Page 38 of Hard Deal

That was before you. Even if it wasn’t, why should it matter? You’re not in a relationship and you don’t want to be, either.

But the internal pep talk had the opposite of her intended effect. Her mind automatically spun like a rabid hamster on a wheel. Had he slept with anyone since her? What if she was one of a few women he had on the go? Her stomach pitched. This was exactly why she should never have let it go so far.

“I didn’t sleep with him,” she lied.

“Why the hell not?” Mina squeaked. “I’d give my left arm to have a night with him. One of the girls that used to work in his team said he got her off three times before they even had sex. Apparently, he’s really into going down on women.”

“We’re colleagues. It wouldn’t be appropriate.” Imogen cringed. Now she sounded like the world’s biggest prude. This whole situation was precisely why she stuck to business with people from the office—her best friends had been trained to laugh off her epic awkwardness, but Mina, Dave and Petra looked at her like she had a second head. “I have a rule about that,” she finished lamely.

“Probably for the best,” Mina said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love working for him. I think he’s a great guy, but I’m constantly fending off bullshit meeting invites where it’s obvious the woman wants to get him alone in a room. He’s hot property. I’m way too jealous for that.”

“You think he does things in the office?” Dave raised a brow.

Mina lifted her shoulder into a delicate shrug. “I’ve never heard anything from his office, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening elsewhere.”

“That sounds like a whole lot of speculation,” Imogen said, staring into her drink. “Without much substance.”

“Well, I heard that he got sprung in flagrante when he was supposed to be exclusive with someone from the office.” Petra shook her head.

“You mean he cheated?” The question slipped out of Imogen’s lips before she could stop it. She knew Caleb had slept around a bit, but having an active sex life and engaging in infidelity were two totally different things.

Petra nodded. “Remember Neila Anderson? She used to run the staff induction program.”

Imogen remembered her, all right. Tall, long-legged, perfect platinum hair. Gorgeous. Rumour had it she’d walked away from a modelling career to finish her business degree. And not only that, she was whip-smart. The perfect package.

See? Even the perfect woman wasn’t enough to hold his interest. What makes you think you’ll be any different?

“Good for you, anyway,” Petra said. “You don’t want to get messed up in something like that. It’s hard enough to be taken seriously in this industry without sleeping with the boss’s son. Well, the boss’s brother, now.”

For a moment, Imogen thought the cocktail would come rushing back up. She clamped her lips together and forced herself to swallow the sick feeling down. How could she have let herself be lured into doing something so stupid? How could she have let herself believe that he desired her for who she was?

“Speak of the devil,” Dave said with a conspiratorial look.

A few feet away, Caleb stood with Jason, Daniel and a blonde woman. They were all laughing and drinking beers, the setting sun a perfect backdrop against the well-suited foursome. The blonde woman stood next to Daniel, her hand coming to rest on his arm. In an instant all of Imogen’s worries about her own bad decisions were gone, and she squinted. Was that the same woman she’d seen with Daniel previously? It was hard to tell, but all the key points lined up. She looked to be the right height and weight, her hair cut into the same neat bob.

When her eyes landed on Caleb’s appreciative stare, she wanted to cry. He looked at the woman standing next to Daniel with open admiration, as though Imogen had never even crossed his path. Let alone his mind.

“Excuse me,” Imogen said, slipping her bag over one shoulder. “I need to head off.”

“You’re not going back to the office, are you?” Mina admonished.

“No, I’m heading home. I promised my roommate I’d help her sort through things for her move.” She waved goodbye and slipped out of the bar as stealthily as she could.

Tonight she would see Caleb, but only to get the information about the blonde woman. Their fling—or whatever the hell it was—was over right now.

* * *

After a few beers, Caleb was starting to see Daniel in a different light. What he’d initially written off as pompousness was actually nerves. Turns out he’d been anxious about attending the Carmina Ball for weeks because his father was going to be there and they hadn’t spoken much after he got engaged to Penny. Their relationship was severely fractured already and him deciding to marry someone “below him” had been the final straw. It was an unlikely thing to bond over, but Caleb certainly understood his pain.

And as for him calling his fiancée the old “ball and chain,” that seemed to be his way of trying to fit into the nonexistent boy’s club he thought Caleb and Jason had going. But now, listening to what he had planned for their wedding was kind of sweet.

Sweet? Good Lord, you’ve been drinking from the crazy fountain. Imogen has gotten too far under your skin.

It shocked him that instead of wanting to stick his fingers down his throat at all the mushy wedding talk, he found himself feeling happy for the other man. And perhaps a little jealous. Would wonders never cease?

“Daniel has been involved every step of the way,” Emily, Daniel’s friend and jeweller, said. “He came up with the design and then worked with my team to refine it. He picked the stones and the engraving message. Penny is going to love it.”

“Don’t you think that’s risky?” Jason asked. “I mean, if she hasn’t seen the ring before the wedding there’s a chance it might not fit, right?”