I gritted my teeth in anger. The things she could say! This woman had no control over her mouth.“What?” Emma asked, perplexed.“It’s true. Did Cassie not tell you guys?” Becky said. “She married my boyfriend when I went into a coma. She was married to him for three years, keeping him under her lies. But of course, how long can a person lie? Her truth came out and her husband left her to get back with me. Poor Cassie got a divorce and she can’t see us happy. So now, she’s trying to break our relationship once again.”“Shut up, Becky.” I said, “You’re spewing lies and trying to ruin my life all the time. Have you got no shame?”
Enzo’s POV “You did what?” Leo’s voice boomed into the phone. I winced, pulling the phone away from my face for a brief second. “Yeah, you heard me.” “Wait a minute,” He said, “She made a small mistake in the document and you scolded her for that in front of everyone? Man, what is wrong with you?” “I don’t know, Leo.” I said, massaging my temples. “It’s just that… the case was important to me. And I was already in a bad mood since morning. Losing the client added to the injury. Out of anger, I dumped all my frustrations on her. And now I regret it.” “You better regret it, Enzo. This is the last thing you should be doing to a woman you fancy. I mean, she’s probably never going to talk to you after this. There go your chances of wooing her.” I widened my eyes. Was he right? Did I permanently blow my chances?“Shit, Leo. I made a huge mistake.” I said, “What do I do now? What if she never talks to me ever?”“You can find out by one way. And that is by apologizing to her.” “Apologi
Cassie’s POVEnzo came to join us for lunch, but once he saw me, he walked away.I did not understand why Enzo was behaving this way. Was he still angry with me? But no, it didn't look like anger. It looked like he was hurt. Like he was disappointed with me. But why? What have I done to hurt him? I had to make things right with him soon. Things couldn't be this way. I will talk to him tonight. For now, I will let him walk away. The rest of the lunch was boring with Enzo. I remained a mute spectator. I was hardly interested in what everyone had to say. After lunch, I found a disappointing email waiting for me at my desk. ‘I can’t come to the office. I’m too busy. Meet me at Millard’s cafe at 7 pm. I will be waiting for you there.’ - Calvin Anderson. I sighed. So he was not coming. The entire day I was waiting anxiously for his arrival. All of it for nothing!‘Thanks for the heads up. I would have appreciated it if you told me this earlier. I had other things to do.’ - Cassie Harp
Enzo’s POVIt was past ten o’clock but Cassie still didn’t come home. Where was she? After lunch, I did not see her. Even while leaving, the receptionist informed me that Cassie had left work at six thirty. I assumed that she had gone home without me. I was wrong. When I came home, there was no one.I realized she must have gone to see Calvin since she was expecting him today. Angry, I decided not to call her.I cooked dinner for myself and ate it alone. The clock struck eleven when I was done cleaing up after myself. I was getting worried now. Where the hell was she? As I looked out the window, I noticed that the rain increased. There was a storm outside. I could barely see anything. Could Cassie be stuck somewhere? Maybe she needed my help.Sighing, I quickly grabbed my phone and called her. It rang three times before going to voicemail. I frowned. Why was she cutting my calls? Before I could dial her number again, I heard the door open. A sigh left my chest. Cassie finally arrived
Cassie’s POV I watched as the printed papers fell from the machine. They were neatly piling up on each other until the machine abruptly stopped. I pressed the power button but it didn’t restart. I frowned. What was the problem? I tried to reboot the system once again but it didn’t help. Annoyed, I banged on the machine so it would work. But it didn’t help. I was going to do that once again when a hand reached toward it from behind me. I turned around to see Enzo appear. He grabbed the wires and did something. All of a sudden, the machine started working again. My face flushed. Clamping her eyes shut, I started speaking. “Sorry,” I muttered and watched the papers stack up once again. “What are those papers?” He asked. “A code.” I put them all in a while and was about to leave. His arm came forward to block my path. I looked up at him in puzzlement. “I need to speak to you.” I turned to face him. “Yes?” He let out a sigh and looked away from me. “Where were you last night?”
Enzo’s POVMy hands climbed to her waist, and my face inched closer to hers.Her fingers dug into the skin on my shoulder, her eyes clasping shut. The moment was here and I was about to claim it. But it slipped away from my hand just as quickly.Suddenly, I heard the noise of the door opening. Someone walked in. Cassie didn’t miss that either.She jumped from my body at once and scrambled to her feet. Smoothening her dress, she tried to regain her composure. I stared at her in astonishment, cursing at the intruder.Bloody hell, I was so close! Who the hell interrupted us?
Cassie’s POVI was busy looking at the screen when I heard someone tap on my desk.Looking up, I found Patrick in front of me.“Hi. Can I do something for you?”“I need to talk to you. I hope you're not busy.”“Of course not.”He nodded, “I need to apologise to you, Cassie.”I frowned. Apologise to me? “What for?”“For throwing you under the bus that day.” He sai
Cassie’s POVI did not speak to Enzo for the rest of the week. I was too angry with him.I did not understand what his problem was. I knew plenty of colleagues who dated, but nobody ever said anything to them. Then why me? Why was there a special focus on me?I was not even breaching any rules. Yet, he was accusing me of it. I was not going to tolerate it. He can’t treat me like a child anymore. I have made poor choices in the past, but he cannot taunt me for it. I have learned from them. And I will definitely not repeat them.Without realizing it, it was Friday. That meant I would be going out with Patrick for his dinner.
The weekend arrived sooner than anticipated.I barely had enough time amidst all of this to process that I was going on a business trip with Enzo. What the hell! How was I going to survive it?“You're carrying your passport, right?” Enzo asked as we arrived at the airport.“Yes.” I said and pointed to my shoulder bag, “Right here.”Nodding, he walked us to the private lounge area reserved for business class passengers. We took a seat by the couch, and instead of making conversation with me, Enzo opened his laptop and started working.Although he asked me to accompany him, Enzo barely made any effort to make things less aw
Cassie’s POVNext day at the office was rather awkward. Enzo and I ended up travelling in the same lift along with Emma, yet we didn’t exchange any words. As we got off on our floor, Emma asked me,“Is Enzo okay?”“Er… yes. Why do you ask?”“He seemed grim.” She said, “Didn’t you notice the circles under his eyes?”Well, I did. And it pained to know that I was the reason for it. I wish I could help him. But how? I was the reason he was suffering. How could I alleviate his pain?“Work stress, perhaps.” I said.
I exhaled in disbelief.Enzo wanted… me? I could not believe it!“Me?” I asked, “But… you were trying to get back with Liza, weren’t you? That night when you went to her house… I thought you were-”“No, Cassie. I didn’t go there to make things right with her. I went there to permanently break things off. To tell her that her and I can never be a thing.”“Why?” I asked, “You were serious before she went abroad right? You wanted to give it a chance when she came back.”“Well, that is partly true. But things were different back then.
Cassie’s POV“Enzo?” I said, perplexed. “Leave me!”But he didn’t. Instead, he threw a nasty glare at Ryan and dragged me out of the dance floor.“Where are you taking me?” I asked but he didn’t stop nor did he respond. He just kept moving. He only stopped when we reached a dark area in the club where nobody was around.“Enzo-”“What the hell are you up to, Cassie?” He asked in a dangerous tone.“Me? I was just dancing-”“With who?” He asked, “Who was that bastard?”
Cassie’s POVWithin a week’s time, Mark had managed to find me a perfect location and time to host my first ever art exhibition. It was the first time I was going to make my name public. My paintings would no longer be sold anonymously.Safe to say, I was rather thrilled about it.“This calls for a celebration!” Mark said as Emma and I finally read the confirmatory email about my upcoming event. “Let’s head over to Club Raven for some drinks after work!”And so we did. I briefly went home to get dressed for the party before I joined Mark and Emma at the club. As soon as we got a table, Mark called for a round of shots.“To Cass
Cassie’s POV“Wait, you painted that?” Mark sounded surprised.We were taking a stroll in the office lounge area when I stopped to look at one of my paintings. I was surprised to see it there. Apparently, Enzo bought it when they first started the firm.“Yes.” I said.“But… I didn’t know you painted!”I smiled, “I remain anonymous, of course.” I said, “But I’d given up painting a while ago. I don’t paint anymore.”I began painting as a child. Mom and Liza would always go out together and leave me behind at home with my nanny. Dad was always on business trips and barely
I was twisting and turning on my bed that night.I had woken up at least twice by now because of nightmares, and all the times it was about the time I spent in jail. But the third time, it hit me the worst. I screamed in fear and sat up straight. I looked around to realize that I was in my room. I was not in jail and nobody was trying to hit me. I released a sigh of relief then. Only then, my heart calmed down.Right then, the door to my room opened and a concerned Enzo walked in. When did he come back? I thought he was spending the night at Liza’s?“Cassie?” He asked, alarmed. He came to sit before me on the bed and reached for my hands. “Are you okay? What happened?”“I had a nightmare.” I
“The new boss is your sister?” Emma and Mark said in unison.“Sh! Quiet!” I said, looking around the cafeteria to check if anyone heard us. Thankfully, no one did.“Cassie! This is great news!” Emma cheered, “you will never have to worry about promotions now!”I sighed, “Well, I forgot to mention that my sister hates me.” I said, “After my split with my ex-husband, my family disowned me.”“Oh, shit.” Emma said, “Cassie, that’s awful. I’m so sorry.”“So… that means you won’t ever get a promotion.” Mark said.“Yes, that’s more like it.” I said.
Cassie’s POVTears poured down my cheek as I walked out of his office. His voice was calling me from behind, but I did not stop. Instead, I walked into the files room to escape from the scrutinizing glances of everyone.I could not believe what I just saw. Liza was Enzo’s girlfriend. Why was I not told this before? Why did Enzo keep this from me? If I knew about his past with my sister, I never would have made the mistake of kissing him.Much to my dismay, Enzo entered the room right after me. I groaned as I looked at him.“Enzo, please leave me alone!” I said as I covered my face.“Cassie. Listen to me!”&n