After spending the next twenty minutes taking appreciation from people and networking with a bunch of techies from other companies, I finally found a moment for myself. I moved away to watch Becky begging the competition hosts to excuse her behavior, as she is not in a position to afford the fine. I could help her out of pity, but I did not feel any for the first time. I felt nothing toward her, except disgust. She deserved everything that was happening to her. I wonder how she will explain this to Calvin. “Congratulations, Cassandra.” I heard Professor Clark’s voice from the side. As I looked at him, an involuntary smile spread across my face. “Professor Clark, how nice to see you.” “You too, Cassandra. It is so nice to see you put your talent to good use.” “Professor Clark, I must thank you for your help today and for your word during my court trial. You were one of the very few people who came forward to support me, and it was of tremendous help.” “Of course, Cassandra. I was
The party was in its full swing but Enzo wasn’t anywhere around. I slowly slipped on my champagne glass, sitting alone in a room full of people. Mark and Emma were speaking to some other people on the opposite end of the room. I was watching them aimlessly when I heard someone’s voice from beside me. “Hello, Miss Harper.” A male voice called me. As I turned to my side, I found an elderly gentleman smiling at me. He had kind blue eyes, with a warm expression on his face. He looked to be in his sixties. I have never seen him, but I didn’t feel intimidated by his approach either. “Hello, sir. I’m sorry, but may I know your name?” He laughed, “My bad. Let me introduce myself to you, dear. I’m Tom Mathews. I’m a senior partner in this firm.” “Pleased to meet you, Mr Mathews.” “Likewise.” He said, “I just came here to congratulate the woman who is the reason for this fantastic celebration. The firm needed it more than you.” “I’m glad that Enzo.. I mean… the CEO has organized it. It’
I looked at Enzo’s proud grin as he took the trophy into his hands.“Wow.” he said, “This looks so great, Cassie.”“All thanks to you.”He frowned and looked up at me. “Me? I didn’t do anything. It’s all on you.”“No, not really.” I said, swallowing. “Whatever I did today was because of you. Because you gave me a chance.”“Oh, come on, Cassie. Don’t be so formal with me-”I stepped forward and threw my arms around his neck. I could sense him f
Cassie’s POVBy the time Enzo finished his call and walked back to me, I jumped from the desk. He gave me an absurd look, unable to understand my behaviour.“Cassie…” He began.But before he could stop me, I rushed out of that room. Shit! Shit! Shit! What the hell did I do?I could not face Enzo. I could not face anyone. I went to the elevator and clicked it open. Before he could get onto it, I pressed the close button and watched as the doors closed on him.“Cassie, wait!” He said, but it was too late. The elevator started moving.After a minute, I got down on the lou
Enzo’s POVWhen I woke up the next morning, Cassie was not beside me.I remembered that she fell asleep on my shoulder last night. When we finally reached home, she looked too peaceful. I couldn't wake her up. So instead, I scooped her arm into my arms in bridal style and went up. I made her sleep in my room, as sleeping beside me helped her with the nightmares. I hoped I could speak to her about what happened this morning, but obviously she escaped.She was being too childish. How long is she going to avoid me? I could always confront her in the office. And that’s what I planned to do.I reached the office and decided to get done with the important tasks of the day before I called Ca
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
“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.
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
A lump formed in my throat.Suddenly, I was scared to look into his eyes. And before I could stop them, tears rolled out of my eyes.I watched Enzo’s face twist with concern, and he quickly leaned toward me.“Cassie, why are you crying? Does it hurt?”I tightened my jaw in shame, holding back my sobs. Enzo quickly slipped out of me, and I suddenly felt empty. He took me into his arms and gently stroked my cheek.“Cassie, you’re scaring me. What’s the matter?”“I don’t know…” I admitted. “I guess&h
I felt my dress slip away from my body with ease at the mercy of his hands. I looked up at his hooded eyes, taken aback by the hunger in them. I never felt so desired by a man before. And oddly, it stirred a new confidence in me. I did not feel shy to finally get intimate with a man. Rather, I felt like I was meant to share this experience with him.“Having second thoughts yet?” He asked, rolling my hair into a thick bun behind my head. I felt a weird sensation travel down my entire body as he pulled at my roots.“No,” I said, “Just wondering why I resisted this all these days.”He raised his eyebrows up at me, “Because you’re an idiot.”H
Mr Lee's party did not fail to surprise me. I widened my eyes at what looked like a mini casino.“Damn,” I said, “Look over there. It looks like Mr Lee has just won a round of poker.”Enzo followed my gaze to look at Mr Lee holding a stack of notes in victory. His eyes fell on us then and he gestured for us to come over.“Come on, Mr DeLuca. Join us.” He said, pulling a chair beside him.“I don’t play poker, Mr Lee.” He said.“Ah, that’s too bad.” He clicked his tongue before looking at me. “Perhaps Miss Harper can join us?”
Mr Lee was not kidding.His beach property a few kilometres away from his residence was astounding. It was a member’s only resort, meaning only the wealthy had access to it. Mr Lee’s friends were also here for a small get-together, and we would be joining them to have some fun.“My staff will guide you to your villa, Mr De Luca.” Mr Lee said as we got out of his car. “This is mine. I’ll be heading in. See you in the evening for dinner. Don’t be late.”“Sure. Thank you, Mr Lee.”Only when we reached our villa did it occur to me that I would have to share it with Enzo. After all, in Mr Lee’s eyes, we were a couple.I humped
Warm rays of sunshine woke up the next morning.And as soon as I did, I realized that my body was pressed against Enzo's!I widened my eyes in surprise. Our legs were entangled, and our bodies were cuddling against each other.How did we end up like this?Somehow, I got out of his hold and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. When I came back, Enzo was wide awake."Shit." I muttered to myself, holding the towel closer to my chest.Enzo's eyes lifted to steal a glance at me, and surprise was evident on his face. I watched as his jaw clenched. I knew too well that his gaze was not an innocent one. Grabbing my bag, I almost ran to the walk-in closet to change.After a while, we were on our way to meet our client.“It’s an unusual place to set up an office, isn’t it?” I asked once we got into the car.“Yes, which is why it's not here.” Enzo said, “It’s in Seoul. Just that Lee
By the time Enzo returned, I managed to regain some of my composure.I found a movie to watch and was about to play it when I heard someone giggle near the aisle. It was right outside mine, and it was two girls, possibly in their teens, who were gushing.The brunette said, “Oh, my god. Did you look at that man? He looks like a Greek god!”“I know right!” The blonde replied, “He’s like chiseled to perfection. I’m sure he’s european!”“Probably, but wow. He’s so hot. I wonder if he would be up for a quick snog in the washroom.”I widened my eyes in amusement. Who could be this handsome hunk they were talking about?
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.