CaddyGirls

by V. K. Sykes

  Because it would never have crossed her mind that she could ever become a pawn in some lascivious, demeaning, juvenile game. But that’s what it was. Maybe that was all it ever was.

  She trudged toward the first tee, feeling her life come crashing down around her.

  Chapter 16

  Torrey woke Tuesday morning, sore, sleep deprived, and down in the dumps. Her concentration blown by Julieta’s revelation, she hadn’t been able to focus on her caddying job yesterday, which only heightened her frustration. Though her client had been kind, it hurt to know she’d let him down.

  As soon as the round ended, she’d pulled out her cell phone to call Julian. Actually, what she’d really wanted to do was jump on a plane and wring his neck the minute she tracked him down. But she’d eventually convinced herself not to act like a hysterical teenager screaming at her two-timing boyfriend. She had to give Julian a chance to explain himself, and she needed to be calm and rational when she confronted him. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, but she’d turned off her phone for the rest of the day.

  Stumbling from bed, Torrey brewed a pot of strong coffee to counteract the weight of fatigue sandbagging her shoulders. Part of her still desperately wanted to call Julian, but the other part slapped her hand every time she reached for the phone. As angry and hurt as she was, she almost couldn’t bear the thought of him confirming Krista’s story. She still hadn’t figured out what she would do if he did.

  Noon passed, then one o’clock. When the digital display on her microwave told her it was two, she finally decided the agony of knowing couldn’t be worse than the agony of not knowing. Punching his number into her handset, she started to focus on deep breathing.

  After six rings, Julian’s voice mail picked up. His breezy message made her want to throw the phone out the window.

  She snapped out the words. “It’s Torrey. Call me back as soon as you get this. It’s really important.”

  She threw the phone hard against the sofa as a hot flush prickled along her limbs. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Swiping them away with her wrist, she picked up the phone again and hit redial. Six rings, then voice mail again. She pushed the redial button. Three more rings and Julian picked up.

  “Torrey, what’s wrong? Are you all right?” Though sharp, his voice was full of concern.

  “I’m fine,” she said, battling to keep her tone cool. “But I need to talk to you right now. Have I interrupted something important?”

  “As a matter of fact you have,” he said, his tone now betraying irritation. “I pulled myself out of a meeting with Colton Kerr to take this call. After the third time you rang, I got worried. I was sure it had to be urgent.”

  “It may not be urgent, but it is important.”

  “Then you’d better tell me what it is right now, because this meeting is urgent too. In fact, it’s crucial to the future of my company. I don’t have time to mess around.”

  His frosty demand that she just spit out her problem—like she was an annoying little kid running to her busy daddy—made her already jittery temper spike. She needed a conversation and an explanation, not a terse lecture. Torrey wished she could reach her hands through the phone and throttle him.

  “Forget it,” she ground out. “Just go back to your meeting. We can talk later. When you have time.”

  He spoke quickly before she had a chance to hang up. “Torrey, what’s the matter? I’ve interrupted my meeting now, so you might as well tell me.”

  Suddenly, the last thing she wanted was to talk to him. She was now too angry and upset, and likely no longer thinking clearly. The conversation would probably be a disaster, and this was just too important to screw up.

  “I’m going to hang up,” she said, fighting to sound reasonable. “Now is obviously not a good time to talk. I’m sorry I bothered you.”

  “I’ll call you back tonight then. You’re not going to leave me hanging like this.”

  “All right,” she agreed. “I’ll be at the casino, but you can try my cell. Goodbye.”

  She threw the phone down again, dropped to the couch and buried her head in her hands. It was all about to come crashing down—she could just feel it.

  * * *

  Torrey couldn’t bring herself to call in sick, though she didn’t know how she was going to make it through her shift. Her dad had infused her with his work ethic, so she had never faked illness, not even once, and she wouldn’t start now. If Julian called, he’d just have to wait until one of her breaks.

  In fact, it surprised her that he hadn’t called before the start of her seven o’clock shift. He knew she had to work tonight, and he knew when her shift began. Why couldn’t he have called earlier? The fact that he hadn’t didn’t bode well, either for her mood or for how he was going to react to their conversation.

  Finally just after eight o’clock, the phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. On her first break, she stepped outside into the sweltering night and returned Julian’s call. She was hot, exhausted, and wound tighter than a spring.

  “You didn’t exactly knock yourself out to get back to me,” she said sharply after he answered on the fifth ring.

  “Wait a minute,” he answered in a level voice, “I said I’d call you this evening. Eight-thirty still counted as evening the last time I checked. I had things to do after my meeting with Kerr, including briefing my partners.”

  “Well, now you’ve got exactly five minutes until my break’s over.”

  “Then you’d better spit it out fast. Why are you so upset?”

  “Why am I so upset?” She fought to control her voice. “Listen, wouldn’t you be upset if you found out you’d been played for a fool? That you were nothing but a game piece in a stupid, frat boy prank?”

  The line went silent. She couldn’t even hear him breathing.

  “Julian? Are you still there?”

  “I’m here,” he said, his deep voice grim. “How did you find out?”

  Her stomach plummeted. Some small part of her had been hanging onto hope, but he’d just torched that.

  “From Julieta, who heard it from Krista. Nice to find out third-hand, I must say.” Torrey made no effort to hide her disgust. “You can’t keep something like that secret, Julian. You should know that.”

  “Josh must have said something to Krista.”

  “It’s not important how I found out or who said what.” She bit down on her lip, trying to control her shaking voice. “I actually hoped you would deny it, even though Julieta swore it was true.”

  “I’m afraid it is true,” he admitted in a careful voice. It felt like he was handling her, like he would a difficult client. “But Torrey, slow down and think about it for a minute. So a bunch of guys decided to have a little fun with a dumb bet. That has absolutely nothing to do with what happened between us. I promise you.”

  “Are you crazy?” she cried. “It has everything to do with what happened between us! The whole damn thing has been based on a lie—a stupid, childish prank that treated the four of us with total, callous disrespect.”

  “You’re right. The bet was a big mistake, and I knew it would be from the start. And I feel bad about that, okay? But I don’t think any real harm was done, was it? Everybody had a good time as far as we could tell, and I made it clear to the guys that they were not to treat any of you with disrespect. And the other caddies weren’t exactly beating them off with nine-irons, were they?”

  She was so dumbfounded by his defensive response that she didn’t know how to respond. Was that what he thought about her too?

  “I’m not sure why this has upset you so much, Torrey,” he said, starting to sound a bit impatient. “It’s not like I dumped you as soon as I lost. It was only after the bet was over that we came together, which was fine with me. I didn’t want to win the bet, so I guess that’s why it didn’t seem that big a deal at the time. I’m sorry if you see it differently.”

  Sorry she saw it differently? Could the man not realize how much she wanted to h
ear him say the words I’m so sorry—we were total dicks, me included. I apologize for hurting you. Inexplicably, he didn’t seem to get how important it was to her. The pain couldn’t have been worse if someone had driven a hard punch into her chest.

  She sagged against the concrete wall behind her. What a fool she’d been for dreaming about a life with Julian. Despite warning herself to hold fast to her life jacket, she’d thrown it overboard in her passion, and now the boat had been torpedoed. Friendly fire, she supposed. It made her stomach turn acid with bitterness.

  “You don’t get it, do you? You think because you guys are rich and smart and handsome you can have whatever you want. And if you step on people in the process, I guess that’s no problem, is it?”

  “Look, Torrey,” he said, his voice now tight with anger, “you got what you wanted, didn’t you? Our sponsorship? If it hadn’t been for the bet, we never would have used CaddyGirls, and you and I would never have met. And don’t try to tell me you didn’t use our relationship to get what you wanted, because you know you did.”

  She mentally stumbled, stricken by the accusation. Yes, she’d taken advantage of the opportunity Julian had presented her, but she’d always been honest with him. For the life of her, she couldn’t see any moral equivalency between how each of them had acted.

  “Maybe not,” she managed to reply. “But if you’re implying that we used each other equally, I resent that like hell. I was totally straight with you. You’re the one who did all the using.”

  He sighed so deeply she could almost feel the whoosh of his exhalation through the line. “Listen, I’m sure this was a miserable surprise, and it’s obviously got you completely bent. I’m not going to be able to talk sense into you tonight, so why don’t you sleep on it, and we’ll talk again tomorrow?”

  She almost choked. “I don’t think so, Julian. You guys did a monstrous thing. Even if you intended no harm, it was a huge mistake. The worst thing of all is that you can’t even see that.” When he remained silent, she knew she had lost the battle. “You’ve destroyed my trust, and I really can’t deal with that. I’m sorry, Julian. That’s not how I want to live my life.”

  “Jesus, Torrey,” he said in an exasperated voice, “you’re not telling me we’re through, are you?”

  Torrey’s heart pounded so hard she thought she might pass out. Maybe she was making the biggest mistake of her life, but she couldn’t be with someone who didn’t fully comprehend the wrong he’d done.

  “That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” she said with more conviction than she felt.

  She heard a loud thump, and for a moment she thought he might have thrown down his phone. But then his voice came through the line, rigidly controlled. “Torrey, it’s true our relationship started off the wrong way, but then everything turned out totally right. We made it right. We’ve got a pretty good thing going, and you’ve got the sponsorship you always wanted. Are you sure you want to throw something this good away?”

  That sure sounded like a threat. “Does that mean you’re going to pull your sponsorship out from under me?”

  “Jesus! I didn’t say that. What’s wrong with you? You know I’d never do something like that,” he yelled into the phone.

  A wave of nausea washed over her. Maybe not today, but who knew what would happen in the future? He was Julian Grant, and she was nobody.

  “Well, you won’t have to. You can take your sponsorship and shove it.” As soon as she said the words, she had to press a hand to her roiling stomach.

  “Oh, for God’s sake, come on. Don’t be crazy. Think about what you’re throwing away. It’s completely unnecessary.” He sounded both stunned and furious.

  “You can call me crazy,” she said, gritting her teeth, “but you’re the one who’s out of your mind if you think I’d be able to wear your logo on the golf course every damn day. I don’t want to have to think about Julian Grant every time I look at my shirt or my cap.” Her stomach rolled again. “Look, I’ve got to get back to work. Have a nice life.”

  Torrey hung up and raced for the nearest restroom. She slammed a stall door behind her and fell to her knees in front of the toilet, sicker than she had ever been in her life.

  Chapter 17

  “Either they take this deal or we walk,” Julian spat out as he paced the length of the plush executive suite at the San Francisco Marriott. “Everybody agreed?”

  Brendan looked up from his laptop and nodded slowly. Josh gave a silent thumbs-up. Only Michael spoke. “Damn right,” he growled. “I can live with this deal, but just barely.”

  Julian gazed out the dark windows of the suite toward Union Square. “I hear you, Michael. But this gets us what we want. What we need. We still keep control of the company.”

  Negotiations with Apollo had intensified since his one-on-one the previous week with Colton Kerr. Kerr had hinted at a possible compromise, and Julian had jumped on it. All weekend, lawyers and financial advisors from both companies had been closeted at the Marriott hammering out details. Earlier in the evening, OTE’s lawyer had gone to a second-floor boardroom to present their final offer package to his Apollo counterpart.

  “I hope this deal gets you out of your funk,” Josh said casually. “You’ve been a total pain in the ass since Torrey blew you off.”

  Julian stalked over to Josh and glared down at him. “Yeah, Boy Genius, she blew me off because you couldn’t keep your fucking motor mouth in neutral. I put up with a lot of crap from you, buddy, but don’t push me. Not today. You might not like the result.”

  “Yeah, back off, Josh,” Brendan said, glowering at Josh. “Julian’s been carrying this thing for all of us, and he doesn’t need your shit, even if you think it’s a joke.”

  Josh finally managed to look guilty. “You know I didn’t mean to screw things up with Torrey, Jules. Really. I liked her.”

  Julian swallowed his anger, trying to refocus on the problem at hand. He and Josh could have it out later. Right now, infighting would only weaken them.

  “Look, I know everybody’s got a big stake in this merger, but the responsibility for getting it done falls on me. It’s been a fucking brutal two weeks.” He paused to snap the cap off a bottle of San Pellegrino. He couldn’t afford to lose his cool. Not even for a minute.

  “Let’s drop this for now. Hutton’s back,” he said as their lawyer pushed open the outer door to the suite. “Time for the rubber to hit the road.”

  They took their seats on the sides of the meeting table while Hutton arranged his papers at the head.

  “They’ll accept the package you offered,” the lawyer said. “With one sweetener. Which I reluctantly agreed to recommend to you.”

  Julian was ready to agree to almost anything, just to get it over with. “What’s the sweetener?”

  “A straight cash payment to Colton Kerr of ten million dollars.”

  He started to laugh. “Colton has to get the last nickel, doesn’t he?” He looked around at the faces of his partners. No one spoke, but their expressions said whatever. “As much as we’d like to strangle the double-crossing bastard, ten million is peanuts in the overall deal.”

  “Good.” Hutton looked relieved. “We’ll get to work on the papers right away. Congratulations, Julian—you bargained a hell of a deal.” He recapped the essentials of the merger agreement again for them. Colton Kerr would be named an OTE Director, Julian would continue as President and CEO, Kerr would receive fifty million in stock options and a ten million cash payment, and Taylor Monk would also be appointed to the OTE Board.

  “Thanks, Hutton—we couldn’t have done it without you.”

  Julian showed him out, shaking the lawyer’s hand warmly at the door. When he returned to the meeting room, Josh and Michael rose from their chairs.

  “Time for a celebratory drink. If anybody’s still willing to drink with me,” Josh said with a sheepish smile. “Come on, Jules. You can even ream me a new one for being such an asshole these last few weeks. I even promise to listen.
”

  “This I gotta see,” Michael said dryly.

  Julian nodded, even though he felt little more than exhaustion. Still, after the stress of the last few weeks it might do them all good to have a drink together. “Sure, I’ll meet you in the bar in a few minutes. I want to call Colton and congratulate him. We still have to work with the guy. Unfortunately.”

  “Give him my love.” Brendan grimaced. “I’m going to stick around here for a while and do some work. I might join you later.”

  “Knock yourself out.” Josh grinned as he and Michael strolled from the suite.

  Brendan looked across the table at Julian, his eyes worried. “How are you doing, anyway? Josh was out of line there, but there was some truth in what he said. Have you given up on calling Torrey?”

  Julian rubbed his aching temples. Now that the merger was a done deal, he felt strangely deflated. “I tried three times last week. She won’t return my calls.” He wadded up a sheet of paper from the pile in front of him and fired it across the room in the general direction of the trash can. “Torrey’s hard-headed and proud.”

  Brendan gave him a wry smile. “Pot, meet kettle. You know, you could always send her an email.”

  “If she doesn’t want to talk to me, I’m not going to push it. I don’t go running after women—you know that.”

  Brendan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and I know you don’t want a lecture. But you really should have told her about the bet before she found out through the back door. Annie was pretty steamed when I told her, but I knew I had to do it. She accepted my apology.”

  “And she was smart enough to keep her mouth shut, unlike our birdbrain partner and his caddy.”

  “I know I was pretty hard on her in the beginning, but I think Torrey has a lot of talent and drive. It bothers me to see her throw everything away like this.”

  Julian grimaced. He felt like crap that he had reacted so badly during their last phone call, but why couldn’t she understand the pressure he’d been operating under? It was all just a stupid misunderstanding. She must know he never meant to hurt her. And if Brendan thought he felt bad about seeing Torrey’s career go down the drain...well, it was chipping away at Julian’s conscience on a daily basis.