by Nella Tyler
His gaze never wavered from mine. “I know you’ve been sneaking around with my brother.” He pushed one hand coolly into his pocket as he stepped past me, and then stopped. “I know this, because he told me.” He leaned over my shoulder and whispered into my ear. “He also told me that he was just using you for sex. So, tell me now, who’s the fucking idiot?”
I turned away from him and bowed my head. While they weren’t close—Caleb and Lance—they were still brothers and I was sure they talked. I tried to believe that Caleb was better than that, but I really didn’t know too much about him at all. What if he wasn’t who I thought he was? Or worse, what if he was much worse than I ever thought he could be?
Lance nodded and pursed his lips in triumph before swinging the conference door open and exiting. I was left alone, feeling bruised and tattered, and beyond emotionally drained.
Before I could even collect myself, there was a knock on the interior of the door. When I cocked my head slightly to see who it was, I saw him standing there. I wasn’t even close to ready to talking to him after what Lance had just told me, but I wiped the tears away and climbed to my feet all the while digging for the folder of files that could potentially exonerate him.
He cocked his head at me, obviously knowing something was wrong. “Are you okay?”
I rolled my lips together as I nodded, and when I decided I couldn’t do it anymore, I slapped the folder against his chest, leaving him to gather loose papers before they fell to the ground.
“What this?”
“The numbers were wrong.” I cleared my throat as I slung my purse over my shoulder. “Someone falsified the tax documents and now we have proof, although it’s still unclear who the culprit is, but I’m sure you can figure that out.”
“We,” he corrected me. “We can figure it out.”
“No.” I shook my head and bowed my head. I couldn’t look him right in the eyes while saying what was to come next. “I’m not interested in anything you have to offer. I’m sorry…”
I turned away from him as I rushed past him and away from him. More than ever, I really needed to catch a breather. I needed to reorient myself and I couldn’t do that within the walls of M&D, not with Caleb lurking around every corner.
# # #
I went to the park, the same park Caleb took me to once. This was a much more somber affair where I just listened to the silence of the trees amidst a gentle breeze, and listened to the sound of children’s happiness and laughter in the near distance.
I had called my mother and told her everything, about how I had fucked up and slept with my boss, and how I was carrying his child. I told her about my feelings and how they wavered between lust and love, and how it all seemed to come crashing down. To my surprise, she was happy to hear of the pregnancy, but sorry to hear it was with a man who she could only refer to as a douchebag. She had given me so much strength in my life, and her voice and words were enough to calm me for a bit. I made a promise to her that I was going to get my head up and get through everything, that I’d make some decisions while I visited in two weeks’ time.
After we said our goodbyes and hung up, I sat in the park for a little while longer. I allowed myself to cry before pulling myself together, and then made a promise to myself that I could do this… whatever this was going to be.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Caleb
Fuck, I was hurting. I was hurting bad, and I know admitting that threatens to chip away at my manliness, but I’ve got to be honest. I was torn the hell up inside. There was nothing I hated more than knowing Lindsay was out there somewhere hurting. She didn’t have to say those words for me to know it was true. I could see it in her eyes; I could see it in her face.
I wasn’t in love with her or anything like that, but I most definitely cared for her. She obviously needed space for whatever reason, and I was willing to give that to her, but only for a little bit. It was a struggle forcing her to the back of my thoughts as I pored over the evidence Lindsay had basically thrown into my lap before she disappeared.
Halfway through the tall stack of documents, each page with notes left by Lindsay explaining questionable filings, the reality became clear that there were people from within my company who were trying to frame me for tax evasion. I sighed with relief, not because I enjoyed being betrayed, but because I finally found my way out of going to jail.
I yelled for Nathan, who had briefly stepped outside to take a call. He came rushing into the room.
“Did we nail them?”
I leaned back in my chair with a half-smile hitched across my lips. “We’re going to nail these bastards against the wall.”
“I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces,” Nathan said as he chewed into his bottom lip with excitement. “Who are you looking forward to seeing squirm the most?”
“Definitely Fred,” I nodded. “But I’m going to enjoy watching them both go down.”
“Can you believe it?” Nathan cupped is hand over his mouth and let out an exasperated sigh. “How long do you think they’ve been planning this?”
“I don’t know, but I haven’t liked either of them for a good while.”
“Testy bastards.” He chuckled and shook his head with relief. “Do you want the pleasure of firing them?”
“I’ll let you handle that. We could make a big scene of it tomorrow, get the police involved and everything?”
“Maybe catch it on camera?” He pointed squarely at me. “I like the way you think. Now the question is: do you like the way I think?”
“Meaning?” I arched one brow.
“Meaning that go grab a drink or two?” He pursed his lips contemplatively, jokingly. “Maybe ten. Just see where the night goes?”
I slouched in my chair and threw my head back. “I’m beat. Maybe we can have a little celebratory jig after the show tomorrow.”
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and turned to exit my office before looking back at me once more. “I’m so happy that I get to continue seeing you every day, that I don’t have to come visit you in a dangerous, musky prison.”
“Nathan?” I questioned.
“Yeah?”
“Shut the hell up.”
“Right on, boss.” He smiled before disappearing into the long corridor and I was left alone in my dark office contemplating where the hell I was going next, and what I was going to do.
First thing I needed to do was to fax the documents to my attorney, and then after that, I needed to get some kind of clarity about Lindsay. And as much as anyone would disagree with me, I knew that the best advice wasn’t going to come from my father, brother, or best friend. No, if I was going to get the best advice, it had to come from a damn child. It had to come from Jessie himself.
# # #
Jessie and I sat in the grass down by the lake while the stars—never visible in the city—lit up the night sky. It was refreshing out there. It wasn’t so far removed from the city that it was difficult to drive to, but it was far enough to escape the noise and confusion. It never felt like home—the mansion, I mean—but I found solace out in the flat fields.
“You’ve got a problem, bro,” he said to me while staring out into the distance. “And that problem is that you don’t love her, Lindsay I mean.”
“Yeah.” I bowed my head, almost as if I was ashamed. “How are you so damn wise and not even half my age?”
“I was just born that way,” he flashed a cocky grin as he shrugged. “You got the brains and I got the… whatever part of your body makes you wise.”
“That would be experience,” I suggested to him and leaned back on my palms to get a better angle of the sky above.
“You could love her, you know?” He angled his eyes at me. “I think the reason you don’t is because you don’t really know much about her. If you knew more about her, then maybe you’d love her. And if she knew more about you, maybe you could love each other?”
“How… in… the… hell?” I just sat there shaking my head
at him, completely surprised by his maturity on the off moments he’s not launching himself into a foul-mouthed tirade. “You’re right though. I feel something for her, but is it love? I don’t know.”
“Right, well that’s something you need to find out.”
“She’s really perfect,” I said lowly, admitting it aloud for perhaps the first time. “She’s everything I feel like I want.”
“It sounds like you love her, but I don’t know.” He clicked his tongue against his cheek and stared out into the distance. “Give her time and space, and when she least expects it, you should show up and really surprise her. Sweep her off her damn feet.”
“When did you become such a Casanova?” I laughed and scrubbed my hand through his tousled hair.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lindsay
Two Weeks Later
I walked off the plane to see my folks in California. Though it was the middle of July and the sun was shining high, I was more than happy to be back home and beyond relieved to finally be able to see my family after so much time apart. Even with the heat though, I opted for a loose-fitting top to cover up my belly that was just beginning to show.
As soon as I made my way through the terminal and to baggage claim, I saw my parents waiting for me. My mother’s head was propped against my father’s, and they were as in love with each other as they day they got married. That’s the kind of life I always dreamed about but never saw in the cards.
Something told me it wasn’t likely to happen with Caleb, no matter how much I wished it would. They broke apart from each other as they made their way to me and we met somewhere in the middle.
My mother was first, throwing her arms around me and embracing me with a tight hug while my father watched adoringly from the side. When she pulled back slightly, she checked me up and down with her eyes and smiled a bright, warm smile. She didn’t have to say a word for me to know she was beyond excited for the baby.
I turned to my father with the slightest hint of apprehension, but that too vanished in an instant.
“You are glowing,” he said, always one to know exactly what to say at any given time. “Beautiful as always.”
“How was the flight?’ Mother questioned.
“Short,” I said with a light chuckle. “And I didn’t get sick, so that’s a plus, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Father added. “Just don’t get sick in the back of the new Escalade.”
“Really?” I cocked my head at him. “You got another new car?”
“You know I always like to stay on top of things.” He passed a quick glance to Mom and I just about threw up in my mouth before shaking my head in disbelief. “Let’s get your bags and get you home.”
# # #
It’s a difficult feeling to describe when you return home for the first time in seemingly forever. There was a sense of peace as we traveled past familiar homes, and all the bullshit from back up north seemed to vanish in an instant. Home. There’s nothing like it, and I guess it took fucking up really bad to understand that. I felt like a failure in every sense of the word, but by going home, I found some resemblance of inner peace.
Father drove while mother sat in the passenger seat and I was alone in the back with my carry on—the only bag I brought with me.
He glanced at me in the rearview mirror a few times before deciding to speak. “You know I could kill him, right?”
I met him halfway, my eyes meeting with his in the rearview mirror. I didn’t even need to ask him who he was talking about. That much was obvious. “Yeah, I’d prefer if you didn’t go to prison over someone who could still potentially go to prison.”
“Wait, what?” My mother craned her head over her shoulder and I swallowed a nervous lump in my throat. It seemed as if that minor detail had evaded our long conversations with each other.
I forced a smile. “I’ll catch you up on everything later, if that’s all right.”
“I really don’t like the sound of that.” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as we came to a stop at a red light.
“It’s just extremely complicated.” I sighed and wetted my lips nervously. “I haven’t spoken to him in two weeks. I guess I just needed and still need time to figure things out.”
Needed time to really, I mean really, figure everything out. At that point, I had even begun contemplating if I would return back to my place or just stay in Cali for good, effectively hanging up my hat on my old life.
As the miles passed, I felt something in my gut. It was a combination of guilt and missing Caleb, longing for Caleb. There was this idea in my head that we could have had such a great life together, yet it almost seemed impossible for that dream to come to fruition. I should have stayed with him, should have been there in the courtroom.
He was due to be in court at any moment, and it almost made me sick knowing that I probably wouldn’t have known what happened with his trial until it was over, so I decided to shoot him a text.
LINDSAY: I’m thinking of you and hope everything goes okay.
CALEB: I want to see you, but I have to turn off my phone.
LINDSAY: I’d like that.
I clutched my own phone close to my chest and couldn’t help but to smile.
# # #
I gazed out the window of the backseat as we made a left into the long, winding driveway of our house. It looked so much smaller and much closer to the ocean than I had remembered. It’s funny how quickly things can change in our memories.
As we pulled closer to the house, an old black lab came running in our direction. My heart just about melted and as soon as the car was thrown into park, I launched myself out of the car and onto my knees to intercept the pup as it launched itself into my arms.
His name was Maverick and he was my baby that I adopted in college, but wasn’t able to take up north with me. There’s no way to fully describe how much I had missed him and just how he made me feel when he made it known that he remembered me. I never wanted to leave him again.
So, I played with him for a while, even long after my parents had made their way inside. And I tossed a stick for him to fetch that landed in the sand along the bank of the ocean. And as I stood there looking out into the never-ending sea, I knew that’s where I’d find my serenity.
I decided to spend the day on the beach, basking in the light of the sun. It’s so easy to forget all about the world—to forget about everything—when you’re lying on the edge of the ocean tides.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Caleb
Jared—my lawyer—slammed the stack of evidence down onto witness stand where Tara was seated beside the judge. “Explain these documents,” he scolded Tara, who was visibly shaken. “Explain how these documents were signed by my client on August 17th when the printer-specific markings on the bottom of the page read December 11th!”
“I…” Tara stuttered, her lips rolled tight together. Sweat trickled down her long forehead and I couldn’t help but to take a little bit of pleasure in watching her squirm. “It must have been a mistake somehow, an error with the printer.”
“A mistake?” Jared nodded and turned to the judge. “The only mistake is thinking you and your partner were going to get away with this.” He paced back to the table where I was seated and grabbed another document, only to slam it down on the witness stand before her. “It’s all right here, right? If Caleb was sent to prison, you stood to gain a lot from that, didn’t you? You framed an innocent man because you were motivated by greed and corruption—”
“I didn’t do it!” Tara screamed, and then broke down into a sob with her head bowed down. “I mean, I did, but it wasn’t me. It wasn’t my idea. I was just following orders…”
Interesting, I thought to myself and crossed my arms. Finally, without a doubt, I knew that I had been vindicated, but now was the time to see who really, truly double crossed me. The faintest, stupidest idea passed through my mind at first. What if the mastermind was somehow Lindsay? I pushed those thoughts
away immediately because they were preposterous, but I couldn’t push away the other thoughts I had of her.
“Who put you up to this?” Jared demanded answers, hovering very close to Tara’s personal space, though I supposed she should probably get used to the idea that her personal space no longer existed. “This court demands an answer.”
“It was him,” she screamed and launched a pointed accusation with her finger, pointing right to my brother, Lance!
The whole courtroom descended into a chaotic chorus of shock and awe.
“My own fucking brother?” I grumbled under my breath as I shook my head. I knew he was a fucking dick, but this was a new low for him. He swallowed a nervous lump in his throat as he made eye contact with me and that’s all I needed to know that he was guilty as charged. He couldn’t bring himself to look at me longer than a split second, and in that short period of time, I saw guilt.
# # #
Relieved from the shackles of a potential prison sentence, I had the weight of one huge problem taken off my shoulders. Nathan met me outside on the courthouse steps and took a seat beside me.
“What a fucking nightmare, huh?”
“No.” I shook my head. “The nightmare is over.”
“You’re free.” He smiled. “What do you plan on doing with that freedom?”
“The first thing…” I looked him dead in the eyes. “The first thing to do is to fire all three of those bastards—Tara, Fred, and Lance—and then sue them for everything they’re worth, assuming the feds don’t take them down themselves.”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “I have a feeling you’re going to have to wait in line to get a shot at them.”
“I have other things to worry about,” I sighed contemplatively. “So if you can fire him, that would be great.”
“Okay.” He nodded with pursed lips. “But why don’t you just fire him yourself? I’m sure you’d derive great pleasure from the act.”
