Last Call (25 page)

He reached into his pocket and fingered
Callie’s bracelet. Max was probably on the golf course, so Gavin
would have the chance to talk to her privately. Then, after Max
returned, Gavin could meet with him.

He wasn’t counting on changing Max’s mind,
but he needed information. The names of the commissioners on Max’s
payroll would be helpful. He also needed to find out when Max hoped
to break ground, so he’d know the timeframe they were dealing with.
Actually, at this point, any information he managed to gather would
be useful.

He looked at the clock and wondered what
Sunny was doing. He’d looked forward to spending a nice, relaxing
day doing whatever she wanted. Returning Callie’s bracelet, then
spending the rest of the afternoon with Max wasn’t a good
substitution. But it was what needed done, so he might as well get
on with it.

He pushed to his feet, flipped off his
lights, and headed across town.

***

After two minutes of conversing with
Angelina, Gavin confirmed Max was playing golf and Callie was in
the pool house. Alone. Thank God, Lady Luck finally decided to toss
him a penny. Although he was sure Jen and Tiffany had been with
Callie in Anticue, since she never went anywhere without them, he
still preferred to have this conversation without her friends
eavesdropping from the bedroom.

He knocked on the guesthouse door and waited.
The front of the house was floor-to-ceiling glass, so as soon as
she stepped through the bedroom doorway, she saw him. Her steps
faltered briefly, but she quickly recovered, then walked to the
front door with an uncharacteristically confident stride.

“Hi.” He didn’t really want to know how much
she saw the other night, but based on the way her eyes bounced
around, looking at anything and everything but him, he figured
she’d seen more than enough.

“Can I come in for a minute?”

“Uh…” She shuffled her feet, then took a step
back and opened the door wide enough for him to enter. “Sure.” Her
flawless hosting skills kicked in and overran her discomfort. “Can
I get you something to eat or drink?”

Taking a seat on the sofa, he said, “No,
thanks. I just came by to return this.”

Her mouth dropped open and pink splotches
mottled her neck and cheeks as she stared at the jewelry in his
outstretched hand. She gulped and took the bracelet, then awkwardly
flopped into the chair.

After swallowing a few times, she nervously
licked her lips and said, “Thanks. I, uh, won’t ask where you found
this.”

He laughed and stretched his arm across the
back of the sofa. “Okay, and I won’t ask how much you saw.”

She flipped her gaze to his and, much to his
surprise, giggled. “That’d be good.” Relaxing in the chair, she
said, “Gavin—”

At the same time, he said, “Callie—”

They stopped and stared at each other for a
few beats. Something in her eyes shifted, a kind of understanding
he’d never seen in them before, and in that instant, he knew
everything with Callie would be all right.

“Do you know how much I care about you?” he
asked.

Her eyes widened, and she flipped at a piece
of fringe on the pillow she’d been hugging to her chest. She seemed
uncomfortable with the question, so he rushed to explain. “Your dad
has always treated me like a member of the family. He invited me to
holiday meals, let me spend family vacations with you guys. I’d
never gone on a family vacation until I went with your family.” He
laughed. “Unless you count fishing trips to Anticue as a family
vacation.”

They weren’t lavish, overseas vacations like
he’d taken with the Holdens, but thinking about those fishing trips
with his grandfather always made him smile. They’d been simple day
trips, but he loved their time together and had always looked
forward to the next trip.

He snapped back from his reverie to find
Callie’s nose scrunched up in distaste.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He leaned forward
and rested his elbows on his knees. “Your dad always treated me
like a son. You know what that makes you?” She shook her head. “My
sister.”

“Ewww.”

“Exactly. I didn’t have any family other than
my grandfather. Your family treating me like one of their own meant
a lot to me. Because of that, I could never see you in a romantic
way. Not because there’s anything wrong with you. It’s just…” He
laughed and curled his lip. “Wrong.”

She laughed, a real genuine laugh that caused
the dimple in her cheek to pop. “I can see why you feel the way you
do… or don’t, as the case may be.”

“I’m also not the guy you think I am. Not
really.” Her face crinkled with confusion as he struggled to
explain what he was only coming to understand himself. “Going to
Anticue and New Bern has made me realize I’m a farm boy at heart. A
farm boy who’s ended up with a lot of polish on him, in a world
where I’m not completely comfortable.”

He stared out the window at the main house.
“I don’t want to live in a house like that. I’d rather have a farm,
where I can get away from everyone and everything.”

A
little place on the beach would
work, too.

Callie fiddled with the bracelet. “How did
you end up working for Daddy? How did you make it so high up the
ladder so quickly?

“I went to work for Holden my senior year of
college. Your dad,”—he shrugged—“well, Holden Enterprises offered
to pay off my student loans if I agreed to work for them for five
years.”

He never shared the details of his and Max’s
agreement with anyone. From the way she digested the information,
Max hadn’t shared it either.

“At the end of that term, I signed another
five-year contract. When that one expired, I’d advanced to the
position I’m in now. No one figured I’d go anywhere, so I wasn’t
asked to sign another contract. Technically, I’m no longer bound to
Holden. But I owe Max a lot. Some, like Max, would say I owe him
everything.”

“I’m sorry I went to Anticue to spy on you.”
She dropped her gaze, and her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry for a
lot of things I’ve done over the years.”

“There’s no need to apologize.” He started to
stand, then hesitated. “Are we good now? You understand where I’m
coming from?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I do.” She shifted her
gaze to the main house and blinked a couple of times, like she was
fighting back tears.

“Is there something else wrong?”

After a brief hesitation, she said, “Can I
ask you something?”

Prior to today, there would have been no
telling what crazy question she might ask. But after this little
chat, he didn’t have any reservations. “Sure.”

“Would you be unfaithful to your wife if it
became necessary for your job?”

Huh?
Talk about a leftfield question.
“Why would it ever be
necessary,
under any circumstances, to
be unfaithful?”

“You know, for the job. Like with the
bartender?”

Unease rose from the pit of his stomach and
banged around in his chest. “What do you mean?”

She shifted in the chair and fiddled with the
pillow some more. “Daddy said your…”—she dropped her gaze to the
floor—“getting friendly with the bartender is part of the job, and
that I shouldn’t have been upset. He said if things worked out
between us, sometimes you’d have to do things like that. Is that
true?”

Gavin’s blood pressure shot so high he swayed
from side to side and little black spots danced before his eyes. He
thought back to the first time Max sent him to Anticue. Callie
wanted to go, but Max tried to talk her out of it.

Another ping of awareness hit him between the
eyes. The first time he’d called from Anticue, something about the
conversation had bugged him. He hadn’t been able to put his finger
on the problem, but now he understood what it had been.

Max wasn't surprised to learn the owner was a
woman. He also seemed to know the owner and the bartender were one
and the same. He’d sent Gavin to the Blackout with the intention of
him making a connection with Sunny. The son of a bitch had set
Gavin up and used him, just like Sunny accused Gavin of doing to
her.

And, he supposed, since he’d fallen prey to
Max’s plan, that’s exactly what he’d done.

A loud pounding, followed by the door being
flung open so fast it nearly ripped off the hinges, had Gavin and
Callie’s heads swinging in that direction.

Max stood in the doorway, practically
snorting and stomping like a bull. “Where the hell have you
been?”

Oh, this was perfect. Max was going to get
pissy after the shit he pulled? So not happening. Gavin unfolded
himself from the sofa and stalked toward Max. “Let’s discuss this
in your office.”

“That’s a damned good idea.” Max turned and
stormed off toward the french doors.

Gavin leveled Callie with a solid stare. “No,
I would never be unfaithful because my job dictated it. That’s
ridiculous. And I’m not with Sunny for business reasons. Your
father is very wrong about that.”

For the second time today, a woman studied
his face, searching for the truth of his words. And once again,
nothing he could say would mean anything. His actions would have to
back the truth of his statement.

She looked at Max’s retreating back. “I’ve
never seen him this angry.”

“I have.” Although Gavin doubted Max’s anger
was little more than the heat of a candle compared to Gavin’s
raging inferno. “We’ll talk more later.”

Gavin stepped out onto the patio and drew in
a deep breath of humid air. He felt as if his veins had been filled
with gasoline and every beat of his heart shortened the fuse a
little closer to detonation. It wasn’t hard to believe Max had set
him up; that was his style. What infuriated Gavin was that he
hadn’t caught on to Max’s plan and allowed himself to be
played.

Anger and frustration swirled until his
vision blurred into a red haze. He wanted nothing more than to
storm into Max’s office and rip him apart. But attacking Max
wouldn’t get Gavin the information he needed. A verbal altercation
would only drive a larger wedge between them, and Max would shut
Gavin out of any further involvement in the Anticue plans.

No, Gavin needed to calm his ass down, so he
could con the conman.

The instant Callie made Gavin aware that he’d
been played, he made a decision. It was too early in their
relationship for Gavin to say he’d give up everything for Sunny.
But he would give it all up to do the right thing.

It shamed him to admit that, had he been
confronted with this situation a week ago, he might not have been
as sure of his decision. Today, it was crystal clear. He wanted to
be the man Sunny could be proud of. He wanted to talk to his
grandfather about his job, openly and honestly, without worry of
disappointing him. And he wanted to look in the mirror and like the
person staring back at him.

But he couldn’t divulge any of that to Max,
at least not yet. He had to make Max think that, while he’d had a
temporary lapse of judgment over the weekend, he was still squarely
in Max’s camp.

Gavin blew out a breath and forced the anger
to retreat.

Showtime.

“What the fuck is going on?” Max’s voice
echoed off the walls and slammed into Gavin with the force of a
physical punch.

Gavin had intended to wait for Max to calm
down before answering, but the longer the older man stormed around
his office, the more concerned Gavin became about Max’s health.
Gavin had seen Max angry, but Callie was right. He’d never seen Max
this furious, for this long. Gavin may be carrying a truckload of
pissed-off himself, but that didn’t mean he wanted any harm to come
to Max.

He took a step forward and in a soft,
soothing voice said, “Max, let’s sit down and talk.”

Max whirled around. His face was bright red,
his eyes narrowed slits. “Don’t patronize me. I know that
let’s-be-reasonable tone. Hell, I’m the one that taught it to
you.”

“You also taught me it’s a waste of time to
talk to someone who’s angry or agitated.” Gavin slipped his hands
into his pockets and watched Max pace.

While walking from Callie’s to Max’s office,
Gavin had struggled to understand why Max was so mad. His plan had
been to get Gavin and Sunny hooked up, and that’s what happened. So
what was the problem?

Then it hit him. Max was beginning to suspect
his plan had worked too well and was concerned it might backfire.
That meant Gavin had to be extra careful not to confirm Max’s
fears.

“I need a drink.” Max poured a shot of
whiskey, tossed it back, then slammed down the glass. After several
seconds, his stance relaxed. “You want one?”

Gavin grabbed a tumbler from the bar and held
it out to Max. After pouring a generous portion into Gavin’s glass,
Max refilled his own. The vein in his forehead still protruded, but
in general, his overall attitude had settled slightly, and he
seemed less at risk of a stroke.

Rather than sitting in his normal chair,
facing Max’s desk, which put Max in his normal position of power,
Gavin settled into a chair in the less formal, more relaxed sitting
area. “What’s bothering you the most, Max?”

Max sat in the chair opposite Gavin and fell
deep into thought, probably running over the long list of Gavin’s
infractions, figuring out where to start. Gavin wasn’t surprised
when Max began with the most recent issue. “Why were you in my
daughter’s house? You suddenly interested?”

“We were talking.”

“About?”

About your warped sense of duty, you
bastard.
Gavin bit his tongue and said, “Did you tell your
parents everything you did or talked about with your friends when
you were Callie’s age?”

Max’s eyes narrowed in warning and his face
re-reddened. “I won’t tolerate you playing games with my
daughter.”