“Of course” Carl said without hesitation.
I smiled a genuine smile this time. “Of course these need to be full reports so I know exactly who and what I’m dealing with. There are people in this business that I would prefer not to attach my name to… surely you understand?”
“Completely!” Carl answered ecstatically. He was like putty in my hands, he was offering up everything I needed with absolutely no clue why I needed it.
I stood from my chair and Carl mirrored the gesture understanding that the meeting was over. I extended my hand as I spoke, “you can send all information to my assistant and she will pass it along.”
He nodded. “of course!”
Cassie stood up from her seat after gathering her things. “Nice to meet you Mr. Fisher.” She said extending her hand.
He took it and brought it to his lips for a kiss. “The pleasure was mine…” She started to follow me when he spoke up again. “Would you mind joining me tomorrow night? I’m having a little informal gathering and I need a woman on my arm… you know for show.”
My stomach clenched at the thought. I turned around and met her eyes and she looked pained. Fucking better had. I looked towards Carl, “sorry but our schedule is pretty tight right now.”
His shoulders slumped for a half a second before his eyes lighted back up. “How about you both come! Just for a few, meet some of my investors and such. You can leave when you deem fit but it would be best if you both attend.”
I rolled my head around as if in thought. To be honest, I wanted to head back to Cassie’s parents’ house and somehow lure her into that den of hers so that I can at least find a reason to fall asleep holding her again. “I don’t know…” I said trailing off.
Cassie shot me a glare. “Of course we’ll try to make it. Just have your assistant send over the details and then we can work it out from there. But I promise you we will try what we can to be there.” She said enthusiastically. I felt like I was suffocating, she wanted to spend time with this ass wipe?
“Well she holds the key to my calendar so we may.” I said conceding. I had a sinking feeling in my gut though. She never wanted to interact with anyone business wise, myself included and she wanted to be with this scum? Fuck, if that’s what she wanted she can go and have herself a private party with his ass.
I walked out without another word. His receptionist tried to speak to me but I didn’t even blink at her and as we left I heard him summon her to his office and I scoffed. How fucking typical? But can I talk? I was just trying to get in my assistants pants my damn self. But this was different, he was old enough to be her fucking grandfather if you asked me.
I didn’t bother opening her door and headed straight to the driver’s seat and got the car ready. As soon as her door closed I peeled off not even waiting for her to buckle her seat. I felt her stare at me the entire drive but I didn’t give her my attention. I kept telling myself I didn’t care that she wanted to be with that old ass man but it wasn’t working. If anything, it was making me even more pissed the hell off.
By the time we got to her parents’ house I was fuming. I hadn’t said a word to her on the entire drive and she hadn’t said a damn thing to me either. She seemed to be preoccupied in her head, probably thinking of how to marry him and knock him off for his cash. I never thought she was the type but I guess I thought wrong… very fucking wrong. I thought she was real, although feisty and assertive I thought she was nothing but 100%. My grown ass made a fucking snowman with this woman and she was just as much a gold-digging bitch as the rest of them. I cursed myself half the way here for even letting her see the real me by letting her into my actual home and not my whore penthouse.
OK. So did I have a right to judge her or even be remotely mad? No. Was it my place to give a flying fuck? No. Did I think I was most likely being a bit harsh in my mind and probably over fucking dramatic about the whole thing? Absolutely. Do I care about knowing any of the above and had any intention on redirecting my feelings or trying to get a hold of them? Fuck no. Why? Because I actually give a damn about knowing.
When we got to the house, I went straight into the guest room and locked myself inside as I stewed like a child. I had no rights to her or to even be angry, but you can’t help how you feel obviously. I’m not sure how long I laid there staring at the ceiling when a soft knock came at the door. I sighed. “Yea?”
She poked her head inside and caught my eye before hesitantly letting herself in. I turned my attention back to the ceiling and just waited quietly for her to tell me what she wanted. “I just wanted to apologize for earlier…” she began hesitantly.
I didn’t respond. She didn’t need to apologize to me for earlier. If that was what she wanted, then who was I to stand in the way?
“I didn’t mean to step on your toes or anything, it was just too good of an opportunity for us to pass up.” She said her voice getting firmer as she spoke.
We? I was over this conversation and it was only just beginning. I sighed loudly and finally turned my head towards her. “It’s fine.”
She eyed me curiously. I’m not sure what she saw but her face became guarded. “Ok… well dinner is almost ready.”
I shook my head. “No thanks. I’m going to sleep, I’m exhausted.” That much was the truth. I was tired and was ready for this day to end. I turned to the ceiling and closed my eyes as though I was on the brink of sleep. I wasn’t, but I was giving her a cue that she was dismissed. I stayed motionless and quiet until I eventually heard the door close softly. For the first time since we got here, I desperately wanted to go home.
Sleep eventually found me yesterday and I woke up energized, and starving. I skipped dinner last night and my stomach was none too happy about that considering the outrageous noises it was making. I’m sure it was loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood. I waited a while before getting out of bed. It was still really early and the house was deadly quiet. I didn’t want to be responsible for waking everyone up so I stayed in the room as long as I possibly could before I was on the borderline of starving to death.
I freshened up and made my way quietly downstairs and into the kitchen. I decided to make a sandwich since that could be done with noises and smells. I fixed a sandwich and it was gone in what felt like three bites. I was still hungry and as I searched the cabinets I came across some cereal. Score! I got me a large bowl, a spoon, and some milk and set myself up at the table. I was on bowl number two when I heard someone else moving around.
I glanced up in time to see Irene enter the kitchen. She saw me sitting there and did a double take. “You’re up early today.” She noted on her way to the fridge.
“Yes, well I had an early night.” In confessed.
She nodded. “Cassie said you were tired last night. I was surprised not to see you for dinner.”
I chuckled. “well I was paying for that when I woke up, hence why I’m sitting here with the milk and box of cereal next to me. I’m going on bowl number three. I promise to replace this.” I said.
She shook her head. “No one eats that but Cassie and she’s never here. I buy it out of habit but it mostly just goes to waste. Knock yourself out. I am getting some real food on for breakfast so if I were you I would leave some space for that. I’m craving some stuffed French toast.”
I moaned out loud, that sounded like heaven. I finished off my bowl and stood to wash it. “Irene, if you weren’t married I would propose to you now. Does Cassie know how to make this stuff?” I asked.
She smiled. “Oh yea. She’s actually very good in the kitchen and she can make a mean breakfast… and dinner for that matter. The one thing she hasn’t been able to get down is lasagna. She kind of gave up hope on that one.”
I smiled despite myself. I wonder what it would be like to wake up in the morning to a nice hot breakfast prepared by Cassie… then I stopped. That’s the last thing I should be thinking. That would imply sex, and relationship type things, and, and… ugh! What is she doing to my damn brai
n?
I stayed in the kitchen with Irene chatting about everything and nothing. She was a really nice woman and she was extremely perceptive. This is why I wasn’t surprised when she turned to me and looked me dead in the eye before saying, “you like my daughter.” It wasn’t a question it was a statement. She was telling me she knew and her gaze was daring me to refute it. There was something about her mom that reminded me so much of my own that I couldn’t lie to her even if I wanted to.
“Yes ma’am.”
She nodded. “What are you going to do about that?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Nothing…”
She frowned. “Why not?”
I sighed and shook my head. “We work together, I’m her boss, nothing can happen between us, she’s not that into me… she barely tolerates me…” I pinched the bridge of my nose before continuing. “Plus she seems to be into someone else currently.”
She smiled, actually smiled at my distress then gave me a shrug. “Well then, sounds like you’re right to do nothing then.” She walked out of the kitchen and I swear I heard her chuckle.
I headed back upstairs to catch up on what was going on with work while I waited for breakfast to finish. Just as I reached the landing and turned the corner into the hallway, Cassie came outside of her room. She had on a pair of short sleep shorts and a tank top. She let out a large yawn and closed her eyes succumbing to it and stretched her arms up revealing her toned flat stomach. Fuck.
She rubbed her eyes and opened them slowly to find me standing there staring. She didn’t have on a bra because I could see her nipples instantly harden through her shirt and her cheeks turned pink under my attention. She tugged on her shirt self-consciously covering her soft sexy skin and gave me a shy smile. Fuck she was gorgeous and I had the sudden urge to kiss her, morning breath and all.
“Morning.” She said in a voice thick with sleep.
I nodded. “Good morning.”
She turned and went into the bathroom softly closing the door behind her. No matter how bad I wanted to follow her I refrained and continued to the bedroom. I went through my mails and nothing urgent stood out on radar so I wrapped it up when the food was ready. Breakfast was casual with small talk and I couldn’t help but notice Cassie sneaking glances at me from the corner of my eye. I refused to meet her gaze and eventually she stopped seeking me out.
I was enjoying some EPSN with her father discussing stats when Cassie came to find me. “Carl reached out to me, the event is going to be about two hours away and he will be sending a car for us at 5:30.”
I looked at the time, 3:00. I nodded to her, “that’s fine.”
I got up and headed to the bedroom to pack. Our flight home was tomorrow morning and I might as well get my shit together now then get ready. At 5:30 on the dot there was a light knock on my door.
“Yea?”
“Car is here, are you ready?” her voice came through the door. Normally she just waltzed in here but she must’ve noticed me distancing myself and didn’t feel comfortable anymore.
“I’ll be out in a second.”
I grabbed my suit jacket and headed downstairs where Cassie was waiting. Holy shit she looked good. She had on a fitted royal blue dress that came to mid-thigh. She had on these cute sparkly heels that matched her itty bitty purse and her accessories. It was simple and perfect. Her curves were just begging for my touch and there was a bit of it hidden in that thing, it should be illegal. She had her hair down and wavy and I swear I could picture a halo resting above her head. When I finally reached back to her face, she had minimal makeup on and her eyes were on me and they were heated. She was doing the same thing as I had just done and was taking me in slowly and thoroughly. I felt my cock twitch and had to wish that it shared the same brain as the rest of my body for once and do as I thought… relax. These pants just were not built to hide the type of hard ons’ she was capable of causing me. When her eyes landed on my crotch and stayed there for a beat too long and licked her lips my dick twitched again. If the sharp intake of breath she made and the way her eyes flew to mine she saw it.
“ready?” I asked.
She nodded and turned just as her face began to heat up. “Yes, let’s go.”
She led the way to the car and slid in. I climbed in after her and we were off. The ride was quiet and although we often sat in silence it was never awkward, until now. She sat twiddling her thumbs staring out the window with her brows knit tightly together. I didn’t know what to do with myself so I just pulled out my phone and did what I could do for work from my phone, so mainly emails.
We pulled up to a large home and I hesitantly got out. I didn’t ask for any details about this whole event we were attending because to be completely frank I didn’t want to even be here. We walked up to the front door and Cassie leaned on the bell. It was almost immediately flung open and we were ushered inside by what appeared to be a butler but most likely a hire for the event. He took our coats and we made our way towards the party. I recognized a handful of faces and nodded my acknowledgements. Cassie looked around taking everything in with wide eyes. I could see the appeal, the place was nice and modernly decorated however it was too grandeur for my taste. It looked like a catalog, not a home. I never got how people could be comfortable in this. Don’t get me wrong, my parents estates and where I was raised were always showing of money, but they always had a homey feeling.
Carl broke through the crowd and headed our way. Cassie’s face lit up and this was the first time I’ve seen any excitement in her since our first encounter with him. The jealousy and anger hit me full force and I had to actually put in an effort to keep my face impassive. He held out a hand towards me and I gave him a firm shake, the urge to put a little unnecessary force in my grip was unmistakable. He turned his full attention to Cassie and gave her a wide smile while he did a slow perusal.
“My, you look stunning Cassie. It’s a pleasure you two were able to attend.” He said once again bringing her hand to his lips for a kiss.
“Thank you for inviting us. This place is amazing, is this your home?” she practically gushed.
I grunted but it appears that no one was paying me any attention any longer. “It is, would you care for a tour and some introductions. Most of my guests today are clients or potential ones.”
She gave him a large smile and nodded. “I would love that.”
He nodded, “give me two minutes and then I’m all yours.”
When he walked away I saw Cassie searching my face from the corner of my eye. I turned to face her directly so I could try to get a read on her. She never wanted to schmooze and on top of that she was the bare minimal of social and pleasant at any other event. She normally didn’t like to be around these types of people and yet she’s acting like a horny school girl.
He returned back with his assistant in tow and they were both holding champagne flutes in both hands. He handed one to Cassie and offered her his arm. She accepted both happily and they were on their way. I watched them until they were out of sight and let out a sigh. This was going to be a long fucking night.
I turned back and noticed his assistant was still standing beside me and offered me one of the glasses. I took it gratefully and took a healthy sip. “Thanks.” I muttered.
“No problem Mr. Marks. By the way my name is Tasha, we didn’t actually get to be formally introduced the last time.” She said giving me a sultry look. She wanted me and she looked like a cat in heat.
“Drayden.” I said.
Her smile widened. “I can keep you company and introduce you around as well if you like?” she offered. I wanted to refuse and go sulk in a corner but I decided against it.
She led me around the room introducing me to numerous people. We walked up to a group of four men who were chatting amongst themselves and I caught the tail end of their conversation. “I actually just ran into Gerald Mavorik Jr. and Paul Courtner at the golf course about two weeks ago. I heard Paul is defending Gerald senior in some legal matter, I�
��m not sure what the details of that are…” the voice trailed off.
A pudgy guy closer to my side spoke up. “Gerald is a genius! That man can make money like very few. He does a lot of business with Carl I know for a fact. I believe that he and Carl were behind some of the most successful companies he’s had to date.”
Tasha used that lull in the conversation to interject. She cleared her throat gaining the attention – and the eyes – of all four gentlemen. The pudgy guy who was just speaking reached out and ran a finger seductively down her arm and I cringed internally. She gave him a pained smile that he didn’t seem to notice since his eyes were firmly planted on her breast. “Why Tasha, it’s a pleasure that you’ve come to say hello.” The man wreaked of creep.
She forced a giggle. “Nice to see you Mr. Jameson. I was introducing Mr. Marks around, he’s new into the fold and is deciding whether he wants to engage in business.” She said.
The men all nodded and turned their focus to me. “Drayden Marks?” a man that hadn’t yet spoken asked. He was the only one in the crowd who looked my age.
“That would be me.” I said.
He extended a hand. “Thomas Chambers.” I shook his hand and he began introducing the other guys. “Chris Mitchell, Brandon Lane, and Frank Jameson.”
The rest of the guys all took a turn and shook my hand. Once introductions were done, Frank returned his attention back to Tasha. “How about you show me around?” he asked her and the underlying intent was clear as day.
She gave him a forced smile and nodded. “Sure, this way.” And led him off.
The guys all watched after him and I returned my attention to the group to see Chris laughing lightly. “That’s such a shame.”
Thomas looked disgusted and shook his head. “It is. I don’t know the terms of her employment, but it damn sure appears that she believes opening her mouth and legs to anyone is a requirement. She’s a nice girl and all, but I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. We all know that Carl is banging her relentlessly and doesn’t give two shits about who takes a turn. I’m sorry, I just can’t stick my stuff knowing that she probably had a wrinkled dick in there minutes before.”
The Laws of Love Page 15