CALIFORNIA PARADISE
Chapter Twelve
In one quick glance, Cal took in the scenery
around him. Three of the walls were made of extremely light wood and were
decorated with wide snapshots, drawings, paintings, and the ever-famous
sketches. The fourth wall, the one he was facing, seemed to be a giant window,
made up of thick glass. In the center was a finely crafted door with ornate
handles leading out to a small balcony. The room scarcely seemed like an office
at all, with the people and odd furnishings, yet it all seemed to have an oddly
elegant essence about it.
In that fraction of a second, Jack had heard
someone enter the room and turned around.
Cal couldn’t help but be startled. He was the
same. Same damn hair that was constantly in his eyes, same cocky smile, but now
there was something different about him. Just like everything and everyone in
the house, he had a purity, an elegance, that Cal couldn’t seem to place.
"Dawson," he said, hiding all
evidence of his feelings.
Nonchalantly, Jack had everyone leave the
room, and Cal found himself facing him alone.
Jack looked at Cal, trying to hide all
emotion. This was a man who had, at one point in his life, done anything to see
Jack dead. He had handcuffed him to a pole in a sinking ship. He had run
through that same ship shooting bullets at him. This was the man both he and
Rose loathed.
Jack’s mind jerked back to reality. But
now I have Rose. We both adore each other. If Cal even lays a finger on me I
could put him in prison for the rest of his life. I wouldn’t, but I could.
With a wicked grin, Jack spoke to Cal for the
first time. "So, what’s new?"
*****
"It wasn’t as bad as I imagined,"
Jack was later telling Rich. "It was a little awkward at first, but after
a while we forgot about everything in the past and just worked on
business."
"Look, I don’t know everything that ever
happened between you, Rose, and Cal, but the few things you’ve told me sound
pretty bad. Do you really think this is a good idea?" Rich asked.
"You’re right, Cal has done some pretty
horrible things, but there’s not much that he can do now. I’m married to her.
What’s he planning to do? Kidnap her? I could track them down in a
second."
"People do some pretty crazy things for
revenge."
"It just doesn’t work that way. If word
got out about the way he behaved in the short acquaintance I had with him
before, his entire reputation would be ruined. He isn’t going to take that
risk. If anyone, I’d be the one seeking revenge, not him, and you know I’m not
that kind of person."
It was settled. Jack was going to have to
cope with Cal, and vice versa.
*****
"So, you live in a pretty big house. Do
you have a family?" Jack asked Cal after a couple of meetings.
"Yes. A wife and two kids."
"Are you kidding me?"
Cal explained. "The kids are twins; a
girl and a boy."
"You must be a pretty happy man."
"Definitely." Jack smiled. He was
beginning to miss Rose. She would be arriving that Sunday. How would she react
to Cal? He realized Cal was talking again. "I’m sorry. What?"
"Not to be too forward, but I’ve got
another question for you: what happened to the Heart of the Ocean?" Now
his eyes were dark.
Jack’s eyes also went cold. Leaning in to
face him, he said, "I have no idea what you’re talking about."