Caylee's Confessions (Caylee's Confessions Series) (8 page)

“But
I like to go out,” I said, dumfounding him.

“But
you won’t have to if you tell us what you know,” he said, still not
understanding.

“But
I like to,” I repeated.

“But
you wouldn’t have to anymore.  Don’t you get what I’m telling you?  There will
be enough of us here, so you don’t have to risk your life any longer.  My
superiors were amazed at what you’ve done so far, but they feel you have done
enough, and if you aid us in our efforts, you won’t have to do it anymore,” he
tried to reason with me.

“Oh,
so I could get like a ‘desk undead hunting’ job?” I mocked.

“No…what
you tell us would directly aid our efforts so it would be like you were
fighting them,” he pleaded.

“Except
the whole part of actually fighting,” I said.

“I
don’t understand you…I tell you that you don’t have to fight anymore…I thought
you would be happy,” he said.

“You
don’t understand me?”  I laughed, mocking him.  “You must be thick…seriously, I’ve
told you a million times now that I like to fight, yet you continue to tell me
I shouldn’t.” 

“Because
you shouldn’t,” he said, and I’d had enough. 

“Just
leave, before I call the police, and don’t come back.  And you can tell your vitan
council to suck on it,” I said, apparently offending him, because he left
quickly at the ‘vitan sucking it’ thing.  Oh well, at least he got the point.  I
thought I’d heard him mumble something on the way out, but I quickly got back
to trying to concentrate on how much fun I’d had that night, instead of Shad’s stupid
bullshit. 

A
big smile had to have been splashed on my face as I arrived at the office the
next day. I still hadn’t decided what to call my night with Braxton, because it
had started out as a meeting but surely ended like a date would.  I knew one
thing for sure though: I had had a good time, and it was nice to meet an
attractive man who just let me be me.  He didn’t ridicule my hobbies or try to
tell me what I should or should not be doing.  That was probably because he had
no idea what my hobbies were, but still… That was all it took for the smile to
leave my face as I reflected back at the ‘vampire slayer guy,’ Shad.  I really
shouldn’t have still been dwelling on it, but after his visit, and my almost
recent death, his words were eating away at me.  Hopefully, since I’d killed
the trackers, his vitans would be leaving soon.  I should have told him about
that last night, but he was too busy lecturing me, so I hadn’t thought of it. 
Surely they would leave if they knew I had killed those trackers, but to be
safe, I would have to go out hunting more frequently so that his Vitans would
get bored of not getting anything in this area and would leave for good.  My
legs walked into my office and sat in my chair, staring blankly at my computer screen,
in an attempt to map out, in my head, where I would go on the hunt tonight.  My
office resembled my apartment, in the fact that it had just the bare
necessities.  Something I regretted then, as a nice quote calendar would have been
helpful to read to get my mind off things.  A throat clearing pulled me away
from my black screen.  Turning my head towards the noise, my eyes widened as I saw
Braxton in the doorway to my office.

“Good
morning,” Braxton said as he flashed me a smile.

“Hi,”
was all that came out.

“Don’t
worry, I’m not stalking you…yet.”  He laughed, and I did the same.  Why was he
here?  “What time does your boss come in?  There’s some paperwork I forgot to
sign.  I guess someone from billing left me a message.”  Ah, that made sense.

“Any
minute he should be in.” Actually more like a half-hour, but like usual, I’d
cover for the guy.

“You
can take a seat if you want,” I said as I pointed to the small, blue, cushioned
chair in my office.  It was the only spark of color in my office, and I couldn’t
have been more grateful for it at the time.

“Thank
you.”

“Thank
you,” I replied like an idiot, and his brow rose.

Luckily,
my intern just happened to stroll in, in a panic.

“Sorry
I’m late…my car…and then I had to take the bus…I’m sorry…I can’t lose my job…I
need it for credits and…”  

“You’re
fine,” I said with a smile as I motioned towards Braxton.  “All forgiven if you
can get our guest here something to drink.”  She turned towards Braxton.

“Mr.
Caloman, how rude of me.  Can I get you something to drink?” she offered.

“Thank
you for the offer, but surely I’m fine.  Caylee, did I mention last night what
an amazing job your intern here did during the presentation?  Way beyond her
years, this one.  I’d keep her around for sure.” 

“Duly
noted,” I said as I gave her a smile. 

“Well,
if you need anything, I’ll be in my cubie,” she said as she left, pulling the
door closed behind her. 

As
soon as the door clicked, signaling it was closed, the room’s temperature shot
up about twenty degrees.  Why did she have to close the door?  She probably thought
we were about to have a meeting.  I was about to get up to open it, but before
my legs could move, Braxton was walking towards my desk.  He leaned over it, taking
my face in his hands as he put his lips on mine. “I’ve been wanting to do that
since I said good morning.”  He went in for another, and I closed my eyes as
his mouth gently caressed mine.  I heard the door open, and when I opened my
eyes, Gene was coming in.  Braxton was somehow back in the chair across from my
desk.  Gene gave me an odd look, probably due to my face being bright-red.  The
heat of the kiss was still stinging my cheeks.

“Feels
hot in here, doesn’t it?  I’ll have to look into that, Braxton. In fact, I’ll
go do that now. Gene, Braxton is here to sign some more forms.  He missed some
on accident,” I said as I left my own office like an idiot.  Not knowing where
to go, I figured outside would be the best option—get some air back in my
lungs.  I sat down in the chair outside my office and took a deep breath. What
had just happened in there?

“I’m
sorry,” Braxton said, causing me to jump.  He moved way too quickly sometimes. 
How was he already outside?

“For
what?  You didn’t do anything wrong.” 

“For
kissing you in there.  It was unprofessional.  I’m sorry.  Sometimes I have an
issue with keeping my emotions in check.  It’s been a while since…I’ve had this
crush feeling, Caylee.”

“You
have a crush on me?”

“I
thought the kiss made that obvious.”

“It…yeah,
I guess so.”

“Ready
to leave for lunch then?”

“It’s
9:30,” I told him.

“I
know.  I didn’t say
eat
lunch.  Just, are you ready to leave for lunch?”

“I
don’t think my boss will let me go to lunch yet.  We’re on a pretty strict ‘leave
at 12, come back at 12:30’ sort of deal.”

“He
already said ‘yes.’  When your efforts just gave your company more money than
they’ve earned in the past six years…well, we’ll just say you can…it lets you
get away with certain things. I told him that we needed time to discuss your
next proposal.  The word ‘proposal’ didn’t even have to leave my lips and he
was saying ‘yes.’  Didn’t even give me a time limit. He said I could have you
all day if I needed.  Now, it’s just up to you.  Would you like to go play hooky
with me, Caylee?” he asked as he put his hand out to help me up.

“Hooky?
 It’s been a while, but I used to be a pro at it.  Hope you’re prepared,” I
said as I gripped his hand.

“So
where are you taking me?” I asked.

“Wherever
one plays hooky.  I’ve actually never done it,” he said as we got into the cab.

“Where
to?” came out with a smoker’s cough.

“A
casino,” I replied.  I’d been wanting to go for some time now, and I hadn’t
been to all three of them yet.

“Sure.
 Which one?”

“MGM,”
I told the cabbie.  I turned to Braxton.  “I heard they have this really nice
lounge.  If we’re going to play hooky, we might as well do it up big.” Gene
never lets anyone take a long lunch, so I was taking full advantage.

“What
do you want to play first?” Braxton asked me.

“Craps
is my game.  Do you play?”

“Actually,
I never have.”

“Wow,
the trivia master doesn’t know how to play craps?  That’s surprising.”

“Never
really gambled, except the occasional poker game, but I’d love to learn.  If you’re
willing to be the teacher, I’ll play the student,” he said with a seductive
smile.  I almost let out ‘well, hell, if we’re playing pretend, how about we
play doctor?  But luckily, I held it in.  Braxton let out a laugh, reminding me
that I didn’t answer him.

“Sounds
good to me.  Hopefully you’ll get some beginners luck.”  We entered the casino
and, like I’d expected, it wasn’t too busy.  Most people didn’t come here until
after their 9-5 shift.  I walked up to the first ATM I saw.

“Oh
no, this is my hooky plan—I get to pay,” he said as he stepped in front of me
and started to pull out his wallet.

“No
way.  This isn’t dinner, Braxton,” I said as I bumped him out of the way with
my hips.

“I
insist.”

“No
way.  Listen—how about we make a deal?  We each pull out a hundred of our own,
and if either of us wins, we’ll split it.  Would that make you feel better?” 

“How
did I find you?” he said as he pulled me into his grasp and kissed me on the
cheek.  I stood frozen, as being this close to him was making my heart race, as
the spot he kissed tingled.  Finally able to get my bearings and move my feet,
I turned back to the ATM, which was flashing red. 

“Oh
dang.  Looks like it’s broken,” he said from behind me.  “Good thing I always
carry cash on me.  Come on, I’m ready for my lesson.”

“They
have to have more.”

“Oh,
just come on…you can get it next time. Let’s hurry.  I’m feeling lucky,” he
said with a playful wink.

“Fine.”
 I rolled my eyes in protest, not believing for a second that he’d let me. 

We
played for an hour, and much to my surprise, Braxton was a terrible dice
thrower.

“I’ve
never seen anyone crap out that much.”  I laughed.

“Yeah,
well, gambling has never been something I’ve been good at.”  He laughed.  “Well,
should we continue on, or are we on to our next adventure?” he asked.

“I don’t want you to go
broke.  Let’s go somewhere else.” 

“It’s
too bad you didn’t get lucky,” I said later, at the door to my apartment
building.

“Now,
that’s not entirely true,” he said with a light grasp of my butt.  I playfully
slapped his hand away, even though I’d really wanted to lean back into him.

“Today
was fun.  Thank you,” he said.  It took every ounce of strength I had to not
let him in, but I had to meet Claire in an hour, and if I let him in, the ideas
I had spinning in my head to do to this man would need way more than an hour.

“Till
next time,” he said as he wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me up so
our lips touched once again.  I would never get used to the rush this man gave
with a simple touch. He released me and I, again, was silent, then I took the steps
to my apartment and shut the door. 

I’d never been this
clueless with a guy before.  He’d made me speechless at least three times today.
 I really needed to get that under control, or else I’d let on that he already
had me falling for him.  Who did that?  I’d only hung out with him three times…and
yet…ugh.  My cheeks flushed as my center warmed, thinking of the kiss he’d
planted on me in my office earlier.  This man was going to get me in trouble.

“Hello,
mam.  Is your name Caylee?” said a man who worked for some kind of delivery
service as he came into my office the next day at work.

“Uh
yes,” I said, shocked.  I wasn’t expecting any packages.

“This
is for you,” he said, handing me a large, brown box that had to weigh at least five
pounds.

“Just
sign here please,” he said as he shoved a paper in my face, just as I set down
the box.

“I
wasn’t expecting a package…”  I looked at him.  “I think you have the wrong ‘Caylee.’”

“Nope,
right Caylee, because this was the address.  Now just sign, please.  It’s not a
bomb or anything.  Does the person who sent this know about your paranoia?”  He
chuckled at his own joke.  I signed, and rolled my eyes at him as I handed the
paper back to him and he walked away. 

I
stared at the box, wondering what the hell was in it.  I know people usually don’t
box up flowers.  And who in their right mind would send me flowers?  Everyone I
knew, knew that I didn’t like them.  I opened the card that was attached to the
top of the box.

“Thanks
for playing hooky with me.  I thought you would enjoy this… :) — Braxton.”  I
opened the box and had to laugh.  It was a nice, large, glass vase that was
filled with a huge bouquet of edible flowers, made from pineapples and mangos
that were shaped like daisies, and strawberries that resembled roses but were
covered in chocolate.  It was beautiful and edible, which was perfect.  He must
have remembered our discussion yesterday about how I didn’t like flowers.  I
picked up one of the strawberries and took a bite.  It was so juicy that my
mouth began to water as I noticed my boss approaching my desk.

“Don’t
tell me…Caylee, the lone wolf, is dating?” he asked.

“No…well…I
don’t think I am,” I said honestly.  We’d played hooky yesterday, and went on a
sort of meeting-date the other night, but I definitely hadn’t expected this.  I
liked it though—deep down.  Tall, sexy, mysterious…what could I not like?  My
boss laughed, taking me out of my trance.

“Sure
seems like you’re thinking about someone.”  He laughed again, walking away. 
What was I getting myself into?  Rule number one: don’t date your clients. 
That
was Lori’s job, but this had to be different
, I thought, trying to justify
it in my head.  I already had the sale before we kissed—unlike Lori, who did it
the other way around.  I surely was getting way ahead of myself.  Maybe he
truly just wanted to thank me for having fun yesterday. 
He said it had been
a while since he’d just hung out
, my head said as my heart contradicted it,
reminding me of the way he had kissed me last night.  My phone suddenly rang,
interrupting my thoughts.

“Mason’s
Adverting and Marketing department.  This is Caylee.  How may I help you?” I said,
reciting our business’ answering protocol.

“Hey,
Caylee.  It’s Braxton,” said a sexy, smooth voice as a huge smile hit my lips. 
I fell fast for that one.