Page 54 of The Estate
She consulted her list, which was never far from her grasp. Looking through it, she crossed a few things off and said finally, “I think so. Just a few little things left. Might not even take a full thirty minutes.”
“Race ya,” he said, laughing when she lunged back into her chair.
Quiet descended in the office, only broken up by the tapping of keys, as they both powered through their tasks.
Cal hit the send button on his last item and looked up. Rachel wasn’t in her chair. He hadn’t heard her get up. His phone chimed with a text, but it wasn’t from her. It was Vinny, and he would be here in five.
Standing, he stretched out his back.This whole sitting behind a desk for hours and hours was for the birds.The estate may be somewhat of a three-ring circus, but he’d take it any day over work like this.
He grabbed his jacket as he left the office, almost crashing into Rachel. He grabbed her waist to steady her. Luckily, she didn’t fall, but they both ended up standing closer than comfortable. He released her, and she took a small step back.
“Sorry,” Cal said. “Vinny’s just about here. Are you done?”
“I am,” Rachel looked up at him, her gaze searching his for an instant.
“Um, so,” Cal faltered. “I’ll go get the sandwiches. Would you like to grab us drinks from the kitchen? We can eat in the sunroom.”
“Sure thing,” she said and, in a moment, was gone.
Walking out of the house, he lectured himself three ways from Sunday. It was dangerous to get involved with Rachel. They were working together. Hell, she was working for his parents to potentially kill the only thing he ever cared about. As much as he talked about understanding it was her job, if this didn’t go well for White Hall, he wasn’t sure he’d still be capable of doing that.
Vinny was already in the driveway when Cal walked out. It was apparent from the slope of his friend’s shoulders that he’d had an exhausting day. “Hey man,” he called as soon as he got nearer. “Next time, just tell me to come pick up if you’ve had a long day.”
“Nah,” Vinny said as Cal reached him. “You’re on the way home, and it takes me 2 minutes to pull in. Besides, if you picked it up, how could I make insinuations about you ordering two sandwiches?” Vinny wiggled his eyebrows, making Cal laugh.
“Knock it off,” he said with absolutely no heat. “We’re working together.”
“Working together… closely,” Vinny answered, a grin on his face.
“You’re insufferable, you know that?"
“I do, man. I really do,” Vinny countered before dropping his smile. “Seriously though, she’s great. I hope you keep an open mind. She’s a lot different than most of your other girlfriends.”
“What does that mean?” he asked, trying not to be offended but being a little offended. How could he not be?
“You seem to go out with women who either don’t give a damn about your dreams and plans, or you get ones who want to comein and prance about as lady of the manor without seeing all the blood, sweat and tears it takes to make it happen.
“Rachel isn’t like that,” he continued. “I think she sees you for you. And she actually sees this place,” he gestured around to the property. “She sees it like you do. And that, my friend, is a wonderful quality to have in a girlfriend.”
“Not my girlfriend, Vinny.”
“Agh,” Vinny replied. “Panda said you would say that.”
“You guys talking about me?” His eyes widened.Why the hell were his friends talking about him behind his back?
Vinny had the absolute gall to laugh at him. “Of course we are,” he laughed. “We all think she’s amazing. You don’t think we were comparing notes during the Friends’ Weekend? Are you kidding yourself? You bring a delightful, attractive woman to lunch, and it’s gonna set tongues to wagging.”
“I didn’t bring her,” he started, stopping himself from trying to justify further. Vinny wasn’t going to let him explain anything. And if he were totally truthful, he enjoyed hearing that his friends liked her. Not that that mattered, because they weren’t dating.
“Get out of here man,” Cal said, slapping him on the shoulder. “Go to bed. You’re exhausted and talking nonsense.”
“We’ll see,” Vinny said, climbing back into his truck. “You take care,” he called out through his open window as he drove away. “Don’t WORK too hard,” he yelled before the truck turned into the treelined drive.
Cal shook his head and walked back inside. There was no winning with Vinny. His other friends, either. When they got something stuck in their heads, they were pretty stubborn. Buthe thanked the universe every day that they were in his life. Knowing they had his back, and he had theirs, made all the difference to him. It made him feel grounded. And he needed that.
He found Rachel laying out drinks and napkins in the sunroom. He gave her the sandwich, and her stomach growled in response. Laughing at her embarrassment, he said, “Hey, I get it. They smell delicious, and we’re hungry.”
“Amen to that.”
