Caleb

Chapter Thirteen

Elaina~

It had been four days since the break in and Declan had done a complete overhaul of the Flores family's ground security team. After the police left the estate with Javier and Victor in custody, and the third intruder in a body bag, Ricardo promptly fired the rest of the ground security team, at Declan's recommendation, and had Declan help him hire a new, well vetted team to patrol the grounds.

Declan and Caleb also addressed the security of the mail and deliveries being made to the office after the cyanide coated cigar incident.

Falling back into their routine, Lainey and Caleb had spent the day working in Lainey's office, making small talk and laughing with one another while she worked. She had to admit, having Caleb around really did make her days a lot brighter and she was slowly becoming more addicted and dependent on his company which was a new feeling.

Lainey's uncle Manny, who wasn't really her uncle, just a close family friend whom she had been calling her uncle since she could talk, came in to discuss a new phase of the bank that she and her dad had been extremely excited about, which put her in a fantastic mood.

Her father had always wanted his bank to move away from the stigma of corruption and power and move toward becoming a bank of the people. Easy and seamless small business loans, and the new phase of online banking that was blue collar friendly with basically zero fees. The initiative had taken off a few weeks ago and she and Manny were going over the highly successful number of small accounts that had been opened. They were small business owners or individuals that had families - everything that her father wanted to attract and cater to.

"I see Ricardo has beefed up your security detail." Manny said, eyeing Caleb where he sat on the small couch by the window.

"Yes he has." Lainey said with a smile, giving Caleb a quick glance.

"Good, it's about time. Especially after what happened the other night." Manny said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Alvarez is an animal and I should have known he was going to retaliate when Ricardo rejected his bribes."

"Speaking of animals, I do have a bit of good news. I think I've pulled Santiago's attention away from you for the time being."

Lainey watched as Caleb's ears perked and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he listened intently.

"Really? How?" Lainey asked, hoping it was true.

"Ricardo told me that Santiago confronted you at the fundraiser last week and that didn't sit right with me. So I met with him and explained that the decision to kill the deal was not yours, but mine. That I advised your father not to take the deal and made the mistake of sending you as the messenger."

Manny was family and always looked out for Lainey. She gave him a warm smile and a quick hug, fully understanding that he had put himself in Santiago's crosshairs to protect her and she loved him for it.

"Always looking out for me," she beamed.

Manny gave her a kiss on each cheek, but stopped and turned at the door before he left.

"Will I see you at the charity ball tomorrow night?" Manny asked.

Lainey shot her eyes over to Caleb who kept her schedule and approved the events that she would attend based on the guest list. Her act of submission and trust, put a smile on Caleb's face who gave her a quick nod that the event had been approved and deemed safe for her to attend.

"I'll be there."

"Just a warning, Nick has been bellyaching to anyone who will listen about you. Yacked my damn ear off yesterday at a business luncheon in fact. Since it's his mother's charity event tomorrow night, I would imagine it'll be more of the same, but with more drunken groveling if you're in attendance." Manny chuckled, shaking his head out of pity.