"So far beyond fucked up. I can't even... How did... Damn, man."
"Yeah. I came face to face with her last week on Friday night at the company party and Jake, shit... she's so damn beautiful. So far beyond what I imagined she would become. I feel like someone has poured a variation of poison and fire ants down my throat. One minute I'm hurting so bad I could fucking fall over and the next my skin is crawling. I keep trying to stop myself from imagining her with Luke, but he's been talking about her for three years. I don't know why I didn't ask him who she was. I just didn't want to know. The things they do together-" My lungs constricted as I pressed my forehead to the window. "I still love her. God, I feel like such a puss, but I love her so goddamn much."
"Shit, Caden. You need to figure this out then. Caring about someone after they hurt you the way she did means that it's gotta be love. The fact that six years later you're still bent over by her means that you need to go after her. She's supposed to be yours, man."
"She's Luke's girlfriend. I can't do that to my br-"
"Your brother is a piece of shit, and you know it. He's not a good guy at all. Whether you end up with Olivia or not, you need to tell her about Luke. You owe that to her for the good years you guys had together."
"I wanna forgive her, but every time I think about walking into that locker room the morning after we got together for the first time, I just want to tear the walls down around me." I pursed my lips and pressed my free hand to my stomach as it turned over.
"Then work through your anger, and consider the same thing I've been asking you to consider for years. Maybe she didn't say those things. That's not the girl I knew, at least."
"Tell me what's going on in your world. You still dating that pretty photographer?"
"Mmmm... so you're going to change the subject on me, I see."
"It's a ninja trick. You should try it from time to time." I turned and walked back to my desk as the door opened and Luke poked his head in, motioning for me to come see him when I got done.
"Right. Kari and I are still dating. I'm thinking about popping the question, but I want to wait until Christmas. She's incredible, Caden."
"I bet. Is she going to be with you next week?"
"Yeah. You'll get to meet her."
"I think Olivia will be with me on the trip, but I'm pretty sure she'll go see her mama after we finish up on Wednesday."
"Shame. I would love to see her again." He cleared his throat. "Hey."
"What?"
"You need to consider having a heart to heart with her and clearing this shit up. It doesn't mean anything is going to change, but at least you can be friends again. That's going to be important if she ends up with Luke."
"God help her." I tapped the desk and checked the clock. "I gotta run, but I'll see you next week. Thanks for listening to me whine about the same old shit."
"Second verse... same as the first. Fix it, brother. Go find out what happened."
"I know what happened."
"I don't think you do. Later."
I set the phone down and walked to Luke's office, half expecting to see Olivia in there with him. She was supposed to start the day before, but she never came in, and I didn’t want to appear overly eager with my questions, so I let it go. I hadn't seen any signs of him setting up an office or anything for her either though. Knowing my brother, he was probably going to share his office with her. I'd not be able to be in the same building with them if I thought-
"Hey. I'm back here." Luke's voice surprised me as I turned in the hall toward my brother.
"Olivia starting today?"
"Yep. I got her an office at the other end of the hall near Jeremy. He's going to help with getting her set up with IT and will be a good mentor about our way of doing things when you and I are busy. She was going to start yesterday but had a few last minute things to wrap up. I told her to close the doors to her past and show up fresh and ready to take on the world with us." He gave me a cocky grin.
"Great. I need to finish booking the trip to Texas. Is she going with me, or not?" I wasn't sure what end result I was hoping for, but when he nodded 'yes’, I almost sighed with relief.
"All right. I'll finish getting the rooms and flights booked."
"Two rooms, please." Luke laughed and walked past him as if the idea of the two of us staying in a room together was comical. Funny would be the last emotion I could imagine experiencing.
Chapter 13
Olivia
Nerves raced through my insides as I got out of my car and stood in the busy parking garage outside of the skyscraper Luke rented their floor from. I dropped my keys three times as my hands shook.
"Get it together," I mumbled under my breath and stood up as Jeremy stopped beside the car.
"You all right?" He gave me a warm smile. "I'm Jeremy. We met-"
"I remember." I pulled the strap to my bag over my shoulder and moved up beside him. "How are you?"
"I'm great. You?" He glanced over at me and pointed to my bag. "That thing is unzipped. Looks like a tragedy waiting to happen."
I chuckled and paused outside the door to the building as the wind picked up and blew my hair all over the place.
"Damn." I walked in behind him and set my bag down on the floor beside me as I tried to tame my hair. "Why am I nervous?"
"It's a new job and a whole new group of people to impress?" He picked up my bag and handed it to me. "You're going to do great. Luke will take good care of you, and when he's out of the office, his brother, Caden, is a great coach and mentor."
"Yeah. They're both great guys." I walked to the elevator and reached for the button on the wall, hating how badly my hands were still twitching.
"I'm not sure they're both great guys." He laughed. "Caden is, but Luke is a shark. You should make sure to remember that. If it's not good for him, we aren't doing it."
I was a little surprised by Jeremy's openness, but maybe something had happened with him and Luke that left him a little more ballsy than anyone else might have been when talking about their boss.
"How long have you worked for them, and how did you start?" I moved into the elevator and held the door open as people piled in around us.
"I went to NYU with Caden. We've been friends since we were eighteen." He tilted his head a little, but his expression didn't change. Did he know about us? About me?
"Oh, nice. I've been with Luke since my junior year. I had no clue he had a brother. Sad. I realize." I got out of the elevator and walked down the hall, trying hard not to let it be too obvious that I was scanning the name plates on the doors, looking for Caden.
"I'm not surprised, actually. Luke is a private man." He shrugged and stopped. "The coffee bar is right there, and the restrooms there. They have you in an office right across from me so that I can help out if Luke or Caden are out of the office for the day."
"That sounds great. I'll drop my stuff off and grab a cup-"
"Olivia, right?" A pretty petite woman with a tight dress and dark hair pulled into a bun stopped in front of us. "I'm Annie. I'm Caden's secretary, and I'll be yours as well. Nice to meet you."
I shook her hand and tried to assess if she were being genuinely nice, or just putting on a show. It was sad that it was so damn hard to tell anymore.
"Nice to meet you. I had to run out of the event on Friday night because I felt so bad. Must have been something I ate." I rubbed my stomach and shrugged.
"No problem at all. We have you set up down the hall, but if you have time, Perry Barden, our third partner, is here today. He's heading into a day of visiting with clients, but would love a few minutes with you if that sounds all right?"
"Absolutely. Luke mentioned that he was mostly a silent partner. Is that not true?"
“No, he is, but he has legacy clients that he still meets with from his active days of being an adviser. You’ll love him. We all do.”
I smiled and nodded toward the end of the hall. "Is my office down here?"
"Yep. Your name
is on the wall." She smiled.
"You want me to grab you a coffee and set it on your desk?" Jeremy asked and nodded toward the coffee bar.
"No, I'll get it later. Thanks though." I turned and walked down the hall, trying to remember that I belonged there too. I was at the top of my game and smart as hell. There was no reason to let the underlying situation between me and Caden overshadow anything. It had been a thorn in my side for as long as I could remember. The last thing I wanted it to do was ruin my future the way he had destroyed my past.
After dropping off my stuff and looking around the office, I walked back to the front and stopped by Perry's office.
"Mr. Barden? Annie said you wanted to see me. I'm-"
"Yes!" The large older man stood up and laughed loudly. "I know exactly who you are. You're an up and coming star in the world of finance. I got my ass chewed pretty good by Sarah last week for stealing you away."
"Did you now?" I smiled and walked in, closing the door behind me. "Well, she's been a great mentor to me."
"She's a good woman. Have a seat and let's chat for a minute. You'll have to forgive me as I've overbooked myself today and only have a few minutes, but I wanted to make sure we got to connect."
"I'm glad you did." I sat down on the chair in front of his desk. "Are you in the office much?"
"Me? Hell no." He sat down and leaned back in his chair. He reminded me of a well-dressed Santa Claus of sorts. It was oddly comforting. "I spend most of my time doing all the things I wanted to do at your age, but had to make the money to support."
"Well, at least you get to say you did them." I crossed my legs and settled in as he asked a few personal and then professional questions. By the end of the mini-interview, I'd determined that I liked him quite a bit and could see why Luke and Caden did as well.
A knock at the door pulled us from our conversation on the best way to skin a catfish, and Annie leaned into the room.
"All right. Time’s up, Sir. Your first appointment has been waiting ten minutes." She smiled and shook her head. "You have to forgive Perry. He's forever behind, but he'll make it up somehow, no matter what."
"Right. No bathroom breaks. It's going to be a long-ass day." He laughed and stood up. "Good to meet you, Olivia. Great to have you with us. I'm here if you need anything."
"Thank you, Sir. Nice to meet you as well." I turned and walked out of his office, pausing by the door and Annie closed it. "I like him."
She gave me a warm smile. "We all do. He looks like Santa and his wife bakes cookies like you wouldn't believe, or she used to. She’s been battling cancer, but she’s a fighter and a half.”
"That’s not good.” I brushed my fingers against my lips. “Please tell me you have a Christmas party where he dresses up."
Annie snorted and laughed. "Every year. It's my favorite event."
"Oh, I can't wait." I glanced down the hall, not quite sure of what I was supposed to do next.
"Wait here and I'll walk back down the hall with you. I'll give you a quick download on everyone and some of the projects I know Luke has earmarked for you. That sound good?"
I sighed with relief. "Really good. Thank you."
"Of course. I'm here if you need anything."
She turned and walked back to the front as I pressed my back against the wall and scanned the hallway. "Where are you, Caden?"
A few minutes later, Annie was back and ushering me back down the hallway. "So it looks like I'm going to book a flight and hotel for you to go to Texas next week. The boys told you about that, right?"
"Yeah, Luke told me. I could use the client files to review and an update on what we're scheduled to do on the trip if that stuff is available." I walked into my office and moved around to my chair before sitting down and looking up at Annie.
"I can get all that stuff from Caden. He was working on their account last week. Did you get to meet him on Friday?" She let out a girlie sigh and sat down in my extra chair. "He's so damn dreamy. Don't tell him I said that."
I laughed and leaned back in my chair, almost wanting to hear what she thought of Caden. I knew a boy that had the balls to steal my V-card and then spread horrible lies about me to the cheer squad where I was captain. I couldn't walk down the hall the last quarter of my senior year without being called a whore or a slut. I'd been kicked off the squad, and my parents were called to the school to be informed about all of it. My life was ruined in my young mind. Changed forever. There would be no going to UT or A&M for college. I was going to have to recreate myself and move halfway across the country... and I did.
"I met him. He seems like a nice guy."
"Oh man, he's the best kind of guy in the world. Helps everyone, talks to you in the hall, lifts you up when you're down. He's just such a sweetheart, and fucking hot as lava."
"Hot as lava?" I laughed again. "He is a good-looking man."
"Well, you might just think he's okay, but he's by far the best guy in the world. Ask any of us but Luke. Luke is like the evil queen with the mirror on his wall." She smirked. "You can tell him I said that. He already knows."
I smirked and sat up in my chair as someone moved into the doorway behind her. Caden.
His tanned slacks and white button down shirt left the tanned color of his skin almost accented. Annie was right about one thing... he was fucking hot. Wicked hot in a way that wanted to push me past my pain and right into his arms.
"Hey. You made it." He smiled and walked in, sliding his hands onto Annie's shoulders and smiling down at her. "Did you tell our newest advisor about her trip?"
Annie got up and moved toward the door. "I sure did. Did you tell her about her welcome lunch?"
"I was doing that right now, bossy butt." Caden turned to face me, and my heart almost stopped in my chest.
I love you.
So fucking much.
"What lunch are we talking about?" I crossed my arms over my chest and pursed my lips as Annie left us alone.
Caden turned and walked back toward the door, closing it and turning to face me. "The one Luke and I are taking you to."
"I'm not going to lunch with the two of you." I glanced down at my desk as if there were anything to look at. "That would be incredibly awkward for me, though anyone with half a heart and a fourth of a brain would know that."
"We can't keep living in the past, Olivia. The lunch is with us as the partners of the firm."
"Fine." I glanced back up, hating how quickly the sight of him stole my breath. The big blue star on his left pectoral was almost visible through his shirt, and I had to force myself not to stare. I'd spent hours as a girl laying on his bed beside him, tracing it as we planned out the future. A future that included him taking over the ranch my parents used to work on, and us having three or four kids ourselves.
"One more thing." He walked toward the desk and pressed his hands to the glass top of it. "We're going to Texas next week. Annie got us rooms for Wednesday night, but I wanted to see if you were staying with your folks after that or if you-"
"Wait. Annie got us?" Ice water ran through my veins. I could tell him about daddy dying later. Right now shock had it’s hold on me. I wasn’t going anywhere with just him. "Us, as in, who? Me, you and Luke?"
He paled a little, and I thought I might be sick.
"No. Us, as in, me and you. It's my account, but it will be yours soon."
"Fuck. No." I walked around the desk and started to tear into him as Luke knocked on the door.
"Hey, baby." He stopped short, tilting his head a little. "Something happen? You look-"
"Pissed." Caden turned and walked back toward the door. "It's all good now. She didn't want us spending money on a lunch for her." He patted his brother on the back as I tried to get ahold of myself. I wasn't going to Texas with him. No fucking way.
"She's humble as well as drop-dead gorgeous." Luke smirked and moved toward me, wrapping me in a tight hug. "She's mine too."
I glanced up to find Caden watching us with sadness in his e
yes. "Yeah... she's the full package."
Chapter 14
Caden
I stood there a moment longer, memorizing the anger in her gaze. She had no right to be pissed at me, to hate me the way it appeared that she did. What the fuck had I done to her? It was my life that was ruined. She hadn't said a word to me after that night together... no matter what I tried to do to get her attention. I was pathetic, to say the least. She spreads vicious lies about me and then gets pissed when some of my friends obviously turned the table on her?
The image of her crying in the hallway several times over the last few months of our senior year tore through me. Reaching up, I rubbed my chest and walked back down the hall to my office. I needed to move past it, but I couldn't. I hadn't been able to with her being nothing more than a memory, and I certainly couldn't now with her right down the fucking hallway.
"Hey, boss." Annie moved up beside me. "I got your tickets and hotel rooms. Lunch is at eleven thirty at Darek's Steak House. That good? I know you love that place."
I nodded. Olivia loved a good steak. It was perfect.
"Yeah, and hey... be good to our new advisor. She's got a lot of catching up to do, and I know how you can be a catty bitch when you want to." I smirked as she pushed at me and laughed.
"I am not." She followed me into my office. "All right, well, sometimes I am."
"Hey." I stopped by the windows on the far side of my office and turned to face her. "Can I ask you something? You don't have to disclose anything you don't want to."
"Ask away. I'm an open book." She moved to stand in front of me.
"Did you and Luke sleep together in the last three years?" I slipped my hands into my pockets. "No judgment here, just trying to figure out if my brother is being his normal self, or if I'm over-thinking things."
She lifted an eyebrow at me. "Are you getting soft in your old age? You used to be a little wild yourself if I heard the stories right."
"I grew out of it fast. College is over, and my mistakes are sealed behind the ribbon tied around my degree." I laughed. "Tell me. Please."
My Last First Kiss: A Single Father Secret Baby Novel Page 85
