Cassandra’s POVBeep. Beep. Beep.The red line gave way to little peaks again.“We have a pulse,” one of the paramedics said.“You mean? It worked? He’s…okay?”I let out a massive sigh of relief. I watched his heart beating on the machine. His heart had stopped. He had…he had died. I stared at the machine, studying the tiny peaks, as though, at any moment, they might betray us and flatline again. “His pulse is still weak, but he’s stabilized. ETA to the hospital?” one of the paramedics asked the driver.“Three minutes,” the driver said, as the ambulance lurched to the left in a hard turn.It had worked. Dillon’s heart had stopped and they’d restarted it. If they hadn’t come when they had, if they had been even a little while longer…Dillon would have died in that room in the warehouse. Without their machine, we wouldn’t have been able to resuscitate him.“Thank you,” I whispered.“We’re just doing our jobs,” one of them smiled kindly at me. “You can hold his hand again.”I felt so muc
Cassandra’s POVWe did our best to pass the time but it felt like the clock was moving backwards. Jordyn went to get us some food, and when he came back, we couldn’t help but chuckle. He dumped an armload of vending machine crap onto the table.“What did you do?” Cameron asked, “Rob every vending machine in the hospital?”“I didn’t know what anyone wanted,” he told us, suddenly sheepish at the mass amounts of chips, chocolates, and candies he’d purchased.“Thank you,” I told him. I knew it was his way of helping. None of us knew what to do, really, as we waited there in that room. Jordyn was at least trying to feed us.Stella reached for some chips and tore open the bag.“Cassandra? What’s your poison?” Cameron asked me. I was sitting, my knees nervously bouncing up and down. “Chocolate? Gummies?”I shook my head. “I’m not hungry,” I told them. Food was the last thing on my mind. Dillon had been in surgery for over two hours now. Several other people waiting had been called away, one b
Cassandra’s POVI waited with breath held for Dr. Forter to tell me about Dillon. Cameron and Stella appeared behind him and came to join me.“He’s out of surgery,” the doctor said. “We were able to extract the bullet cleanly. Thankfully, it didn’t hit any major organs. He’s stable, for now. But he’s lost a lot of blood so we’re monitoring him closely.”His words were like heaven to my ears.“Stable?” I asked. “That’s good, right?”“It is,” the doctor smiled. “He’s not completely out of the woods yet, so to speak. But it looks very promising at the moment. It’s a good thing he got here when he did.”“Can I see him?” I asked. I felt an enormous weight lifting off my chest. I’d feared the worst, we all had. I’d been terrified that the doctor was going to come and tell us that Dillon hadn’t made it. But now that he was stable, my mind immediately turned to thoughts of seeing him.“You can, yes. But not quite yet. He’s still waking up from surgery.”“I want to see him too,” Cameron quipped
Cassandra’s POVShit.I was worried that Dillon was going to correct the nurse. And if he did, they might kick me out of here. So I gave Dillon a look that said, follow along. Although, he was pretty out of it so I wasn’t sure if would pick up what I was laying down.“He’s so brave, isn’t he? My husband.” I enunciated the last word, hoping Dillon would catch on. “Cameron and Stella are here, too,” I said. “But they can’t see you yet since they’re not family.” Again, I enunciated the last word.“Husband,” Dillon sighed contentedly. “I like the sounds of that.”“There, there,” I told him, hoping he wouldn’t say anything else. The nurse was nice and quick, thankfully. She just took a few vitals and jotted some things down.“All done,” she smiled. “He does need to rest though. So not too long of a visit, okay?” “Of course,” I said.When she was gone, I explained to Dillon that I was pretending to be his wife so they’d let me see him.“We don’t have to pretend,” he said, his voice stil
Cassandra’s POVAgain, we found ourselves waiting. Again, we found ourselves tense with worry. Again, Stella stuffed her mouth with sugary snacks. And again, my thoughts turned to the worst case scenario.The doctor had told us nothing. There was no news, no updates. We were stuck in a holding pattern that felt like it went on forever. At one point, I felt like I would break. I honestly didn’t know how much more of this I could take.I’d been there, with him, in the room. He’d been smiling. A little groggy, yes, and talking nonsense about being my husband, but he had seemed…well. Hadn’t he?What had happened? One moment he’d been sleeping and the next? He’d been convulsing.He was in surgery. Again. That was all we knew.And again, all we could do was wait.I don’t know how long it was before Dr. Forter came back. I’d lost all sense of time. Hell, I didn’t even know what day it was anymore. Our time in the warehouse, with Ellie and her stupid pictures felt like a lifetime ago. Had it r
Cassandra’s POV“Isn’t good?” I asked. I felt faint. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it in my ears. “What does that mean?”“Dillon needs blood,” the doctor said. “Without it, there’s a high chance that his organs will shut down again. We’re doing everything we can for him. But without more blood, there’s really nothing we can do.”I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How was this possible? Dillon needed blood. There had to be blood, somewhere. There had to be someone with Dillon’s blood type.“We’re going to keep calling around. Unfortunately, because the blood is so rare, we often don’t get a lot of it from donors. So in the meantime, if any of you know someone with his blood type, then please. Reach out. I’m afraid the situation is quite dire.”With that, the doctor patted me on the arm and walked away.I watched him walk away, stunned. If we know anyone? How the hell were we supposed to know anyone with Dillon’s rare blood? Wasn’t that their job? This was a hospital for
Cassandra’s POVI entered Dillon’s room and my heart sunk. He was hooked up to even more machines than before, and his face was paler than I’d ever seen it. The machine beside him beeped rhythmically, showing his heart beat.But his eyes were closed.It killed me to see him like this, in a coma. I went to his bedside and took his hand in mine.The doctor had said that I should talk to him. What was I supposed to say? Tears brimmed in my eyes as I looked at his lifeless face. Cameron said he’d found a match for Dillon, but he was vague about who that was. I didn’t push the issue. As far as I was concerned, it was a miracle. Apparently this person was on her way. Dillon’s condition was critical though. The doctor told us that, at any moment, his organs could start shutting down.I stroked his hand with my thumb, thinking about what to say to him. Then a little voice inside my head told me to just speak from my heart.So that’s what I did. “Dillon,” I said softly. “I don’t know if yo
Cassandra’s POVI’d never seen that woman before in my life. I was surprised to see her hugging Cameron. Stella and Jordyn were nowhere to be found. Perhaps they were still in the waiting room?As I approached, I got a good look at her. She was dressed well, in a cashmere two piece suit, with a white silk shirt underneath. She looked profession, well put together. She had gorgeous, black, silky hair that was long and straight. As I got closer, she glanced over at me. She had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen.She was roughly the same age as me, I figured, give or take a year. She was stunning, in a classic beauty sort of way. She looked like someone who belonged in a penthouse on Park Avenue in New York. She was elegant, right down to her suede Louis Vuitton’s pumps and French manicured nails.Clearly, Cameron knew who she was. They both had concern etched on their faces as they talked. But when Cameron saw me approaching, his expression shifted to a more intense look of worry.“Cassandra
Cassandra’s POVMonday morning at the office and felt like it was crawling at a standstill. I’d barely slept the night before because I was so stressed about the bill. I chugged coffee, trying not to feel like a stressed out sleep-deprived zombie.The venue called again, at exactly 9am, and this time, I didn’t even pick up. It went straight to voicemail. I felt bad avoiding the calls, but I didn’t even know what to tell the woman on the other end at this point. She’d want to know when we were going to pay the bill, and I didn’t have a definitive answer.The unpaid bill was causing me so much stress, that I was biting my nails down to the skin. I tried to focus on work, but I couldn’t.Stella came into my office around 11am, perky and polished, with two cups of fresh coffee in her hands.“You sure know how to hire them,” she told me, taking a seat.“What?” I asked.“Everything okay?” she asked, passing me my coffee. “You seem a bit distracted.”“Everything’s fine,” I forced a smile.“Th
Cassandra’s POVI stepped out into the early evening air and shut the door behind me. I stumbled down the front steps, steadying myself on the hand railing.What the hell had just happened?My mind spun as I tried to process it. Jordyn had kissed me. He’d actually kissed me. I was furious and shocked. I was mad as hell. What had he done that? It was inconceivable to me.I got into my car and gripped the steering wheel with both hands.His company was bankrupt? I was stunned. He was a hot mess and I knew why now. He’d wanted to merge with my company to protect his assets. It was the only way to save him company. But what about my company? Did he even care what a merger would have done to Hot House Flower?“Fuck!” I slammed my hands on the steering wheel. This was so typical of Jordyn. He hadn’t been honest from the start. He’d hid the fact that his company was in financial trouble, knowing damn well we’d find out sooner or later.Needless to say, this was NOT what I’d been expecting whe
Jordyn’s POVThe moment I kissed Cassandra, I regretted it. She shoved me, tossing me from her. In my drunken stupor, I lost my balance and tumbled to the floor.“What the fuck, Jordyn?” Cassandra seethed, daggers in her eyes. “Why did you do that?”“I’m sorry,” I said from the floor. “I didn’t mean to. Honestly. I just…got confused.”She stood up. Her anger was palpable. “You didn’t MEAN to? Are you serious? Was this all just some ploy? Some master plan to make me feel sorry for you?”“What? No,” I shook my head.“Is it even true? Is your company really bankrupt?”It took me a moment to understand what she was saying. She thought I was lying? About all of it? That I was just trying to earn her sympathy so I could…“This is unbelievable!” she shouted. “But I guess I should have known better.”“It’s all true, Cassandra,” I said, scrambling to my feet. “My company is bankrupt. I would never lie about something like that. I honestly didn’t mean to kiss you. I’m not…I’m not myself. I’ve be
Jordyn’s POVIt was stupid, I know. Thinking that just because our companies merged, they’d all somehow accept me as their friend. But the pressure and the lack of sleep were catching up to me, and my thoughts were hazy.All I knew as I stood there in that door at Dillon’s house, was that I wanted to be inside, with them, celebrating whatever it was they were celebrating. Our business collaboration was over so Cassandra had no need to see me anymore. And given the way I was treated at the hospital, I doubted any of them would ever willing hang out with me.BUT…if our companies merged and I was working alongside Cassandra, if we were colleagues, then they’d have to include me. It sounds so pathetic, now. Like I’m some kid on the playground, sitting alone on a bench because no one will play with him. But that’s honest to God how I felt.I harboured no delusions of winning Cassandra back. Not anymore. I just wanted to…to be her friend. So, in my twisted way of thinking, there was a lot mo
Jordyn’s POVAs soon as I said the words, I was embarrassed. I hadn’t meant to just blurt that out. I blamed the alcohol. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’d been drinking all day.Cassandra’s face contorted into a shocked expression. I didn’t blame her. Hell, I was shocked too. I’d known the company had been in trouble, but I hadn’t known how bad. Apparently, we had a very irresponsible CFO and he’d gotten us into some really hot water. He’d brokered some bad deals, big ones, without really crunching the numbers. And now?We were fucked, for lack of a better term.I’d received the frantic calls while we were in the hospital with Dillon. First from my business partners, then from the members of the board of directors. Our quarterly financial reports had just been released and all hell had broken loose. We were spending way more than we were bringing in. And the business deals that the CFO had made went bust.At first, I’d been convinced that we could dig our way out. We had assets that we c
Cassandra’s POVI glanced down at my arm. He was holding it way too tightly. I saw anger flash in his eyes, but then as quickly as it had come, it dissipated. A shadow crossed his face as he furrowed his brows and frowned.“Let go of my arm,” I told him curtly. He did, but his gaze remained fixed on me.“Please,” he said. “You can’t cancel the meeting. You have to…think about it. The merger.”I remained standing. I didn’t want to think about. Hell, I already had. But Stella had seen it all so clearly. The merger would benefit Jordyn’s company far more than ours. Hot House Flower was on the up and up. We were becoming quite well known. That was all Jordyn care about. He wanted to exploit the little bit of fame we’d built.I knew how his business mind worked. His company was not the right match for us. We didn’t have the same values. We didn’t want to be a corporation, not in that sense. We cared about our brand, our image, and our employees. If we merged, we’d lose all sense of what ma
Cassandra’s POVI pulled up to Jordyn’s house, our old house. I paused, staring at it from the street. I hadn’t been inside our old house since the day I left. I was surprised Jordyn had kept the house after the divorce. Part of me thought he’d sell it. He’d asked if I wanted it, but I refused. There were too many memories in that house, and I wanted a fresh start.I walked up to the front door and knocked, but there was no answer. I figured maybe he was out, but then I heard something inside. So I knocked again.Crash. It sounded like a glass breaking. I saw a figure move across the living room from the window, hunched over. I tried knocking once more, but when he didn’t answer, I tried the doorknob. To my surprise, the door was unlocked.“Jordyn?” I called at the front door. “Are you home? It’s me, Cassandra.”A low moan came from the kitchen, and moments later, Jordyn emerged.The sight of him stopped my heart in my chest, but not in a good way. His shirt was crumpled and wrinkled,
Cassandra’s POV“Are you crazy?” Stella asked me when I told her about the conversation with Jordyn. It was Sunday afternoon and we taking a walk through the park. Jordyn had scheduled the meeting for the next day, and since I still hadn’t told Stella, I figured I better do it sooner than later.“Why in hell would we merge with his company? We’re doing so good, Cassandra. On our own.”I listed off some of the benefits that would come with a merger, but Stella shot them all down.“Jordyn’s company is huge. It will swallow us. He’ll take control of everything. He’s a greedy mother fucker that just wants to ride the coat tails of our fame right now. He doesn’t care about us, or our brand. Come on, Cass. You’re not seriously considering this?”Well, when she put it like that, yeah, it seemed like a really stupid idea. We paused a park bench and sat down to sip our coffee. Stella looked really cute in a matching track suit, her hair pulled back into a pony tail. I, on the other hand, was we
Cassandra’s POVI didn’t know what to say. This had completely come out of left field.“You want to what?” I asked, staring at Jordyn in disbelief. I couldn’t wrap my mind around why he would possibly want to merge our companies. His company was huge, and way more successful than ours. It didn’t make any sense. Not to mention that the fact that he was in the PR and media space, and we were in fashion design. It had made sense to collaborate, since we both had something to offer for that particular project. But an actual merge?“Just think about it,” he said. “Our company could give you the media advantage you need. And all the PR. And in turn, we could rebrand and become a fashion powerhouse.”“I don’t understand,” I told him, my arms still crossed. “You want o rebrand your company and advertise Hot House Flower exclusively? But why?”Jordyn looked away for a moment. I caught another whiff of his body odor, and tried not to wince. Jesus, when was the last time he had a bath. He really