Page 89 of Screwed
Time slowed, and the office blurred around him. “Seriously. You want her back?”
“Hell yeah. The divorce was a mistake. She was all dramatic about what happened, but it didn’t have to end our marriage.”
“You hurt her.”
Beau’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you care so much?’
“She’s a friend.”
“Right. That’s what you said before.” He studied Cash’s face. “You went to her divorce party.”
“Yeah.”
“And I heard you were at the breast cancer fund-raiser at the country club with her.”
Cash leaned back in his chair, his heart working in painful beats. “Yeah? So what? She didn’t want to go alone.”
Fuck, he hated lying.Hatedit. It was true that he’d gone to that event with her because she didn’t want to go alone. But hiding what was really happening between them from Beau…that was lying. He swallowed.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so friendly with her.”
“What does that mean?”
“People will talk. I ran into Sarah Cosmas. She mentioned seeing you and Callie at the fund-raiser, and the way she was talking, I got the impression people were curious about why you were there together and what happened with our marriage.”
Cash stared at Beau, his insides flash frozen.Fuck no.
“Also, we need this project. And Callie’s family owns the refinery. The family who wants Callie and me to be together.” He lifted an eyebrow.
What. The. Fuck. Cash kept his face impassive, staring back at Beau. Was he implying what Cash thought he was implying? Was that actually a…threat?
Did Beau suspect that Cash’s feelings for Callie were more than friendship? Or was he only worried about appearances?
Beau slammed his hand down on their proposal sitting on the table. “Don’t fuck this up for us.” Then he rose and walked out.
Cash closed his eyes. Jesus Christ.
Adrenaline punched through his system. His hands curled into fists on the table, and he ground his teeth.
Rage swelled inside him, but he wasn’t even sure who he was angry at. Beau? At goddamn people gossiping about Callie? Himself? Or at Callie for being so goddamn sweet and tempting that he couldn’t stay away from her when he knew he should. He’dtoldher they shouldn’t be together.
Hell. He couldn’t blame her. This was on him. All on him.
He opened his eyes and slowly shook his head.
It pissed him off that Beau was warning him to stay away from Callie, but it also pissed him off that Beau had a point—people were talking. The last thing he wanted was Callie’s reputation to be stained, especially when she was the innocent party in what had happened between her and Beau.
And it pissed him off that Beau had a point about them needing this job.
The people who worked for them needed this job. His mom and his sister needed them to get this job. Beau was apparently even more desperate for them to get this job. Why? Because he thought it was a way back to Callie? A way to stay connected to her family?
The Sutherland family was not one to mess with. They hadn’t built their huge empire by being nice guys. The entire family was smart, ruthless…and powerful. But even so—being smart in business meant making the best deal, regardless of personal feelings. Surely they wouldn’t let Callie Sutherland’s love life interfere with business? Would they actually give the job to someone else if they found out Cash and Callie had been sleeping together?
What the hell was he supposed to do now? He and Callie had been spending more and more time together. He’d been helping her get the shop ready. They’d been spending a lot of nights at either his place or hers. And Ginnie was starting her summer job working for Callie next week. The idea of ending things made his gut churn and his chest burn. It made him want to punch someone.
“Hey, Cash.” Jose poked his head into his office. “You coming to our meeting?”
He tamped down on the emotions raging inside him, gave his head a shake, and glanced at his watch. “Christ. Sorry. Be right there.”
