Penalty Clause (Risque Contracts Book 1)(15)

“Broken heart,” I repeated, mumbling under my breath. I placed my hand on my chest, feeling my heart race, and suddenly, I knew exactly why I’d run from Caleb. “I left him because I was afraid he was going to break my heart. Because, somehow, the unthinkable has happened and I’m in love with him. And I didn’t realize it until just now. God, for a Harvard grad, I’m so incredibly stupid.”

“The good news is you’ve figured it out. That’s the first step. And lucky for you, our airline allows cell phone usage in flight. It’s somewhat expensive, but you’ve got a billionaire boyfriend, so I think you can afford to dial his number.”

“You’re a genius,” I breathed, leaning down to grab my purse and search for my cell. When I powered it on, it took a moment for me to connect to the plane’s service. Then, the notifications started. Twenty missed calls—all from Caleb. Ten text messages ranging from Where did you go? Are you okay? to You can’t run from me. There is nowhere you can hide that I won’t come for you, Madeleine.

For the next four hours, I dialed Caleb’s number every thirty minutes. He never answered, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave him a voicemail. I didn’t know what to say. By the time we landed, I was a bundle of nerves. I didn’t want to go home. The silence would drive me crazy. After I made it through customs and grabbed a cab, I headed straight to work.

It felt surreal walking into my office, knowing Caleb was in another country. Since he’d moved my company into his offices, not a single workday had gone by where I’d been here without him. Thinking back, there also hadn’t been a weekend where I hadn’t seen him. In a short time, Caleb had managed to force his way into all parts of my life. I didn’t know what I would do if he walked away, even though I’d given him every reason to do so by leaving him in Paris the way I had. And he wasn’t answering my phone calls or texts, which was only fair since I hadn’t answered any of his before I got on the plane last night.

I’d tossed my coat over a chair and dropped my purse onto the corner of my desk when I heard a soft tap at the door. “Come in,” I called without turning to see who it was. Something I quickly regretted when I heard Julie’s voice.

“I thought you were in Paris with Caleb.”

Sitting down in my chair, I swiveled around and looked up at her, catching the satisfied gleam in her eyes before she hid it. “I was. Now I’m back.”

“Only you? Caleb didn’t return as well?”

“Yes, Julie,” I sighed. “I traveled home without Caleb.”

“If Caleb asked you to leave Paris, then maybe you should listen to the message he was trying to send you.” Julie’s tone was snarky. “Some women are so ignorant when it comes to men. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to assure a scorned lover their relationship with Caleb was over.”

“I thought I told you to call me Mr. Sterling,” Caleb growled from the doorway. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there, but the death glare he was sending Julie’s way indicated it had been long enough for him to hear most of what she’d said.

Julie took a step toward him, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. “I’m so sorry—”

“You know what?” he interrupted her. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. You’re fired. I wanted to wait until I found a replacement, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to allow you to disrespect Madeleine like this. Not after I’ve already warned you about it. And especially not when she could be carrying my child.”

“Child?” Julie gasped, which was more than I could say. My shock at his statement kept me silent.

“Pack your stuff and get the hell out of here. I’ll call human resources to let them know you’ve been let go for insubordination, without a letter of recommendation.”

“But,” she whispered.

Caleb wasn’t having any of it. He strode forward, wrapped his hand around her upper arm, and moved her out of the office before slamming the door shut. When he turned to face me, the force of his glare knocked me out of my stupor. After what had happened over the last couple days, there were a million questions I wanted to ask, so much we needed to discuss, but there was only one I could think of at the moment.

“Why in the world would you tell her I could be pregnant?” I asked while standing up to face him on a more even level.

Caleb practically growled his response. “Because I’ve fucked you bare about a dozen times in the last two days, filling you with as much of my come as I possibly could in hopes that you would be.”