“Have you heard from Cal?”
I quickly grabbed my phone from my desk and unlocked it.
Nothing.
“He hasn’t texted or called me,” I said, alarmed.
“Call him,” Leslie suggested.
I dialed his number, but it went to voice mail. “Shit.” I went to my messages and sent him a text instead.
Me: What the hell happened at your meeting today? I just got promoted. Patrick’s gone, but they told me you’d quit. Please say it isn’t true.
I hung on to my phone like it was my lifeline and went over the video call over and over in my head. There was something the CEO and president hadn’t said.
Finally, my phone buzzed.
Cal: It’s true. I put in my notice this morning. I can’t talk about it right now. I’ll fill you in later. Congratulations on the new position.
I frowned. Cal’s text seemed distant and impersonal. Something was definitely up.
Me: When are you getting back home?
Three dots appeared. And then went away.
They appeared again. And went away again.
I could only think that this meant Cal didn’t know what to say to me. That was not good.
Cal: I need to take care of a few things here. I’ll let you know when I get back.
That sounded vague, but I didn’t want to push. Whatever had happened in Chicago, had to of been bad.
Me: Okay. Miss you.
Cal: Miss you too.
At least he hadn’t hesitated to send that back to me.
“What did Cal say?” Leslie asked.
I put my phone down on my lap. “Not much. He said he’d tell me later, but he’s also not coming back for a few days. It’s weird, but I feel like he might be avoiding me.”
Leslie looked sympathetic. “Give him time, Indy. Whatever had happened that made him quit his job must have been big. He might need time to process everything. I’m sure he’s not avoiding you. He just doesn’t know what to say right now.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
She smiled. “Now, remember my great advice when you’re doing my yearly review … boss.”
I groaned. “I don’t want to be the boss.”
“If Patrick can do it, you can too.” She shrugged. “You never know; you might like it. And if you don’t, you can always quit.”
“How do you manage to make things that are a big deal not sound so bad?”
She smiled. “It’s a gift.” She pointed at me. “Remember that, too, when you evaluate me.”
Thirty-Eight
Cal
I had lied to Indy.
I wasn’t staying in Chicago, but I had no idea how I was going to tell her that I had failed. Patrick hadn’t been fired—he’d most likely received a raise—and he had gotten it by spying on us. Or hiring someone to spy on us.
That was my fault for underestimating the guy. He’d known that I was looking into him. I should have known he’d retaliate and not go down without a fight.
I couldn’t tell Indy that the company she loved, the company she had worked for since college, had blackmailed me into choosing between breaking up with her or firing her. Or that she had been promoted out of retaliation.
I already knew it was a job she didn’t want, but I didn’t want her to quit because she was mad. She could give her new position a chance. I thought she had great potential to be good at it, and even though she didn’t think so, there was a possibility she might end up liking it.
I also didn’t want her to feel guilty for me having to quit. I didn’t regret choosing her over the company, but I could already see her taking it upon herself as being responsible.
I didn’t land back in Minneapolis until almost midnight. I drove home, dropped my bag at the front door, and collapsed into bed. I didn’t think I’d sleep a wink, but I underestimated the stress I’d been under all weekend. I fell asleep in my clothes and didn’t wake up until morning.
The sunlight streamed through my windows when I opened my eyes, and my bedside clock showed it was after nine in the morning. It was a silent reminder that I no longer had a job.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
Moving back to Minnesota was supposed to be less stressful than New York. Lately, it had been tenser.
I took a deep breath and climbed out of bed. I stripped off my suit and got in the shower. The hot water felt good, and I considered staying there forever, but I needed to do some job-hunting.
After getting dressed, I went straight to my computer. I had applied to more than one company when I first moved to Minneapolis, but it had been a while. I was sure all the open positions had been filled. The good thing about living somewhere like the Twin Cities was, there were a lot of businesses with many positions. If I had to take something that I was overqualified for, I would do it. I didn’t want to burn through my savings.
I also wanted to have a new job as soon as possible, so Indy wouldn’t have to fear that she’d put me out of work. None of this was her fault, but I was still concerned she would think it was.
My phone buzzed, and I almost didn’t pick it up. I didn’t want to lie to Indy again. Thankfully, it wasn’t her. It was the stupid dating app, telling me I had a match.
I dropped my head in my hand. I’d almost forgotten about my brother. Ugh. One more thing to worry about.
Indy
By Friday, I knew for sure that Cal was avoiding me. He’d been giving me one-worded responses when I texted him. I didn’t even know when he’d gotten back into town because he hadn’t really answered the question when I asked. Whenever I tried to call him, he wouldn’t pick up. He would text me later, saying he was busy, but I didn’t buy it. Not every single time.
It was bullshit, and I was sick of it.
After work, I went straight to Cal’s house and marched up to the front door. I didn’t know if he was home or not because he usually kept his car in the garage. I wasn’t going to risk knocking and letting him pretend like he wasn’t there, so I used the key he had loaned me to get in since I hadn’t returned it.
“Cal,” I called out as I flung the door closed. I wanted him to know I meant business.
He walked out of his office, looking a little disheveled. He had on an old pair of jeans and a T-shirt so worn that the letters were starting to fade, and his hair looked like he’d just gotten out of bed.
“Indy?”
“Yeah. Remember me?”
His brow furrowed. “Obviously, I do.”
I stomped over to him. “Then, why are you avoiding me?”
“What?” he said like he didn’t know what I was talking about, yet I could see the guilt all over his face.
I put my hands on my hips. “Don’t play dumb, Cal. You’re smarter than that. We both know it.”
He sighed as he walked around me and to the couch, collapsing into it. “I might have been putting you off a little.”
I pursed my lips. “That’s just another way to say avoid.” I walked over to him and sat down. “Why? This doesn’t seem like you. Do you not want to be with me anymore?”
He laughed at a joke that clearly only he understood and shook his head. “You are so off the mark; you don’t even know.”
I sat back on the couch. “Actually, I was pretty sure that wasn’t the reason.”
An eyebrow shot up. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah.” I pointed to him. “You don’t strike me as the type of guy to beat around the bush.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
I poked him in the leg. “What is going on? Why are you putting me off? What happened in Chicago?”
Cal ran his hands down his face and dropped his head against the back of the couch. “Nobody was sick.”
“Huh?”
“Nobody was sick last Friday. They purposely left me sitting in the waiting room all day.”
“Oh.” That did not sound good.
“Monday, they pulled me into a conference room.”
“With the HR lady, right?”
“Oh, not just her. The CEO was there as well as the president. And then there was Howard Brown.”
I did some deep-diving in my brain and came up with nothing. “Who’s Howard Brown?”
Cal turned his head to the side toward me. “Patrick’s father-in-law.”
I gasped. “What? His father-in-law?”
“Yeah. He’s on the board.”
“You never told me that.”
Cal frowned. “I guess I thought you knew.”
I shook my head. “Uh … no, I didn’t. But that does explain why Polly never fired him.”
“Yeah, well, get this … Patrick was there.”
“There? There where?” I leaned forward. “Chicago?”
“Yep.”
“What the hell?”
“Indy, they weren’t meeting me to discuss Patrick. Not like I had thought anyway. It was a trap.”
“What happened?”
Cal pinched his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “I do not want to tell you this.”
“Well, now, you have to.”
He dropped his hand and gave me a sad smile. “They found out about us.”
This had me sitting up. “But you said it was okay that we dated as long as you weren’t my immediate supervisor.” I gasped again. “Oh my God, that’s why they promoted me.” I clenched my teeth. “Those assholes. Joke’s on them. I don’t want the job anyway.”
Cal shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Indy. They were going to give you the job whether you wanted it or not.”
“I kind of figured that out when they practically hung up on me after I questioned them about giving me the position.” I scratched my head. “But they said you quit.”
“I did.”
“But why?”
“Because of the HR information about immediate supervisors. They said I either had to break up with you or fire you. Joke’s on them. I quit,” he said, using my own words.
I thought he was trying to make me laugh, but I was not in the mood.
And while I admired the fact that he had basically figured out a way to get around their blackmail, I couldn’t help but notice that he had made all the decisions without talking to me first.
“Did they make you choose right then and there what to do about me?”
“No, they gave me until the end of the week.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “So, why didn’t you take it?”
He frowned. “Fuck them, Indy. I wasn’t going to let them put me in a position like that.”
“Don’t you think that’s something we should have talked about together?” I pointed out.
Cal didn’t answer.
I poked him in the chest. “You had no right, making that decision without speaking to me first.”
He put his hand over mine. “Indy, I know how much you love the company. You’ve worked there since you graduated college. Your best friend works there. I had just started. There was no way in hell I was going to fire you.” He leaned in close to me. “And there was no way I was going to break up with you.”
I yanked my hand away and jumped from my seat. “That’s not your decision to make.” I gestured between the two of us. “That’s something for both of us to decide. Together. As a couple.”
Cal shook his head in confusion. “Would you have wanted me to fire you?” He narrowed his eyes. “Or would you have wanted me to break it off with you?”
“On Monday, I would have said no, but today? I’m not so sure.”
Cal slowly rose from the couch and stood over me. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, I don’t want to be with someone who makes life decisions for me.”
Cal clenched his fists in front of him and made a frustrated sound. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re the main reason I tried to get Patrick fired. I quit my job for you. I’ve been working all week to find another job before I told you all of this, so you wouldn’t feel bad. And now, you’re pissed at me? For trying to take care of you?”
I stomped my foot and tightened my own hands. “I don’t need you to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”
Cal blinked a couple of times and shook his head. He held his hands up and stepped back. “Sorry I ever cared about you then.”
“Yeah, same here,” I said and marched out of his house, more upset now than when I’d come in.
This was why I had wanted to stop dating alpha males. They thought they knew what was good for me. But I didn’t want someone to take care of me. I wanted a partner.
I got into my car and slammed my door so hard that I thought I’d almost broken my window. I was too pissed to care.
I was about halfway home when the reality of our fight hit me. I might not want an alpha male, but I wanted Cal. I liked him—really liked him—and I wasn’t prepared for it to be over.
I went from angry to crying within minutes.
I managed to hit a button on my phone.
“Hello?”
“Le-Leslie?”
“Indy, what’s wrong?”
“I think Cal and I just broke up.”
“Where are you?”
“Dri-driving home from his house.”
“I’ll meet you at your house.”
She clicked off, and I wiped my tears enough so that I could see the road.
I might have lost Cal, but at least I still had my best friend.
Thirty-Nine
Indy
Leslie brought me ice cream and cookie dough and listened while I told her the whole story about what had happened with Cal. Then, she let me vent while she sat without interrupting.
“Why haven’t you said anything?” I asked her.
She patted my hand. “You’re not ready for my thoughts. This is your night to be mad. We can talk tomorrow.”
“No, I want to hear what you think.” The truth was, now that I had voiced all my frustration and rage, I was feeling like I might have overreacted a little.
She lifted her eyebrows in question.
“Tell me,” I said.
“Promise not to be mad at me too?”
“I’ll try really hard.”
She gave me a sharp look.
I nudged her with my foot. “I’m kidding. I won’t be mad.”
“I know you’re upset that Cal made the decision to quit without talking to you, but what other choice did he have? If you were him, what would you have done?”
I shrugged. Not because I didn’t really know, but because Leslie had a point.
“I know how much you like Cal, and if he likes you as much, he wasn’t going to break up with you for a job he’d had less than two months. And there was no way he was going to fire you. If I were Cal, I wouldn’t stick around for a job that did that to me. He has no loyalty to the company, and they obviously have none for him.”
“You bring up some very good arguments.”
“I have a question for you.” Her tone sounded like I might not like what she had to say.
“Okay,” I said hesitantly.
“Say you were the one who had been pulled into the conference room like that—you, Indy, not you as Cal—and you knew you wouldn’t break up with him or fire him, so you quit. And then you came back home and told Cal what had happened, only for him to ask you why you’d made the decision without him. How would that make you feel?”
I laughed awkwardly. “Do I have to answer?”
“No, because I can already guess what you’d say.”
“My immediate thought was, I’m an adult. I don’t need your permission to make my own decisions.”
Leslie smiled. “Yeah, I figured.” She squeezed my hand. “Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be mad at him for not talking to you about what happened. You have every right to be angry for the way he avoided you to keep you out of the loop. But I do think you need to cut him some slack about the choice he made on Monday when his hand was forced.”
I didn’t really want to acknowledge it, but I said, “I think you’re right.”
Ugh. I had been so mean to Cal.
Leslie tilted her head. “Why did he not tell you all week again?”
“Something like he wanted to find a new job before he told me, so I wouldn’t feel bad.”
“Do you maybe think one of the reasons you got so upset was because you do feel a little guilty?”
I looked down at my hands and put some serious thought into her question. Once again, my best friend was right.
“Definitely. If I had never shared my thoughts about Patrick, Cal would never have tried to fire him, and he would never have had to quit.” I pulled my shirt over my face. “Oh my God, it’s all my fault.”
Leslie pulled my shirt down. “That’s not what I was trying to say. It’s not all your fault. It’s just how everything worked out. Sometimes, shit happens. But this is where you can decide to deal with the shit alone or with the man you love.”
My eyes widened. “Love? I never said I loved him.”
She shrugged. “You never said you didn’t either,” she said in a singsong voice.
“Well, if I love Cal, then you love Asher.” I pointed a finger at her. “Admit it. He’s your boyfriend.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. He’s my boyfriend.”
“Ha. I knew it.”
She playfully shoved my shoulder. “I don’t like you.”
“I don’t believe you. You love me.”
“Fine. I do.”
“Almost as much as you love Asher.”
Leslie gave me the finger.
Later, as I lay in bed, I stared at my ceiling, wondering what I was going to say to Cal. I couldn’t quite tell if we’d only had a fight or if we had broken up on top of our fight.
My phone dinged beside me, and I held my breath as I checked to see if it was Cal.
Cal: I need you to come over. I want to feel you beside me.
For a second, I couldn’t figure out why the text seemed familiar, and then I remembered. It sounded a lot like the text I had sent him the first night. I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across my face.
Wrong Number Page 17
