Caleb
Istand on Olivia's porch staring at the locked door as the porch light clicks off and I'm left there reeling over what just happened. I'm not sure if Derek got pissed because of how I told him off or if Olivia figured it out on her own, but she knows.
I knew this moment was coming, and as much as I tried to shelter her from the shock and pain, it was inevitable.
My chest feels like someone drove an axe into it, and my hands curl into fists in rage as I back off the porch, fuming that I let Derek do this to me—and her.
I didn't do my job checking him out. I blindly trusted him because of our past and how he helped a man I know.
It was my mistake in this, taking a job that led me down this path.
Stomping across my yard toward my house, I decide enough is enough.
It's over and I'm not going to play this game anymore at all.
I already know what he's doing, and I know if I back out, he'll just send someone else.
But now that Olivia's aware, it'll be easier for her to spot a plant, not to mention I can keep an eye on her, even if she never wants to talk to me.
If Derek wants to be petty, then we'll play petty games.
Someone called in those complaints to her boss.
I can find out who did that. And I can put my foot down and not work for him ever again.
And if he thinks I'm going to move away so he can set someone else up in this house, he's wrong.
I'm not moving until I'm sure Olivia can handle this.
I pace my kitchen, stewing for a few moments to let some of the anger simmer.
I can't be upset with Olivia because she is the victim in all of this, but the hurt I feel is making me so mad.
I'm angry with myself for not just being honest to begin with.
If she knew I was there to gather information on her, we never would've let it get as far as it did.
Though, I may never have gotten the information, either.
Regardless, the blame falls squarely on my shoulders for the way she feels right now, though Derek played his part too. I pick up my phone, calm enough now that I feel able to tell him off without sounding irrational, and he answers right away.
"Caleb. I was going to call you tom—"
"We're done." I pace across the kitchen and back. "I'm not doing this anymore. You're gonna have to hire someone else if you want to destroy her, and I'm going to stop them too." My jaw feels so tight, I can barely speak without gritting my teeth.
"Calm down. What happened?"
"You damn well know what happened." I'm so mad, I can't think.
I really liked this woman a lot, and it wasn't just because she was damn gorgeous, either.
She and I have this spark that I've never experienced with anyone before, and now it's gone—extinguished like a candle snuffed out, smoldering and dead.
"Oh, I guess she found out about your surveillance and now she's upset…" He chuckles like this is no big deal, so sadistic, he doesn’t care that he's emotionally toying with people. The minute he noticed that she liked me, he was probably determined to see this outcome.
"You're heartless, you know that? That kid deserves a better father than you can ever be to him. What are you teaching him?" I'm not foolish enough to ever believe that my words will make a difference here, but I don’t have to go along with him anymore.
"Careful," he says in a warning tone, but I've dealt with scarier men than him. I haven't done anything illegal and he can't threaten me. The only thing he could've done to me to hurt me is already done.
"No. I'm done. Lose my number. And if you use a single word I wrote against her in that courtroom, I'll testify under oath that you hired me to conduct surveillance on your ex-wife under false pretenses.
Every detail, Derek. How you found the house listing.
How you paid my deposit. How you coached me on what to look for. All of it."
I start pacing again, raking a hand across my head as I start wondering if there's any way to fix this.
I may be able to observe Olivia, but she'll never trust me again.
If I do see someone else around her trying to mess with her, she won't ever believe me.
God, this is so messed up now, and just when we were really clicking.
And poor Ethan. That kid's gonna get taken away from his mother because his father is a total jerk, and what then? He just turns out as manipulative and sadistic as his dad?
"You're making a mistake," Derek says quietly.
"I've already made the mistake. Now I'm trying to fix it." I hang up and drop the phone on the counter and stand there with my pulse hammering. Olivia deserves so much better than all of this and I'm the one who escorted it right to her front door.
Derek can't sway a judge with the information I gave him because it's not even damning, but if Olivia's boss comes forward to testify that someone called in warnings about her and the judge couples that with soccer moms seeing her break down in public, then add to that her medications list…
He could paint a very damning picture. None of those things isolated is bad, but Derek is a fucking snake.
He's not going to explain things rationally.
He's going to twist facts and conflate evidence.
He'll paint Olivia like a loose cannon, back it up with the prescriptions she takes. And God only knows what he'll say to Ethan to feed that kid’s head full of bullshit so when the judge questions him, it makes Olivia look worse.
I sink to my kitchen island where my computer sits untouched for days.
After my last report, I felt so conflicted telling Derek anything that I haven't even opened it other than to search for buildings in Troy that may be good for a security firm.
I wasn't joking when I told Olivia's boss I may start the firm here instead of in North Carolina.
At the time, I was feeling foolishly hopeful that somehow, things would work out between Olivia and me. Now I know that's not going to happen. My hopes of jumping right into a relationship as if fate had ordained it have now been dashed.
But as I stare at the closed laptop feeling helpless, unsure whether I can stop Derek or not, I'm sure as hell going to try.
If he's this much of a viper in his own relationship, imagine what he could be doing to other helpless victims. Tigers don't change their stripes.
Derek has probably done something similar to this before, and I'm going to find out if he has.
And if he has, I'm going to use this against him. Because even if Olivia wants nothing to do with me anymore, I care enough about her to want to protect her now, if for no other reason than to clean up my mistake and learn from it.