I smile softly knowing that he's giving me the gift of an escape in the form of an imaginary meeting. I don't confide that often in Clive but I sense that he can read between the lines of what's happening between Caleb and I. He saw how weary I was when I got back to the office last week after seeing Caleb. "I won't be late."
I watch in silence as Clive walks through the doorway into the corridor. I don't have time to react before Caleb takes a step, slams my office door shut and turns to look at me with his hands on his hips.
"What?" I say out of pure exasperation. "What is it?"
"Where's my brother?" He taps his foot against the carpeted floor. "My brother is gone and I want to know where the hell he is."
Chapter 15
"Asher's not gone," I say confidentially as I sit behind my desk. "What makes you think he's gone?"
He follows my lead and lowers himself into one of the chairs in front of my desk. "He hasn't been back to the office since…since I...I've tried to call him several times and he won't pick up."
I glare across the desk at me. "You fired him, Caleb. Why would he want to talk to you?"
Logic often escapes Caleb. He can't see what's directly in front of him because his mind is so twisted around what should be happening as opposed to what is really happening. "He knows that I wasn't serious."
It's another symptom of his over inflated ego. He thinks he can cut people down at their knees and within the next breath, they'll figure out that he's simply doing it to satiate a need within him for control and power. "He doesn't know that. He has no intention of coming back to work with you right now."
Irritation washes over his expression. If there's a loop to be in, Caleb definitely doesn’t want to be standing outside the perimeter of that. "You know where he is, don't you? You've talked to him."
I haven't. The last conversation I had with Asher was when he told me he was considering going to see his mother. He promised me then that we'd have a chance to say goodbye before he jetted off. "I haven't talked to him in a few days."
"Look at me, Rowan." His tone is controlled and measured.
I raise my eyes until my gaze is locked with his. "What?"
"I need to talk to him about a work issue that he left hanging." He exhales audibly. "It's crucial."
My spirit deflates almost instantly. "You're not worried about him? You just want to talk to him about work?"
If my words impacted him at all, he's masking it with effortless ease. "I need to speak to my brother about work. If you know where he is, I need you to tell me."
I glance down at my smartphone. I have every confidence that if I called Asher right now, he'd pick up. He rarely ignores my calls or text messages and during the infrequent times that he has, he's called me back as soon as he could. It happened the day he was arrested and I know that he's reachable if I need him. "I have no idea where your bother is."
His head bows as he considers my words. "I haven't asked much of you over the years, Row. I'm asking you now to find Asher for me if you can."
If he'd followed the plea up with any words of compassion concerning his need to know that his brother is safe and sound after being arrested, I'd be tempted to call Asher on the spot. That's not what this is. He's not looking for a way back into his brother's trust; he's looking for a colleague who holds the keys to a deal he has to close.
"I can't find him for you. I don't know where he is."
I hear his teeth tap a rhythmic beat as his jaw clenches. "You told Clive you were calling someone to make dinner plans. Who is he?"
I close my eyes and shake my head. "Don't ask me that."
"I want to know."
"Why?" My eyes pop open. "I don't ask you about the women you date. You don't need to know about the men I date."
"I'm curious," he says quietly. "I'd like to know his name. I may know the guy."
"You don't know him," I say shakily. "I can't keep doing this with you. You can't know every detail of my life."
"We're friends, Rowan." He looks down at his lap. "You're my oldest friend."
"It worked when we were kids, Caleb." I hear the anxiety that is coursing through me in my own voice. "It kind of worked when I was in college. It's not working anymore."
"What does that mean?" He scratches the back of his head. "How is it not working?"
"You exhaust me," I admit as my voice cracks. I look past his shoulder to my closed office door. I suddenly feel suffocated. "You hurt Asher. You want to know every detail of my life. You take so much. You're always taking from me and I get nothing back."
He leans his right arm on the chair's armrest. "What do you want from me, Rowan? What am I not giving to you?"
"Respect," I say clearly. "Honesty. You don't value anything I say. You knew that having Asher arrested would hurt me and you did it. You didn't think about how he'd feel or how I'd feel or anyone else."
"I was worried about telling you." His thigh shakes as he taps his foot quickly on the carpet. "I knew you'd be upset. I thought you'd understand though."