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JULIET
I can’t sayI wake up the next morning. Wake would imply that I actually slept, and I didn’t. Instead, I spent a full six hours tossing and turning and wondering if Caleb would come home.
By the time the first rays of morning sun poke through the window, I decide the answer to that question is a big fat no.
When I go out to the living area, I confirm it. He’s not back. Hasn’t been back.
I grab my phone, hoping for a text from him. Nothing. I type: You okay?
Then I wait. And wait.
Meanwhile, I start picturing all the terrible fates that might’ve befallen him. Most of them are at the hands of Nero Barretti.
Still waiting for a return text from him, I wander the apartment, wondering if I should make myself a cup of coffee, or head to Mara’s to get new clothes. Then I sit there, tapping my fingernails on the granite countertop in the kitchen.
I can’t help thinking something is very wrong.
A moment later, my fear over what might’ve happened gets the best of me. I rush to the bedroom, quickly change into yesterday’s clothes, and head out. Since it’s the quickest way to the office, I take a cab.
When I arrive, I practically barrel out of the elevator, avoiding the curious looks of the receptionists at the front desk. I get it; I’m wearing the same outfit and look like hell. But I need to know that Caleb is okay.
The moment I approach the executive area and see his door closed, my heart lurches into my throat. He only closes the door when he’s in a meeting or out for the day.
What if he never made it back to the office?
What if he paid Nero a visit to confront him… And pushed the mobster too far?
But when I get closer, I notice light spilling in from the crack under the door, and I can hear faint voices coming from inside. I sigh with relief and look at Vicki. “Who is he in there with?”
She has her lips pursed in a tight scowl. “I thought you’d know, since you two are so close.”
I ignore the dig and fix her with my most demanding stare.
Finally, she relents. “His lawyers. Who else? There’s a storm brewing with Sebastian Wolfe, and it’s not going to be pretty,” she says, her eyes scraping down my body.
So, it’s about the takeover bid. All of those grisly scenarios I’d pictured last night were just the product of an overactive imagination.
But is this any better? I know that in Caleb’s eyes, losing the company is a fate worse than death.
Vicki smiles sweetly at me. “Didn’t you wear that yesterday?”
“So?” I mutter, going back to my desk, I sit there, ignoring my overflowing inbox, waiting for the doors to open.
I need something from Caleb—reassurance, an explanation, anything. Something to stop this sick feeling from swirling in my gut.
Ten minutes later, Vicki calls over to me, “If you’re hoping to get an audience with him, he has back-to-back meetings all day. Get to work.” Then she shrugs. “Of course, he might make an exception for you.”
Reluctantly, I open up a spreadsheet and try to input the values. It’s dizzying work, made harder since my mind is nowhere close to being on the project. As expected, I can’t get the totals to balance, and I feel a migraine poking at my temples.
It’s nearly an hour later that the doors finally open and Caleb comes out, followed by the lawyers. He shakes hands with them.
I don’t bother to wait for them to leave. I practically pounce on him. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” He seems preoccupied, like he doesn’t have time for me.
“What is it? Olivia?”
He nods, looking everywhere but at me. “Sebastian and Olivia are making a play for a hostile takeover, sweet-talking our biggest shareholders. There’s a board vote coming up soon, that’s when they’ll make their move.” He points to his office. “I have to get back to work.”
