In a strange way it’s a relief that it’s probably the busiest I’ve ever been, and I have no time to dwell on my situation or on the guy who’s at my side practically twenty-four-seven.
All hell breaks loose when Tom Rutherford approaches Dad again with another offer, this time of a strategic partnership. Personally, I’m all for it, but Marcus is wary and Caesar is completely against it.
Dad wants a meeting with the Rutherfords, though, and on Friday 5th February, we meet at our offices. Tom has just turned eighty, but he has a sharp eye and clearly hasn’t lost anyof his ruthlessness and ambition over the years. To my surprise, he brings with him his two granddaughters, Brielle and Maddie. They’re an unusual couple, both with albino coloring. I’ve seen Brielle before because she’s very active on social media, but I haven’t met Maddie. She’s quiet, funny, and quirky, and I like her immediately. I’m therefore puzzled when it becomes clear over the course of the meeting that Caesar doesn’t feel the same. Or maybe I’m just picking up that he’s antagonistic toward the whole family, because I know he hates Tom with a passion after he had a humiliating run-in with him many years ago.
Whatever the reason, he’s clearly frustrated when Dad announces he’s open to the idea of a partnership, and he’s openly annoyed when Dad tells him he wants him to go to the Rutherford farm at Blackridge to scout out the new Verdant AI technology Brielle is pushing. Maddie agrees to go with him, and they set a date for the following weekend.
The days fly by. I’m working flat out, my feet barely touching the ground. I’m glad of the distraction. I still train with Luke in the morning, but the two of us have settled into a relatively comfortable routine now. I’ve accepted that he’s not going anywhere, and so I stop pushing his buttons, and in return he stops teasing me. We remain friendly but professional, and even though occasionally when he’s showing me a defensive move, we end up face to face or locked together on the ground, one of us quickly breaks contact, and we clear our throats and return to our ready stance without comment.
Marcus announces that Wren is pregnant, which fills me with joy, and also quiet envy that I make sure remains hidden. I announce that I’m excited to be an aunt and give him a big hug, but for the rest of the day I’m filled with a restless yearning that won’t go away. I throw myself even more into my job, finding that the only way I can overcome these confusing feelings is to crowd them out with work.
And as for Caesar… I don’t quite know what’s going on with him. He comes back from Blackridge Station even grumpier than when he went, which is hard to believe. Dad calls a board meeting to discuss Caesar’s findings, and it’s only when I announce that one of Maddie Rutherford’s aunts told me Maddie is pregnant, and Caesar sprays his coffee across the table, that I start to realize what’s going on.
“They had a thing at Blackridge?” I ask Marcus, after Caesar storms out.
He nods. “Apparently.”
“Jesus, he moves fast,” my father says, startled.
“The baby can’t be his,” I point out. “Not if they only slept together at the weekend. Jackie Rutherford said they assumed the baby was Maddie’s ex’s. So I guess Caesar’s just mad she didn’t tell him.”
“You know as much as I do now,” Marcus reveals. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
I spend the rest of the day regretting telling Caesar, remembering how angry he was, and feeling awful for upsetting him again. And then, toward the end of the day, my phone rings and Dad asks me to join him and my brothers for a meeting in his office.
Afterward, I walk down and meet Luke in the car park as usual at six p.m. We get in, and I buckle myself in, then tip my head back on the headrest and blow out a long breath.
“Everything okay?” he asks as he starts the engine.
“It’s been a helluva day.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
It’s going to all be public soon, but I realize with some surprise that I would have told him anyway. I trust him, maybe more than anyone else, bar my immediate family.
So I tell him everything. That Caesar met Maddie on the evening of the masquerade ball, and apparently got her pregnantthat night. That they hooked up again at Blackridge. And that he was worried Tom Rutherford had sent her to seduce him, but now he’s convinced that wasn’t the case.
“He genuinely likes her,” I tell Luke. “You should have seen his face when he talked about her. He lit up like a Christmas tree.”
He smiles. “So what happens now?”
“Dad’s called a meeting with the Rutherfords tomorrow. He’s going to announce that we accept the partnerships with certain provisos. You see, Maddie’s invented a new soil restoration model, and Caesar thinks it’s going to be amazing when it’s combined with our pasture management system. He’s genuinely excited about it. I think the girl-plus-baby thing is just a bonus.”
Luke smiles, turning into the car park and slotting the Range Rover into the usual space. “That’s great news. So all’s well that ends well?”
“Yeah, in the end.”
We get out and make our way into the elevator. I sigh and lean back against the mirrored wall, looking at him as the carriage slowly ascends. He studies the floor, lost in thought. He has dark circles under his eyes, and he looks tired.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He nods. “Yes, thank you.”
Guiltily, I realize I’ve been so absorbed in my own life, and so determined to keep my distance from him, that I haven’t even registered how quiet he’s been lately.
“Luke,” I say softly, dipping my head to catch his eye. “What’s going on?”
He lifts his gaze to mine. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
