Chapter 10: Cal

Chapter Ten

CAL

S he sounds so betrayed.

"Who am I taking out?"

"I wish." She laughs humorlessly. "It's my own stupidity that got me into this mess."

"Tell me." It's not a request.

"Fine." She slumps back against the striped cushions. "I developed a good marketing idea for an important client, but when we met about it, a coworker presented it as her own. I went to my manager afterward and said that I could show her from the timestamps on the documents that I'd created it, but she accused me of lying. The presentation that I created showed my coworker as the person who started the document complete with timestamps."

"So she accessed your computer and changed the metadata on the document."

"Must have."

"Does your company have CCTV cameras inside?"

"I don't know. Is that common?"

"Yes. Almost all corps do as a matter of safety."

"Is that what you higher-ups call spying?"

"Yes, but in this case, it might be to your benefit. If you can show that she was at your unit, it would prove your case. They can match that with a login timestamp on your computer." Or I'll ruin the woman. Either way, Harlow's coming out on top. "Let's eat. All this talking is making me hungry."

Harlow allows me to pull her to her feet. I gently steer her toward the door.

"Mindy hates me. And she's smart. There's nothing worse than a smart hater," she says as I grab her keys off the table.

"How about pasta for lunch?" Get a few carbs in her and then make her lie down for a nap afterward. She's had a tough day.

"You're still not off the hook. You haven't answered half my questions."

"Ask away."

She grills me over lunch, and I answer everything from my portfolio that is in the ten figures to my parents living abroad due to my mom's unfortunate need for constant medications.

"No girlfriends? I don't believe you." Skepticism is all over her face.

"I've never been interested until you. I have my friends, my family, and my business. It was fulfilling enough."

"You were never going to have kids?"

"I've been racing to build my business since I took over for my dad. We were on the verge of losing everything due to my mom's pill addiction. Children and marriage were something I thought I'd do sometime in the far future."

"I'm not saying I'm not awesome, but it seems weird that suddenly all of that is changing because of me. We don't even know each other. The exchange of personal details is supposed to come before the falling in—whatever you call it."

"The falling in love?" She's afraid to say it, but I'm not. "Why does that have to be the order. Why can't the order be bells ringing when we see each other, instant connection, and then exchange of all the boring details?"

"Isn't it the details that's the important part?" She pushes her plate away.

"The details keep the romance going, but it's instant chemistry that brings them together in the first place." I signal for the waiter. Time for dessert. "One of each," I tell him.

"Why are you ordering all of the dessert menu?"

"Because I don't want you to have to choose."

She shakes her head. "This is like when a bride brings her new husband breakfast in bed during the honeymoon period. She's treating him, but he thinks that's the kind of treatment he's going to get the whole marriage."

I cross my hand over my chest and say, "I promise to order the entire dessert menu every time we go out from now on."

She opens her mouth and then snaps it shut.

"What? You can say it. You can say anything," I urge.

"I already know the answer. I was going to say ‘What happens when we break up?' but I knew your response would be ‘We're not breaking up.'"

I crinkle my eyes. "That's right."

"We aren't even dating. That's a prerequisite for breaking up."

"We've had two meals together in a week. From all I've read, that's more dating than most modern couples do in a year. Eat up." The desserts are delivered.

She takes a bite of each one and decides the lemon is the best. We get that one boxed up and head out.

She stops on the sidewalk and stares at the sky for a moment. "You know they held the meeting on Friday at ten because they're all retired or don't have real jobs."

"Petty shit," I agree.

"I had to take the day off for it, and they didn't even vote. It's annoying."

"We can get their club memberships cancelled."

"Is that the rich person's version of egging their house?"

"With a little more permanency and public humiliation."

"Unfortunately, the guilt I'd feel would outweigh their humiliation, so I can't say yes."

Her glum look makes me laugh. I kiss the top of her head. "You're adorable. This is why we're dating."

She scrunches her nose. "You can't say that. This is a pretend relationship."

"Not for me."

"I'm going to ignore you now."

"I'm six-four with my hand on your waist. How does that work?"

"I have amazing skills."

"Mmm. I bet you do." I'd like her to use some of them on me, preferably with all our clothes off.

"That sounded like a sexual mmmm."

"It was."

"We're not at that point in our relationship," she scolds with her cheeks pink.

"I'm glad you're accepting that we have a relationship and me having sexy thoughts about you doesn't mean I'm going to act on them until you're ready."

"You're having sexy thoughts about me?" She holds up a hand. "No, forget I said that. I don't want to hear them."

"They're pretty simple right now. Mostly it's just you and me nude with my hands and mouth on various body parts. Like my hands on your ass and my mouth betw—" the rest of the sentence is muffled because she slaps her hand over my mouth.

"None of that."

She waits until I give a nod of agreement. "I'm going to go home and call my boss to talk to her about the CCTV. At this point, I don't even want to get credit for the project but I hate that I'm being accused of lying."

"Okay." Trident's been trying to reach me for the last thirty minutes, but I can handle everything that needs to be addressed over the telephone. The miracle of technology.

"So. See you later."

"A gentleman never leaves his date in the middle of the street outside the restaurant they ate at. We take our date home and see her to the door." I raise my hand for a taxi. "Besides, what would Gertie think if you came home alone?"

"You're evil for using her against me."

I pretend to be hurt. "I'm but a mere man and must use all the tools available."

Against her will, she laughs. "Fine, but only to the door."

Since I'll be going inside, I just keep quiet.

"To the door," she repeats.

"Mmmm."