“Then hang out with me as friends,” he says. “We can…shit.”
I follow his gaze. Caleb is just ahead of us, exiting his truck. My stomach drops to my feet. He’s so lovely, even when he’s scowling at me like he is now.
“We’ve poked the bear,” Wyatt says under his breath.
I glance at him. “What do you mean?”
He shrugs. “I get the sense that Caleb is pretty protective of you. After that staff meeting, when I put my arm around your shoulders? I had to watch a video on sexual harassment.”
My mouth falls open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He gives a short, unhappy laugh. “I wish I was. A hundred bucks says I have to watch a video about fraternization next.”
“Is there a rule against fraternization?”
He glances at Caleb, who’s marching toward the office as if he’s about to lay siege to it. “If there’s not, I bet there’s about to be. I’m so done with this job. Caleb’s had a screw loose ever since his wife left.”
I shouldn’t ask. I shouldn’t ask. There’s nothing I’m going to learn that will make me feel better. “Did you ever meet her?”
Oops.
“Oh yeah,” he says. “Hard to forget Kate. No idea what she was doing with Caleb.”
The admiration in his voice is like a hard pinch. I should change the subject, because anything I learn will only make me feel worse. “Oh? She was pretty?”
He laughs. “Kate’s a knockout. The guy’s probably a millionaire so that part isn’t surprising, but she’s also fun and fucking brilliant. She could have had anyone, so why him?”
I can think of a thousand reasons why she’d have chosen him, personally.
I return to my cubicle and have just opened my to-go container when I get a call from Mark, who informed me earlier in the week that he’s now my supervisor, though he didn’t appear to be clear on why. “Can you come down to my office?” he asks. “We’re talking about a policy change, and I wanted your opinion.”
I close the container and head to the executive office suite. Mark’s door is ajar, and Caleb is sitting on the couch, legs spread wide, jaw clenched.
God. Even the way he sits makes me hot and loose-limbed. I want to kick Mark out of his own office and climb in Caleb’s lap, knees planted on either side of his hips.
“What’s up?” I ask, addressing the question to Mark.
Step one of getting over Caleb probably involves not looking at Caleb like he’s the reason I wake in the morning.
“We were hoping to get some input from you,” Mark says, though it’s evident from the scoffing sound Caleb makes that we does not include him. “Caleb’s brought forth a proposed change to our company policies that we are not in agreement on. I thought you, as the person in charge of company morale, might want to weigh in.”
“That won’t be necessary,” says Caleb, his voice a low rumble. “I’m sure Lucie has better things to do.”
I stiffen. “What policies?”
“Caleb’s proposing we institute some new rules regarding fraternization.”
What the fuck? Because he saw me walking through the parking lot with Wyatt? The timing cannot be coincidental.
“Fraternization,” I repeat flatly.
“Workplace dating,” Mark amends.
“I know what it means.” I level Caleb with a look. “But I’m not familiar with the company’s policy.”
“Currently, we don’t have any regulations about it,” Mark says, “aside from requiring employees to disclose relationships. But Caleb is proposing that we just forbid it entirely.”
I’m still staring at Caleb. I can’t believe he’s taken it this far. I want to punch him in his smug, lovely face.
“That seems pretty draconian,” I reply. “And in terms of employee morale, that’s hardly the direction you want to go in.”
“I want my employees focused on their jobs,” Caleb says, nostrils flaring. “Not trying to get the hot girl down the hall in bed.”
I stare. He is very clearly talking about Wyatt and me. He’s not even trying to pretend he isn’t. What a fucking hypocrite.
Mark rises. “Okay, this is getting a little more heated than I intended it to. Caleb, you haven’t slept in two days. Let’s give everyone the weekend to think before we make any decisions.”
Caleb walks out, and I follow him straight into his office. “May I speak to you for a moment?” I ask between my teeth.