Captivation

Captivation Part 25

Douglas sighed quietly as he said, "I now also get why she rubs you up the wrong way. She's walking proof that women like her don't fall for guys like us." Jared exhaled the breath he had been holding. He should have known that Douglas would understand.

"It's not something either of us would find easy to take!" Jared muttered. "Not when we've made it out of the sewer to establish a thriving business. Fuck! Until that moment I hadn't realized just how much I wanted my personal life to be different. I know we aren't short of women in our lives. But..."

Douglas snorted before he murmured, "Yeah, I know. Just sex on tap really. But completely different to having someone stand alongside you, come hell or high water. What are the chances of something serious, like marriage? I know that's not on the cards for me." Douglas hoped he did not sound as depressed as he felt about that state of affairs. For despite the fact neither he nor Jared had decent role models in their lives when it came to family.

Jared interrupted quickly, his eyes showing instant concern. He knew that Douglas felt his looks were off-putting, "It would be if you..."

"No it wouldn't." Douglas interrupted flatly. He was a pragmatic man. He knew that in addition to his background, his scarred face was not going to help him attract women. "We have scars on the inside courtesy of our childhoods. But I, unlike you, have the added bonus of scars on the outside. Not the type of scars most women find attractive, unless they are looking for a date for Halloween." Douglas said quietly. He had come to terms with the fact that his appearance would work against him. Women didn't mind the odd date and the sex that followed, but they weren't interested in a long-term relationship let alone marrying a man with his looks. He knew that.

Jared shook his head to dismiss that comment. Of course it wasn't the first time Douglas had mentioned the fact that he believed women were put off by his scars. Not that Douglas was short of women in his life. Both men had more than their fair quota of women. "Doug! Fuck that! It doesn't matter. How you look won't matter when you find the one..."

"The one?" Douglas snorted derisively and then he chuckled as he looked over at Jared and demanded with a wry chuckle, "You've found the one! How's that working for you?"

Jared grunted quietly accepting the rhetorical question. "Think we'll be having this conversation when we are old men, sitting in our rocking chairs looking back on the escapades of our youth?"

Douglas shook his head and said on a chuckle as the mood changed and he moved away from thinking about his own life chances. He and Jared were as close as brothers, but he assumed there would come a time when Jared would have other people in his life and they would warrant more of Jared's attention. Wife. Kids. "Knowing you and your choice, your wife won't let us!"

"Wife?" Jared threw his friend a skeptical look.

"Yeah. Wife! You'll marry." Douglas stated flatly. He and Jared had been friends for practically all of their lives. They knew each other inside out. And Douglas knew that his friend covered the fact that he was a sensitive, compassionate, genuinely kind man, for those qualities would not have helped them survive their childhoods. Jared was perceptive, caring and when it came down to it determined. He was a strong willed man who had stood alongside Douglas and together they had weathered many a storm.

"What makes you so certain?" Jared asked. He hadn't spoken about this with Douglas, so he was interested to find out what his friend thought.

"Cause despite everything in our childhood, you still believe in love. You believe we have soul mates out there. You'll marry. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the woman you marry is Caitlin!"

Jared burst out laughing. "Yes that will happen around the same time you and I appear on the front page of the Financial Times for our business venture on Mars!"

"Possible. Possible. Business is booming! Might well make the Financial Times!" Douglas laughed. Then Douglas switched the conversation, he looked across at Jared with speculation in his eyes, "So, Caitlin? You believe she had nothing to do with that notice."

Jared frowned into the darkness, he'd have to apologise to her at some point. "Caitlin had nothing to do with it." He shook his head and found himself smiling as he said quietly. "She's a straight arrow. And she doesn't mince her words around me! If she'd done this, to get back at me, she'd have said so. Probably rubbed it in!"

"And still you fancy her!"

Jared grunted.

"More than that, I'd say."

Jared rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. "Yeah." He took a moment. "I like who she is."

"What? Jacinto Fonseca's daughter?" Douglas teased.

Surprising himself, Jared found himself putting his thoughts into words "She's strong." He looked over at Douglas, "She stands up to me!" Douglas chuckled quietly, "But she's also kind. She looked out for Candy. And she's tender hearted, the way she helped Nigel. She's fair. Look how she stopped her father's friends from having a go at me. She's got guts. The job she does isn't for the faint hearted. She's loyal. She's only here because Candy talked her into it. Family is important, you remember when we saw her with her sister and brother-in-law and niece. She's obstinate. But I kind of like that in her. She's got integrity. Under that veneer of icy calm is a passionate heart." That had Douglas' eyebrows rising in speculation. But he said nothing. Jared exhaled again, before he said more firmly. "She had nothing to do with that fake announcement in the newsletter."

"Which brings us back to the question of who did? And as you said, why?" Douglas frowned as he considered possibilities but none really seemed feasible.

"That's what I want to know. Why? That's really all I want to know."

"Wondered where you guys had gone!" One of Doug's female team members lounged against the door. She shivered as the cold air reached her skin. "Aren't you guys cold?" She rubbed at her bare arms and looked at the two men as if they were out of their minds for standing out on the verandah. They were both wearing t-shirts and chinos. She frowned at them when neither had moved, "Are you coming back in?" She rubbed at her arms, "It's freezing out here!"

The men nodded and without another word walked forward and followed her in.

Jared knew it would continue to bug him until he figured out who was responsible for that notice. Douglas knew that while Jared had acknowledged his reasons for holding Caitlin at arms length, that it was only a matter of time before things changed between Caitlin and Jared. For the chemistry between them was palpable. At the moment Jared still believed a woman like her would not want any part of his life. But Douglas hoped that Jared would see that hope prevailed. There was still a chance there. For Douglas was starting to think that Caitlin did want a man like Jared in her life!