“You have to go to your meetings or we will lose out on deals. Shut the ** up and follow me home.” Stephen shook his head.

Katherine gave him a reassuring smile. No way in hell was she going to stand in the way of his career. He had worked so hard to get where he was. “The sooner you leave, the faster you can come back.” The conflict in his eyes was evident, but the anxiety had eased a little.

“I’ll hurry back,” he said. He shrugged off Stephen and moved forward to take her into his arms.

“Bye.” He backed away slowly and met Stephen at the distance. Stephen though was looking at Angelina who had just emerged from her room.

“See you soon! We’ll work things out!” He winked. Angelina didn’t reply, taking the opportunity to stare at Katherine.

“How long does it take to say goodbye? Damnit, you people are a mess.”

Katherine mouthed a quick ‘love you,’ not wanting the others to hear. The person who it was directed at stared at her bewildered. She didn’t repeat herself, just shaking her head instead.

The two men went down the stairs and Katherine’s eyes welled with tears. No, she was not going to cry, not one bit. She had spent two days with the man and it had been phenomenal. She couldn’t have asked for more. She was on the top of the world and a little separation would only make the heart fonder.

“I need to buy more clothes for the retreat,” she said under her breath.

“I heard the word buy. Are we going shopping?” Angelina asked looking at her expectantly.

“Hmm. I’m sure you want to drive Stephen crazy, let’s do it together.” Angelina smirked.

“Guess I will be spending the vacation with Stephen Luther and Cage Cavanaugh, then.” The evil grin on her face was priceless.

“Keep your paws off my man,” Katherine fake growled.

“Yes, yes…” Angelina. “Let me have my fun. I’ll call Lily. It’s Friday, so we can shop until we drop tonight.”

Katherine paused for a second. What had she gotten herself into?

– – –

Cage was glad that Stephen was the one driving the car for the ride. If it were him, he wouldn’t have stopped himself from turning the car and running back to Katherine. To hell with his meeting with the public relations team. To hell with his trainer and teachers.

It was a dangerous thought. If his team found out, they would probably kill him and then dangle him from a pole for everyone to see. ‘Errant superstar hung because he neglected his duties.’ Sure, that would look good in the papers.

“If you sulk for another minute, I am going to throw you to the sharks.” The sharks being his staff. Cage turned to glare at his manager.

“I pay them. They can take a hike to hell…” he pouted for good measure.

“You pay them to keep you relevant and make you bucket loads of money. They sort of have a right to keep you on track.” Traitors. Other bosses controlled their employees, but here he was, almost feeling like a puppet playing to their tunes.

If he didn’t like acting so much, he would have gone into seclusion long ago.

“You’re killing my buzz,” Stephen said with a sigh.

“What buzz?” Cage glanced at him with a smirk. “Angelina was ready to pummel your face for what you did. I would say you failed at your attempt to woo her.” He scoffed.

Stephen gave Cage a bland look. “She’s passionate. I would be terrified if she was indifferent to my advances. As long as I can infuriate her, I think I can stimulate her into being with me. I’ll give her time to calm down and wait for her to jump me next weekend.”

“You have a very different outlook on how wooing works, that’s for sure.” Cage was happy that he didn’t have to think about that anymore. But who was he to bring Stephen down?

“You might think it is an abominable approach, but I can see that she likes me. She just doesn’t want to admit it yet and that is okay. I’ll wait for her to come around.” He chuckled darkly and Cage stared at him.

“You’re going to die and that is not a sustainable approach. Take no for an answer for a change,” Cage said softly.

“Of course!” Stephen defended. “She made it clear that she likes me… she just needs a little sunlight and exposure…”

“I will personally strangle you if you expose yourself anywhere near my girl.” Stephen burst out into laughter.

“Oh no, I am not going to show any part of my body in front of your girlfriend. Just wander around shirtless and maybe tie my towel a little low.” Cage rolled his eyes.

“How the ** are you going to do that? Their apartment isn’t big enough for me to seclude Katherine while you are dancing around pantless.”

‘Bitch, if you show your body anywhere near Katherine. I swear to God I will forget the years of friendship and service and stab you.’

He already had to worry about Barry and Nathanial dropping by all the time. Did he now have to worry about his manager, too? What the **? Why does the universe not give him a break?

Worrying about Katherine was a full-time job now. Not that he minded. The former two were lurking around her while he barely had time to drive over and cuddle with her. They could come around any time, though. He was going to lose his mind.

“We booked a property with three cabins on the mountain. Katherine wouldn’t see me even if I ran around naked all day long.” He shrugged. “Lily and her boyfriend, and Katherine and you will be staying in single bedroom cabins, while Angelina and I will share a cabin with two bedrooms.”

“That sounds preposterous!” Cage laughed. “Angelina would flip out when she hears you have clubbed her with you. 5 days alone with someone who she seemingly hates? Don’t think it would float with her.” Sounded awesome to Cage. His manager would get his balls handed to him in a platter.