Playing Pretend (6 page)

Brushing those thoughts aside for the time being, I finished getting myself ready. Thankfully the traffic had been somewhat forgiving, a small silver lining if you asked me, and before long the Callahan Industries buildings were in sight. It stood so tall, and so proud, office windows glittering like diamonds amongst it’s much smaller neighbors. I parked my car in the basement at Callahan Industries, and walked across to the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Park Avenue was lined with limousines, and I made my way to the banquet room to meet up with Jennifer. She wasn’t thrilled to see me, let alone to be working with me, but I ignored her and focused on taking in as much as I could. We stood at the doors to the banquet room, and welcomed the guests, taking their invites at the door. They were dressed to the nines, the men in their expensive suits, and the women in their designer gowns. I knew all about these types of events, from when my parents used to attend them, but it was the first time I got to experience the ostentatiousness of it all for myself.

The room was large with white and gold drapery. Round tables surrounded a small stage, and dance floor, all embellished with ornate table settings and unique centerpieces, created to showcase the culture of the crème de la crème of New York’s social scene. As much as I’d resented what this lifestyle represented, I was fascinated by it, albeit begrudgingly.

The room soon filled, and once we’d closed the doors, the string orchestra started playing off to the side, while waiters started plying the guests with glasses of Dom Perignon and the finest hors d'oeuvres that money could buy. Caleb had stopped at nothing, and I was impressed.

I greeted my colleagues, and stepped towards the bar in the far corner of the room to order something to drink.

“You clean up nicely, Kavanagh.”

I smiled when Aaliyah stepped up to my side. She looked amazing in her black satin gown, her hair clipped to the one side.

“As do you. No date?”

“Not tonight,” she replied. “Although I wouldn’t complain if I ended up going home with a rich sugar-daddy.” Her shrug was cavalier, but I saw the mischief in her brown eyes.

I laughed. “So in other words, you’re on the prowl?”

“Always,” she responded.

“Drink?”

“I’ll take a scotch, on the rocks.”

I felt my eyes widen in surprise. “I didn’t take you for someone who liked the hard stuff.”

Leaning back against the bar, she replied, “I grew up with four older brothers so I learned to drink early on.”

I ordered her scotch and another fruitier bubbly drink for myself, all of which was paid for by the company, and then mirrored Aaliyah’s stance. We had the perfect vantage point to survey the room without being too obvious. I recognized a few of the faces in the crowd, most of which were older gentleman and their trophy wives. You could spot the women who weren’t born into this society a mile away, with their bored expressions and their overt need to ‘stand out’ with flashy
everything.
The seasoned pro’s, however, worked the room, networked with all right people, and could hold their own no matter the topic of conversation. However subtle those nuances may be, they were still enough to separate those who would remain in these circles for generations to come, and those who would never truly be welcomed.

When my eyes landed on Caleb, I felt my muscles stiffen. His black suit hugged him, stretching over his broad shoulders, wide chest, and well-muscled arms. His hair was cut a little shorter on the sides, and longer on top and his face was freshly shaven. The women gravitated towards him like bees to honey, and the men immediately straightened, as if trying to match the authority that naturally emanated from him.

It was then I noticed the tall brunette on his arm, her gold dress shimmering beneath the chandeliers. She was smiling at him, laughing at something he said. The discomfort that unfurled in my belly had me turning my attention elsewhere, and I tried to tamp it down. I had no business being bothered by seeing Caleb with someone else, but deep down I knew it was because part of me still clung on to the tiniest of possibilities that he would remember the night he stole my first kiss.

I felt Aaliyah’s gaze heating the side of my face, and when I looked at her she was regarding me with open curiosity.

“What?” I asked, sipping my drink.

She sighed, and turned to face me, resting her elbow on the bar. “I’ve been wondering…”

I raised my eyebrows in silent question.

“Do you know Caleb?”

“Of course,” I replied a little too quickly. “Everybody does.”

“I mean personally.”

“What? No. Why would you think that?”

Shit.

Aaliyah’s eyes were far too assessing, but I knew if I looked away it would reveal too much.

She shrugged. “Call it hunch.”

My gaze dropped in silent contemplation, and it wasn’t the first time I’d chastised myself for blatantly staring at him, although the last time I chalked it down to an immature infatuation with someone too far out of my reach.

“Your hunch is a little off,” I said, trying to sound confident. “You can’t blame me for looking though.”

“You’re deflecting, but I’ll drop it because you have no reason to trust me yet.”

“There’s nothing to deflect, but I am curious about the dynamic between you and Caleb.”

I’d noticed that Aaliyah, and Caleb were close, and he relied on her for a lot. She managed his time, set his appointments, took his calls, got his lunch, and I thought it was beyond the scope of her responsibilities. But I also noticed that she cared for him as a friend, and when he came into the office in a particularly surly mood, she was the first to check on him. No one else in the office seemed to pay much attention to it, but I did.

“Caleb gave me a chance when no one else would.”

Aaliyah’s response surprised me, and the lilt in her voice told me there was more to it than she was letting on. I wasn’t one to pry, so I didn’t, but I asked the least personal question I could think of.

“How long have you been working for him?”

Aaliyah swallowed the rest of her drink, and placed the glass on the bar.

“Four years.” Her expression revealed just how carefully she was formulating her answer.

She was protecting Caleb by not giving away too much.

I did the math in my head. She started working for Caleb shortly after he was forced to take over as C.E.O of Callahan Industries. I knew from several reports in the media that it was because his father had fallen ill. That was only half the truth.

“You care about him,” I said. “I’m glad he has you.”

“There you two are.” Annabelle approached us, unknowingly ending the silent conversation between Aaliyah and me. “What are doing hiding at the bar?”

“I’m avoiding Jennifer,” I replied. “For some reason she has it out for me.”

Aaliyah, and Annabelle replied at the same time with, “She’s jealous.”

My brows puckered. “Of what? I haven’t done anything, and I’ve only been here for two weeks.”

“Exactly,” said Annabelle. She took a hearty sip of her cocktail, and then continued, “It’s obvious that Macy likes you, and Jennifer is threatened by that because when she started working here no one wanted to give her the time of day. Macy will be on maternity leave in less than three months, and Jennifer wants Macy’s job. I won’t even get started on the fact that she still carries a torch for Caleb.”

Aaliyah shot Annabelle a dirty look, and when I caught it I blurted out, “What happened between them?”

Aaliyah exhaled through pursed lips, and shook her head at Annabelle in disapproval. “As far as anyone else knows it’s just office gossip, but apparently Caleb got a little too drunk one night and ended up sleeping with Jennifer. She thought it meant more than that, but Caleb wasn’t interested.”

With a scoff, Annabelle said, “You and I both know it’s not just idle office gossip, Liy.”

“Even so, we shouldn’t be talking about it. Caleb’s personal life has been documented for tabloid fodder far too many times already -” I put my hand on Aaliyah’s arm when I noticed that she was getting aggravated, and she stopped to look at me.

“I won’t say anything,” I promised, pleading with my eyes for her to believe me. Before the conversation could continue, I decided to change tack and lighten it up a little instead.

“Now,” I turned to face the room. “Speaking of gossip, there has to be some dirt on the people in this room. Anything particularly juicy you think I should know before I throw myself to the wolves?”

Both Annabelle and Aaliyah’s eyes lit up, their disagreement all but forgotten, and they launched into a Page-Six worthy report on the scandals that were currently taking place amongst our guests. I had no idea how they knew so much, and I didn’t dare ask either, but it was both comical and diverting all the same.

Once I’d been ‘schooled’ on who was having an affair with whom, and who’s latest bout with recreational drugs landed them in rehab, I took a turn around the room and made sure that everyone in attendance was enjoying themselves. I purposefully avoided approaching Caleb, keeping my eyes on him from a distance, and after grabbing another flute of champagne I decided to find my table.

Macy intercepted me, looking ravishing in a turquoise gown that complimented her fiery red hair, and flawless complexion, and smiled. “I’ve been looking for you. Do you think you can give this to Caleb?”

I took the folded up piece of paper from her outstretched hand. “Sure, what is it?”

“It’s his speech. Silly man left it in his office. I’d give it to him myself, but my husband is waiting to introduce me to someone.”

Just then, Macy was swept away by her husband, leaving me to find Caleb on my own. He wasn’t difficult to spot, and I found myself walking towards him on slightly shaky legs. He was talking to a tall, older gentleman, and the brunette on his arm all but sneered at me when I walked closer.

I cleared my throat, and three pairs of eyes snapped in my direction. The only pair I noticed though were the ones filled with shards of blue ice.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. Callahan, but -”

“I’m sorry dear, Mr. Callahan is a little busy. He’ll have to sign your little piece of paper later,” said the brunette, cutting me off mid-sentence.

Bitch.

She thought I was a groupie.

I met her disdainful glare with one of my own, a little tired of being made to feel
less than.
Between Jennifer and this bimbo, I was starting to get a little pissed.

“Sorry,
dear,
” I mimicked her tone, aware that Caleb’s brows had shot up in, was that amusement? “But I’m not looking for an autograph. This is Mr. Callahan’s speech for tonight.” My gaze traveled over to Caleb, and I couldn’t tell if he was displeased with how I’d spoken to his date or not. “Macy asked me to give this to you.”

He took it from my hand, ignoring the way his date
harrumphed
beside him, and I saw his lip twitch slightly. “Thank you, Ms. Kavanagh.”

I gave him a brisk nod, and then politely excused myself. I finally found my table, only to see that I was seated beside Caleb. With the place card in my hands, I moved to the opposite end of the table, and swopped my name for Jennifer’s.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

I froze.

Oh dear.

That voice. It rumbled, racing across the exposed skin of my neck, and back, leaving chills in its wake.

With a slow pivot, I faced Caleb and his impetuous grimace.

“Someone must have made a mistake with the seating arrangements,” I said. “They put me next to you.”

“You have a problem sitting next to me, Ms. Kavanagh?”

“I – I…um….” I stuttered, tripping over all the words that were on the very tip of my tongue. Somehow I doubted telling him I didn’t want to sit so close to him would bode well.

“No,” I finally managed.

I fell silent when Caleb’s eyes hardened, his lips drawn into a tight line. He made me uncomfortable. Intimidated me.

“You pissed my date off,” he murmured.

My lip curled in distaste, and then I reminded myself exactly whom I was talking to.

“You should find nicer dates.”

Well shit, so much for
not
saying the first thing that came to mind. Not that I could really help it. It was the first time we’d spoken since my disastrous morning a few days ago, and I had to admit I was caught a little off guard.

“I appreciate the advice,” Caleb buttoned up his suit jacket, and took a step backwards, “But considering you’re here alone, I don’t think you’re qualified to make such a suggestion.”

My jaw dropped, and I caught the smirk on his face as he spun around and headed towards the stage. Our encounters up until now had been awkward, and stilted at best, and I always ended up comparing it to my past memories. Unfortunately, I was starting to realize that the Caleb I knew, and the man with his back to me were no longer the same person.

TO SAY THAT DINNER
was cumbersome would have been the understatement of the century. It was difficult to believe there was any correlation between the Caleb who had commented about my lack of a date, and the man who commanded attention on the stage. His speech was moving, enthralling even, and had garnered the absolute attention of everyone in the room. Even the wait staff had paused their duties just to listen to him speak about the future he envisioned for the company his father had spent his life building from the ground up.