The Exception (36 page)

“Stop with the Max bullshit.”

“Don’t even go there right now, Cane!” She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. “At least Max is honest.”

“Oh, you think Max didn’t know about this? Think again, babe.”

Jada sprang up from her chair and paced the kitchen. “So what? I go out of town and you come with me?”

I shook my head. “I can’t go, Jada. I have to be here.”

“How do I know you’ll be okay?”

I smiled. “Because if you are okay, I’m okay.”

JADA

I marched into the offices of Alexander Industries with a renewed purpose the next morning, wearing the orange dress that Cane loved.

Max had been delegated to find me a flight and it left that afternoon, much to Cane’s dismay. I had insisted on seeing my father the night before and telling him goodbye, since he had been feeling ill and I had no idea when I would be back.

Cane had insisted on staying the night and, when he left that morning, a black car had replaced his Denali in the driveway per Cane’s orders.

I wasn’t a fan of having a guard sitting in the driveway, but I could see Cane’s point in having him there. When I had exited the house, Ryan, as I learned was his name, insisted on driving me wherever I wanted to go. So he drove me to Cane’s office.

I just wanted to see him again before I left, to make things right. The night before had been awkward and frustrating and, as I thought about leaving him for a few days and the danger he was quite possibly under, I just wanted to make sure things were settled between us. He had promised to come by and take me to the airport, but I didn’t want it to be a rushed goodbye. I wanted to take my time and make sure we were on the same page.

Or at least that we knew what each other’s page was.

I found the front office vacant. Cane’s SUV was out front, so I knew he was there. I waited impatiently for a few minutes and, with my anxiety building and no Lucy in sight, I started back towards Cane’s office door, smiling to myself as I recalled our rendezvous there.

The way he had ordered me to bend over his desk. The sound of his zipper coming down in the stillness of the room. The feeling of the cold air hitting my skin as he raised my dress to my waist, the warmth of his hand touching my skin, caressing me softly. The feeling of him pounding into me, hard as steel, while papers flew wildly to the floor.

It seemed like both yesterday and a lifetime ago.

Every step I took closer to his office had my heart beating faster. I had missed him so much: our talks, his lame jokes, and our physical connection. I felt like a part of me was missing and, when I had realized that, I knew it spoke volumes. By the time I got to the hallway to his office, I felt ready to pass out. I took a few deep breaths as my strides got longer, ready to see him and wrap my arms around him.

I could hear voices as I turned the corner to his office. The door was cracked and I stopped in my tracks at a female’s voice coming from the other side of the door.

“Cane, I am so sorry,” the woman said. Her voice was soft, intimate. She spoke to Cane like she was familiar with him and that had my guard up immediately. I stepped to the side of the door, eavesdropping.

“You’ve said that a number of times. I hear you.”

“I know. I need to stop apologizing. But I just feel so bad about the way we left things.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Cane’s voice was laced with irritation. “Can we not talk about it, please?”

I heard a chair squeak. “You are right. It’s time we focus on the future.”

My mind raced with possibilities.

Who is this woman he clearly has a past with? And what do their futures have in common?

Dear God, is he cheating on me?

The lump in my throat was the size of a baseball and, try as I might, I couldn’t get past it.

“Focusing on the future is exactly what I want to do.” Cane’s voice was soft. It destroyed me that he was using that tone with another woman while discussing his future.

Tears sprung to my eyes and my hand grabbed my throat. I could feel my body heating as fear and a pain so real tore through me.

What the hell is going on?

“Let’s do that. Come by the hotel tonight. I have a little kitchenette. I’ll go to the grocery and find some seafood and make you a dinner that you can’t find out here. Or I could come to your house, if that’s better.”

“Ashley …”

And, just like that, my world stopped spinning.

I swung my hand to my mouth to stop from crying out.

“I know what you like, Cane. I know you better than anyone. I even brought you some coffee milk. Remember that?”

I heard Cane’s laugh and it reverberated through me.

“I’ve spent the last few years wondering what happened to you and feeling like you were the one that got away, that you would always be the piece of my life that was missing. We were so great together, baby. And we still are. I know you know what I mean,” Ashley said.

“The one that got away, huh?” Cane laughed. I could imagine his face, how the lines around his eyes crinkled and the smile across his gorgeous lips. The tears, hot against my cheeks, fell quicker.

“Remember how we sang that song about buffalo in that karaoke bar in Newport? I still can’t believe that really happened,” Ashley giggled.

“Lots of tequila made that happen,” Cane said.

They were silent for a moment and I struggled to keep myself from making any noise for fear of being discovered. I wanted to walk away, knowing that listening to their conversation was wrong, but I couldn’t force myself to leave. It was like watching a train barrel at you, knowing you were going to have your legs cut off at best, but not being able to move. I was a glutton for punishment.

“That tequila made a lot more than that happen,” she giggled.

“Look, Ashley. You seem to be doing really well and I’m glad to see that, but—“

“Jada!” Lucy said brightly, coming around the corner. I jumped at the sound, accidentally bumping the door. “I didn’t know you were coming in this morning. It’s so good to see you.”

As I stood upright, I looked to my side into Cane’s office … and into the eyes of the man I loved.

Our eyes found each other immediately, as they always did. Panic filled Cane’s eyes as he realized I had heard everything.

Bile rose in my throat as I felt wave after wave of sorrow, anger, frustration, jealousy, and loneliness roll across me, drowning me in despair.

It was just too much.

Turning on my heel, I bolted towards my car.

And Cane didn’t follow.

That was the loudest thing I heard all day.

CANE

I jumped from my chair and stormed past Ashley, going after the one person in my life I couldn’t live without. The look on her face, knowing what she must be thinking, ripped a hole into my soul.

I have to get to her! I can’t let her walk away! Hurry the fuck up!

“Cane, baby,” Ashley said behind me.

“No, Ashley,” I said, turning towards her, my body shaking with fury. “I am not your baby.”

Her face fell as her lips pouted together. “Cane? What’s going on?”

I laughed as my voice rumbled with the anger that I couldn’t unleash. All of the stress, the fucking torment, I had been dealing with all came to a nasty head.

“It’s pretty fucking easy,” I said, looking into her eyes for some sort of warmth, something to make me feel like she wasn’t the cold manipulator I knew her to be.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” she said, standing up in front of me, her hand grasping the arm of her chair for support.

“Oh, I bet you do. As a matter of fact, I’ll bet that Nicole called you the other night and let you know that she ran into me. And you decided to make an appearance because I ignored your calls.”

Ashley struggled to keep her composure. “Well, no. I just … I’ve been thinking about you. That’s all. I had a dream a few nights ago that we were getting married and I couldn’t shake it. It just felt like an omen or something.”

I took a step towards her, my blood searing.

“The answer to every dream I’ve ever had is on her way home now, pissed as fuck at me,” I seethed.

Ashley’s eyes grew wide. “What is that supposed to mean?”

I strode over to the door and swung it open, holding it in place. “That means you need to get the hell out of here and forget that we ever knew each other.”

“So because your little girlfriend is now mad at you that I was here, you want me to forget our history together? I don’t think so, Cane. How can you forget something as magical as we had?”

“Magical? For fuck’s sake, are you serious?” I laughed in disbelief. “She’s more than you could ever hope to be and by some fucked up chance, she likes me. She may even love me. And if you’ve fucked my life up again, so help me God, Ashley.”

Ashley whipped around to face me, her eyes wild with fury as she realized that her plan was crumbling down. “How could I fuck your life up, Cane? Huh? You’ve always managed to let everyone down on your own.”

My body shook angrily and I took a step back, not trusting myself to be so close to her.

“You have no idea who I am. You never knew me because you were too fucking worried about
you
. I have someone for the first time in my life that I would do anything for.”

“That hurts,” she whispered, her face falling.

“Nothing hurts you. You don’t have a fucking heart! But the love of my life does and now I have to figure out how to explain this bullshit. So get out of my office and book yourself a flight back home.”

“I’ll always love you,” she whispered.

I shook my head. “If you can love anything, maybe you do love me. But the feeling is not mutual.”

“You have my number,” she said as she made her way down the hallway.

“Lose mine!” I called after her.

I stepped back inside my office and closed the door. I ran my hands through my hair, my mind racing in a million different directions.

I picked up the phone and clicked SEND. As soon as I heard it pick up, I began talking. “Ryan? It’s Cane. Is she all right?”

“I think so, sir.”

“Are you taking her back to her house?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Go straight there and I’ll be there shortly.”

CANE

“I didn’t fucking know!” I bellowed, causing Jada to jump back and away from the bed. I ran my fingers through my hair. “I’m sorry for yelling. But just listen to me!”

Jada was sitting in the chair by the window. Her eyes were swollen from crying and it killed me to see her like that. “It’s just too much, Cane. This is all just too damn much.”

I took a step towards her and she held up a hand. “Just … don’t. I can’t process anything else today, okay?”

“Baby, I am sorry for all of this. I literally walked into the office this morning and she was there. I had no idea.”

Her bottom lip quivered. “I believe you. I just … I can’t.” She laughed a small little laugh that only made me feel worse. “I just can’t deal with anything else right now.”

I watched her sitting there with her face streaked, her hair pulled partly down from her ponytail. The orange dress she had worn earlier just for my benefit, lying in a heap on the floor.