Ava
So, that was the infamous Amanda. When I’d seen her, I’d stopped talking because she had been looking at me so intently it had felt like she was eavesdropping.
“I didn’t expect that when you kept talking about her,” I said to Caleb after Amanda left.
“What did you expect?” he asked.
I shrugged, picking up the cup of coffee Caleb had ordered for me and taking a sip. “I don’t know. A shrewd woman. You know, black hair and dark eyes, not as pretty.”
Caleb laughed. “That sounds very stereotypical,” he said.
I shrugged. It was stereotypical. I’d just expected something else than the woman that had stood there, staring at me with eyes the color of the sky. She was the kind of person you saw in the movies. Everything about her was perfect. Her skin tan, a salon bronze that she obviously maintained all-year round. Her hair was luscious and thick, a blond mass styled carefully around her slim face. Her features had been model-like and when she’d spoken she’d had a very rich southern accent. Her clothes had looked like each item cost more than what I earned per month. When she’d walked away it was with authority and grace. That was a woman who was used to getting what she wanted.
“She actually looks like someone that I might want to get to know. You know, if I moved in your circles.”
“You don’t know her very well, then,” Caleb said. “Trust me, she may look warm and approachable, but she’s not. She’s cold and more business-oriented than anyone I’d ever seen. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to take the next step in her career. That’s what worries me.”
“You think that she would have taken illegal steps,” I said, connecting the dots.
Caleb nodded.
I put my spoon into my cup and stirred the lukewarm coffee again.
“I know that this is very personal to you,” I said after putting the spoon down and taking another sip. “Don’t you think that your opinion of her might be affected by that? That you don’t trust her because you’re so personally involved?”
Caleb blinked at me. The open, comfortable expression he’d worn earlier slipped away and his face closed.
“Why is everyone telling me that?” he asked.
“I’m just trying to look at the bigger picture,” I said quickly. I hadn’t meant to offend him. “I’m just thinking out loud.”
Caleb nodded but his face was serious now. I couldn’t reach him anywhere. I felt strangely shut out. The tension was thick around us.
“I’m trying to look out for James and everyone tells me that I’m ridiculous suspecting Amanda of foul play. James, I can understand – he doesn’t always think with his brain and she’s an attractive woman – but you?”
My ears started ringing when he made his statement about James. I knew that he didn’t want me – that had been clear for a long time. Considering that he might have someone else hurt unexpectedly. Of course, someone like Amanda would fit the bill perfectly. She had the same rich sheen about her. I could just imagine how happy a woman like that would make James’s family. Good breeding, a lot of money, the ideal looks… she would be so much better.
And that hurt like hell.
I shook off the thoughts. It didn’t matter. He could be with whoever he wanted to. If Amanda was the woman for him, what did it matter to me? I was here to do a favor for Caleb and to get away from the pressures in Chicago. Although, this was starting to look like its own kind of pressure.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to insinuate anything. I don’t know her at all.”
Caleb nodded. The tension slowly drained away until I could breathe easy again. It wasn’t gone completely, but it was good enough to be able to carry on with the conversation again.
“Tell me again what’s going on,” I said. “Tell me what you suspect.”
I needed to get the facts straight. I needed to think about it as a contract. I had to ignore that James was a part of this – the James that had been haunting me. I had to ignore that his partner was more beautiful than I would ever be. This was work.
“I think that they’re messing with their shares – I think they’re offering more than they really have with nothing to back it up. Something like changing the numbers.”
“Cooking the books,” I said.
Caleb nodded.
“I want someone uninvolved to look at it and tell me if I’m right. You know what happens to companies that walk that road. James can’t be a part of that.”
I nodded. Someone uninvolved. I wasn’t exactly uninvolved though, was I? This was very personal. Maybe I could push it all aside. Maybe I could still look at this as a job and nothing more. Something occurred to me and I frowned, looking up at Caleb.
“Why is this so important to you?” I asked. “I know James is a friend but this isn’t your company. You don’t have any investments in it, do you?”
Caleb looked out of the window that overlooked the Tampa Business District.
“Quad Corp is a very big company with a good name. When they’re selling shares, you want to get in there.”
“So, you’re saying that you are a shareholder?” I asked.
Caleb shrugged. “This isn’t just about the money, though,” he said. “It’s about James, first and foremost.”
Right. That might have been true but money was a very big motivator. So far, Caleb had seemed too good to be true. Handsome, wealthy, caring and compassionate and a gentleman. Selfless. As great as it sounded it didn’t make sense. He was too high up on the food chain to have no flaws. If he was looking out for himself it looked a lot more real.
“So, this is business, essentially?” I asked.
Caleb nodded. “It’s much more than just business, but yes. It’s rooted in business.”
I nodded. Business I could do. Emotions running high and betrayal and all that was too dramatic but if it was black on white it was exactly what I was cut out for. Everything fit perfectly between the lines. I could handle that.
“You could have just said that, you know?”
Caleb shrugged and he looked irritated.
“Money is a big deal in this world, Ava,” he said. “It’s not something I expect you to understand but if you don’t have it you get a social demotion and my work depends on where I stand.”
I frowned at him. “Why wouldn’t I understand it? God, I know I’m not one of you but I do understand risks and reputation.”
Caleb shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. You’re as important as the rest of us…”
“But still just a contractor, at the end of the day. You don’t have to sugar-coat it.”
I didn’t know where the division had come from. Suddenly there was a line that had been drawn and I was on the one side and Caleb was on the other. Yes, I wasn’t where they were, socially. I didn’t have a ton of inherited money that I could throw around to get everyone to worship me at my feet. But I worked hard and I understood where I belonged on the social hierarchy. I didn’t judge. I did my job and I expected everyone else to do the same.
“Let me make one thing very clear,” I said. “If I consider this job at all it’s not going to be out of sympathy or pity or anything. I’m not doing you a favor – you guys are paying me. That means that you can treat me like anyone else out there. Your money has given you a God-complex which I understand but I don’t respect or appreciate it.”
Caleb nodded, his dark eyes on me.
“That’s not how I meant for it to come across.”
“It came across like that, anyway. I’ve had my fair share of contact with people like you. I know that I’m not someone that will fit into this world – I’ve been told in so many words – but I do know my worth.”
Caleb looked down at the two empty coffee cups. During our conversation, we’d finished our coffee. I wished I had more, something to keep my hands busy.
“That’s not how I meant it,” he said again. I nodded.
“It’s fine,” I said. But it wasn’t fine. It had hit a nerve. James had called me once upon a time and told me that his life didn’t have space for me. He’d worded it differently but that was how he’d said it. It wasn’t because of who I was or how he felt about me. It wasn’t about how quickly I’d fallen for him or that he’d wanted something from me that I’d finally given up to him.
It had been about money and class alone. Nothing more.
I thought that after fifteen years I would have gotten over it. I thought that my views of my own worth, the value I offered to the community, was enough. I thought I’d gotten to a point where I’d accepted it.
Turned out it was still a sore point and Caleb had pushed just the right buttons.
“It’s good of you to look out for James,” I said, trying to change the topic. “I mean, I know it’s one of your biggest reasons for doing this. As far as I can tell ‘your world’ isn’t very forgiving.”
Caleb nodded. “It’s not. You’re right. James and I have been friends for a long time. His father was very hard on him where he was easy on Charlie. It’s not easy being the younger one. It’s not easy filling the shoes of an older sibling when they can do nothing wrong.”
“You sound like you speak from experience,” I said. Caleb was an only child. He shrugged. I didn’t know if that was a yes or a no. Whatever it was, the change in topic – something far away from what we’d been talking about – had eased up the tension and we were on okay terms again. Yes, we were pretending our little misunderstanding hadn’t just happened, but sometimes that was the only way to approach something. Caleb and I weren’t close enough to make amends any other way. We had been friends for a long time but at the same time, we knew virtually nothing about each other. Fixing miscommunications – knowing where the other came from and seeing it from their perspective – was hard, if not impossible.
“Tell me a bit about James,” I said. “About his company. You said he broke away from his father. That means he has less to lose and more to lose, all at the same time.”
Caleb nodded. “You’re right. His brother took over the hotel string Mr. Weber had started up. James wanted nothing to do with it. He built Quad Corp from the ground up alone. Well, with Amanda’s help, of course, but he didn’t have his family’s support or his father’s blessing. The old man passed away about six years ago but it wasn’t early for him to see that James had become successful despite his belief that his second son was a complete failure.”
James’s father had thought he was a complete failure? This was news to me. James had never mentioned his relationship with his father when we’d been together. He’d worshiped the man which had sounded like sound idolization.
“So, if he loses this, his dad wins?” I asked. “Even when he’s dead.”
Caleb nodded. “He doesn’t see it like that, obviously. It’s not as clear cut for him. But I can see what it does to him when he sees his brother. Charlie still doesn’t think James is worth his salt. James is caught in a web of always wanting to prove himself. No matter what he does, his family is never happy. Imagine how much losing the company will give them to say. He’ll never hear the end of it. I don’t think he’ll be able to handle that. He’s fragile as it is.”
I frowned. “Fragile, how?”
Caleb looked up at me and his face looked like he’d said something he shouldn’t have.
“It’s just a lot of pressure,” he said. He glanced at his wristwatch. “I’m so sorry to have to leave you. I have another client, he’s probably already in my office. I’ll call you later.”
I nodded. Caleb flashed me a quick smile before he walked away from me. I watched him go. His broad shoulders were clad in an expensive blazer and he always walked like a man who had somewhere to be. I got up and left, too. I was going back to my hotel. I hadn’t told Caleb I would do it, yet. I’d wanted to figure out where I stood with James. The conversation with Caleb had helped. I’d found out enough about him that I considered staying for the job.
It was all business, of course. This wasn’t about James or even Caleb. I just had to keep reminding myself of that.