31
Sophie
Steve came back to his desk, whistling a cheery tune. He sat, then adjusted a framed photo of his cat.
“You’re in a good mood,” I said.
“Sorry,” he said. “Was I whistling again?”
I smiled. “You were. What brought this on? Hot date over the weekend?”
His cheeks flushed. Oh my god, was he blushing?
“Actually, yes. I had a wonderful date.”
My eyes widened. “Steve! Are you dating someone? Who is she? How long have you been seeing her? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to say anything too soon. Her name is Flora and we met at a pet store a couple of months ago.”
I clasped my hands to my chest. “That is so cute.”
“We’ve been seeing each other a lot and things are starting to get serious. But there was one big hurdle we had to get over. Specifically, Millie and Clovis.”
“Millie, your cat? Who’s Clovis?”
“Flora’s cat. And unlike my Millie, he’s a bit bad-tempered.”
Unlike his Millie? Steve’s cat was a furry terror. I was fully convinced she spent her days while he was at work plotting his untimely demise. And Clovis was worse? Yikes.
“I suppose that would be a hurdle.”
He nodded in agreement but broke out in a smile. “We introduced them yesterday and Sophie, it couldn’t have gone better.”
“Really? They liked each other?”
“Well, liked is probably a strong word for it, but the hissing was minimal. Much better than we expected.”
“Wow. So, does that mean you and Flora can move forward?”
He smiled again and adjusted his glasses. “She’s moving in next month. We want to make a gradual transition so Millie and Clovis have time to get used to each other.”
“Aw, Steve, I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks, Sophie.”
My desk phone rang and our receptionist Nina’s name flashed on the little screen. “Hi, Nina. What’s up?”
“Mr. Calloway’s three o’clock is here.”
“Oh.” Feeling suddenly flustered, I clicked to his calendar on my laptop. I didn’t remember him having any more meetings today. The three o’clock spot was blocked off as busy, but it didn’t say anything else. And I hadn’t put that there. “Thanks, Nina. Give me one second.”
Hoping I hadn’t forgotten something, I got up and went to his office. “Excuse me, Mr. Calloway?”
He glanced up from his laptop.
“Nina says your three o’clock is here? I’m not sure who it is. It’s not clear on your calendar and I don’t remember setting anything up for today.”
“No, I did.” He stood but gestured to one of the seats on the other side of his desk. “You should be here for this.”
“Of course; no problem. Do you want me to…” I pointed vaguely toward the office lobby.
“I’ll see him in.” He walked past me and out the door.
That was weird.
I darted out to my desk to grab a notepad and pen to take notes, then sat down to wait. A moment later, Mr. Calloway came back in.
“Have a seat,” he said.
And in walked Dominic Coates.
My eyes widened. He was dressed in a suit this time, not a shiny black shirt, but there was no mistaking him. He looked at me—looked right at my face—and my heart skipped at least forty-two times. Did he recognize me? He had to remember me. I was the girl who’d taken a serving tray to the face. You didn’t forget something like that.
But if he knew who I was, he gave no hint of it. His eyes swept over me, lingering on my chest longer than necessary, then he looked away. That was it.
The jerkface didn’t remember me.
Although there was something different about him, and it wasn’t just his clothes. His eyes were clear and his movements less exaggerated. And then it occurred to me. He was sober. He must have been on something that night at the club, and he wasn’t now.
But he was still a jerkface.
Mr. Calloway sat behind his desk and, for a second, met my eyes. He didn’t make eye contact like that very often. Was he trying to tell me something?
“Thanks for coming,” Mr. Calloway said, turning his attention to Dominic. “I think we have a lot to discuss.”
“I admit, I was surprised when you reached out. But I’m glad you did. Your timing is good.”
I was so confused. Mr. Calloway had set up a meeting with Dominic Coates? Why would he do that?
Unless.
Oh my god. He knew something.
Suddenly I understood what that eye contact had meant.
Okay, Mr. Calloway. Let’s do this.
“Let’s get straight to the point,” Mr. Calloway said. “We both know I have a significant investment in the Skyline project. I have some concerns.”
“As you should,” Dominic said. “Under its current leadership, the Skyline project is being grossly mismanaged.”
Mr. Calloway raised his eyebrows. “How so?”
“Details slipping through the cracks; total lack of oversight. I’ll be surprised if the whole thing doesn’t come to a grinding halt before they’ve poured concrete for the parking garage.”
Mr. Calloway narrowed his eyes but didn’t interject.
Dominic kept talking. “Of course you know I used to be a partner in Cox Development. Unfortunately, right when Skyline was about to get off the ground, I was forced out. I fully admit, I made some mistakes in my personal life. But Cox used that as a cover. He got rid of me because I wasn’t towing the party line. I kept pointing out problems with the project, but he didn’t want to hear it.”
I kept as still as I could, but inside, I was seething. He was such a big fat liar.
“And now you believe those problems are enough to threaten Skyline,” Mr. Calloway said.
“Absolutely. Cox Development isn’t capable of pulling off a project of this scale. It’s going to come crashing down, sooner rather than later. But the news isn’t all bad.”
“No?”
“Not at all. Cox has a buyout offer on the table, but he’s letting his arrogance get the better of him, and he won’t take it. I think it’s become personal. I told him this is beyond him and now he wants to prove me wrong. Not a good way to make business decisions with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.”
“Especially when it’s not all his money,” Mr. Calloway said.
“Exactly. Now, this is a little bit premature, but since we’re here, I can fill you in on the details. Your cooperation is going to be key to getting this thing back under control.”
“What do we need to do?”
“I’m working with legal counsel and several other investors to take back Cox Development. Once we’ve acquired the company, we’ll have decision-making power, and we can do what’s right for the project and everyone involved.”
“Which means taking the buyout offer,” Mr. Calloway said.
“Yes. I’ll be honest, the return on your investment won’t be what Cox led you to believe. But something is better than watching it all go up in flames.”