to message Helene. This morning, however, he'd sent her a quick line about starting the survey he'd promised her he'd run.
And nothing. She'd sent no reply.
Maybe she hadn't even entered the correct email address.
His jaw ticked.
Today sucked.
Cade had a town car at his disposal to get to and from appointments, but he dismissed it that evening. The office was just south of Lexington Avenue, and he lived across the park. On days when it wasn't raining, he liked to walk.
"Hey!"
He spun on his heel, and broke into an involuntary smile. "What are you doing here, Richelle?"
It was rare for his sister to ever visit his office. She could be annoying, but after the day he’d had, he was glad to see her. He was glad for anything that broke through the funk in his brain right now.
"I was shopping down the road. Ben let me know you were coming down, so I figured we could go home together."
He rolled his eyes. "In other words, you wanted me to carry your bags?"
She grinned innocently, letting him take her four shopping bags.
He knew that wasn't right, though. She could have taken a cab home, or called his driver, for that matter. Richelle was worried about him. He wouldn't have been surprised if Ben hadn't been the one to make the call, to ensure she was here for him today.
"How did your day go?" She probably thought she was subtle.
"I'm fine, Rich," he lied. He wasn't anywhere near fine, but he wasn't about to get into a heart-to-heart about it.
His sister would never let him live it down if he told her he was all messed up because of a woman. And worse yet, she'd do her best to interfere.
Cade wasn't one to share his personal business in general, but if he did, it wouldn't be with her. James was on the other side of the planet, Kenneth was sailing, Archer never spoke more than a couple of words in a row, and David would never comprehend why his brain was still thinking of a woman he'd already fucked. That just wasn't in his DNA.
"Cade, if you don't tell me, I'll have to call Mom and let her know her baby boy is feeling poorly. You know she'll be on the next plane over."
His jaw fell. That was breaking the sibling code. How many times had he let her break down, crying on his shoulder, without threatening to involve their overly sensitive, overbearing mother? "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
He narrowed his eyes. "Call our mother, and I'll retaliate next time you have a bad breakup."
Richelle shrugged. "No, you won't. I'm a brat. You're my honorable big brother, remember?"
Damn if she wasn't right.
He sighed. "I'm okay, I promise. It's just…personal."
Richelle chuckled. "Which is why Ben didn't ask, but I can. I'm your sister. You bought me tampons. It doesn't get more personal than that. Not until you get hitched."
Cade looked up to the cloudy sky, asking the heavens for help against his sister.
No divine answer came. Dammit.
"I met someone."
Her gasp made him laugh. He wasn't that much of a recluse.
"A female someone? Wait. A male someone? It's fine if you swing that way."
The fact that she didn't even know whether he was straight was a testament of how private he'd kept his personal life. Cade wasn't a monk, by any stretch of imagination, but he hadn't felt a connection to anyone for a long time. What was the point in introducing women to his family, to his friends, if he knew they weren't going to last?
Helene was…different.
She could be.
"She doesn't like me much."
Richelle snorted. "Any woman with a pulse likes you, Cade. Most of my friends are half in love with you. They would have made a move if you weren't cold and closed off."
He shrugged. He knew he was pleasing enough to look at, and the power of his wallet was appealing to most females.
"Oh, she likes me physically." He grimaced. "It's everything else she isn't fond of. The money. The company. The second and third homes, when the rest of the world has to think about feeding themselves."
Richelle nodded. "I know. Brooke's a bit like that, too. Even now, although her photography is worth thousands and thousands. We can't help that we were born with money, though."
"But we can choose what we do with it." He was man enough to admit that he hadn't chosen as wisely as he could have. His preliminary findings with HR had shown as much.
"True. So, what, she'd