Calli nodded warily.
“You go have a relaxing facial. I’ll keep her company until it’s her turn.”
She grabbed her brother’s arm before he could enter the waiting area and pushed him back down the hall. “Oh, no, you don’t! She’s one of my oldest friends. The last thing I need right now is to have to pick up the pieces you leave behind. I’ve been in that boat far too many times.”
Alder held his hands up as if surrendering. “All right. Purely platonic. But I can’t just go in there and not talk to the only other person in the room.”
Calli took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, reopening them as she exhaled. “Promise me you won’t try anything with her, please?”
When he smiled, Alder was about the hardest person on earth to resist . . . except for maybe Dominic Moretti. Calli shook away that thought and refocused on her brother.
“You gonna be all right there, sis?” he asked.
She had little choice but to trust that he wouldn’t go against her wishes. Trust just wasn’t something she was feeling a lot of these days. “Okay,” she said reluctantly and joined the esthetician at the open door, waving to Jordan as she passed.
Chapter 24
Calli
The alarm buzzed in the dark and early hours on Monday morning. Calli rolled out of bed, silenced the buzzing, and was in the shower before really coming awake. She’d known today would be challenging, so had gone to bed early to make sure she was on her game. Her first meeting of the day was with Dominic Moretti, his PA, and his lawyer. She wanted to be more than prepared for the meeting. As the water poured over her, she coached herself.
Calli, you need to be strong. You’re making the right decisions for your future. You’ve made too many wrong choices in the past which led to too much self-sacrifice. Now, it’s time to focus on you. Do not let lust for this man ruin what you’ve worked for at Moffitt & Hall, and you sure as hell better not confuse that with anything more. In that room, today, you focus on the facts and the account. It’s an hour today. You don’t have to interact with him at the gym. Keep it professional.
She reached down and shut off the water, reaffirmed in her path. She dressed in the business suit she’d chosen the night before and woke the boys on her way downstairs. “Kent, I’ll leave your meds on the counter. Don’t forget. Jax, you working tonight?”
“Nah,” came the groggy reply.
She still had the boys. Had it not been for the traded extended holidays, they would have been back at their father’s this morning. This felt normal as she watched each of them begin their morning stirring. Reluctantly, she said, “I’ll see you both later. Love you.”
She decided to drive this morning; it was a bit more predictable, and that’s what she needed today. Everything had to be just so. She was in complete control. Looking at the clock in the dash, exactly thirty-four minutes had passed since her alarm. Slightly ahead of schedule, she thought.
At the garage, she parked in the empty row of slots labeled Moffitt & Hall and checked to make sure she had her badge. Arriving before eight meant that the receptionist wasn’t there yet and she’d have to let herself in. It also meant that she’d probably be the only one there for the next hour or so. Again, that was on plan. Before entering her work building, she visited Bienvenue for her customary latte. The barista started her order before she’d even placed it, and by the time she’d paid, the cup was waiting on the bar. She picked it up and poured it into her travel mug. Looking back to the cashier, Calli considered how to get a black coffee with two sugars to go—Dom’s drink of choice from what she knew—but she readily gave up on that idea, kicking herself for it even crossing her mind.
This is business, Calli. Keep it that way, she told herself as she walked to the other end of the block and into her building.
Inside Moffitt & Hall, she badged in and climbed the stairs to the second floor. The motion detectors tied to the lights turned on the overheads in each area she entered until she reached her desk at the far end.
She put on a pot of coffee for the meeting and ensured there were cups and sugar to accompany the drink in case he wanted a cup. Still alone in the office and waiting for her computer to fire up, Calli looked up as the white noise kicked in overhead. When her computer had fired up, she printed off four copies of the portfolio reports for the Moretti account, showing significant growth, and a copy of the agenda for the meeting. They’d review the current state, look at his cash position, and evaluate any legal risks that he might be facing. Finally, they’d discuss the go-forward strategy. With the packets ready for the meeting, Calli decided to filter through some of the guides to restaurant financing and some trends in the restaurant industry. She still had a lot to learn about this industry before she’d be able to guide him effectively in a strategy. Meanwhile, she jotted some notes of things to ask during the meeting.
With ten minutes to spare, Calli went to the conference room down the hall to wait for her guests. The lights were on. Puzzled, she slowed and peeked her head inside. Instead of an empty conference room, Dom sat at the far end of the table, alone. He stood as she entered and grinned widely. “I was hoping you’d be here a few minutes early,” he said.
Calli placed a stack of folios on the table and stammered, “G-good morning. I wasn’t expecting that you’d arrive before me.” She idly flipped through a folder to keep from looking into his green-gray eyes.
Dom stood, walked to her, and placed a hand on top of the papers.
Damn. She raised her gaze to meet his and forgot to breathe.
He flashed his eyes to the door and back to her. “Before we start down this road of business relationship, I wanted to ask you one more time to give my account to someone else.” He leaned close to her neck, his warm breath reminding her of that night.
She stepped away. “Please don’t. This is what I want.” Isn’t it? C’mon, Calli, yes. It is.
Joe came into the room. “Good mo—” he started, then stopped in his tracks, looking between Dom and Calli.
Calli smiled.
“I guess maybe not as good as I thought,” he said.
Dom walked back to his end of the table, Joe taking the seat to his left. A few unintelligible whispers were traded, and Calli schooled her breathing back to normal. Keep to what you’d practiced. One hour, and we’re done. One step at a time. She passed out the folios placing one in front of each of the men and a third in front of an empty chair beside Joe. As she was returning to her end of the table, a woman appeared—red trench coat, brassy brown hair, too much red lipstick, and the smell of the perfume counter at Macy’s.
“Good morning,” said Calli.
The woman looked up. “Oh. Hi.” She scanned the room, eyes glowing when she found Dom at the other end of the table.
Calli knew the feeling, but brushed that off, too, and held out a hand. “I’m Callista Lindley.”
“Oh.” She shifted a too-big bag and placed a cold hand into Calli’s. “Pauline Monroe, Mr. Moretti’s personal assistant.”
Pauline clomped in her high, very high, heels to Dom’s end of the table. She grabbed the folder beside Joe and went to the other side of Dom, pulling a chair close to his right side. Slinging her jacket over the chair beside her, she threw the bag on top of the table and went digging. Dom’s PA pulled out a wrapper and spit her chewed gum into it, folded it up, and stuffed it into the side pocket of her purse.