by Liz Crowe
He belly laughed which caused me to laugh; I loved this side of him.
“I do the taking, Cassidy, and don’t you forget it!”
He kissed me hard and quick before placing me on my feet. Standing, he kissed my cheek before walking out the door. I peeked through the shades and watched him drive away.
I made it to the spa with time to spare and got comfortable in the reception area and was listening to my iPod when Ginger escorted me to a changing room.
“You’ll get the massage first, followed by a facial. You can shower then, if you like, and then you can get your mani/pedi and then Scott will finish with your hair.” Ginger was a little firecracker on five inch heels. I nodded as she handed me a robe and left me to disrobe.
They served me a light lunch after my shower and everyone was very professional through all of my appointments. I couldn’t help but wonder if they treated all their customers like royalty or if it was because of James. I opted for a few highlights, at Scott’s recommendation, and he also gave me a few long layers before cleaning up my ends. I felt like a million bucks when I was finished and headed out the door.
I got to the elevator and decided to pop up to see James. When I arrived at his floor Jennifer greeted me, but told me James hadn’t been in the office all day. I couldn’t stop the look that crossed my face as I got a sinking feeling.
“He’s had meetings off site all day,” she smiled sweetly and I took my leave.
Heading out of the elevator and into the lobby, I heard the shrill of a familiar voice. Walking hesitantly toward it, I saw Melissa Westin berating the security desk.
“Ma’am we have strict instructions that you’re not allowed in the building when Mr. Benedict is gone.”
Snickering to myself I snuck out of the building, pulling my coat tighter around me as I handed the valet my ticket and eagerly awaited the arrival of my car. November had officially arrived, evident by the chill in the air. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the cold that pierced my nostrils.
“Oh, it’s you.” I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore her. “I’m talking to you.”
After taking a deep breath, I turned to her with raised brows. “Yes, can I help you?”
Putting on a fake smile, she said, “Have you thought about what I said?”
I was SO not in the mood for her and her bullshit. Looking her up and down, I took in her appearance. Did she always dress this way in thirty degree weather? Melissa was dressed in a short tight dress and her nipples looked ready to burst against the tight, shiny material as her coat hung open around her.
“Whatever it is you’re trying to sell, I’m not interested.” I waved at her and her lack of an outfit, dismissing her as I continued to scrutinize her with my eyes.
Her jaw dropped and I noticed her hand twitch. “Are you calling me a whore?”
My car arrived at that exact moment and I rushed forward with a tip in hand for the valet saying, “Thank you.”
She shrieked over the hood of my car, “I asked you a question!”
“You said it, not me.” I flippantly waved at her again before jumping in my car and driving off. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her and her desperate attempts to get James’s attention. As I drove away I saw her yelling into her cell phone and wondered who she could possibly be calling.
*****
I decided to take advantage of the free time and did some shopping before heading home. When I got home I was putting my purchases away when I got a text message.
Have to work late.
I’ll be in touch tomorrow.
Miss me.
XO ~James
Don’t work too hard.
Miss you already.
XO ~Cass
I spent the rest of the day cleaning and enjoying my new movie streaming abilities thanks to James. I actually got to bed at a decent time feeling totally prepared for work the next morning. The next couple days passed and each day I got similar text messages from James, he was busy with work and would be in touch the next day. I was growing paranoid, wondering if something had changed and decided that if I hadn’t heard from him by the end of the week I would call him out.
I got home from work late on Thursday. Work had kept me busy all week and I had been busy completing wedding arrangements for Dad and Lisa and preparing other holiday parties. The press hadn’t been hounding me and I was grateful for that. Making a salad for dinner, I curled up on the couch with Chessa.
A bottle of wine later, I was wiping my eyes and missing Holly. One of her favorite movies was Love Actually and I couldn’t resist the temptation to watch it while I got comfortable under a blanket.
*****
I woke to the sound of metal clicking and a hinge creaking. Cowering down on the couch while my eyes adjusted, Chessa jumped off to hide. Traitor. The TV was casting a blue hue throughout the living room, but did nothing to give me away. I saw a tall shadow fall over the entryway between the living room and the foyer and my heart started hammering uncontrollably in my chest; I was having trouble maintaining steady breaths.
Looking for my cell phone, I felt around in my pockets and realized it was on the charger in the kitchen. Cal would never stop by this late and let himself in like this. Panicked, I started looking around the room trying to find something to protect myself with. Cal kept insisting that I get a gun and now I was wishing I would’ve listened. The shadow headed up the stairs and I made my move for my cell.
Reaching the counter as I heard the footsteps above my head, I ripped my phone off the charger, noticing missed calls and texts, but ignored them to call Cal. As the phone started ringing I prayed he answered, knowing he was working tonight.
“Cassidy, why are you calling so late?”
“Cal, someone’s in the house. I don’t know what to do.” I was trying to whisper, looking for something to grab. I spotted my vase full of dying peonies, from a second bouquet James had sent, and dumped them in the sink and readied the vase in my hand.
“What?! Cassidy, are you sure?” I heard him mumbling something to his partner and then heard the distinct sound of sirens pierce my ear.
“Cal, yes, please hurry.”
“Cassidy, where are you in the house and where’s the intruder?”
“I’m in the kitchen, he’s upstairs.”
“Get out of the house.”
I started to head for the front door when I heard the footsteps head down the stairs. I was stuck between the entryway and the living room and right on the other side was the bottom of the staircase. Cal was screaming on the end of the phone so I decided to throw my phone back toward the kitchen in hopes of creating a diversion.
The phone landed on the tiled floor with a crash and the shadowy figure circled around the wall just barely missing me. I held my breath, and when I thought there was enough space, I ran for the front door. I turned the knob but it didn’t budge. I was searching for the deadbolt when I heard thundering steps approaching me and I started sobbing. Realizing I was still armed with the vase, I increased my grip on it.
“Where are you going?”
Turning my head briefly, I shrieked as I threw the vase at my attacker. “The cops are on their way. Stay back.”
~ JAMES ~
Missing her more than I thought possible, I realized that I hadn’t seen her since Monday morning. When I wasn’t dealing with business I had been working with Annie and Smith trying to protect Cassidy. We did everything we could, legally, to keep her mom’s story under wraps and to keep the reporters off her property. The details of the story were worse than I remembered and I couldn’t imagine how she had dealt with this at such a vulnerable age.
Security had informed me that Melissa made an appearance on Monday, but not hearing anything else from Melissa, I let it go. Mom was doing well this week and Dad assured me she was getting enough rest. I had postponed the architects again regarding the country house because it was simply too much to deal with at the time. Looking at the clock, I realized it was alm
ost midnight. I had tried calling and texting Cassidy earlier that night but got no response. She was probably ignoring me and I couldn’t blame her, having neglected her for three days.
I packed up my belongings and headed to the parking garage, hopping in the Rover instead of making the walk across the street to the hotel. I hadn’t slept for crap the previous three nights and I was beginning to believe that I slept better with Cassidy next to me. Having a key, being her landlord and all, I might as well use it, though I knew I was overstepping my bounds.
Pulling in behind her car, I noticed the place was dark, as it should be. I made my way up the steps, slipped my key into the lock and gently opened the door. The TV was casting a slight blue hue across the room. She must have gone to bed forgetting to turn the TV off. Quietly, I closed the door, turned the deadbolt and made my way up the stairs, spotting Chessa run up before me.
Entering her room, I made my way straight to the bathroom. Turning on the light after closing the door, I removed my jacket, shirt and shoes. I decided to peek on her sleeping image in bed, opened the bathroom door and realized her bed was empty. It dawned on me that with the TV still being on she was probably asleep on the couch.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I heard a loud clatter in the kitchen so I turned the corner to investigate. Everything seemed in place and at that moment I heard footsteps racing toward the door and someone yanking on the knob. Cassidy.
“Where are you going?”
As her image came into focus, I could see her desperately trying to open the front door. It dawned on me that she thought I was an intruder and before I could say anything more she turned and threw a vase at me. I raised my arm in defense just in time to stop the vase from slamming against my face.
“The cops are on their way. Stay back.”
The vase hit the floor, broken to pieces against my arm. “Dammit, Cassidy, it’s me.”
“James?” Slipping to the floor, she hugged her knees to her chest. Her face came into view and I noticed tears slipping down her cheeks; she was shaking like a leaf.
“Cassidy, you’re safe.” Crouching down in front of her, I placed my hands on her knees. Her eyes were searching my face and when recognition reached them she threw her arms around my neck, apologizing. I sat down with her and scooped her into my lap, “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t mean to scare you.” We sat there for a few minutes, or maybe it was just seconds.
“I’m so sorry. The vase, are you hurt?” She pulled back to look at me and we heard sirens begin to pierce the air. “Oh, God.”
The sound registered with us at the same time, “You called the cops? I thought it was a scare tactic.”
“Of course I called them. I called Cal.” Cassidy scrambled to her feet and turned on a few lights before opening the front door.
We stepped out onto the porch as the cop car pulled up in front. Cal jumped out of the passenger seat with his hand on his pistol.
“Jesus Christ, Cassidy. Are you okay? What’s going on?”
Making her way down the steps she said, “Everything is fine. I’m so sorry. James came over and I was asleep on the couch.”
“It’s my fault. She didn’t know it was me.” Standing behind Cassidy, I placed my hands on her shoulders and saw the relief wash over Cal’s face as he examined her with his eyes to assure himself she was alright.
“You’re lucky she figured it out before I got here. I could’ve shot you.” Clipping his gun back in its holster, his partner got back in the car and on the radio, calling off the other squad cars.
“It didn’t help that his hair was pulled back. I didn’t recognize his shadow.” Cassidy chuckled lightly, leaning her head back against my chest as I circled my arms around her shoulders.
“Dude, your arm is bleeding.”
Cassidy bolted out of my arms, turning to examine my arm.
“Your sister has quite the arm. The vase she threw to fend me off must’ve cut my arm.”
Examining my arm she said, “We need to clean this up. Hold it upright.”
“It’s just a scratch, I didn’t even notice it.” I went ahead and held my arm upright while trying to scope out the damage. “You’re more dangerous than I would’ve thought.” I winked at her as she swatted my shoulder.
“Alright, if you’re both good here I should to get going.”
We assured Cal that all was well and Cassidy and I headed back inside as he pulled away.
“I’m so sorry, James. I should’ve known it was you.”
“It’s alright. I tried calling and just assumed you’d be in bed. I just wanted to feel you next to me.”
Tiptoeing around the broken vase, she headed to the kitchen and returned with a broom and dust pan.
“I fell asleep on the couch watching movies. I wasn’t expecting to see you since I haven’t seen you since Monday.”
Her tone was dismal and I was immediately reminded of my error. She was busy sweeping up the glass as Chessa made her way over and I snatched her up to ensure she didn’t step on any shards of glass.
“Work has been really hectic this week. I’m sorry if you thought I was avoiding you.” She looked to me with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I wasn’t.”
“Hang onto her for another second, I think I got all the glass but I want to vacuum it real quick.” Pulling out a vacuum from the closet, she quickly ran it over the floor and after a few swipes she put it away. “Let’s go clean up that arm.”
Carrying Chessa, I followed her up the stairs, into the bedroom and dropped Chessa on the bed before heading to the bathroom where Cassidy was pulling out some first aid supplies. She turned on the water, wet a rag and turned to me. She was staring at my chest and licked her lips, though I don’t think she was aware she did it.
“Cassidy...” I said her name softly as my cock twitched.
Her eyes jumped to mine and she blushed, “Sorry. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of staring at you.”
I smiled down at her as she took my forearm in her hand and began to wipe the blood away. After all the blood was gone and we were sure there was no glass in the cut, she placed some ointment and a bandage over it. It was a little worse than I thought but I assured her I didn’t need stitches. A massive yawn took over her face.
“You’re exhausted. Let’s get you to bed.”
She didn’t object and headed to the bedroom. I took the opportunity to take a piss, removed my pants and socks and headed to bed in just my boxer briefs. Cassidy was already burrowed under the covers so I slid in behind her and adjusted the pillow under my head. As I did, she inched over so that she was tucked into me.
“You sneaky minx.”
She was completely naked, having removed her sweats and t-shirt while I was in the bathroom. She quietly moaned, suppressing another yawn as I pulled her ass against my throbbing erection and buried my nose into her hair. I felt her breathing slow and willed myself to sleep.
“Cassidy?” She didn’t respond and I kissed her hair, “I’m falling for you. Hard.” Tightening my hold on her, I drifted to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Enigmas
~ JAMES ~
“Crap!” I woke to her bolting out of bed as sunlight filled the room. “I overslept. I forgot to set the alarm.” She ran into the bathroom and I heard the shower turn on.
I laid there, waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom, not daring to join her since she was already late. She took what must’ve been the quickest shower in history and bolted over to the closet.
“Thank God for casual Friday!” She was throwing on some jeans over satin panties that matched her bra. “Don’t you have to work?” She threw me a questioning glance.
Sitting up, I watched her scramble around the room getting ready for work. Shrugging my shoulders at her I explained, “I don’t have any meetings until this afternoon.”
She stuck her tongue out as she pulled the towel off her head and yanked on a tight fitting sweater. She tugged on some soc
ks and headed back to the bathroom. I heard the sink running, decided to get up and found her brushing her teeth with one hand and combing her hair with the other. I stood in the doorway admiring her as she finished and she gave me a quick peck before scurrying out of the room yelling, “Call me!”
Listening to her run down the stairs, I made my way to the toilet. I was headed into the shower when I heard her scream my name. I leapt down the stairs and found her clenching a paper with the front door open.
“Cassidy, what’s wrong?”
She was white as a ghost as I looked outside and didn’t see any reporters. I pried the paper from her hands and my heart broke for her as my anger bubbled to the surface. A picture of her mom and the former mayor was covering the front page with some other smaller pictures of Cassidy, Calvin and their father from years ago, presumably from the funeral.
“Fucking FUCK.”
I threw the paper down and raked my hands through my hair. How had that happened? Annie and I had spent hours all week doing everything we could to bury this story forever. She ran past me to the kitchen, started dry heaving into the sink and splashed cool water on her face when the heaving stopped. I made my way over to her as the sobs began unleashing.
Pulling her into my arms I whispered, “I’m so sorry, Cassidy. I’ll find out who did this.”
“I thought this was over. I, I can’t, I… Oh God…the wedding…Dad.” The sobs were racking her body so violently she could barely speak.
“Shh. Everything will be fine. I promise. I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
We spent the next thirty minutes arguing about her going to work. She called Lena to let her know she would be late while I called Smith and Annie. I found her upstairs putting on some makeup, trying to cover up the pain and anguish written all over her face, and I hopped in the shower before getting dressed.
Conceding to let me drive her to work, she was silent the entire drive. I told her to call me when she was ready to leave for the day and she agreed. I could only imagine how hard her life was after her mom died, especially with the scandal that surrounded it. Being thirteen at the time probably made it ten times worse and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what she was thinking about as I drove her to work.