Cassandra’s POV“Well that hardly proves anything, Mother,” Jordyn said. His frown turned into a sly smile.I was surprised by this. I’d expected Jordyn to take his mother’s side. In fact, as I watched Jordyn study the picture of me and Dillon, I’d been fully prepared to ask the security guards to escort them BOTH out of the building.“What do you mean?” Velma balked. “She’s with another man. Clear as day. Right HERE!” She continued to brandish her phone but Jordyn only shook his head.He turned back around to face his mother.“That picture shows nothing. I don’t know why you think that’s proof, but it’s not. You’re making a scene, Mother. And you’re embarrassing both me and yourself.”“She cheated on you,” Velma stared but Jordyn cut her off.“Leave,” he said, his tone tired. “This isn’t the time nor the place. I came here today for work. And you’re spilling out my private life to all these strangers?”Again, I was surprised. In the past, Jordyn had almost always taken his mother’s si
Cassandra’s POVStella and I were both silent for a beat as we absorbed the information.“Really?” Stella asked. “They want to meet with us? Fox Finch Holding? Let me see the email.”I passed my phone over to her. I was just as shocked as she was. Fox Finch Holding was a massive company with connections and clients we could only dream about. That’s one of the reasons I’d been trying to get a meeting with them.“Well that changes this,” Stella mused. “Do you think they want a collaboration?”I nodded. I could see no other reason for the meeting.Our company paled in comparison with Fox Finch Holding when it came to size. But we were gaining ground. We were growing and we were creating buzz. We might not be as successful as Fox Finch Holding, but we brought a lot to the table.Jordyn saw our potential. So why wouldn’t Fox Finch Holding? “Maybe we should hold off on Jordyn’s offer then? Wait and see what Fox Finch Holding has in mind?” I suggested.Stella agreed. “If they offer us bette
Cassandra’s POV“Now that we’ve made our introductions, I’ll leave you three alone to discuss the details of the collaboration,” Damion said, pushing back his chair. He waltzed out of the room, leaving Stella, Dillon and I alone.“The CEO of Fox Finch Holding is your father?” I asked, turning to Dillon. He must have seen the shock on my face because he chuckled.“You got me!” He threw his hands up in the air. “The ruse is up! Yes, that’s my father. And yes, I’m next in line for CEO.”“I thought you were a lawyer,” I shook my head.He smiled, the corner of his brown eyes crinkling. “I am,” he confirmed. “But I also have an MBA. I didn’t tell you about any of this because I wasn’t sure if I was going to take over the company. It’s a lot of pressure. Sometimes I feel like, from the moment I was born, my father was talking about his ‘son’ taking over the family business. But I had to sort it out for myself. You know? Make sure it was something I wanted. And not just something I was doing
Cassandra’s POVTwenty minutes later and we were driving through downtown in Dillon’s car. It was a Ferrari with luxurious tan leather seats. Dillon professed his love for sports car as we ripped down the street.“Some people say they’re overpriced, but I don’t know. If you love something it has value, right? So I see their value. I have an entire collection.”“Of sports cars?” I laughed.“Yup. You should come see it sometime.”I nodded. I’d been anxious at first when he hit the gas, but he was an expert driver. Dillon told me he liked to drive himself instead of using a chauffeur, and truth be told, I could see why.He wove in and out of traffic expertly. It was exhilarating. Plus, it was nice to be in the front seat for change instead of in the back. I was so used to being driven around. I forgot not all cars come with a piece of glass that separates the passenger from the driver. We were listening to one of his Spotify playlists, and I was surprised to admit I liked pretty much ev
Cassandra’s POVCameron approached our table. I could see the surprise on his face. Clearly, he hadn’t expected to see me and Dillon here, alone together, having an intimate dinner.“Well, what do we have here?” Cameron asked, eying the open bottle of champagne on the table. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a date.”He raised his eyebrows at us, a smirk on his face.“Hardly,” Dillon said quickly. “This is a business dinner.”“Hm,” Cameron teased. “A business dinner with champagne?”“Cassandra and I were just discussing the details of a business collaboration,” Dillon smiled.I realized in that moment that we hadn’t discussed business at all. On the contrary, our conversation had actually taken a really intimate turn.“Must be quite the discussion,” Cameron said, gesturing to the multiple plates of food on the table. He reached over and snatched a piece of bread right off my plate.“You know, Cameron, I’m a little upset with you,” I replied haughtily. I wanted to steer the c
Cassandra’s POV“I have to go to the hospital,” I told Dillon. “It’s Jordyn’s grandfather. Something’s wrong.”I stood up and pushed back my chair, grabbing frantically for my purse.Despite whatever was going on between me and Dillon, I adored Stanley. My heart raced.“I’ll drive you,” Dillon said without missing a beat.We hurried outside and rushed to the hospital.“I’ll wait here,” Dillon said, squeezing my hand. “Good luck.”I nodded thankfully and then ran into the hospital. I found Jordyn and Velma standing outside a surgery room. Jordyn looked disheveled and Velma was pacing.“Jorydn,” I said, hurrying towards him.Velma saw me, stopped, and shot me a disdainful look.“What are YOU doing here?” she scoffed snidely. “This is a FAMILY matter.”“Mother,” Jordyn snapped at Velma. “This is a hospital. I won’t tolerate your snide remarks. Not here.”Velma shut her mouth, but she glared at me. I ignored her hostility, choosing instead to focus on the real issue – Stanley.“How is he?
Cassandra’s POVWe all bolted onto our feet. The surgeon approached us as he removed his plastic gloves. We waited expectantly, fearing the worst. Jordyn took my hand and held it so hard, I thought he would crush my knuckles. “He’s stabilized,” the surgeon said.Jordyn let out a long breath. He released his grip on my hand.“Really?” Jordyn asked, relief in his voice.I was relieved too. I’d been so worried that the surgeon was going to come and tell us that Stanley hadn’t made it.I couldn’t even bear the thought of it.“Yes,” the surgeon confirmed, nodding his head. His tone was dry and factual. “He’s out of the woods, so to speak. His life is no longer in danger.”“Thank God,” Jordyn said.“Not God,” the surgeon quipped. “You have modern medicine to thank for this one.”“Yes, of course,” Jordyn said absently. I couldn’t tell if the surgeon was joking or not. His face remained serious.“Fortunately, the myocarditis hadn’t progressed to the point where he needed a heart transplant.
Cassandra’s POV“What?”He repeated himself with the same, calm voice.“I don’t want a divorce.”I was speechless!Speechless and angry! Where was this coming from? Who did he think he was? What did he mean ‘he didn’t want a divorce?’I stared at him, bewildered, unable to mutter even a single syllable.“I believe we can save our marriage,” he continued. But I held up my hand to stop him.I didn’t want to hear this. I didn’t want to hear ANY of this.“Jordyn,” I said, regaining my composure. I gently placed Stanley’s hand down on his blanket and stood up, to face Jordyn. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”“Please listen to me,” Jordyn pleaded. “I can explain. I can…”“Stop,” I shook my head. He did. He furrowed his brows and swallowed hard. Then he waited for me to continue. My mind was reeling. I didn’t even know where to start.“It’s not…it’s not that simple,” I said. “You neglected me for years. Do you know how many nights I sat alone, waiting for you to come home? Craving your aff
Cassandra’s POV “Crap, Cass. I’m sorry,” Dillon said behind me, scampering away from the screen. I hadn’t even realized he’d come home. I’d wandered upstairs while on the phone to sit outside. I hadn’t heard Dillon come in through the front door.I turned to face him. “It’s okay,” I smiled at him. He was acting like we’d just been caught doing something wrong, which was far from the truth. I had no issues with my parents knowing I was at his house. I just hadn’t told them that yet.“Was it Dillon?” my mother asked. I turned back to my phone. My parents’ faces were smushed up close to the screen, inches away, their eyes squinting.“Yes,” I laughed. “Now back up please. You look ridiculous. Dillon, come say hi.”Dillon saddled up beside me. I could smell his shampoo.“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Stoneworth,” Dillon waved at the phone.“Dillon! So nice to see you. What are you doing at Cassandra’s?”“Actually, I’m at Dillon’s,” I said. “See?” I pointed the camera through the French doors into Di
Cassandra’s POVI decided to Facetime my parents. I was feeling pretty stressed about the meeting and I hadn’t talked to them for a while. They always made me feel better and Dillon was out grocery shopping for dinner ingredients, so I figured it was a good time to call.I dialed and moments later, my mom’s face popped up on the screen.“Cassandra, love! How are you?” my mother asked. She was donning her wide-brimmed gardening hat, which only meant one thing. She was trying to cut roses. We had a professional gardener and groundskeeper, of course. But every so often, my mother got it in her head that she should go and cut some fresh roses herself. It never ended well. She either cut them too short so that they couldn’t really sit in a vase, or she pricked her fingers on the thorns and cursed, or she got bored and gave up.We all tried to convince her to just give up on the whole gardening thing. She clearly didn’t have a green thumb. But she never listened.“Whatcha up to?” I asked, su
Cassandra’s POVShit.‘Bad kittie,” I hissed at the cat the moment I realized my camera had been turned on. Not knowing what else to do, I dove down, my head between my legs, trying to get my face away from the camera. Stoffs, not knowing that she’d done anything wrong, just curled up on the laptop.Everyone started cooing when they saw her.“Oh my, what a pretty little kitty,” I heard someone say.“Look at her. All snuggled up on the keyboard. Oh! She just yawned! I saw her cute little pink tongue. Are we boring you, little kitty?” someone else gushed.But through all the gushing and cooing over the cat, I heard Jordyn’s voice, loud and clear.“Cassandra?” he asked.Damnit. Had he seen me? There had been roughly five seconds before I realized the camera had been turned on, five seconds where my face had flashed right into one of those little Zoom boxes on the screen.I carefully crawled off the chair and onto the ground. When I was sure I was out of the camera’s view, I stood up.“Cas
Cassandra’s POVI slept better my first night at Dillon’s than I’d slept in a long time. Dillon and I spent the afternoon lounging by his pool. It wasn’t warm enough for bathing suits, which was fine because I didn’t have one there anyway. But it felt nice to relax with the sun on my face.After that, Dillon ordered what felt like a pharmacy’s worth of medicine for me as well as Chinese food.“I didn’t know what flavor you like,” he said, setting down bottle after bottle of cold medicine onto the counter. I was touched. I’d been sick a few times during my marriage to Jordyn, and he hadn’t exactly been the best caregiver. In fact, come to think of it, he’d often seemed annoyed when I was sick, like my being sick was an inconvenience to him.Dillon was the opposite. He bent over backwards to make me feel comfortable. We binge watched some Netflix while we ate Chinese food. It was nice. Dillon didn’t let me lift a finger, literally. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that at ease,
Cassandra’s POVDillon led me into his foyer.“Well, how about the grand tour?” he asked as we awkwardly stood at the door. Now that we were actually at Dillon’s, I wondered if I’d made a mistake coming there. This was his house, his personal space. Surely, I was putting him out.He seemed casual as ever though as we walked through the house. In fact, he seemed genuinely happy to have me there as he proudly told me all about his house.“I went back and forth between granite and this new, cement-like material for the countertops,” he said as we walked through the kitchen. “I settled on granite, as you can see. I guess I’m a sucker for something tried and true.”His kitchen was stunning. The white granite and the stainless steel appliances gleamed under the numerous pot lights. We walked through the kitchen to the formal dining room, outfitted with a massive mahogany dining room table that could easily seat ten people.“I don’t use this room much,” he told me. “I usually just eat at the
“Well, that went well,” Dillon chuckled as we turned onto the highway. He reached over and gave my thigh a little pat. “Nothing like slapping someone with the threat of a lawsuit to really make them back off. Huh?”He took his eyes off the front windshield for a moment and flashed me a smile.“I guess,” I sighed. At the moment, I’d been pretty impressed about how things had played out in the parking lot. Cocky, even. Dillon had shut Jordyn down in such an intelligent, calm way. But now, as I sat there in that car with the scenery flying by, I felt uncomfortable.The whole thing just felt like such a mess. I didn’t understand how we’d gotten to this point, Jordyn and I. I was angry with him, yes, but I’d loved him at one time. I’d stood before him on our wedding day and said vows, real vows, vows I had intended to keep at the time. I’d been his wife, and I’d thought we’d grow old together.But now we were arguing in parking lots while his pregnant fiancé cast me dirty looks. Hell, I wa
Cassandra’s POV“What the hell do you want?” Jordyn sighed as Dillon approached. Dillon stepped in front of me, shielding me from Jordyn.“I want you to stop harassing my girlfriend,” Dillon said, glaring at Jordyn. Jordyn scoffed and rolled his eyes.“Who the hell are you?” Ellie asked, her hands on her hips.“Apparently,” Jordyn said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “this is Cassandra’s new boyfriend.”The tension between Jordyn and Dillon was palpable. For a brief moment, neither of them said anything. They just stood there, glaring at one another. I stepped out from behind Dillon. I wasn’t used to seeing Dillon like this, all riled up and super protective. I appreciated where he was coming from – he wanted Jordyn out of my life as much as I did at this point. My family had never liked Jordyn and they had made no show of hiding their feelings about him during our marriage. I was certain that Cameron had overheard many scathing remarks about Jordyn over the years.And since Dillon a
Cassandra’s POV“You don’t mean that,” Jordyn said, his eyes wide and serious.I did mean it though. I’d had enough of Jordyn and his constant interference in my life. When we agreed to the collaboration with Jordyn’s company, I knew it would come with its own unique set of challenges. But I’d honestly thought that Jordyn and I could maintain a professional relationship. I never, in a million years, thought he’d keep trying to barge into my personal life like this.What was he doing? Why was he even talking to me at all? His fiancé, and the mother of his child was currently waiting for him in the gynecology department. Why was he out here, arguing with me in the parking lot? He should be inside, with Ellie!“I mean it,” I told him, my voice firm with steely resolve. I’d tried multiple times to make it clear to Jordyn that I wanted nothing to do with any of his personal affairs. I’d done my best to be polite and cordial. But this was the last straw! I’d just been discharged from the hos
Cassandra’s POVJordyn walked fast, back through the parking lot towards his car. For a moment, my breath hitched in my throat. Why was he coming back? Had he seen me? I watched, frozen in place as he approached his car. He opened the door and grabbed Ellie’s purse.Oh. He’d just come back for Ellie’s purse, I realized with a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted right now was to see him, let alone to talk to him here, in the parking lot. I didn’t have time for this bullshit. I had to get to Dillon’s so I could start working again. Someone was already submitting our stolen designs to fashion companies. We needed to get some of our designs out to the public ASAP.But as I started getting into the car, I heard a voice call out.“Cassandra?”Shit. It was Jordyn. He must have spotted me across the parking lot. I slowly turned around to see Jordyn marching towards us, his eyes narrowed.“What are you doing here?” Jordyn asked as he approached. “Is everything okay? Why are you at the hospi