Show Me How to Love (Caldwell Family Book 1) (27 page)

“She doesn’t want you,” Renee shot back.

“I can’t be your man forever, Renee. Get off your high horse and find a man, then maybe you won’t be so jealous of me.”

Mikayla sucked in a breath. She, Ryan and Renee privately joked Renee’s love life was so dismal Ryan would forever be her date. Though the three of them all laughed about Renee’s picky taste in men, they both knew behind Renee’s beautiful exterior there was a real fear she’d end up alone.

“Don’t talk to your sister like that,” Philip said.

“It’s true. She’s lonely and that’s why she’s against me marrying Angelica. She doesn’t want to lose her twin.”

Renee slowly stood. She raised her chin and glared at Ryan. “I’ve already lost him. You have my blessing to marry her. I hope you get everything you deserve.” Renee stalked to the door. Mikayla placed her hand on Renee’s arm, but Renee just patted Mikayla’s hand before stomping out.

She spun to face Ryan. “That was unfair.”

“No it’s the truth and it’s time we stopped coddling her.” Ryan crossed his arms. “Let me guess, you’re going to tell me why I shouldn’t marry Angelica as well.”

“That’s none of my business.” She looked at Philip. “I’m sorry for interrupting, I can come back later.”

“Is something wrong?” Philip asked.

“No, I’d like to take Friday off. If that’s not a problem.”

Ryan stepped into her line of vision. “Why do you need Friday off?”

“That’s none of your business,” Mikayla shot Ryan an angry glare.

Ryan crossed his arms and frowned. “You’re still with him aren’t you?” He sounded more concerned than angry. “Don’t you know he’s only using you?”

Her fists clenched, but she reined in her anger. She would not get into this with Ryan. Andre was right, they didn’t belong in the middle of the Ryan and Angelica drama. “I could say the same for Angelica.”

Philip walked over. “Wait, you’re still seeing Andre? Have you both lost your minds?”

Mikayla turned to Philip and fired off a frigid stare. “With all due respect, Mr. Caldwell, you have no right to comment on my personal life.” His hurt expression diminished her anger. “I am truly appreciative of everything you’ve done for me, but I have to draw the line somewhere.”

“Take Friday off,” he said in a disgusted voice. Then turned hard eyes on Ryan. “But you are not marrying that woman.”

Ryan’s chest puffed out, his eyes narrowed to slits.

Time to go. Mikayla hurried out the door. On the other side of the door, Mikayla bumped head-on into Charity.

“Eavesdropping?” Mikayla raised a brow.

Charity’s lips twisted and she stared down her nose. “You’re really making your way around the family aren’t you? Didn’t work out with Ryan so you moved on to his cousin.”

Mikayla moved left to step aside, but Charity blocked her path.

“I don’t have time for this.” Mikayla pushed Charity out of the way. Remorse swelled in her chest. Now
I’m behaving like a juvenile.
Toxic. The only way to describe this office. She needed a new job otherwise the atmosphere would poison her further.

*

Andre and Isaac were discussing the new proposal in Kansas City when the door to Andre’s office opened. Andre turned to remind whoever was interrupting them, he wasn’t to be disturbed, but froze when his dad strolled through the door. Today was the first time Curtis had come into his office since Andre confronted him at his house. Since then, they’d operated under business as usual, but Andre’s tension only increased with each passing day. You didn’t threaten Curtis Caldwell and walk away unscathed.

“Discussing the Kansas proposal?” Curtis asked. He walked casually over to the table and pushed the papers around on the surface.

“Yes, I think we have a good chance of winning the bid,” Isaac replied.

Andre guessed his brother knew about the fight he’d had with their dad, but he doubted Curtis went so far as to reveal how bad.

“Great, that’ll be more money in the coffers. C.E.S. will continue to grow and prosper, making all of us rich men.”

“We’re already rich men,” Isaac said.

Curtis dropped the paper in his hand and stared at Andre. “That we are, son. But you can’t get complacent. Some people get comfortable, and think their wealth will always be there. There are no guarantees in life. The only guarantee is if you work hard you’ll be successful.”

Andre turned in his chair and leaned back. “And throw in a little blackmail.”

Curtis’s dark eyes hardened. “I do what’s necessary to ensure success. It’s not always pretty, but the strong survive, and the weak wither.”

“I’ve always supported you and this family. I want C.E.S. to survive as much, if not more than you do.”

“No, you don’t. You’re willing to toss everything I worked for aside because of the sweetness you’ve found between a woman’s thighs.”

Isaac spun to Andre. “What’s he talking about?”

Curtis’s thin lips rose into a dirty grin and he turned to Andre. “You haven’t told your brother you’re willing to bring down the entire family business because you’re sleeping with Ryan’s leftovers?”

“It’s not like that.”

Isaac sat forward in his chair. “Then what’s it like. Because it sounds like I’m being left out of some important discussions.”

Curtis pointed at Andre. “Your brother here wants us to forget the fact that Dalmtrix may move to the low country after all.”

“I know, and I agree,” Isaac said. “We’ve found an alternate landfill in Virginia that’s a perfect fit for C.E.S.’s expansion into landfill gas.”

“But you know it’s more than that,” Curtis said with a vengeance. “It’s about putting my brother in his place. They think they’re better than us. Ruining their new development deal proves we have the upper hand.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Andre bolted from his chair. “This rivalry is stupid, it’s old and it’s time for the nonsense to end. You want to prove you’re better than Philip, then live your life and make C.E.S. successful. Hell, you’ve already proven you’re more than a garbage man. Forget this competition and move on.”

“He’s right dad,” Isaac said quietly.

Andre wanted to collapse with relief, and surprise, when Isaac agreed with him. Andre guessed Isaac was as tired of the rivalry as he. Although Andre also knew anything that distracted their dad from the true purpose of growing C.E.S., would annoy Isaac.

Curtis pointed a finger at his oldest son. “So you’re ready to walk away from me, too?”

Andre slapped the back of one hand into the palm of the other. “It’s not about walking away. It’s about focusing on what’s important and C.E.S. is important. Not fighting with our cousins.”

Curtis’s eyes narrowed to razor sharp slits. “Your brother threatened to report all of our not so savory dealings to the authorities.”

Isaac stood. “Tell me that’s a lie, Andre.”

“I said I’d leave the company if he kept pursuing this. My threat came after he threatened to blackball me.”

“Regardless,” Isaac said. “You’re willing to compromise everyone here for what?”

“That’s what I said. He’s lost his mind.” Curtis cut in.

Ignoring his dad, Andre turned to his brother. “You’d stand back and let him smear my name?”

“See,” Curtis yelled. “That woman’s already tearing this family apart. Is this woman worth it?”

Andre frowned at his dad then his brother. Wondered how he ended up in this position. When he’d issued his threat he’d barely considered the effect on Isaac. Or the hundreds of people employed by C.E.S.

“I won’t tear down the company or betray my family,” Andre said. “Your secrets are safe with me.”

Isaac’s shoulders relaxed. A calculating gleam lit Curtis’s eyes.

“But my promise hasn’t changed,” Curtis said. “You chose this woman over the family and I will make sure you never work again.”

Isaac shook his head. “Dad—”

“No!” Curtis pointed at Andre. “You’re either with us or against us. You decide.”

Curtis strolled out of Andre’s office as if he hadn’t threatened his son.

Frustration itched along Andre’s body and grew until he thought he would tear off his skin. With one angry sweep, he knocked all of the papers off the table.

“Whoa, calm down!” Isaac raised his hands.

“I’m sick of playing his games.”

“You and me both, but he’s our dad. He built this company for us. It’s shocking to know you’d suddenly give that up for some woman.”

“It’s more than that…”

“I don’t care what it is, it’s not worth it,” Isaac said. “Family is more important. The business is important. This woman isn’t.”

Isaac’s face, full of confusion and disappointment brought home the degree to which his father and brother refused to comprehend what Andre felt for Mikayla. Which meant eventually, he would have to make the choice between love and loyalty.

CHAPTER 31

By Thursday afternoon, Mikayla wished the plane to Miami was waiting for her right outside of the office. Bags packed and in the backseat of her car, she hurried out of the office without saying goodbye. She planned to meet Andre at the Columbia Owens Airport where his private jet waited.

The tension in the office during the week was thicker than congealed bacon fat. Renee was angry at Ryan. Ryan was angry at everyone. And Philip’s frustration with his family came through in every conversation. The dynamite on the bomb came when Mikayla learned Charity had filed a complaint against her claiming she’d been attacked.

All the tension from the week evaporated when she spotted Andre leaning lazily against his car. He wore a denim shirt that clung to his broad shoulders and khaki cargo shorts. His enticing lips spread with an effortless sexy smile that sent her heart into overdrive. She barely shifted the car into park before jumping out.

He strolled over and wrapped her into a warm hug before sliding his delicious lips over hers for a deep soul-stirring kiss. Everything that happened over the week no longer mattered. All that mattered, was this weekend with the man who loved her.

“Hey you,” Even after breaking off the kiss his sensual baritone turned her insides to mush and skin to prickly gooseflesh.

Her face ached from the big goofy grin she wore. “Hey you.”

“Ready for the weekend?”

“More than you know.”

He frowned, “Bad week?” Andre motioned two attendants over that she hadn’t noticed before.

Mikayla handed her keys to Andre and he popped open the trunk. The attendants approached and retrieved the bags.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She rolled her eyes and pushed her bangs out of her face. “How was yours?”

A shadow crossed his face. She reached up and ran a hand across his cheek. “Forget it. This weekend isn’t about work.”

He smiled. “Then let’s get to it.”

*

Mikayla gasped at the spectacular view of the ocean from the spacious open-air living room of Andre’s home in Miami. She hurried across the brightly tiled living room floor to the large patio and pool. A lush wall of palm trees encased the outdoor space.

“The view is beautiful.”

He wrapped her hand in his and kissed the back. “I’m glad you approve.”

“Approve?” She turned back to face him with a smile. “I love it.”

“Enjoy the ocean now, because I’m not sure if you’ll see a lot of it.”

“Why is that?”

He slowly pulled her back into the living room. Desire brightened his dark eyes and sent heat skimming across her skin.

“Because I may want to keep you in the bedroom all day.”

She wrapped her arms around his trim waist. A gentle breeze mingled his cologne with the scent of the ocean.

“I may let you.”

He swept her up into his arms. She shrieked then giggled. When his warm lips kissed along the column of her throat her laughter turned into a low moan. The awesome view forgotten, he carried her up the stairs to the bedroom.

*

Finally, on Saturday afternoon Mikayla convinced Andre to leave the bedroom. They’d agreed to try and break their habit of smoking after sex, and as a result, had sweated off numerous nicotine patches. Spending hours in bed with him was wonderful, but she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to swim in the pool.

“You know you’ll have plenty of time to come back and swim.” Andre grumbled as they walked down the stairs.

“I don’t know. You may not invite me here again.”

“Hmm, and I was thinking of bringing you here every weekend.”

She grinned at him over her shoulder and caught his eyes assessing her backside in the new dark green bikini. The bikini that delayed the pool trip by forty minutes. The bikini that he’d stripped from her body in less than a minute.

“Let me guess, so you can see me in a bikini more often.”

They walked through the living area onto the sunny lanai. One of the housekeepers smiled at them and placed a tray with chilled champagne and strawberries on a table between the lounge chairs near the pool.

“That would be another perk.” He picked up a glass and handed one to her. “But that’s not the reason. Since we’ll be together for a while, it would be nice to get away more often.”

“A while…How long is a while?” She took a sip of the champagne. The bubbles tickled the inside of her mouth.

His face became serious. “A while. Indefinitely. Far into the foreseeable future.”

Time stood still before erupting in a sputtering of her heart and a rush of happiness. “That sounds a lot like forever.”

He tilted his head and gave her a teasing, puzzled look. “It does, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t tease me like this, because right now I want forever with you.” Her breath stuck in her throat after she blurted her feelings out. The guy just admitted, with great difficulty that he loved her and now she hinted at a lifetime together.

He didn’t smile, there was no teasing glint in his eye, and instead his eyes locked into an intense almost determined stare. “I’m sacrificing to make this work, so we can’t be for a fleeting moment. We have to be for the long haul.”

Screw the pool. Mikayla wrapped her arms around him so quickly he stumbled. He easily steadied himself then returned her kiss with full fervor. Her hand snuck past the waistband of his swim trunks to grasp the stiffness of his erection. Once again, he lifted her and headed back inside toward the stairs.