Page 21 of Hot Mess Christmas Express

Chapter Twelve

Lights sparkledoff the Savannah River, the cool southern winter air making for a beautiful clear night. The view from the rooftop bar was spectacular, and even in his foul mood Caleb couldn’t help but enjoy it. The party that raged around him, however, was a different story. It was half personal, half business—since the only people he and his friends seemed to know anymore were other medical professionals. But either way, it one hundred percent sucked.

New Year’s Eve had never been something he enjoyed. There was too much weight put on the event—too much expectation of the proper way to celebrate. Not to mention too many people drinking way too much. He would much rather be sitting at home on the couch, curled up with a good book or a movie, relaxing. The only thing that could make that thought even better was adding in Sienna.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

Closing his eyes and taking a long, slow sip of his bourbon, Caleb replayed their conversation in River Street Tap over again, for what must have been the millionth time since. The hurt on Sienna’s face had been obvious as he hurled his accusations at her. No, that’s not right. It wasn’t just on her face. It’d been written all over her body. He could see it in the way her shoulders sagged and the way her hand rested on her stomach, as if she could throw up at any moment. And yet, he’d kept talking. Not once stopping to ask for her side of the story.

Just as he’d done two years ago.

You need to go apologize…

The thought had been eating at him all week. He knew he’d fucked up, but he still wasn’t over the hurt. She was right, their time together had been special. And up until her boss had walked into his office, Caleb had been so sure that there was a connection between him and Sienna. Hell, he still felt that connection. Maybe that was why he hurt so much right now. Because he’d never felt so strongly about someone, ever. Never felt so understood. She had been all he’d thought about since he’d left Somerset Island, and even though it hadn’t made any sense to him, he’d only been a heartbeat away from saying those three little words. He just wished that the person who made him feel that way hadn’t also felt the need to use it for her own personal gain.

“You’re Caleb Winters, right? Of Savannah Premier Plastic Surgery?”

Caleb turned around, finding a tall, thin young man with brown hair holding out his hand in greeting. The young man’s face was familiar—add in a weird mustache and age him thirty years and you’d have Bob Sargent. The similarities were uncanny.

“I am,” Caleb replied, shaking his hand.

“Scott Sargent, nice to meet you. I’m your new Cosmas rep.”

Scott Sargent—so there was a connection. At least he knew he wasn’t seeing things.

“Wait, new rep? Since when?”

Caleb’s head spun. He’d only spoken to Bob three days ago, so when was the change made? This kid must be mistaken. Certainly if a change was being made to the routes, they would have been informed. The old rep would bring the new one by and introduce them to the staff. That’s how it had always been handled. Unless Sienna had requested a change after the way he’d acted.

Shit, he was such an ass.

“I officially take over the route on Monday, since your old rep isn’t with the company anymore.”

All the muscles in Caleb’s body tightened, his stomach twisting into a knot. Sienna wasn’t with Cosmas anymore. He knew she hated the job—she told him outright that it had been sucking the life out of her and preventing her from doing what she really loved. But he couldn’t imagine that she would quit. She wasn’t that type of person. No matter how down on herself she’d been, he knew that she wasn’t one to give up.

“She quit? When?”

“Err, well, it’s not really my place to say, but…” Scott said, leaning in closer to whisper, “she was fired. Apparently she just wasn’t meeting standards.”

Caleb opened his mouth to comment, but the words got stuck in this throat. Fired? They had fired Sienna?

“Ah, I see you’ve met my nephew,” Bob Sargent said, walking up to them. “Scott here will be your new rep starting next week. I think he’ll be a great asset for you.”

“What happened with Si-Miss Sloan?”

“After our conversation the other day, I reevaluated her place with Cosmas. I can’t have someone on my staff who y’all aren’t comfortable meeting with.”

“You fired her because of me?”

Taking a step back, Caleb placed his glass down on a small table and leaned against it for balance. Sienna had been fired. And it was all his fault.

She already felt like her life was a mess, that she couldn’t do anything right, and he’d just heaped one more thing onto the pile. A haze seemed to lift from his brain as everything fell into place—Sienna’d really had no idea her boss was coming to see him. She’d believed him when he’d apologized for his actions two years ago, invited him into her family, and spent the holiday showing him her real self. The self so few got to see. And he repaid her by doing exactly the same thing he’d done two years ago. No, this time it was worse. Because now, he’d gotten her fired.

He looked up, blinking hard, finding the almost identical men staring back at him. There were so many things he wanted to say—things he needed to set straight. None of it mattered though. These two men didn’t matter. Regardless of how smarmy they came off and how much this whole thing reeked of nepotism now that Caleb had more information, there was something—someone—so much more important right now.

Sienna Sloan.

Caleb didn’t bother to excuse himself, pushing between the two men as he raced toward the door that would lead him to the elevators. He needed to get out of here. Needed to figure out where Sienna was and how to get her back. She was all that mattered, and he needed to prove that to her. Which was going to be a hell of a job considering everything he’d done this week.

“Where are you going?” Gregory asked as Caleb blew past him.

“To find Sienna. I fucked up big time.”

“Who’s Sienna?” Mark asked. Caleb hadn’t realized his friend was back from his honeymoon already, much less here at the party. But he didn’t have time to explain. “I missed something.”

“She’s everything.”