Chance(6)

"Rowan," he says my name quietly, forcing me to turn to face him. "What friend did you go to see?"

Clive's interest in my personal life began the day I started working for him. I know that it's based on my older brother's concern for my well being. Miles was here at Corteck on my very first day, telling Clive that he expected him to take care of me. It was touching and misplaced considering the fact that for the past few years, I've been the one lending an ear, and a shoulder, to Miles.

"Was it Caleb Foster?" he pushes before I have a chance to weave an excuse that would pull his attention away from where I was earlier.

"Yes," I admit. "He needed to talk to me about something."

He rubs the fingers of his left hand over his right palm. "You're upset. I saw it when the elevator doors opened. What did he say to you?"

Clive knows about my mottled history with Caleb. He also knows that I stand by my friends, through thick and thin although right now I'm questioning whether my relationship with Caleb will survive this. "It doesn't matter. I should never have gone to see him in the middle of the day."

A small smirk tugs at the corner of his lips. "Caleb is notorious for calling you to his office for no good reason. Is that what happened today?"

I wish that was what had happened. I wish I could rewind my day to the moment when Caleb called me. I would have told him that I was too busy. Hearing him tell me that Asher was arrested has derailed me completely. I may look mildly frustrated to Clive but the truth is that I'm completely unhinged inside. I actually considered taking the subway to my apartment instead of coming back to work. I scrub my hand over the back of my neck, hoping that I'll find something to say that won't give away the fact that right now I can't even form the sounds to say Caleb's name audibly because I'm so completely pissed off at him.

"Look, Rowan, I get that it's not my business," he begins before he nods down the long corridor towards his private offices. "I know that Caleb can get under your skin. If you need to vent, you know where to find me."

I heave a sigh of relief as I manage a weak grin. "I need to work. Work helps me forget everything."

"Life isn't just about work." He taps me on the hand. "I used to think it was too until I met Lilly."

Lilly is Clive's wife. She's a fiery force to be reckoned with and when she briefly worked at Corteck I saw the barrier that Clive Parker had placed around him melt on the spot. He loves that woman with a fierce determination that I've never seen before. I'd never label myself jealous of the happiness that others have found but it's something I crave. I want a man to feel as desperately drawn to me as Clive does to Lilly.

"Rowan." Thankfully, the head of our security team, Jordan, rounds the corner and calls out my name. "I need to see you."

"There's life outside of these walls." Clive points to the tan painted walls that line the corridor. "Don't work late tonight or any night."

I laugh at the amusement in his tone. He knows that I rarely make it out of the building before seven or eight. "I'll leave when I'm done for the day."

"You'll leave at six today," he counters. "I know you have dinner plans tonight."

"Who told you that?" I purse my lips together and narrow my eyes. "Have you been spying on me?"

"Hardly." He can't contain a deep chuckle. "Ivy was in earlier dropping off Lilly's birthday gift. She told me you two have plans."

"My best friend has a big mouth." I roll my eyes before I settle my gaze on Jordan. "I need to get back to work. I'll stop by your office after I look over the proposal."

"Think about what I said, Rowan." He glances at Jordan as she walks towards us. "Don't bury yourself in your work. One day you'll regret it."

***

"I'm not keen on going to Dallas." I tap the pen in my hand against the edge of my desk. "I love Dallas but I have a heavy workload here. Do you think you can handle the trip alone?"

The bright smile that instantly takes over her beautiful face is all the answer I need. Jordan Ayala is the head of cyber security of Corteck. She's the go-to genius I frequently seek out whenever I have a question about any of the new developments our security team is working on. She's brilliant and when she's not dazzling everyone at the office with her mind, she's at home with her husband and five-year-old son.

"I'd love to spend part of the weekend there. Is there any possible way we can make it into a retreat for Ricky and me?"

I know the Clive Parker answer to that question would be that she should make the three day trip without her husband so she can focus on work. He'd want her to back in the office on Friday morning but I'm not Clive Parker. "I'll arrange for Ricky to travel with you. You'll leave on Tuesday morning and come back Sunday. Will your mom take care of Dalton?"

"She'd love it, Rowan." She's on her feet, unable to contain her excitement. "Ricky and I haven't had any time alone since he got back."

Her husband, Ricky, was stationed overseas with the military for eighteen months. I'd watched the spirit in her seep out through the worried grimace that was almost always on her face. He's been back for several months now but their relationship has shifted. She's confided in me that they've had to rediscover one another and with a busy pre-schooler underfoot and another baby on the way, their time alone together is typically reserved for the bedroom or infrequent dinners out when they can afford it.