It basically took us approximately two hours to finish dinner and when Alec wanted to keep the roll going towards a nearby bar, I had to decline the trio’s persistent nagging.
“Come on, Stella!” Lucia pouted.
If I didn’t know any better, she was rather nervous to be around Mark. Good, because those two needed to talk.
As always, I had the best excuse. “I skipped work this afternoon. I’ll be making up for it tonight so I’m not all over the place tomorrow when I get back to my office.”
Speaking of work, the portfolio I was going to work on was conveniently in Callum’s home. Now, how in the world do I fetch it without having him know that I came by? I believe I left it at a nearby settee before I went to go knock on his study that night. Yeah, it was right about there, I was almost sure.
Alec gave me a big hug, kissing my cheek. “See you at lunch tomorrow, S.”
I gave them all a quick farewell before I hailed a black cab and gave Callum’s address in Chelsea. Usually at this time he was in the study, working. Or he could be out on a business dinner or with another woman. Who knew?
Our abrupt conversation earlier left me in a bad place, but as much as I liked to be around him, if he was acting like a cold, detached brute, then I’d rather be doing my own thing. If sex was all he was after, then let’s leave it at that. My feelings were already in the shitters. I couldn’t simply risk going deeper with the pile I had already.
Even if I was hurting inside, no one would know.
Almost half an hour later, the cab delivered me outside his home. I wasn’t nervous, per say. Somehow, I felt like I was doing a James Bond stint, oddly enough. Coming in and out of his house without his knowledge was, well, sneaky.
Callum’s home was a three-story building. The first floor had his study, dining room and kitchen. The second had the sitting room and living room. The third had the bedrooms in it. His basement had been basically transformed into a gym. It was a great, pricey, bachelor pad of meshed antique collections and modern contemporary design.
I had to take a few deep breaths before I used the key to enter his home. My heart thudded wildly against my chest as I slowly and quietly tiptoed into the softly lit foyer.
When I got to the hallway, I almost groaned when I found it dark. I had to pause to let my eyes adjust to the darkness before I continued on my tiptoeing quest for my project folders.
From my memory, the settee was between here and the study. So, I should be there any second now. From afar, a soft glow filtered underneath the door. Callum was working in the study, which was a good sign.
Spreading my hand a little wider as I went along, I needed to make sure I wasn’t going to miss the spot. When I did feel the soft, velvety settee, I immediately hunted for it, however it wasn’t on it so I had to check behind the tiny pillows. Still, no result.
“Shit!” I hissed out, whispering into the air.
My heart lodged in my throat when the hallway lights immediately brightened the darkness around me.
“Looking for something?” Callum spoke from behind me. Suspicious.
Fuck.
My.
Life.
Without turning around, I responded to him. “I left something here last night and I came back to fetch it.”
“It’s in my study.” He sounded calm, composed and very much detached… like the old Callum I knew well.
Spinning around, I pasted on half a smile. “I’d appreciate it if you could get it for me. I need to work on them tonight, if you don’t mind.”
“Where were you this afternoon?” he asked, clearly not amused as he ignored my fake smile.
Why was he asking about my whereabouts? “I was busy.”
“With who?” Callum bit out.
Oh, now he was really making me mad! From hearing him utter her name during sleep to that phone call, to this; what the hell did I ever do to deserve such cold treatment?
“I wasn’t aware that I had to inform you about my every single move. From what I recall, you and I agreed to sex. Nothing more.” I held his stare before I got fed up and darted towards his study with my heels making loud clacking noises against the marbled floor with each step.
Opening the door to his study, I dashed towards his desk and sure enough, I found my folder there. It didn’t even take a second before I snatched it and spun around to exit the damning place. It smelled too much like him and, dear goodness, I couldn’t inhale anymore of it. I needed to get the hell out of here, quick.
Callum waited on the very same spot I left him earlier; neck veins evident, eyes sharpened towards me, lips pressed together. Even if he looked like he was about to erupt, the man still managed to look like a sex god. Zara was a lucky woman.
“Goodnight,” I whispered when I went past him.
An animalistic growl almost made me stop. Almost.
“You’re leaving?” he bellowed behind me. It echoed through the house.
I had a few seconds to think and decided to play nice. Call it guilt, but even though he acted like a complete ass, it didn’t change the fact that Callum had helped me with so much. This thought never failed to work on my conscience.
“I’m going home to work on a few things. I’ve been slacking.” I nodded and proceeded to walk towards the door.
“You better not walk out of that door, Stella! We’re not done talking!” Callum was still beyond heated.
I was having a hard time balancing the good and the bad in me… but the devilish side of me won out and I was ready to match his temper. “Or what, Cal?” I glared at him. “You think I’m easily scared by your jealous tantrums? I think not.”
“Jealous?” he hissed. In a blink of an eye, he was immediately rooted close to me, face to face. Danger emanated from him. “Did you say I was jealous?”
I did, but if I knew any better, I shouldn’t confirm it. “Listen, it’s late. I’ll see you sometime soon.” My tongue darted out to lick my lips as I took hold of the brass handle and pulled the door open.
A sharp yelp came from me when the partially cracked door slammed back shut again with Callum in my way. “You’re not leaving until we’re done,” he said, gritting out. “Who were you with earlier, Stella?”
I meant to respond to him, really, but my voice was lost on me. My throat ran dry as those dark depths pinned me on the spot. Whatever it was, I knew I was in deep trouble.
“I dropped by your office earlier and was told by your assistant that you went out with Mark for lunch and never came back.” He hovered above me like a deadly predator, ready to kill when I made one wrong move. “So again, I’m asking you, what the hell have you been doing all afternoon?”