Chapter 20
Caden
I clicked decline on my phone for the third time. I couldn’t stomach anything she had to say to me and I certainly didn’t want to hear her voice over the phone. Her sickeningly sweet voice that turned me on was the last thing I needed to hear. I wasn’t one to hold grudges, but a dark part of me wanted to stay mad at her. I wanted her to hurt as much as I was hurting. It was stupid, I know.
I imagined the conversation between her and LJ that had led up the kiss. No matter what she might have said or how they parted, she had promised me she would keep distance between them and give us a chance. I could feel the tension in my chest. I had trusted her. I’d believed she was different from the rest of the women who had lied or cheated or hell, even stolen from me. Cara was supposed to be different.
The driver pulled into the driveway and I stumbled out of the car and toward the house where less than forty-eight hours earlier I had been with the woman whom I believed was perfect. I slammed the front door shut, rattling the pictures on the hall of the foyer, and shuffled my way into the study. I grabbed the bottle of bourbon and poured myself a glass, attempting to take the edge off of the drunkenness I was already feeling.
Another text. Please Caden. Answer me. I’m sorry.
I tossed the phone on the counter, threw back the brown liquid feeling it burn my throat and passed out on the leather sofa.
* * * * *
The morning sunlight peeked through the slits in the wooden blinds of the study, hitting directly across my eyes. I stared at the ceiling, waiting for the room to stop spinning. Flashbacks of the previous day rushed through my head and then stuck on the image of Cara kissing LJ. The crushing feeling returned as I closed my eyes, hoping it was a bad nightmare, but it wasn’t.
“The door was open. I let myself in.”
My stomach sank as the sick feeling I was already experiencing got worse. I slowly sat up, still keeping my eyes closed, but the room continued to spin. “Why are you here?” I asked, my eyes still closed.
“We need to talk, Caden.” She walked over and took a seat next to me on the sofa, placing her hand on my leg. “I’m sorry. I never wanted any of this to happen. I don’t want LJ. I want you and we can work through this, I know we can, but right now we have bigger problems.” Cara squeezed my leg a little tighter, but I didn’t acknowledge her. I still wanted to be mad. “Graham took me last night. He was there after you left. He forced me into his car.”
In that split second, nothing else mattered as I opened my eyes and shifted to look at Cara. Her face was splotchy from crying. I grabbed her hand. “What do you mean he took you?”
“Caden, he’s out to get you and he wants to use me to ruin you. He let me go only after I promised I’d help him. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do.”
“Did he hurt you? What did he do?” My heart raced as I thought about how I wanted to crush Graham. He had crossed the line too many times already, now he had threatened someone that I cared about.
“He wants the company back,” she said. “He said if I didn’t persuade you to sell him back enough shares to get the majority, he would come after me. He would make me pay. He told me I couldn’t tell you. He said if I did, he would make sure you and I would never be together. He would destroy my career.” Cara took a deep breath as a tear fell from the corner of her eye. “I couldn’t lie to you, Caden, and I won’t let Graham hurt you. I don’t care what he does to me, but you—”
“Cara stop,” I said. I took in a slow breath as I gathered my thoughts. “You aren’t going to work with him. You aren’t going to get caught up in this and he can’t force you to do anything.” I slid closer to Cara and then realized I probably smelled like stale alcohol. “I’ll take of this, and him.”
“It’s too late. I made him a promise. He thinks I’m going to help him. The best thing I can do is just let him believe I haven’t said anything to you. If you want to get back at him, you’re going to need me.”
“We could just call the police,” I said.
“Too dangerous.”
“Well,” I said. “I do have another idea, and he won’t see it coming.”
Because as much as I hated to admit it, Cara was right. I did need her. I needed her to stay a step ahead of Graham and I needed her to be my voice of reason like she had once before.
“As long as I can be involved. As long as I can help,” she said.
I slid toward the edge of the couch and rested my elbows on the top of my thighs, allowing my hands to massage my temples and hopefully dull the throbbing pain that was echoing in my head. “Fine,” I whispered. “You can help.”
Exhaling, I dug my fingers deeper into my temples. I could feel Cara’s eyes burning through me as I wished the pain away.
“It looks like you had a rough night. I know you probably don’t want anything to do with me. Ever since I showed up in your life, there has been nothing but trouble. It was me who suggested you take charge of the company. It’s because of me that you are now wrapped up in this mess with my ex-boyfriend and Graham, and it’s me he’s using to get his company back. If I walked away, you could have your life back.”
“Those were my choices, Cara. Mine...and I’d make them again just to have the same night I had with you. I only wish you would have made another choice. I wish you would have picked me over LJ.”
“I did!” Cara snapped back. “I did pick you! I told LJ I didn’t want him. I’m here, telling you that I’m here, trying to help protect you. I don’t want anyone else. I went to see him for closure, because you are who I want.”
Her words sank in. Even though just a few minutes earlier I’d wanted to be mad, I couldn’t. It wouldn’t help and it didn’t make sense. What did make sense was to protect the woman who’d captured my heart, and put that selfish, egotistical stepbrother of mine in his place once and for all.
“I’m sorry, for all of this,” I whispered. I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Maybe we can try to put this behind us.”
“Yes,” she said, then added with a grim smile, “after you shower. Then we can talk.”
* * * * *
I have an idea how to get to him - talk soon.
I watched as Cara hit send on her phone, giving Graham hope that he had actually had a chance of succeeding with his extortion plan.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Cara asked.
“No, but it’s worth a shot.”
Graham had quickly texted back. Good. Keep me informed, or else.
“So now what?” Cara asked as she placed her phone on the table. “He isn’t going to give up. He’s going to keep after you, and me, until he gets what he wants.”
I knew Graham was going to be relentless. When he wanted something, he actually worked hard. It was unfortunate that he was putting effort into revenge instead of having put effort into the company from the very start.
“That’s what I’m planning on,” I said. “No one is officially aware of any of the changes yet. I hadn’t made my official announcement. My head just wasn’t in it yesterday because of…” My voice trailed off as I remembered learning about Cara and LJ. “Let’s just say, I had a lot on my mind yesterday, but today I’m going to let the employees know exactly what’s happening.”
“And then?”
“And then it isn’t going to make a difference what Graham wants, because no one will ever want to work with him or for him. In fact, my plan was to spin off portions of the company. If Graham wants back the company he started, he can have it. It will be just as worthless as when he started it. No employees and no one to grow it. Graham has spent years kissing people’s asses and then bossing them around.”
I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to pull it all off, but I knew one thing for sure—Graham wasn’t going to hurt Cara or threaten her any more.