tried to defend himself further. This was really starting to sound like an interrogation. An interrogation that he was quickly coming to agree with—which startled him even more.
“And you kissed her! So shut it with the buts! There are no buts here except you being a butthead.”
Her pronouncement lingered in the air between them.
It took several moments, but eventually Cal said, “I can’t believe you called me a butthead.
” Jacks wasn’t one to label, judge, or name call.
She was the person who avoided saying the word ‘hate’ for fear of putting the negativity out into the world.
Part of him wanted to laugh at the absurdity of her calling him a butthead.
The other part just stared at her in shock as if she were a sailor home on shore leave.
He shook his head and looked at Vinny, expecting some backup from his best friend. Or hoping for him to join in on laughing at Jacks’ pronouncement.
“Nope,” his former best friend drawled with a shake of his head. “Don’t look at me. I’m still with Jacks on this. You’re a butthead.”