In Good Company: Chapter 23

My heart races with anxiety as I open the door to the pool house and step outside. Part of me wants to glance over my shoulder and look at Cal, but I can’t. I’m too embarrassed about us being caught to do anything but look for Margo.

Part of me expects everyone to be staring at me as I step back outside, as if Margo told everyone what she caught Cal and me doing in the time it took for me to chase after her.

No one pays me any attention. They’re all too wrapped up in their own conversations to notice me step outside and beeline for where Margo sits alone on a pool lounger.

I close the distance to her, my cheeks heating with every step closer. It feels like I’m doing a walk of shame, but luckily for me, only one person knows about the shame. At least the entire group didn’t catch us, I remind myself as I step up to Margo.

“We really don’t need to talk about it,” Margo gets out before I can say anything. She gives me a reassuring smile. It doesn’t help ease my nerves about being caught at all.

“That wasn’t what it looked like,” I say, wincing as soon as the words come out. I sound incredibly guilty, telling her it’s exactly what it looked like.

Margo laughs. “Listen, Lucy, I promise you there’s no judgment from me. Trust me. We don’t have to talk about it.”

Despite her words, my entire body feels tight with nerves. It’s like I’m hit in the face with the memory of everything that just happened, because mixed with the embarrassment of being caught is the heat of how right it felt to feel Cal’s lips against mine.

Margo narrows her eyes on me before patting the open space on the pool lounger next to her. “Okay, maybe we should talk about it? Is that what you need?”

I groan, running my hand over my face before plopping down next to her. Our backs are to the rest of the party—and the pool house. Maybe just talking to her about what just happened with Cal since she knows about it will help.

“I don’t know what I need,” I answer, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hand. “What you saw in there…was a mistake.” The comment doesn’t feel right leaving my lips, but I don’t know what else to call it.

I shouldn’t have let Cal kiss me. It’s completely unprofessional.

“It doesn’t have to be a mistake if you don’t want it to be,” Margo offers.

I realize I probably shouldn’t be airing out my drama to a Pembroke member, but it’s too late. She’d already witnessed Cal and me with our tongues down each other’s throats. There’s no coming back from that. Plus, in the time we’ve spent together today, I’ve learned I really like Margo. She’s laid-back and down-to-earth, something that isn’t always common with people in this town. Especially ones with her status.

“Oh, but it is a mistake. I just made out with my boss.”

Margo shrugs, her shoulder bumping against mine. “I married mine.”

I give her a curious glance, not knowing that little tidbit of information. “Well, the boss I was just making out with is also my ex’s brother.”

Margo throws her head back and laughs. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

I narrow my eyes at her for a moment, briefly glancing behind us to make sure no one’s eavesdropping. It doesn’t seem like anyone is, but I don’t look behind me for long, not wanting to meet Cal’s eyes if he’s also left the pool house. “This isn’t a time for me to make jokes,” I whine. “Cal really is my boss and my ex’s brother.”

Margo shakes her head, the smile on her face conveying that it’s no big deal. Doesn’t she see how stressed I am?

“Beck was also my boss and my ex’s brother, so trust me when I say I’m not judging what I just saw. And I won’t tell a soul.”

I gasp. “Really?”

Margo nods. “Yes. I’m shocked you didn’t know. It was all over the internet when we first got together. You could say we didn’t have the most conventional start to our relationship.”

“I had no idea,” I answer honestly. Unless Charlotte tells me the gossip or I overhear it at Pembroke, I don’t really know the backstories of many of the club members.

The only person I knew some things about was Cal, and that’s because of my…occasional innocent Google search.

“So Beck was really your boss and ex-boyfriend’s brother? Tell me more so I don’t feel totally guilty that I was seconds away from letting mine have his way with me.”

Margo giggles. The sound makes me relax. Maybe, just maybe, I don’t need to feel as guilty as I do. I’m at least assured enough that she won’t tell a soul about what she found Cal and me doing. “He was. My ex was horrible though, so it really shouldn’t matter who Beck was. And my guess is your ex is an ex for a reason, so you shouldn’t be sparing him a second thought either.”

I shrug. “Mine got with my best friend as soon as we broke up. He’d been in love with her the whole time.”

Margo gasps. “Shut the fuck up.”

Charlotte screams behind me, catching my attention for a moment. I look over my shoulder to find Jude’s hands on the small of her waist as he tries to place her on a hot pink floaty that hadn’t been out before.

I pull my attention from my friend and look back at Margo. I don’t have to look around to know that Cal is back outside. I can feel his gaze on me, but I don’t look in his direction.

Instead, I angle my body toward Margo. “I wish I were kidding, but I’m not. The thing about it is I learned I really didn’t love him. Not like I thought I did. I did love her though, so that part hurt.”

Margo nods in understanding. She folds her arms across her chest and listens to me intently. “I get that. A best friend breakup can be harder than a boyfriend one.”

“Exactly.”

“So, if your ex was terrible—and so was your friend—why do you seem so nervous about kissing Cal?”

I let out a long breath, really thinking over her question. It isn’t a bad one. She kind of has a point in asking it. I fight the urge to look over my shoulder again, knowing the man who’s the topic of our conversation is still watching me closely. “Because I don’t want it to seem that the only reason I kissed him was because of what Oliver did. I didn’t do it as some kind of revenge, and I feel like if anyone found out that it happened, that’s exactly what they’ll think it was.”

“As long as you know that’s not the reason, why does it matter what anyone else thinks?”

I chew on my lip for a moment. It shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks because no one else will know it happened. I can’t kiss Cal again. I mean, I really shouldn’t. Except, I want to.

When it comes to him, I feel like I’m losing all sense of reason.

“It matters what people think when they find out he’s also my boss. Making out with him would be a HR violation if we were in a typical office space.”

Margo tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Your situation is different. As long as he isn’t using his power over you, I don’t think you should feel guilty about kissing him. It can work out, and no one will care, I promise. Beck and I are proof of that. We’re married with the most beautiful daughter. It can work out. Don’t overthink it.”

I laugh. “Well, I can promise you I’m not overthinking it that much. I go back to Virginia at the end of this summer and will probably never see Cal again. I just have to decide if we should kiss again.” I shake my head before running my hands through my hair. “I’m probably getting ahead of myself. He’s Callahan Hastings. He probably won’t want to kiss me again, so I shouldn’t even be worrying about it.”

Margo clicks her tongue before bumping her knee against mine. “Listen, I’m saying this as a friend. We’re friends, right?”

I nod, smiling at the thought. Today was the first day we really got to spend together, but I really like her. I want to call her a friend. “Of course,” I answer.

“Then as your friend, I’m telling you I know an obsessed man when I see one. And that man right there…” She cocks her head in his direction, trying to be discreet, but it still makes me blush because it’s a little obvious. “That man is obsessed with you. He wants to kiss you again. I’d bet all my money on it.”

I risk a glance over my shoulder, finding Cal staring at the two of us. My cheeks heat at the look on his face. Ryker talks animatedly next to him, but he doesn’t seem to pay any attention to his friend. He’s focused on me and only me.

“There’s no way he’s obsessed with me,” I offer, quickly turning around so he can’t read my lips.

Margo rolls her eyes with a smile. “Enjoy the summer with him, and don’t get in your head.”

Her words run through my head even after she gets up to FaceTime with her daughter and their nanny. I know I should listen to her and get out of my head about what happened with Cal.

It was the best kiss of my life. Nothing has even come close to making me feel the way I did with his lips against mine. But I need to be careful when it comes to him. It’s not just the fact he’s my boss and my ex’s brother. There’s a more important reason why kissing Cal can’t happen again.

I have to return to Virginia at the end of this summer. There’s no way around it. I can’t have a reason to want to stay in the Hamptons. And something tells me if I feel the press of Cal’s lips against mine more than I already have, leaving when summer comes to an end will be almost impossible.

I can’t kiss Cal again. No matter how badly I might want to.