He raised his hand, but the splint on it mocked his ability to hit another wall.
His cell phone rang. Derek’s name flashed on the screen. He hit accept. “Hey.”
“Hey. Luke and I were going to get brunch at that fancy new place that makes killer mimosas. The one near the office. You in?”
Kade groaned, the thought of any alcohol turning his stomach. “The PI sent me a picture of Lexie and Julian together,” he said, his stomach twisting painfully at the reminder.
Derek muttered a curse. “We’ll be right there.”
Twenty minutes later, both men arrived and made themselves at home on Kade’s couch. They’d already examined the photo.
“I’ve tried and tried, and I can’t come up with one good explanation for it,” Kade muttered, and that was only part of the reason he hadn’t returned her calls.
“I know it doesn’t look good, but you should probably talk to her,” Derek said. “I don’t see Lexie as someone capable of … what? Corporate espionage? Playing both sides?”
“You just like her,” Kade muttered.
“I do too, but he’s right. This looks extremely bad,” Luke said. “So what are you going to do?”
“Fire her.” Kade’s stomach twisted into knots as the answer came to him, loud and clear.
Chapter Eleven
Lexie had a crappy weekend. Kendall’s headache that wasn’t had turned into a raging migraine by Sunday night, which had necessitated a trip to the emergency room for IV meds. She’d tried to call and text Kade more than once, but he wasn’t returning her messages, and that wasn’t like him.
By the time Monday came, she felt like she hadn’t slept much all weekend. Because she hadn’t. Between missing Kade, not understanding his silence, and her sister’s off-kilter behavior, her own head was spinning.
Although she overslept, she wasn’t about to miss work. She piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun, put on some blush, along with mascara, and rushed out the door, miraculously making it to work before Kade. The minute he stepped out of the elevator, she headed for the coffeemaker and prepared his morning brew the way he liked it and walked over to his office.
“Good morning,” she said, entering without knocking. After the weekend she’d had, she couldn’t wait to see him.
He stood at his desk, wearing a dark tee shirt and a pair of old jeans. He didn’t look up when she spoke, and her stomach pitched uncomfortably.
“Put the coffee down,” he said.
“Look, I know I wasn’t able to come over Saturday night, and I didn’t explain, but I will.” She’d decided that it was time to tell him about her sister’s battle with mental illness and all the ways it had impacted her life.
“You think that’s all you have to explain?” he asked coolly, his gaze cold.
She shivered at the harshness in his tone that she didn’t understand. “Kade…”
“Have you seen my watch?” he asked, abruptly changing the subject.
“What?”
“My watch.” He tapped his wrist. “The one I keep on my nightstand,” he said, his gaze never leaving her face.
She felt scrutinized and uncomfortable, and she folded her arms across her chest in a defensive gesture. “Well, I saw it the last time we were together at your apartment.” He liked to touch the surface while he talked. It was part of his morning routine too.
“What about Saturday? When you dropped off the dry cleaning? Did you see it then?”
“No. I went directly to your closet and put away your clothes. Then I threw the plastic into the trash and I left. Why?”
He studied her, his jaw clenched tight.
“Well?”
“Because it’s missing.”