Just a Bit Dirty (Straight Guys #10)(9)

The thought made him bite the inside of his cheek.

The thing was… Ian Caldwell might be an enormous prick to him, but he was undeniably weird about him. Miles wasn’t sure what the guy’s problem was, but Caldwell continued staring at him all the bloody time.

No matter what Miles did, Caldwell stared at him. Miles ironed Caldwell’s shirt, and Caldwell stared at him. Miles typed up a document for Caldwell, and Caldwell stared at him. Miles served him a lunch (delivered from one of the best restaurants in the city, of course), and Caldwell stared at him. Fucking hell, by this point, Miles was used to being stared at all the time.

Since Miles didn’t have a second head and wasn’t ridiculously handsome like his brother Ryan, he could only conclude that Caldwell’s strange stares had to do with his resemblance to his ex-wife.

But it still didn’t explain anything.

He’d done his research, but Googling Ian Caldwell and his ex-wife didn’t give Miles the answers he was hoping for.

Regina Travers was a C-list actress who’d played a few minor roles in some small movies. She looked a lot like him, Miles admitted grudgingly, but they didn’t look like twins, no matter what Caldwell said. They would never be mistaken for one another, unless one was half-blind. She was pretty tall for a woman—around 5’10”—so about Miles’s height. That was where the similarities ended.

Her every other feature sort of looked like Miles’s, but as if it was slightly distorted. Her hair wasn’t quite as richly colored as his was, but it was golden-brown, and the shape of their green eyes wasn’t quite the same, but it was similar enough. Being female, her features were a little softer than his, but not by much, since Miles’s face was pretty refined as it was. It made sense why Caldwell had first thought they must have been related. Regina Travers resembled Miles more than his own siblings did.

It was a little weird, but it wasn’t all that weird—there were plenty of celebrities who looked freakishly like each other—so Miles didn’t think it completely explained Caldwell’s strange staring.

No, Caldwell wanted something from him.

But what?

At first, Miles had thought the man simply wasn’t over his ex-wife. That would explain the staring if Caldwell was still in love with Miles’s look-alike. Except apparently Ian Caldwell was the one who had filed for divorce. So the pining ex-husband theory was out.

But what other theory was there?

“Why didn’t you tell me I kind of look like his ex-wife?” Miles said sulkily.

Sofia frowned. “You do?”

Miles stared at her, utterly confused, before remembering that while Sofia had worked for Rutledge Enterprises for decades, Caldwell had become the CEO—and her boss—just a few weeks ago. Since she didn’t seem to be the type to read gossip blogs, it was unlikely that she’d ever seen Caldwell’s ex-wife.

Silently, Miles pulled up Regina’s picture on his phone and showed it to her.

“Huh,” she said, eyeing it. “I do see the resemblance, especially at first glance, but the more I look at her, the less similar to you she looks. It’s all in the details. It’s like she’s a rough draft of you.”

Miles snorted. “Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Her face is more delicate and feminine.”

Wrinkling her nose, Sofia shook her head. “Yours is more striking.”

Chuckling, Miles just shrugged even though he disagreed. “Do you think he’s such a prick to me because I sort of look like his ex?”

Sofia raised her eyebrows. “Dear, don’t take it the wrong way, but Mr. Caldwell isn’t treating you any worse than he treats everyone else. Yes, he’s demanding and his standards can be quite high, but he isn’t an abusive boss. He’s never nasty or rude for the sake of it. Was he nasty to you?”

Miles went quiet, thinking about it. “Not really. He’s just…” Too much.

It might be a weird way to describe someone, but that was what Caldwell was: too much. When he was in the room, it was impossible to ignore him. He was like a black hole dragging Miles’s attention to it. Coupled with the fact that Caldwell stared at him all the bloody time, the effect was more than a little disconcerting. Miles had considered himself a mild-natured, laid-back guy, but he felt nothing like one in the past week since meeting Ian Caldwell. He felt so on edge that he was this close to snapping at Caldwell and asking what the hell his problem was.

Maybe he should just do it.

Miles sat straighter, considering the idea. Why not? He had nothing to lose. Being fired would be a relief, actually.

“I’ve got an idea,” Miles said, getting to his feet. He already felt better, his mood vastly improved now that the decision was made. Either Caldwell would finally fire him for his cheek, or he would finally get his answers.

“Good luck!” Sofia said at his back as he entered Caldwell’s office.

Caldwell lifted his gaze from his computer and quirked his eyebrows. “Didn’t I send you to get me those documents from Caldwell Group headquarters?”

“I told the courier to do it,” Miles said. “You know, the guy whose job it actually is.”

Caldwell gave him a look that conveyed exactly what he thought of his cheek.

Miles gave him an innocent one. “Is there a problem?” Come on, fire me.