Caleb’s eyes meet mine momentarily, and I stare at him, stunned.
Reynolds?
He gives me a brief smile, a dimple appearing in his left cheek.“It’s nice to meet you, Eve.”Is it just me or is there a mocking tinge to his smile?
“Come this way.”Iris begins walking.“I’ll introduce you to the rest.You’ll also want to meet the junior staff.If you need any help with minor tasks, you assign them to the junior staff.I will be the one assigning the tasks to the core team.”
Her voice fades away as she rounds the corner to the entrance of our division.I remain behind, letting out the breath I have been holding in.
There’s no way.There’s no way he didn’t recognize me.It’s been six and a half years.That’s not enough time to forget the face of your college rival.But I force that thought away, letting another troubling thought take its place.
Iris introduced him as Caleb Reynolds.She’s wrong.The man I saw today is Caleb Wilder.And since the CEO’s surname is Wilder, it’s not hard to put two and two together.Steven was right.
He’s a corporate spy.
Does Iris know?What is Caleb’s purpose here?I highly doubt he suddenly decided to change his surname and join Thalvyn Maritime.Aside from Ethan Wilder’s professional portfolio, not much is known about his personal life.He has a tight grip over how much the media shares about him, but Caleb is clearly related to Ethan.They don’t look very similar, so they could be cousins for all I know.But their surname?—
I need to talk to Iris.
I follow them inside just in time to see Iris introducing Caleb to the others.A hard ball of unease forms in the pit of my stomach.Why is he pretending to be someone else?Does the CEO suspect someone from our team to be the leak?Is that why Caleb is here?Or is Ethan Wilder using him to figure out who to get rid of?
The Wilder Group came into existence just four years ago, but I always knew Caleb was a trust-fund baby.With the way he flaunted his wealth, all his fancy cars and rich-people clothes, I never took him for someone who would ever work a white-collar job.
And yet he always maintained the highest grade point average in our program, something that always pissed me off.I worked so hard.I worked my ass off, waiting tables to afford my semester fees, cramming in my free time, going the extra mile for each project, and yet… How did he always stay a step ahead of me?
I’ve never hated anyone the way I despised him.A new girlfriend each week, a new car every month, lazing away in the back of class yet somehow a better student than me.Perhaps it wouldn’t have been so infuriating had he not turned to me each time our results came out with that sneer of his, the one that had other girls swooning and my blood pressure rising.
With my hands tucked in my pockets, I study him.Whatever his agenda is here, I’m not going to let him fuck up my team or my job.
He must have sensed me looking at him because he looks over his shoulder.Our eyes meet, and he gives me that same infuriating smirk that once used to make me homicidal.The only difference now is after years of being pushed around while finding myself in this industry, my once-famous temper has cooled down considerably.
“Iris,” I call out, with the calm determination of someone who’s about to drop a truth bomb.“Can I have a word in your office?”
Joshua yawns, his mouth opening wide enough to host a small concert.“I’m going home now.I’ll be back after lunch, or tomorrow, or when the caffeine-induced hallucinations stop.Whichever comes first.Is that okay, Iris?”
“Go, Joshua.I’ll let HR know you’ve been working overtime.”Iris nods, then turns to me.“Come in, Eve.”
While I follow Iris towards her office, Joshua grins at me, gesturing to my now-empty lunch container.“Sorry about your lunch.”
I pat his shoulder as I walk past him, giving it a firm squeeze that’s half affection, half warning.“You’re buying me lunch tomorrow.And not that sad excuse for a sandwich from the corner deli.I want actual food made by actual humans who understand the concept of seasoning.”
I close the door behind me once I enter Iris’s office.She sits down behind her desk, eyeing me with a look that says she already knows this conversation is going to give her a headache.“So, what is it?”
“It’s about Caleb.I think you’ve been?—”
Her phone begins to ring with the worst timing, even worse than when my mom called during my college graduation.She lifts a finger, stopping me.“Yes?”she says into her phone.
Her brows furrow after a moment, creating that little wrinkle she gets when something doesn’t add up.“Both of them?Now?”She listens to the caller on the other end, looking even more confused, like someone trying to assemble IKEA furniture without instructions.“Okay, then.”
She sets down the phone.“Our conversation will have to wait, Eve.That was Natalie.She wishes to speak to you right now.”Her tone carries the unmistakable subtext of ‘and may god have mercy on your soul.’
“Okay,” I hesitate, my chest tightening with a different emotion.“Iris, am I about to be fired?”
Her eyes tighten around the corners.“No!You have the highest maintained KPI of this department.There’s no way you would be fired.And if Natalie tries, you come to me.I’ll talk to her.”
I feel a hint of uncertainty.
Being called to the HR Department is not very different from being called to the principal’s office.I leave Iris’s office, rattled, and head for the elevators.
