4. Callie

“—and did you see?”

Mavis stood next to me, steaming mug of coffee in one hand, and shook her head so quickly that her tightly permed brown curls almost shook loose.

“Kane left looking smug. Smug I tell you! Are you sure you haven’t heard anything? If this place is going to the dogs then they should have the decency to let us know.”

Oddly, Mavis’s rambling was a nice distraction from the spinning thoughts inside my head. I’d been denied two loans this week and with only a few days left to secure the next payment for my mother’s hospice, things weren’t looking good. Listening to idle gossip, though, was an oddly nice way to distract from it as I stirred my own tea.

“I haven’t heard anything, Mavis. I’m sorry.” Lifting my head, I flashed her a small smile. “But when I do, you will be the first to know.”

“Thanks, chicken. At my age, looking for a new job isn’t peachy you understand?” She slurped noisily then pressed one wrinkled hand on my shoulder. “Easy for you though I’m sure. You’ll start looking as soon as you know.”

“Mavis.” Setting my spoon in the sink, I turned to her and focused briefly on the pearly chain dangling from her glasses. “Did you ever consider that Kane was here because we’re the ones doing the merger? Maybe he needs help.”

“A man as rich as that?” Mavis’s laugh was a soft, tinkling sound. “Don’t be silly, dear?—”

“Callie.” Sawyer’s deep tones suddenly cut across the conversation, and the entire mood inside the break room shifted. The CEO didn’t often come here other than to offer passing greetings during a staff birthday.

I turned to face him as the tips of my ears warmed. “Sir?”

“I need to see you near the end of your shift if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.” I nodded quickly. Why didn’t he ask me when I was at my desk? Why do it in front of Mavis and the other staff lingering in the break room?

Sawyer cast his eye around the room and left. A pause of silence filled the air in his wake as staff waited to see if he would return. After an ample amount of time, conversation resumed, and I let out the breath trapped in my chest.

“You’re not in trouble, are you chicken?” Mavis asked, her wiry brows pulled together in concern.

“No, of course not,” I assured her, picking up my tea. “We just have the usual expense reports to go over. I guess we’re doing that early this month.”

Despite the worry on her face, I flashed her a warm smile and hurried from the break room with my thoughts spinning over the last couple of days. I wasn’t in trouble… was I?

Luckily, the end of the day came quickly and half an hour before my shift finished, I headed into Sawyer’s office with a light knock on the door. He sat behind his desk with one hand rubbing across his beard, deep in thought.

“Sir?”

Sawyer’s head snapped up immediately, fixing me with an unwavering look. The same look that had flickered into my mind during my fantasy the other night.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Ah. Yes.” Sawyer stood swiftly and as he headed toward the meeting table in the middle of his office, the late sun gleaming in through the windows gave his white shirt a briefly transparent look. I forced myself to keep my eyes on his face even as the curves of muscle revealed themselves in my peripheral vision.

“I wanted to go over the expense reports. I know it’s early, but with the – could you shut the door?”

I did so immediately.

“With this upcoming deal with Kane, I need to make sure everything is in perfect order.”

“Of course!” It was impossible to keep the relief from my voice. Sitting at my desk all afternoon had given my mind time to run with pained ideas of what trouble I might be in with my boss. Luckily, he was just proactive.

“Do you have the numbers from last month?”

“Actually,” I said, hurrying forward. “All the numbers will be viewable in the accounts through the system.” Taking a seat at the desk, I pulled the tablet close to me and quickly logged into the accounts. Sawyer sat next to me, close enough that the warmth from his presence washed over me so suddenly that I typed my passcode in wrong.

Twice.

He didn’t comment, thankfully, and merely grunted when I slid the tablet toward him.

“This is everything?”

“Yes.” My attention bounced between him and the tablet as I angled toward him. “Anything you want to see will be displayed here, and you can view the previous month’s stuff there, too. There are a few predictions for next month and the one after, if you think estimates will help with Kane.”

The next hour was spent pouring over the expenses of the entire company, from staffing costs and profit, to how big of a margin we had in terms of absorbing costs. Sawyer charged me with compiling all the important numbers into a secure document that could be shared with Kane – after the lawyers took a look, of course.

Through it all, Sawyer’s presence next to me was suffocating in the most pleasant way. Heat rolled off him in waves, and every breath I took was filled with the spicy, comforting scent of his cologne. Sparks flicked up my forearms each time our fingers accidentally brushed against one another, not that Sawyer seemed to notice but it was enough for warmth to bead between my legs.

I couldn’t wait to get home.

“What do you think of Kane?” Sawyer asked suddenly, derailing my thoughts on overtime expenses.

“Huh?” I lifted my head and glanced at Sawyer through a few strands of fallen hair.

“What do you think of him?”

“What… what do you mean?”

Sawyer lifted one brow, toying with the sleeve of his shirt as he rolled it up to his elbow. “I think the question is perfectly clear.”

He wanted to know my thoughts? But why?

“I think… I think he seems decent. From what I’ve read about him, he comes from old money and does the best he can to make sure that he does something good with what he has. Sure, that could be clever press, but if the meeting here was anything to go by, then I think he’s just eager to help.”

Sawyer remained silent, so I pressed on.

“His reasonings, I’m sure, are his own. But, when you detailed your plan to him about making sure the medicine remained affordable, he seemed to perk up.” I paused, trying to think of a better way to word it but ultimately, I couldn’t. “Honestly, he reminded me of a child who had found someone who shared his unique interest for the first time.”

The corner of Sawyer’s mouth twitched briefly with the softest hint of amusement.

“You just need to secure the patent first, right?”

Sawyer nodded, keeping his eyes locked onto me. I couldn’t look away, not that I wanted to. I could lose myself in those ocean eyes and happily never be found.

“Why do you care?”

Sawyer’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, why does it matter what I think?” I asked again, hurriedly rewording my surprise.

“I value what you think,” Sawyer replied.

Really? I didn’t think he cared much about my opinion, never mind noticed me beyond my ability to send papers scattering in the air.

“I think you have a good nose for people because you certainly didn’t speak that highly of Eli Talbot and he’s famous for being charming.”

My nose wrinkled immediately at that man’s name, and sourness swept over the back of my tongue. Eli Talbot. The CEO of PRISM is one of Sawyer’s main competitors. They were top in the medical field before Sawyer took over Crane Enterprises and redirected the company’s focus from investment to medical.

“That business dinner where we met was lovely, but the only thing that stunk was Eli and his obsession with what the next horrible way he could make the most money regardless of who would be affected.” I couldn’t wrinkle my nose hard enough and finally looked away from Sawyer with a roll of my eyes. “I have no respect for a man like that.”

“What kind of man do you respect?”

His question caught me off guard and once more, the tips of my ears warmed. As I looked back at him, the heat flushed down the back of my neck.

“Well… I respect a man who isn’t afraid to do the right thing. Who isn’t afraid to take care of people and in Eli’s case, I respect a man that isn’t willing to make his next million off of the backs of people already struggling.”

Sawyer’s eyes slowly dropped away from my eyes, dipping lower across my body. The heat continued to seep across my shoulders, and I swallowed dryly.

Was that the right answer? Was he expecting me to say something else?

“See?” Sawyer’s eyes darted back up to mine. “You have a good judge of character. If you had sat there and voiced a single doubt about Kane, no matter how small, then I would have canceled the deal.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” I scoffed without thinking. “That deal is far too important.”

“I would.” Sawyer sounded completely serious and nothing could stop the warmth spreading to my cheeks.

He meant it. He really would have changed his plans based on my thoughts. There’s no way he thinks my opinion is that important.

Does he?

Sawyer finally looked away and returned to his tablet.

I wanted to ask more. I wanted to probe a little deeper into why he cared what I thought when half the time it felt like he didn’t even notice me. But as I opened my mouth, the office phone blared into life.

Reaching across the table, I grasped the receiver and lifted it to my ear.

“Good evening. Mr. Crane’s office, Callie speaking. How can I help?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Sawyer quickly access employee records and extend the paid maternity leave for Amelie in accounting.

What a softie.

“Callie?” The unfamiliar voice on the other end of the line seemed cheery and warm.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Sawyer didn’t take over from me as he stood, so I knew that was the right call.

“Even for an old friend?”

“Who may I note down is calling?”

“It’s me, Liam! Liam Hall.”

Liam. I knew that name.

Wait, Liam as the COO of Crane Enterprises? Spinning on the spot, I opened my mouth to tell Sawyer, but the words died in my throat. Sawyer stood near his desk, talking intently with an older man that I hadn’t even heard enter the office.

I recognized him in an instant. It was Sawyer’s father, Marcus.

“If you’re looking for Mr. Crane, then I’m sorry, but he’s not currently available.”

“He just doesn’t want to talk to me, huh?” Liam laughed. “No worries. Just tell Sawyer that I’m returning his summons and I’ll be back in the States early next week.”

“Not a problem, I will let him know.”

“Cheers. Thanks, Callie.”

“No problem sir.”

The line clicked dead, and I slowly lowered the receiver, hyper-aware of Marcus’ presence.

I knew very little about Sawyer’s father beyond Marcus’s own reputation. He stepped down from his position of CEO after the death of his wife, Sawyer’s mother, but he visited often enough to express his distaste at Sawyer’s decision to turn the company toward the medical field. In his eyes, Sawyer was making a mockery of the Crane name and the reputation Marcus had built up in the investment industry.

Today looked to be no different.

“Kane Lewis?” Marcus hissed bitterly. “Did you honestly think you could conduct such a meeting without my knowledge?”

“Dad,” Sawyer said tightly. “As I have told you before, how I conduct business is not your concern.”

“It is my concern!” Marcus snapped, slamming his palm flat onto the desk, making me jump. “Do you have any idea of the shame I’m forced to carry because you decided to take the golden goose egg I worked on for years to prepare for you, and tear it apart? All you had to do was sit in the damned chair for the next thirty years and let the money roll in!”

Now did not seem like the best time to tell Sawyer about Liam so with slow movements, I edged out of my chair and stepped away – only for my skirt to catch on the edge of the seat and tip it backward. I darted forward and caught the chair before it could topple to the floor. Setting it upright, my relief was short-lived when I turned to see Marcus glaring at me and Sawyer’s face twisted into an unreadable expression.

He seemed annoyed that I was even here as if he’d forgotten my very presence.

“What are you doing in here?” Marcus barked so loudly that I jumped at his rapid change in tone. “Get out!”

“We were working,” I replied as a tremble swept up my arms.

Suddenly, Sawyer strode forward and grasped me by the arm. His grip was firm but painless as he guided me toward the door. Obviously, he wanted me to leave quickly, but maybe I could relay the message quickly.

“That was Liam on the phone,” I said hurriedly. “He’s arriving next week?—”

“Can’t even have a private conversation,” Marcus cut in with a snarl. “Is this the ship you run here? What an utter disgrace you are turning out to be, Sawyer. If your mother could see you now, she would turn in her grave!”

Sawyer released me with a glare just outside his office, then slammed the door in my face.

My heart punched up to my mouth.

Ouch.