Rough Harbor (15 page)

“You’ve been spending a lot of time in New York.” Rick Santine looked at Noah from across the table. They were at a diner in Palo Alto, the place where he and Rick and another buddy had mapped out their first business plan, picking a name for the software, detailing its features, every idea captured on those little square napkins.

“Hey, earth to Noah.”

Noah looked up quickly. Rick was one of his oldest friends, and he was staring at him, a look of curiosity on his face.

“Sorry, I’ve just been thinking about things.”

Rick nodded in sympathy. “I know. I’m sorry again about your dad. I know the two of you didn’t get along that well, but it’s tough.”

Noah smiled. He hadn’t been thinking about his dad. He’d been thinking about Caitlyn. In fact, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d been gone from her for less than twenty-four hours, and he’d been up all night, twisting and turning, thinking about her.

“But…” Rick Santine smiled. “You’re thinking about something else.” He glanced around the bustle of the busy diner, and then lowered his voice, “A new piece of software, a good investment? C’mon, you’re on to something big. I want in.”

Noah shook his head and then just said it, “Caitlyn’s there.”

Rick’s fork dropped to the plate, sending a piece of hash brown flying. “You don’t say. The one that got away. What is she – married, four kids, driving a minivan?”

Noah shook his head. “Gorgeous. Unattached.”

“So, what’s the problem?” Rick was grinning, shaking his dark hair. “Man, she had you wrapped around her little finger. And then she dumped you. You were shattered, dude. You moped around for months.”

Rick took a swig of his coffee. “I bet she’s begging for you now, though. Man, you showed her right, didn’t you? Now you’re hot shot CEO, a big success. That’s what you wanted. Tell me, is she all over you?” Rick leered at him.

“Shut up,” Noah said, good naturedly. Rick was always on the make, taking advantage of his newfound wealth to go to night clubs, openings, premieres, yet he always complained how the women there didn’t seem that interested in him – just being seen with him.

“So,” Rick said more seriously, looking at him, “is that why it’s been awhile since you’ve been back?” Noah shrugged. He didn’t know what it meant. He and Caitlyn were spending time together. In their respective houses, but she refused to be seen in public with him. Unlike any other woman he had dated, Caitlyn Montgomery still did not seem impressed by him. It was frustrating, to say the least, and one of the reasons a trip to California had seemed like a good idea.

“I’m here now,” Noah finally said with a heartiness he didn’t quite feel. “Let’s talk about that manufacturing company for the solar project.”

Rick smiled, nodded and pulled over a square napkin and a pen.

“Why the sudden concern about security?” Noah asked as she locked her door.

“No reason.” She shrugged.

She hadn’t said anything to anyone, not even the police, since in the broad daylight she’d been convince she imagined the whole thing. Her mother hadn’t returned her phone calls, so she didn’t even know if there had been any guns in the house.

Noah had returned from California after Thanksgiving, and they had picked up where they left off. They had both been invited to Adriana’s holiday party, but Caitlyn insisted that they take separate cars, the better to pretend that they were not a couple. He had agreed only after he told her that he intended to meet her and follow her from the house.

“Make sure you wait a moment or two before following me in,” she reminded him, as he opened the door for her in front of Adriana’s house.

“I don’t see why it matters,” he said, pulling him towards her, kissing her deeply, running his hands through her hair. “Who cares who knows about us? What’s the matter? I’m not good enough for you?” His voice was teasing, but there was an edge to it.

“No, Noah. Of course you’re good enough for me. I just want to keep things private for a while longer.” Caitlyn didn’t want a repeat of what had happened in London.

He looked at her, holding her close on the path. Caitlyn was aware other cars were pulling up, that they were in full view of the wide bay windows, lit up, festooned in ropes of evergreen.

“So, if you’re not embarrassed to be seen with me, why won’t you be?”

Caitlyn sighed, looking into his eyes. “I told you. I don’t want to be that girl.”

“What girl? My girl?”

“No, the type of girl people think got ahead by sleeping with the boss.”

“As I recall,” his head just inches from her lips, “we haven’t been doing much sleeping.”

Caitlyn stepped away. “My point exactly. Just for now, please, can we just keep it…?”

Noah took a step back, and she could see the flash of wounded pride. “Sure, I get it. We’ll keep it light. Whatever you want, Caitlyn, right? Your way, right?” he said, and his tone was bitter.

“Noah!” she said, but he was gone, already walking to the front door, ringing it and walking in, without a backward glance, leaving Caitlyn to wait a moment or two before following him up the path.

<<>>

Noah had watched her the whole evening, one half of his mind listening and making small talk, meeting people, discussing business, just as Adriana wanted him to, the other watching her. Caitlyn moved with the crowd here the same way she had at his father’s funeral, with graceful self-assurance, her black dress a little less discreet, with a neckline that plunged just enough to keep him looking and a back that was barely there, exposing the smooth ivory of her skin, the fall of her black hair a contrast in ebony.

She smiled, laughed, complimented the wives, made nice with the husbands, deftly turned down offers from the single men, all while discreetly collecting business cards and making friends.

He swallowed more champagne, telling himself that he couldn’t do what he wanted to, which was to walk over in the middle of the room and kiss her, possessively and passionately, until no one there was unclear that she was his.

But Caitlyn wasn’t, was she? He knew that she wasn’t seeing anyone else, but she refused to be seen with him, refused to take their relationship seriously.

“So, you think solar panels are the wave of the future, ehh?” Some old gent, in a tux jacket and plaid vest, with a mustache and large tufts of hair jutting from his ears, had cornered him, literally, allowing him to watch Caitlyn’s every movement.

With an effort, he turned his attention back to the man. Adriana had whispered that he was rich, always looking for new investments and loved new technology.

Noah found a way to make an answer, promising to call the man on Monday to discuss more. Caitlyn had disappeared from the room, towards the solarium, and he needed to catch her, to talk some sense into her. He needed her, wanted her, wanted her to want to be with him, and if she couldn’t commit, well then… Noah almost stopped, knowing that he couldn’t leave her. No, Caitlyn Montgomery was the woman, the only one for him.

“Noah, you okay? Look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Sam Harris was there, a drink in one hand, looking festive with a red tie.

Brought up short, Noah stopped, shaking his head. Caitlyn had been right about one thing. They were being watched. And he was, technically, her boss. It didn’t matter to him. He knew that she was one of the smartest people in the room, deserving of everything she had earned, but he could see her point, now. Caitlyn had worked hard to make a name for herself based on her own merits. It was exactly what he had wanted to do, why he had left Queensbay, why he had worked so hard, through the failures of two companies before getting it right, vowing never to give up, not on his own dream and his desire to prove that he was man enough for Caitlyn Montgomery.

“Sorry, boss, slip of the tongue.” Sam laughed, and Noah realized that maybe he’d had a bit too much to drink.

“It’s okay, Sam. This house just brings back some memories, you know?”

“Well, I’m glad I caught you. Haven’t seen you around the office much, and I wanted to see if you had a chance to consider my offer…”

Noah excused himself before Sam could finish the thought, both so he didn’t have to answer and because he wanted to find Caitlyn, kiss her, tell her how he felt, but he knew he wouldn’t, not yet. No, winning Caitlyn Montgomery would take a subtle touch.

They had spent the night after Adriana’s party together at her house, and he had cooked her breakfast and then surprised her by telling her he had some things to take care of. Since then, Noah had been around, taking her to dinner, always picking her up at the house, respecting her wish that they keep things on the down low, eating at restaurants outside of Queensbay where it was less likely they would be spotted.

He warmed her bed some nights, but he had business meetings in the city, and sometimes he stayed there. It wasn’t that she sensed their relationship was cooling off, not at all. It was just getting comfortable, into a rhythm, like she, and he, expected that Noah would be there.

Still, he hadn’t brought up the future again, or pushed. Noah was taking her lead. Caitlyn was pondering this, missing him, since he had spent the last two days in Boston on a business trip, judging a business plan competition, and wondering just how had she and Noah Randall, hot-headed teenage lovers, had settled into this. A couple. A couple that no one knew about with a future they dared not touch. And it was almost Christmas. What did one buy for one’s secret billionaire boyfriend?

Caitlyn was looking on the Internet, searching for ideas, when the phone rang. She looked at the caller ID on her phone and sighed. It was Tony. And she didn’t really need to deal with Tony right now. It was first thing on Monday morning, and she hadn’t finished her coffee. But you couldn’t keep your best client waiting. She picked up the phone.

“Hello.”

“Caitlyn,” Tony’s voice bellowed over the receiver.

“Of course, what can I do for you?”

“I need my money.”

“Excuse me?” Caitlyn said.

Her stomach did a flip-flop. How come they never called when they were happy? They never congratulated you when you made them money. They only called when something was wrong.

Caitlyn pulled Tony’s files. The quarterly statements had been sent out to clients last week and copies delivered to the Account Managers just before that. Everything looked fine with the accounts.

“What’s the problem, Tony?”

“I need the money I sent you.”

“What money?” Caitlyn said.

“The million-five I sent you to get involved in the partnership.”

“How did you send it?” And what was he talking about?

“I wrote checks. From different accounts, I might add,” Tony said.

“And you sent them in the mail, to me?”

“Yes, that’s what the material you sent me told me to do.”

Caitlyn remembered. Heather had admitted to sending him information, standard stuff at the behest of Tommy. She didn’t know what the actual deal was or what Tommy had asked for.

“They told you that you needed a million-five to be part of this?”

“No, you told me. Your name was on the letter,” Tony said.

Caitlyn tried to hide her surprise.

“Don’t you know what’s going on there?”

“Of course I know, Tony. But you put up the money to invest in a deal, what deal?” she asked, frantically searching her desk, flipping through screens on her computer as if the answer could be there.

“Something to do with biotech. Caitlyn, that’s not the problem. I need the money back. I need my original amount back now.”

Tony sounded like he was in a panic, and Caitlyn was curious. It didn’t sound like the man she knew.

“Is everything okay, Tony?”

She heard him draw in a deep breath. “It’s fine, just fine. But I have some unexpected capital needs, and I need the cash back sooner, rather than later.”

There was an opportunity to preach, Caitlyn thought, to say something along the lines of ‘I told you so.’ She didn’t think it would be a good idea and certainly wouldn’t endear her to Tony. Of course it might bear to remind him of the fact once everything had cleared up. It might make him more willing to believe that she really did have his best interests at heart. “Listen, Tony, this doesn’t have to be a problem. Let me see what I can do.”

“Fine. Sooner would be better.” He hung up on her.

Caitlyn looked down at the phone. This bothered her, more because she could have seen it coming. She knew about Tony’s financial position. That was why she had advised him on the slow and steady route. But she had let Tommy Anderson push him into something riskier. And why? Had she wanted the commission that badly? She’d been planning how to spend it before it was even paid. She shook her head.

Caitlyn found Tommy Anderson in his office, as usual, staring at his computer.

“Caitlyn? What can I help you with?” He looked up, and Caitlyn was hit with a sudden realization. He reminded her, in certain ways, of Michael. Or perhaps it was just the feeling of revulsion that came over her whenever she thought about either one of them. At least she only had to work with Tommy.

“I just got a call from Tony Biddle.” She sat down in the chair across from him, staring straight at him.

“So? He’s your client.”

“Funny, that’s what I thought, too. But, apparently, he decided to put money into one of your deals, Tommy. Yet he thinks I suggested it to him. I find that interesting.”

Tommy leaned back and crossed his arms. “He looked over some papers and sent back his investment.”

“And now he needs it back,” Caitlyn said.

Tommy laughed a little. “We’re not a library, Caitlyn. He can’t just have his money back.”

“Sure he can. We have the money; we can give it back.”

“If we gave back money to anyone who changed his mind, then we wouldn’t have much of a business, would we? Our business is built upon the assumption that we get to keep the money for a while, to invest it. It’s in the paperwork.”

“Tony needs his capital back to handle some of his current expenses. He’s not ready to be throwing that kind of money into uncertain deals.”

“It’s not uncertain. We’re just not ready to give him back his profits. He’ll have to wait like the rest of the investors. He’s a sophisticated businessman; he knows all about the risks.” Tommy stabbed a finger on the desk, to make his point.

“So, you won’t do anything to help him?” Caitlyn said, waiting.

Tommy lifted his hands and shrugged.

“Fine. Then I think Sam might be interested to hear this little story. And in the future, don’t mess with my clients.”

Tommy smiled. “Sure, you do what you need to do.”

Caitlyn bit down her unease and went off to find Sam Harris and get Tony’s money back for him.