“Hey,” she replies.
“How’d it go last night, Mads? Is he totally pissed at me?”
She laughs. “He was. But he’s come to terms with it.”
“Really? Already?”
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s still pissed about losing that account, and he’s not so happy with Callan. He said that if Callan had feelings for you, he should’ve come and talked to him instead of hiding it. But you, you’re his baby sister. You’re not in any trouble.”
That makes me feel a little better, but I also don’t want Callan to be in trouble either. “You think his and Callan’s friendship will survive this?”
“I think it will take some time to get them back to how they used to be, but in the long run, I think everything will be okay.”
“Okay, Mads. I just wanted to check in and say sorry if I made your night horrible.”
She laughs. “Are you kidding me? Bennet was pissed, that’s for sure, but he put all that aggression into se—”
“Hey, too much information,” I say, cutting her off, which only makes her laugh harder.
“So, to change the topic. You and Callan!”
This time, it’s time for me to laugh. “I know. You were right,” I admit.
“I knew it the moment we started talking about it. Jazz and my brother were the same way, you know. They hated one another for the longest time. But you know what they say…there’s a fine line between love and hate.”
“Yeah, but I always thought that meant you could go from loving someone to hating them.”
“Shush it; it works both ways.” She lets out another giggle. “So, the sex. Spill it. Is he a monster in bed?”
“Madeline Windsor, you’re a married woman.”
I can practically hear her eyes roll. “So what? Is it hot and passionate?”
I can’t hold off my smile. “So good, Maddie. He’s sexy and cocky but in a good way. And he never gets enough. I swear, his libido is like a teenage boy.”
She laughs. “Sounds like he and your brother have a lot in common.”
“Ew! Gross, why would you tell me that?”
“Well, you told me.”
“Yeah, but it’s not your brother!”
“Alright, I’m sorry. I’ll just listen to all your sexy stories and won’t tell you any of mine. But, Val, I have some good ones.”
I shake my head. “Just tell me it was with another guy and not my brother.”
“Deal,” she laughs out.
“I’m going to get off of here, Mads. Since Callan is gone for the day, I’m going to get ahold of Krista and see if she wants to hang. I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Alright. Have fun but be careful. We all know the messes you get yourself into.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re starting to sound as bad as my brother.”
She groans. “Don’t make me the responsible adult.”
I laugh. “See ya later.”
“Bye.” She hangs up, and I drop the phone onto the floor to finish my bath.
When I get out, I dry off and wrap myself in a fluffy robe. As I stand at the counter and fix my hair and makeup, I call Krista.
“Hey, bitch,” she answers.
I laugh. “God, I’ve missed your voice.”
“Of course you have. What’s up?”
“Callan is busy working today. I figured I’d see if you wanted to meet up. We can grab some lunch and hit the mall or something?”
“Sounds good to me. I have a party to go to later and need to find something hot to wear.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I’ll be by in an hour?”
“See you then!”
I hang up the phone and finish getting ready. I’m pulling up to her apartment an hour later. I pull to the side of the street and send her a quick text. Moments later, she comes running down, blonde hair flying crazily around her.
“Hi, love,” she says, bouncing into the car.
I smile. “Hey, ready?”
“Always.” She pulls her seatbelt around herself.
We talk as we head toward the mall. I tell her about dating Callan and how we’d managed to keep it a secret. Then I tell her about my brother finding out and his reaction.
“Really? Bennet?” she asks, scrunching her face.
I nod. “Yep. My brother, the guy that used to go through girls like bubble gum, is now giving me shit for dating a guy just like he was.”
“Marriage has changed him.”
I laugh. “No, Maddie changed him. I’m not sure any other woman could have done it. I just don’t know why he can’t look at Callan and me and think I’m just like Maddie to Cal. You know?”
She nods. “You’re the one that made him change his ways,” she agrees.
“Enough about me. Tell me about you. Who are you seeing? Still messing with Brain?”
She smiles wide and nods. “Yeah, me and Brain are still a thing. But I’ve met this new guy. His name is Scott. He’s super hot and fun to hang out with. Plus, he’s rich, and every time we go out, he ends up paying for everything. Which, I know this isn’t a big thing to most women, but I’ve never been with a guy that’s already secure in his job. Most of the guys I end up with are crashing on their best friend’s couch. It’s like I’m a loser magnet.”
I giggle. “Are you and this Scott getting serious?”
She shrugs one shoulder. “More serious than I’ve gotten with anyone else.”
“But not too serious since you said you’re still messing around with Brain.”
“I mean, we have a casual thing going. But the longer it goes on, the more he’s calling me.”
“What about Decon? Have you seen him lately?”
She nods. “Yeah, every time Brian and I go out, he ends up tagging along. He wonders off as soon as we get to the club though. And he keeps asking about you. Every time, he’s all, where’s Val? Is Val coming? Why don’t you call her up?” She rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
“I can’t believe he has the audacity to even speak my name!”
“He’s something else. And here lately, it’s gotten worse. He’s asked if I’ve seen you, your address, where he could casually bump into you.”
“You haven’t told him, have you?”
“No! Of course not. I’m not stupid.”
Just hearing that he’s still asking about me pisses me off. I mean, who does that? Who attacks a person, gets away with it, and then continues to ask about them? He’s lucky I didn’t have any evidence, otherwise, I would have gone to the police. Unfortunately, all I had evidence of was having drugs in my system. It would’ve been mine and Callan’s word against his, and that’s not good enough. I don’t think the police will play by the playground rules of two against one.
We get to the mall, and we go into nearly every store. Krista finds her perfect outfit for the party, and then we head into the Chinese restaurant on our way out of the mall. I order fried rice and orange chicken, and she orders a sample platter with a big cocktail.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink?” she asks.
I shake my head. “I’m scared since that night. Every time I smell alcohol, I get flashbacks from that night, how sick I was, how my head was pounding so bad. My heart starts racing and fear burns its way up my throat. I think I have some serious PTSD.”
She offers up a sympathetic look. “It’s understandable.”
I let out a deep breath. “I wish you’d stop hanging out with those guys, Kris. I mean, you got this new guy. Get serious with him and get out of the club scene. It’s dangerous.”
She nods and offers up a smile. “I know. I tell myself that all the time.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“I don’t know. I just feel like if I do that, then it’s like finally admitting that I’m getting old and growing up.”
I laugh. “You’re twenty-one, for crying out loud. That’s nowhere near old.”
She joins in on my laughter. “I know. I just feel l
ike I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. You know, acting stupid, enjoying my youth, making mistakes. I’m afraid of settling down and being with one man.”
I nod in agreement. “I know, it is scary. Especially after living the way we have been. I mean, up until a month ago, I’d never had a serious boyfriend. We got fake I.D’s at seventeen and have been in the party scene for way too long. I think we were exposed to too much too soon. But, I promise, once you find the right guy to be with, all that stuff will no longer be important. I remember thinking that if I spent a Saturday night at home, I was a loser. But now, I’d much rather be home with Callan than having some strange guy I don’t know grinding against me in a crowded club.”
She offers up a small smile. “I think about it sometimes. Who knows, maybe Scott will be my Callan.”
“I hope so,” I agree.
After we eat, I take Krista back to her apartment to get ready. She talks me into coming up and hanging out with she gets dressed and does her hair and makeup. And since I still haven’t heard from Callan, I figure, why not? It’s not like I have anything else to do.
She leads me up to her apartment, and I collapse on the couch while she goes into her room to change.
“You can make some coffee if you want. Or there is stuff to drink in the fridge,” she tells me from the other room.
I stand up and move to the fridge. I open the door and pull out a bottled iced coffee. I close the fridge and twist the cap, my eyes landing on a picture stuck to the front of the door.
“Is this Scott?” I ask, looking at the picture of her and a guy I don’t know. He’s cute, with dark hair, blue eyes, and a five o’clock shadow on his chiseled jaw. She’s wearing a full-blown smile, causing her blue eyes to shine.
“Yeah, isn’t he sexy?”
“He is. Where’d you meet him?” I take a sip of my coffee and head back to the couch.
“At the gallery, actually. He came in and bought a piece. We hit it off immediately, and he left with my number, you know, in case he found himself in need of more art. To my surprise, he called me that night and asked me out.” She comes walking into the kitchen in her new black dress and heels.
“Look at you!”
She laughs and spins around. “What do you think?”
“I think you’ll leave Scott speechless.”
She opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water. “Will you come with me? I mean, you don’t have to stay long or drink. Just hang out with me until he gets there?”
“I don’t know, Kris,” I whine, leaning against the counter.
“Please, I don’t want to be standing there by myself. You can leave as soon as he gets there.”
“Whose party is it?”
“My friend, Gemma’s. You’ve met her a couple of times; remember?”
I nod. “I remember.”
She pokes out her bottom lip and gives me her best puppy dog eyes.
“Fine,” I breathe out, rolling my eyes. “But I’m not drinking, and I’m leaving as soon as he gets there.”
She smiles and jumps up and down. “Thank you, Val,” she says, running off to finish getting ready.
16
Callan
I get to work and let myself into Bennet’s office. Since it’s a Saturday, his secretary isn’t at her desk to announce his visitors like usual. I walk in the door and find him sitting behind his desk that’s covered in papers.
“Hey,” I say, wanting to let him know I’m here.
He doesn’t respond. He just keeps his head down, reading over the paperwork.
“Look, man,” I start as I walk closer to his desk. He still doesn’t look my way.
“Your sister and I, it wasn’t planned. I’d never do something like this to you intentionally.”
His head pops up. “How did it even begin, Cal? Because last I knew, you wanted to fire her.”
I collapse in the seat across from his desk. “It started that weekend she went to the club. Nothing happened between us, but something changed then. Suddenly, she wasn’t annoying or trying to ruin my life. When we stopped trying to get at one another, we were able to start a friendship. We found we had a lot of things in common. I just, I got to see her in a different light, I guess. That’s when the dreams started. I had these dreams that we were together, like a couple, and I was happy. I can still remember the tingling in my chest from it. Seeing her smile made my heart pound. I told myself no, I did everything I could to get her out of my head, but nothing worked. I knew that I couldn’t have the same relationship with her. I kicked her out of my office so I didn’t have to look up and see her. I tried being with other women as a way to replace what I really wanted. Nothing worked, and that’s why I was going to fire her. I knew that if I couldn’t keep my hands to myself, I wouldn’t be able to be near her. So I did. I fired her, and then she stormed my house and demanded an answer. All I was trying to do is to get some space to let the feelings pass, but she wouldn’t allow space. That’s the night everything started.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks, seeming to relax a little.
I shrug. “Neither of us even knew what we were doing. At first, we both thought it was a one-time thing, but then it was like we took turns running to each other. I wanted to commit, and she was scared to. I knew it wouldn’t be cool with you if we were just fucking around. I wanted to wait until we were in a good place.”
“Are you telling me that you and Val, you’re in a real relationship?”
I nod. “Neither of us have even looked at anyone else in over a month. She’s the one I want, period. I’m going to marry her one day, Ben.”
He nods once. “Okay. Hearing all this, it does make it a bit easier to accept, but Cal, I’m still not happy about it. I’m just going to need some time to adjust and accept this. But now, we have to figure out how in the hell to save this account.” He shakes his head and begins rubbing his temples.
The doors open and Levi, the company lawyer, walks in. “How the hell did you lose a twenty million-dollar account, Ben?” he asks around a smile.
I raise my hand. “It may have been my fault,” I say.
Levi looks at me, smile still in place as he holds out his hand to shake. “Callan, how’ve you been?”
I shrug and shake his hand. “I’ve been better, as you can imagine.”
He laughs and slips off his jacket. “Move, Ben. Let me look over everything.”
Bennet stands up and lets Levi sit down at the desk. “If you can get me out of this one, Levi, you get a bonus,” he says around his smile.
Levi winks. “Bennet don’t worry, you know there’s a clause that protects the company from this kind of reckless behavior. If he doesn’t want to take his money out he’ll either pay you a very hefty fine or he’ll be hit with a lawsuit. Don’t worry about it, I’ll go through the contract.”
Bennet walks over to the drink cart and motions for me to follow him. I stand up and walk across the room, wanting to leave Levi alone so he can figure a way out of this mess.
Bennet pours two drinks and hands me one before we sit in the seating section of his office.
“I’m sorry about all this, man,” I tell him, once again.
He waves a hand through the air, dismissing my apologizes. “If that had been Maddie and me, I would’ve reacted the same way. That’s just another reason why you two should’ve come clean. I mean, do I seem like a total douche to you? I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me. Were you afraid I’d fire you? Did you think I had the power to make her break up with you?”
I laugh. “Honestly, I thought you’d kick my ass with them boxing skills. Then run me over with a race car.”
He laughs but remembers we need to be quiet for Levi to concentrate. He takes a sip of his drink. “It’s kind of cool, actually. I mean, if you two are as committed as you say you are. It’d be nice to have my best friend as a brother in law.”
I sit up, resting my elbows on my knees as I hold my glass with two hands. “
I’m dead serious, Ben. She’s it for me.”
He smiles. “Good, but I’ll tell ya the same thing Damon told me when he found out about Maddie and me.”
“What’s that?”
“You break her heart, I’ll kill ya.” His green eyes seem to darken, and his smile falls.
I hold out my hand to shake. “It’ll never happen,” I promise.
That seems to be all we need to break the ice. The rest of the afternoon, we sit back and chat while Levi does his best to get us out of the mess we’re in. We talk about him and Maddie, me and Val, and trips we can take as a couple—he even offers to rent the yacht he and Maddie sailed away on for three months.
Looking back now, it seems silly not telling him. While we both had the time of our lives hiding our secret relationship for a month, this seems even better. Now, we can leave the house. We can go to dinner and hold hands, kiss, and dance like a real couple instead of two business partners having a meeting over a meal. I can go to her family functions and don’t have to worry about slipping up and saying the wrong thing. Everything just seems like it will be so much easier now.
“Has your mom been told about us yet?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I talked to her this morning and told her about this account, just so she feels left in the loop. I mean, it’s not anyone’s fault we’re about to lose it. This kid is irresponsible and just wanting money since his dad passed. His dad may have left him a billion dollar estate but the trust has some serious strings attached so he can’t touch it at the moment. But, I didn’t tell her about you and Val. I figured that would be for you two to do. I don’t see her having a problem with it, though. She’s always loved you. You know that.”
I smile and nod, happy that nobody will be in our way. Now, we can just be together. We’re free to fall deeper in love, to get married, have children, do whatever we want with the rest of our lives. It’s funny, before Val, I never wanted marriage or kids or anything to do with being a responsible adult. But now, all I want is her, and I’ll do anything, give her anything, to keep her at my side.
“Found something,” Levi says, interrupting my thoughts.
His Every Desire (Contemporary Romance Box Set) Page 30
