I rolled my eyes when she reminded me how obtuse she could be. “You worked together for years with no problem.”
“That was different. We were working for my father, so there was no power struggle. Their business is already established now. I’d be walking in as an outsider, trying to usurp authority. I’m not sure it would sit well with their crews.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said, lacing my hands on the desk as I leaned forward. I’d always found the direct approach to work best with Catia, and since I wasn’t in the mood to consider her feelings, direct she would get. I’d promised I wouldn’t let this interview get personal, but it was difficult to avoid when every question swimming through my head revolved around us, not the job she’d been hired to do. “I think this is some kind of end run to get back in my good graces. But why?”
“Maybe I hate the way things are between us,” she said, her level gaze capturing mine. “Maybe I feel like a coward for running away and I just want to make things right.”
I wasn’t buying it. “You don’t have to move here and get a job working for my company to do that. We still see each other from time to time. You could have cornered me at some party and apologized if you wanted to ease your conscience.”
“I’m not sure that I have anything to apologize for,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “Besides, you made it clear on several occasions that you weren’t interested in hearing anything I had to say.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for?” I asked, dumbfounded. “You slept with me, knowing how I felt about you, then you told me you were leaving town to get away from me.”
“Do we really have to rehash all this now?” she asked, looking at the framed photos of my kids on the credenza behind my desk. “I think we can agree that we were in a period of transition then. It seems your life is more stable now, and so is mine.”
“Is that so?” I couldn’t imagine Catia, the whirlwind, ever being settled.
“Yes.” She raised her chin, looking annoyingly defiant. “I know what I want. That’s why I’m here—to get it.”
“And what the hell do you want exactly?” She better not think I’d be stupid enough to give her a second chance, ‘cause that was never gonna happen.
“I want a chance to prove myself at a company that doesn’t bear my last name. Where I have to sink or swim based on my abilities.” Her lips twisted in a wry smile. “Because let’s face it, I know you’d have no problem tossing me out if I’m not doing a good job. In fact, you’d probably take pleasure in it.”
“You’re right about that.” I was being ornery, but I couldn’t help it. Cat had a way of bringing out the worst in me. “But I’m still not convinced this is a good idea.”
“I understand. Would it help if I told you I’m serious about this commitment? I even bought a house. It’s a bit of a fixer-upper, but—”
“The Parkers’ old house. I saw your address in your personnel file.”
Her cheeks colored slightly as she licked her pink-tinged lips. “I didn’t think Wendy would have shown you that. I was figuring out how to tell you myself.”
“I’m listening.” I wanted to hear what her motivation had been for buying the house across the street from me. Surely she didn’t expect me to be neighborly, given our history.
“I hope you don’t think it’s creepy,” she said, brushing her long dark waves aside. “I kind of thought you might think it was weird—”
“It is weird.” She looked taken aback, and I frowned. What the hell had she expected me to say—that I was used to my ex-lovers moving in down the street and securing a position with my company? “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d seen Fatal Attraction one too many times.”
She laughed, revealing those perfect white teeth and soft dimples. Damn. Seeing them felt like a gut-punch. I’d forgotten how potent her smile was. Scowling or sullen Catia was much easier to resist than happy Catia.
“I don’t blame you for feeling that way. If our situations were reversed, I’d probably feel the same, but the truth is, I was ready to shake things up. I wanted a major life change, and since I enjoyed my time here, working with you, this seemed like a logical decision.”
I couldn’t deny we’d made an incredible team. If only our time between the sheets hadn’t been the highlight for me. “How long do you plan to stay? I know you bought the house, but for someone with your resources, that doesn’t mean much. Next month, you could decide you don’t like being here after all and rent the house out.”
“I suppose I could,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “But I won’t. Like it or not, I’m here for the long haul.”
“Huh.” I still wasn’t sure whether I liked it or not. At the moment, I was leaning toward not, but with this woman, my feelings could change at warp speed.
“You control whether or not I can work for you, I’ll admit. But you can’t control whether we’re neighbors. I love the house and the neighborhood, so I intend to stay, even if it means I have to get another job.”
Thanks to her generous trust fund, Catia didn’t have to work, but the fact that she choose to, rarely touching her trust fund, was admirable.
I stared at her, trying to convince her to back down, that this crazy idea could only end badly. “Why put yourself through this?” Better yet, why put me through this? But I couldn’t ask that. If I did, she’d know how much I still cared.
“Because running scared didn’t make me feel good,” she admitted. “It’s not who I am. I stick it out and work through my problems. But something about you and what I felt for you scared me enough to make me want to run.”
Wow. I’d never expected her candor. She’d never been the kind of woman to pull punches, but she was showing unprecedented vulnerability. If she’s being sincere. “Fine, we’ll try it out. I need the help. You want the job, and I can’t deny you’re more than qualified.”
Her smile lit up the room again when she clasped her hands together. “Thank you so much, Chase. I promise you won’t regret this.”
“The jury is still out on that,” I muttered. My eyes swept over her. I tried not to fixate on her legs, but damn it was hard not to remember how incredible they’d looked wrapped around my waist. “But you can’t go to job sites like that. You’ll break your neck in those heels, and that”—I gestured to her low-cut blazer—“is totally inappropriate. Have you forgotten the kind of guys you’ll be working with?”
“This was more for you,” she said, licking her lips as she popped the button on her blazer, letting her full breasts spill out.
Forget about my guys stroking out—I should have been more concerned about myself.
Clearing my throat, I sat back, picking up her personnel file. “You know the drill on the job sites, Cat. Jeans, work boots, and hard hat.” And preferably a flannel shirt that would hide those ridiculous curves, though I knew not even a potato sack would conceal her attributes.
Looking amused, she said, “I know. I have been on my fair share of job sites. But Wendy said we would just be reviewing my projects today, that I wouldn’t actually be visiting any of the sites until tomorrow.”
“Oh.” So she really had dressed to impress me? I’d have been lying if I said it hadn’t worked. Not only did I remember how incredible it felt to have her gorgeous body pressed against mine, I wanted her again. And again…
Not that we could go there. Catia had proven when the going got tough, she ran. I could have really used her support when I was fighting for my girls. A time or two, I even picked up the phone to call, but then our time in that hotel room came flooding back, and I slammed the phone down, cursing her name.
“Well, don’t let me keep you. You can start training with Wendy so long as you understand something—you’re my employee, and that’s all you’ll ever be.” When I saw the light go out in her beautiful eyes, I felt like an ogre. But I had to protect myself, not to mention my daughters. The last thing they needed in their lives was a woman who’d admitted to be
ing a carbon copy of my ex-wife.
“Understood,” she said stiffly, standing. She extended her hand. “Thank you for the opportunity. I promise I won’t let you down.”
As I watched her walk out of my office, I tried to decide if I’d just made the best or worst deal of my life.
***
I went to my parents’ house after work since my mother picked the girls up after school every day.
“Hello?” I said, walking through the door. I heard giggles coming from the kitchen, and given the tension in the air when I’d dropped them off at school that morning, it was a welcome sound.
“Hi, honey,” my mom said, looking up when I entered the kitchen. “You’re early.”
“We’re helping Nana make cookies,” Emily said, pointing at the cookie sheet filled with little mounds of dough. “We can stay ‘til they’re done, can’t we?”
“Sure.” I sat on a chair at the kitchen table my father had built for their twentieth wedding anniversary. “We’ve got some time before we have to go home and start dinner.”
“You’re more than welcome to stay here for dinner,” my mother said, pointing at her slow cooker. “Roast beef, baby carrots, and potatoes. Should be ready soon.”
“Can we?” Elsie asked, folding her hands under chin. “Nana makes the best roast beef.”
I hated to impose on my parents any more than I already had, but Mom wouldn’t have asked unless she wanted us to stay. “Okay, thanks. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s out in the shop, working on some project. Why don’t you go see him, honey? You have time before dinner.” She inclined her head toward the new fridge I’d insisted on buying them when their last one conked out after two decades of faithful service. “Grab a beer for yourself. Your dad might like one too.”
“Sounds good.” It sounded better than good. After the day I’d had, I couldn’t think of anything better than kicking back and having a beer with my old man.
I’d tried not to notice that the girls hadn’t come running when I walked in the door. No hugs or kisses when they saw me either. But at least there hadn’t been any tears, so I supposed I couldn’t complain.
I wandered out to my dad’s woodworking shop. Ever since he’d retired from construction ten years ago, he’d taken his furniture-making hobby more seriously. His pieces were so sought after he’d built a lucrative side business that never gave him time to get bored.
“Hey, Dad.” I set his beer on a table beside his workbench before peeling back the tab on my own. “How’s it going?”
He was working on a beautiful pine coffee table in his signature rustic style. “Things are good, son. How ‘bout you?”
I shrugged before taking a long pull from my beer. “Can’t complain, I guess.” I could have, but I didn’t want to burden my father with my problems.
“Girls giving you a hard time?” He chuckled. “I used to tell your mother raising one girl was harder than raising two boys.”
I grinned, thinking about what a little troublemaker my kid sister had been. Now she was a PTA mom, married to a doctor, and swore to her kids she’d never done anything wrong when she was their age. Only we knew better, but we’d promised to keep her secret.
“I guess they’re just having a rough go of it.” I couldn’t blame them given all the upheaval in their lives lately. “Sometimes I question if I did the right thing, taking them away from their home, making them change schools.”
After setting his sander aside, my father wiped the raw wood with a damp rag. “Don’t second-guess yourself, Chase. You did the right thing. The girls weren’t safe in her care, and you know it.”
“I know, but I feel like they hate me for taking them away from Karen. She may not be perfect, but she’s still their mom, and they love her.”
“I know.” My father sat on the edge of an old wooden stool, running a hand over his coarse silver hair. “She’s the only one they’ve got, and it’s your job to make sure they don’t grow up hating her.”
“Even if I do?”
My father scowled. “You don’t hate her. She gave you those beautiful babies in there. You can’t hate her.”
“I know you’re right, but sometimes…” There was no sense dwelling on everything that had gone wrong. There was nothing I could do to change the past.
“Sometimes it’s hard, I know. And you get angry and frustrated and want to hit something.” He chuckled. “You haven’t changed that much since you were a boy.”
“I guess not.” Except now I was smart enough to go to the gym and take it out on a punching bag instead of another guy or a sheet of drywall.
“But this has been goin’ on awhile. You sure that’s all that’s got you down today?”
“I don’t know that I’m down exactly.” I tipped back my beer, trying to decide how to tell my old man about Catia. He’d heard about her while we were working together and knew I had a thing for her, but once she left town, I’d never mentioned her again. “I guess I’m just confused.”
“About?”
“Wendy hired someone today, someone I don’t exactly approve of. She’s damn good at her job, a definite asset to the company…”
“Then why don’t you approve? I thought you gave Wendy carte blanche to hire anyone she wants to.”
“Usually, but I have some history with this one.”
“Ah, I see.” My father tipped his own beer back before setting it aside. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Who is it? Anyone I know?”
“Catia Starkis.”
“Oh, wow.”
“Yeah.” I closed my hands over my face, squeezing my eyes shut. “I don’t know what kind of game she’s playing, but I can’t shake the feeling she’s up to something.”
“She tell you why she wants to work for you?”
“She gave me some crap about wanting to do right by me.” I rolled my eyes. “But I’m not buying it. Cat isn’t the kind of woman who comes crawling back, admitting she made a mistake. She has too much pride for that.”
“And too much pride can be a very dangerous thing, can’t it?”
I knew that was a shot at me. “Meaning?”
“Was she the only one who made a mistake, or is she the only one brave enough to admit it?”
My father didn’t know the whole story, so I couldn’t blame him for calling me out. “Things got pretty heated between us toward the end. We may have let them go further than they should have.”
A smile lit up my father’s weathered face. “You must have forgotten to mention that before.”
I rarely talked to my old man about my sex life. There were just some things a grown man didn’t talk to his parents about, and that was one of them. “Yeah, well, I thought that meant she was willing to take a chance on me, but she cut me loose instead. She decided it would be best for both of us if she headed back to Chicago.”
“Was that the best thing for you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” I’d lain in bed so many nights, after a long day in court or a particularly nasty fight with Karen, and wished I could have held Cat in my arms or at the very least called her, but she hadn’t left an opening. I had too much pride to force the issue.
“Do you still have feelings for her?”
Typical of my father to cut right to the chase. “If you’d asked me a week ago, I probably would have said I was over her, but seeing her again today reminded me how much I wanted her.”
“Past tense?”
“What?”
“You said you wanted her. Past tense?”
Did I still want her? I shouldn’t have, but that didn’t mean I didn’t. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Sounds like you have some things to figure out.”
“You know why she left?”
My father shook his head.
“She said she thought she was too much like Karen. She’s fun and outgoing, loves to have a good time, isn’t necessarily the maternal type. She said she couldn’t stand to put me through what Karen had
.”
My father scratched his chin, looking thoughtful. “Interesting. Do you see the similarities between her and Karen?”
“No, but maybe I’m blind to her faults like I was with Karen for the longest time.”
“Sounds like you’re having a little trouble trusting your instincts.”
“Can you blame me?” I drained my beer, crushed the can, and tossed it in the wastebasket. “I’ve screwed up my life once already, and I have innocent kids in there who are paying the price.”
Heaving a sigh, he said, “I know you blame yourself for breaking up your family, but that’s not fair, and you know it. She stepped out on you.”
“Yeah, but maybe if I’d been home more—”
“Don’t!” My father raised his hand, his favorite way of getting me to shut up and listen. “I worked long hours when you kids were growing up. I had no choice. We had to eat. But your mama sure as hell never looked to another man to fill those long and lonely hours, and your wife didn’t have to either.”
“I know, Dad.” Everything he said made sense, but thinking that I hadn’t been man enough to keep my wife satisfied still hurt.
“Not every woman is like Karen, but you’d best be damn sure you don’t choose another one who is.”
“I’ll be careful.” As far as I was concerned, my heart was locked up tight. I had no intention of letting anyone in anytime soon.
Chapter Three
Catia
I’d been working for Chase for five full days, and I’d barely seen him. I caught glimpses of him shuffling his daughters into the car in the morning, but beyond that, he’d made himself scarce. I hadn’t moved all this way to play hide-and-seek with the man, so I had to devise a plan. Fortunately fate intervened to give me the perfect excuse to spend a little one-on-one time with him, providing he didn’t shoot me down.
Tapping my knuckles on his office door, I waited for him issue an invitation before I poked my head in. “Hey, you got a minute? I wanted to ask you for a favor.”
He beckoned me with his hand. “A favor, huh? I guess that depends what it is.”
Catia (Starkis Family #6) Page 3
