Taming The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 7) (12 page)

“I’m here. I’m giving you what you want. Why not have a replay?”

He looked her up and down as if she were his favorite meal and he hadn’t eaten in forever, and she had to hold in a sigh. “Because you’re a controlling asshole and I’ve had my share of assholes recently.”

A harsh anger fell over his features. “Don’t compare me to that guy, okay? I’m nothing like that.”

Cali didn’t argue with him. He really wasn’t like Easson, even if a few parallels could be made. And there was no use taking her frustrations about herself and Easson out on Rourke.

Especially when she had plenty of unique frustrations she could take out on Rourke. “I’ll call Luke. You...” She glanced around the room, trying to think of something for him to do while she made the call. “Don’t touch anything,” she finished weakly.

He held his hands up in a gesture to show just how harmless he was, and Cali shook her head at him before practically running to her room and shutting the door with a tad too much force.

Damn it. How long had it been since she’d gone running to her room like a coward? Even though she was on the verge of getting everything she ever wanted, it still felt like this entire pristine world she’d so carefully cultivated for herself crumbled around her.

She took three deep breaths before she reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. She flipped through screens until she landed on Luke’s page. She’d dialed this number thousands of time before, but never for anything this significant. And she was really tempted to send a text message to cut out all the awkwardness, but she forced herself to hit the Call button. She was an adult, damn it, and she was going to act like one. An adult about to come into two million dollars.

“Cali,” he said as soon as he answered. “Did everything go okay with Evelyn?”

Which meant he hadn’t talked to his girlfriend yet. Made sense, considering she’d left the coffee shop less than an hour ago. Seemed like longer in her mind... “Umm, everything went fine with Evelyn. I’m actually calling about your brother.”

“Rourke? From your email, I figured he was just as stubborn as always.”

Ah, yes. The email. It had been an abrupt admission of her failure.

Luke,

Your brother is a dick. Don’t hold your breath.

-Cali

Not her proudest moment, but considering they’d yet to make an option to recall an email as soon as it was sent, she’d just have to live with it. With all the things she and Luke had talked about in the past, she knew he wouldn’t care. But it wasn’t the image she wanted to go out on. Well, it was really just the cherry on top of a shitty way to leave. But now she had good news.

“Things have taken a turn. Rourke is in my living room right now and he’s looking forward to speaking with you.”

“Not looking forward to it!” shouted Rourke from the other side of the door, proving he could hear everything she said.

“That was him, wasn’t it?” asked Luke.

“He’ll be there. Just send me the time and place. Preferably sooner rather than later.” Before Rourke could change his mind.

“That’s fantastic, Cali. I can’t believe you did it.”

She couldn’t believe it either. And she wouldn’t until it was happening in front of her. “I’m going to make sure he doesn’t pull a runner. Just send me where you want to meet.”

“Thanks, Cali. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Hold off on the celebrations until you see him.”

“Thanks anyway. This is still more progress than we’ve ever gotten. I’ll send you an address as soon as I have one.” Luke hung up and Cali put the phone back into her pocket.

“Are you done?” asked Rourke through the doorway.

At least she knew he hadn’t run off yet. “Did anyone ever tell you eavesdropping is rude?”

“Did anyone ever tell you it’s rude to talk about someone behind their back?”

She sighed and pulled open the door. “Are you accusing me of being rude?”

He smiled down at her before his gaze traveled up and over her shoulder. “Is this your bedroom?”

“No!” She shoved her palms in his chest and pushed him out of the doorway until she could pull the door shut.

“Funny, because I could’ve sworn I saw a bed in there.”

“You stay out of my bedroom...mister.” For some reason, saying his name out loud would seem much too intimate.

“I can look for a fireplace if that would make you more comfortable.”

Screw two million dollars. She was going to kill him. “Wh—What are you doing? Why are you trying to make this as complicated as possible for me? Are you mad at me?”

He advanced on her then, a sudden intensity in his eyes that vanished any trace of a backbone Cali had, and she inched farther back until the door hit her shoulders.

Rourke rested his hands on either side of her, effectively caging her in. “Here’s the deal, Cali. I’m in a shitty mood. I’ve been half out of my mind with worry because some psycho killer is after you, only to get here to you telling me that you’re fine. Which is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Now, in order to keep an eye on you so I don’t go completely crazy, I have to have a conversation with a brother I hate so much that I haven’t talked to him in over ten years. And now you, the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, refuses to even admit that we slept together. So that’s what’s wrong with me. Any more questions?”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was too shocked to form sentences. Did that mean he really cared for her?

Cali shook her head. “No, umm, no more questions.”

She looked up at him only to confirm that he hadn’t moved back even an inch. His eyes seemed to search her face for something, but she didn’t know what to give him.

Luckily, a sudden buzzing in her ass saved her from having to figure that out for now. He raised a brow as the vibrating phone cut through the silence between them, and she sheepishly smiled as she reached back to check the text from Luke. “Are you going to be ready in twenty minutes?” She forced her unsteady voice to work.

He glanced at the phone and then back to her face. “I can think of a few things we can do in twenty minutes.”

She set a hand on his chest. “Oh, I know. Getting ready will take me at least fifteen, though, and I wouldn’t want to put your skills to waste.”

Rourke and Cali reached the restaurant first. Though he wasn’t surprised. Luke wasn’t known for being prompt.

He didn’t really know what to expect or what Luke wanted from him. All these years he’d been so intent on shooting Luke down time and time again that he never thought about what would happen if he gave in.

And here he was. Sitting at a table for four with Cali at his side and waiting for his brothers to show up.

“Are you okay?” Cali sipped her water. Her back was stiff as a board, and her eyes kept darting between him and the front door to the small steakhouse.

“I feel like I should be asking you that. You look like you’re about to be shot.” He never should’ve pushed her so far at her place. Damn it, she’d pushed him over an edge. He knew he’d made mistakes when dealing with her before, but he’d been so focused on getting her and finding out the truth about what happened with Easson.

Only to be blindsided when she compared him to her ex from hell. He’d lost control. He’d been accused of a lot of shitty things, been called a lot of names (most of those barbs coming from Cali herself), but this was a new low.

“I’m fine,” he said curtly. He just wanted to get this over with. Get Cali her payday she was so desperate for so they could have an honest conversation without any of this hanging over their heads. She wouldn’t have a crazy ex-boyfriend to hide from him, and he wouldn’t be the reason she missed out on the biggest payday of her life. This was all so he could be with her.

And he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that. He couldn’t remember the last grand gesture he’d made for a woman. Sure, there were flowers here and there. He’d always pick up the check. Hold the door.

But leaving his city to reconcile with his family just so one person would like him more?

Cali’s already tense shoulders suddenly seemed to get even tighter and Rourke knew his brothers were here. He glanced to the door and noticed that other patrons of the restaurant stared too. His family had that effect.

The two eldest Devereaux brothers were about the same height as Rourke but had darker hair and the paler complexions of men who worked in high rises all day. Cali stood as they approached, but Rourke stayed sitting. One more little rebellion before he finally caved to their demands.

Michael sat across from Cali, and Luke took the chair across from Rourke. Which meant he’d have to stare at Luke’s smug face this entire dinner. More likely through the entire appetizer. He didn’t plan to stay any longer than necessary.

Before he could say anything, soft fingers wrapped around his knee under the table, silently telling him she was there.

“I’m happy you agreed to meet.” Luke broke the silence.

“Well, you did dangle the promise of riches to a completely innocent party. It didn’t seem fair to crush her dreams all because I hold a grudge.”

Cali squeezed his knee tighter and gave him a quick
shut the hell up
look.

Luke and Michael didn’t look the slightest bit swayed by his words. “Cali is one of the smartest people we’ve ever worked with,” said Michael. “We didn’t send her on a fool’s errand. We sent her because if anyone could talk sense into you, it would be her.”

“I didn’t realize I was lacking sense.”

“It’s not your lack of sense. It’s your overflow of stubbornness,” snapped Luke, finally showing signs of his stress.

“What the hell do you want from me? You got me—I’m here. Now what? You want me to go suit shopping and move into the family office?” The very thought of working an office job practically made him nauseous.

“We don’t want a coworker,” bit out Luke. “We want a brother.”

“We want you to come back to the family, Rourke,” said Michael. “Physically you can live wherever you want, but we want to know you’re around.”

Rourke clenched his jaw. He didn’t know what he expected them to say, but it wasn’t that. Not even the words that surprised him. The tone.

He thought back to the last time he and Luke had spoken. Luke had been haughty and straightforward about the affair he’d had with Lisa. Even though he apologized, he’d never been apologetic.

And he certainly never showed remorse for bringing the bitch to their parents’ funeral.

This was different. There was a note of genuine sadness about the time they’d lost. A sadness he didn’t know Luke was capable of.

Michael leaned forward. “Come stay with me while you’re here. Lori would love to get the chance to meet you, and we could get you up to speed on where the company is.”

Rourke was just about to tell them all the reasons he was never going to stay with them when Cali spoke up. “He’s staying with me for the time being.”

He jerked around to look at Cali, almost expecting her to burst out laughing and tell him it was all a joke. But she was one hundred percent serious and gave him a knowing smile to reassure him. He didn’t know what to think about it. He was at the dinner, so she should be getting her big payday no matter what. Was there something else in this for her?

Or maybe she was trying to be nice to him, which was a hell of a leap from how upset she’d been when he first showed up.

Maybe this dinner wasn’t an entire waste.

~~~~~

“You can feel free to make yourself at home anywhere but the bedroom,” said Cali sternly as she let Rourke into her apartment.

Maybe not as much progress as he’d hoped, but he was still willing to take the momentum. “Think I can fit on your couch?” he asked, unable to keep himself from giving her a bit of a hard time.

“You’ll make yourself fit.” A smile crept across her lips.

He stopped for a moment to stare at her. God, he didn’t remember the last time he’d seen someone so beautiful. Even though she could’ve gone to the dinner in sweatpants and a hoodie and gotten Luke to give her the payday he’d promised, she looked impeccable. Her white blouse draped perfectly against her breasts and curve of her waist, tucking into a blue plaid skirt that would’ve made her look like a sexy schoolgirl if it had been a few inches shorter.

But combined with her short black boots, she looked like one of those sophisticated women who owned the city. She’d seemed so natural back in his town. Her blonde hair blending in with the yellow and red leaves in the backdrop. Her bright smile enough to light up his entire house. Not that she’d smiled the one night she was there, but he’d imagined her doing it. It was all he’d thought about after she’d left him.

And now that he was here, in her natural habitat, nothing had changed. Somehow he’d had this idea in his head that all the concrete and steel in the city would somehow dampen her. But she moved through the streets with so much confidence that heads would turn as she passed.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Pride that the most beautiful woman on the street had chosen him? Jealousy that other people saw just how perfect she was?

“I’m going to get ready for bed. Why don’t I show you how the cable works?”

Rourke didn’t remember the last time someone had to give him instructions on how to use electronics. But if it gave him more time with her, he wasn’t going to turn down her offer.

“You’re going to bed already?” he asked. It was only nine p.m. and he knew that normally she wouldn’t turn in that early. Even though she was letting him stay with her, she was still running from him.

“I think some alone time might be good for me,” she said, confirming his suspicions.

“I think some people time would be good for you. Come on. I’m sure you have a bottle of wine around here somewhere. We can crack it open and relax. You’re about to have enough to retire and I’m about to get to know the family again. I think it’s worth some celebrating.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter. “Well, you’re wrong. I don’t have an ounce of alcohol in this house.”

He raised a brow. “Really? You don’t drink?”

“Every once in a while, but usually I reserve it for work functions. I’m a perpetual dieter, Rourke. Ever part of my day involves counting calories.”

He shuddered. “That sounds like my version of hell.”

“It’s not that bad.” She laughed. “But it’s hard to stay in shape, especially when I was working crazy hours.”

“Are your looks really that important to you?” Damn it, that wasn’t what he meant to say. “I mean—”

She held up a hand. “I know what you meant to say. And, yes, my looks are that important to me. The place I grew up, I needed to get out any way possible and my looks are one of the main things that got me out. So I work to maintain them.”

Rourke frowned. He really knew almost nothing about her past. “Where did you grow up?”

A sardonic smile twisted her lips. “Maybe wine would be good for this conversation,” she muttered as she reached into her fridge and pulled out a few bottles of water, handing one to him as she made her way to the couch. He would’ve been fine with tap water, but he didn’t want to stop her from telling her story.

She’d settled into the corner of the sofa and he took the middle seat. Not touching her, but making sure she knew he wasn’t about to back down from what he wanted.

“It’s kind of funny.” She reached down to take off her shoes. “Luke and I never talked about this. I kind of figured he knew, since he wouldn’t work so closely with someone he didn’t know everything about, but he always treated me like an equal. It’s one of the things that made me like him so much.”

Normally it would kill him to hear the woman he was with talk about how much she liked his brother, but in this case, he was okay with it. Maybe it was her tone. The warm way her eyes lit up. As though she was talking about family and not some romantic interest or someone she’d been drooling over for years.

“I didn’t come from money. My mother had seven children in Baltimore City. I was the youngest. We were in one of the lowest income neighborhoods in the city and every day was a struggle. Out there, drugs and guns were a given. My father, the father of two of my brothers and me, was one of the better known gangsters in the city. Which was nice in the sense that I always knew I’d have food on my plate and new clothes for school. But it was a dangerous life. Everyone in my family was a criminal of some sort. My mother ran drugs to and from Baltimore. My brothers were all trying to rise up the gangster ranks. Of my two older sisters, one ran away and never talked to any of us again. The other one was a hundred percent loyal to the family.”

“And what about the brothers?” Four brothers, if he did the math right.

“Two were dead by the time I was seventeen. Another was in prison. The fourth was on his way to join the rest.”

Rourke noticed she didn’t give any of them names. He wondered whether she was trying to keep the story simple or whether she was trying to distance herself from the memories. She told the story straight-faced. As though she was simply listing off the facts and not telling him about all the family she’d lost in one way or another.

“What brought you to the city?”

She looked down at the coffee table as she pulled her feet underneath herself, settling into the couch. “The last year there was...hard. I did everything right, you know? I didn’t skip school. I didn’t run around with boys. I got good grades and applied for all the scholarships that were supposed to be my lifeline.”

Rourke thought back to his choice of schools that he’d turned his back on. It was easy to forget about the ones who didn’t have the opportunities he did.

“The lifelines weren’t there. I qualified for a few federal programs since all my family’s income was off the books—I was well below the limit. But it wasn’t enough. The federal programs were going to cover a tiny chunk of tuition, but I’d still have to take care of the rest and books. When the highest paying jobs I could get at the time could barely cover the car insurance I’d need to get to school, I knew I’d need to look into student loans. Except I had no credit history. At all. No credit cards, no auto loans. And my parents could hardly cosign for me.”

“But you made it happen.” Cali wasn’t the type to step out without a hell of a fight.

“I was lucky. Stupid, but lucky. When my mom was passed out one night, I took a grand out of her secret stash and took off for New York. I had a list of every company in the city I could find that would cover tuition for entry-level positions and started to make my way around. After ten in a row told me they weren’t even interviewing, one receptionist told me that if I wanted to be taken seriously, I needed to look the part. She told me that department stores would do my makeup for free and, if money was really tight, I should buy a suit and return it if it didn’t work out.

“So that’s what I did. In the course of four hours, I gave myself a complete makeover. The suit was cheap, but it fit well and the guy at the makeup counter completely understood when I told him I couldn’t afford to buy anything. But he did his best to turn me from the daughter of a gangster to a businesswoman.”

“And that worked?”

“That got one of the most sexist men in the city to take notice of me and hire me on the spot. He didn’t give a damn about my qualifications, but he liked that I was blonde and had big tits and his clients would appreciate my ‘pretty face.’”