The Exception Page 5

  “I just … I can’t.”

  “You did say you didn’t have a boyfriend, right?”

  “I don’t.” I rolled the ring my mother had given me as a little girl around my right ring finger nervously. “I just got my life situated again and I really need to focus on me right now.”

  “Dinner—that’s it,” he reiterated, his eyes searching mine. “It is one meal. I don’t usually do one meal with a female, unless they are making me breakfast.”

  This is the Cane from last night. This is exactly why I can’t have dinner with him.

  Before I could change my mind, I pressed on the door with my back, letting the heat rush through. “No, I’m sorry, Cane. Maybe some other time.”

  I grabbed my bag and walked out into the sun, my emotions a verifiable war zone.

  JADA

  “This one is really pretty.” Kari held a green sundress against her body in the middle of a little boutique off of Indian School Road.

  “I think you should get it,” I nodded, trying to encourage her to make the purchase so we could leave. We had been shopping all day and I was exhausted. My feet hurt, my head hurt, and my interest had waned. Shopping had never really been my thing anyway, but that afternoon had tested my limits.

  Max had made reservations at one of the fancy restaurants on Camelback Mountain and Kari was adamant that she needed a new dress. She had been talking about him more and, while she still tried to play everything off, I could see through her façade. She was really starting to like him and it was nice to see my sister happy. I just hoped that she could see that, too.

  “Yes, I think I like this one. It’s the same one I tried on in red, but the green really makes it seem totally different.” She threw the dress over her arm, satisfied with her choice. “My legs do look great in this and Max loves my legs.”

  “Fabulous. Now can we be done?”

  “You sort of let me down on the sister front when it comes to shopping. Just so you know. Hold this for me.” She handed me the dress while she dug through her Tori Burch handbag and retrieved her ringing phone.

  “Hey, Max!” She flashed me a huge grin while she listened. “I’m shopping with Jada. I had to get a dress for dinner at Object.”

  I walked over to a clothes rack, not interested in hearing her conversation. A cobalt blue dress hung on the end and I picked it up. It was strapless and beautiful … and reminded me of a certain someone’s eyes. I put it back quickly.

  “Bowling? Yeah, that sounds like fun!” Kari’s voice right next to me caused me to jump. She nudged me with her elbow. “Really?”

  I rolled my eyes, my good nature starting to wear thin. I just want to get home and into my fleece pajama pants. Maybe grab some wine and spend a little time with Tom Hardy.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll ask her,” Kari said, the coyness in her voice irritating me. Something was definitely up and I knew I wasn’t going to like it.

  “So,” she began, looking at me while obviously trying to figure out the best way to deliver her message. “Cane is with Max right now. And he said he surprisingly doesn’t have plans tonight and would be happy to take you bowling.”

  “I’m sure he can make plans with someone else at the last minute.”

  “Why don’t you want to go? I mean—you did see him, right? Tall, blond, gorgeous? Sexy as hell? Ring a bell?”

  “Yeah, I most certainly did. And that is precisely why I won’t be bowling tonight.” I turned my back to her as I pretended to look through the dresses. Cane was the epitome of what I was trying to avoid. Kari knew this.

  “She said no.” She paused. “He said to tell you that you still owe him dinner.”

  “I absolutely do not!” I laughed.

  “He said you very clearly said ‘some other time’ and he is taking that to mean tonight.” Kari smiled brightly, not even trying to hide her amusement.

  “He can take it to mean whatever he wants, but I have plans tonight.”

  Sighing, Kari went back to her phone call and I went back to flipping through the garments. I stumbled upon a cute dress. It was a simple cut that I could wear to work or out to dinner. And it was orange, my favorite color. I threw it on my arm with Kari’s green one as she ended her conversation.

  “I’ll never understand you. You turned down Cane Alexander! I’m just so disappointed—I’m not sure we are even related right now.”

  “Disappointed? Aren’t you being a little dramatic?”

  “He’s gorgeous. He wants to take you out. He has money. And I bet he is fantastic in bed, Jada! What is there to lose?”

  “Have you not heard anything I have been saying since I got here?” I took a breath as inspiration hit. “Look at it this way—how long have you known Cane?”

  Kari shrugged. “I don’t know. A few months, maybe.”

  “And have you ever seen him with a woman more than a couple of times?”

  She thought about it as she took the green dress from me. “Come to think of it, besides the booblicious chick in the restaurant, I don’t know if I have ever seen him with someone at all.”

  “Thank you for making my point for me,” I said, marching to the cash register.

  “Aren’t you going to try that on?”

  “Nope. This is how someone like me lives on the wild side.”

  JADA

  Anticipation coursed through me as I made my way to Solomon Place a few days later. A prospective buyer wanted to see the property. Alice had called Alexander Industries to inform them of the appointment. We had a key, so there were no assurances I would see Cane. I wasn’t even sure I wanted him to be there. But I wasn’t sure I didn’t want him to be, either.

  I tried to push him out of my mind every day since walking out of Solomon Place five days earlier, but I couldn’t shake him. No matter how many different ways I argued with myself, nothing changed.

  He was everything I wanted and not a thing I needed.

  If he could have stayed the cocksure asshat I had initially met, I would have been okay. I could have passed off the sexual attraction as just that and moved along. But, just my luck, Cane had to start being a halfway decent person.

  I never felt like I had Decker’s sole attention. He would be checking out other women while I sat next to him. But when I was with Cane, his focus was on me. That was a powerful feeling. And when that was combined with his playfulness and a bit of charm, it was a dangerous mix.

  If I am going to get involved with anyone, they will be serious, mature, and capable of being monogamous. Cane is just a better looking specimen than what I’ve already had and I know how those things end. He is just going to have to replace Tom Brady as my fantasy. That’s as close as I can get.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Heather asked, bringing me back to the present. I heard her sigh through the phone.

  “Of course I am,” I lied, making a right onto North Scottsdale Road.

  “You better be! I have sent your résumé to four places this week. I want you to be a Chicagoan with me.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a word,” I laughed. “Look, I am meeting a client at a property and I’m pulling in. I need to go. Thank you again for everything. You are the best!”

  “That’s what he said.”

  I laughed. “Love you. Bye.”

  I ended the call and placed my Jeep in park. I surveyed the scene quickly, trying to spot the prospective buyer, Simon Powers. The lot next to Solomon Place was crawling with people and construction equipment.

  I grabbed my things and made my way to the front of the building, ignoring the catcalls from the construction workers. A man dressed in grey dress pants and a pale yellow dress shirt leaned against the wall. When he spotted me, he stood straight and smiled.

  He was traditionally handsome with black hair and light eyes, his body thin but not exactly lean. His clothing was a little wrinkled, like he had thrown them on in a rush. Something about him appeared to be a little off, but I chalked it up to my nerves.

/>   “You must be Ms. Stanley,” he said, extending a hand as I approached.

  “I am. And you are Simon Powers, I presume.” I shook his hand, doing a quick appraisal. He seemed to be in his early thirties. “Let’s get out of this heat! It’s almost unbearable today.”

  We entered the building and I noticed immediately that it had been cleaned. I smiled in relief and Simon looked around, appearing pleased with the property.

  “Would you like a tour?”

  “That would be great.”

  I led him to the back, showing him the selling points. “There are a number of cubicles for staff, but as you can see, they can be removed. You could have one large space here. There’s a conference room over there and a spacious office in the back—”

  “I would want to use it as an open space, so I’m glad to see these partitions can be removed.”

  A slamming sound echoed through the building. Still feeling off kilter, I jumped and Simon grabbed my arm to steady me.

  “I will call you back.” A familiar voice, cooler than I remembered, uttered behind us. Chills shot straight through me at the terse tone of his voice.

  “Cane, it’s nice to see you.” I hoped that the cheeriness in my voice masked my nerves. I turned to face him, not sure why I felt on edge without even looking at him.

  “What’s going on?” He looked at me and then at Simon. His jaw pulsed, his forehead creased as he stood with his fists balled at his sides.

  “I brought Mr. Powers to see the property. Alice said that she called your office.”

  Cane stared at Simon’s hand on my arm until he released it. “Have you finished?”

  “We have, I do believe.” I looked up at Simon, hoping he wasn’t put off by Cane’s attitude. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but this wasn’t the way to treat a potential buyer. Surely Cane knew this.

  Simon appeared amused as Cane stared holes through him. He glanced at me, then back to Cane, before a small smirk appeared on his face.

  “I saw this listing and thought it may work for my new venture. Your agent did an excellent job showing me around.”

  “I’m sure she did.”

  Simon seemed unfazed—totally cool and collected. He turned toward me and winked. “Thank you for everything, Ms. Stanley. I will get with you tomorrow. Maybe we can meet for lunch?”

  “I’ll check my schedule, but that sounds great.” I followed Simon to the door, Cane’s eyes never leaving us.

  Simon exited first, the door closing snugly behind him. My hand was on the handle when Cane’s voice caught my attention.

  “Well, if that isn’t a motherfucker.” His voice was low as he scratched his head, a faraway look on his face.

  “Excuse me?”

  Cane shook his head, apparently to rid himself of whatever he was thinking. His eyebrows raised, he turned towards me. “So you will have lunch with him and not me? What am I missing here?”

  “It’s business. Pretty simple, I think.” I peered out the door, watching Simon’s black Avalanche pull out of the parking lot.

  “I can pretend it’s about business, if that’s what you want.”

  “Cane,” I warned, turning my head to look at him.

  “Lunch with him will not be about business. When I walked in here, that was not about business.”

  “Whether it was or it wasn’t is no business of yours.”

  Cane blew out a breath, his forehead marred in frustration. “Do you know Simon Powers? Have you dealt with him before?”

  “No, I just met him today. Why?”

  He looked relieved. “It doesn’t matter. Look, if he needs to see this property again, I want you to call me first, okay?”

  “All right. I won’t bring him here without calling you first.”

  “I’m going to give you my phone number. If he wants to see this property or becomes a pain in your ass, I want you to call me. Don’t put up with any shit from him and don’t bring him here unless you actually speak to me. Do you understand?”

  “You’re making me nervous. What’s going on?”

  “There’s nothing to be nervous about,” he said calmly, trying to dissipate the mood he just created. “I just don’t like that guy. I don’t trust him.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “I like it when you just do what I say.” His eyes darkened.

  “Noted. I have to go, Cane.”

  “What’s your phone number?” He placed his hand on the small of my back. I stilled at his touch. A jolt of energy darted through my body, landing at the apex of my thighs. I closed my eyes and just felt for a minute.

  “You can get my number from Max,” I said breathily, throwing his words from the night at the restaurant back at him.

  Cane spun me around quickly, my back pressed against the wall. He leaned in, his face almost touching mine. I willed myself not to moan, to not give him any inclination that my willpower was melting away.

  “Oh, Jada,” he whispered, the warmth of his breath only adding to the riot inside me. “Why do you fight this so hard?”

  “Cane …” I tried to formulate a response but words were not accessible.

  He smirked, knowing what he was doing to me. “Yes?”

  “I … I need to go.”

  “You need to. But do you want to?” He searched my eyes with his own. “I know what you want and what you need, baby. Why won’t you trust me?”

  My eyes widened, my pulse pounding. He was so close and I wanted more than anything to reach out and pull him up against me.

  But I can’t.

  He smiled before leaning in, his lips grazing my ear as he whispered, “Why do you fight this? Just give me one night to get you out of my system.”

  I turned my head to respond, to explain that was exactly what he wasn’t getting, and our eyes locked. The air between us, so hot and rife with energy, boiled over.

  He captured my lips with his own, tentatively at first. I resisted for a split second before succumbing to his charge. His lips moved over mine, a soft juxtaposition to his hard exterior. The heat of the exchange, of him finally touching me, melted me from the inside out.

  I opened my mouth, giving him entry, and he took it without hesitation. He explored my mouth with his own lazily, the softness of his tongue making my knees buckle.

  I tried to focus, tried to commit everything to memory, because it would only happen once. That would be the first and last time I allowed my defenses to be obliterated by Cane Alexander.

  The sound of blood roaring past my ears and the feel of his body, hot and hard against me, made it impossible to concentrate on anything for long. I hesitantly placed my hands on his back, feeling his muscles ripple beneath them.

  The sensations were overwhelming and I was on the cusp of bursting at the seams.

  Cane pulled back slowly and kissed me lightly on the lips, before retreating far enough away to look into my eyes. There were a hundred emotions playing across his gorgeous face, his eyes a dozen colors of blue.

  I looked away, trying to catch my breath. I wasn’t able to figure out my own emotions—I had no business trying to figure out his.

  “One night.” He lifted my chin so that my eyes met his. His tongue flicked across his lips.

  He only wants one night …

  My wits were scattered across the room and I gathered as many of them as I could before responding, “I need to go.”

  A look flashed across his face that I couldn’t read. He raised his eyebrows. “That’s all you’re going to say?”

  “I don’t know what else you want me to say.” I sidestepped him and made my way to the door. I looked over my shoulder one last time and he changed before my eyes.

  The confused, vulnerable look gave way to an impassive, cool veneer. He sat his hands on top of his head and turned away, heading towards the office.

  Seeing everything I needed to see, more than enough to convince myself I was doing the right thing, I pushed through the door and didn’t look back.
r />   CANE

  I turned around as soon as the door closed. I watched her walk to her car and drive away, no sign of the Avalanche Simon had been driving in sight. Satisfied that he wasn’t following her, I flipped the lock on the door and retreated to the back office and called Max.

  Max answered quickly, the sound of hammering loud in the background. “What’s up, Alexander?”

  “Quite a bit, actually. You’ll never guess who just looked at Solomon Place.”

  “Enlighten me.”

  “Simon Powers.”

  “No shit,” Max said in disbelief. “Hang on a second.”

  I heard a door slam and the tell-tale sound of Max’s diesel truck start. “Sorry. I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of everyone. Simon Powers, huh?”

  “I walk in and Jada is standing there with that piece of shit. What the fuck?”

  “Man, I don’t know. Do you think he knew you owned the building? What are the odds, Cane?”

  I leaned forward on the desk, my mind going a mile a minute. “They’re not good. Even if he did know, why would he want to buy anything from me?”

  “Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I guess it could be a coincidence. It just seems fucked up.”

  The line grew quiet as we both tried to process the possibility of it being random.

  “You want me to check around, see what he’s been up to? It’s either the strangest coincidence in fucking history or something is going on.” Max paused. “Why would he even need a building? I mean, what does he do these days? Didn’t his family lose everything when all that shit went down?”

  “Yeah, they did. So how would he even have the money to think about buying this place? He would have had to have proof of funding to get past Stanley, so where is he getting his money?”

  “I don’t know. This ain’t good either way. Do you want me to see what I can come up with?”

  I released a breath that felt like I had been holding forever. “Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

  “I’ll make some calls now.”