Chapter Twenty-nine

Caleb

“Of all days to finally come out of his cave, he picks today?” I griped.

Ben leaned back in his chair, propping his feet on top of the desk. We had just finished making our offer to Darcy’s people and were waiting to hear back from them. “Maybe he wants to give this to you as a birthday present,” he replied, toying with a Rubik’s Cube. “Shut up and sit your fat ass down. Darcy’s people are playing the game.”

Ben’s gray eyes gleamed with challenge. He loved this.

Mr. Darcy was a millionaire hermit who owned a big slice of land very close to the city. The land was prime real estate, and if we acquired it, it would be a huge investment for our company.

Everyone wanted a piece of it, but Mr. Darcy had made it very clear that he wasn’t selling. Lady Luck had her generous eye on Ben when Mr. Darcy stayed in one of our hotels. Ben opened the door to the possibility of Darcy selling property to us and initiated negotiations. Ben could be very convincing if he really wanted something. He was a shark in negotiations.

“You know,” Ben began, “I’m pretty good at getting a handle on people.”

I threw him a glance. He was looking at me with amusement as he placed the completed Rubik’s Cube on the desk. What a nerd. He rose and shrugged out of his gray tuxedo jacket before neatly placing it on a chair.

I briefly thought that he was going to get along well with Red. They were very similar in the tidiness department.

Since he mostly lived in hotels, Ben kept an office at my mother’s house at her insistence. It was spacious and luxurious with books lining the walls and a fireplace beneath a Van Gogh painting. The desk was antique, and two high-backed chairs were situated in front of it.

Ben sauntered to the bar to fix a drink. “Your Veronica strikes me as someone who can handle herself. Unless I’m wrong.”

He strolled toward me and handed me a glass. I took a sip and went back to gazing out the window. My heartbeat accelerated at the sight of my mom and Red talking.

“You’re not wrong,” I answered. “She’s the strongest person I know.”

“Then why are you standing there watching like someone’s going to abduct her?”

I snorted. “I’m not…” I paused, realizing that, yeah, I was.

Reluctantly, I pushed away from the window and leaned against the wall to look at Ben. “I just don’t want Beatrice-Rose to upset her.”

“You’re worried about Beatrice-Rose, but what about Mom? You know Mom’ll eat Veronica alive if she doesn’t like her.”

I frowned. “She’ll like Red. How can anyone not like her?”

Because he’d put the thought in my head, I went back to watching through the window again.

“Mom likes me, and she still scares the crap out of me,” Ben argued.

This was not helping.

“That’s true,” I conceded, taking a sip from the glass. “Still, I’m 100 percent sure Mom will like Red.”

I turned away from the window, confident in my girl’s feisty side. She could handle anything. I was sure of it.

It didn’t take long for Mr. Darcy’s people to phone back and accept our deal. Ben and I had made sure that they couldn’t refuse our offer.

Good. Now I could get back to my girl. I looked out the window again to where I’d last seen her, but she wasn’t there anymore. I scanned the garden and couldn’t find her. She must have come inside the house. I was in good spirits by the time I made it downstairs and more than looking forward to dancing with Red again. Maybe after that, we could sneak out of the party.

But she wasn’t inside the house. I went outside to the party, to the gardens, even back to my bedroom and balcony, but she was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t even answering her phone.

Where was she?

Maybe my mom would know. I was going back to the garden to ask her when I heard a familiar voice. “Caleb, Son.”

My heart flipped in my chest before dropping into my stomach. My dad stood in front of me.

I hadn’t seen him in months. He looked familiar and strange at the same time. More lines were etched around his eyes and mouth as he smiled at me. On his arm was his latest mistress. She was probably younger than I was.

Resentment and love warred inside me as I gazed at my dad. What the hell was he doing here?

“Happy birthday, Son.”

He stepped forward, looking like he was going to hug me. I stepped back before he could get any closer. His smile disappeared.

“Thanks,” I said coldly. “Enjoy the evening with your”—child—“date.”

I turned to walk away.

“Caleb.”

I stopped, gritting my teeth.

“Can I have a moment with you? Please?”

I faced him, my hands balling into fists. I kept my expression stoic as I waited for him to speak. How dare he show up here with his mistress? Was he rubbing it in my mom’s face? Did he know how hurt or humiliated Mom would be by him bringing her here?

“Son?” he pressed.

I tried really hard not to sneer. “You’re overusing that word.” I let out a sigh at his puzzled expression. “You stopped being a father a long time ago.”

His face hardened. My eyes shifted to the girl beside him as she pulled at his arm. She gazed at me with an unmistakable look of invitation in her eyes.

I nearly curled my lip in disgust, but my mom had taught me to be nice to children.

“I don’t want to be rude,” I said patiently, returning my gaze to my dad. “But who invited you?”

“Your mom did.”

I just stared at him, shocked.

“I asked her to send me an invitation for your birthday, Caleb. I wanted to see you.”

Anger rose up in my throat. “Did Mom tell you to bring her here?”

Guilt marred his face. “No, but—”

“It wasn’t enough that you divorced Mom? You want to humiliate her by bringing this…girl here?” I looked up at the dark sky and blew out a breath. “Let’s be honest and stop wasting each other’s time. What do you need?”

“Nothing, Son. I’m here for you.”

“Bullshit. What do you really want? Wait, you know what? I’m not interested. See you around. Or not.”

With that, I turned and left. My heart pounded in my chest, and my face felt hot as I nearly ran to get away from him.

He was here for me? What a load of crap.

He was a liar, and a selfish man who used people. He only remembered his family when he needed something. I had accepted that a long time ago…but acceptance didn’t mean it couldn’t hurt me anymore.

“Cal.” Beatrice-Rose stepped in front of me, blocking my way. What the hell did she want now?

“I don’t have time for you right now, Beatrice-Rose.”

“Are you looking for Veronica?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. Her face was a picture of innocence, but I knew better. Underneath it, she was anything but. Red said they had the same dress, but all I could remember was that Beatrice-Rose had also worn red. She must have changed, because now she had on a white gown.

“She’s in the gazebo. I just saw her there.”

“Thanks.” I turned to leave.

“Wait! Caleb, I-I don’t think you want to see what she’s doing right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s with this…guy.”

If she was here to make trouble for me and Red again, I swear… I took a deep breath to calm myself, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“They look really cozy together,” Beatrice-Rose continued, looking worried. “It’s the guy you had a fight with on campus. He’s got his arm around her—”

I walked away before she could finish. I felt my blood boiling. My temper, already aggravated by my dad’s appearance, reached its boiling point.

“Caleb?” It was Cameron this time. “Where the hell have you—”

I ignored Cameron and kept walking. Faster. Faster until I started running.