by Sam Crescent
She smiled as employees came into the building, talking about how great their Christmas and New Year had been. She sat behind her desk, answering calls and dealing with the stack load of mail. Blaze hadn’t come through the main door. She knew he was in the building because she’d heard him and had put calls through to his office. He seemed to be avoiding her.
Not a good way to start the new year at work. Her hands shook every time she spoke to him.
At lunch time Cassie got the biggest shock of her life.
“Hi, I’m Francesca. I’ve got an appointment to see my fiancé.” Francesca, the gorgeous woman who’d been on the phone the night of the party.
“Yes, which one is your fiancé?” Cassie asked, dreading the answer.
“I’ll deal with this, Miss Walker.” Cassie gasped as the man of her dreams finally came to the reception area. He’d not even spoken her name.
“Sweetheart, you haven’t told anyone our good news.” Francesca purred as she went to Blaze’s side, kissing him full on the lips.
Cassie was going to be sick.
“What good news?” she whispered. Deep in her gut she already knew the answer.
“I’m engaged to be married.” She heard Blaze speak. Cassie didn’t want to hear it. Before she’d left for Christmas, he’d been inside her body. They’d fucked on his desk. Was Blaze Sinclair one of those men who used and forgot women?
Cassie watched him place a reassuring hand around his girlfriend. How could she have been so stupid to think he’d care about her?
“That’s not the only good news. We’re having a baby.” Francesca rammed the nail into Cassie’s coffin.
Cassie looked at the couple before her and felt like she was going to pass out. There was no way she could live through this pain, the excruciating emotional pain.
She gathered her purse and coat. For the first time since working for the Sinclair men she was going out to lunch rather than staying in. Cassie had to get away from the building.
“Blaze, is something wrong with the woman? She looks awfully pale.”
Cassie couldn’t believe she’d any colour at all. Was this how other women reacted when they realised they’d been used?
“Congratulations. I’ll be back in an hour,” Cassie said. The words were hard for her to speak, the lump in her throat painful. What else could she do?
She walked out of the office doors, not caring there wasn’t anyone to cover her on the front desk.
For the first time in her life she’d been used by a man. The very man she’d been in love with since she met him. She heard the commotion and glanced back to watch.
“Go to my office, Francesca.” Blaze pushed his fiancée away. He rushed toward her, and Cassie turned and carried on walking. She didn’t want anyone to witness her humiliation. The taunts and nasty comments came back to haunt her. How could any man – especially one as sexy and handsome as Blaze Sinclair – want anything to do with fat, ugly Cassie Walker? She kept walking and contained the sob she wanted to expel.
“Cassie,” he yelled. She walked faster.
“Cassie, wait.” He rushed to her side, catching her arm and stopping her. She turned away from him, not wanting him to see her tears.
“How may I help you, Mr. Sinclair?” Her voice was formal, a way to keep him as far away from her as possible.
“Cassie, don’t do this please.”
He sounded so broken and desperate. She glanced at him and wished she hadn’t. He looked as tortured as she did.
“What do you want me to do? I’m sorry, but I can’t find the words of wisdom right now. When did you get engaged?” She saw the question caught him off guard.
“Cassie, please. We’ll talk—”
“It was at the party, wasn’t it?” Cassie knew the tears were falling down her face. She’d lost the fight to keep them inside. “You used me.” She dropped her head in shame. What had felt so wonderful to her was his way of having one last free shag. Soon he’d be a married man and every other woman was off the menu. Was she some pity fuck? Screw the fat girl while he knew she wouldn’t have any claim to him afterwards?
****
“Cassie, I’m sorry.” Blaze had no idea what to say, and the sorry didn’t sound good enough even to him. He’d used Cassie in the most appalling way he knew how. That night he’d begged her not to refuse him. Chris had told him of her crush, and he’d used it against her. How could she refuse him when she spent most of her time wanting to be in his arms? She’d welcomed him into her body with so much desire and passion that he got hard just remembering. His desk was now a treasured memory for him.
Blaze knew he should have called her through the holidays, tried to talk to her about what would happen. He’d been a fucking coward, and he was paying the price for his deceit.
“You’re sorry? You used me knowing that you wouldn’t have to do anything about it. What was I? A pity fuck? Fuck the fat girl before going on to your wedded life,” Cassie snarled. The tears were a constant stream down her face. She didn’t seem to care about the attention they were creating.
“I’m sorry,” he said once again.
“I don’t want to hear this.”
His chest hurt, and he wanted to fold her in his arms, to swear it had nothing to do with her. He was the bastard who’d taken what he wanted.
“Cassie, please, let’s go inside and talk about this.” He took her arm, but she yanked it away as if his touch physically hurt her.
“Don’t touch me.” She glared at him. He saw the anger flash in her eyes. Blaze wanted to see the anger rather than the hurt he’d caused. “Please leave me alone.”
Blaze stayed where he was preparing to pounce. What could he do? He backed away. There was no point trying to talk. Cassie was hurting, and he’d been the cause. “I’ll see you in my office when I get back.” He waited until she nodded, and he stood on the street and watched her walk away.
Blaze spent the next few hours waiting in his office. All work pushed aside, he couldn’t concentrate on work, and he didn’t care for it either. Not while he thought about Cassie and the pain he caused. Francesca had long gone. She was away now spending his money to create the wonderful wedding for the happy couple.
“Margaret, has Cassie Walker returned yet?” he asked his secretary over the intercom. He listened as she made enquires.
“No, sir. No signs of her either. They seem quite concerned.”
“Thank you, tell them not to worry. Miss Walker informed me she would be a while.”
“Okay, sir, will do.”
Blaze sat back in his seat. His hand rubbed along his desk where a few weeks before Cassie had been spread out and screaming out her release. She’d taken every inch of his hard cock into the depths of her gorgeous tight pussy. He put his head into his hands. He’d really made a mess of things.
A knock at the door made him bolt upright.
“Come in,” he called. In the few seconds it took for the person to open the door, he prayed it was Cassie. His heart dropped.
“What do you want?” he snarled at his brother.
“Well, I thought I’d come and give this to you.” Chris held up a plain white envelope.
Blaze got up from his seat and went round to perch on the other side of the desk. He took the envelope from his brother. He read the contents.
“What the hell is this? Some kind of a joke?” Blaze threw the paper back at him.
“Miss Walker left my office an hour ago. Her resignation was effective immediately,” Chris said, picking up the letter.
“No one has seen her,” Blaze said. She’d promised to go to him.
“That is because she asked to meet me, and I snuck her into my office. After everything I’ve heard it was the only thing I could do to help a woman’s bleeding heart.” Chris neatly packed the letter back into the envelope.
“She’d nowhere else to go,” Blaze mumbled to himself. Every other manager and director had been against hiring her. At least Chris would give he
r what she needed to make her way in the world.
“I made sure she did,” Chris said.
“You found her a new place to work?”
“The woman was upset. She wanted out, and instead of her leaving without references I gave them to her, plus my word that she’d be taken care of.” Chris frowned at him. “You know I said Christmas was a time to start something new. To open your heart and mind. I didn’t mean to fuck a woman while you’d got another woman pregnant and intended to marry her. Cassie didn’t deserve this kind of treatment,” Chris said.
Blaze glared at his brother. He’d no intention of going after Cassie. After the call Francesca made and the revelations, along with Cassie showing up at his office, he’d been too weak to resist.
“It just happened.” The excuse was lame even to himself.
Chris slammed his hand on the table. “You don’t use women like Cassie Walker. You don’t fuck them and then just leave them like they’re dirt. Trust me, all you get is heartache and feeling like complete crap.”
“How would you know what that feels like?” Blaze attacked back. He’d not sit and take his younger brother’s rant. He knew he was in the wrong, and he didn’t need anyone to tell him.
“Because I’ve been where you are now. I’ve had the best woman for me, and I fucked her and dumped her.” Silence descended on the room. Blaze was shocked. “I’ve felt the very essence of love. To have a woman follow me and bask in everything I am. Not the money I make or who my brother is, but to love and like me. You wanna know what I did? I took her, wined and dined her, and then I fucked her senseless. I took her virginity, and then I dumped her for the next model who came along.” Chris’s eyes were filled with raging emotion.
Blaze had no idea what to say. He’d never seen his brother in love or even known there was a woman out there. The pain he glimpsed in his brother’s eyes was real.
“Do you see her?” Blaze asked quietly.
“Yes, I see her daily. She works in this building. I’ll not tell you who, but her eyes no longer follow me. When she speaks to me, it’s because she has to and no other reason.” Chris went and stared out of the office window. “You think this is hard? Wait until you see her again, knowing that the dull pain reflecting in her eyes is because of you. Or you see a guy paying attention to the woman you love, and you know you can’t stop her.”
Blaze sat in shock, the pain and knowledge of his brother’s pain scaring him. Is this the future he was to have?
“Is this why you’ve taken on the matchmaking thing?” Blaze asked. He knew the rumours that ran around his office.
Chris laughed. “We’re not all stupid fools when it comes to love, but some of us just need a helping hand.”
Blaze smiled. This man, his younger brother, was a hopeless romantic. Their father did say that when his boys met the right woman there would be no other woman for them. Their hearts would love just one, and that love would never cease and would only get stronger.
Blaze recalled the love his mother and father shared – that was true love. When his mother died giving birth to their third child, Trent, it had nearly destroyed their father. However, ten years later he’d married another woman and had two more children. He wondered if Molly had ever felt second best. For the first time he started to wonder about his own life.
“What should I do, Chris?” Blaze asked.
“I have no idea.” Chris left him alone in his office with his wondering thoughts.
Chapter Three
Cassie sat at home wondering what had happened to her. Just a month ago she had the most amazing job. Her life had been simple and fun. Now she felt like she’d been struck by lightning. The pain never ceased. As the hours moved by, it became easier to do something besides cry. Her face was red and puffy and her nose sore from using tissues. In the small period of time she’d consumed three tubs of chocolate ice cream and resorted to vanilla. Nothing seemed to help her aching heart. When she’d managed to get herself under control she’d gone out of her small house. On the way to the supermarket she’d passed a stand with all of the newspapers and glossy magazines. On every page she saw a picture of Blaze and Francesca with the words “happy couple” dotting the page. The sickness and tears had returned, and she’d walked straight home.
Chris Sinclair had been a miracle worker. He’d helped her find work and made sure she’d be all right. He was a great guy.
She stroked her ginger cat, Whiskers, and wondered how she would be able to cope with the rest of her life.
“I love him, Whiskers,” she told her trusted friend.
Whiskers purred and climbed up into her lap and cuddled her.
The knock at the door surprised her. She was expecting Chris to gather her belongings and drop them in to her. Picking up Whiskers, she opened her door.
Blaze stood on her doorstep, a box in hand. The desire to slam the door in his face was so tempting, but she’d been brought up with better manners than that.
Cassie cradled Whiskers closer, using her cat as a shield against the emotion bubbling up inside her.
“I brought you your stuff.” Blaze pushed the box towards her.
“Thank you. Chris said he’d bring it.” Cassie put Whiskers down and took the box from his waiting arms.
“I wanted to see you. May I please come in?” He gestured into her house.
Cassie reluctantly let him enter.
She closed the door, leading him into her small living room. “Can I get you a drink? Coffee, tea? A Coke?” The courteous part of her could never go.
“Coffee.” She nodded. Cassie went down her short hall that led into her kitchen. The house was small but easy and comfortable for a single woman.
She knew his order for coffee and made it straight from memory. Five minutes later she entered her sitting room to see him looking through her book collection. She placed the two cups of coffee on the table with the plate of biscuits.
“What did you want to see me about?” Cassie asked. She had to get him out of her house. His presence was killing her, tearing her heart and smashing it to smithereens. When would the heartache end? When would she be able to pass a stand where his picture would be spread all over the pages?
“Cassie, I don’t want to do this to you.”
“Then don’t.”
“Cassie, you don’t have to leave—”
“Yes, I do. I got involved with you that night, Blaze. To you it was just a night, but to me it meant more, and I will not spend the rest of my life watching you with someone else. I don’t want pity. I just want to ignore and forget about what happened and carry on with my life.” The speech sounded very good to her ears, but inside she was breaking. “This would be best for both of us. Less weird, and all of the other men can finally have their desired receptionist.” She forced a smile to her lips.
“If there was something, I could do—” There was not anything he could do. She knew that, and so did he.
He was getting married to a woman who carried his child. There was nothing more to say or to do. She would not have a relationship with a married man. If she had known about Francesca the night of the party then she wouldn’t have gotten involved then.
Why did she have to have more than sex in a relationship?
She couldn’t just have sex and leave it at that; she wasn’t built that way. She needed more. She wanted to be loved and to love back.
“You can’t do anything about that night. We both made a mistake, and this is the price we pay.” Cassie nodded her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She wore jeans and a red shirt. She hoped he couldn’t see the extra pounds she’d put on since leaving the office.
“I shouldn’t have let you that night. If I was any kind of man I’d have forced you to turn around and leave. But I’m not that kind of man. Francesca told me what had happened – and you came in, and I had to have you. I didn’t care about anything else,” he said.
Cassie licked her lips and stared at the floor.
She couldn’t do this. Not now.
“I think you should leave,” she said and walked toward the door.
She heard him following her, and she reached out to the door knob. Blaze pressed a hand above her head and closed her front door. Her heart raced, and she turned to face him.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t leave without doing this.” Blaze kissed her.
Cassie hated herself for melting against his touch. Her arms wrapped around him, and she responded, opening her lips so he could seek entry. She pulled away first and forced the door open.
Blaze caressed her cheek and left.
Chapter Four
Three years later
“She wants the house and a hefty settlement, along with a monthly expense account open and available. Mrs. Sinclair has said that if you agree with her terms then she’ll not fight for custody, and you can have complete control of Blaze Junior.” Blaze listened to his divorce lawyer while watching his little boy playing in the garden with his nanny. He was a gorgeous boy, thick dark wavy hair, sweet delicious baby face and a sharp mind, too, his son, Blaze Sinclair Jr.
“Do whatever she wants. I want that woman out of my life. Make sure that I don’t have to deal with her directly.” Blaze nodded to his lawyer and left his home office. He and his son had a date with his father. Blaze was under strict instruction to take time off work and visit his father’s home by the sea.
Three years had been wasted. Besides the birth of his son, life with Francesca had been a nightmare. The woman was a manipulating, cheating bitch. He couldn’t stand her. Coming home to see her fucking the gardener in view of his son’s window had been the last straw. He thanked God that his little boy hadn’t been home that day.
“You don’t love me, Blaze. How can I ever be happy when you’re constantly thinking of someone else?” She had thrown the accusation at him. He couldn’t argue with her. He may have given her his name, his body and even his heir, but his heart and soul were owned by another, entirely different woman. A woman who called to the man and not just his money and position in life.