The Exception (8 page)

The confused, vulnerable look gave way to an impassive, cool veneer. He sat his hands on top of his head and turned away, heading towards the office.

Seeing everything I needed to see, more than enough to convince myself I was doing the right thing, I pushed through the door and didn’t look back.

CANE

I turned around as soon as the door closed. I watched her walk to her car and drive away, no sign of the Avalanche Simon had been driving in sight. Satisfied that he wasn’t following her, I flipped the lock on the door and retreated to the back office and called Max.

Max answered quickly, the sound of hammering loud in the background. “What’s up, Alexander?”

“Quite a bit, actually. You’ll never guess who just looked at Solomon Place.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Simon Powers.”

“No shit,” Max said in disbelief. “Hang on a second.”

I heard a door slam and the tell-tale sound of Max’s diesel truck start. “Sorry. I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of everyone. Simon Powers, huh?”

“I walk in and Jada is standing there with that piece of shit. What the fuck?”

“Man, I don’t know. Do you think he knew you owned the building? What are the odds, Cane?”

I leaned forward on the desk, my mind going a mile a minute. “They’re not good. Even if he did know, why would he want to buy anything from me?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense.”

“I guess it could be a coincidence. It just seems fucked up.”

The line grew quiet as we both tried to process the possibility of it being random.

“You want me to check around, see what he’s been up to? It’s either the strangest coincidence in fucking history or something is going on.” Max paused. “Why would he even need a building? I mean, what does he do these days? Didn’t his family lose everything when all that shit went down?”

“Yeah, they did. So how would he even have the money to think about buying this place? He would have had to have proof of funding to get past Stanley, so where is he getting his money?”

“I don’t know. This ain’t good either way. Do you want me to see what I can come up with?”

I released a breath that felt like I had been holding forever. “Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll make some calls now.”

“And Max? Let’s keep an eye on Jada.”

“I’m not even going to ask.”

“Trust me on this one.”

“I’ll get back with you as soon as I have something to go on.”

JADA

“You have a call on line 2.”

I was immersed in a data gathering mission the next day, my head so focused on the project that I jumped when Alice buzzed into my office.

“I’ll take it. Thanks, Alice.”

I rested my hand on the receiver until her light went off, then held it to my ear and pressed the line.

“Jada Stanley.”

“Hello, Jada.” Cane’s voice, smooth and rich, was like music to my ears.

I hated that my stomach felt like butterflies fluttering when I heard his voice, but I couldn’t help it. What I did have to control was that he didn’t find that out.

“What can I do for you?” I had replayed our kiss in my mind, and imagined it going much, much farther a hundred times over. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I enjoyed it. And that just meant I needed to keep my distance.

“Have you heard from Simon?” The melody of his voice changed, cooling considerably.

“No, I haven’t.”

“That’s good.” Relief was evident in his voice as he blew out a breath. “I need to ask you a question. Did he provide you with pre-qualifications for funding?”

“Of course. Why?”

“No reason. I just doubt he is actually going to purchase it.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Just a hunch. So don’t waste a lot of time on him, all right?”

“I’ll remember that.” I absentmindedly brought my fingers to my mouth, remembering the feeling of his lips against mine.

“Excellent.” He cleared his throat. “It’s almost closing time. Want to meet me for dinner?” He was playful again, almost as if he already knew my answer.

“I honestly have an entire stack of papers on my desk. I doubt I will be getting out of here any time soon.”

“That’s not a
no
,” he pointed out.

I laughed. “It’s a no, Cane.”

“If I were to take you to dinner, where would you like to go?”

I couldn’t help the grin on my face. “What does it matter? It. Isn’t. Going. To. Happen.”

“Humor me.” I could hear his smile through the phone and imagined him sitting at a large desk, chewing on the end of a pen.

“I don’t know. I like pizza. I suppose you would, theoretically, take me for pizza,” I sighed.

He laughed loudly. “You are serious?”

“What? Pizza’s my favorite!”

“Pizza it is, then.”

“Pizza it is, dinner it is not,” I countered. “I am
not
meeting you for dinner, Cane.”

“What have I ever done to you?” he asked, a hint of a laugh still in his voice.

“Nothing and I plan on keeping it that way.”

“Sounds like an innuendo to me.” I heard him mutter a profanity, following by a honking sound. “You said that like you’ve been thinking about me doing things to you. Now there’s a thought I’d like to explore.”

“You read way too much into that.” I looked at the clock, back to the stack of papers, and sighed. “I really do need to get this wrapped up if I am ever going to get out of here tonight.”

“Talk to you soon, Jada.”

I sat the phone down, forced all thoughts of Cane out of my mind, and worked solidly for the next hour. I only looked up when Alice knocked at the door.

“Honey, I’m leaving for the evening, but there is a lady here to see you. Should I send her back or send her to the break room?”

“I’m not expecting anyone,” I said perplexed, my mind racing through possibilities. “Do you know who she is?”

“She said her name was Lucy and she was from Alexander Industries.”

“Alexander Industries? Just send her back, I suppose.”

Why would they send a courier so late? Did I forget to get something signed?

Alice gave me a huge smile, a nod, and then retreated to the front. A few minutes later, a pretty blonde appeared in the doorway with Alice behind her.

“Hi! Are you Jada?” She was all smiles and her voice sweet, matching her bright pink dress.

Couriers don’t usually look like that.

“Yes. Can I help you?”

“I have these for you.” She grinned as she held up a bag in each hand. Alice followed behind her with a large pizza.

I put my head into my hands, feeling heat rush to my cheeks.

“Where would you like these?” Lucy held the bags up in the air.

“I’m going to take a huge shot in the dark here, but I’m guessing Cane had you deliver this?”

“Absolutely!” She laughed. “I’m Lucy, by the way. I’m Mr. Alexander’s secretary. He asked that I arrange dinner for you here since you were too busy to go out tonight.”

She and Alice sat the items on the table beneath the window.

“I don’t know if you were expecting this or not,” she said, looking at my confused face, “but he just requested this a little while ago. I’m sorry if I interrupted you.”

“No, thank you. It’s fine. I appreciate your trouble. I just didn’t realize what he was up to.”

“Mr. Alexander said you may be surprised,” Lucy smiled brightly.

“That’s a lot of food for one person,” I commented, waiting for the ball to drop.

It didn’t take long.

“He should be here any minute,” she said, looking at her watch. “He was stuck in a little traffic in Glendale, but I know he is on his way. I actually have a few errands left to run before I call it a day, so, if you don’t mind—”

“Go. Please,” I said, feeling sorry that she had to deal with Cane’s shenanigans. “Thank you for going out of your way to do this.”

“It is no problem at all.” She gave me a big smile and left, Alice following closely behind.

What am I going to do now?

CANE

The older lady in front of me took her glasses off and let them dangle on a chain around her neck. She walked around the side of her desk and eyed me like the fathers used to do when I picked up a girl before a date.

I gave her my best charming smile. “I appreciate your help this afternoon, Mrs. Jewell.”

“Alice. Please, call me Alice. And you are very welcome.” She patted me on the shoulder. “Jada has had a rough time of it lately. You better be nice to her, you hear me?”

“You have nothing to worry about.”

“I better not. Now, I’m leaving for the day and everyone else is gone. If you don’t mind, make sure she gets out of here safely?”

“Absolutely.”

“Take that hallway and her office is the third on the left.”

I nodded my understanding and made my way down the corridor.

Jada was standing at a work table beneath a window, her back to the door. I leaned against the doorframe and watched her.

She was so beautiful, so natural looking. I figured she woke up looking like that, but with her refusal to see me outside of work, I wasn’t sure. Yet.

Lucky for us, I’m not easily deterred by her antics.

Her skin was flawless and smooth. Her brown hair was pulled up into a messy pile on the top of her head, pieces falling out and it was sexy as hell. I wanted to wrap it around my hand and pull her head back, watching her face as she came all over me.

Easy, Alexander.

A pair of heels was tossed on the floor beside the table and she was standing barefoot. I hadn’t realized how petite she was. I’d bet she was probably a foot shorter than me. But what she lacked in height, she made up for in curves. The orange dress she wore hugged her body, flaunting her shape. I craved the freedom to let my hands roam her, explore her curves, commit them to memory.

I crammed my hands in my pockets to discourage myself from reaching out and doing just that.

I remembered the softness of her lips, the way her body molded against mine the day before. She tasted like heaven, but the last twenty-four hours had been hell. I couldn’t get her out of my mind, couldn’t stop thinking about what it would feel like for her to be beneath me, what it would feel like to explore more than her mouth.

For fuck’s sake! Get in control. I can’t go in there acting like a damn caveman. That’s not going to work with this one.

I knew from the start that Jada was different. She didn’t fawn all over me or make overtly sexual suggestions or offers. Not that I minded those, but she wasn’t that kind of girl. Her eyes didn’t light up at my flashy watch or the wad of cash I pulled from my wallet. Hell, I wasn’t even sure she noticed.

Her standoffish attitude only made her more appealing, more of an enigma to conquer. She honestly didn’t seem to want to spend time with me and, while I didn’t understand that, I found it amusing. I didn’t want to spend time with her, either—just a few hours here and there. It was the only way to go about things, but she even fought me on that.

Life was too short to get involved. Things always ended and they never ended well. I had learned that lesson the hard way.

I shifted my weight and Jada noticed the movement. She turned around. Spotting me, she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.