Fight or Flight(45)

We had, however, planned to keep our interludes restricted to the physical desire we shared. When we talked in the hotel room, it was about what we wanted to do to each other. Yet, despite our best-laid plans, Patrice had turned the tables on us. She’d called me to tell me she felt terrible for neglecting Caleb, certain that he wasn’t staying in one of their guest rooms at all, but still at the hotel. Upset at failing in her hostess duties, she had insisted she and Danby make time to have dinner with him, and had also insisted that I join them.

And at their private club no less.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves surrounded us, with leather-bound books filling every inch of them. Coffee tables and elegant armchairs were strategically placed throughout the room, and there was a small free bar near the entrance.

“Oh, how the other half live,” I muttered.

“You look beautiful.”

Caleb’s compliment brought my gaze swinging back to his rugged face. He wore a small smile, as if entertained by my startled expression. “I’ve called you beautiful before. Why so surprised now?”

“Because you said it without sounding pissed off about it.”

He flashed me a grin. “Is that so?”

“It is.” I gave him a quizzical smile. “And thank you. You look very handsome.”

He leaned an elbow on the armchair and braced his fist against his mouth. Though the movement shielded his lips from me, I saw the thoughtful amusement in his gaze. I didn’t know what was so funny about my compliment, but I shrugged it off since he did look handsome in his dinner suit and black tie.

There was something kind of erotic about the fact that he dressed like such a gentleman here and hid the wild, tattooed guy that only I got to see when we were together. I’d traced every inch of his tattoos with my tongue, so curious about them I’d almost asked him about the significance of the warriors and the phrase he’d decided to have permanently inked on his skin.

Thankfully, I’d stopped myself before I could cross that line.

Caleb continued to study me, his eyes taking in every detail of my face until I shifted uncomfortably. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Lifting his head away from his hand, he shrugged. “Nothing else is worth looking at when you’re in the room.”

Stunned, I felt my breath catch in my throat. It was quite possibly one of the most romantic things anyone had ever said to me, and it came from the most unexpected source. It took a few attempts to compose myself and ignore the way my heart turned over in my chest; I struggled for once for a retort. Instead, I decided on a subject change, breaking my rule about not asking him personal questions. “Why were you frowning at your phone when I walked in?”

If Caleb was perplexed by the probing question, he didn’t show it. Instead he glanced at his phone where it sat on the coffee table. “They think flights tae Europe will be available again by the end of the week, but it looks like I’ll be here for at least a week beyond that.” He stared at me as I felt a warmth in my chest that couldn’t possibly be happiness. “The men I was at lunch with the other day …”

“Yeah?”

“One of them is the CFO of the North American division. And he’s a complete and utter nightmare. He does nothing. Delegates everything—and I mean everything—tae staff members who are struggling under the weight of their own duties and now his. Staff members who aren’t qualified and aren’t paid the six figures he’s being paid. He deflects my questions because he can’t answer them. He’s lazy, arrogant, and clueless and—” He cut off as his voice began to rise in anger.

Sympathy moved through me. He sounded so stressed. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m not his boss. In fact, the little shit thinks he’s my superior because the North American division brings more money in than the UK.”

“Well, I’m sure that’s true for most companies—we’re a bigger country.”

“Aye, but the figures aren’t adding up. The company should be doing better here than it is. I suspect he’s mismanaging the financial risks the division is taking, but I can’t know for certain without getting a look at his files. And he won’t let me look at his files.”

“So how do you alert the head honchos without pissing everybody off, right?”

“Right.” He sighed. “And is it my place tae alert them?”

“Yes,” I answered immediately. “It’s obvious you care about your work and this company. You don’t cross me as the type of man who would let an injustice go on without doing something about it.” And weirdly, despite my misgivings about him in the past, he really didn’t. I suppose I’d started to realize that when he sought to protect me from the assholes at the restaurant in O’Hare.

Caleb studied me with an intensity that made my skin flush hot. “Ten days isn’t much time tae do it.”

I smirked. “But you’re going to do it anyway.”

He let out a low laugh but didn’t answer either way. Still, I knew deep down he was going to do something about it.

We shared a look of mutual appreciation, and I felt emotion begin to well up inside of me. Emotion I had not expected to feel toward him. It was exactly as I had feared. Was I beginning to like my Bastard Scot?

“There you are, darlings!” Patrice’s voice carried across the room and we both turned to watch her and Danby walking toward us. She wore a long, figure-hugging, black-beaded dress. Her arm was looped through Danby’s. Michael Danby Senior was the same height as his wife, with a trim, athletic build and a handsome boyish face that never seemed to change as the years passed. His dark eyes were always lit with good humor and kindness.