Page 60 of Turning Up the Heat

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

AFTERONEOF the most miserable weekends of his life, spending sleepless nights in his bed, where all he did was toss in his sheets and think about Gemma, Tom walked into his office Monday morning still feeling terrible. As soon as he sat behind his desk, his assistant, Alison, popped her head in the door. “Tom, your father wants you to meet him in his office first thing.” John Cain was one of those old-school guys who got to work at 7:00 a.m. He’d no doubt been waiting for Tom to get in since then.

He cursed under his breath. He was too exhausted and too irritable to deal with his father first thing on a Monday morning. “I haven’t even had coffee yet.”

“Got you covered,” she said, putting a coffee cup on the desk. She’d undoubtedly come to work, heard the message from John and walked next door for it, knowing Tom would need some fortification.

“You’re the best.” He took the cup and drank.

He could feel Alison watching him.

“Everything okay?”

“Not really,” he told her. “I’ve got some personal stuff going on.”

She frowned. “Anything I can help with?”

He shook his head but smiled at her. Alison had been with him for as long as he’d been at Cain, and he appreciated everything she did for him every day. “Not really, but thank you. I really have to get to John’s office.”

He left his shoulder bag at his desk and headed up the hallway to his father’s office. He knocked on the door and heard his father telling him to come in.

When he entered, he also saw Carolina sitting in one of the wing chairs opposite his massive desk. His father was bad enough. But having to see both of them was not how he’d wanted to start his day.

“Tom, sit down,” his father instructed, gesturing to the chair next to Carolina.

“Good morning to you both, as well,” Tom said as he took a seat, making his annoyance apparent. His emotions were already completely raw. He didn’t have the patience for whatever his father wanted with him first thing on a Monday morning.

“It’s about time you got in,” his father admonished, eyeing the coffee cup in his hand.

Tom sipped his coffee and then glanced down at his watch. “It’s not even eight forty-five. So, what’s up? What’s with this early morning meeting?”

“Tom, I’ve made a decision, and I wanted to tell you first.”

That got Tom’s attention. Was it finally happening? Was his father finally stepping down? Would he now have the chance to save Cain Rum? Tom sat up straighter in his seat. “What is it?”

“I’m retiring.”

“Are you?”

“Yes,” his father smiled indulgently. “Effective at end of day today. And Carolina will be taking my spot.”

Tom’s periphery turned black as his father’s words sank in. There was a roaring in his ears as he looked at Carolina. The smug smile on her face told him that she was quite pleased with herself. When he swallowed his shock and found the will to speak again, he took a deep breath. He turned to his father. “You’re handing the company over to her?”

“That’s right.”

“Why? Cain Rum is supposed to be mine.”

“After your showing the past little while, and the changes you want to make, not to mention your relationship with Gemma Rexford, I don’t think that letting you take over just yet is in the best interest of Cain Rum.”

“My proposed changes are the only things that are going help this company survive.” He turned his attention to Carolina. “What things will you do to keep this place running?”

“I have some ideas,” she said vaguely in a way that let him know she had nothing. “I’m sure we’ll work together to make the best decisions.”

There was no way he was going to work with her on anything. This was it. He’d worked his entire adult life to take the reins at Cain Rum. But no matter what he’d done, it was never enough for the man sitting in front of him. “You have nothing,” he said, standing. He looked at his father. “And you don’t have me.”

“Tom, what are you saying?”

“For years, I’ve worked my ass off for this place. And to see it in the position it is now is breaking my heart. I’m done.”

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