“So you’re the one who got washed up with Colt?” she asked. And she meant washed up, as in has-been, past her prime. I was 26, thank you very much. She instantly got my back up, but even standing my tallest I was still a good five inches shorter than her. With her cheekbones and hipbones and legs that went on for miles, she actually might be a model.
“Hello, I’m Caroline.” I eyed her warily.
“It’s so thoughtful of Colt to throw this little party.” She leaned into the mirror to inspect her reflection. But, finding no flaws, she leaned back. “I’ve known him forever, you know.”
“Is that right?”
“Boarding school. First love and all that. So Romeo and Juliet.” She flicked her sleek hair over her shoulder and looked down at me, literally and figuratively.
“You both killed yourselves?” I asked sweetly. If I remembered correctly, things hadn’t worked out so well for those young lovers.
“Hardly.” She sniffed. “Listen, I know Colt is trying to help you out. He’s always looking out for people in need. He has such a big heart.”
Especially in comparison to your tiny, coal black one, I thought but didn’t say. My cat claws hadn’t flared just yet, but they were right there, on the edge and ready.
“I’m happy to put in a good word for you if you’re interested in opening a little shop here in the city. I work really closely with Colt on all his charities. I’m sure he and I could work something out for you.”
And—poof—she disappeared in a cloud of dark sparkles like a wicked witch. Or at least that was how it seemed to me, her vanishing while I stood there with my mouth hanging open. A charity project? Was that how she saw me? Was that what I was?
The rest of the night passed in an upscale blur, one lady wearing diamonds talking to me replaced by another man in a suit. Colt’s brother, Ash, never showed up—apparently he and his wife were out of town—and eventually I pleaded a splitting headache.
“Are you all right?” Colt asked, rubbing my back as the limo took us back to his penthouse. We had a full evening planned ahead of us, but I wasn’t up for any of it. I didn’t want to crumple in the face of pressure. But I couldn’t help it. I felt vulnerable. I wasn’t on my home turf. And suddenly, I really wanted to be back on my home turf again.
“I’m going to fly home tomorrow,” I told him, head in my hands.
“What?”
“I need to get back.”
“Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have thrown you that party.” His hand fisted in his hair, pulling it at the roots. “That was too much, meeting everyone all at once like that. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“No, it’s your world. Those are your people.”
“Let’s start over. Tomorrow I’ll cancel all our plans. We’ll do whatever you want.”
“I want to head home.”
“Fuck!” His fist came down on his thigh in frustration. “Don’t give up on this!”
I didn’t know if he was talking to me or to himself. Either way, I wasn’t sure it would be enough.
§
On the plane flight home, I started having second thoughts. Maybe I’d overacted? It wasn’t Colt’s fault some rich bitch had tried to piss all over, marking him as her territory. She could try to make me feel less than. But it was on me if she succeeded.
And it wasn’t as if my peeps had exactly been welcoming to him. My mother had called him a one-percenter, her version of the worst insult imaginable. Zoe had eyed him like a snake in the grass. The environmental protesters I’d assembled certainly had him strapped right to the bullseye as they aimed with sharp darts.
But there was something there between us, something real. We’d almost gotten it back Friday night, Saturday morning. Sure our worlds were different, but if we both wanted to find common ground, maybe we could? Maybe the next time we saw each other I should suggest we do it on a neutral playing field. A midpoint. Maybe we could meet up in Nebraska.
Then I got home. And I realized why I’d gotten a million calls on my phone that I’d switched off during the flight and forgotten to turn back on.
My bakery was gone. Bulldozed to the ground Monday morning by Colt’s construction crew. I stood at the site, looking at the rubble, tears streaming down my face.
“How did this happen?” I asked Shelly, who stood next to me just as upset.
“When I showed up this morning, they’d blocked it off,” she tried to explain. “And then it was all over so fast. You wouldn’t believe how quickly a building can get demolished. I was calling and trying to figure out what was happening, but I couldn’t stop them. I’m so sorry, Carrie!”
“It’s not your fault.” I’d imagined mishaps while I’d left town. Scones baked so long they got hard. Doors left unlocked so critters got inside. Worst case scenario, a small kitchen fire.
But my shop getting razed to the ground with no advance notice? That surpassed even my wildest nightmares. I knew exactly who was to blame, and it wasn’t Shelly. It was the man I’d been struggling with myself over since the day I met him. Part of me had always distrusted him, always felt confused over who he really was. Turned out that was the part of me I should have listened to. As I stood there looking at the rubble that had once been the embodiment of my hopes and dreams, I vowed I wouldn’t feel confused any longer. This was who Colt was, a man who ruthlessly destroyed anything in his way. I would never give him the chance to do it to me aga
in.
CHAPTER 19
Colt
“You did what?” My voice stayed steady, my emotions tightly leashed. But if Leonard knew me well enough, he should be afraid. Very afraid.
“Things were moving too slowly. Every day construction is delayed cuts into our profits. We’re already months behind.”
“So you made the call to bulldoze the properties in dispute?”
“Come on, Colton. Listen to reason.” He stood up from the desk in his office and walked his way round to me. Mistake. I was much taller than him and as I stood there towering over him, radiating fury, it made it a lot harder for him to take that patronizing tone. Shifting tactics, he sauntered over to the wet bar in the corner and started fixing us both drinks.
“You know our legal team can crush anything they pull together. Half the town wants us there anyway. And that strip of shops should have been condemned. It was like the little pig’s house built of straw. They told me it took 20 minutes to demo the whole thing.”
“You had no right to authorize that.”
“Listen, Colton, sometimes you need to let your COO call the shots. You’ve had your hands full. Taking over from your father, those were big shoes to fill.”
“I’ve managed it for three years now and our portfolio has expanded, our value and profits are up. I think I’m handling it.” I was done with him and his constant insinuations that I wasn’t quite measuring up to my father. And I was done trying to measure up. I wanted to chart a new course, take the company in different directions, and if he wasn’t on board, it was time for him to jump ship completely.