Page 59 of Quake
“Mr. Carmichael,” I said curtly.
“You’re very pretty and well-spoken, Juliette, but Caleb isn’t a man who sticks to relationships. It’s not in his nature.”
“Excuse me?” I hesitated, his directness pushing me off-balance, and I glanced down the hall. Unfortunately, we were alone.
“Caleb belongs in the ring. It’s always been his destiny to box.”
Obviously, his dad saw me as a distraction from what he wanted, not Caleb. “But his injury…”
“Is a mere setback.”
I shook my head, beginning to understand why there was so much animosity between the pair. Caleb had said his father was intense and had also implied he was a controlling son of a bitch.Failure is not an optionwas his motto, apparently, and I could see it was true. If Caleb allowed him, Vincent Carmichael would bully his son right back into the ring where one hit…
“Caleb will come to his senses sooner or later,” he went on, his lip curling. “You are a momentary distraction in a long line of them.”
“I don’t understand…” I began, not knowing where this was coming from. I’d thought he liked me well enough, but it seemed the entire dinner was going to be a cross-examination. Good cop. Bad cop. He’d been determining my…suitability.
“I’ll make it simple for you, Juliette,” he said, his blue eyes piercing mine. They’d gone cold, and I shivered. “I’m willing to give you fifty thousand to leave my son alone. Break up with him, make it convincing, stay away forever, and we won’t have any problems.”
I blinked hard, completely blinded by what was happening. “Fifty thousand?”
“Dollars, Juliette. Dollars.”
I stared at him, unable to form any words. He was seriously offering me money to leave Caleb? The man who’d brought me back from the brink and—honestly, I was going right out there and calling it—saved my life.
“Think about it,” he said, offering me a business card. “I’m sure you’ll come to your senses sooner or later. Things will become strained between you, your relationship will fall apart, and you’ll wish you’d taken the money while it was still on the table. I understand what this kind of money could do for someone like you.”
“How do you know?” I asked, my voice coming out in a terrified squeak.
“I know more than you realize, Juliette.” He straightened his tie and smiled, the light never returning to his eyes. “I can have you removed forcibly if need be. We can be amicable about this. You get compensated, my son will only suffer a slight setback, and then we’ll all be happier for it.”
“Happier?” My mouth fell open. I would be devastated. Caleb was the one shining light in my life. The one constant in years and years of shit.He’d saved me. I could never be happier without him. And Caleb didn’t want to risk permanent paralysis by going back to professional boxing. That was why he’d turned to coaching at Beat.
Vincent Carmichael stared at me with a raised eyebrow. He looked so much like his son, but under the surface, they couldn’t be any more different. It was startling.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s cruel and callous. I cannot believe… I love him.”
He looked me up and down, obviously finding me wanting. “So be it.”
Practically pushing past the man, I found my way into the dining room unassisted. Caleb rose to his feet and pulled out the chair next to his.
Sitting, I glared at Mr. Carmichael across the table, but it was like I didn’t exist.
“Everything okay?” Caleb asked, returning to his chair.
“Yeah,” I replied, smoothing my napkin over my lap. “Everything isperfect.”
22
Caleb
The rideback to Juliette’s was awkwardly silent.
Pulling the car up out the front of her place, I turned in my seat, my jaw tight. My parents had been borderline classist if you asked me. Grilling her like she was a second-class citizen because she had a job as an assistant. Who cared? I sure didn’t, but from the way their behavior had silenced her, Juliette sure did.
“Do you… Do you mind if I just go home?” she asked, her gaze fixed on her hands. “I’ve got the last day of the expo tomorrow. It’s been really busy and…”
So no invite in, then.
