O Face, page 5
Janice nodded. “Of course, of course.” She looked away, too smug about it though, and I knew it would take all of five minutes for her to blast this out to the Internet. “You two just call me when you are ready to talk. How about that?”
“Sure thing.” I squeezed Cassie’s waist, surprised she hadn’t already screeched at me and threatened to have me arrested for assault or slander or some such. But she was utterly still against my arm and way too quiet to predict. “We’ll catch up later,” I told Janice, using my arm to steer us away.
“Yes. Let’s do that,” Janice called, giggling knowingly.
I didn’t look back as I steered Cassie and myself around the corner to the backstage area. There were less people here which meant less chance for someone to overhear whatever happened next. Because even I couldn’t be sure after that.
“Holy fuck that woman is scary.”
Cassie grimaced. “She’s the only one of them I never quite know how to handle.”
I exhaled heavily. “I can see why. She’s like a damned piranha.”
I looked over in time to see Cassie’s lips twitched.
Holy shit. Was that the hint of a smile I’d just seen? On Cassie Franklin?
“Whoa, was that a smile on the lips of the ice princess herself?”
She flashed me a quick glare but there was a twist to her mouth that felt like some version of silent laughter. “Curious. Exactly what organ did you think she was referring to back there?”
I licked my lips, purposely drawing her gaze to my mouth for a beat before leaning in and saying, “Make me your boyfriend and you’ll find out.”
“What?” Her cheeks flushed deliciously. Score. I waited for the rest of the reaction that always followed. And sure as shit, her expression shuttered into something cold and unreachable. “I meant what I said before. We can’t—”
“Uh, I think we already did.” I pointed, and we both watched as Janice’s photographer continued to snap photos of us from the other end of the hall.
“Dammit.”
“I think this means the cat’s out of the bag,” I said.
Cassie folded her arms and glared up at me. I tried to remember if irritation had ever looked so hot on anyone else. “You did that on purpose.”
“It’s possible.”
“Are you getting off on humiliating me or something? Did I offend you in high school? Is this some weird grudge or revenge thing?”
I was thinking about getting off all right. But it had nothing to do with offending. Or high school. I shrugged. “Maybe I’m just bored.”
“Right. Because war couldn’t hold your attention so you thought you’d come back here and stick your nose in my business.”
I stepped in, closing the distance so that we were nearly nose to nose. “You don’t know shit about me or war, and I’d be careful about making any assumptions about either if I were you.”
She blinked and her shoulders sagged a little. “Shit. I’m sorry. That was rude.”
I forced myself to calm my breathing, a little taken aback at my own sudden reaction. A moment of silence passed between us. I concentrated on deep breaths and when I looked over, Cassie seemed to be doing the same. When she caught me watching, she stopped scratching at her elbow.
I cocked my head as her words finally sunk in. “Did you just apologize?”
She shrugged, still managing to keep her nose high. “When the situation calls for it, I’m capable.”
“You’re full of surprises.”
She sighed. “Not really. I know what they say about me. And I’m not going to argue it.” She spread her hands out as if offering herself up on display. “What you see is what you get.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
Someone with a headset microphone walked up and nodded at me. “Hey, Liam. They’re almost ready for you.” The guy gestured for me to join him near the curtain’s edge.
“I’ll be right there.”
He walked off, eyeing me impatiently as I turned back to Cassie. “Look, I have to give a speech. Can we figure out the terms of this later?”
“Liam, this is crazy. I can find someone else.”
“Just tell me one thing. Did you have a thing for me in high school?”
“A thing?” she repeated, clearly trying to play it off. But the heat that crept into her cheeks gave her away. Interesting. Jess hadn’t lied. Not about this anyway. And I knew—I wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Even if I did, this isn’t—”
I hesitated only a split second before interrupting her with a kiss.
Her lips were warm but stiff against mine. Even with the rigidity that never left her, in that split second, I found myself enjoying her. There was heat here. And something bubbling underneath that surface—something wild.
Cassie, I was pretty sure, did not feel the same.
I pulled back, the kiss over before it began, really, but it had lasted long enough for three things. First, I caught sight of the photographer lowering his camera and scurrying back to the party when we were done. Second, Cassie had finally been rendered speechless. And third, I’d had just enough of a taste of that girl to know I wouldn’t be walking away anytime soon.
Jess was right. Cassie was trouble. And I was in it now.
I kept my voice low and my mouth close enough to breathe her in as I talked. She didn’t pull away as I said, “Pretty sure Janice’s photographer is tweeting that little treasure as we speak. Which means you’re stuck with me now. Maybe after my speech, you can explain to me what this hired boyfriend stuff is all about.”
I didn’t give her a chance to answer before I walked away, joining the stage guy as my introduction was given for the crowd gathered on the other side of the curtain.
Just before I took the stage, I glanced back one last time.
Cassie was still standing in the same spot I’d left her, arms wrapped around her middle like a hug. In that split second, her carefully constructed mask slipped, and I saw what she was hiding: pain, fear, desperation—and attraction.
I went still, shocked at the raw emotion she’d let leak out. So she was capable of deep feelings after all. The public would have been thrilled to know it. Too bad I wasn’t doing this for them. And suddenly, I wasn’t doing it for Jess either. Maybe doing Jess a favor was how this had started, but it wasn’t how it would end.
In the back of my mind, some voice warned me against giving in to that look. The girl capable of that kind of raw feeling was probably just as dangerous as the ice princess had been with the lack of it. But I ignored the voice and waited for Cassie to notice me there. When our eyes met, her mask shuttered instantly back into place.
But it was too late. I’d seen it. I’d seen her. And she knew it.
Desire shot through me, fast and hard, and I sucked in a breath as I rode the wave of it. It’d been a long time since I’d wanted a woman this bad just from looking at her. It was enough to knock me off balance in a way that had nothing to do with my recovering eardrums.
Oblivious, Cassie glared back at me. Just like earlier, her cheeks flushed, but this time, instead of amusement or uncertainty, her pale skin burned with rage. It was mildly terrifying, that look. But it was also sexy as hell. I still hadn’t seen her smile, but the longer I looked at all that passion stored tightly inside that amazing body of hers, the less I cared about a smile. In fact, when it came to Cassie Franklin, there was only one expression I wanted her to wear for me. Cheeks warmed with rage or irritation was fine—as long as she was coming hard in my arms while she glared. An O face like Cassie Franklin’s was hotter than anything else I could possibly imagine.
Turning slowly for the waiting crowd, I went to give my speech—as Cassie Franklin’s boyfriend. Jess had been right. This was going to be fun to watch.
Chapter Six
Cassie
I glared at the phone display as if it were the villain, debating whether to even take the call from my father. After months of hearing him tell me how dire things were for the company, this conversation was stale—and yet, it hadn’t lost its sting yet. Everything was still on me. And I was still stalling. But I couldn’t hide forever.
“Hi, Dad,” I answered.
“Cassandra. I need to see you. Come to my office.”
“I’ll be there in five,” I said on a long sigh.
He disconnected.
“Nice to hear from you too,” I muttered into the silence.
I got up from my desk and stopped on my way out to tell Bev where she could find me. Then, I made my way to the fifteenth floor. It was made up of only a conference room and a lounge on one end. To the other end was my dad’s suite of offices. I’d suggested a thousand times that we consolidate. Maybe even rent out some of this unused space to another company, but he wouldn’t even consider it. He was too concerned with appearances.
“If you don’t have money, at least make people think you do,” he’d told me when I was a little girl. That was the perfect summation for my father’s character. And the explanation for why he’d almost lost our company going on six times now since I’d come to work for him four years ago.
When I arrived, his secretary waved me in.
“Thank you for not dawdling,” he said, waving me into a chair as I entered. “Time is money.”
I rolled my eyes. If my father was ever a broken record about anything, it was that phrase.
“What’s so pressing?” I asked.
“The status of this deal has me a little nervous,” he admitted. “Particularly your part in it.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have any part in it if you’d lift this insane stipulation about my dating status.”
“You know I would if I could,” he said, but we both knew that was a lie. He could. And he wouldn’t.
“I’m not going to use Evan,” I said.
I hated the words my father was about to say even before they left his mouth. When he launched into another diatribe against the pharmaceutical company who had called in his bad debt, I tuned out. I still couldn’t believe my father was blaming everyone but himself, but then he always had. How we hadn’t lost everything before now was a mystery. My mother had done more to hold it together than I’d realized. When she’d died, my father’s timeline for me had sped into light speed. I’d been officially hired on just out of high school, fitting in college classes at night, and between the two, I’d certainly gotten an education. The men in this family had put their name on the sign out front. The women kept it there.
“Evan’s got himself under control,” Dad was saying in another attempt to talk me into his favorite solution to Nichimoto’s reticence.
“Dad, you didn’t see how he was with me yesterday.” So far, I had kept my voice controlled and the longer this went on without me losing it, the more my arm itched. The rash from yesterday had morphed into full-blown hives. I knew if I wasn’t careful, it would spread up to my chest and throat—and then a long-sleeved suit wouldn’t hide the stress from prying eyes any longer. I’d even worn a gown with sleeves to last night’s party to cover the evidence.
“I’m sure Evan was just excited about the idea of the two of you getting back together,” Dad said.
I rolled my eyes. There was no point reminding him we couldn’t be back if we were never together in the first place. “Or he’s off his anger meds and his temper is a ticking time bomb. Again.”
Dad had never acknowledged that Evan had narrowly avoided a lawsuit at his last job, and I knew he wasn’t going to start now. I braced myself for whatever he tried to come up with instead.
“Cassandra, this situation is bigger than Evan’s temper. It’s bigger than you or even me. Think of all the good this company does. You want us to lose that? To default and let it all go to Big Pharma? Because that’s what will happen and we all know what kind of monsters they are, flubbing the safety protocols and making drugs that kill people... Only private research firms like ours give any hope to a public too beholden to their prescriptions to do anything about it. Think of all the people we help. Think of Liam what’s-his-name. He’s alive because of us.”
I sucked in a breath. Dad had always been willing to use anything in his arsenal to get the result he wanted, even when it came to me. And lately, guilt was the prime weapon. Probably because it worked better than anything else. But using Liam right now was not cool.
“Trust me, I am thinking of those people,” I said. Especially Liam Porter.
Dad sighed. “I know you think Nichimoto’s terms are old-fashioned.”
“Stipulating a woman can’t step into the role of CEO without being romantically attached goes beyond old-fashioned. It’s practically illegal.”
“I didn’t make the rules.”
“But you can change them. You’re the CEO for God’s sake. This is Neanderthal.”
“It’s not about your relationship status, Cassandra. Or your stability.”
I blinked. This was the first time I’d heard him offer any sort of explanation. “Then what—?”
“You know what they call you?”
My jaw hung open for a moment as I floundered. “They call me the ice princess,” I said, sitting up straighter and offering a cool expression. Not because I gave two shits about the nickname. But this was the first time I’d ever heard my father refer to it. Even when manipulating me for his own ends, he’d never brought it up. “I don’t see what that has to do with the deal.”
“The board doesn’t want someone so cold running a public company who depends on investors.” He grimaced as if he really didn’t like the taste of his own words as he added, “I can’t say I disagree with them.”
“You ...” I blinked as it all sank in. “This is why you won’t fight for...? This is why I have to prove I’m romantically attached? To show that I’m nice?” I spat the words, making it clear how fucking ridiculous all of this was. But it didn’t matter what I thought.
He didn’t answer.
After a long silence, I knew he wasn’t going to either. Another stalemate. Only now, I knew why. God, this was embarrassing.
My cell rang, buzzing quietly where I clutched it tightly in my hand. Without looking at the screen, I rose. “I have to go.” I started for the door.
“What about the board—?”
“Tell them I have it handled,” I snapped.
“You do?” The surprise—and relief—in his tone was palpable. Which only made me more pissed.
“I’ll call you later with the details.” I slammed his office door hard enough to make his assistant jump and picked up the incoming one on my cell. “Hey, Jess.”
“Whoa. You answered.”
More guilt. “I know I haven’t been around much. I’m sorry.” Jess was the one person in the entire world I could apologize to—and mean it—without feeling like I’d lost something.
“It’s fine. I just miss you. Is everything okay with you?”
There was enough hurt hidden in her casual words that my chest ached. Fuck, I was failing at this. At everything. “Yeah, it’s just... There’s a lot going on right now with work. We’re in the middle of an investment deal that I didn’t realize had so many twists to the terms and it’s been a huge time suck.”
“That sounds shitty. I understand, though. Listen, I wanted to see if you had a chance to see Liam Porter yet.”
“Liam?” My breath caught. “Why do you ask?”
Her voice turned light and teasing. “Because Summerville’s most gorgeous playboy is now highly skilled at explosions if you know what I mean. I thought it might be fun for you to get to know him finally. Maybe put an end to your losing streak.”
“It’s not a losing streak.”
“Trust me, honey. It really is. But if anyone can ruin that record, it’s probably Liam Porter. Just sayin’.”
“Jess, I didn’t have time for that sort of thing before, and I still don’t.”
“Do not give me that shit. You had a major crush on him in high school.”
“Major might be stretching it.”
She snorted, and I knew I couldn’t bullshit Jess. Not on this. But I also couldn’t tell her about my meeting with Liam—either of them.
“I saw the video from his speech last night on the news this morning. I swear, that stubble combined with all that muscle made my ovaries hurt.”
My lips curved at that and some of the stress melted away for the moment. “Dramatic much?”
“Are you kidding? He’s a war hero with a hot body and a bionic eardrum. You don’t get any sexier than that. Well, until he opens his mouth, anyway.”
I laughed. “I take it you two still get along just as well as before?”
“Jamie still loves the guy. I guess he sees something I don’t. Anyway, if you do decide to live out your high school fantasy, just don’t let him speak.”
“Jess, you’re crazy.”
“Right. But I’m your kind of crazy, bitch. Call me when your deal is done. We’ll get drunk and skinny dip in my neighbor’s pool again.”
“That was one time, and you swore you wouldn’t tell anyone—”
“I haven’t,” she promised. “Yet.” Then she hung up.
Back in my office, I set the phone aside and dropped my face into my hands. Jess was a great friend. Actually, she was my only friend. I’d steered clear of kids in school after they’d either demanded too much time—time I didn’t have after all my lessons, training, and grooming thanks to Dad—or they’d used me for popularity or to paint an image that only my father’s money could provide. But Jess had never pretended to be anything other than herself. She was also the only other person I’d met who wasn’t looking to over share about her feelings every chance she got. We were both allergic to vulnerability thanks to a few bad experiences.
But after so many years of her putting up with my shit, I owed her more than this. I owed her the truth. I just couldn’t bring myself to admit to her what I’d been reduced to. Maybe when it was all over and I had it figured out. But not yet.
A noise at my office doorway made me look up. I froze, my jaw half-open and ready to offer up some quick order to my assistant. But it wasn’t Bev. Not even close.
