Hidden Threat

by Sherri Hayes

  ***

  Jason could not believe what he was seeing. The fact that Matthew even wanted to come to a club was strange enough, but now he was beginning to think there was something seriously wrong with his brother. The woman with whom he was currently dancing was making her intentions very clear. Her hands were in constant motion, as was her body. Every inch of her from her hips to her shoulders was in constant contact with him.

  Matthew’s normal reaction would have been to politely hold the girl away from him and try to continue to dance. Instead, he did nothing to stop her obvious attentions. His brother’s hands had moved to her back, and his face was buried in her hair. What was going on?

  Jason continued to watch as the couple moved. They turned a bit, and he caught sight of Matthew’s face. It was not what he’d been expecting. His little brother wore the same face he did when they were up against a problem they couldn’t solve. Jason had always thought of it as Matthew’s “determined” face.

  With this new piece of information, Jason reassessed his brother’s body language as the two continued to turn. Matthew’s hands were on her back, but they were still. Holding her to him but not increasing the friction. His shoulder weren’t relaxed; in fact, Jason thought they almost looked stiff.

  He was still contemplating what, if anything, it had to do with the information he’d just obtained when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find a beautiful blonde whose dress left nothing to the imagination. “Buy me a drink?” she asked in a sultry voice.

  This was Jason’s favorite club, but he hadn’t been here without Lisa since they’d started seeing each other. He’d forgotten how often he got hit on. “Not interested.”

  She pouted and then leaned in. “I promise it will be worth it.” Jason felt his body react. He couldn’t help it. He was a man after all.

  Before his body told him to do something he knew he shouldn’t, he pushed off the stool and walked toward the dance floor. He was getting his brother, and they were getting out of here. Jason had no idea what was up with Matthew, but whatever it was, this was not going to solve it, of that he was sure.

  He was halfway to Matthew when he saw a familiar group weaving their way to the dance floor. Jason knew Lisa was going out with her girlfriends tonight, but he hadn’t expected them to come here. And Cali Stanton was with them. Whatever was going on with his brother, he’d bet money she had something to do with it.

  Jason was still deciding whether he should try to grab his brother and disappear or not when Lisa spotted him. Her eyes lit up for a second before her face changed, questioning his presence. She hurried toward him with the others close behind.

  Realizing what this must look like to her, he embraced her as soon as she was within reach, giving her a searing kiss. He pulled back enough to see her face.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi.” It took her a moment to recover. “What are you doing here?” she said, still a little breathless.

  Jason looked at her before his gaze fell on the women behind her. Cali was standing close enough to overhear anything he said. Sighing, he was about to explain when he saw Cali’s body go rigid. Looking up, he saw her face change. She wasn’t smiling as she had a minute ago, and he followed her gaze to Matthew.

  Just then, Matthew looked up, and their eyes connected. If Matthew hadn’t looked tense before, he did now. He stopped moving with the music, but it took a few seconds for that to register with his partner. The woman looked over her shoulder and caught sight of the group. A sly smile played on her lips before she leaned back into whisper something in Matthew’s ear.

  Lisa and Jason watched in silence, as both Cali and Matthew seemed to be in a trance. Both their faces were expressionless as they stared at one another. Then the woman with Matthew began to move again, making an enthusiastic effort to grind her hips into him. Jason saw Matthew’s eyes close briefly in response before Cali moved away.

  ***

  Cali didn’t know what to do; she couldn’t breathe. She walked without thinking to the far corner of the bar and sat down in the first empty chair. The bartender appeared in front of her, and she ordered a drink. She brought her hands up to run through her hair, not caring if she messed it up. Her chest felt like someone had hit her.

  The bartender placed a drink in front of her, but she just stared at it, lost in a feeling of emptiness. Cali felt her new friends before they spoke. “Are you alright?” Jen asked.

  Cali nodded. It was all she felt she could do. She wasn’t hurt, physically at least, and that’s what was important.

  Lisa placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. Cali didn’t resist; she didn’t have the energy. Her friend’s hand came up to wipe the tears she hadn’t known were on her cheeks and then wrapped her in a hug. “Do you want to go home?”

  She didn’t move for several minutes, and Lisa waited, her arms never leaving Cali.

  Finally, she was able whisper, “Yes.”

  The women didn’t waste anytime leaving the club. Lisa caught Jason’s eye as they were leaving but neither spoke because neither knew what to say. Something was going on between Matthew and Cali. The question was what.

  Cali rolled over and opened her yes. She experienced a moment of panic before remembering the events of the previous night and why she was waking up in Lisa’s apartment, not her own. A soft groan escaped her lips before she could stop it. She didn’t want to remember last night, not for a very, very long time, if ever.

  I am a doctor for goodness sakes. I am trained to stay calm in the face of tragedy.

  But, seeing Matthew there with that woman…his hands on her skin as she pressed her body into him…his obvious reaction…

  Cali felt the tears coming back to her eyes. Why did she feel like this? It wasn’t rational. It wasn’t logical. She’d only known him for two weeks and had no claim on him. But that wasn’t what it had felt like last night.

  Once she’d had a moment to catch her breath, she knew what she’d experienced.

  She was jealous. Whether it was right or not didn’t matter. Now the problem she faced was what to do about it.

  Chapter 20

  A knock at the bedroom door brought her back to reality. “Cali?” Lisa asked as the door opened a bit. She smiled. “Oh good, you’re awake.”

  There was no use pretending. She’d have to face the music sometime, might as well get it over with.

  “Morning.” She gave a small smile back.

  Lisa finished stepping fully into the room. “I made breakfast. And I laid out some clothes for you in the bathroom.”

  Cali brushed the hair away from her face. “Thanks.” Looking down, she realized she was in her underwear, “Um…let me get dressed, and I’ll be down in a minute.”

  Lisa breathed a visible sigh of relief before leaving Cali to change. Tossing the blankets aside, Cali’s feet hit the floor, and she found the bathroom. Not only were clothes laid out for her but also a brush, washcloth, toothbrush, and toothpaste.

  Quickly utilizing the materials at hand, Cali made herself presentable before leaving to join Lisa for breakfast. She knew better than to hope she could avoid a discussion about last night after what had happened.

  As she rounded the corner, she found Lisa sitting at a small table with a mug of coffee in her hand. She motioned for Cali to take a seat beside her.

  They both filled their plates with eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast. Everything was delicious, and Cali ate quickly.

  After she finished, Lisa took her plate to the sink and rinsed it, grabbing the coffee pot on her way back to the table to top off their mugs. Neither had said much during the meal, but Cali knew it was coming.

  Sitting back in her chair, Lisa set her coffee in front of her and turned to Cali. “Do you want to talk about it?” Cali didn’t answer as she put the last bite of food in her mouth and took a sip of coffee. “It might help,” Lisa offered.

  Cali set her fork down and placed her hands in her lap. “I know,” she sai
d, sounding both confused and defeated at the same time.

  Taking this as an opening, Lisa asked, “Is there something going on between you and Matthew?”

  “No,” Cali said quickly and then sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  Lisa gave her a disbelieving look, but Cali didn’t elaborate. “What do you mean maybe, you don’t know?”

  Cali’s fingers pulled at the legs of the pants she was wearing. She didn’t want to talk to anyone about what may or may not be going on with Matthew Andersen, at least, not until she’d figured it out herself. Her hands came up to run with frustrated aggression through her hair before pushing away from the table and taking her plate to the sink.

  Turning to face the woman who’d been such a friend to her, she softened her tone before speaking, “Thank you for the offer, but there really is nothing going on between us.” Seeing the rebuttal coming, “We work together. That’s all.”

  “Cali, I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but I’m here if you do. From what I saw last night…” She took a deep breath before continuing, “Well, something is going on, even if you two don’t know it yet.”

  “Impossible,” Cali mumbled, but Lisa heard her.

  “Why?”

  “We work together and…well we shouldn’t…we can’t… It’s just impossible even if he did feel something for me.”

  “Why is it impossible?” She’d been silent, but she couldn’t be any longer. “If you two feel something, why shouldn’t you explore it?”

  Cali just shook her head. “I’m his boss,” she said feebly.

  “For the next two and a half months,” Lisa pointed out.

  Continuing to shake her head, “It doesn’t matter anyway. You saw him last night. It’s not like that.” Not waiting for Lisa to respond, Cali started toward the door. “I should get home. Thank you breakfast and for…last night.”

  Lisa decided there was no use trying to discuss this further. Obviously, this was more complicated than she thought. “You’re welcome.” Cali disappeared through the door and left the apartment feeling empty.

  Whatever was going on with Cali and Matthew, it wasn’t a one sided thing; she was sure of that. Finishing off her coffee, Lisa went upstairs to take her shower.

  ***

  Banging brought Matthew out of his sleep; not that he’d been sleeping soundly by any means, but he’d hoped to get in a little more before having to get up.

  Last night had been… Well he really didn’t want to think about it.

  The pounding on, what he was now sure to be, his front door continued. Forcing his feet to hit the floor, he quickly grabbed a pair of jeans out of his closet and threw them on before trudging downstairs to answer the door. His brother was standing there with two cups of coffee.

  Matthew rubbed a hand over his face in mild frustration. “Jason what time is it?”

  “About eight,” Jason said as he pushed past his brother and disappeared into kitchen. Matthew sighed and shut the door before following.

  Jason watched his sleepy-eyed brother as he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the counter, grabbing the offered coffee. After a few sips, Matthew looked up and grumbled, “So, to what do I owe this morning wake up call?” Leaning back against the counter, Jason took a sip coffee himself before fixing Matthew with a hard stare.

  “What?” Matthew asked.

  Setting his coffee down, Jason advanced on his brother. Matthew leaned back reflexively. “I want you to tell me what is going on with you. And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I didn’t say anything when you weren’t acting like yourself at work for the past two weeks, or when you asked me to go to the security briefing in your place. I didn’t even say anything when you suggested going to a club last night. But after what I witnessed, I’m not going to sit here anymore without an explanation. I’m not going to beat around the bush either. Are you involved with Cali Stanton?”

  Matthew sat stunned for a minute unable to answer. When he finally got the ability to speak back, he asked, “Why are you asking me that?”

  “Why?” Jason nearly shouted. “You are seriously asking me why!” He clenched his fists and released them, “Matthew, you are one of the least impulsive people I know, and up until last night, I’ve never ever seen you go to a club for a hook-up. Last night, that was clearly your intention. Then, when you had a girl who was all over you and clearly willing, you looked…determined, like you were solving a problem. And that’s before the girls showed up. But as soon as you locked eyes with Cali, you couldn’t get away from your dance partner fast enough. I know you, Matthew, probably better than anyone. Something is going on between you and Cali. The look on her face, as well as yours told me that much. Now spill it.”

  Matthew’s head was spinning. Last night had been a nightmare. The woman he’d picked out was attractive enough, and as Jason had pointed out, quite willing. He remembered her grinding her body into his, and his body’s automatic response to the friction, but his mind wasn’t interested. It was somewhere else, wanted to be anywhere else but on that dance floor. Then he caught sight of that auburn hair and her, and everything else around him stopped. He felt his heart rate spike and knew it had nothing to do with dancing or his partner. His mind detached him from the body moving with his, as he got lost in Cali’s eyes.

  And then…then sensing his distraction, his dancing companion had made a move with her hips, exerting pressure his body had no choice but to react to. The reaction and recovery had only taken him seconds, but when he opened his eyes again, Cali was gone, and the others were staring at him. After that, he couldn’t get out of the club fast enough. Trying not to be rude, he disengaged himself from his dancing partner and went outside to hail a cab, not even bothering to say goodbye to his brother.

  Jason watched Matthew, and could see the wheels turning in his head. But he wasn’t letting him get out of this, so he waited until he lost his patience.

  “Matthew,” he said firmly.

  Getting up from the stool, Matthew began pacing. After what felt like an eternity, he faced Jason. “No. There is nothing going on between Cali Stanton and me. She is my boss, and I am her employee. There is nothing else.”

  Jason just stared at him until Matthew turned and left the kitchen. There was no way Jason was letting him off that easily. Something was going on, and he was going to find out what.

  Following his brother as he stalked up the stairs, he found him in the small spare bedroom Matthew had transformed into a gym. Jason watched his brother holding free weights as he did a series of bicep curls. Moving to stand directly in front of his brother, Jason made it impossible for Matthew to continue without using physical force to move him out of the way.

  “Move, Jason,” Matthew said with an edge to his voice.

  “Not going to happen, little brother.” Jason shook his head, never taking his eyes off Matthew. “You are going to tell me what’s going on with you.”

  Matthew nearly threw the weights down onto the rack before directing a heated stare at his brother, the likes of which Jason had never seen before from his brother. Matthew’s fists clenched and released, and his chest heaved with quick breaths. It was clear his brother wanted to hit him, but Jason didn’t care. If that’s what it took to get to the bottom of this, then so be it.

  Suddenly Matthew seemed to break out of his anger-filled trance and stepped away, turning his back on his brother. “I don’t know,” he said in a voice that was much calmer than Jason thought possible, given the angered he’d seen only moments before.

  Trying to keep his voice calm, Jason asked, “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  Matthew sighed, but kept his back turned, “There is this…connection with her or something.” He shook his head as if he were trying to clear it.

  “So you’re attracted to her?” Jason asked and then shrugged. “That’s understandable, I guess. She is a nice looking woman. Not my type but still…” Matthew turned, and it was then Jason saw the true conflict
in his eyes.

  “Matthew, why don’t you just ask her out?”

  Matthew shook his head and ran his hand over his shorn hair. “No. I can’t do that, Jason. She’s my boss, Alvin’s daughter. It just wouldn’t be right. We have to work together.”

  Jason ran a frustrated hand over his own head. Of course, his brother would think he couldn’t date the boss’s daughter. Why did that not surprise him? And knowing Matthew, he’d stick to his guns even if it killed him. Sighing, he asked his brother, “So what are you going to do?”

  Matthew walked to the window and stared out at the city surrounding them. “I have no idea. I’ve tried staying away from her, but that didn’t work. It would have become a professional problem anyway; part of my job includes seeing her. I don’t think I could get away with distancing myself for more than another week.”

  “Okay.” Jason said, pausing to give it some thought. “Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do here, but…you need to do something. Because what you’re doing now…the avoiding and…well, whatever that was supposed to be last night…it isn’t working.”

  Jason moved toward the door, and Matthew turned. “I’m going to spend tomorrow over at Lisa’s. I’ll be here if you need me, just call, but either way…,” Jason said with a sigh, “you need to figure this out.” With that parting comment, Jason left the room, leaving Matthew to stare at his retreating back.

  Matthew stood for several minutes and listened to his brother leave. Jason had asked a valid question, but one for which Matthew had no answer. What was he going to do?

  Walking back to the weights he’d thrown down, he once again began his curls.

  Obviously, avoiding her wasn’t the answer. Even if she hadn’t shown up last night, he didn’t know if he could have carried through with his plan.

  No. Staying away from Cali Stanton wasn’t the answer. He wasn’t sure what was though. Just being in the same room with her increased his heart rate and made him think of doing things he’d never done before, like laying her out on his desk.