However, Farrah had requested a face-to-face meeting with Caine to discuss something of importance that would affect the company.
I didn’t know what to expect of the meeting or what was going on. I just knew I hadn’t expected Farrah Rochdale to be so young or attractive. She and Lewis stood up at our approach and I noted how tall she was. Her auburn hair was twisted up in a stylish knot and she was dressed in a gorgeous lilac wraparound dress that showcased her phenomenal figure. Farrah stepped forward to receive a familiar kiss on the cheek from Caine before he offered his hand to her CFO.
“This is my PA, Alexa,” he introduced me, and I shook Farrah’s hand first, feeling the burn of her curiosity on my face.
With much relief I let go of her hand and turned to Lewis. He smiled and took my hand, but instead of shaking it he brought it to his lips in an old-fashioned gesture that I found charming.
“Shall we sit?” Caine pulled my seat out for me and Lewis gently released my hand.
I wasn’t surprised by Caine’s gentlemanly gesture. We were in public and one of the many things Caine did that was pure class was that he always pulled out my chair for me at business meetings. Moreover, he waited until I was seated before he sat, and if I stood up to leave for any reason he always stood up too.
Lewis followed suit with his CEO’s chair, and once Farrah and I were seated, the guys settled down beside us. I sat directly across from Farrah and had Caine on my left and Lewis on my right, and I could feel Farrah’s gaze on me as I looked at my menu.
It wasn’t until after we’d ordered that Caine relaxed back in his chair and asked Farrah, “So, what’s the problem?”
She released a heavy sigh. “I want to step down.”
Caine frowned. “Why on earth would you do that?”
“Caine.” Farrah sat forward, her tone suggesting familiarity between them, “You know I never wanted to take over my family’s company.”
I found myself scrutinizing Caine’s response to her and felt a burn of discomfort in my chest at his own familiarity with her. “And yet you fought so hard for it?”
There was definitely something there between them.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, yet I just knew. It was in the way they looked at each other. In their soft tones.
She smiled. “I didn’t want the company, but I also didn’t want my grandfather’s legacy to die. My own father worked himself into an early grave for the company. I couldn’t just let it all be for nothing. But now it’s time for me to move on.”
Caine was silent upon this declaration. The starters arrived before he could say anything and we’d just begun eating when he stopped. “You realize that my board of directors will have strong opinions on who your successor should be?”
Farrah rewarded him with an intimate smile and I swallowed past a lump of jealousy in my throat. Yup. They’d definitely been together. “Yes, which is why I asked you here. The company is called Carraway Financial Holdings. You have a strong influence, and I know you’ll take my recommendation to heart.”
Caine gave nothing away. He flicked a glance at Lewis Sheen. “You want Lewis to take over.”
Farrah smiled at her CFO. “He knows the company better than anyone. He knows where we were and where we’re going.”
“And I care what happens to the company,” Lewis added. “Which is a rare commodity in an employee of modern business.”
Caine stared at him a few moments. “I agree.”
Farrah and Lewis seemed to deflate with relief. “Thank you, Caine.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I can only do so much.”
She smiled gratefully at him. “I know exactly what you’re capable of.”
I tried to act normally after that, but it was hard. My skin felt like it was on fire and I just wanted to be anywhere but sitting at that table with Caine and his ex-lover.
They discussed Lewis’s possible takeover for a while until the conversation turned to what Farrah intended to move on to, and while she told Caine about the job offer she’d received in the finance department of a major fashion line in New York, Lewis attempted to engage me in conversation. I tried my best to concentrate, but it was difficult when I wanted to be as far from the table as possible.
After we’d finished eating and Caine, Farrah, and I had ordered coffees, Lewis stood up. “I apologize, but I promised my wife I wouldn’t be late home tonight.” He smiled down at me. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Alexa.” He held out his hand to Caine. “As always, a delight, Mr. Carraway. Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us, and for appreciating what I can bring to the table.” He nodded at Farrah. “We’ll talk soon.”
We bade him good-bye and I sank deeper into my chair, wishing I had an excuse to leave too. I did not want to be the third wheel in this situation.
However, Farrah seemed to have forgotten my existence. I didn’t think it was deliberate. I think she was just that smitten with Caine.
She hogged the conversation, turning it personal as she brought up a number of dinner parties they’d attended together. Although Caine was his usual difficult-to-read self, he did seem marginally more relaxed around her and I almost hated her for that. The only thing that made watching her stroke his arm and laugh about the good old times together was the fact that she didn’t make Caine laugh and he rarely smiled.
That would have killed me if she’d managed that feat.
The flirting, though, was enough to do some serious damage. The truth was I didn’t even know why I was there in the first place. Caine didn’t need me here for this and he certainly didn’t need me there to witness him flirt with a woman who was obviously an old flame.
I didn’t want to watch them rekindle something.
My stomach was sick. I wanted a stiff drink, far away from him.
I stood up abruptly and a bewildered Caine got to his feet too. “If you’ll excuse me I think I’ll call it a night.”
He frowned but nodded.
I nodded at Farrah. “It was a pleasure to meet you.” Fucking lie!
She bestowed upon me a vague smile. “You too.”
Without sparing Caine another glance, I walked out of the restaurant and headed through the hotel to the bar. I found an empty stool at the bar and settled in.
The young bartender smiled at me. “What can I get you, madam?”
Ugh, when did I become a “madam”? Just one more thing a drink would help me forget about. “Glenlivet on the rocks.”
The bartender didn’t even blink at my order and he was back a few seconds later with the drink. I took a sip, letting the heat of the scotch slide down my throat and spread out across my chest. I instantly felt a little more relaxed.
For a while I sat there, nursing my scotch and playing around with my cell. Rachel had sent me a picture of Maisy sitting on her husband Jeff’s back. Jeff was flat out on his stomach on the floor, and his hands had been tied behind his back.
Your kid worries me, I texted in return.
A few seconds later my cell pinged. I know, right? It’s hilarious.
I grimaced and shoved my phone in my purse. To Rachel, Maisy was hilarious. To the rest of us she was a demon child.
“Can I get you another?”
Surprised by the closeness of the voice, I felt my body give a little jerk. A young guy in a suit was sliding onto the stool beside me. I took him in, feeling a little buzzed. He was attractive and there was a sparkle of good humor in his eyes that I liked.