“This is my PA, Alexa,” he introduced me, and I shook Farrah’s hand first, feeling the burn of her curiosity on my face.
With much relief I let go of her hand and turned to Lewis. He smiled and took my hand, but instead of shaking it he brought it to his lips in an old-fashioned gesture that I found charming.
“Shall we sit?” Caine pulled my seat out for me and Lewis gently released my hand.
I wasn’t surprised by Caine’s gentlemanly gesture. We were in public and one of the many things Caine did that was pure class was that he always pulled out my chair for me at business meetings. Moreover, he waited until I was seated before he sat, and if I stood up to leave for any reason he always stood up too.
Lewis followed suit with his CEO’s chair, and once Farrah and I were seated, the guys settled down beside us. I sat directly across from Farrah and had Caine on my left and Lewis on my right, and I could feel Farrah’s gaze on me as I looked at my menu.
It wasn’t until after we’d ordered that Caine relaxed back in his chair and asked Farrah, “So, what’s the problem?”
She released a heavy sigh. “I want to step down.”
Caine frowned. “Why on earth would you do that?”
“Caine.” Farrah sat forward, her tone suggesting familiarity between them, “You know I never wanted to take over my family’s company.”
I found myself scrutinizing Caine’s response to her and felt a burn of discomfort in my chest at his own familiarity with her. “And yet you fought so hard for it?”
There was definitely something there between them.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, yet I just knew. It was in the way they looked at each other. In their soft tones.
She smiled. “I didn’t want the company, but I also didn’t want my grandfather’s legacy to die. My own father worked himself into an early grave for the company. I couldn’t just let it all be for nothing. But now it’s time for me to move on.”
Caine was silent upon this declaration. The starters arrived before he could say anything and we’d just begun eating when he stopped. “You realize that my board of directors will have strong opinions on who your successor should be?”
Farrah rewarded him with an intimate smile and I swallowed past a lump of jealousy in my throat. Yup. They’d definitely been together. “Yes, which is why I asked you here. The company is called Carraway Financial Holdings. You have a strong influence, and I know you’ll take my recommendation to heart.”
Caine gave nothing away. He flicked a glance at Lewis Sheen. “You want Lewis to take over.”
Farrah smiled at her CFO. “He knows the company better than anyone. He knows where we were and where we’re going.”
“And I care what happens to the company,” Lewis added. “Which is a rare commodity in an employee of modern business.”
Caine stared at him a few moments. “I agree.”
Farrah and Lewis seemed to deflate with relief. “Thank you, Caine.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I can only do so much.”
She smiled gratefully at him. “I know exactly what you’re capable of.”
I tried to act normally after that, but it was hard. My skin felt like it was on fire and I just wanted to be anywhere but sitting at that table with Caine and his ex-lover.
They discussed Lewis’s possible takeover for a while until the conversation turned to what Farrah intended to move on to, and while she told Caine about the job offer she’d received in the finance department of a major fashion line in New York, Lewis attempted to engage me in conversation. I tried my best to concentrate, but it was difficult when I wanted to be as far from the table as possible.
After we’d finished eating and Caine, Farrah, and I had ordered coffees, Lewis stood up. “I apologize, but I promised my wife I wouldn’t be late home tonight.” He smiled down at me. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Alexa.” He held out his hand to Caine. “As always, a delight, Mr. Carraway. Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us, and for appreciating what I can bring to the table.” He nodded at Farrah. “We’ll talk soon.”
We bade him good-bye and I sank deeper into my chair, wishing I had an excuse to leave too. I did not want to be the third wheel in this situation.
However, Farrah seemed to have forgotten my existence. I didn’t think it was deliberate. I think she was just that smitten with Caine.
She hogged the conversation, turning it personal as she brought up a number of dinner parties they’d attended together. Although Caine was his usual difficult-to-read self, he did seem marginally more relaxed around her and I almost hated her for that. The only thing that made watching her stroke his arm and laugh about the good old times together was the fact that she didn’t make Caine laugh and he rarely smiled.
That would have killed me if she’d managed that feat.
The flirting, though, was enough to do some serious damage. The truth was I didn’t even know why I was there in the first place. Caine didn’t need me here for this and he certainly didn’t need me there to witness him flirt with a woman who was obviously an old flame.
I didn’t want to watch them rekindle something.
My stomach was sick. I wanted a stiff drink, far away from him.
I stood up abruptly and a bewildered Caine got to his feet too. “If you’ll excuse me I think I’ll call it a night.”
He frowned but nodded.
I nodded at Farrah. “It was a pleasure to meet you.” Fucking lie!
She bestowed upon me a vague smile. “You too.”
Without sparing Caine another glance, I walked out of the restaurant and headed through the hotel to the bar. I found an empty stool at the bar and settled in.
The young bartender smiled at me. “What can I get you, madam?”
Ugh, when did I become a “madam”? Just one more thing a drink would help me forget about. “Glenlivet on the rocks.”
The bartender didn’t even blink at my order and he was back a few seconds later with the drink. I took a sip, letting the heat of the scotch slide down my throat and spread out across my chest. I instantly felt a little more relaxed.
For a while I sat there, nursing my scotch and playing around with my cell. Rachel had sent me a picture of Maisy sitting on her husband Jeff’s back. Jeff was flat out on his stomach on the floor, and his hands had been tied behind his back.
Your kid worries me, I texted in return.
A few seconds later my cell pinged. I know, right? It’s hilarious.
I grimaced and shoved my phone in my purse. To Rachel, Maisy was hilarious. To the rest of us she was a demon child.
“Can I get you another?”
Surprised by the closeness of the voice, I felt my body give a little jerk. A young guy in a suit was sliding onto the stool beside me. I took him in, feeling a little buzzed. He was attractive and there was a sparkle of good humor in his eyes that I liked.
What the hell?
“You may.”
He grinned. “What’ll it be?” I told him, and his grin widened. “Scotch?”
I smiled unhappily. “I’m drowning my sorrows.”
The guy waved down the bartender and ordered two whiskies. When his attention returned to me, he said, “Why is a pretty thing like you drowning your sorrows?”
I made a face.
He laughed. “What?”
“Pretty thing? Really?”
“I just say it like I see it.” He held out his hand. “I’m Barry.”
I took his hand. “Alexa.”
“So, Alexa, I’ll ask again … why are you drowning your sorrows?”
Wrapping my hand around the glass of scotch the bartender put in front of me, I tilted my head in a coy gesture. “Guess.”
“Hmm … career troubles?”
I snapped my fingers and pointed to him. “Bingo.”
Barry smiled and leaned closer. “Well, why don’t we see how long it takes me to make you forget about your troubles?”
“What the he
ll? I’ve got nothing to lose. Give it your best shot, Barry.”
And he did.
We talked about music and movies, and I argued fervently in favor of the Red Sox while he argued for the Mariners, and we did it in a flirty, suggestive way that soothed the wounds to my feminine vanity. We didn’t discuss anything serious and for a little while it was wonderful to be buzzed, relaxed, and admired.
I didn’t know how long we’d been sitting there, but my second scotch was nearly finished and I was thinking it was time for another when Barry suddenly slid his hand along my thigh.
“Why don’t we take this up to your room?”
Looking down at his hand on my leg, I had to admit that there was a part of me that actually thought about it. I wanted to forget what it felt like to feel Caine all around me, and surely the old adage was true—the best way to get over someone was to get under someone new. With the scotch hot in my blood, that suddenly sounded like very good advice.
“Or better yet, why don’t you remove your hand before I break it?”
The breath went out of my body at the menacing voice.
I stared up at Caine, who towered over us, his dark gaze scorching Barry.
Barry flushed and started a stumbling slide from his stool. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
He scampered off before I could do anything to stop him. Not that I wanted to now—there was nothing more unattractive than a scaredy-cat. Although … taking in the look on Caine’s face, I couldn’t imagine many men wouldn’t find him intimidating. “What was that?”
The muscle was working overtime in his clenched jaw. It took him a few seconds to manage to utter the words, “That was me stopping you from making a drunken mistake. A mistake you’ll regret in the morning.” His warm hand wrapped around my elbow and he gently guided me off the stool. “Let’s get you to your room.”
I jerked out of his hold, infuriated by his high-handedness. “What? You’re done ignoring me while you flirt with Farrah Rochdale so you thought you’d come spoil my fun?”
Caine’s features hardened, but he didn’t answer. Instead he gripped my elbow again and began striding through the bar.
There was nothing I could do. If I attempted to stop him I’d just make a scene, and despite what he thought, I was buzzed, not drunk.
He manhandled me into the elevator. “I wasn’t ignoring you. You were ignoring me.”
The elevator began to rise. “Oh yes, of course. How silly of me. I was the one to blame when you were flirting with another woman right in front of me merely days after we had sex.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Farrah and I are just old friends. I never mix business with pleasure.”
I shot him a look. “I know from personal experience that’s not true.”
Color appeared high on his cheekbones. “Usua—”
The abrupt halt of the elevator and its doors opening cut him off. I hurried out, hoping he wouldn’t follow.
I had no such luck. Caine caught up to me and grabbed my arm again.
“I’m perfectly capable of making it to my room.”
Instead of listening to me, he took my purse out of my hand and raked through it for the room key.
“I’m not drunk,” I insisted.
“So that was a sober decision to flirt with that asshole?” he asked, his voice tight, as we stopped at my door.
I huffed and waited for him to open it. To my dismay he pushed his way in first, holding the door open for me.
“You can leave.” I glowered at him and strode inside.
I bent down to tug off my shoes, whirling and almost falling when I heard the door shut behind me.
Caine stood watching me.
“You can leave,” I repeated
He just stared at me in that intense, overwhelming way of his.
“What?” I snapped. “What now?”
“I’m sorry if I hurt you tonight,” he said, and for some reason his apology only fanned the flames of my anger. “You don’t deserve that.”
Whether it was the alcohol or a buildup of tension from the past few weeks of ignoring our chemistry, my self-control slipped. The hurt and fury just exploded out of me. “You know what? You’re right. I deserve better. I’ve deserved better my whole life, but I never got it. Neither did my mother.” I let all my pain blaze out at him and he stood there, frozen by my words. “But my mom refused to ask for better. I won’t make that same mistake.
“From the moment my father told me what he did to your mom, to your family, I cut him out of my life.” I watched how this information made Caine’s eyes glitter, arrested on my face. “I used to think he was some kind of hero,” I whispered. “Some kind of fairy-tale prince who came around on my birthday and showered me with gifts and made my mom really happy. Then suddenly he was there all the time. I thought he’d finally come to save us. And I kept thinking of him like that until I was a teenager, until I was old enough to see how spoiled and lazy and entitled he was. How he made my mom cry more than he made her laugh. But I pretended.” I gave a huff of bitter laughter as I remembered the way I’d stuck my head in the sand.
“I kept pretending right up until seven years ago when he confessed his sins. I hated him for what he did to your mother. I hated him for lying to me all those years, for having a family I knew nothing about, for coming to us because we were all he had left, his only recourse. I left home. But I couldn’t let it go until I knew everything. So I went back and I asked my father your mother’s name, your name, but he wouldn’t tell me. I decided I didn’t need to know your name. I just needed my father to apologize to you, to prove he really was remorseful and that whatever he was going through wasn’t just about him, but about the people he hurt. But he refused. So I told him I didn’t want anything to do with him ever again, and I never went back.
“I lost my mom because of him. She refused to walk away from him and she blamed me for the rift. Now I can’t fix the relationship I helped break, because she’s dead, she’s gone … And all I’ve got left in this world is a grandfather who’s too ashamed to acknowledge me and a boss who gets a kick out of treating me like shit.” My voice hardened. “Well, no more. I am done with this game. Because I am not my father and I would never hurt people the way he did. I wanted you to see that. I wanted you to see me. To see … to see that I get it. I’ve never deserved your contempt. And I won’t put up with it anymore.” I gestured, weary of it all, to the door. “Just get out, Caine.”
I was too angry to see the change in his expression, to hear the softness when he said my name.
“Caine, get out.”
“Lexie, I never knew any of that.”
“Because you never bothered to ask!” I yelled. “And now it doesn’t matter. When we get back to Boston, I’m done. Screw the two weeks. This is over now.” I whipped around, walking away from him toward the bathroom, hoping by the time I got out of there he’d be gone.
But I didn’t even make it inside.
I heard the quick footsteps behind me seconds before I was yanked around and crushed against him.
He whispered my name before his head dipped and his lips came down on mine.
CHAPTER 13
I kissed him back.
The truth was, even when he pissed me off I wanted him.
And that made me even angrier.
My emotions fed into the kiss as I wound my arms around his neck and curled my fingers into his hair. Our tongues stroked in desperation as Caine felt the heat of my anger and caught fire.
His thumbs brushed against my cheeks, seeming to swipe invisible tear tracks away.
I pushed at his jacket and he dropped his arms so he could shrug out of it. We didn’t break the kiss, our mouths pulling at each other’s.
Caine started moving me back in the direction of the bed and our lips didn’t part until he lifted me and then dropped me on my back across the middle of the mattress.
I stared up at him, panting, my whole body aflame. He kept me trapped in his
gaze as he unbuttoned his waistcoat and shirt.
How could it be that a moment ago I was ready to walk away from this man for good, and now all I could think about was getting him inside me? “This is insane,” I whispered. “What are we doing?”
He tugged off his shirt and threw it behind him. He then immediately sought out the side zipper on my dress. “Taking what we both want.” He tugged the zipper down and I shivered.
“It doesn’t matter that I’m drunk?”
Caine smirked and took hold of the hem of my dress. Slowly he pushed it up past my thighs, up over my stomach, my breasts, and I raised my arms above my head so he could pull it off. His eyes devoured me, raking me over as I lay under him in my black lace bra and panties.
My gaze dropped to the thick arousal stretching the fabric of his pants.
When I looked up our eyes met.
“A minute ago you were just buzzed, not drunk,” he reminded me, amusement lacing the words.
I raised an eyebrow. “Buzzed or drunk, a gentleman wouldn’t take advantage.”
“Well, you’re in luck.” He grazed his knuckles over my stomach, his eyes following his fingers as they trailed along the edge of my underwear. My stomach rippled and his gaze went black with heat. “We both know I’m no gentleman.”
My nipples peaked against my bra at the dark arousal in his voice. “I thought I was out of your system.”
His hand flattened on my stomach and he smoothed it upward slowly, heading between my breasts. “And we both know that was a lie.” He unclipped the front clasp on my bra and eased it off.
The cool air rushed over my breasts and they swelled under his perusal. My breath hitched as he stroked them softly, his thumbs brushing over my nipples. Caine held my gaze as he gently, slowly, torturously teased my breasts. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”