Flawless Ruin

“I’ve kept our employee pool the same size as it’s been since the eighties, because my father always believed in a small force. He knew each employee by name. He treated them civilly and respectfully, and expected the best they had to give, every day. If one betrayed him, he let them go. He didn’t give second chances. Neither do I.”

He glances at me again. My body heats with shame.

“You really learned a lot from your father, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Especially about trusting my instincts when it comes to people. He always used to say, ‘When a person shows you who they are, believe them.’ I believe in that. It’s true.”

Another glance at me. I drop my eyes to the ground, looking for a hole to climb into.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to make a mistake around you, then, Caleb,” she says with a teasing lilt in her voice.

“Mistakes can be forgiven. Once. But no, I don’t let it happen twice.”

I look down at the notebook, face flaming. All I have there is:

insp-grandma

sm pool

no sec

I wince. If he asks me to write up meeting notes, which he always does, I’m screwed.

But I’m already feeling screwed. When I look up from my notes, his eyes practically nail me to the wall.

Jacqueline asks, “What are your plans for the company’s continued survival in an increasingly hostile and competitive atmosphere?”

He laces his fingers in front of him and leans back in his chair. “My plans are simply that. Continued survival, with slow and steady growth, just as my father did before me.”

“But how do you plan on doing that?” she asks, looking down at her tablet. “Especially after the gala. It’s all over town that there’s a coming shake-up in the management at Sterling Cross. True?”

“Not true.”

“Sebastian Wolfe has made it pretty clear he wants to buy. You’ve bought yourself some time, but how much longer will you be able to put him off?”

“With all due respect, Sebastian Wolfe doesn’t know anything.”

Sebastian Wolfe. The man from the gala who was talking with Olivia. Was that her game—to oust Caleb so she could sell the business to Sebastian Wolfe?

Jacqueline shakes her head like she knows differently. “He’s a shark. Out for blood. And he usually gets what he wants.”

Caleb laughs at her. My heart goes still because I’m pretty sure that’s the same smoldering gaze that got me, hook, line, and sinker. “So do I. And I’m a pit bull. I don’t attack unless provoked. He hasn’t provoked me yet.”

Their flirting is enough to make me physically ill. I feel the coffee I had earlier that morning, fighting its way back up.

I can’t stay here.

“Oh!” I say, scooting to the edge of my chair.

They both look at me.

Thinking fast, I look at my pen, and rocket to my feet. “Pen ran out of ink. I’ll be—”

He’s already looking through his desk for one. “Then here…”

But I’m already at the door. “No need. I have to have my special, ergonomic pen…”

I step out of the office and close my eyes. Could I possibly sound any stupider?