Flawless Prize

Modest. Charming.

Personal.

In the kitchen, I find a note on the granite breakfast bar.

Went out to get supplies. Be back soon. –C

I breathe a sigh of relief. After fleeing the city in such a rush, a part of me wasn’t sure what Caleb would do next. But since

I have time to kill, I decide to explore. I start in the kitchen. Supplies are definitely needed. Something tells me this place hasn’t been used in a while. There’s a fine layer of dust over everything, and nothing inside the cabinets or fridge. Something tells me this place hasn’t been used in a while.

So is it a secret hideaway, or a relic of the past?

Meandering down the hallway, I find a collection of black-and-white photographs on the wall. The first is an old photograph of a little boy that can’t be more than three or four, standing on the dock’s edge, completely naked and grinning.

Is that… Caleb?

I laugh in surprise.

The next is of a teenager with his father, holding fishing gear. The young one’s definitely Caleb—he has the same eyes, the same strong jaw. But he’s skinnier. Gangly. Maybe even a little awkward.

I find myself smiling as I go to the next photograph.

This one shows Caleb with an unattractive bowl-shaped haircut, in the arms of a woman I recognize as his mom, Annette. They’re both in bathing suits, like they just spent time splashing in the lake. And they both look so happy…

I never knew Caleb could smile like that. Of course, no one ever smiles with such unbridled excitement as they did when they were kids… But Caleb doesn’t smile much at all, anymore. Too much on his mind, I guess.

I want to make him smile like that again.

Dragging the quilt around like a cape, I go into one of the other bedrooms, and find a chest of men’s clothes: sweats, swimming gear, basic T-shirts. I pick out the smallest sizes I can, but they still dwarf me. Still, it’s better than nothing, so I dress quickly, and go retrieve my phone from my purse in the living area. I have a couple of messages from Mara, and I’m just scrolling through when it buzzes with a call.

Olivia.

I pause. From the scene at the opera, it’s clear she’s still going full steam ahead with her plan to undermine Caleb and sell the company to Sebastian Wolfe. I know that she has her reasons, and feels betrayed by the all-consuming role the company played in her parents’ lives; but still, all her lying and cheating makes my stomach turn.

I answer, cautious. “Olivia. Did you need something?”

“Just wondering where you disappeared to,” she replies breezily, like she hasn’t spent the past month plotting Caleb’s downfall. “I stopped by Caleb’s place with some paperwork, and there were workmen everywhere. Something about a gas leak? I do hope you’re all right.”

“We’re fine,” I say through clenched teeth. “Caleb and I just decided to take a little time away from the city.”

“I don’t know if that’s wise, considering everything that’s going on here.”

I nearly laugh aloud. That’s rich, considering she’s the source of what’s going on. “Thanks for your concern,” I say icily. “We’re just at his place upstate, we’ll be back before you know it.”

“You know what? Take your time,” she coos. “Seb and I will get this takeover buttoned up; you won’t miss a thing. He’s efficient like that. Once he sees something he wants, he doesn’t stop at anything.”

I pause. I’ve been thinking that Olivia was captain of this ship, but maybe Sebastian is really the one in charge? Maybe she doesn’t have any idea what she’s in for. Maybe in her blind need to get revenge on Caleb, she’s forgetting to look out for her own interests.

“Olivia, how well do you know Sebastian?” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that his whole business is acquiring companies for the lowest price possible. How do you know he isn’t actively working to devalue Sterling Cross, so that you don’t get what it’s worth?”

There’s a pause. Then she scoffs. “Listen, honey. You just stay in your lane. Stick to giving Caleb the best blow jobs of his life so that when he comes back to the city, he’s in tip-top shape. He’s going to need to be, to withstand what we’re going to do to him.”

And then she hangs up.