Page 22 of The Revenge Plan

“Where is that coming from?” I watched him as he cut his steak into small cubes. You would think he had asked about the weather; with the way he was so nonchalant about it.

“Just a thought.”

“That’s a random thought.”

“I was thinking of what Liam wrote and wondering if things had been different. If they had worked out differently…”

“Liam would be alive?”

A heavy note of silence rang in the air. At last I said, “I was never confident enough.”

“That’s surprising. Weren’t you with every other boy in school back then?”

“You were that special Caiden. I wanted you so much that I couldn’t say anything to you.” I hoped he detected the sarcasm. Contrary to popular belief, my sex life was boring, and I never slept with anyone until I was in college. There were people who were more sexually active than I was, and yet everyone branded me the school slut. Hell, the band kids had more sex than I did.

“I wouldn’t have wanted you, anyway.”

“Do you have to add salt to the wound? I’m aware of how repulsive you found me. And still do.”

A memory of him and I in my father’s study flitted across my mind. Truth is, I had been forward. When we were both teenagers, I had kissed him. Then he brutally rejected me. He seemed to have conveniently forgotten about it.

“I didn’t know he liked me. I never knew he wanted us to be more than friends, I thought he knew that.”

“But that didn’t stop you from acting the way you did. You led him on. He thought you two would become more than friends. It was so obvious the way he pined over you. Are you telling me you did not know?”

I didn’t; I had no clue, and that was the truth. Sadly, there was no way of telling him I wasn’t lying. “If I had known I—” I didn’t know what to say. If I had known, what would have I done? Tell Liam that I wanted his brother instead?

“So that time. In the study. It wasn’t a bet?”

So, he hadn’t forgotten. Sophie had dared me to share my feelings of Caiden with him. I did, he rejected me and then I tried to kiss him. He rejected me again. I felt so embarrassed that the only way I knew of not looking like a fool was to say that it was because of a bet I had made.

“Do you know who saw us kissing?”

Liam had seen us? “I didn’t know.”

“No. You never do. Do you? You cause chaos without caring about the consequences of your fun.”

It was hard for the food to go down after that. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were colder to each other than before. It made things awkward the next day which was conveniently Marco’s fashion show. Whoopee.

I had worn Marco’s clothes in hopes to get in Caiden good graces. Show him I was willing to be part of the team. I had even stayed up all night researching the deal as best as I could so I wouldn’t be a sitting doll next to them whenever they talked business.

The fashion show was being held at a chateau just outside Paris and when we arrived, Caiden got out of the car and opened the door for me. The happy-married-couple charade had begun. I took his hand as he helped me out of the car and as we walked, he placed it on my back. He was back to his charming self now that there was an audience. The two Caidens could be confusing, I had to admit.

???

The show was amazing. Marco was a talented designer. Most of the items were couture and were hand sewn. Some pieces had jewels sewn into them, especially the coats. Suddenly a light bulb clicked. I leaned over to Caiden without thinking, only to hold myself back. He would probably think that it was a foolish idea. But once I had it, I couldn’t let it go.

“Spit it out.”

“I was thinking about your recent acquisition.”

“And?”

“The jewelry on the coats,” I pointed out as one model wearing a coat with a diamond studded collar passed by, “you could have your company provide the jewelry on top of the merchandise deal.” He gave me that look again. The one that said he was seeing something new and unexpected in me.

“I mean, if you think it’s silly then you can ignore me.”

“I don’t think it’s silly at all.” He said it so calmly, I couldn’t help but feel encouraged.

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