Ruining Mr. Perfect (The McCauley Brothers) (2 page)

He nodded with pride. “We do our part with the community. Pitching in is great PR, and it honestly builds stronger friendships in town.”

She agreed. “So what are you and Anna doing for your anniversary? In another week, right?” She knew because Bill had made it a point to announce to one and all that he and Anna would be celebrating their thirtieth anniversary on Valentine’s Day.

How wonderful to be so in love with your spouse. She envied their close affection, wondering if she’d ever find the same. She sure as hell couldn’t look to her parents for inspiration. Connubial bliss? She didn’t think her parents had ever felt anything resembling bliss in the whole of their lives.

Bill prattled on about his plans to surprise his wife with a cruise. Vanessa eventually mingled with the others, seeing a few friends and wishing she were back at home, hanging with her roommates. For all that she, Abby, and Maddie were different, they were family. She didn’t have to pretend to be super nice or super friendly with them. They accepted her, bitchy, funny, snarly, and all.

One of the interns took a good look at her and walked in the other direction. She sighed then smiled, trying not to scare anyone else by looking too stern.

“Uh, Vanessa?”

She turned to see Joshua Taggert, Peterman’s nephew. He was their newest intern, a fresh college graduate. She’d made the kid cry a few months back when he’d been on the verge of losing their clients
a
lot
of money.

“Josh. How’s it going?”

He grimaced. “Not great. I, uh… I wanted to thank you for setting me straight.”

She blinked. He’d steered clear of her since the incident. “Oh?”

“Yeah. I really screwed up.”

“Yes, you did.” She appreciated his honesty.

“I just wanted to show Uncle Bill I can do the job. I hate that I’m thought of as the boss’s nephew. It’s so demeaning.” Yet true.

“Well, it’ll take time to understand—”

“Yeah, see, that’s what I wanted to ask you. Would you be willing to give me help? Like, tutor me in the job so I learn what not to do?”

She hadn’t anticipated that. Flattered but not sure what to say, she collected her thoughts.

“I’m not trying to kiss your butt or anything.” He flushed and glanced at her rear, then hastily blinked at her. “I just meant you’re the go-to person at the office. We all know it. I want to be that person someday. I know I have a lot of failings, but if given the chance, I could do better.”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea. Not about me,” she said to stop his effusive thanks. “But getting you with a mentor would help you a lot. It would also help the staff to get to know you.”

He nodded and grinned. “Thanks. That’s great. I’d really appreciate it. I mean, I’d rather you helped me. But I know how busy you are.”

“Sure, Josh. And, uh, I’m sorry I upset you. Before.”

He paused.

Awkward, bringing up his crying jag, Vanessa.

“I was such a wuss. I’m sorry. I was trying so hard to impress you and my uncle.”

“Me?”

“I meant my uncle. He’s a stickler, you know,” he said in a rush. “They were tears of frustration, because I wanted to get it right. Please forget I cried like a baby. So embarrassing.”

He looked so sweet just then. “No problem. Go mingle. Enjoy. Did you bring your girlfriend?”

“No. Not tonight. Honestly? She’s too needy. I think we need to break up.”

TMI. But she understood. Most of her dates turned out to be needy and annoying too. “Good luck. The clingy types are hard to shake.”

He laughed and smiled at her, his gaze approving and not at all wary, as she might have expected for making him cry.

After he walked away, Francie joined her with Jeanine, another friend. “So what’s with you and the junior hottie?”

“Really, Francie? Didn’t we graduate high school, like, ten years ago?” she said in her best cheerleader voice.

Jeanine snickered. “Yeah, Francie. He’s an attractive young man. Not a hottie.”

“And not someone to be drooling over, you old bags.”

“Please, Vanessa.” Francie frowned. “I’m in the prime of my youth. I’m twenty-eight. Hell, you’re twenty-eight. So why do you always seem so much older?”

“Maybe because I’m not drooling over the boss’s nephew.”

Jeanine smirked. “Hmm. Seems to me he’s drooling over you.”

“Shut up, you ho. Now tell us about your last date. Did Brian rate a sleepover or did you boot him out of bed after round one?” Vanessa wanted to know, since she kept landing dud after dud. The last guy she’d met at the gym, so she’d had hopes they’d have something in common. But no one could love John as much as he loved himself. She’d chalked him to her
loser
column, with all the others.

Not one man she’d met had held a candle to Cameron McCauley, and she knew it. But what to do about that fact? With both her roommates in love with his brothers, exploring their attraction might make things sticky. Especially since he seemed to be the family type—great mom and dad, deep relationship with his siblings and cousins. So unlike Vanessa and the way she handled her emotionally distant relations. She worried that if she involved herself with Cameron, even sexually, he’d demand more. And that she’d try to give him what she didn’t have in her to give.

Sunday afternoon at the gym, Vanessa worked up a sweat on the elliptical she’d been eyeing the last time she’d visited. Sundays normally weren’t as crowded as work days, and she enjoyed exercising without so much chatter around her. That…and
he
normally arrived about now. She eyed the clock on the wall.

“Well, hey there.” Cameron smiled at her from the machine to her immediate right.

Relieved to see him but refusing to act like she’d been looking for him, she refrained from increasing the speed on the machine. It was difficult, because she didn’t want him to think she’d been slacking off her normal regimen.
And
I
should
care
what
he
thinks…why?

“Cameron.”

He gave her a subtle once-over, and she had a bad feeling he was mentally comparing her clothed to unclothed.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” she snapped.

He smirked. “You’re in fine form today. For the record, I was checking out your shoes. I’ve been thinking about getting a new pair, and I hear those insoles are incredible. They new?”

“Oh.” She blushed. “I, um, my old ones were pretty worn.”

He nodded and started his workout. “How’s the arch support?”

She answered and tried not to look at his elliptical console, but she couldn’t help noticing he’d started at a workout level higher than her own. She continued to study him out of the corner of her eye, wondering when she should increase her speed without looking foolishly competitive.

After a few moments spent chatting about her shoes, he said, “Good to know, thanks. I think I’ll get myself a pair.” The bastard wasn’t even breathing hard. “So tell me, because I’m dying to know. How was the office party?”

Man, he had nice legs, as well as broad shoulders, trim hips, and an ass she’d do anything to bite, just once. He normally dressed in tailored clothing that flattered his coloring and rangy frame. But here in the gym she was treated to nylon shorts, a cotton T-shirt, and exposed muscle that showed off his lean runner’s build.
Yum.

“The party?” he asked again.

She blinked. “Oh, ah, the party. Good as far as office functions go. I did my best not to scare off any more interns.”

“Oh?”

She filled him in on her altercation with Taggert a few months ago, and he laughed.

“He’ll remember that ass-chewing. Hell, I still remember my first one.”

Pleased he didn’t view her as the ogre her coworkers had not-so-quietly compared her to, she asked, “What happened?”

“I told you I interned at an international bank. Well, I thought I was hot stuff, so one day, after I’d been there a few months, I took the liberty of intercepting the secretary to assist one of the bank’s larger clients. She’d come in a few times a month, knew everyone in the upper echelons, and had a big wallet. I wanted to meet her too, to show I was part of the team.”

“And maybe strut around a little.”

“Yeah, I wanted to strut. Did I tell you I was the youngest intern they ever hired?”

“No, but thanks so much for that detail.”

He grinned. “Anyway, I did nothing more than get her—”

“Her? The client was a
her
? Oh, now I see.”

“She was a fifty-year-old grandma. Gimme a break. Anyway, I just went to get her coffee and chat her up a little. She smiled and seemed to appreciate my charm. And yes, I can be charming when I try.”

“That has to be seen to be believed.”

He laughed.

“So what happened with the client?”

“After we chatted a while, she let me help her to her feet, kissed my cheek, then went in to see my boss. No mess, no fuss. I’d done my part to ease the client. An hour later, my boss took me into a private office down the hall, shut the door, and went ballistic.”

“Really? Just because you were being polite?”

“Apparently the older lady thought I was offering my services and wanted to take me up on them.”

She frowned. “Is that what you were doing? Because that’s serious stuff. Even I know stealing a client is bad etiquette, Cameron.”

“I wasn’t trying to steal her. And she didn’t want me for my financial skills. She wanted a different kind of service.”

“I don’t get it.”

“She’d met her last boyfriend at the bank. She thought I was into older women, that I was hitting on her. She wanted me—and not to invest her money for her.”

Vanessa gaped. “Really?”

He grimaced. “Really. It made things awkward when the partners had to talk her down and try to manage the embarrassing situation. Totally not my fault, but it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been acting like I knew what the hell I was doing. There’s a reason only certain people attend the big rollers. Lots of egos and money mixing it up can turn volatile in a heartbeat. Fortunately she had a good sense of humor and we didn’t lose her as a client.”

“So what happened to you?”

“I served time in the mail room for two weeks before I was allowed anywhere near my boss’s office again.” He chuckled. “Yeah, good old Gloria Mannett.”

She blinked. “
The
Gloria Mannett? The billionaire hotelier? You almost lost
her
account?” Like Trump, the woman was a household name.

“Yep. Me and my pretty blue eyes nearly stole her away.” He sighed.

She stared at him. “You’re making that up.”

“Am I?” He batted his eyelashes and blew her a few kisses. “Thinking about moving your money around now, Vanessa? Do you have a sudden urge to check out my…
annuities
?”

“Idiot.” She snickered and shook her head. “Wow. Gloria Mannett.”

“I saw her years later and we laughed about it. She’s actually a very nice woman and currently married to a man thirty years her junior. He’s husband number four, I think.”

“Man. I don’t ever remember getting in trouble for working hard. Or for flirting when I shouldn’t have.”

“All work and no play, eh?”

“You know it.” She continued to step, and feeling a sudden burst of energy, gradually increased the tension on her machine, so that it bypassed Cam’s level.

Of course he noticed. He raised a brow. “You want to race?”

“I’m just working out like I always do.”

She waited.

He didn’t disappoint. The natural competitor increased his workout, and soon they battled each other to see who could sweat the most without falling off their machines.

Not more than ten minutes later, they both called it quits and headed to the smoothie bar in the back.

“It’s on me,” Cameron said as he ordered himself a fruit drink. “Put them on my tab,” he said to the girl behind the counter and slid her his member card.

“I’ll have what he’s having,” Vanessa ordered.

Cameron nodded and accepted his card back. “So.”

“Yes?”

“Our contest. On the elliptical.”

“What about it?”

“I won. Just saying.”

She frowned. “In what universe? I was exercising before you even got here.”

“Yeah, for maybe ten minutes. I saw you stretching while
I
was finishing up five miles on the treadmill. By the way, two guys nearly killed each other with dumbbells while watching your shirt ride up. Nice abs.”

She tried to think of a comeback just as the girl handed them their drinks. “Was that the loud noise I heard earlier?”

He grinned. “Yep. Two muscleheads nearly killed themselves by the free weights while the oblivious hot blond everyone always talks about did her warm-up.” He sighed. “I love when you warm up.”

“Shut up.” Her cheeks felt hot and grew hotter when he laughed. “You’re the one with the nice legs.”

He preened. “I am handsome, aren’t I?”

“For God’s sake.” Before his ego got the better of him, she took him down a peg. He returned the favor, and they had a wonderfully invigorating argument about who had nicer calves and hamstrings that carried them through the gym to their cars.

“Same time next Sunday?” Cam asked before he got in his sporty coupe.

She nodded and entered her car, then started it and rolled down the window. “And for the record, I won.” She burned rubber and tore out of the garage, then reduced her speed like the responsible, careful driver she actually was.

Her hands remained at ten and two as she smiled the whole way home.

***

“Why do I always have to be partnered with Mike? We never win,” Cam complained five days later. The four McCauleys sat in Mike’s kitchen, the only part of the house Cam liked, and enjoyed Friday night cards.

Mike glared at him and gave a hard look at the table, where he’d just played a heart.

“Seriously, Mike. You suck at table talk.” Brody laughed and took the next hand. They’d all opted for spades instead of poker. With Colin hanging out with Abby and Maddie next door, they felt free to let the curses fly.

“Yeah?” Mike growled. “Well sorry, blondie. We weren’t all born with the ability to cheat at cards. It’s like you had a full deck in the fucking womb.”

“Full deck? Brody? Not from where I’m sitting,” Cam muttered. Brody could be so annoying, especially since it was impossible to catch him cheating, even if you knew the guy had three aces up his sleeve.

“True. My boy’s glands are probably overheating again.” Flynn gave Brody a commiserate nod. “It’s been what? At least twenty-four hours since you got laid?”

“Hey, moron, that’s my future wife you’re talking about.” Brody smacked Flynn in the back of the head. “It was more like eight hours. I had a nooner for lunch.”

Mike and Cam exchanged a grimace while Flynn high-fived his immature partner.

“It’s like you two have regressed decades. You’re not eighteen any more, fellas,” Cam said with disgust.

Mike agreed. “Yeah. I expect Flynn to be that obnoxious, but not you, Brody.”

“Hey. I’m the good one.” Flynn took the next trick and the following two. “It’s not my fault you two are in denial. Sexual denial.”

“It ain’t just a river,” Brody intoned, “but a sad state of life for some.”

He and Flynn smirked at them. To Cam’s relief, they didn’t just pick on him, but Mike too. So nice to finally not have to defend himself against
all
three
of them.

“Look, you two fuckheads, just because Cam and I actually work for a living—not shoving our hands down people’s toilets—doesn’t mean we don’t like women.” Mike ignored the finger Flynn shot him. “I’m too busy to play nice with the ladies right now. And genius boy has been working his ass off to move everything from his East Coast office back here.”

Cam hadn’t realized anyone had noticed. “Yeah. What Mike said.”

“Suck-up.” Brody made a face at him.

“Hey, say what you want. But when I go after a woman, it’s with a lot more maturity. And dignity”—he paused, giving them both a look—“than what you two showed. Christ, guys. Maddie and Abby are wonderful women. And you both nearly managed to screw up your relationships.” He turned to Mike. “It’s like they’re, well…”

“Idiots?” Mike helpfully supplied.

Cam snapped his fingers. “That’s the word.
Idiots
.”

“Morons, dickheads, nad-nozzles?” Mike continued.

“Nad-nozzles?”

Mike shrugged. “One of the neighbor kids called his brother that. I immediately thought of those two.”

Brody grinned widely at the score sheet. “That’s just sour grapes because we’re kicking your asses. Yeah. Next dinner out is on you losers.”

Mike scowled.

Cam sighed. He couldn’t refute numbers. “Hell. Anyone want another beer?”

He got two yeses and a request for a Coke. After fetching them more drinks, he turned to put them on the table and saw something outside streaking toward the window. Fast.

“Mike?” Cam nodded to the back door. “I think you’re about to get company.”

Before they could blink, Colin rushed through the back door wearing his pajamas and rubber boots.

“Colin?”

Vanessa, Maddie, and Abby soon joined him.

Colin pointed a finger at Vanessa and scowled. “She’s mean.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Abby muttered.

For all that Abby resembled Lea, Mike’s deceased wife, she was truly her own person. A petite beauty with long black hair, brown eyes, and a smile that lit up when she spotted Brody.

Like her roommate, Maddie gave her man Flynn a special grin. With her redheaded temper and eyes normally golden with a furious fire, she totally gave his brother a run for his money. The rock on her finger gleamed, and Cam had to hand it to Flynn for buying his fiancée something to be proud of.

But it was Vanessa who always stood out to him. She rolled her eyes and dragged Colin back by his collar, not at all put off by Mike’s mother-hen glower. “What the alien is upset about is the fact that I told him he couldn’t have my sesame candy. I also told him I’d ask you first, to see if he could have his own. He didn’t want to wait. I caught him red-handed, crunching down honey and sesame seeds.”

“Dude. You got caught?” Brody shook his head.

“Brody, shut up,” Mike snapped. To Colin, he crooked a finger. “Come here, boy.”

Colin looked visibly upset. No longer funning. “B-but Dad. I didn’t—I mean, I was gonna ask—” He burst into tears and covered his eyes. Then he ruined it by peeking through his fingers at the crowd.

“Colin,” Mike growled. He turned to Brody. “He only does this because
you
taught him to cry on command.”

Everyone tried to muffle laughter, except for Vanessa. “Hey, Mike? He took
my
candy at
my
house. I can handle this, if that’s okay.”

Mike seemed torn.

“She’s got it,” Cam prodded. “Let’s get back to the game. You know, so we can make up for getting beaten by Thing One and Thing Two?”

“Shut up, loser.” Flynn snickered.

“Vanessa, I don’t know…” Mike, such a pushover with that kid.

“I had something in mind for the little faker.” Vanessa narrowed her eyes at the boy.

Cam asked her, “You going to beat him?”

“Not where it will show.”

“There. Come on, he’ll be fine.” He turned to the table and started dealing, knowing Colin deserved and even needed the discipline. Not that Mike didn’t do a good job, but in Cam’s opinion, he could be too easy with the boy. “Okay, new game. Brody no longer deals. And winners get not one, but
two
dinners from the losers.”